Sermons2024-01-11T13:29:56-05:00
18Aug, 2019

Balcony People

By |August 18, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

I Thessalonians 5:1-11

Speaking of encouragement who is more in need of it in this story; the wife or the husband or the marriage counselor they made an appointment with because they felt their marriage needed a shot in the arm? The wife was hurt and upset and as she began to recount her loveless life, tears filled her eyes and […]

11Aug, 2019

Let Go and Let God

By |August 11, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Romans 12:1-2

An intoxicated guy staggers into a Catholic Church, enters a confessional booth, slowly sits down, but doesn’t say, “Father forgive me for I have sinned” or anything. The Priest, on the other side, conspicuously coughs a few times to get his attention, but the inebriated sot continues to sit in silence. The Priest says, “I’m listening, my son,” but still no response. […]

4Aug, 2019

Blessing From Brokenness

By |August 4, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Psalm 51:1-17
Matthew 5:4

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Bible scholars agree that although the word translated ‘mourn’ could be a word used for the ‘mourning of the dead,’ that to understand this beatitude as such limits what Jesus had in mind.

For example, John Stott writes:

28Jul, 2019

Eyes of Compassion

By |July 28, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Matthew 9:35-38
II Corinthians 5:14b-21

After I became a Christian, I began to faithfully attend church.

And although I continued to work on the railroad with the same group of guys that I had known for 10 years, I found that I now had more in common with my new friends in the church than I did with friends at work. I began to pull […]

21Jul, 2019

Come and See

By |July 21, 2019|Sermons|

John 4:1-42

Something extraordinary happened at Jacob’s well.

Something more extraordinary than a rabbi simply speaking to a woman; more extraordinary than the King of the Jews talking with a hated Samaritan. More extraordinary than the Creator and Lord of the universe holding a class on Biblical theology with an outwardly sinful woman.

The extraordinary thing that happened that day at Jacob’s well is that as a result of that encounter with Jesus […]

7Jul, 2019

God Disappointed?

By |July 7, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Psalm 103:1-12
Luke 22:14-20

Last fall I preached a sermon series on what to do when, for whatever reason, we are Disappointed with God. Today I would like to turn that around and consider why and what to do when we think God is disappointed in us.

Have you ever disappointed someone? When that happens, how do we react?

30Jun, 2019

The War Within

By |June 30, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Galatians 5:16-25

As kids, we almost all inevitably faced the temptation at one point or another to slip our favorite candy bar into our pocket at a store without paying for it. So easy, and harmless, right?

That’s what a 38-year-old New Jersey man seemed to be thinking when he robbed the exact same 7-Eleven store at knifepoint four different times in four days—just […]

23Jun, 2019

The Sirens Call

By |June 23, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Proverbs 7:1-23
I Thessalonians 4:1-8

In Homer’s Odyssey, the Sirens were gorgeous, but dangerous creatures, who lived on rocky islands in the Aegean Sea. From the waist down fish, from the waist up strikingly beautiful women, the Sirens sang spellbindingly beautiful songs that would lure passing sailors to their deaths. As they sang, sailors couldn’t resist the temptation and flung themselves over the sides […]

2Jun, 2019

Hold Fast and Draw Near

By |June 2, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Hebrews 4:14-16

Last week, I was straight up with you about how enticing temptation can be, about how once we give into it how intoxicating sin can be; about how destructive patterns of sin always lead to negative consequences. And although we ended by focusing on getting help from Jesus, I just had a feeling as you walked out that some, perhaps many of […]

26May, 2019

Think Again and Pray

By |May 26, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

II Samuel 11:1-5
I Corinthians 10:1-12

In an article in Today’s Christian Woman, a Sarah Ames writes that her 7 year-old daughter, Jessica, is a deep thinker when it comes to theological questions. They had recently discussed the why bad things happen sometimes, re-reading the story of Adam and Eve and how sin came into the world. Later that week, Jessica was ill and […]

22May, 2019

Why God Allows Testing

By |May 22, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Mark 14:32-42
James 1:12-15

Last Tuesday afternoon, I put myself in a position to be tempted. I broke one of the commandments; the one that states: “Thou shall not go to the grocery store hungry.” My granddaughter Kate was with me and I told her we were breaking that rule and that it was probably going to be difficult getting out of there without […]