Sermon: Remember Your Sin…And Christ’s Work

“Remember Your Sin…And Christ’s Work” Ephesians 2:11-13 May 29, 2016 Many years ago I called a friend and when he answered his cell phone, he was noticeably quiet and subdued. So I asked him, “Are you ok?” “Yeah — I’m in D.C. on a business trip this week and I’m at the Vietnam Memorial, and […]

Sermon: Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy – Why Practicing What You Preach Matters

“Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy: Why Practicing What You Preach Matters” Romans 2:17-24 May 22, 2016 A few years ago, Washington state Representative, Jack Metcalf revealed that the U.S. Forestry Service and a Washington state agency were working together to spend $18,000 to dye rocks on a scenic route to the Cascade Mountains brown and gray. It […]

Sermon: The Conscience – What It Is and How to Help It, Pt. 2

“The Conscience: What It Is and How to Help It” Pt. 2 Selected Scriptures May 15, 2016 Jerry White provides a picture of how most people think about the conscience: Willie, in the comic strip Moon Mullins, is slumped in a chair in front of a TV set, coffee cup resting on his pot belly. […]

Sermon: The Conscience – What It Is and How to Help It

“The Conscience: What It Is and How to Help It” Selected Scriptures May 8, 2016 In 2007, a 44-year-old Frenchman — happily married with two children and a white-collar job — went to a hospital in Marseille complaining of some mild weakness in his left leg. The ailment in his leg was remedied fairly quickly. […]

Sermon: What Christ Has Done

“What Christ Has Done” Colossians 2:11-15 May 1, 2016 Author and publisher Leonard Woolf (husband of Virginia Woolf) lamented near the end of his life, “I see clearly that I have achieved practically nothing. In the world today and the history of the human anthill during the past five to seven years would have been […]

Sermon: Is God Fair? Pt. 2

“Is God Fair?” Pt. 2 Romans 2:12-16 April 17, 2016 When I was in seminary, the professor for an introductory missions class had the same assignment for his students every year. They were to write a short paper answering the question: “will the heathen who have never heard and responded in faith to the gospel […]

Sermon: Is God Fair?

“Is God Fair?” Pt. 1 Romans 2:12-16 April 10, 2016 We love children and we love the things children say and do. Let’s face it — they’re cute and the things they do are cute. Like the little girl, who when she was told by her parents, “I love you,” regularly responded, “I love me, […]

Sermon: A Day of Reckoning, Pt. 2

“A Day of Reckoning” Pt. 2 Romans 2:8-9, 11 April 3, 2016 There are many misconceptions about God, Christ, the Bible, the cross, the resurrection, and many other biblical doctrines. But perhaps the most dangerous truth to misunderstand is the truth about Hell and God’s coming judgment. Inaccuracies and vagueness about Hell are prolific. Consider […]

Sermon: The Victorious, Resurrected Christ

“The Victorious, Resurrected Christ” John 16:25-33 March 27, 2016 Author Sidney Sheldon and Groucho Marx were close friends and neighbors for a number of years. As Groucho got well into his 80s, he started a daily habit of visiting Sidney’s house each afternoon for a snack of an apple and a piece of cheese. “It […]

Sermon: A Day of Reckoning

“A Day of Reckoning” Pt. 1 Romans 2:6-7, 10 March 20, 2016 Annie Dillard, in her book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, writes: “A couple summers ago I was walking along the edge of the island to see what I could see in the water, and mainly to scare frogs.…At the end of the island I […]

Sermon: God’s Day of Wrath

“God’s Day of Wrath” Romans 2:5 March 6, 2016 We like to celebrate special days and holidays. So each week we remember the work of Christ for us on Sunday. And of course in a few weeks there is Easter and we just finished Christmas. And we also like a few lesser known holidays, like […]

Sermon: The Reality of God’s Judgment

“The Reality of God’s Judgment” Romans 2:1-4 February 28, 2016 Just about the only time people enjoy hearing about the judgment of God is when it is spoken against. The world mocks and hates the judgment of God because it cannot bear the thought of it being real. And many believers don’t like to talk […]

Sermon: The Judgment of God and Self-Righteousness

“The Judgment of God and Self-Righteousness” Romans 2:1-4 February 21, 2016 Sir Robert Watson Watt was instrumental in the creation of radio detection and ranging (what is commonly called “radar”). As early as 1915, Watson Watt was using radio technology to provide warnings to British pilots in the First World War. But it was 20 […]

Sermon: Cultivating Ministry

“Cultivating Ministry” Ephesians 4:11-12 January 17, 2016 We live in an entertainment culture. We go to the gym to exercise, step on a treadmill and have a TV screen facing us to watch. But most don’t watch – they have their own private entertainment in their own headphones. Or perhaps you prefer an aerobics class […]

Sermon: Cultivating Community

“Cultivating Community” Ephesians 4:1-3 January 10, 2016 Tom Pennington tells the story recounted in the book Great Church Fights by Leslie Flynn. The tale recounts a feud in a Welsh church looking for a new pastor. The newspaper article read this way — Yesterday the two opposition groups both sent ministers to the pulpit. Both […]