preach-itSermon Archive

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May 2021

Uzziah

In this message we study the life of one of Judah’s lesser known Kings, Uzziah. We find his story in 2 Chronicles 26. In the Old Testament we are given the names of 46 men who were kings over Israel and Judah. Some of these names are famous (like David for example), some of them are infamous (like Ahab!), but most of them are some mix of the two and not really well-known to us. Most folks know that there were a lot of kings, and that some of them were good and others bad, but the details



Jephthah

Sarah and I have pretty much decided on the name “Oliver” for the newest Tater Tot who is due to arrive in just a matter of weeks. It seems a fitting handle to us because “Oliver” means olive tree and Sarah’s family have been olive growers for generations in Southern California (and in Italy before that). The name also reminds us of Bible verses like Psalm 128:3, “…your children will be like olive shoots around your table,” or Psalm 52:8, “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the ho



Through Not To

At the far end of our quiet mall there is a small collection of children’s rides. Now, you might not have travelled far enough down the empty corridors to know the specific ones I am talking about, but imagine the rides you used to see outside of a grocery store. The ones you put a quarter in to play a song while they move back and forth for a brief minute. My kids used to love those and would beg for a quarter when we ever went near them. As an adult I didn’t understand the allure of t



April 2021

The Final End

In this message we will wrap up our mini sermon series on Advent Christian Doctrinal Distinctives by posing the question, “What is the final end of those who do not put their trust in Jesus for salvation?”

At the center of Christianity is the joyous reality of “good news.” The Christian message is, at its core, a happy and hopeful one, however it must be owned that before there can be good news there must first be bad news. The bad news is that all have sinned and fallen shor




When We Die

Thoughtful and careful Bible students have come away from God’s Word with different answers to the question of what precisely follows in the minutes, hours, days and years after a person dies. Does a person’s spirit go to heaven as their body suffers decay? If so, is their soul then rejoined to their body in the resurrection spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 where it says that the dead in Christ will rise (1 Thessalonians 4:16). And if the Spirit goes directly to heaven upon death why w



Is Man Immortal

In this series we’ll be exploring the doctrinal distinctives of the Advent Christian Denomination. I don’t generally make a habit of focusing on that too much as it tends to emphasize what separates us off rather than what unites us to the broader family of the Church. However, it does seem appropriate to reacquaint ourselves periodically with those beliefs and biblical interpretations that have been traditionally held by Advent Christians.

We will explore those doctrinal distincti




Empty Tomb, Full Hearts

All human beings are either of Adam or of Jesus.

The first Adam was the great bringer of death, and all who are born in the line and lineage of Adam remain under its curse. Jesus, who scripture describes as the second Adam(Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15) , was the great life-bringer, and anyone who puts their trust in Him for salvation becomes born again and is delivered out from under the curse of sin and death.

The first Adam began as dust that was then filled with spirit. The se




March 2021

A Strange Coronation

Have you ever, in a moment of pain, frustration or anger, said something you later regretted? Have you ever mashed your thumb with a hammer and almost reflexively a swear word came flying out? Our mastery (or lack of mastery) over our tongues at such times is very revealing.

The missionary Amy Carmichael once said, “a cup of sweet water cannot spill one drop of bitter water- no matter how suddenly jolted.” Jesus himself said it best in Luke 6:44-45, “For each tree is known by its




To Fulfill the Scriptures

Way back in August we spent some time studying the fifth chapter of John’s Gospel in which Jesus was quoted as saying to the Jewish religious leaders, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me…”

And after the resurrection when Jesus appeared to the two disciples walking along the road to Emmaus he told them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was




Truth on Trial

Pontius Pilate hailed from a minor aristocratic family in the region of Samnia in what is now Italy. He served as Governor of Judea during the reign of the Emperor Tiberius. History does not tell us how Pilate rose to this position or what became of him later in life, but it seems most likely that his promotion had to do with family connections rather than any great accomplishments in government. He was not a Jew himself, a





 
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