Sermons from August 2024
Psalm 1
SERIES: Psalms: Cries of the Heart The Cry of Delight SPEAKER: Paul T. Stolwyk Introduction: Rob had just returned from his first business trip working with a large brewery in our city. He had a co-worker in the engineering department look over his expense report before he turned it in to his supervisor. Since it was his first report, he wanted to make sure he had done everything correctly. His co-worker noticed that he was planning to return the extra cash he had been…
Psalm 22
SERIES: Psalms: Cries of the Heart The Cry of Faith SPEAKER: Paul T. Stolwyk Introduction: One of the people who went with our Cornerstone Church plant a few years ago was an elder named Paul Koenig. For those of you who don’t know him, Paul is wonderfully honest about himself and very frank about life. He does not mince words about anything. He has a way of saying things that are true, very pointed, and very memorable. One time, I called him to get…
Psalm 27
SERIES: Psalms, Cries of the Heart The Cry of Fear SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: It’s a delight to be back worshiping with you this morning for the first time since June 15. I want to thank you for praying for me during my travels, and particularly during the past three weeks when I was in Venezuela. I sensed your prayers many times, and I credit those prayers for the fact that we experienced no mishaps and no illnesses to speak of. I also…
Psalm 32
SERIES: Psalms, Cries of the Heart The Cry of the Guilty Conscience SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: We live in the “me” generation, the day of the Boomers, the Busters, and the GenXers. Our age has seen the acceptance of such brilliant farsighted wisdom as, “If it feels good, do it.” And we’re known for such profound musical themes as, “I did it my way.” Not surprisingly, guilt receives a lot of bad press in our society. Current popular psychology gives one the impression…
Psalm 49
SERIES: Psalms, Cries of the Heart The Cry for Riches SCRIPTURE: Psalm 49 SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: There are no rich people here at First Free—at least not filthy rich. You used to be rich if you were a millionaire, but a mere millionaire is a nobody today. There are nearly 4 million of them in the U.S. alone. Back in 1982 when Forbes compiled its first list of the 400 richest Americans, it took a minimum of $100 million to make…
2 Samuel 12:1-14, Psalm 51
SERIES: A Person After God’s Heart He Said He Was Wrong SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: John R. W. Stott, one of the great evangelical thinkers of our day, has stated, “Christianity is the only religion in the world which takes sin seriously and offers a satisfactory remedy for it.”[i] I believe that is absolutely true. Examine the great religions of the world–Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Mormonism, spiritism–and none even comes close to the moral standards set down in the Bible or offers a…
Psalm 90
SERIES: Psalms, Cries of the Heart The Cry of Futility SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: I heard on the radio last week that of the top ten most frequently prescribed drugs in the United States, three are anti-depressants. They are prescribed for a wide variety of ailments, but the most common is depression. Obviously, there are millions and millions of Americans who are confronted regularly with a sense of the futility of life. Even those who are not subject to depression are often…
Psalm 99
SERIES: Psalms: The Cry of the Heart The Cry of Worship SPEAKER: Paul T. Stolwyk The Psalms contain the cries of God’s people to their God. As we have seen over the last few weeks, God’s people cry out to God for all sorts of reasons. Injustice prompts us to cry out to God in confusion. Pain causes us to cry out in faith. Sin causes us to cry out in confession. At different times in its history, Israel had leaders who firmly understood…
Psalm 127
SERIES: Psalms, Cries of the Heart Straight Arrows SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Note: This was a fifth Sunday, and the service was devoted to musical worship, baptism, child dedication, communion, and a brief message. Introduction: We’re delighted to have our families worshiping together this morning. The Children’s Ministry is taking a one-week break between Passport to Adventure and the Fall Sunday School program, and therefore the children are here with us in the service this morning. We welcome you and we hope you enjoy…