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: The First Thing in Your Marriage

“The First Thing in Your Marriage” Selected Scriptures May 21, 2017 I’ve been thinking about marriage quite a bit lately. I’ve been thinking about marriage because I’ve been working on my notes for the trip to Russia to teach biblical counseling, where I will be teaching several times on various aspects of marriage. And I’ve […]

Sermon: Who Can Be Justified?

“Who Can Be Justified?” Romans 4:9-12 April 30, 2017 Put this in the category of unexpected blessings. When Kushikatsu Tanaka was a young girl, her father developed a particular recipe for deep-fried fried meat on a stick. Though he was a real estate agent, he spent many of his leisure hours perfecting the craft of […]

Sermon: The Old, Old Story, Pt. 2

“The Old, Old Story” Pt. 2 Romans 4:1-8 April 23, 2017 When I was in seminary, the church Raye Jeanne and I were part of trained its members in evangelism with the Evangelism Explosion materials. I went through the program and eventually also became a trainer for EE. One semester, one of my trainees was […]

Sermon: Blessed Are Those Who Believe

“Blessed Are Those Who Believe” John 20:19-31 April 16, 2017 — Easter Morning As a young man, Benjamin Franklin wrote an epitaph for himself that he hoped would be used on his gravestone after his death (though it wasn’t): The body of B. Franklin, Printer, Like the cover of an old book, Its contents torn […]

Sermon: The Old, Old Story

“The Old, Old Story” Romans 4:1-8 April 2, 2017 Every child loves a good story. It was not uncommon that when the girls were still living at home — even when they were in high school — they would ask at the dinner table, “Daddy, tell us a story.” And with a little prompting about […]

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 […]

Sermon: The Christian and the Law

“The Christian and the Law” Romans 3:31 March 19, 2017 If you’ve ever been frustrated with other drivers on the road — people going to fast or too slow or weaving too much or not getting out of the way, here are some traffic laws that are sure to frustrate you even more! These are […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Questioned (Pt. 2)

“God’s Righteousness Questioned” (Pt. 2) Romans 3:29-31 March 12, 2017 We have been talking much about justification by faith. Are we over-emphasizing this doctrine? So does justification still matter? The answer must be a resounding yes. Nothing matters more than justification by Christ alone through faith alone.… Many attempts have been made to move the […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Questioned (Pt. 1)

“God’s Righteousness Questioned” (Pt. 1) Romans 3:27-28 March 5, 2017 This week several of us attended the Shepherds’ Conference. Over four days, we listened to 16-18 sermons. And all the sermons were around the theme, “We Preach Christ.” It might seem remarkable to listen to so many sermons on that one theme. How can you […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 4)

“God’s Righteousness Revealed” (Pt. 4) Romans 3:25-26 February 12, 2017 It doesn’t take much for even a believer in Christ to become aware of his past sins and the shame and guilt associated with those sins. Though the sin might have been confessed both to the Lord and the one we sinned against, too often […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 3)

“God’s Righteousness Revealed” (Pt. 3) Romans 3:24-25 February 5, 2017 This is the third week that we’ve looked at this passage that one commentator said “is possibly the most important single paragraph ever written.” [Morris, 173.] Why are we taking so much time and going so slowly through this passage? Because this may be the […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 2)

“God’s Righteousness Revealed” (Pt. 2) Romans 3:21-23 January 29, 2017 Sometimes things are just not as they seem. Three years ago a 100-year-old woman only known by her first name, Eisha, died in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia, leaving behind an estate worth approximately $800,000. Her wealth included gold coins, jewels, and a real estate portfolio that […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 1)

“God’s Righteousness Revealed” (Pt. 1) Romans 3:21-22 January 22, 2017 Martin Luther had a problem. Listen to his words: “I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in my way but that one expression, ‘the justice (righteousness) of God,’ because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is […]

Sermon: God’s Good Word in the School of Affliction

“God’s Good Word in the School of Affliction” Psalm 119:65-72 January 1, 2017 Every year for the past five or six years, on the first Sunday of January I have preached a sermon from Psalm 119 to encourage us to read and meditate on and memorize Scripture in the coming year. And I had planned […]