Sermon: Living…by faith

Living…By FaithHebrews 11:1-3March 6, 202 We live in an unjust world. This is the hospitality center for Slavic Gospel Association in Irpin, Ukraine, where I stayed two years ago. And this is now one of the roads that leads to that house. The war against Ukraine has grieved many of you; it provokes me to […]

Sermon: Excel Still More – Marriage

Excelling Still More: Marriage1 Peter 3:1-7February 13, 2022 The couple that stands before their friends and family and in front of the preacher in a gleaming white dress and an immaculate tux, with flutters in their hearts and beaming smiles on their faces (and maybe tears in their eyes) can never imagine the time when […]

Sermon: Excel Still More – Evangelism

Excelling Still More: EvangelismColossians 4:2-6February 6, 2022 Randy Newman introduces his book Bringing the Gospel Home: Witnessing to Family Members, Close Friends, and Others Who Know You Well by writing this: When I informed a friend I was writing a book on witnessing to family, he told me he had the perfect chapter titles: Chapter […]

Sermon: Excel Still More – Prayer

Excelling Still More: Prayer for One AnotherEphesians 1:15-19January 30, 2022 I am going to go out on a limb and make a generalization that I believe applies to all people. No one is satisfied with his prayer life. None of us will say, “I pray enough; I am content that God always gets my best […]

Sermon: Help Me!

Help Me!Psalm 119:145-152January 23, 2022 I know some of y’all enjoy hiking and camping. But serious hiking is not for everyone. Several years ago, the staff of the Bridger Wilderness in the Tetons released some of the comments taken after people had concluded their hikes. Here are a few samples: Trails need to be […]

Sermon: Living in Our Changing Unchanging World

Living in Our Changing Unchanging World2 Timothy 3:1-17January 16, 2022 In December Canada passed bill C-4 that outlawed what is called “Conversion Therapy” or “Reparative Therapy” for counselors. The bill became Canadian law eight days ago, on January 8. Conversion Therapy is a practice where people with homosexual desires and actions are re-oriented and “converted” […]

Sermon: Excel Still More

Excel Still More1 Thessalonians 4:9-12January 2, 2022 I have been asked many times (most often by visitors), “What is your vision for the church?” I haven’t always known how to answer that question. Sometimes that question implies other things like, “How big do you see the church being in five years? Ten years?” “What […]

Sermon: The King’s Worshippers

The King’s WorshippersMatthew 2:1-12December 26, 2021 We are well familiar with the Christmas stories: the appearance of Gabriel to Zacharias and Elizabeth announcing the arrival of John the Baptist as the forerunner of Christ — and Zacharias’ unbelief and silence. the appearance of Gabriel to Mary announcing her pregnancy with the Messiah and her willing […]

Sermon: The King’s Arrival

The King’s ArrivalMatthew 1:18-25December 19, 2021 My parents and I were born in Canada (I got to Texas as quickly as I could, though); and I suppose it was the influence of being part of a British Colony that led my mom to always be more than a little intrigued by the British monarchy and […]

Sermon: The King’s Future

The King’s FutureMatthew 24:29-41December 12, 2021 On January 1, 2000, the Wall Street Journal looked back at some predictions that had been made over the previous 100 years about what life would look like in the year 2000. There were a few errors in judgment: In 1950, Popular Mechanics surmised: “The housewife of 2000 can […]

Sermon: The King’s Kingdom

The King’s KingdomMatthew 13:44-52December 5, 2021 In our political process, whenever there is an election voters want to know in advance, “If you are elected what will you do?” “What will life be like under your leadership?” We want to know if taxes will be raised, if there will be new liberties granted, or if […]

Sermon: The King’s Authority

The King’s AuthorityMatthew 9:1-8November 28, 2021 I have a friend who — right before he gives his opinion on what I should do — likes to say, “If I were king for the day…” I think he means that jokingly. I think. What would you do if you were king for the day? Poet Judith […]

Sermon: The King’s Father

The King’s FatherMatthew 6:9-15November 14, 2021 King George VI ruled as king of England for about 15 years in the first half of the 20th century before he died in 1952 from coronary thrombosis. He was immensely popular, as was his wife, Queen Elizabeth. Yet as popular as she was, when George (“Bertie”) died, she […]

Sermon: The King’s Blessing

The King’s BlessingMatthew 5:1-12November 7, 2021 The last 100+ years have seen some of the most atrocious leaders and dictators in the history of the world: Adolf Hitler, who ruled Nazi Germany in the 1930s-40s was responsible for the incarceration or death of between 15-20 million people during the Holocaust, and responsible for a total […]

Sermon: The Gospel of God

God’s GospelSelected Scriptures in RomansOctober 24, 2021 I preached the first sermon in the series on Romans on May 10 — in 2015. That was 6-1/2 years ago. Now, not every sermon in those years has been from Romans. I counted, and today’s final sermon is #161 — an average of 10 sermons per chapter. […]