Sermon: So Many (Ordinary) People

So Many (Ordinary) PeopleRomans 16:1-16September 19, 2021 In Elmer Bendiner’s book, Fall of Fortresses, he recounts an air raid of Kassel, Germany, in the plane for which he was the navigator, the B-17 Tondelayo. More than three decades after the event, he and the pilot met to remember the war together. Eventually they talked about […]

Sermon: Accept One Another

Accept One Another Romans 15:7-13 August 8, 2021 In the early 1980s I moved with my parents to a new city and our family began looking for a new church. One Sunday we entered worship at another new place that (at least by name) sounded orthodox — and things seemed normal enough. But as I […]

Sermon: Liberty and Unity

Liberty and Unity Romans 15:1-6 August 1, 2021 I began praying for this church long before I knew the name of this church. I knew that coming straight out of seminary to pastor a church that both the church and I would need particular attributes if we were going to thrive together. Because I didn’t […]

Sermon: Encourage One Another

Encourage One Another 1 Thessalonians 5:11 July 24, 2021 I love the story told by Larry Olsen in Outdoor Survival Skills: A guy has been lost in the desert for days. He’s out of food and water. His lips are parched, his tongue swollen. His legs are bruised and bleeding from crawling, his skin is […]

The priority of loving one another

Perhaps the most-recognized attribute of God is His love. And it is true. God is love (1 Jn. 5:16). God not only loves, but His very nature is love — His identity is love. His nature is love and He loves — He acts lovingly (1 Jn. 4:10). Further, all love emanates from Him (1 […]

Expect persecution

In America, we feel entitled. We have a constitutional right to life, liberty, and happiness, we believe. The constitution actually says, “the pursuit of happiness,” but in this day, we believe that to mean that we should have happiness (and ease) without having to labor for it. We should not have trials, difficulty, suffering, or […]

When civil disobedience is permissible

When the Scriptures speak about the Christian’s relationship to the government, the emphasis is consistently on the civil obedience, not civil disobedience. For instance: The believer is to pray for his civil authorities (1 Tim. 2:1–3) The believer is to submit to his civil authorities (Rom. 13:1; 1 Pet. 2:13–15) The believer is to obey […]

The biblical basis for God’s wrath

There are several common objections to the wrath of God: The wrath of God is inconsistent with God’s love The wrath of God is inconsistent with God’s forgiveness The wrath of God is unfair/unjust The wrath of God isn’t taught in the New Testament Yet Scripture consistently affirms that both the Old Testament and the […]

The saving gospel

The gospel is powerful to save. Both the Old and New Testaments provide ample illustrations of the saving power of God. While the Old Testament often stresses the temporal salvation of God’s people (e.g., Ex. 14:13; 15:2), there are other demonstrations also of God’s power to spiritually save sinners (e.g., Ps. 77:14-15; Is. 12:2; 52:7, […]

Sermon: The Greatness of the Gospel (Pt. 1)

“The Greatness of the Gospel” (Part 1) Romans 1:16-17 August 9, 2015 I have in my closet some important letters — Raye Jeanne wrote them to me when we were dating and not yet married. Over the 13 months that we dated before marriage I suppose I have 100 or more letters (hard copies — […]

Sermon: A Life of Service (Pt. 2)

“Caring for One Another: A Life of Service” (Part 2) Romans 1:11-15 August 2, 2015 A number of years ago, London resident Simon Thompson was trying to push his stalled BMW off a road in a London suburb when another driver called out, “Do you want a hand?” And then the car’s back doors flew […]

Sermon: A Life of Service

“Caring for One Another: A Life of Service” (Part 1) Romans 1:11-15 July 19, 2015 It’s hard to be a servant. To serve others is to do something that is contrary to our natural inclinations and to fight against the flesh. That’s why we just read the story of Epaphroditus. We don’t know much about […]

What to pray for one another

In one of the shortest verses of the Bible, believers are instructed to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). The believer is not only to pray regularly and habitually, but prayer is to constantly be at the forefront of his mind. He is to be always ready for communication with His Lord and Master. And […]

Sermon: A Life of Prayer, Pt. 2

“Caring for One Another: A Life of Prayer” (Pt. 2) Romans 1:8-10 June 28, 2015 Loneliness is an age-old problem, and in Japan one restaurant has come up with a novel solution. The owners of Tokyo’s Moomin House Café observed many customers who came alone and sat alone. So they set about to cultivate a […]

Sermon: A Life of Prayer

“Caring for One Another: A Life of Prayer” Romans 1:8-10 June 21, 2015 Speaker Robert Henry went to a large discount department store a number of years ago in search of a pair of binoculars. Charles Swindoll tells the story: As he walked up to the appropriate counter he noticed that he was the only […]