Sermons2024-01-11T13:29:56-05:00
14Apr, 2019

The Crucible (Palm Sunday)

By |April 14, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Luke 19:28-40
Mark 14:26-72

Derek Lam is a courageous young Christian leader living in Hong Kong, who has entered The Crucible. In August, 2017 he wrote in The New York Times about the suppression of human rights for Christians in China:

Since I was 16 years old, I have wanted to be a pastor. I was raised in a […]

7Apr, 2019

Situational Awareness

By |April 7, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

I Chronicles 29:1-18
Luke 12:13-21

A fellow was riding a bus when he suddenly realized he needed to pass gas. The music was really loud, so he decided to decrepitate with the beat. After a couple of songs, he felt better much as he approached his stop. As he was leaving the bus, people were really giving him the stink eye. And that’s when […]

24Mar, 2019

Avoiding Temptation

By |March 24, 2019|Sermons|

Matthew 6:7-13
I Peter 5:8-11

If you were only 8 years old and saw a commercial advertising a delicious Big Mac how far would you go to get your hands on one of those famous cheeseburgers? A boy from East Palestine, Ohio was not going to be deterred from getting one. While his parents slept, he tuned into YouTube on how to drive a car, grabbed his 4 year old sissy […]

17Mar, 2019

Overture to Temptation

By |March 17, 2019|Sermons|

Today as we open a Biblical inquiry into the subject of ‘temptation, ’I begin with an ‘overture.’ That is I’d like to talk about temptation in very general terms, while at the same time giving a preview of where we are headed in this series. With that in mind, let’s turn to the Bible as our foundation.

Genesis 3:1-6
Psalm 25:1-5
James 1:12-16

Four priests were on a spiritual retreat weekend and on Saturday […]

3Mar, 2019

A Broken Orchestra

By |March 3, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Acts 6:1-7
I Thessalonians 5:12-13

Reader’s Digest Life in These United States: A week after a father applied to enroll his son in a private school, he received a questionnaire. One of the questions was: “Is your son a leader or a follower?” He thought about it and then indicated his son was a follower. A couple weeks later, he was informed his son […]

24Feb, 2019

Beautiful Feet

By |February 24, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Matthew 28:18-20
Romans 10:1-15

As a young couple’s wedding day neared, both grew increasingly nervous over secret problems they had never shared with anyone. Privately, the groom-to-be approached his minister. “I have really smelly feet—and am afraid my fiancée won’t be able to take it.” “Look,” his pastor said, “Wash your feet twice a day and wear socks all the time.”

Meanwhile, the nervous […]

17Feb, 2019

I Believe

By |February 17, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

John 20:24-31
Romans 10:8-15

Formal statements of beliefs like ours, what are formally known as creeds have been part and parcel of the faith we hold dear for over 3,000 years.

Yes, that means they appear in the Bible. Twelve centuries before Christ, the first Hebrew creed, known as The Shema, appears in Deuteronomy:

Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, […]

11Feb, 2019

How Can I Be Sure?

By |February 11, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Mark 8:27-38
I John 5:1-13

In 1967, I went with high school buddies to the historic Akron Civic Theater to my first rock concert to see one of my favorite American bands, The Young Rascals. The band was famous for Good Lovin which appeared on their first album in ‘66. That summer they released their second album Groovin’ that contained two singles Groovin’ and […]

27Jan, 2019

Who Do You Say I am?

By |January 27, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Mark 8:27-31
Isaiah 53 (selected)
Romans 5:6-17

I have another question for you this morning. I call it the question of the ages. For in my mind, there’s no more important question that can be asked of any living human being residing on the face of this planet. For the answer to this question will forever shape the future of the one who accepts […]

13Jan, 2019

Raising the Bar

By |January 13, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Matthew 5:21-30
I Thessalonians 4:1-10

Talk about raising the bar, I found this true story online where the author says: “Last weekend, a group of my friends were waiting in line for a concert in the city. My girlfriend excitedly started pointing at a hotel a few blocks away; ‘Look at the top of that building! I think that’s an indoor pool on the top […]

6Jan, 2019

Strengthen What Remains

By |January 6, 2019|Podcasts, Sermons|

Ephesians 1:15-23
Revelation 3:1-6

In the old days, about the only method used to bring about what we today call ‘church revitalization’ was the old fashioned revival.

In one town, three churches sponsored a joint revival. After it was over, the three pastors met for coffee to discuss the results.

The Methodist pastor said, “The revival worked out great for us! We gained four new […]

24Dec, 2018

I Beg to Differ

By |December 24, 2018|Sermons|

Isaiah 9:2, 6
Matthew 1:18-23

A lady named Mary Northrup reports that she was in labor for 23 hours for the birth of her first child. 23 hours of labor is not that unusual. I am sure that some of you gals sitting here could top that. What made Mary’s circumstance noteworthy was that Mary’s husband, Mark, presented her with a 2-foot tall trophy inscribed with the words, “For a championship delivery; thank you. Love, Mark.”

I doubt that Joseph could afford a trophy for his betrothed wife, Mary, but he gave […]