If
when you think of Heaven you suppose that it is somehow less 'real'
than our present experience, if you think that it's more mystical or
spiritual than a world that we can enjoy with our five senses, then this sermon will share a very different, exciting view of what Heaven will really be like.
The Bible speaks much about Heaven. When it does, it informs us that no matter how wonderful we think it is, it will be so much better. This knowledge can help us endure difficulties in this life because we are looking forward to our eternal home. It should also cause us to make certain that we are saved and that we sharing the Good News of the Gospel with a lost and dying world.
This sermon will share much Scripture as it begins to reveal some truths about our wonderful home.
(The following links should be live within 24-48 hours).
To access online notes for this sermon, click here. To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
Oftentimes, we are unwilling to value good news until we see it against the backdrop of bad news. In fact, the good news is often appalling to us unless we first hear the bad news. For instance, what would you think of a doctor who came up to you and said he wanted to schedule an appointment next week to take your kidney out? You'd run the other way, wouldn't you? That news is offensive and it doesn't even make sense. Yet, what if he told you that a scan that he took of your kidney last week revealed that there is a large mass, it almost certainly is cancer, left alone it will grow until it kills you but surgery would get rid of it and you could live a long life? You would schedule the surgery, wouldn't you? Against the backdrop of bad news, good news becomes GREAT news! In Isaiah 9:6, we read that Jesus is our Prince of Peace. Yet, if that doesn't have a context, it doesn't make sense. It's not really even attractive to us. But when we realize how utterly hopeless our condition was and how a Holy God was going to rightfully judge us and sentence us to a place in Hell and yet He determined to send Jesus to pay our sin debt and bring peace between Him and us, that good news becomes great news! This sermon develops these thoughts and shows how Jesus, our Prince of Peace, has fixed our 'unfixable' problem - making peace between us and a Holy God. (The following links should be live within 24-48 hours.) To access online notes for this sermon, click here. To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
As we continue our look into how Jesus is described in Isaiah 9:6, we are told that He is the Everlasting Father.
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)
But, what does that mean? How can Jesus be God the Son and yet also be the Everlasting Father? And what comfort and instruction can we receive from our knowledge of Jesus' Fatherhood?
This sermon seeks to answer these questions by exalting Jesus and showing how we can respond.
To access online notes for this sermon, click here.
To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
The weight of "life" can get us down. Whether it is the stress of sour relationships, the demands of work, mounting bills, the ongoing guilt of past sins, or a hundred other possibilities, it can feel as if we have the weight of the world on our shoulders. The follower of Jesus will find much comfort in the fact that Jesus is our Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6). His strength and our trust in that strength can lighten our load more than we may realize.
To access online notes for this sermon, click here.
To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
On Sunday, I preached from Isaiah 9:6 and focused on how Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor. He is the One who comes alongside us to give counsel in the wide range of decisions we make throughout the course of our life. But if you are like me there is often ambiguity in how something plays out unless you get even more specific about details. How, after all, do we make wise decisions? What are the steps in good decision-making? How do we obtain counsel from the Lord and then know that we have actually heard from Him? How can we find the answer in Scripture regarding which option we should take in a time of decision? A VERY helpful resource that I have enjoyed reading a couple of times is Haddon Robinson's book, "Decision Making By the Book: How to Choose Wisely in an Age of Options." If you want to brush up on your decision-making skills, I would highly recommend this easy-to-read resource.
Life is full of decisions! Some are inconsequential. However, other decisions have much more impact and can change the course of our life.
So, what resource has the follower of Jesus been given to make wise decisions that will lead to an intentional, purposeful life? The answer is found in Isaiah 9:6 where it says:
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)
To access online notes for this sermon, click here.
To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
If we aren't careful, we will read through Matthew 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount) and come to the erroneous conclusion that Jesus is simply calling us to be good people. All He is saying is that we should try really hard to get rid of bad habits and replace them with good ones.
That conclusion would be dead wrong.
All that Jesus has said about anger, adultery, anxiety, prayer and fasting and everything else climaxes with Jesus' final point as He brings His sermon to an end. His final words contain what I believe are some of the most, if not THE most, frightening words ever spoken in Scripture. In saying those words, Jesus brings His hearers to a point of decision and calls for us to choose to follow Him.
To access online notes for this sermon, click here.
To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
All too often our prayer lives are stagnant. We know we should pray and pray much more often than we do. We are periodically plagued with guilt over what we know we should be doing and what we actually do.
Yet, we struggle to find the motivation to pray because we just don't see the results of answered prayer.
Jesus speaks to this "problem" in Matthew 7:7-12 when He tells us that persistence in prayer is absolutely essential. Among other things, this sermon will explain why persistence in prayer is so important to God.
To access online notes for this sermon, click here.
To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
We have all heard Matthew 7:1 recited: "Judge not that you be not judged!" Even many non-believers know those words and periodically speak them. Unfortunately, that verse is often misused to state that if I'm in sin you have no right to point it out. It is remarkable that the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-6 actually mean the very opposite. If we truly care about others and their pursuit of holiness ("without which no one will see the Lord" [Hebrews 12:14]) will will speak into each others' lives when we see sin. In Matthew 7:1-6, Jesus tells us how to do that. To access online notes for this sermon, click here. To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
While some people worry much more than others, we all suffer from this non-productive malady. Worry comes almost as naturally to us as breathing.
Whether we are concerned about more bills than money at the end of the month, or a wayward child, or the plight of a very sick loved one, or a ferocious dog that is racing toward us - all of us struggle with worry.
Fortunately, Jesus has spoken clearly about this issue. In Matthew 6:25-34, He exposes worry for what it is and the flawed thinking behind it. He further shows us a better way that would work toward our good and God's glory. This sermon focuses on Jesus' words on this matter.
To access online notes for this sermon, click here.
To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
It's wonderful to be recognized and rewarded for our performance in school or an achievement in the realm of athletics or our job. Yet, when we think about following Jesus, some folks may believe that it is wrong to be motivated by an award. Jesus doesn't think so, though. In Matthew 6:19-24, after Jesus has talked about how some eternal rewards are achieved (giving to the needy [Matt. 6:2-4], praying [Matt. 6:5-6], fasting [Matt. 6:16-18]), He tells us to make sure that we aren't living so that we are awarded for our godly behavior in this life. Instead, we are to live so that we are awarded in Heaven.
As I will show in this sermon, Jesus' words make it very clear that our eternal awards/rewards are intended to motivate us to live our life with purpose - for Him.
To access online notes for this sermon, click here.
To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
If you are prepared to embark on a potentially exciting and rewarding journey through fasting, let me provide you with some names of resources that I have found to be very helpful.
Bill Bright, who was the founder and revered leader of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) for many years was an avid proponent of fasting. CRU's website continues to provide easy to digest information on this topic. You can begin your research by clicking here.
I have also found a few books to be very helpful:
"God's Chosen Fast" by Arthur Wallis is very helpful. It is a short book that answers most of the questions that someone who is new to fasting would ask.
I found that doing the Daniel Fast (think "vegetarian") was much easier than a normal fast but also brought with it many benefits. The book I used was "The Daniel Fast" by Susan Gregory.
Fasting has fallen on hard times in our current Christian culture. In a time when waistlines are growing, any talk of denying ourselves a meal(s) is anathema. Yet, what initially seems so repulsive can be one of the most empowering and liberating practices we could ever engage in. There is spiritual power and freedom that awaits those who will take Jesus' words serious when He begins, "When you fast..." (Matthew 6:16). This sermon seeks to unpack the topic of fasting by answering some of the most basic questions, namely: 1) What is fasting? 2) Why should I fast? 3) How should I fast? To access online notes for this sermon, click here. To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
I began yesterday's sermon with the story of an incident I had as a teenager on a backhoe. (Watch sermon here.) I revealed that my lack of knowledge and experience had some very troubling consequences. I quickly exited the operator's seat and let the "professional" do the job.
Prayer is not like that at all. Sure, we all struggle with how prayer works and we may lack knowledge and experience. But, the only way to learn to pray is to just do it. If your heart joins with the disciples' request as they said, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1), then God will enable you to become more proficient in it. But, that will only happen as you spend time each day in prayer.
So, as you are spending time in prayer, here are some other helpful ways to grow in your understanding of prayer:
Do your own exciting Bible study on prayer.
All you need is a Bible, a pad of paper and a pen. Begin by reading through the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) and then the book of Acts citing every place that prayer is mentioned or engaged in. Write down every little bit of information that you can glean from each of those references. This may take you a few days or a few months but don't rush. You will be surprised (and overjoyed) at what God shows you as you study His Word with the intention of engaging with Him in prayer. He wants you to talk to Him so He is more than ready for you to learn from Him.
Watch or read "War Room."
This movie (and book) has been written and produced by solid Bible-believers. The prayer principles they reveal in the movie (book) are sound and are intended to inform and motivate a Christian populace to engage God in prayer.
Read "How to Pray" by R.A. Torrey.
This is a short, easy to read classic that I have enjoyed many, many times. Buy it and read it.
One of the many mishandled passages of Scripture is Matthew 6:9-15, commonly called "The Lord's Prayer." However, the Lord is never recorded as using this "prayer" when He talked with the Father (see His prayer in John 17) nor are any other New Testament prayers seen to recite this prayer.
So one has to wonder why so many contemporary Christians believe there is merit in mindlessly reciting these verses thus violating Jesus' command a few verses earlier when He said not to heap up empty (mindless) phrases when we pray (Matthew 6:7). What did Jesus intended for Matthew 6:9-15 to be? Simply put, it is a basic outline of prayer with the major themes we should address in prayer. It is intended to only be a skeleton and we are required to flesh it out when we talk to our Heavenly Father. This sermon discovers those themes and explains them. To access online notes for this sermon, click here.
To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
Why do you pray? That's a very important question because it gets to the answer of purpose. After all, if prayer doesn't have some important purpose, then why do it? But, on the other hand, if prayer has a significant purpose, then we should be much more engaged in the habit than we currently are. So, this sermon dives into Matthew 6:7-8 and discovers why we should engage in prayer. It concludes by looking at a few principles that can help us enjoy prayer's purpose. To access online notes for this sermon, click here.
To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
You know you need to pray but if you are like many other followers of Jesus, your prayer life just isn't that fun or rewarding. If this is the case, it's probably due to one of two reasons: 1) you were never taught how to prayer and how it works or 2) you just aren't seeing many answers to your prayers. Fortunately, Jesus has given us much information regarding prayer in Matthew 6. This sermon dives into Matthew 6:6 and investigates four habits that must be true if our prayer life is to be fun and our prayers are getting answered. To access online notes for this sermon, click here. To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
The #1 movie in America last week (and possibly this week, too!) is
called War Room and it’s all about prayer. The primary intent of the
movie seems to be to encourage viewers to engage God in prayer and do
their fighting on their knees in their “prayer closet” (or War Room).
As we continue our study in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), we
come this morning to the text that is the basis for the movie. Since I
believe that God is presently calling us as individuals, as churches and
as a nation back to Himself, we will camp out on these verses for at
least a couple of Sundays and discover what prayer really is, how it
works, and how we can become prayer warriors.
To access online notes for this sermon, click here.
To access the sermon video, click here or view the video below.
If
when you think of Heaven you suppose that it is somehow less 'real'
than our present experience, if you think that it's more mystical or
spiritual than a world that we can enjoy with our five senses, then this sermon will share a very different, exciting view of what Heaven will really be like.
