“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 […]
Read More Sermon: The Old, Old Story, Pt. 2“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 […]
Read More Sermon: Blessed Are Those Who Believe“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 […]
Read More Sermon: The Old, Old Story“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 […]
Read More Sermon: He Gave His Life a Ransom for Many“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 […]
Read More Sermon: The Christian and the Law“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 […]
Read More Sermon: God’s Righteousness Questioned (Pt. 2)“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 […]
Read More Sermon: God’s Righteousness Questioned (Pt. 1)“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 […]
Read More Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 4)“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 […]
Read More Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 3)“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 […]
Read More Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 2)“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 […]
Read More Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 1)“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 […]
Read More Sermon: God’s Good Word in the School of Affliction“The Son of God Has Come” Selected Scriptures from 1 John December 18, 2016 What gift are you going to give to that special person in your life? Five years ago Alan McCutchen ended his relationship with his girlfriend, Mary Jo Smith, and he thought the relationship was completely over. Not quite. Two weeks ago […]
Read More Sermon: The Son of God Has Come“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 […]
Read More Sermon: Behold the Lamb of God“In Everything Give Thanks?” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 November 20, 2016 A few years ago the London Times reported about the many letters that are sent to God from around the world. Many of those letters end up at the post office in Jerusalem in the undeliverable mail department. “We have hundreds of thousands of letters […]
Read More Sermon: In Everything Give Thanks?
Words of Grace 