Cheering for the Wrong Team “Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come.” (Matthew 12:31–32, HCSB) People have often called “blaspheming against the Holy Spirit” the “unpardonable... Read more
The Attitude of a Wicked and Perverted Generation ““Get out of the way!” they said, adding, “This one came here as a foreigner, but he’s acting like a judge! Now we’ll do more harm to you than to them.” They put pressure on Lot and came up to break down the door.” (Genesis 19:9, HCSB) The attitude of a wicked and perverted generation has various characteristics that are uniquely in opposition to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For example, wicked and... Read more
Hebrews 12:1-3 Being Set Free From the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Many people think that freedom is a natural right that everyone receives just because they exist. In other words, civil rights are a product of being human, a thought from humanistic philosophy.... Read more
Luke 4:16-18 Who Would Jesus Want Me to Reach God “has sent me.” In the Bible, there are two major themes about the direction of the Gospel. In one case, people COME to hear the Gospel. In another case, people are SENT to share the Gospel. You see this in many places. People are directed to come to hear God: (Zechariah 14:16, Matthew 8:11, Luke 13:29, Isaiah 66:20, Zechariah 8:23, Micah 4:1, Isaiah 2:2) There are other examples of God... Read more
How God Allows His Servants to Discover His Ways “Then the Lord said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham? Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the... Read more
Galatians 6:1-5 Partners and Mentors I want to talk to you today about the various responsibilities of a Christian father. While I will use Father’s Day as the theme for today’s sermon, the principles can apply to the church in general as well. Galatians 6:1-5 is a passage which describes two different words. A “load” is like someone’s backpack. You carry various things with you every day. For example, in my pocket, I carry a wallet for identification and to... Read more
Genesis 22:1-19 How to Pass Down Family VALUES Today we live in a country as Christians where our greatest attack is on the family. Some examples: Barna Research tells us that the divorce rate among Christians is statistically the same as the general population: 33% and 34%. Because of this high divorce rate, that means that as many as 1 in 3 kids today will not grow up entirely with their dad. Here is another sad statistic: Children from a... Read more
Matthew 1:18-25 What Makes a Great Dad We live in a world where fatherhood is increasingly seen as unimportant and unnecessary. Thousands of single women every year have babies not caring if they have a father or not–some are lesbians who artificially inseminate and so never have a man directly involved. Often men hop from woman to woman having children and not wanting to be a father to those kids. Even the Bible is not safe from the assault on fatherhood. There are versions of the Bible that... Read more
Mother’s Day Versus Father’s Day “For you can have 10,000 instructors in Christ, but you can’t have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 4:15, HCSB) If Mother’s Day and Father’s Day were competing in a boxing match, I wonder who would win? I have to say if church attendance is any indication, then Mother’s Day is the more popular of the two celebrations. However, fathers are just as important as mothers.... Read more
Acts 13:1-3 Biblical Church Planting “Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.” (Acts 13:1–3,... Read more
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