Sermon: Because of God’s Mercy

Because of God’s Mercy… Romans 12:1 August 30, 2020 A few weeks ago, Americans received an unexpected COVID-gift from the United States government. And the topic quickly became, “what are you going to do with your money?” Some paid bills. Some paid down debt. Some made purchases for which they had been saving. Some gave […]

Sermon: Transforming Truths of the Gospel

Transforming Truths of the Gospel Romans 1-11 August 23, 2020 “The world is broken.” That is what Raye Jeanne said to me Wednesday evening as we sat on our porch and recounted our day and the people we had interacted with and the world circumstances we’d observed. I’m not talking about COVID, though that is […]

Sermon: In Praise of God, Pt 2

In Praise of God, Pt. 2 Romans 11:36 August 2, 2020 In an article entitled, “How Big is God?” David Coppedge, a scientist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory writes that a manned flight to Pluto going at the maximum speed of Apollo astronauts, would take 17 years before it could park in a hangar at […]

Sermon: In Praise of God

In Praise of God Romans 11:33-36 July 26, 2020 John Wesley Powell was a government explorer who led a boat expedition through the Grand Canyon in 1869. He wrote a description of his impressions of that trip entitled, “The Most Sublime Spectacle on Earth” in his book, Canyons of the Colorado (1895): The Grand Canyon […]

Sermon: God’s People? Saved! (Pt 2)

God’s People? Saved! (Pt 2) Romans 11:28-32 July 19, 2020 I like a good “who dunnit?” Sunday evenings, our family has enjoyed many hours of watching Masterpiece Mystery — Foyle’s War, Sherlock, Inspector Lewis, Miss Marple, Poirot, and Endeavour among them. I have read quite a few Agatha Christie mysteries, and other similar fare. In […]

Sermon: God’s People? Saved! (Pt 1)

God’s People? Saved! (Pt 1) Romans 11:25-27 July 12, 2020 How have you spent your COVID? It’s not the only thing we have done, but we spent at least four days attacking trees and shrubs in our yard — trimming, cutting down, and then digging out roots. By my count, I have dug out 10-12 […]

Sermon: Israel, God’s Promises, and Unexpected Favor

Israel, God’s Promises, and Unexpected Favor Romans 11:17-24 July 5, 2020 In Romans, Paul is establishing his credibility as an apostle and as a missionary. He wants the Roman church to be his sending church on his journey to Spain, and he is giving them his understanding of the gospel — man’s sin and lostness […]

Sermon: Failure and Faithfulness

Failure and Faithfulness Romans 11:11-16 June 28, 2020 The past four months of COVID-19 and unrighteous killings and riots have led to many questions, and few answers. Many questions have not just been asked about our political leaders, but also about God. All the questions about God might be summarized by three questions asked by […]

Sermon: A Servant of Scripture

A Servant of Scripture Psalm 119:121-128 June 21, 2020 Private Harry Cole was a private in the British Army that was retreating to Dunkirk in 1940. He penned a letter to his mother and family during the retreat, but his regiment was overrun by the Germans and he never made it to Dunkirk and did […]

Sermon: Thanking God for the Past…

Thanking God for the Past; Trusting God for the Future Philippians 1:3-11 June 14, 2020 Sometimes it is hard to give thanks for the circumstances and people of our past. That’s not just true in the past three months, but it’s also true of life in general — illness, unexpected deaths, financial hardship (poverty), broken […]

Sermon: What the World Needs Now

What the World Needs Now Selected Scriptures June 7, 2020 Thursday morning I went for a run as I normally do on that day. I woke up particularly early, so I grabbed my headlamp to guide my way. It was somewhat warm and humid so I was a little tired on the run. A little […]

Sermon: Walking Worthy by Preserving Unity

Walking Worthy by Preserving Unity Ephesians 4:1-3 May 31, 2020 I have always loved, and often used, the saying, “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as quickly as I could.” Similarly, I wasn’t born in the church, but I got here as quickly as I could. Since childhood, I have always attended […]

Sermon: When Your Soul is Tempted to be Despondent, Pt. 2

When Your Soul is Tempted to be Despondent, Part 2 Psalm 103:6-22 May 17, 2020 Over the past couple of months I’ve thought several times of a popular and catchy, but ridiculous song from the late 1980s: In every life we have some trouble But when you worry you make it double Don’t worry, be […]

Sermon: When Your Soul is Tempted to be Despondent

When Your Soul is Tempted to be Despondent Psalm 103:1-5 May 10, 2020 Several months ago, while reading my Bible, I was struck by the beauty of a particular psalm and though I didn’t have time to study it in detail that day, I knew I didn’t want to forget to study that psalm, so […]

Sermon: God Unchanging

God Unchanging Psalm 102:23-28 May 3, 2020 There are some constants in life — the proverbial death and taxes among them. Another constant is change. We can be certain that very few things in life are static; most things change. Among the changes in life are cultural norms. Consider the story of one John Fisher […]