Sermons on Holiness
1 Kings 17
The Widow of Zarephath: A Double Blessing for a Single Parent Introduction: Do you know the origin of Mother’s Day? It’s not a biblical holiday, though the honoring of mothers and of motherhood is certainly a biblical concept. Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 in a little church in Grafton, West Virginia. Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her own mother, which she did by declaring the day Mother’s Day. Today it is a widely recognized opportunity to express our love and appreciation for our…
1 Peter 1:13-2:3
Cultural Advice for Ex-Patriots Whenever you go to a foreign country it is wise to read up on its customs and culture. A number of years ago I took a trip to Russia, unwisely in January! I discovered some very interesting things about Russian culture–some before I went and others after I arrived. Russians always remove their shoes when they come into a house or an apartment. Usually there is a basket of slippers to choose from; if not, you just walk around in your…
1 Cor. 1:1‑9
Back to the Basics Introduction: The world’s greatest evangelist of all time was on his second of three great missionary journeys, planting churches around Greece and Turkey, when he first visited the city of Corinth. He had just come from Athens, about 50 miles to the northeast, where he experienced a rather disappointing reception to the Gospel message. The philosophers who debated him on Mars Hill, just below the Acropolis, ridiculed his witness to the resurrection of the dead, though a few believed…
Hebrews 12:12-29
Holy Living for a Holy God Note: This sermon was preached by Josh Black, Associate Pastor at First Evangelical Free Church of Wichita in 2010. He has been Lead Pastor since 2011. Throughout his letter the author of Hebrews urges his readers to persevere in the faith. In chapter 12 he compares the Christian life to a race that must be run with perseverance. As I studied our passage for this morning I began to realize that the second half of chapter 12 is…
2 Corinthians 1:1, 2
Going Against the Grain Let me begin this morning by expressing my gratitude for the study month I just experienced. When I went to St. Louis in 1984 one of the really attractive carrots the leaders there enticed me with was a 3-month sabbatical every five years. I suspect their thinking was that within five years the church plant would either succeed to the point they could afford to let me have the sabbatical or it would fail and they wouldn’t have…
Galatians 5:13-18
And Now for the Rest of the Story . . . Paul Harvey had a wonderful way of telling stories. He led you along thinking you knew exactly where he was headed, and then before you knew what hit you he would introduce a surprise ending with the phrase, “And now for the rest of the story . . .” In a sense that’s what the Apostle Paul does here in Galatians. For five chapters he has been denouncing legalism and pressing…