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| "Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes." | | Ephesians 6:10, 11 |
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Past services are available below for you to read online.
If you prefer, a link to a pdf has also been provided. Please feel free to download this file to your computer for offline reading or for printing.
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| In
last weeks message we considered the parable of the net. The focus
was on the end of the age and the separation of the wicked from the
righteous. From the Lord's perspective, everyone in the world
falls into one of two camps, those who know the Lord and those who
are estranged from Him. Some are on the narrow way that leads to
eternal life, while others are on the broad path that leads to
destruction.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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This parable seems redundant in light of the parable of the wheat and the
tares. There is a significant difference, however. The Lord used
the wheat and the tares to illustrate how the good and the evil
co-exist side by side during the church age. The command given by
the Lord was to let both grow together until the time of the harvest.
There was a warning here about the danger of rushing to premature
judgment.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Whenever
Jesus talks about his kingdom, he is referring to something
absolutely beyond comparison. In fact, he has in mind something so
glorious that it far surpasses anything we have experienced or known.
Think about what brings you a measure of joy: beautiful music, a
good book, majestic scenery such as a mountain range like the Rockies
or the Olympics, perhaps a seascape, the joy of an unexpected
discovery, or the exhilaration of achieving something towards which
you have labored, or of finding something for which you have searched
intently. Whatever may be the source of your joy, the kingdom of God
holds forth the promise of far surpassing it.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Recently,
we have been walking with Jesus and his disciples through the
Parables of the Kingdom in Matthew chapter 13. In these
parables, our Lord speaks of hidden things, mysterious things that
were not understood, either by the Old Testament prophets, who spoke
of things to come, or by the religious leaders of Jesus' day.
In
this chapter, Jesus is talking about His invisible, internal,
spiritual kingdom. He asserts that it has already come and
that it would be at work during the period between his first and
second comings. This period between our Lord's first Advent and
Second Coming has been likened to an interim period, or even an
interregnum (period when the kingdom and God's rulership seems to
be in suspension). The Church age was not specifically revealed in
the Old Testament.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Last
week we began a series entitled Parables of the Kingdom.
There can be little doubt that our Lord had in mind Asaph's words
used to open Psalm 78:
"O
my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will
open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of
old - what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next
generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the
wonders he has done." (Psa.
78:1-4)
This is precisely what Jesus is now doing. He is speaking of the deep things of the Kingdom
of God, things that to the darkened mind seem to be shrouded in
mystery and secrecy. Whenever the Lord speaks in parables,
unbelievers are quickly distinguished from believers. Unbelievers
cannot discern the things of God, because such things are spiritually
discerned through the Spirit of God - and unbelievers do not have
the Spirit of God. That's why Paul wrote...(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Today
we begin a short series on the Kingdom of God. We will be
considering such things as how the Kingdom comes and how it operates
in this age. Specifically, as we work our way through the various
parables in this chapter, we will do so under four main headings: (1)
the Kingdom's transforming power, (2) its looming judgment, (3) its
surprising appearance, and (4) its incalculable value.
I think it's important to set these parables in their context. They
follow on the heels of various confrontations with the Pharisees and
teachers of the law (chapters 11-12). Jesus had
said to these religious leaders, "He
who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me
scatters" (12:30). Then, at
the very end of chapter 12, our Lord pointed to his disciples and
said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my
Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother"
(12:49-50). In other words, Jesus is saying that
just as he came to do the will of his Father, so those who receive
his message and ministry will also obey the Father.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Few, if any, portions of
the Bible are better known than this Psalm. Penned some three
thousand years ago, its popularity persists. Why is that? As one
writer (Scott Hoezee) comments, "It has all the
hallmarks of an echo from a bygone era." He's right! We are
urbanites who relate to high-rise condominiums and office towers,
buses, LRT systems, super highways - the concrete jungle. The
pastoral world of rolling hills and valleys dotted with sheep seems
anachronistic to say the least. How many of us in modern western
society relate to either shepherds or sheep? Isn't it true that in
our technological society we identify far more closely with doctors,
lawyers, technicians, and mechanics than we do with shepherds?
Aren't we more familiar with police officers directing traffic than
with shepherds directing sheep?
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Jacob DeShazer was a bombardier in the famous Doolittle raid over Japan,
April 18, 1942. His plane dropped incendiary bombs on an oil
installation and a factory in Nagoya, but ran out of fuel before the
pilot could attempt a landing at an airfield held by America's
Chinese allies. The crew bailed out over Japanese-occupied territory
in China and all were quickly captured.
DeShazer was starved, beaten, and tortured at prisons in Japan and China. He
spent most of his time in solitary confinement, until his liberation
a few days after Japan's surrender in August 1945.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Peter wrote this letter c. 62-64 A.D. to Jewish Christians who had been
scattered from Jerusalem (and possibly from Rome) to various parts of
Asia Minor. He wants to encourage fellow believers who are suffering
for the cause of Christ.
The central theme of this letter is one of victory over suffering.
Believers are able to live, love, and overcome in the midst of
suffering because of the hope they have in Christ. God has
effectively chosen, called, and saved us, and we are able to look
beyond the present suffering to the vindication and final salvation
that has been prepared for us.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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It
is Palm Sunday. We are confronted with a processional that is rich
in imagery and symbolism. Palm branches being waved; cloaks being
thrown on the roadway; Jesus is riding into a chorus of shouts:
"Blessed is the king who
comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the
highest!"
We've
heard it all before, so many times in fact, that I fear there is a
danger of it becoming rather tedious for those lacking in
imagination. After all, how many times do we need the preacher to
remind us of the symbolism of the donkey, or the meaning of the palm
branches? I suspect we've all heard this a thousand times before.
So, this morning I will do neither. Instead, I want to share some of
my lingering impressions, not only of the triumphal entry itself, but
also of the immediate context in which it took place.(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Our journey through this Lenten season has had a very definite
destination - the Cross of Calvary. We've been headed there
right from the outset. On the way, we have had the opportunity to
review the sad case of Israel, a rebellious nation, and to discern
some disturbing parallels in our own North American culture.
We have also seen that long ago God determined to make a "highway"
through the wilderness of human sinfulness and lostness, and we saw
that this "high" way is the way of holiness. It is the way that
marks out God's people as belonging to Him. God's true followers
are increasingly Christlike as they progress along the way of
holiness.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Chapter
40 marks a major turning point and a dramatic shift in the tone of
the book of Isaiah. The preceding chapters have been filled with
warnings of impending judgment. Now, however, Isaiah begins to focus
on the majesty of God, and on the righteousness and justice of
Messiah who is coming to rule the earth and judge all people.
Messiah, however, will also bring mercy and grace and strength. His
arm will not be too short or too weak to save; hence, by the
sacrifice of his own matchless life, a seemingly numberless host of
the redeemed will eventually gather around his eternal throne.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Last week we began our
Lenten pilgrimage towards the Cross of Christ by meditating on the
message found in Isaiah chapter one. That chapter may be thought of
as a microcosm of the entire book, because in it we find both
indictment and invitation. The indictment was that God's people no
longer knew the Lord, nor did they understand His ways:
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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The ox
knows his master, the donkey his owner's
manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people
do not understand."
Some
of the most beautiful and most powerful language in English
literature is found in the prophecy of Isaiah. It is a book that
contains the language of both indictment
and invitation;
a book that paints a picture of severe spiritual darkness, and yet
contains the fore gleam of coming Messiah. In fact, the 53
chapter of Isaiah paints such a clear picture of our suffering,
redeeming Messiah that it is often called, "The gospel according to
Isaiah." Here is what Ray C. Stedman has to say about the book of
Isaiah:
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Holiness
is the keynote of the Kingdom of God. In fact, God cannot be known
apart from His holiness. He is holy! It is impossible to
separate God from His holiness or to conceive of Him in any other way
- not if our concept of God is accurate.
Anyone
who has ever been confronted with the living God, anyone who has
truly perceived Him, has come away with a sense of the awesome
holiness of God. It happened to the prophet Isaiah. He was given a
vision of the Lord seated on His throne, high and exalted, surrounded
by heavenly creatures who called out to one another:
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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| This morning I am led to
speak on the topic, Engaging the Enemy, the enemy being Satan
of course. None of us have ever seen him, but every one of us has
had to deal with him. Temptation is the universal experience of
mankind including saints and scoundrels. None of us are exempt! The
magazine Discipleship Journal asked its readers to rank the
areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them. The results came back
in this order:
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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A number of years ago, Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote a book entitled, Why
Bad Things Happen to Good People. One of the ideas offered in
the book is that while God remains all-loving, He has ceased to be
all-powerful. According to Kushner, in the beginning God was both
loving and omnipotent. But evil made its unwelcome intrusion into
the universe, presenting God with a malevolent, opposing force with
which He has not been able to deal thus far. God is still love, but
His power has apparently been diminished. He wants to eradicate the
universe of all evil, and He is attempting to do so, but alas, He is
unable to accomplish this noble task.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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We
have just turned the corner on another year. Millions of North
Americans have seen another year recede into history. For some it
was a year of advancement and progress; for others it was a year of
regress in which goals slipped away unreached. For too many individuals the
Advent Season was a disaster! Not only did they miss the meaning of
the season, ignoring Christ, but they overindulged in their eating
and drinking and spending, running up burdensome debts. Once again,
the New Year will commence with the usual list of good intentions and
resolutions. You may be interested to hear what the top ten New
Year's resolutions are for 2008 that Americans have made:
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Did
you ever have a "hero", a person you admired and wanted to be
like? When I was a youngster my heroes were from the world of sports
or the military or the radio character, "Sergeant King of the
Northwest Mounted Police". Perhaps for you it was a musician, a
missionary, a political leader, a writer, a doctor, a teacher or a
friend. And "heroes" become our "Role Models". An
interesting characteristic of being a human being is that we all have
"role models", both consciously and unconsciously. We are
influenced by others. Believe it or not, each of us is a "role
model" for others and we also influence others ... both positively
or negatively.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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How often have you heard the expression, "What's in a name?" In times past the names that were given to people usually meant something. Names were very meaningful to the native peoples of North America, for example. Such names as Deer Slayer, Eagle Eye, Sitting Bull, or Charging Buffalo, tell us something about the men who possessed them. This tendency to use names that are expressive is still with us. Often a nick-name will indicate some peculiarity or character-trait. Often a man's nickname is nearer to the real man than his given name.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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| Here, in Luke 2, the author records the
actual birth of Christ in a mere seven verses. After briefly
outlining the circumstances leading to Joseph and Mary's journey to
Bethlehem, Luke states rather matter of factly that... (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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In
the southern United States, the story is told of a particular
courtroom scene. On the first day of proceedings, the prosecuting
attorney, while calling an elderly woman to the stand as his first
witness, asked her, “Madam, do you know me?”
“I
certainly do,” she replied. “I have known you since you
were a little boy. You terrorized the entire neighborhood with your
misbehavior. You were always in trouble, a constant worry to your
parents and a continual nuisance to the community. I am greatly
surprised that you ended up on the right side of the law.”
Taken
aback and fumbling for a response, the prosecutor blurted out, “Do
you also know the defense attorney?” “Most certainly!”
she replied. “He was a terrible student all through school. I
am surprised that he graduated. I am even more surprised that he
made it through law school. Actually, his law practice is in a
shambles. I’m sure he runs the worst law office in the
district and I cannot fathom why the defendant would consider being
represented by him.”
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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I
have a friend back east who inherited his uncle’s personal
diary. It was the diary Tom’s uncle kept as a soldier during
WW2. Tom shared parts of the diary with me. It was not difficult to
discern his uncle’s descending state of mind, his increasing
despondency, as he experienced the march of time and tribulation
during those awful days in war-torn Europe. One entry was
particularly revealing...
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Last
week we listened to the sound of Christ knocking on the door! We
inclined our ear to his voice as he spoke the most gracious words of
invitation imaginable, “Here
I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me”
(Rev. 3:20). That was an invitation to enjoy
fellowship with the Master and to abide with him forever as he takes
his rightful place on the throne at the centre of our life.
Here
in our Lord’s letter to the church in Philadelphia the picture
is quite different. Once again, a door is involved, but this time
the Master is not knocking. He has taken firm control of the door,
and he is holding it wide open. What can this mean?
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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I
was astonished this past week when an article was given to me about
what may be the most influential church in America. The article is
entitled, “Willow Creek Repents!” Willow Creek Church
has been one of the most successful and influential churches in
America over the last thirty years. It is big, flush with programs,
financed by a multi-million dollar budget. By every standard of
measurement, according to commonly accepted church growth principles
and practices, Willow Creek has been an unqualified success. They
thought that through their people’s participation in all their
programs and activities, the outcome would be one of spiritual
maturity.
Recently,
however, they conducted a study in an attempt to get a measure of
their people’s spiritual maturity. Bill Hybels (the senior
pastor) summarized the findings...
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Over
the course of the last few weeks, I have been attempting to draw us
ever closer to the Christ-centered life. Sometimes this kind of life
comes only through trial and tribulation. I began with a message
from Job entitled, “Job, Man Who Comes Forth As Gold.”
Elihu, you will remember, came alongside Job and presented his
suffering friend with such a high and holy vision of God that Job was
finally able to begin to listen to the Lord. I doubt very much that
Job could have made the transition from his futile conversations with
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, to his fertile conversation with God if
Elihu had not stood in the gap and prepared Job to hear the word of
the Lord.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Yesterday
we celebrated the life of Barb Lewis. In The Salvation Army, when a
believer and faithful follower of the Lord departs this life and
enters Heaven, we speak of them as having been promoted to glory.
Isn’t that a beautiful expression? Its beauty, however, lies
not merely in its language or phraseology, but in the reality that at
the close of this brief life on earth we do not cease to exist,
rather we are transported to a higher sphere of existence, one
wherein we dwell eternally in the visible presence of our glorious
God.
In
light of that, I want to give you something to ponder deeply.
Suppose, after a routine examination, your doctor tells you that you
have a terminal illness. The specialist agrees and tells you that
you can likely count on about one more year of life.
How
would such a prognosis change your perspective on life? How would
you reorder your priorities, realign your activities, and invest your
remaining time? In other words, what changes would you make?
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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In
last week’s message, we considered the necessity of having
Christ as the epicenter of our life and as the One on the throne of
our life. After all, if we believe that our Lord sits on the throne
of the universe, then how can it possibly make sense to relegate the
Master to a lesser place in our life?
This morning I want to begin to deal with the dichotomy – the
wide gulf – that often exists between our theology and the way
we actually live our life. As the Lord has been dealing with me in
recent times, He has shown me that there is a great need for the high
theology of the seminary or the church sanctuary to be brought out
onto the streets, into our places of employment, and into our homes
where we actually live. Our high theology states that our Jesus is a
great King, the Mighty God, in fact, that He is the King of kings and
Lord of lords. In our practical everyday living, however, how many
of us actually live the way Jesus lived? If we did, would we be
considered oddballs? (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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We
are Christians. That one word distinguishes us from
every other world religion and system of belief. What does it mean?
What does it imply about our lifestyle? We must explore these
questions both in theological and in practical terms. In theological
terms, we could say that...
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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“I
looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand
before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to
destroy it, but I found none.” – Ezek. 22:30
Ezekiel
wrote his book over a number of years, most likely the twenty-two
years between 593-571 BC. He was already in exile in Babylon, having
been carried off into captivity in 597 BC. His countrymen, Daniel,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had already been exiled in 605 BC.
The final assault would come in 586 BC when Jerusalem was ransacked
and the temple was destroyed. The quotation from chapter 22 (above)
was most likely penned by Ezekiel c. 591 BC., and it appears in the
context of a severe warning.
At
this time, the walls have not yet been destroyed. It seems likely
that what the prophet is referring to is “walls of
righteousness.” The sad state of affairs is simply that the
religious leaders and the ruling authorities are all corrupt. God is
looking for two things... (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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The name ‘Job’ is a
very old one. It has been found in ancient Egyptian writings dating
as far back as 2000 B.C., the time of Abraham! The name ‘Job’
has been interpreted by scholars to mean, “Where is (my)
Father?” The meaning of his name, therefore, seems so
appropriate to his situation. Job, an upright man, was allowed to
suffer with divine consent, but for no reason that was apparent to
him. He could see no cause and effect relationship between his life
and his sufferings.
The story of Job is that of a
righteous man whose world suddenly and inexplicably caved in. To the
best of his knowledge, his life had been one of benevolence,
uprightness, and integrity lived in the fear of God. Then, disaster,
disease, and dissension tore his world apart.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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We live in an age of
declining confidence. Too many things that tend to shake our
confidence have happened. On the human front, we have been rocked by
government scandals, Enron, the indictment of Conrad Black, by sports
icons found to be using steroids, and even by clergy, who have fallen
because of various behaviors that we would never have expected. How
the mighty are fallen!
There are aspiring
students who are not confident that they will be able to afford to go
to university. Many people are not confident that the health care
system will be there for them when they need it. Others fear that
the Canada Pension Plan may run out before they can draw on it.
There are wealthy tycoons who are not confident that they will be
able to afford to retire. This week I heard one tycoon, worth two
billion dollars, say that he might not have enough money set aside
for his golden years! He is worth $2 billion and still not
confident!
Many church-goers have
lost confidence for a variety of reasons. They have watched the
institutional church become increasingly marginalized in our culture
to the point where it is often treated as being irrelevant. At the
same time, they have witnessed a steady decline in church attendance,
and have heard that 80% of churches in America are in decline. If we
are focusing on all of these things, then it is no wonder that there
is a crisis of confidence. Clearly, there needs to be a change of
focus for many people.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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A few years ago F.D. Bruner, one
of America's noted Bible teachers, said, “Ever since the
invention of the Atom Bomb, the end of the world has become a great
new modern fear; and since the even more recent environmental crisis,
the possibility of the destruction of life as we know it has become a
subject of serious discussion and action among responsible people.”
A few years ago, we witnessed
what is perhaps the cosmic event of the last one hundred years, the
collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy9 with the giant planet Jupiter. At
least 21 fragments crashed into Jupiter over a six-day period,
sending huge fireballs out into space from the planet's surface. The
comet's impact triggered energy bursts hundreds of times greater than
an explosion of earth's entire nuclear arsenal, and caused
devastation that would destroy the Earth! As a result, a U.S.
congressional panel called for a ten-year program to catalogue “all
comets and asteroids greater than one kilometer in diameter” on
course to cross the orbit of planet Earth.
Yes, there are those who are
worried about what the scientists, in the light of Comet
Shoemaker-Levy9, have called “celestial suicide” or
“cosmic disaster.” What does all this mean in light of
what Peter says in verse 10, that... (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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An ancient Greek myth tells of a
goddess who came to earth unseen, but whose presence was always known
by the blessings she left behind in her pathway. Trees that had been
burned by forest fires sprouted new leaves, and violets sprang up in
her footprints. As she passed a stagnant pool, its water became
fresh. Parched fields turned green as she walked through them.
Hills and valleys blossomed with new life and beauty wherever she
went.
In contrast to this, another
Greek story tells of a princess sent as a present to a king. She was
as beautiful as Aphrodite and her breath was as sweet as perfume, but
she carried with her the contagion of death and decay. From infancy
she had fed on nothing but poison, and she became so permeated with
it that she poisoned the very atmosphere around her. Her breath
would kill a swarm of insects; she would pick a flower and it would
wither. A bird flying too close would fall dead at her feet!
Here are two mythological
creatures; one a goddess, and one a princess; one unseen, the other
beautiful in appearance; but both of them having their own
unmistakable influence resulting in great blessing or in terrible
devastation! (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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In
Genesis 18 we find Abraham engrossed in a fascinating conversation
with God. At first, it appears that we are looking in on a
collective bargaining session. But there is clearly something much
deeper going on between the Lord and this man, Abraham, who has been
called by God because of his capacity for faith.
Abraham
is exploring the heart of God. His questions aren’t
hypothetical. Neither are they merely speculative – they are
probative. Abraham is probing the very heart and mind of God. He is
striving to really know God, to understand Him, to experience that
moment of spiritual illumination and insight when one feels that the
blindfold has finally been removed – or at least partially
drawn back – so as to provide an intersection between the heart
of man and the heart of the Living God.
Abraham
is on a spiritual journey whose destination is that place where
Divine and human thoughts and wills and feelings all intermingle and
flow together as one. Abraham feels the weight of many questions... (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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“Be
strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:9)
What
tremendous words of encouragement these were when they were first
spoken to Joshua more than three thousand years ago as Israel was
preparing to embark on its conquest of Canaan! What powerful words
of encouragement they can be today as believers endeavour to combat
evil and extend God's Kingdom! (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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A
few years ago a movie entitled The Stepford Wives hit the
screen. It’s about a couple in their early thirties who move
into the upper-middle class community of Stepford, where the men are
mostly high-tech professionals and the women are housewives.
The
wife soon notices that most of the other Stepford wives uniformly
exhibit very strange behavior patterns. They are continually
ecstatic about sewing, cooking and baking, cleaning their houses, and
manicuring their lawns. When they get together it is invariably to
trade recipes, congratulate themselves regarding their clean floors,
and celebrate their latest triumphs in making their husbands’
lives more comfortable. They never fight, are never unpleasant to
anyone – especially not to their husbands – and they have
no opinions or interests that reach beyond their family, home, or
social club.
Only
a handful of the wives in Stepford could be described as feisty or
individualistic. But these women eventually leave for a “vacation”
with their husbands, and upon their return they too dwell on baking
and clean floors just like the rest.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Today’s
Scripture presents what must be regarded as one of the most
remarkable portraits of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is held
up to the light, as it were, and seen from several different
perspectives, the way one might view a beautiful diamond from several
angles. This unprecedented human being, who came into the world as
the Light of the World, now shines as bright as a flash of
lightening. As He converses with Moses and Elijah, who represent the
Law and the Prophets respectively, we are reminded that this Jesus is
the fulfilment of everything to which they looked forward. In His
relation to the heavenly Father, Jesus is His unique Son, with whom
the Father is well pleased and loves and has chosen. And in the face
of our Lord’s resplendent glory, Moses and Elijah fade from
view and are gone. All of this is apparent from the text.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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In
Psalm 32:6ff, God speaks through David to a very wide audience. The
message is to all persons who consider themselves to be godly or who
aspire to be godly. I reckon that takes in just about all of us here
this morning. The message is that everyone who is godly should pray
to the Lord while He may be found, for our God will instruct us and
teach us in the way we should go through life; He will counsel us and
watch over us.
This
seems like a wonderful promise, but we are still left wondering how
it will happen. Just how does God instruct, teach, and guide
us? Is the Lord like a cosmic dictation machine on which are
recorded endless instructions covering every facet of daily life
right down to the most minute and mundane of details? Is it our role
in life to simply press the power button, play the tape, and get our
detailed instructions for the day? How easy it would be if we could
“hear” God the same way one might hear a radio announcer,
simply by turning on the radio? Is this what God wants from us? Is
the kind of relationship He thinks is fulfilling one in which He
barks endless commands to which we yield up unthinking obedience?
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Our
Scripture this morning tells us in no uncertain terms that our God is
nothing like idols made of wood or stone. They are dumb! Mute!
They have ears but do not hear, and mouths, but do not speak. In
them there is no breath. But our God speaks! And His speaking is
not in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness. He foretells
things; He declares them; He utters words that will never be revoked.
The message is so clear; one of
the things that delineate the Living God from all idols is that He is
a communicating God. As Francis Schaeffer puts it so
succinctly in his writings, “God exists – and He is not
silent!” (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Last
week we considered the reality that our God wants relationship, not
mere religiosity. So much of what is done on earth in the name of
religion is man-made. The scribes and Pharisees, with their endless
rules and regulations, are still among us. What God desires is to be
in a genuine relationship with His people, one based on faith, hope,
and love. This morning, let’s consider the first of these
three precious attributes, faith. First, I want to discuss what
faith is not.
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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This
morning I am speaking briefly on the difference between mere
religion, which is man-made and ultimately disappointing and
disillusioning, and a relationship with Jesus Christ, which is
initiated by God and which results in love, joy, peace, freedom, and
life in all its fullness. This is the difference I hold up for your
consideration this morning: religion, on the one hand, with its
subservience to rules and regulations, and relationship, on the other
hand, with its reward of deep meaning and full satisfaction. Let’s
begin with a true story. (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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We often wish that the
Christian life was easier, don’t we? We ask questions such as,
“Why do bad things happen to good people?” and “Why
do believers often suffer so much?” or “Why do the
ungodly so often seem to live such carefree, trouble-free, even
prosperous lives?”
Let’s begin by
acknowledging what ought to be rather obvious to thinking people.
Some suffering us simply self-induced, brought on by our own foolish
choices and errant decisions. We do something carelessly,
thoughtlessly, or in open disobedience to the Lord, and then we
suffer the consequences of own folly. It happens all the time.
Then, we often rationalize our misfortune by blaming others, fate,
bad luck, or circumstances. The reality, however, is that the real
trouble is us. (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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The setting for this
chapter is well known, but it is worth briefly rehearsing as we lay
the groundwork for today’s message. The prophet has been
transported by the Spirit of God to a place we might call “Death
Valley” - a valley of dry bones!
What an experience this
must have been for Ezekiel, having already been carried into exile in
Babylon. As he is set down in the midst of these skeletal remains,
it is a cruel reminder of the horrific scenes of corpses that he and
the other exiles had witnessed before their departure from Israel.
Jerusalem has been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s army. The
temple lies in ruins. The people of Israel and Judah have been
dispersed; their government dismantled; their national identity
seemingly erased forever. (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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History
is full of crises. We may think of these as ‘troubled times’,
or as ‘turning points.’ Indeed, the two are often
synonymous. Historians, when looking back at the apocalyptic events
of the 199O's, may see a number of turning points, such as the
destruction of the Berlin Wall, or the disintegration of the Soviet
Union. Whatever may be their perspective on these events, they will
certainly view our times as troubled times! (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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Matthew
chapter ten brings us to a turning point in the story of Christ and
his followers. In the first nine chapters, we have learned about
our Lord’s miraculous birth, his baptism, his temptation in the
wilderness, and the launching of his ministry.
We
also have a record of the Sermon on the Mount, which can be taken as
a Christian manifesto, so to speak, a statement of kingdom life and
what members of the kingdom of God will become through character
transformation.
No
sooner has the sermon ended and our Lord descended the mountain, than
he launches into a veritable whirlwind of ministry. There is a
frenzy of healing, curing, restoring, and transforming in chapters
eight and nine. If the character of the kingdom has been on
display in the Sermon on the Mount, then the power of the
kingdom is now made manifest. Chapter nine ends with these words... (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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This passage, with its
imagery of the “good shepherd,” is highly evocative.
When we pause to consider that in the Old Testament God is the
shepherd of Israel, we realize that here in John 10 we are standing
on hallowed ground. As Jesus speaks these words, “I am the
good shepherd,” we are reminded of what God said through the
prophet Isaiah (40:10-11)... (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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| A noted pastor/writer tells this story:
When
the First World War ended, the King and Queen of Belgium wanted to
honor President Herbert Hoover for the aid they had received from the
United States during the war. After considering the various
available honors, the monarchs offered Hoover his choice of three
decorations. Hoover rejected them all stating...
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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This
morning I am speaking on the theme of the living hope of the
resurrection. Last Sunday we raised our voices in the glorious
proclamation that “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”
That was a proclamation pregnant with newness and positive
implications, implications for a new life, new status, new hope, a
new beginning, and new possibilities... (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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We
live in days of instant news. With the advent of the internet, CNN,
and around the clock news reporting, earth-shaking events are brought
into our homes almost immediately.
But in times past news of
great events often had to be passed on by word of mouth or some other
archaic means. Such was the case in nineteenth century England as
the people anxiously awaited news of the battle of Waterloo, where
Wellington faced Napoleon...
(view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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What a majestic portion
of Scripture! It speaks to the deepest needs of every fallen human
being. It also speaks to all the questions and urgings found in
Isaiah up to this point. In the preceding chapters we hear the voice
of the Lord crying out with questions and promptings... (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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This
portion of Peter’s letter begins with a striking statement:
“The end of all
things is near!” I can never hear these words
without being reminded of an English comedy group that was popular a
few decades ago. They called themselves Beyond the Fringe
and they were known, among other things, for their witty comedy
sketches.
One
such sketch was entitled, “The End of the World.”
A small group of zealots had gathered high up on a mountain with
their leader. Heedless of the warning of Christ, they had pinned
down the end of the world to the exact day and hour. You can imagine
what transpired... (view this entire sermon online or download the pdf) |
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