January 14, 2016 Matthew 17:24-27 I have the freedom to do what I like as a Christian. Yet, I also have the responsibility to not offend others. That’s essentially what Jesus taught Peter about the temple tax (Matthew 17:26-27). Someone approached Peter about collecting the temple tax. This tax was assessed on every Jew to help pay for the expenses of the temple. Jesus makes the point that taxes are not paid by family members but by strangers (Matthew 17:25-26).... Read more
January 12, 2016 “Summoning the crowd, He told them, “Listen and understand: It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”” (Matthew 15:10–11, HCSB) It’s the beginning of the new year. As such, you will see many commercials for programs designed to help a person lose weight. Nutrisystem and Weight Watchers spend money showing us commercials about their programs and how effective they were in helping a... Read more
Revelation 1:9-20 The Encouraging Vision of Jesus Christ “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus.” (Revelation 1:9, HCSB) Keep in mind that John is writing as pastor of the seven churches under his care, as a pastor of people who are being tortured, persecuted, and slaughtered. That is why he identifies himself as their brother and... Read more
Revelation 1:1-8 The Beginning of the End THE SEVEN PARTS OF SALUTATION (GREETING) IN REVELATION This section is called a prologue. A prologue is an introduction. In this case, one is being introduced to the last book of the Bible, and more important the final revelation of God in Jesus Christ. I want you to notice that the numbers seven and three come up over and over again in this book. Even in this sermon series, we will address things... Read more
January 11, 2016 “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) The Son can forgive a person. But the Spirit does not forgive. Why... Read more
Luke 11:1-4 Essentials of An Effective Prayer Life Luke 11:1-4 Essentials of An Effective Prayer Life is a sermon from the Lord’s Prayer. When a brain tumor took away Dorothy Holm’s ability to speak, she picked up index cards and began filling them with what appeared to be random sequences of letters. When Dorothy passed away in 1996, her 11-year-old granddaughter Janna kept the cards, thinking they might be some kind of coded message. As a teenager, she thought the... Read more
January 8, 2016 In this passage, Jesus shows us the essentials to an effective prayer life. Jesus was a man of prayer. He prayed early in the morning and He prayed often. His disciples were watching Him pray and decided to ask Him how to pray. This means that we don’t know how to pray. We need to learn to pray. It is a skill that needs to be taught. So the first question to ask is: What is prayer?... Read more
Mercy Me Mercy Me is a simple thought reflection from Psalm 6:1-10 about the way that God is very merciful to us as Christians, even when we are weak. January 8, 2016 Psalm 6:1-10 I can understand how David felt. There have been times when I have felt so weak. When I’m weak, I think that God is going to be angry at me (Psalm 6:1). “Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger; do not discipline me in your... Read more
January 7, 2016 Genesis 20:1-7 God comes to Abimelech and warns him that he will die because the woman he has taken is married (Genesis 20:3). The fact is that Abimelech didn’t approach her (Genesis 20:4). So why did God say that He would destroy a nation when Abimelech didn’t do anything wrong? It is because Abimelech’s heart was tempted to desire Sarah. How do I know this? For a couple of reasons. First, you can see that Abimelech starts... Read more
Promises Are Made in Relationships and Locations January 6, 2016 Genesis 12:6-9 Promises are made in relationships and locations. People make promises. Here, God made a promise to Abram. The promise was simple. The land which Abram is on would later belong to his children. This promise is based on a previous promise in Genesis 12:1-3. There, God said to go to a land He would Abram. God would make Abram into a great name and bless him. Now that... Read more
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