preach-itSermon Archive

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March 2023

The Love That Makes Us Whole

An Open Letter to My Children…

“Dear Tate Kids,

I need to apologize to you for something. It’s not my fault exactly, but I will apologize anyway because unfortunately I’m not entirely blameless in the matter either. Your Mom and I have passed on to you a fatal genetic condition which runs in our family. We went ahead with our plans to conceive you even though we knew there was a 100% chance that you would also be born with this fatal condition. I know how you must feel. I’m sorr




February 2023

The Love That Makes Us Free

Christians talk a lot about being free in Christ, but to many non-believers they see life in Christ as the very opposite of freedom. From their perspective, Christians have a “Lord,” and a pretty demanding one at that. They think, “how would I be free if I became a Christian? If you become a Christian then you must submit to the will of your Lord, right? Isn’t it true also that the Bible has a bunch of rules in it, and Christians have to follow those rules?”

“I’m sorry,” they thi




Hungry and Thirsty

We will be continuing our study of Psalm 107 by unpacking verses 4-9 together. The first three verses of the Psalm introduced the main theme that God is good and that His steadfast love endures forever. Then the next four stanzas go on to provide four showpiece demonstrations of God’s goodness and love toward us. In the coming weeks we will be celebrating each in turn. In verses 4-9, which we will be studying in this message, we are told about the love that brings us home.

4 Some wan




Psalm 107

In our study of 2 Timothy 4 from last week, we read Paul’s words at the end of his life, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” I’m willing to bet that many Christians who read those words come away feeling some measure of sadness because they could not say the same if the end of their own life came into view today. Their track record has been more checkered than the Apostle Paul’s apparently was. Rather than fighting the good fight some o



January 2023

Proclaim The Gospel

Over the course of his time as an Apostle, Paul was responsible for speaking a great many words. His writings alone fill a large portion of our New Testaments, and everywhere Paul goes he is described as proclaiming, teaching, preaching, exhorting and defending the Gospel with words. Interestingly, the very first reference in the Bible to this man of words making an utterance was in Acts 9:1 when we are told that he was “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.” F



Continue Living The Gospel

Try to carve out some time to read chapter three of 2nd Timothy before you listen to this message. That’s the passage that we’ll be studying together on Sunday. True to form, Paul will continue his final letter with his characteristic, laser-like focus on the Gospel. If the message of chapter 1 was “guard the Gospel” and the message of chapter 2 was “be willing to suffer for the Gospel” than the message of chapter 3 is “continue living the Gospel.” It’s a chapter that is rich with helpful insights.



A Solider, An Athlete, And A Farmer

In the first chapter of Paul’s last letter (2 Timothy) he talked about the importance of guarding the Gospel that has been entrusted to us. Then, in the second chapter, which we will be studying this coming Sunday, Paul will go on to talk about some of the costs and sacrifices that followers of Jesus will be called upon to make for the Gospel. If the main message of chapter 1 was guard the Gospel then the main message of chapter 2 is to stand ready to suffer for the Gospel. In the opening v



Paul’s Last Will and Testament

The book of 2 Timothy was Paul’s last and final letter. It was most likely written shortly before he was martyred in Rome. There is evidence from within the letter itself that Paul knew the end was near even as he wrote to his young friend, Timothy. For example, in chapter 4 he said, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.” His parting words to Timothy are tender, personal and they focus on the hope of the Gospel with laser-like focus.



Making All Things New

The word “new” is one of God’s favorite ways of describing His work in the world. NEW commandment (John 13:34) NEW covenant (Luke 22:20). NEW creation (2 Corinthians 15:17). NEW heavens and a NEW earth (Isaiah 65:17). NEW spirit (Ezekiel 11:19). NEW song (Isaiah 42:10). He is the God who is “making all things new.” (Revelations 21:5)

In Ephesians 4:22-24, which we will be studying together on this New Year’s Sunday we find another great example of a God who loves transformation and n




December 2022

Christ’s Journey To Earth

Of all the unexpected visitations that occur in the Christmas story by far the most unexpected is that of Jesus Himself. His coming into the world was unanticipated by most and misunderstood by nearly all. The profound mystery of the incarnation (That’s a five-dollar word meaning that Jesus became a human being like one of us.) wherein God clothed Himself in flesh and became really, truly and fully man without becoming any less divine is a truth that we can grasp and know truly without unde





 
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