We Remember

Each month we come to the table of communion — the table of remembrance. You may have taken those elements hundreds of times, so that the practice may now seem ordinary and perfunctory. It is not. It is a time to remember some of the most powerful truths God has revealed to us. We gather […]

Repentance and its Fruits

Repentance and Its FruitsLuke 3:1-14October 6, 2024 What is the beginning of the spiritual life? Martin Luther said in the first of his 95 theses of discussion against the Roman Catholic Church, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, said ‘Repent,’ He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Repentance […]

The Enduring Word

The Enduring Word1 Peter 1:22–2:3September 29, 2024 This morning we have heard the rest of the story about the translation of the Feni Bible. We are aware of multiple other missions events in our church (Lebanon, Joyners, etc.). Why do churches invest tens of thousands of dollars to send missionaries to people they don’t […]

Sermon: Loving Others, Bearing Burdens

Loving Others, Bearing Burdens Galatians 6:1-5 May 30, 2021 I’ve said it many times. Relationships are hard. It’s not that we don’t like people, but sometimes we just need a break. Sometimes it would just be nice to be a hermit and inaccessible to people (at least we thought that before COVID forced us into […]

Sermon: Fellowship and the Cross

Fellowship and the Cross 1 John 1:1-4 November 29, 2020 Many years ago (while in seminary) I was an evangelism trainer on a team of people from our church who went out weekly to share the gospel. One of the people on my team was a good friend from seminary. As we were headed back […]

Sermon: One of Jesus’ Great Desires

One of Jesus’ Great Desires Luke 22:14-20 January 26, 2020 A number of years ago, someone wrote a book entitled, Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. I never read the book, but I think the basic premise was that there is much of life that is really pretty simple — so simple […]

Sermon: God’s Gospel

God’s Gospel Ephesians 2:8-10 February 24, 2019 If I were to ask you to complete this sentence, how would you finish it? The most well-known verse in the Bible is… My guess is the first thing you’d say is, “John 3:16.” Then you might suggest, Genesis 1:1. Or Psalm 23. Or Romans 3:23 (“all have […]

Remembering Christ

Familiarity may not always breed contempt, but it will likely breed forgetfulness. If you have been around for 20,000 sunrises, it takes an extraordinary sunrise to capture your attention. If you have seven children, the arrival of the last child and his acquisition of language and mobility probably won’t produce wonder in you. After 62 […]

Sermon: The Blessings of Justification, Pt 4

“The Blessings of Justification” Pt. 4 Romans 5:9-11 August 27, 2017 One pastor decided to take his family, including his four children on vacation — “We’re going to Junction City, Kansas,” he said. “It’s where my dad used to pastor a church, and we can have lots of fun there — they have playgrounds, and […]

Sermon: The First Thing on Your Second Wedding Day

“The First Thing on Your Second Wedding Day” Revelation 19:6-9 May 28, 2017 Weddings were always exciting in our home. So many things made weddings attractive and desirable: the wedding dress, the bridesmaid’s dresses, the flowers, the music, the food and friends after the wedding, the music and dancing, and (most of all?) the cake! […]

Sermon: He Gave His Life a Ransom for Many

“He Gave His Life a Ransom for Many” Mark 10:32-45 March 26, 2017 Over the years, I’ve preached about 25 Easter messages, and have also preached about the same number of Palm Sunday and Good Friday messages. I’ve preached several dozen communion sermons related to Christ and the cross, and preached through all of the […]

The Lamb is…

There are many pictures in the New Testament to describe the person and work of Jesus Christ. One of the lesser used, but more commonly known is Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God. We frequently think of Christ as the Lamb of God because of His sacrificial work in atoning for our sin — […]

Sermon: Behold the Lamb of God

“Behold the Lamb of God…” John 1:29 November 27, 2016 In one sense, the death of Christ is a simple truth understood even by the youngest child. I am a sinner and Jesus died for sinners so that we can get to Heaven and get God. In another sense, there are deep complexities to the […]

The wonderful love of Christ

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Lord’s Supper. It was wonderful love that Christ should suffer death. “Lord,” says Bernard, “thou hast loved me more than thyself, for thou didst lay down thy life for me.” The Emperor Trajan […]

Sermon: Behold the Man!

“Behold the Man!” John 19:1-5 October 2, 2016 Familiarity, it is said, breeds contempt. It may not always breed contempt, but very often, it does produce apathy. We are familiar with someone or something so we no longer find the amazement and joy that we did when we were first introduced to that item or […]