Sermons on Responsibility
Nehemiah 2
Do You Have a Plan? Introduction: I want to talk to you today about broken-down walls. The particular broken walls that generated this message are the walls of Jerusalem, but each of us has walls in our own lives that need repair. They may be walls in our emotional life or family or career or finances or personal habits or ministry. These walls are structures needed to support, protect, defend, and strengthen our character and relationships. If you are hurting today because of some…
Nehemiah 3, 4
Trust in God, and Keep Your Powder Dry! Introduction: When my wife heard my sermon title yesterday, she responded, “A 4th of July sermon, huh?” I was surprised at the question because I hadn’t even thought of this message in those terms, but perhaps it could be related. Please listen to the Word of God as found in Ezra 4. When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel…
Ezra 9, 10
Taking Sin Seriously Introduction: In 1973, at the age of 80, Karl Menninger of the world-famous Menninger School of Psychiatry in Topeka, Kansas, published a book which shocked the mental health community. Its title was Whatever Became of Sin? It was not a biblical theology of sin, but its thesis was a welcome corrective, namely that moral responsibility must be brought back into the therapy process. The shock, unfortunately, was short-lived, and today sin is once again as foreign a concept to psychiatry as efficiency…
Romans 9:6-26
Let God Be God! Introduction: Romans, chapter 9, is the graveyard of many a well-intentioned Bible scholar and pastor. There are verses in this chapter which are among the most difficult in the Bible. Christians have choked on them for centuries, and otherwise capable expositors have performed interpretive abortions on them in a vain attempt to get them to say something other than what they say. In all honesty, I don’t think Romans 9 is all that difficult for those who are willing…
Romans 10:1-17
Our Responsibility in Salvation Introduction: And now for the rest of the story …. If you were here last Sunday you heard a very strong message on the sovereignty of God. Romans 9 can almost take our theological breath away, as it teaches that God does what He wants with His creatures, and there is no one who can accuse Him of being unjust or unfair—because He is God. He makes choices among men before they are ever born, and those choices are not…
Hebrews 10:19-25
Privilege Demands Responsibility We have come to the end of the portion of the book of Hebrews that is primarily theological and enter today into the portion that is primarily application. I say “primarily” because the author has been sharing practical application of his arguments all along, as seen in his frequent warnings and in his numerous encouragements to draw near to God and to persevere in the faith. But in chapter 10 and verse 19 he uses the word “therefore” to…