The Great Responsibility for the Regathering of God’s People May 10, 2017 Jeremiah 23:1-8 God is regathering His people. He is bringing together His flock. As Romans 9-11 shows, the time of the Gentiles is the period when God will gather His flock from the world outside of Israel. It is the reason that Jesus gave the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. Jesus took the time to gather followers from among His people. However, the Jews rejected Him. In the... Read more
7 Better Things in Life May 10, 2017 Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 Solomon pauses in this chapter, which begins the second half of the book. Here, Solomon seems to reflect on the wisdom he has shared in the previous six chapters. As a result, he reflects on his experience and shares seven better things. 1. Honor is better than luxury (Ecclesiastes 7:1) “A good name is better than fine perfume…” (Ecclesiastes 7:1, HCSB) The Teacher begins and ends this section with a... Read more
Contemporary Churches by Rev. Louis F. Kavar, Ph.D. Contemporary Churches by Louis F. Kavar, is another book that addresses the problem of the church’s inability to engage the culture. The answer, Kavar claims is a “Spiritual Transformation of the Congregation.” Kavar states that “As culture changes, so should the church. However, the church has been one place where change has been slow to happen” (8). Kavar begins his book by diagnosing the problem with the local church. For example, he... Read more
Daniel 1:1-21 How to Live Life Without Compromising My Faith Introduction: Different countries have different cultural norms, and what is appropriate in one culture may be offensive in another culture. For example, you should never touch a person’s head in Thailand; the head is considered sacred. In Portugal you should never write anything in red ink; it is very offensive. Chewing gum is illegal in Singapore and can result in a large fine. In our message today Daniel illustrates for... Read more
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 You Only Live Once for Eternity You may have heard the expression YOLO. It’s an acronym. It means You Only Live Once. It is similar to the phrase Carpe Diem – seize the day. One should make the most out of life because sometimes you will die. But death is not the end. Death is a portal into eternity. FOUR UNKNOWNS ABOUT DEATH 1. We don’t know how we are born or HOW death works. 2. We... Read more
God delivers. He is not just a delivery man that brings good things to you. Instead, God provides ways to deliver His people through difficult circumstances and situations. God delivered His people Israel and He will do the same for you. Read more
Psalm 16:1-11 How to Build Confidence in My Relationship with God A pastor was leading a group of high school students on a backpacking trip. Being a prudent planner, he had two scoutmasters and an Eagle Scout on the trip to ensure the safety of the students. Wanting to show his value to the team, the pastor went out front to blaze the trail, to show the scouts that he could read the map and stay on the trail. Hiking... Read more
Ecclesiastes 6:1-12 How to Make the Most of Life If money doesn’t bring happiness (as we saw in Ecclesiastes 5), then the question is: what does bring happiness? The theme shifts from dealing with money to dealing with circumstances in life and how to deal with them. There are two directional outlooks on life addressed in this chapter: I can look at life in a negative light. 1. I make no money (Ecclesiastes 6:1-2) “Here is a tragedy I have... Read more
1 Corinthians 15:20-28 An Eternal Guarantee for More Than a Lifetime Have you ever been offered a guarantee on something which you have committed – either with money or talents? You commit to something on the promise that the guarantee is true. For example: Buy this car, then you will receive free oil changes for two years. Take this pill and you will be guaranteed to lose weight. Do what we ask and we can guarantee your safety. There are... Read more
1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Why the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Matters Easter is our greatest celebration as Christians because it focuses our minds on the highlight of the Christian faith—the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, His rising physically, visibly, bodily from the tomb, His remarkable return to life following His torturous death. This isn’t just another wonderful gospel story or another in a series of amazing miracles. This is the story and the miracle of Christianity. It ties together all... Read more
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