Sermons from January 2022 (Page 6)
Luke 24:13-35
Heart Burn: The Answer to Spiritual Depression Please turn with me to Luke chapter 24, verses13-35: Now that same day (Easter Sunday) two of them (i.e., Jesus’ disciples) were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together…
Luke 24:36-53 and Acts 1:1-11
Mission Accomplished Introduction. Since December we have spent most of our time on Sunday mornings studying the life of Christ from the gospel of Luke. We were first introduced to the Messiah’s forerunner, John the Baptist. We learned of the annunciation of Jesus, his birth to a virgin named Mary, his early life at Nazareth, his baptism in the Jordan, his temptation in the wilderness, his calling of Twelve unlikely disciples, his ministry in Galilee, his ministry in and around Jerusalem, his signs…
Revelation 2:1-7
SERIES: Letters from Jesus to Eight Churches To Ephesus: The Church that Had Everything Right Except the Main Thing We’re going to begin a new series today from the book of Revelation. Yes, you heard me right, Revelation! But don’t get too excited, because the portion of Revelation I want us to study for the next two months is not the part filled with strange prophecies and weird symbolism, but rather chapters 2 and 3, where Jesus sends personal letters to the seven…
Revelation 2:8-11
To Smyrna: A Dangerous Place to be a Christian Today we look at the second of eight letters from Jesus, seven of which are found in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation. I would suggest you pick up a copy of last week’s sermon if you were not here, so you can get Pastor Mike’s excellent introduction to this important series of messages. Located a little over 30 miles north of Ephesus, the city of Smyrna, was on the Aegean coast of modern Turkey. Smyrna, known today as Izmir, is Turkey’s third largest city. In the New Testament period this city had a population of more than 100,000 people. A fine roadgave it access to the…
Revelation 2:12-17
To Pergamum: The Too Free Church Freedom is one of the greatest words in the English language. It’s also a great biblical term. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:13, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.” And one of my all-time favorite verses is this: “If the Son makes you free, you are free indeed.” I really believe in Christian freedom, which I would define as the liberty to make my own doctrinal decisions and lifestyle choices under the boundaries of Scripture and under…
Revelation 2:18-29
To Thyatira: The Church of Compromise Just ten days ago on June 6, 2001, there was a feature story in U.S.A. Today entitled, “Protestants face annual sexual divide.” The subtitle was “Same-sex unions, gay clergy, female leaders divide faithful.” Listen to the opening paragraphs: Forget how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. How many views on gender, sexuality and church authority can fit under one church steeple? Should gay clergy be ordained? Are same-sex unions blessed before God the same as the marriage…
Revelation 3:1-6
To Sardis: Do You Worship in a Mausoleum? How many of you have traveled outside the U.S.? If you ever get the opportunity to go on a tour or on one of the short-term mission trips our church sponsors, I encourage you to go. It really broadens your horizons and can have a tremendous spiritual impact. I have been privileged to do a lot of foreign travel, some of it for pleasure and some for ministry. I have actually been to thirty countries on…
Revelation 3:7-13
To Philadelphia: The Church of the Faithful Witness In our series on Revelation 2 & 3, we come today to the sixth letter Jesus wrote, the one to the church at Philadelphia. This is the only one of the seven churches whose name we recognize immediately. Maybe some of you are wondering why Jesus would write a letter to Philadelphia and not to Boston or New York or Kansas City. Well, this Philadelphia is not in Pennsylvania but in Turkey. It is the second-to-last…
Revelation 3:14-22
To Laodicea: The Lukewarm Church Think back with me over the last few times you’ve entertained someone at your home. As a gesture of hospitality, you undoubtedly asked your guests, “What would you like to drink? Iced tea or hot tea? Coffee? Cold cider (or maybe if it was winter, hot cider)? Coke? Ice water?” I’m willing to wager that no one has responded, “Just give me a lukewarm Pepsi,” or even “How about a glass of tap water at room temperature?” Most red-blooded Americans don’t like anything…
Revelation
The Eighth Letter: To First Evangelical Free Church of Wichita Have you enjoyed our study of the letters to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor this summer? Maybe “enjoy” is the wrong word to use. Have you “profited” from it? I know I have. For the sake of those who may be visiting with us this morning, for the past two months we have been reading someone else’s mail. We have been reading and studying seven letters dictated by Jesus Christ to the Apostle John…
2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
Money–Godly and Ungodly Ways of Getting It We are launching a new sermon series this morning, entitled “Finding Financial Freedom.” Please note that I didn’t say, “Finding Financial Security.” Biblically the phrase “financial security” is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. By the way, I collect oxymorons, and I have literally hundreds of them in my file. Maybe you’d like to hear a few, or maybe not, but here are some of my favorites anyway: Amtrak schedule California expressway Civil War Country music (please no…
Various Passages
Money–Godly and Ungodly Ways of Spending It John Wesley advised his followers concerning the use of wealth: “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can!” I think most Christians would offer a hearty amen! to Wesley’s words, but many live a slightly different version: “Make all you can, spend all you can, and hope that Social Security is solvent when you hit 65.” I am personally convinced that most Christians would like to be more frugal in their saving and…