Sermon Archive
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September 2023
Learning to Walk
The Colossian church to whom Paul wrote the letter that we find in our New Testaments would have been comprised almost entirely of new believers. Most of them were likely recent gentile converts who were probably not even very familiar with the Old Testament scriptures of Judaism. In the language of Colossians 2:6, they had received Christ, but were just learning to walk in Him. They were rooted in Christ but had not yet been built up into maturity. This represented a vulnerable time for th…
Christ’s Afflictions
During my recent vacation I read through the book of Colossians in my personal devotions. On July 31, I made the following entry in a journal of sorts that I keep, “This morning I spent time with God in Colossians. I struggled to concentrate though. I had to read portions over and over again because my mind kept drifting. I had no excuse. There were no distractions. How is it that I can read while simultaneously thinking about other things? I might marvel at the capacity of the human brain …
August 2023
Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing
The portion of scripture that we’ll be studying, Colossians 1:15-23, contains lyrics (verses 15-20) from what was probably an early hymn of the church. Peppered throughout the New Testament we find fragmentary evidence of the church’s earliest hymns. John 1:1-5, Philippians 2:6-11, Ephesians 2:14-16, 1 Timothy 3:16, 2 Timothy 2:11-13, Hebrews 1:3, and 1 Peter 3:18-22 are commonly cited as other examples of early hymn lyrics that are quoted in scripture. Around AD 111, the Roman Governor Pli…
Colossians
Unlike Corinth, Thessalonica, Rome, Phillipi or Ephesus which were large cities, Colossae was a small town. By the time Paul wrote his letter to the church in Colossae during the first century AD, the town had become a small and insignificant place located on the road between larger population centers. Today Colossae exists only as a heap of ruins near the modern-day Turkish town of Honaz. It w…
Living On Purpose
The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime according to Andrew Naber, (industrial-organizational psychologist and data scientist). That is roughly 10.3 years. Greg Moody shared with us a couple weeks ago that the jobs we work and businesses of our employ, have a mission statement that directs the efforts of its employees. For roughly 90,000 hours of our lifetimes we are working under the purpose and mission of our occupation, but what would happen if you worked with …
Carrying The Family Name
From a historic perspective it’s fascinating to think of ourselves as the people of time who are between Christ’s first coming and his second. When we read through the Bible from a top down perspective we see that God has been at work through the ages and eras of time. From the great flood, to the land of Canaan, to the exile of Israel, we see God’s hand at work throughout the scripture – culminating in the coming of his Son, Jesus. But now, Jesus has ascended, the Bible is completed, and w…
July 2023
Our Christian Walk
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians has always been a popular one for believers. It offered to the early Christians necessary guidance on Christian thought and devotion. We continue to need truth about the role of grace and unity, devotion and daily living in a culture that would try to disable our commitment to Kingdom principles. We’ll turn our attention to chapter 5 this Sunday and explore this all-important idea of our “Christian walk.” How do we manage all aspects of our lives and s…
Mephibosheth v. Ziba
It’s kind of a murky tale that leaves a lot of readers wondering who to believe. It’s the case of Mephibosheth v. Ziba. For the full context you can read 2 Samuel 4:4, 2 Samuel 9, 2 Samuel 16:1-4 and 2 Samuel 19:24-30. The principal players of this confusing story are King David, Mephibosheth (a crippled man and the sole surviving member of Jonathan’s household) and a servant of Mephibosheth’s named Ziba. Mephibosheth says one thing and Ziba another. Somebody’s lying. You decide.
Dur…
A Woman Named Rahab
As we worship God through the study of His Word, we’ll be learning about a woman named Rahab. You can find her story in Joshua 2. It’s an interesting story filled with spies, danger, double agents, and narrow escapes. Rahab was a resident of the doomed city of Jericho and her life took an unexpected turn when she welcomed two strange men into her home. She would go non to become the great, great grandmother of King David and also an ancestor of Jesus Himself. I’m looking forward to seeing what God will say to us through the life of this unlikely heroine as we study Joshua 2 together.
A Worshipful Response
In Luke 7:36-50 we find an account of 1st Century party crashing. A woman who was known around town for her sinful lifestyle entered the home of a pharisee named Simon who was hosting a dinner party in Jesus’ honor. She was uninvited and unwelcome in Simon’s house but she came anyway. I imagine it was all very awkward for Simon, and probably for the woman as well, but apparently not for Jesus. This unexpected coming together of an infamous sinner and a famous law-keeper, both seeking time with Jesus, prompts Jesus to tell a parable about a man who forgave two debtors. The parable itself is just three sentences long. What do you think Jesus was saying through this parable?
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