God’s salvation is great because…

We are quick to attribute to too many things that really aren’t great. A home run while perhaps being timely for your favorite baseball team, is not really great. A snow cone on an August afternoon in Texas will be refreshing, but given its short lifespan, should not be put in the category of great. […]

Live by the Spirit by setting your mind on Christ

Romans 8 is one of the most beloved chapters in Scripture. It speaks of the believer’s responsibility and ability to mortify sin. It speaks of the believer’s adoption to become sons of God. It speaks of the coming liberation from the sufferings of this world. It speaks of the intercessory prayer of both the Spirit […]

Sermon: The Spirit, Sanctification, and Security

The Spirit, Sanctification, and Security Romans 8 May 5, 2019 When I go to the mountains, the last morning I am there I invariably go outside for one last round of pictures of those majestic hills. Then, as we leave the area — when my car is about to take me out of view of […]

Sanctification and all things working together for good

“What good is it going to do, anyway?” is a common lament among many people: an elementary student who is frustrated by his attempts to hit a baseball and wants to stop going to practice a high school student who is resigned to not getting a needed score on her SAT to enable her to […]

Sermon: All Things for Good

All Things for Good: Trusting God and Sanctification Romans 8:28-29 March 10, 2019 In his book Rise and Shine, Chuck Swindoll recounts a significant event from the past century: When the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations was opened by Queen Victoria in 1851, people flocked to Hyde Park to behold […]

Sermon: He Prays for You

He Prays for You Romans 8:26-27 December 16, 2018 I saw another article on the topic this week. We are lonely. The Wall Street Journal article even called baby boomers, “The Loneliest Generation,” saying, Baby boomers are aging alone more than any generation in U.S. history, and the resulting loneliness is a looming public health […]

Sermon: The Believer’s Great Longing

The Believer’s Great Longing Romans 8:22-25 December 9, 2018 Life is difficult. But you don’t need me to tell you that to know that it is true, do you? And suffering has always been the way of living in this world — especially for believers. One historian says this about the early church: Every Christian […]

Sermon: What in the World is Going on with the World?

What in the World is Going on with the World? Romans 8:19-21 November 25, 2018 It’s quite a world in which we live, isn’t it? Everywhere you look, there seem to be problems. I’m not talking about the problems from people who sin against us, or the problems that come from corrupt and ungodly legislation […]

Sermon: Today’s Sufferings, Tomorrow’s Joys

Today’s Sufferings, Tomorrow’s Joys Romans 8:17-18 November 18, 2018 This coming week we will celebrate Thanksgiving. But those who are suffering often find it difficult to be thankful in the midst of their suffering. There may be turkey, dressing, and pecan pie on the table, but there is resentment, anger, hostility, and ingratitude in the […]

Sermon: Sons of God

Sons of God Romans 8:14-17 October 28, 2018 Many children, if not all children, at some point will ask their parents, “Am I adopted?” They want to know their place in the family. They want to know if there is a biological connection between their parents and them. They ask the question out of a […]

Sermon: Life Against the Flesh (Pt 4)

Life in the Spirit, Life Against the Flesh (Pt. 4) Colossians 3:10-17 October 21, 2018 How can one become good? Only by God’s transforming work — which is what Colossians 3 has said — 3:1 — “you have been raised up” (i.e., God raised you) 3:3 — “your life is hidden with Christ” 3:4 — […]

Beware of the seasons of temptation

Every believer in Christ has been freed from the domain of Adam and placed in Christ, meaning that sin is no longer his master. Sin no longer controls him; Christ controls him. Jesus is his master. He no longer gives his allegiance to sin. Yet he still has capacity to sin. He still on occasion […]

Sermon: Life Against the Flesh (Pt 3)

Life in the Spirit, Life Against the Flesh (Pt 3) Colossians 3:1-9 October 14, 2018 Several years after inventing the radar, Sir Robert Watson Watt was arrested in Canada for speeding. He’d been caught, ironically enough, by a radar trap. To commemorate this infamous event in his life, he wrote a brief poem about himself: […]

Sermon: Life Against the Flesh (Pt 2)

Life in the Spirit, Life Against the Flesh (Pt 2) Colossians 3:1-17 October 7 2018 “In April, 1983, Robert Vierling of Winchester, Missouri was found in his bed, crushed to death by his sixteen-foot, one hundred pound, pet Burmese python. Vierling’s wife said he had complete trust in the snake and often played with it […]

Sermon: Life Against the Flesh

Life in the Spirit, Life Against the Flesh Romans 8:12-13 September 30, 2018 One of the hardest parts of the spiritual life is dealing with the daily reality that we are in a fight. Spiritual maturity does not come easily. Sin rarely waves the white flag of surrender. The flesh often proposes a truce with […]