Sermon Archive
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March 2020
An Unhappy Man
If I mentioned witches and ghosts and people in costume coming around after dark to a stranger’s house you would probably think I was talking about Halloween, but I’m not. All this and more can be found in 1 Samuel 28, which we’ll be studying together this Sunday.
It has been quite a while since we spent time in our study through the life of David, but as we rejoin it in chapter 28 we find a nation and its king in crisis. An existential threat hangs over the countryside in the …
Believer’s Baptism
I was baptized at the now defunct Advent Christian Church in Hyattsville, MD. I was only 9 or 10 years old at the time but I remember well sitting down in my Dad’s office (he was the pastor) to question me if I had sufficient personal understanding of the Gospel and to instruct me on the meaning and symbolism of baptism. I had just made a decision for Christ recently, and despite my stage fright I was determined to obey Jesus’ command to be baptized. I remember that the baptismal was a larg…
February 2020
Tried and True
In Psalm 63:3 we read, “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” This verse communicates the startling truth that there are things that should be preferred even over continued life. What do you think is better than life? What would you die for? And if it is true that there are things better than life than wouldn’t it also stand that there are fates worse than dying? This Sunday we will study the account of Daniel and the lion’s den in the sixth chapter of Daniel. In Daniel’s example we are challenged by a man who chose worship over life and power and money. What does this mean for us individually and, also, what does this mean for us as a church?
Looking Outward In The Same Direction
The French literary icon and war-hero, Antoine De Saint Exupery, once wrote, “Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward in the same direction.” This reminds me of our study from last May when we studied the remarkable friendship that flourished between Jonathan and David. In 1 Samuel 18 it describes their friendship in terms of Jonathan’s soul being knitted to that of David’s. …
Sex and Intimacy in Marriage
Let’s start our discussion about sex with God. I think you’ll agree that’s the most logical place to start. After all, sex finds its very genesis in the person of the Creator. He is the inventor and the origin of sex. Some talk as though God is against sex, and that the church’s attitude toward sex is one of prudish disapproval, but that is patently false. Sex was God’s idea in the first place. Marriage, which is also a divine invention, was created, in part, to fulfill our God-gi…
When Couples Fight
Once when we were living in California Sarah and I went over for dinner at the home of some married friends. As soon as we walked in the door we could feel that something was off. I couldn’t put my finger on it precisely, maybe it was something about their body language or the way they talked (or didn’t talk) to each other, but after a few minutes of hanging out it began to dawn on us that our arrival must have interrupted a fight. They were trying very hard to act normal, but something was…
January 2020
Marriage As God’s Handiwork
Do you remember Super bowl XLIV? Probably not. It was played way back in 2010 between the Indianapolis, Colts and the New Orleans, Saints. The Colts won.
That year Sarah and I attended a super bowl party with some friends. Super Bowl parties are a strange affair, aren’t they? Watching football and socializing are an awkward pairing at best. I think it is basically impossible to do both at the same time. I attended a party once where they put the game on mute, and another where they…
The Heart of the Issue
I hate waiting. Really, nobody likes waiting, but some do seem to have a higher tolerance for it than others. David doesn’t strike me as one of those people.
In 1 Samuel 27 David commits the sin of not waiting. In the church we often talk about various sins, but “not waiting” is rarely mentioned. Nevertheless it is a common one, both in the Bible and in our own lives. Even when a believer grasps God’s will correctly, and even when God’s promises and plans are understood the issue of …
Looking for Patterns
It has been a little more than four months since we paused our study through the life of David, but in this message we return to it as we take up 1 Samuel 26 together. In this chapter Saul will be informed by the Ziphites that David and his men are hiding in their territory, and Saul will come hunting for him with 3000 men. However, David will sneak up on Saul while he is unaware and come away with items that prove that he got close enough to kill Saul but did not. Then David will call out …
December 2019
Jesus: Our Ark
Christmas is in the rearview mirror, and although our stockings now hang empty I pray that every heart is full as we look forward to the new year. Maybe 2020 will be the year of Christ’s return! I hope you can come join us this Sunday for the last worship service of 2019. For just one morning we’ll be taking up the story of Noah’s Ark. This story is rich with significance and meaningful application as we head into the new year together, and in many ways it encapsulates our hopes for what God would accomplish through us in the coming year.
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