Cambria Pulpit: Recent Episodes
Cambria Baptist Church
Listen to the latest sermons from the pulpit of Cambria Baptist Church. Cambria Baptist is an independent Baptist Church in Hillsdale, Michigan which exist to make disciples of Jesus Christ and to declare God's glory to all people. We focus on expository preaching and faithfulness to the Bible. Dave Locke, Lead Pastor
Do you try to earn God's favor through good works? Hebrews 7:11-28 teaches us that a relationship with God comes through the perfection of Jesus, not our actions. We have a Better Priest and a Better Covenant. Listen to the sermon here:
www.cambriabaptist.org/sermons-2/
Do you wish you could go back to the good old days? Many people think that if things could go back to the way they were, life would be better. But we should look forward to the future when Christ returns and brings true peace and righteousness.
Do you ever have days where it feels like things can't get any worse? In the worst moments of life, God has not forgotten you. He made a promise to you, and He will keep it. So you can anchor your life to Christ.
How do we handle people who fall away from the faith? How can we guard our own hearts from apostasy? Hebrews 6:4-8 warns us of this danger and encourages us to remain faithful.
Are you growing as a Christian? Too many Christians fail to mature and thrive in their relationship with God. They remain spiritual infants. But Hebrews 5:11-6:3 tells us it's time to grow up.
Who represents us to God? How can imperfect sinners go before God's throne? In Hebrews 5, we see that Jesus is our perfect High Priest. Christ provides us with confident access to God.
How can we live out our salvation when we fail so often? Sometimes following Christ and keeping the faith seems impossible. The good news is, we have a High Priest who is like us. So we can draw near to God through Christ.
Maps help us stay on track and reach our destination. So what map can lead us to the eternal rest of heaven? In Hebrews 4:11-13, we're instructed to strive for the eternal rest by trusting the power of God's Word. The Bible is the map that leads to glory.
Many people claim to be Christians but want little to do with God and His Word. They're in danger of missing God's rest because of their disobedient hearts. So Hebrews 4 challenges us to strive for the eternal rest.
How important is prayer in missions work? 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 encourages us to pray for missionaries because it's vital to their success. So we can help our missionaries through the power of prayer.
Warnings serve an important purpose in our lives. We need warnings to protect us from potential danger. In Hebrews 3:7-19, God tells us to beware of unbelief. Thankfully, His Word is the solution to our unbelief. Listen to the sermon here:
www.cambriabaptist.org/sermons-2/
Life is full of uncertainty. Nobody knows what a day or a year will bring. In this uncertain world, we need stability. We need Christ. So consider Jesus and hold fast to Him in hope.
Are you ready to die? We're all going to face death someday. But the good news is, there is a Champion who defeated death. Christ conquered death for us and can deliver us from this inescapable enemy.
Christ is the Better Redeemer because He is our perfector. He does not bring us into heaven by the skin of our teeth, but instead over the course of our lives, changes us into His likeness to actually become perfect when we see him.
Do you feel the brokenness of the world? Are you weary from your struggle with sin? Hebrews 2 reminds us that there is a Redeemer. Jesus is the answer. He is our Better Redeemer.
"How did we get here?" Like a boat on a lake, we tend to drift in our spiritual lives if we don't pay attention. Hebrews 2:1-4 addresses the danger of drifting from the truth. We must anchor our lives to Christ and His Word.
People tend to be fascinated with angels. History is full of endless speculation and even worship of these spirit beings. But the book of Hebrews tells us that Christ is better than angels and He alone is worthy of our worship.
What is the best thing in the world? Is it love, family, or freedom? The book of Hebrews teaches us that Christ is better than everything else. Christ is supreme, so He is worthy of our worship and devotion. Listen to this week's sermon as Pastor Dave begins our new series in Hebrews.
What is Easter all about? As we celebrate Christ's resurrection, we remember His suffering and death through communion. Jesus secured our salvation for all eternity through His sacrifice on the cross.
What will God do for us? The majority of Leviticus lays out God's expectations for His people. But as the book concludes, God tells His people what He will do for us. We can trust God to keep His promises because He is faithful.
How can we balance work with rest? Our weekly schedules are busy with work, activities, and hobbies. Our time is fleeting. But God commands us to rest because it provides intentional time for worship and refreshment.
What is justice? What does God say about justice? These questions have massive implications for society and ignoring them leads to injustice. As God's people seeking to live for God, we must value justice.
How are God's people supposed to live? In Leviticus 21, we see that because God is holy, His servants must be holy as well. This means that Christians are to live differently from the world.
How do we remain in God's presence? Every week, we encounter God in sacred worship. This mountain top of faith can leave us asking, "So, what now?" But in Leviticus 17, we see that all of life is an act of worship. We remain in God's presence by worshiping Him in everything.
How can we be right with God? Different religions propose different answers to this question. But the One True God has made the way for us through atonement. Through Christ, you can be good with God.
What does it mean to worship God in spirit? In John 4:24, Jesus says we must worship God in spirit and truth. In this week's sermon, Pastor Dave concludes our series on Worship & the Church by answering this question.
"Have it your way." This motto may be good for a burger, but it's not appropriate for church. Many people expect the church to do things their way. But Scripture teaches us that worship and the church must be God's way.
Why does the world say it's okay to have an abortion? Romans 1:18-25 answers this question. God's righteous wrath comes on men who suppress the truth in idolatry. So only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can resolve this problem.
What are we supposed to do in church? Worship is sacred, and God is holy, so what we do in church must be right. Worshipping God properly means following His regulations. Listen to the second message in our Foundations series on worship.
Why is worship so important? The truth is, everyone worships something or someone. So we must strive to worship the One True God in the right way. Listen to Pastor Dave's first message in our Foundations series on worship.
This week, we had a special guest speaker, Carl Gormley, our missionary to the Philippines. We're excited for what God is doing through the Gormley family. Carl's sermon was from Isaiah 58, "The Light of God."
Why do we do what we do in church? Worship is a sacred activity. Therefore, worship must be regulated by God. So what happens when we offer unauthorized worship? We find the answer in Leviticus 10.
What does God require of us in worship? How we worship God is not for us to determine. We can't come to God on our own terms. So acceptable worship must be faithful to God's holy standard.
Why do we exchange gifts on Christmas? This tradition points us to the best gift of all in Jesus Christ. In this week's sermon, we learn that God has given us the perfect Priest.
While the world around us is in shambles, we are reminded this Christmas that we are part of a Kingdom with a King that is eternal, filled with peace and joy!
Everyone wants contentment and joy in life. However, many people are looking in the wrong place. Only Jesus can give us true joy in life. So this Thanksgiving, we need to find our purpose in Him.
Ignorance is no excuse for the law. Just because you did something accidentally doesn't mean you're not guilty. So how should we address unintentional sin? Leviticus 4 teaches us that God takes all forms of sin very seriously, and we should too.
"How can God accept a guilty sinner like me?" When you're trying to do the right thing but keep failing, it's hard to feel God's presence. You're trying to approach God, but He seems cut off. The book of Leviticus teaches us how to approach God properly.
In light of all that God has done for us, how should we live as Christians? The book of Ephesians unpacks the riches of God's grace in Christ. We've been challenged to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. Paul summarizes that walk in the conclusion of this letter.
What happens when someone shows up to a battle unprepared? When you're ill-equipped for the task at hand, it doesn't end well. How much more so in the fight for souls! So we must put on the armor of God to be prepared for spiritual battles.
What do we fight for as Christians? Ephesians 6 says that our fight is not against people, but against the spiritual forces of evil. There is a constant war for your soul. So we must fight to win!
How does the Gospel affect my job and work ethic? God created work to be a reflection of His intelligence and creativity, but sometimes we view it as a necessary evil. But what if God has a greater purpose for your work? Ephesians 6:5-9 reveals that we are called to glorify God with our work by honoring earthly authority.
How does the Gospel impact the family? In Ephesians 6:1-4, God gives specific instructions regarding the parent-child relationship. When we obey these commands, it brings joy and blessings.
God created marriage for His glory and our good. To have a healthy marriage, we must understand and practice our God-given roles. This week, Pastor Dave examines the husband's role in marriage.
Marriage is the most important human relationship and the clearest picture of the Gospel on earth. However, marriage is under attack. So if we want to picture the Gospel accurately, then we must understand our roles in marriage. This week, Pastor Dave walks us through the wife's role in marriage from Ephesians 5:22-33.
How can we make a difference in a world hurdling toward destruction? As culture wars against the truth, the temptation to give up or give in becomes stronger. But by God's grace, we can make a difference by walking as children of the light.
Children tend to become like their parents. We naturally imitate their habits and tendencies. As God's children, we should imitate our Heavenly Father. Ephesians 5:1-7 gives this command.
What does change look like? The Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us new life. This new life involves growth and change. In Ephesians 4:17-32, we see what a changed life should look like.
Church unity is a fragile aspect of church life. Sin takes place in the body that threatens unity. Pride exists in the body that destroys unity. And Satan does all that he can to eliminate unity. We must all be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. But how do we do that? How do we maintain unity? This sermon examines three aspects of unity that we must all understand to maintain unity in the church.
When you have a significant position, you also have a considerable responsibility. So what responsibility does the Gospel bring? In Ephesians 4, we see that the Gospel brings expectations for a changed life.
Do you get excited about God's grace? We easily fail to comprehend the amazing grace of God. So in Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul prays that we would grasp the glory of God's grace.
Mysteries can be thrilling adventures. We enjoy the twists and turns of a good mystery. In Ephesians 3, Paul teaches us that God has been working His mysterious plan of redemption since the beginning of time.
Do you feel alone in this world? Sometimes our decisions and habits in life leave us feeling lonely and stuck. But Ephesians 2:11-22 reminds us that we are not alone in this world. Christ has given us access to God and membership in His covenant community.
Why did God save you? In Ephesians 2:8-10, we learn that God saved us by His grace and for His glory. Your salvation is ultimately about God.
Remembering your past can produce guilt and frustration. Your former mistakes and failures can be haunting. However, in Ephesians 2:1-7, we learn that in Christ we have new life by the riches of God's grace.
"How should I pray for my church?" In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul prays for the church in Ephesus and demonstrates what we should pray for. As we seek to know Christ and all His blessings, we should pray that our church will do the same.
God has richly blessed us in Christ. However, we often fail to realize all of these amazing benefits. In Ephesians 1:4-14, Paul reminds us of this powerful truth and points us to God's glory.
We have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ to the praise of His glory. In this sermon, Pastor Dave examines these spiritual blessings and their vast greatness. We are blessed beyond measure, supplying us with hope and peace in this broken world.
Often, Christians live as though we do not have the ability or power to overcome sin in our lives or the evil in this world. They live with anxiety, frustration, and hopelessness. However, this is not the reality. God has given us everything we need for life and Godliness. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. And it is all for His glory. Pastor Dave explored this reality with us as we began our study in Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians.
It is not just how you start, but also how you finish. In our final look at the life of Abraham, we discover three important truths that can help us finish our lives well. When your body fails and your energy depletes, you are not worthless. God still has a plan for you to end well and leave a remarkable legacy.
Marriage is the foundation of all society. However, our culture has abandoned and defiled marriage. This destruction has even crept into the church. But Genesis 24 teaches us that God is faithful in His plan for marriage.
Death is an inevitable fact of life in a fallen world. Death is difficult to handle. As Abraham faced the death of his wife, we see God's faithfulness through it all.
Why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son? In Genesis 22, we learn about Abraham's incredible faith, but this story is about so much more. This chapter is a picture of the Gospel.
How often do we doubt God's faithfulness? We forget all that God has done for us and become anxious. However, Genesis 21 teaches us that we can trust God at all times because He keeps His promises.
People fail to keep their promises, but that's never true of God. It's never too difficult, distant, or expensive for God. He always keeps His promises. In Genesis 18:1-15, we're reminded of this truth.
"I messed up again." Does that sound familiar? In our battle with sin, we find ourselves making the same mistakes. But Genesis 20 shows us that our failure does not negate God's faithfulness.
Jesus is risen! Yesterday, we celebrated the resurrection of our Savior. Mark 16:1-8 records this world-changing event. Because Jesus lives, we will live forever.
What happens when we fall in love with the world? Genesis 19 shows us the devastating results. This nasty poison attacks our faith and will only lead to destruction.
Does God ever make mistakes? When faced with a crisis, it may feel that way. But in Genesis 18, we learn that God is always good. So we can be confident that the Righteous Judge will do what is just.
"Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father Abraham." This old song actually contains timeless truth. Why is Abraham our father? In Genesis 17, we learn that we are a part of God's eternal covenant given to Abraham.
What happens when our faith fails? We get tired of waiting and take matters into our own hands. We try to help God. In Genesis 16, we see what happens when faith fails. Thankfully, God is faithful when we are faithless.
How do Christians deal with doubt? This is a common issue for believers. But we must understand that faith is not the absence of doubt. Rather, faith is unbelief kept silent. In Genesis 15, Abraham's doubts are addressed.
Sometimes, doing the right thing doesn't feel like the right thing. So, how should we handle this dilemma? In Genesis 14, we learn that God always cares for those who live in faith.
What is the focus of your life? What you value and pursue in life determines how you'll be remembered. Focusing on the world brings strife, but focusing on God brings blessing. Learn more in this week's sermon from Genesis 13:
Abraham is often called the father of our faith. We find his life in Genesis 12-25. God made a promise to Abraham, and he obeyed by faith. Listen to the sermon- "Faith in God's Promises":
If we want to use our lives for good, then we must obey our mission. So, how do we accomplish the mission of the church? In Galatians 6:1-10, we learn two more ways to make disciples- Ministry and Fellowship. Listen to the sermon here:
www.cambriabaptist.org/sermons-2/
How do we make disciples and declare God's glory? As we consider our mission, we must realize the importance of instruction. In Ephesians 4:11-16, we see why instruction is vital to disciple-making.
What is the value of a human life? Yesterday, we celebrated Sanctity of Life Sunday and looked at Psalm 139. In this psalm, David answers this question by considering God's view of life.
Our mission is to make disciples and declare God's glory through worship. So what does it mean to worship? In John 4:24, Jesus answers this question for us.
What is the mission of the church? There are many opinions on this topic, but what does Scripture say? In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gives us our mission- make disciples.
Do you love the Lord? Do your actions prove that you love Jesus? In the final section of 1 Corinthians, Paul challenges the church to live like they love the Lord.
How can we be faithful in our giving? As we come to the end of 1 Corinthians, Paul gives three necessary aspects to faithful giving in the church.
What is the proper response to the birth of Jesus? In Matthew 2:1-12, we see three different responses to the birth of Christ. Some are indifferent, some are indignant, but some believe.
What is Christmas all about? Is it the stockings, lights, presents, and happy memories? Or is Christmas about something more? In Matthew 1:18-25, we learn the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus Christ.
Why do we celebrate Christmas? We celebrate Christmas because Jesus is our Savior and King. Over the next few weeks, we will rehearse the birth of Christ and what it means for us.
What is the purpose of Thanksgiving? Is it family, feasts, and football? Or is Thanksgiving something more? In Psalm 100, we're invited to worship God with joy and thanksgiving.
Yesterday, we celebrated the ordination of Pastor Christian. Pastor Dave challenged us from 2 Timothy 4:1-5 on the role and responsibility of a pastor. The pastor must preach the Word!
What is our victory as Christians? In 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, we're reminded that our victory comes through Jesus Christ when He returns. Sin and death will be destroyed, and we will be victorious.
Do our bodies matter? Are they important to the resurrection? In 1 Corinthians 15:35-49, we learn that our bodies are essential to the resurrection. Because Christ is risen, we will rise from the dead with imperishable bodies.
Death is an inescapable fact of life. So what is the solution for our problem with death? In 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, we learn that the resurrection is the answer. The resurrection is essential to everything we believe. Listen to the sermon here:
Should the church have an order of service? Does liturgy matter? These important questions are answered in 1 Corinthians 14:29-40. The worship service must be arranged to demonstrate decency and order.
Why should we believe the Gospel? In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Paul answers this question by defending the genuineness of the Gospel. We can believe the Gospel simply because it is true. Learn more in the sermon- "The True Gospel":
What is the purpose of the gift of tongues? As we move through 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses this prominent question in chapter 14. We learn that God's Word is superior and should always be our focus.
Why don't we speak in tongues today? As we move through 1 Corinthians, this question is vital in chapter 14. Paul teaches us that speaking God's Word is superior and should always be the focus of the church.
What is love? Our world is obsessed with this word, yet there is a lot of misunderstanding around it. Even Christians fail to understand what true love is. In 1 Corinthians 13, we learn what biblical love is and why it's supreme.
Our world is divided over many issues. From politics to ethics, gender to economics, we are split on every front. But what about the church? How can the church have unity in a divided world? 1 Corinthians 12 has the answer.
Have you ever felt you have no gifts or abilities to serve? Does it feel like everyone else in the church has a job except you? The truth is you're not alone. But 1 Corinthians 12 teaches us that God has graciously gifted you to serve His church.
What is the Lord's Supper, and why is it important? Sadly, there's a lot of confusion around this vital element of the church. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul teaches us about this celebration and reminds us of its importance to our worship and growth.
"What about head coverings?" This question probably isn't one we would ask the Apostle Paul. However, this was a serious issue in the Corinthian church. So, how do we handle difficult questions and passages like these? Listen to this week's sermon to find out:
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Life is not about you. This phrase completely contradicts our culture's thinking because we're taught that life is all about me. But the Bible teaches that life is all about God. So, we should use our lives to serve Him.
Our hearts produce idols that we unwittingly worship. Yet, this idolatry is a grave offense against God. Through this idolatry, Satan seeks to destroy us through distraction, taking our attention away from God. Pastor Dave challenges us to flee idolatry and find our satisfaction in Christ,
Are you exhausted from the daily struggle with sin? Are you tempted to give up and give in? In 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Paul challenges us to endure in our battle with sin. Listen to the sermon- "Faithful God, Unfaithful People":
What are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel? Too often, we care more about our desires and goals than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 9, we learn that we need to be willing to give up our rights for the sake of the Gospel.
What is the church's responsibility for the pastor? Is it right for pastors to get paid by the church? This week we examined what Paul said about this topic in 1 Corinthians 9
Disagreement is a regular part of life. Even Christians have to deal with disagreement. How can we remain unified despite our differences? In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul answers this vital question.
Do you think about eternity? If we're honest, most of us don't think about eternity enough. We get so focused on this life that we forget what's coming. Sadly, this negatively impacts our relationships. 1 Corinthians 7:25-40 addresses this issue.
What will it take for you to be happy? Will more money, a better job, or an easier schedule satisfy you? True happiness is only discovered when we learn to be content with God's plan. Only Christ can give us true contentment in life. Learn more in this week's sermon:
www.cambriabaptist.org/sermons-2/
In a world that does not value marriage, it is important for Christians to ask what the Bible says about divorce and the permanence of marriage. Once again, Pastor Dave encourages us to be faithful to our spouse.
Yesterday, we celebrated the gift of fatherhood. But the truth is, to be a good father, you must first be a good husband. Sadly, our culture doesn't value marriage or fidelity. 1 Corinthians 7 teaches us why we must be faithful to our spouse.
We live in a sex-crazed culture. Society has no concern for biblical morality. However, this isn't a new problem. The church in Corinth faced the same issues. In 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Paul informs us what it means to hold to a biblical sexual ethic.
"What's wrong with that?" Although this is a common question, it's insufficient for a Christian to make good decisions. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul teaches us an important principle- just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Because of sin in the church, we face conflict. However, church members should be able to resolve trivial disputes for the sake of the Gospel. In 1 Corinthians 6, we learn why we shouldn't take fellow believers to court.
No church is perfect. Sin is still a common part of our lives. So how should we deal with sin in the church? In 1 Corinthians 5, we learn about the proper response to sin. Listen to part 2 of this series:
How should we deal with sin in the church? Many Christians fail to understand what Scripture has to say about this topic. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul tells the church what the right response to sin looks like.
The mature church follows its God-given biblical authority. We examine what that looks like and how to respond when the spiritual authority is not following Christ.
What is faithfulness? What should we be faithful to? These questions are essential if we want to be successful in ministry. 1 Corinthians 4:6-14 gives three keys to faithfulness for our lives and ministries.
What is the measure of success in the church? Is it numbers, conversions, or programs? Or is success something different? According to 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, faithfulness is the measure of success in ministry.
How can the church grow in spiritual maturity? 1 Corinthians 3 answers this vital question. In part 3 of this series, we learn to become mature in Christ- we need godly wisdom.
How can the church grow in spiritual maturity? 1 Corinthians 3 answers this vital question. Christians need to take responsibility in the church. In part 2 of this chapter, Paul gives two responsibilities to every church member.
Everything we need is found in our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 13:20-21, we're reminded of this amazing truth. Because Jesus is alive, we can confidently trust in Him.
"It's time to grow up." Does this sound familiar? We've all probably heard this phrase before. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul effectively tells the Corinthian church to grow up. The church needs to become mature in Christ.
Today, our lives are swamped with an excess of information. The question is, who can you trust? How do you know who is wise? In 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, Paul gives us three ways to discover godly wisdom.
What matters when the church gathers to worship God? 1 Corinthians has taught us that the church and the Gospel are not about us. So, our worship should be all about Christ and His Gospel. The church must point to Christ.
Sometimes, Christians fall into the trap of self-centeredness. We make life, the church, and even the Gospel all about us. But this thinking is dangerous and contrary to Scripture. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Paul attacks this sinful behavior.
Culture continually rejects Christianity and the gospel for the same reason that the church and the gospel are not about us. The gospel is all about the cross! So let us glory in and rejoice in who God is and the cross of Christ.
Unity is essential to the health of a church. The local church must be united under the Gospel, or it will face catastrophe. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, Paul gives us three steps to becoming united under the Gospel.
Individualism is a major problem in the church today. 1 Corinthians teaches us that living the Gospel is a corporate activity. Christians must live out their faith in and with the local church. In this week's sermon, Pastor Dave starts our new series in 1 Corinthians - "Living the Gospel in the Church."
How can we raise godly children in this turbulent age? As we face the onslaught of the world, parents and grandparents need to ask this question. We find the answer to this vital question in Ephesians 6.
As we think about modern issues, we must talk about the issue of abortion. This topic is all around us. So, what does the Bible say about abortion? In this week's message, our guest speaker, Bryce Asberg, gives us a biblical perspective on this modern issue. Listen here:
The LGBTQ+ movement is one of the most controversial issues of our day. This ideology has taken over in our culture. As Christians, we need to answer the question: "What does the Bible say about LGBTQ?" This week's message seeks to answer this crucial question.
It seems as though society has reached a tipping point into evil. Any thought to argue against the LGBTQ agenda cannot be tolerated. Cultural leaders cannot believe people are still arguing about it because that ship has sailed. The political sphere is as divisive as it has ever been. Young people are seen as completely out of place if they maintain their purity. The drug problem continues like a flash flood across our county. Violence, deceit, immorality, death, destruction, and hardship are all around us. The cultural and political leadership continues to drive the culture further away from God. Churches across the country echo Oprah more than God.
In the middle of this onslaught, we often feel like Habakkuk. Habakkuk 1:13 – O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4 So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
We might ask how we arrived here and how people can think this way. To those of us raised with a Biblical worldview, the thinking that leads to this place in our society is completely foreign. We cannot comprehend how someone would think that they had been born into the wrong body. We cannot fathom how someone would think that killing babies is ok. We cannot believe that some would stand for crime.
We must understand that our society’s religion is not Christianity. We like to believe that we are a Christian nation. We are not. We must come to accept this if we are to understand what is happening around us. Today’s religion can be summarized under the term secularism
Secularism – The absence of any binding theistic authority or belief. It is an ideology (secularism) and a consequence (secularization). Religious indifference which leads to intolerance of religion.
Scripture speaks to secularism and predicts its onslaught. In today’s passage, Paul presents for us the path of cultural destruction. And he demonstrates that this cultural destruction is the act of wrath by God upon a culture. However, this text is not given for hopelessness or despair. Rather, hope reigns, and the kingdom will advance.
Why is prayer important? In James 5:13-20, we find the final mark of genuine faith. True believers will communicate with God in prayer. Listen to this week's sermon- "The Power of Prayer:"
Christmas is here! It's the most wonderful time of the year. However, the world's view of Christmas is shallow and mistaken. We need to remember the true meaning and purpose of Christmas. Find it in this week's sermon:
"Where is the peace on earth?" Do you find yourself asking this question as we celebrate another Christmas? We sing about peace, joy, and hope, but these ideas feel like a dream. In Revelation 5, we find a glimpse of hope in the Throne Room of Heaven.
As Christians, we eagerly wait for the return of Christ. But this expectation is not an excuse for laziness. So, how can we glorify God while we wait? James 5:7-12 gives the answer.
Our world is obsessed with wealth. Sadly, many Christians fall into the trap of living for money. But James 5 warns us about the dangers of living for wealth.
What do your actions reveal about your purpose in life? Are you living for wealth, success, or comfort? Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can control your life. James 4 rebukes such foolish thinking. Instead, we need to submit to God's sovereignty.
Why is slander an acceptable sin? It's common in politics, entertainment, and even our homes and churches. The truth is, God hates slander. James warns against this sin in James 4:11-12.
Conflicts come from our own sinful hearts. So, what is the solution? We find the answer to all our conflicts in James 4:7-10. Listen to part 2 of the sermon- "Why Can't We Get Along?":
We live in an angry world. Everyone has opinions and preferences, so there's no lack of conflict. So, where do these conflicts come from? James 4:1-6 gives the simple answer.
How can you spot a fake? The best way to spot a counterfeit is to be familiar with the real version. In James 3:13-18, we learn about real wisdom and its counterfeit. True wisdom comes from God, while fake "wisdom" comes from this world.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words shall never hurt me." Many of us were taught this little rhyme as kids. But the fact is, this cute phrase is not accurate. Words are powerful and can be very hurtful. In James 3, we learn about the power of our words:
We all know people who talk a big game but can't back it up. Actions often speak louder than words. In James 2:14-26, we learn that true faith will produce action. Faith will result in good works. Listen to this week's message- "Faith Works":
For many of us, new places are challenging and frightening. We get anxious about new things. The cause of this fear is the reality of favoritism. In James 2, we learn that favoritism has no place in the church.
What does it mean to live out your faith? Christians are called to follow and serve Christ. So what does that look like? In James 1:19-27, we learn the two necessary steps for living out our faith.
How do we know when God gives us wisdom? James 1:9-18 gives three aspects of biblical wisdom that provide clear evidence. Listen to part two of the message- "Marks of Biblical Wisdom":
Wisdom is seeing life as God sees it. So, how do we know when we have it? In James 1:9-18, we see three aspects of biblical wisdom that provide clear evidence. Listen to part one of the message- "Marks of Biblical Wisdom":
We've all had those days where everything seems to go wrong. Trials are a regular part of life. So, how can we hold onto our faith in our trials? James 1:2-8 gives the answer. Listen to Pastor Dave's sermon - "Holding Onto Faith in Trials":
Is your faith genuine? The sad reality is many people in the church have counterfeit faith. The book of James helps us determine what real faith looks like. Listen to Pastor Dave's sermon on James 1:1 as he introduces our new study:
Just because you look good and do good on the outside does not mean you are good with God. In the final verses of Galatians, Paul reminds the church that it's all about the heart. Listen to the final sermon in our series on Galatians - "Spirit Empowered Humility":
How do we walk in the Spirit? Paul answers this question in Galatians 5-6. We walk in the Spirit by serving one another through the power of the Spirit. Learn more in this week's sermon- "Spirit-Empowered Obedience":
How do we grow in Christ? This theme has been a prominent question in Galatians. In Chapter 5, we learn that growth in Christ comes from Spirit-empowered, Christ-initiated, committed effort. Listen to this week's sermon, "Walk in the Spirit":
The Christian life is like a race. We're all running toward the goal of Christlikeness. However, certain obstacles in this life threaten our walk with God. Galatians 5:7-15 warns us about two sins that endanger the church and our walk with Christ.
Christ has set us free. So why do we return to the things that used to enslave us? In Galatians 4-5, Paul appeals to the church to stand in the freedom that Christ has provided. Listen to this week's sermon - "Stand in Freedom":
Rules can't make you good with God. Rules won't make you grow in Christ. Salvation and sanctification are by grace alone. In Galatians 4:8-20, Paul explains the difference between following the law and trusting the grace of God.
What happens when children are left unsupervised? Chaos. What happens when sinners are left unrestricted? Chaos. The Law was our guardian until the fullness of time. But now that Christ has come, everything has changed. Learn more in this week's sermon:
Laws are necessary, but they don't fix problems. So what is the purpose of God's Law? In Galatians 3:15-29, Paul explains the purpose of the law and the supremacy of God's promise. Listen to Pastor Christian's sermon - "The Supreme Promise":
(We apologize for the poor audio quality due to a technical difficulty.)
Salvation and Sanctification are not accomplished by rules or the Law, but through the power of the Spirit of God. Paul reveals this to us and the Galatians through the example of the Holy Spirit and Abraham.
How can we change? Many of us want to change, but we're frustrated by our faulty efforts. Galatians 2:20 declares that only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can change us. Through the Gospel, God transforms broken people into His own glorious masterpiece.
Will you stand for the truth even when it may cost you? In Galatians 2, the Apostle Paul boldly stood for the truth. Believers must be willing to confront anyone who threatens the purity of the Gospel. Learn more in this week's message:
Often Christians judge others and add standards in order to make people right with God. But the Gospel frees the Christian from the law. The Gospel + nothing else makes us right with God. Pastor Dave explored this idea in Galatians 2:1-10 and challenges us not to confuse the results of salvation with the cause of salvation.
Is change possible, and how does it happen? Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can transform our lives. Learn more in Pastor Dave's sermon on Galatians 1:9-24 - "The Gospel Transforms Us."
What must I do to be right with God? Many people will answer this question in a variety of ways. However, the Bible gives only one answer. This week, Pastor Dave started our new series in Galatians and challenged us to defend the true Gospel. Listen here:
Why is mankind getting worse? And what is God doing in all of it? At times we can be tempted to doubt God's power and plan. However, Genesis 11 reminds us that God's plan will prevail. God will accomplish His mission of redemption despite man's rebellion. Learn more in this week's sermon, "Man vs. God":
Why is the world so divided? And more importantly, who can fix it? The truth is, only Christ can fix this world that is divided by sin. Listen to this week's message as Pastor Dave explains Genesis 10 and points us to our hope in Christ.
How do we deal with guilt? The world tries to put guilt on the environment or circumstances instead of the individual. However, God's Word puts guilt where it belongs. Yet despite man's sinfulness, God remains gracious. Learn more in this week's sermon, "God's Grace in Spite of Our Sin":
What do you stand for? Living in a post-Christian world means that standing for righteousness is not popular. Noah faced this dilemma and was an excellent example of what it means to stand for righteousness. Listen as Pastor Dave explains Genesis 6-8 and challenges us to "Stand for Righteousness."
How can we be right with God? Good works, going to church, and being nice won't make you good with God. Rules, status, and morals won't make you good with God. The answer to this vital question is Easter. Listen to this week's sermon, "Faith in the Resurrection":
How do we handle genealogies in the Bible? Some ignore them, others skim them, and few learn from them. Genesis 5 is one of those genealogies; however, its message is vitally important. Listen to this week's sermon, "Death: The Tragic Result of Sin":
Have you ever tried to fix something, but you only made it worse? We've all faced these frustrating scenarios. When man tries to fix sin, it only gets worse. In Genesis 4, we see the disastrous results of sin and man's sad attempts to fix it.
In July 1741, the famous American preacher Jonathan Edwards delivered one of the most powerful sermons in church history, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." This message describes in vivid detail the sinner's position before God. In the second half of Genesis 3, we have a similar scene. Adam and Eve sinned against God, and now He's confronting them. Listen to this week's sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of a Holy God."
How did we get here? In Genesis 1-2, we see God's act of creation, and it was good. But that's not the world we live in today. In today's world, we face disease, famine, disaster, and death. So what went wrong? In Genesis 3, we find the answer.
Does marriage matter? The world tells us no. Unfortunately, even the church has adopted many ungodly ideas about marriage. Genesis 2 gives us the origin of marriage and its special role in the structure of creation. God created marriage as the foundation of creation.
Do you see work as a necessary evil? Or do you see work as just a means of getting more money? Genesis 2 teaches us that work is not a bad thing. In fact, God created mankind to work. Learn more in this week's sermon, "Work as Worship":
Genesis 1 teaches us about the creation of the universe. In verses 26-31, we learn that mankind is the pinnacle of that creation. God created man with the special privilege of bearing His image. This fact has massive ramifications for all of life.
Can you trust God and His Word? We often become doubtful of God's promises in our broken world. Genesis was written to the nation of Israel as they were about to enter the promised land. The purpose of this book is to remind believers that we can trust God and His Word.
As Christians, we wonder: "Who can fix this broken world? Who is worthy to save us?" Revelation 4-5 answers: Christ is worthy! In this week's message, Pastor Dave challenges us to focus on Christ because He is worthy.
Every era in human history is stained by conflicts. So, where do these issues come from, and how can we solve them? James 4 reveals the relationship between our conflicts and our love for this world and gives us the solution to this problem.
As this world continues to attack the sanctity of human life, the question is: "How did we get here?" We find the answer in the collapse of the family unit. In this week's sermon, Pastor Dave challenged us from Ephesians 5-6 to become a biblical family.
Are you different from the world around you? Often our lives don't look any different from this world. We talk, act, and live like everyone else. In Revelation 17-18, John reminds us about the danger of a distracted life.
The world is one of the most dangerous distractions believers will face. 1 John 2 commands us to not love the world or the things in the world. Sadly, as sinful beings we are reckless in our love. Listen to Pastor Christian's sermon, "Reckless Love."
The modern Christian is distracted by the things of this world. How can we avoid distraction and maintain a focus on eternity? We must lay aside weights and sin and run with endurance. When we focus on Christ, we gain eternal motivation. Hebrews 12:1-3 lays the foundation for the solution to distraction.
What is Christmas about? It is not about good feelings, holiday cheer, or even serving others. As we see in Galatians 4, Christmas is actually about Good Friday and Easter. Christmas is about the cross.
What is the meaning of Christmas? It's not the presents, the trees, or even the special times with family. Christmas is about the Son of God coming to earth as a humble baby to save mankind.
In a broken and sinful world, it can be easy to lose your focus. However, the church must be focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In this final sermon from the book of Romans, Pastor Dave challenges us to stay focused.
Why don't we like to talk about finances? Most likely, it's because we don't manage our finances well. The question is: "Does God care about money?" Scripture teaches that we must serve God with our finances.
Does being a member of a local church matter? The Bible is not silent on this issue. In this week's sermon, Pastor Dave explores what the New Testament has to say about church membership.
Have you ever visited a church where you felt you didn't belong? Many churches can be cold and unwelcoming toward outsiders. However, Romans 16 shows us how the Gospel should impact our interactions with others.
What does it mean to be a Christian? Your answer to this question is vital.
Romans answers this question with the Gospel. In chapter 15, we learn how the Gospel impacts our lives through the example of Paul. Listen to Pastor Dave's sermon - "The Gospel in Everday Life":
Why does the church have conflict? According to Scripture, strife comes from our sinful hearts. We love our pleasures and opinions more than God and others. In this week's message, Pastor Dave explains from Romans 15 that the Gospel is most clearly displayed in everyday life when Christians live in unity.
Christians disagree with one another. We all have different opinions, convictions, and values. However, the Church should have unity despite our differences. Romans 14 explains how the Gospel calls us to unity through love.
Society has an awful definition of love resulting in broken relationships and heartache. But the Gospel calls us to love like Jesus. Pastor Dave explains from Romans 13:8-14 how the Gospel affects our relationships.
How are Christians supposed to interact with human government? The Gospel requires us to submit to and honor our governing leaders because God has appointed them. Listen to what Romans 13 has to say about the Gospel and Government.
Living in a wicked culture that hates God is not a new thing. The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Romans in a hostile setting. In this week's message, Pastor Christian explains how the Gospel requires that we love like Christ in this evil world.
If we are to offer our whole lives as a sacrifice to God, then why are so many churches filled with consumers? Romans 12:3-8 teaches us that the local church is a place to give, not just to get. God has uniquely gifted every believer to serve Christ's church. Learn more in this week's message by Pastor Christian.
So what? The Apostle Paul has analyzed the Gospel of Jesus Christ for eleven chapters, but how does this truth change our daily lives? Pastor Christian explains from Romans 12:1-2 the necessary response to the Gospel.
Salvation is the greatest mystery ever devised, but we find the explanation in two words: God's glory. Every aspect of salvation points to His majesty and wisdom. Pastor Dave explains from Romans 11:25-36 how salvation reveals God's glory.
How should we respond to unbelievers and their rampant wickedness? Pastor Dave answers this question in this week's message from Romans 11:13-24. Christians need to remember God's grace for Gospel motivation.
Has God rejected His people? Romans 11:1-12 answers this question with a resounding "No!" God always keeps His promises and does not pause His plan. Pastor Dave explains this comforting fact in this week's message:
We've all been there - You had an opportunity to share the Gospel with a friend, co-worker, cashier, or family member, but you coward in fear. Pastor Dave explains from Romans 10:14-21 the recipe for success in evangelism:
Not everyone who claims to be a Christian will be in heaven. Many so-called "Christians" base their salvation on their good works or their church attendance and not on the finished work of Jesus Christ. Pastor Dave explains from Romans 10:1-13 the difference between ritual and relationship:
Perhaps no doctrine causes more audacity and consternation than the doctrine of election. However, when understood in the light of Scripture, perhaps no doctrine creates more comfort and peace than the doctrine of election. Yesterday, Pastor Dave walked with us through Romans 9 to help us see the glorious grace of God in election.
How can a good God let bad things happen? The answer to this question may surprise you. Even Job began to doubt the goodness of God amid his suffering. Pastor Christian wraps up our two-week series on suffering by looking at Job 2 and the rest of the story:
Why do bad things happen to good people? In a broken and sinful world, suffering is a reality that everyone must face. The question is, how can we glorify God in the midst of our suffering? Pastor Christian begins a two-week series in Job to answer these questions and more:
As we understand more about the Gospel, we will have a burden for lost souls. In this week's message, Pastor Dave Locke shows us from Romans 9:1-5 how the Gospel changes the way we view others and ourselves.
Culture around us continues to degrade at a rapid pace. Christian morals no longer stand as the norm. Rather those that hold to Biblical truth are viewed as wicked. In Romans 1, we discovered that this trend is no surprise. As God’s wrath turns against culture, it will continue to degrade and become more hostile. Further, believers face struggles and challenges throughout life. Romans 7 informed us that sin still impacts our lives and we can’t get away from it. However, as we saw in Romans 1:16, and throughout chapter 8, the Gospel is the answer to these issues. The Gospel is the answer to your trial.
Throughout the book so far, we observed the depravity of man in chapters 1-3. We observed the glorious news of the gospel (Jesus’ death for sin, burial, and resurrection for our justification) in chapters 4-6. And we observed our ongoing struggle with sin in chapter 7. However, chapter 8 brought the glorious news of forgiveness and the amazing benefits of faith in Christ. We observed that we can find strength in the trial through our glorious future, our divine comforter, and our enduring promise.
Today, we answer the question, so what? How does all this really matter in everyday life? We still struggle. Life is still hard. How should we respond?
There are certain verses in Scripture that are very popular because of their message. Often, these verses can inadvertently turn into empty platitudes. Romans 8:28 is one such verse. Whenever someone is facing difficulty, they have a fellow believer to remind them, that all things work together for good! This can often feel very unhelpful.
However, as we turn today to our enduring promise from God, and look at this promise in its context, I believe that this can turn into one of the most glorious passages in Scripture.
Over the past two weeks, we have looked at verses 18-27 examining two of the three blessings from God which grant us strength in the midst of trial. We have a glorious future and a divine comforter.
The Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood, misrepresented, and ignored person of the Trinity. Pentecostals have turned the Spirit into a sideshow. And in response, most protestants have swung the pendulum to ignoring the Spirit. However, when we face trials and struggles in life, we do ourselves a disservice if we do not understand the Spirit’s role and working in our life.
Many Christians face struggle with a kind of sad resignation. We understand that trial and struggle in our life is a reality and that one day God will make it right. However, we then tend to fall into a kind of despair and depression about the state of our life and this world today.
However, God has something much better for us. When we understand the role of the Spirit, we can maintain an eternal perspective in trial. This perspective, far from bringing frustration today, leads us to engage the world with joy. As we walk through the need for an eternal perspective in trial, today we will discover that we can find strength through the divine comforter God has given to us.
Why do bad things happen? Every day we feel the struggles and toils of life. Many of you are currently walking through deep struggles in your life. Yet Romans 8:1-17 speaks of the fact that we are children of God. We are no longer under condemnation. The Spirit dwells within us! So why do bad things happen to the children of God? Doesn’t this seem to contradict the idea that we have life in Christ? TV’s popular health and wealth preachers regularly claim that if you have faith, you stand as a child of God and he promises you health. You just have to claim it. However, they themselves suffer from illness and ultimately die. The truth of Scripture is those bad things will happen to you. You will suffer in this life. But how is that possible since we are God’s children? Doesn’t he care to keep us safe? Paul seeks to give the believer hope and comfort in his answer here in this week’s text Romans 8:18-30. Admittedly again, this will probably take us three weeks to work through.
Through faith we are made children of God. The most amazing benefit of salvation is that we become part of God's family.
From an early age, children look to their mothers and ask, "Mommy, did you see that?" We all long for approval and acceptance from our mothers. In a similar vein, many have long given up any hope that they can be assured of God's approval. They simply hope that he will accept them. However, as we look at our text this morning we will discover that God is pleased with you because of Christ.
God's holiness cannot allow sin to go unchecked. However, God's grace stands greater than sin.
Many believers live in the throws of shame and guilt. The sins and mistakes of the past continually haunt them and destroy their lives and relationships. Some endure intense shame because of sin against them. But the glorious news of the gospel is that they are not condemned in Christ.
Over the past two weeks, we have discussed the reality that you can and must say no to sin. Sin is a challenge in every individual’s life. The struggle is very real. So how do we overcome sin? How do we say no to sin?
Often when a particular sin struggle enters into a life or to a society, the regular response to that struggle is to make a rule to keep you or others in society from that sin. In our personal life, we begin to make rules for ourselves to make sure that we keep from sinning. Perhaps we have the sin struggle of gluttony. So we make a rule that we will never go to the buffet. Maybe we struggle with anger. So we make a rule that we will always count to 10 before answering anyone.
We see this trend in some churches as well. Young people struggle with morality. So we make a rule that the girls need to dress like little house on the prairie. People struggle with commitment to God, so we make a rule that you have to be in church every time the doors are unlocked.
We see this trend in society as well. Gun violence takes place and there is a call for stricter gun laws. Abortion is rampant and so there is a call to outlaw abortion.
Now we need to note that for the most part, rules are not bad things. There are such things as bad laws and bad rules, but society, churches, and our own lives would be in absolute disarray without rules. But we must understand that rules are not the answer to sin. Rules don’t fix sin problems.
This is not a new issue. By the first century, the Jews had come to view the Law as the solution to sin. If you made sure to follow the rules the Law laid out and you followed the rules the Rabbis added to the Law, you would be good. The problem was that this did not work anymore then than it does today. The Law is not the answer to sin.
Slavery is a concept abhorrent to our society. The idea that one person can own another as chattel almost split our nation. We fought one of the bloodiest wars in history to end that practice. As Americans, we hold strongly to individual and personal rights. No one, not even the government, holds absolute authority over us. We are free!
But what if I told you that is not true? What if I told you that every one of us is actually a slave? As we walk through the Book of Romans, we observed that we were born as depraved sinners, but that Jesus in his love for us paid the price for our sin and grants us life. Last week we observed from the first half of Romans 6 that you can and must say no to sin.
In the second half of Romans 6, we learn that we often don’t because we fail to understand that every one of us is a slave. Until we understand this, we will not be able to say no sin.
Over the past few weeks, we have been rehearsing the reality that you are justified in Christ. Because of that you no longer need to fear sin. You have been forgiven. Last week we discussed the fact that we have a representative in Christ that has placed his righteousness on us. So that when we stand before God we will be clothed in His righteousness. This means that you are forgiven your sin and you can overcome your sin.
Perhaps as you contemplated these things you responded in your heart with one of three responses. Maybe you thought, What a wonderful truth. But it doesn’t seem like a reality. I struggle so much with sin and feel that I am nowhere near where I should be in my Christian life. Perhaps your encouragement was mixed with a little bit of frustration that you are still in a major battle with sin. Or maybe you thought, So and so really needs this. I hope they are listening. While you would never voice it, you thought, I really don’t need this myself, I am good, but that other person really needs this. Or maybe you thought that because Christ is your representative you are righteous in Christ, so it really doesn’t matter if you are not living for God. God is love and full of forgiveness, so you are free to live how you want and pursue what you want.
Paul turns to the very real struggle with sin in the next two chapters. The first issue that Paul addresses in this text deals with the questions: Does it really matter how a Christian lives? Are we free to live however we want? After all, we are forgiven and no longer face God’s wrath.
All of us are represented by one of two people. One representative leads to death, the other to life. Which represents you?
As lightning flashed and thunder crashed outside the window, terror-filled the child’s heart. In fear, they scrambled out of bed and ran down the hall to their parent’s bedroom. As they climbed into bed with their parents, the child felt her parent’s arms encircle her in a protective hug. There is something comforting and protective when a parent puts their arms around their children. While the storm still rages, something about the protective hug ensures the child that everything will be alright.
Last week we discussed the reality that Salvation means we can rejoice in suffering. Perhaps as you listened to the Word and meditated on it over the week, you wonder how this can be possible. Your life is filled with intense suffering that does not seem to let go. Theoretically, you can rejoice in suffering, but realistically this does not seem possible. How can you rest and rejoice in suffering?
We finished the text last week in the middle of the text. Today I would like to examine the remainder of the text and learn that rejoicing in suffering can be a reality in your life when you rest in God’s love.
In 1858, a very successful preacher in Scotland by the name of John G Paton, left his ministry and comfort of home to become a missionary in the islands of the New Hebrides. At this time the Islands were populated by very aggressive cannibals who would eat foreigners and natives alike at a moment’s notice. When John Paton announced his decision, he received very vocal opposition to this call from God. John Paton wrote this account in his biography, “Among many who sought to deter me was one dear, old Christian gentleman, whose crowning argument always was, ‘The cannibals, you will be eaten by cannibals.’ At last I replied, ‘ Mr Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; and in the great day, my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen redeemer. John Paton went on to spend many years sharing the gospel in New Hebrides. He saw many of those cannibals won to the gospel.
One hundred years later, the United States was rocked with the news that 5 young missionary men had been brutally killed in the jungles of Ecuador seeking to share the gospel with an unreached people group, the Auca Indians. Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Pete Fleming sacrificed their lives.
Why would these Christian risk so much for so little? For the sake of the Gospel. So we must ask, what is so great about the Gospel?
We continue our study in Romans 4. How can one be good with God and sure they will enter heaven in the end? Not through works, status, or rules. Only through faith can one enter the kingdom of God.
Are you good with God? What are you relying upon to make sure that when you stand before God, you are good? Today we examine Romans 4 to see what can take us from being totally depraved to being good with God.
As we speak about spiritual growth, prayer stands as a vital spiritual discipline which spurs our growth. Yet, this is an aspect of our spiritual life in which we often struggle. Prayer is hard. All of us struggle in our prayer life. Last week we began to look at three important reasons why we must take time to pray. We made it through the first two and today I would like to look at the third.
When you love someone, you cannot wait to talk to them. Several years ago, Heather and I visited my sister in college. Heather went up to her dorm room and to get her and I sat in the car waiting. As I sat there, I noticed a young man and woman who were obviously dating. As they spoke to one another, their infatuation was obvious. They walked up to the dorm where they said their goodbyes (or so I thought). As they parted, they each took out their cell phones and I quickly realized, they were calling each other. They simply could not spend any time without speaking to one another. They were in love. When you love someone, you cannot wait to talk to them.
Now let’s talk about our love for God. If we love God, we must take time to pray. If we do not take time to pray, we must question our love for God. Further, as we speak about spiritual growth, prayer stands as a vital spiritual discipline that spurs our growth. Yet, this is an aspect of our spiritual life in which we often struggle. Prayer is hard. All of us struggle in our prayer life. Today I want to look at three important reasons why we must take time to pray:
Over the past few weeks, we have discussed the reality of spiritual maturity. However, if you are like me, the time we have spent has been hard. We see where we need to be and we realize that we are not there. However, today and over the next few weeks, I would like to lay out a path through which you and I can grow in our walk with God. Those traits of the spiritually mature can be true in your life. And the path to this is available to all.
There is an old children’s song that states that if we read our bible every day we will grow, grow, grow. There is truth in this song. A primary spiritual discipline by which the believer grows in their walk with God is through the Word of God. God expects every believer to spend time in the Word.
One reason that many Christians flounder in their walk with God is that they practically ignore the Word. However, when we choose to practice the discipline to spend daily time in the Word, God grants to us the power to grow in our walk with Him and to overcome sin. As we look at Scripture, we discover that this daily time in the Word takes on three specific features.
Becoming skilled at anything requires time and effort. If one wants to become a musician of skill, they must spend years practicing daily. If one wants to grow as an athlete, it requires self-discipline and practice. Growth in every area including relationships requires time and effort.
When Christians do not think intentionally about their spiritual growth, they should not expect significant growth. Without understanding the biblical marks of spirituality, the Christian will struggle to exemplify these marks. Without comprehension of their current spiritual state, a path to exemplifying spiritual marks becomes impossible to find.
For the past two weeks, we have looked at the Word of God to discover the marks of a believer. We identified five marks: A love for God's people, a desire to obey God's commands, a commitment to communicate with God, eagerness for unity through humility, and producing the fruit of the Spirit. This past week we called on one another to their lives against the marks to determine their current spiritual standing. When Christians identify the marks and standing, they can identify a practical path between the two. Today we will discover that this path consists of the spiritual disciples.
The path to godliness is not easy. Instead, this path requires effort. Any relationship (including our relationship with God) takes time and effort. This means that God intends ordinary Christians to practice the spiritual disciplines. He does not reserve these disciplines for a supposed class of super Christian. Hebrews 12:14 informs us that no one will see the Lord without godliness. And the path to Godliness runs through the spiritual disciplines.
If you are a believer, you are called to practice the Spiritual disciplines. While Christ declares the believer righteous through the forensic act of justification at the moment of salvation (Romans 3:24), that moment begins the process of sanctification in the believer's life by which the believer conforms to the image of Christ. This conformity takes place through spiritual disciplines.
How can we claim this fact? Are we sure that the Bible calls each of us to practice spiritual discipline in our lives? And what do we mean by Spiritual Disciplines?
Today I want to walk us through three important texts which show us God’s method of spiritual growth, our responsibility in Spiritual growth, and the danger of ignoring spiritual growth.
Because of the history surrounding Christopher Columbus, someone once suggested the foundation of the Christopher Columbus award. This award would go to those who, like good old Chris, when they set out to do something, don’t know where they are going; neither do they know how to get there. When they arrive, they don’t know where they are, and when they return, they don’t know where they have been.
Tragically, many Christians set out in their spiritual life with little more understanding than good old Chris.
Each January we pause our current study to look at some foundational lessons for life. This year we will spend some time speaking about Spiritual Discipline as the path to maturity. In order to become mature Christians, we must first figure out the goal, the destination. Once we have figured out what a mature Christian looks like, we can then come to a realization of where we are at. When this has been completed, we can then chart a path between the two.
In today’s message, we will finish the message we began last week and we will seek to ask and answer the questions: Where are we aiming as Christians? What is a disciple supposed to look like? What is a mature Christian?
While the list could be a long one, we will focus on 5 marks of a mature Christian: last week we looked at the first 2
In his 1865 children’s novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carrol presents a striking scene which contains an important lesson for us today. In the scene, Alice continues her travels through Wonderland. However, she comes to a fork in the road. As she contemplates which direction she should take, she is flummoxed. Looking at each road from different sides presents different possibilities. As she contemplates her decision, she notices the Cheshire cat sitting in the tree. Being in wonderland she does the logical thing and speaks to the cat. She asks the cat which direction she should take. The cat looks at her through his yellow eyes and his maniacal grin and asks her, “That depends on where you are going.” Alice thinks for a moment and responds, “Well, I don’t really know where I am going.” To which the cat answers, “Then it really doesn’t matter which road you take.”
The lesson is that unless you know where you are going, you cannot know how to arrive there. You are destined to wander aimlessly around until you figure out your destination.
The kids of today will never understand the joys or frustrations of traveling in the days years before GPS. When you wanted to take a trip you had to get out a map. The first thing you would do when you took out the map wasto locate your destination. Then you would locate your starting point. Once these two points had been determined, you could proceed to design a route between the two.
Sadly, many Christians live like Alice in Wonderland. We don’t know where we are headed. So we wander aimlessly and when we come to crucial decisions, we are flummoxed. Each January we pause our current study to look at some foundational lessons for life. This year we will spend some time speaking about Spiritual Discipline as the path to maturity. In order to become mature Christians, we must first figure out the goal, the destination. Once we have figured out what a mature Christian looks like, we can then come to a realization of where we are at. When this has been completed, we can then chart a path between the two.
In today’s message we seek to ask and answer the questions: Where are we aiming as Christians? What is a disciple supposed to look like? What is a mature Christian?
While the list could be a long one, we will focus on 5 marks of a mature Christian:
It has been a challenging week for our community. Several of your kids and grandkids have had school canceled for several days due to the threats made against their schools. Some kids are now scared to go, parents are worried, and we see society continue to degrade in front of our eyes. So how should we as Christians respond to the situation?
As we have looked at the first chapters of Romans, we have seen the challenges of today. In chapter 1 we looked at the wrath of God against a society. It is interesting that the chapter ends with this: 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Even this week this feels like a prediction of today.
In chapter 2, we discovered that acts of religion cannot save us or change society. In chapter 3 the picture became direr. No one does good, no one is righteous, no one seeks for God. All people are totally depraved. So what are we to do? Simply resign ourselves to the fact that depravity will continue without stopping? Live in a world in which our kids have to be scared to go to school? How can we see change happen?
After weeks of bad news, today we get to turn to the good news. Yes, man is totally depraved and hopelessly wicked, but there is good news.
Over the past two looks at the Book of Romans, we have noted that religion can’t save us. Paul addressed the Jews specifically informing them that their status as Jews could not save them. This raises an important question for the Jews and for us. The Jews would ask, “what advantage then is there to being a Jew?” We would ask, “What help then is religion?” Paul anticipates this question and enters into a sort of debate with himself. Admittedly, this section is one of the hardest sections to deal with in the book because it may appear that Paul rambles. However, as we examine this debate, we discover an important lesson: True Religion is valuable because it demonstrates our sin and leads us to God.
Perhaps you have attended church from nine months before you were born. You memorized the verses in AWANA, you went to youth group. Somewhere along the lines, you prayed a prayer. Maybe you were even baptized. Now you come to church on Sundays and serve the church in some way. You assume that because you are doing all these things, you are good with God. But as we examine the Word, we discover that you just might be relying on the wrong thing. All these actions cannot save you. Only faith in Christ, through the Gospel can save you. Your religion can’t do it.
It has been a couple of weeks since we looked at Romans. As you may recall, in chapter 1, Paul presented a damning statement against culture. We examined the fact that our own culture is under God’s wrath. Yet in chapter 2, Paul instructs us to be careful in our judgement. For our own religion cannot save us. Today as we finish out chapter 2, we continue with this idea. Your religion can’t save you.
It is very easy for religious churchgoers to look at the world around us and decry what we see. Perhaps last week as we walked through the wrath of God against a culture, you found yourself agreeing with the judgments made. Our culture fell prey to their own sins resulting in a sexual revolution, homosexual revolution, and now societal chaos. We bemoan all that is going on around us. We rant against it with our family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and on social media.
However, we will discover today that Paul set us up. We fall prey to looking with disdain at the evil in the world around us. And often, we fail to look honestly at our own lives. Too many people believe that because we are moral and religious we are good with God. Too many people are relying on a ditty they said as a child for their eternal security. All the while, we excuse the sinful actions and attitudes present in our own hearts. The world decries the hypocrisy of Christianity, and we often bristle at this accusation. Unfortunately, this accusation is not unearned.
After demonstrating that the culture is in trouble because it is under the wrath of God, Paul presents some bad news to the moral religious people: You are in trouble as well, because your religion can’t save you.
Chapters 1-3 lay the foundation of the Gospel. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot gain eternal life on our own. We cannot create our own purpose in life. We cannot enjoy a relationship with God through our own works. Modern culture cannot accomplish these things for us because we are under God’s judgment. But neither can modern religion accomplish these things for us. Only faith in the saving work of Christ and surrendering our lives to him can accomplish these things for us. You see, your religion can’t save you.
It seems as though society has reached a tipping point into evil. Any thought to argue against the LGBTQ agenda cannot be tolerated. Last week Former President Barack Obama stated with shock that he could not believe people were still arguing about it because that ship has sailed. The political sphere is as divisive as it has ever been. Young people are seen as completely out of place if they maintain their purity. The drug problem continues like a flash flood across our county. Violence, deceit, immorality, death, destruction, and hardship are all around us. The cultural and political leadership continues to drive the culture further away from God. And churches across the country echo Oprah more than God.
In the middle of this onslaught, we often feel like Habakkuk. Habakkuk 1:13 – O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4 So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
In today’s passage, Paul presents for us the path of cultural destruction. And he demonstrates that this cultural destruction is the act of wrath by God upon a culture. However, this text is not given for hopelessness or despair. Rather, hope reigns, and the kingdom will advance.
What is the gospel? How would you answer that question?
As we walk through this book, we will continually be confronted with the Gospel! We will be forced to clearly define the Gospel. We will be challenged to live the gospel in our everyday life. And we will be encouraged to share the gospel. So I invite you to join me on this journey by turning to Romans 1.
As we begin, we begin with the main idea of the book. The Gospel is powerful.
Today we begin a new adventure together as we walk through the book of Romans. This is a fantastic book of the Bible. Many have called this Paul’s Mangum Opus (great work). It is considered this because of its amazing depth of theology while maintaining an incredible practicality. In this book, Paul presents one of the clearest presentations of the gospel. And then presents what this means for everyday life.
As we walk through this book, we will continually be confronted with the Gospel! We will be forced to clearly define the Gospel. We will be challenged to live the gospel in our everyday life. And we will be encouraged to share the gospel. So I invite you to join me on this journey by turning to Romans 1.
As we begin, we begin with the main idea of the book. The Gospel is powerful.
Today we reach the end of another journey. For the past several months we have worked through Paul’s final letter: 2 Timothy. We chose to work through this letter because it presents for us the measurement of a faithful ministry. As Paul faced the end of his time on earth and looked back over his ministry, he sought to convey to Timothy and to us the most important things the church and pastor must do in ministry. With all that he could have covered, it is vital and interesting to note what he stated. We could summarize what Paul stated with one phrase: a faithful ministry requires total commitment to the Word of God.
As we finish the series today, I would like to do so by looking at the final 4 verses in the letter and then a quick review of the themes in the letter. From these two steps, we will see two very important lessons regarding the measurement of a faithful ministry.
First, let’s look at the last four verses of 1 Timothy. From these four verses, we see examples of faithful ministry and we are reminded that God uses ordinary people to accomplish His work.
Many feel worn down. The challenges life brings cause us to become weary and faint. Sometimes, these struggles cause us to question our calling to follow God and even our faith in God. As God’s children, we expect that life should be a little easier. We expect that the struggles should be less. However, it is not long into our Christian lives when we discover that this is not the case. Life is hard. Even harder is the fact that the Christian life brings with it its own struggles. So how can we continue to serve God in the middle of intense struggle and conflict? As we contemplate all that we face, how can we remain at peace?
As Paul concludes his final letter, he invites us to view a picture of his life. From this picture, we learn of the intense struggles of the Christian life. But we also learn of the everlasting faithfulness of God. As you listen today and consider the ongoing challenges of your life, the lesson is that God will hold you fast.
A few weeks ago, we spent time looking at the reality that all Scripture is inspired by God. Because that is true, all Scripture is therefore profitable. Yet, as we read through the Bible, we quickly come across texts that don’t seem to be very profitable. We come to the fourth fifth chapter of Genesis, or the first nine chapters of Chronicles, or the first chapter of Matthew. All of which contain lists of family trees. Or we come to the end of Paul’s letters like we do today which consist of a bunch of thank yous, names, and seemingly inconsequential instructions. As a result, we tend to simply skim over these texts and move on to the “more important parts.”
As we being to conclude our study in 2 Timothy, we arrive at the seemingly inconsequential section of the letter. Yet, over the next few weeks, we will discover that there are some important lessons to learn from these sections. They too are inspired by God and profitable for our spiritual growth. I would encourage you today to engage with me in this text and resist the temptation to see this as an inconsequential portion of Scripture.
A reality of life that we all must face is the reality of death. Death will come for us all. We don’t like to think about death. We spend much of our lives ignoring death. But death is coming. One reality I have observed is that as a person comes closer to death, they begin to evaluate the life they lived a little differently. We can see this in the final statements of several people.
As Napoleon lay on his deathbed, he is reported as saying, “I die before my time; and my body will be given back to the earth, to become the food of the worms. Such is the fate which so soon awaits the great Napoleon.” Gandhi, the world-renowned Hindu religious leader, confessed, “my days are numbered. I am not likely to live very long – perhaps a year or a little more. For the first time in 50 years, I find myself in a slough of despond. All about me is darkness. I am praying for light.” 19th-century French statement Talleyrand wrote a note which he left on the nightstand beside his deathbed: “behold, 83 years passed away! What cares! What agitation! What anxieties! what ill well! What sad complications! And all without other results, except great fatigue of mind and body, and a profound sentiment of discouragement with regard to the future end of disquiet with regard to the past!” (MacArthur, 187)
Each of these men has lived their lives for certain things began to reevaluate those things on their deathbed. Each seemed to be marked by regret. Is this going to be our response when our time comes? Will we be marked by regret? Or will we be like the Apostle Paul and be marked by satisfaction with a life well lived for God? in our text this morning, we observe a different attitude from Paul. As the steps of the executioner draw near, Paul does an evaluation of his life. And comes to the conclusion of satisfaction.
Churches across America are doing a lot of different things today. Some have inspiring dramas. Some have amazing concerts complete with the lights and fog. Some even have circus flying trapeze artists flying across the stage. But many, like this one, take a massive amount of time every Sunday to have a guy get up and talk about a passage in the Bible. Why would a church do that? Isn’t that kind of old fashioned and out of date? We are told that preaching doesn’t work anymore. So why would the church continue to hold on to this relic?
The last two weeks we spent significant time looking at the power and importance of the Bible. We observed that we must anchor ourselves to it if we are going to live impactful lives in this wicked world. We observed that it is the message written by God for us. As such, it is sufficient to give us everything we need for the work God has called us to accomplish. If this is true, and it is, this the reason for the preaching of the Word of God. It is vitally important. As we begin chapter four of 2 Timothy, the challenge is presented that the preaching of the Word is vitally important. As a result, we must demand, seek out, and value the proper preaching of the word.
You don’t’ have to be around here very long to figure out that we make a big deal out of the Bible. Even today as you sat in the pew: you sang some songs that came from the Bible, you listen to the Bible read twice already, and you heard prayers with the Bible in them. Perhaps you have wondered why do Christians make such a big deal out of the Bible? Maybe even as a Christian you have wondered, what is the big deal? As you read the Bible, perhaps you have come across the confusing or frankly boring parts of the Bible and thought, It just can’t be as important as the church tries to make it.
Today I am going to attempt to answer these questions and to change your mind regarding the Bible. I will answer why the church makes such a big deal out of the Bible and I will attempt to convince you that this is the most important book you will ever read. And to those who don’t read at all, I will attempt to convince you that you must read this book. Your life depends on it.
While the two verses we will look at today are technically part of the section we covered in 2 Timothy last week, I set them apart for a week for themselves because of the importance of these verses.
The Apostle Paul understood what living in a wicked world was like. As he writes 2 Timothy, he is in prison, condemned to death, solely for being a Christian. Paganism reigned around him. The government was absolutely corrupt and ruled by a man who was insane. While he was about to die, Timothy was not. So in chapter 3, Paul gives Timothy instruction about living in a wicked world. We discovered in the first half of chapter three that Paul instructed Timothy to understand that thw wickedness of the world is inevitable. But the solution is always the gospel. He warned him about the danger of worldliness seeping into the church. Now in the second half of chapter 2, Paul gives Timothy 3 more instructions.
Missionary Ryan Pennington (a translation consultant with Bibles International) presents the needs of Bible translation around the world and the way the Word works in lives.
Last week we began the second half of 2 Timothy. Chapter 3 details for us the things we need to be aware of and to do in order to live in a wicked world. We noted that, as believers, experiencing this wicked world can be frustrating, discouraging, and even scary. We see society around us degrade, and we worry about the kind of world our children will inherit. We watch the news, and we wonder how much worse it can get. Is this God’s plan? Has God forgotten? How can we continue to live in this mess?
However, in second Timothy, we receive from God both a reminder and practical insight in to how to live in a wicked world. What we face is not new. While the degradation of society around us is different and scary for us, it was not unseen by God. So, we can have confidence and hope in the middle of a wicked world. Today we will continue to discuss how to live in a wicked world.
All one needs to do is watch the news, look at the magazine rack in the store, or spend any time on social media to be reminded that we live in a wicked world. As believers, experiencing this can be frustrating, discouraging, and even scary. We see society around us degrade, and we worry about the kind of world our children will inherit. We watch the news, and we wonder how much worse it can get. Is this God’s plan? Has God forgotten? How can we continue to live in this mess?
As we turn now to the second half of second Timothy, we receive both a reminder and practical insight in to how to live in a wicked world. What we face is not new. While the degradation of society around us is different and scary for us, it was not unseen by God. So we can have confidence and hope in the middle of a wicked world. Today we will discuss how to live in a wicked world.
A couple of years ago, I purchased a couple of washcloths to use in my office so that I could clean off dishes after eating lunch. Being cheap, I purchased them from the Dollar Tree. The first time I had the opportunity to use them, I discovered a problem: Thy didn’t retain water. The water simply ran over them and they didn’t really get wet. I thought, What use is a washcloth that doesn’t get wet? On the other hand, back in the late 90’s I had a number of pairs of cargo pants. I am not sure why they are not so popular today (something about looking dumb), but I found them tremendously useful with all the extra pockets and storage places. Even more useful, I have several pairs that could zip off at the knees and become shorts. Useful!! In life, we find somethings useful and some things terribly unuseful.
In our last text, Paul challenged Timothy and all pastors on our role and duty in our position. But now as we end chapter two, Paul broadens out again and addresses the church as a whole. In this section, he instructs us how we can be useful Christians.
What should you expect from your pastor? What is a pastor’s role? What is to be a pastor’s focus? What should you expect and demand from me? There are a variety of opinions on this matter in the church today. Some view the pastorate like a chief administrator. His priority is to ensure that the various ministries of the church are organized. Some view the pastorate like a visitation guru. His priority is to visit the hospitals, the members, and the community. Some view the pastorate like a jack of all trades. His priority is to maintain the church buildings and vehicles, clean the buildings, maintain the various church contracts, and entertain the members. Some view the pastorate like an events planner. He priority is to plan various events and programs. Some view the pastorate like an extended vacation. His priority is to do as little as possible. Yet, as we examine Scripture, we discover that none of these are accurate.
When considering the priority of the pastor, texts like 1 Peter 5 should come to mind. Peter instructs that the pastor is to shepherd the church by exercising oversight. In 2 Timothy, there are two important texts which present the priority of the pastor. One is found in chapter 4 and the other is the text we will look at today. Each of these texts reveal that the priority of the pastor is the discipleship of the church through the faithful preaching and teaching of the Word of God. As we work through the text today, the message should serve to be informative to you and convicting to me. It should help you know what you ought to demand from me and should convict me of what I ought to be doing.
Today, as we celebrate the founding of this country, we do so, understanding that it is a country in trouble. Secularism has pervaded the culture and modern American Christianity has proved ineffective. With the advent of modern media, we have access to more preachers than ever before, but there are few powerful preachers. Churches abound across the country, but few are truly changing the culture around them for Christ. While “Christians” are all over the news and social media, the country continues to degrade. In short, American Christianity is ineffective. Last week we looked at the reasons for this and we discussed the marks of an effective Christian.
Yet, even as we worked through the text, many of the marks seemed to be pie in the sky targets for us. While we were convicted of what we need to do, we often feel that we lack the strength to actually do it. Real life happens and is hard. Simply willing ourselves to be better is impossible. We want to be effective Christians. We want to see this nation impacted for God. But doing the everyday hard work of evangelism and discipleship, study of the Word and spiritual disciplines seems out of reach in real day to day living. In the next section we will cover today, God does not just call us to effectiveness, he also assists us in finding the strength to be an effective Christian. He does not just call us to do His work, he also gives us the power to accomplish His work.
We live in an unusual time. I think that we can all agree on that. As secularism continues to gain hold in this country, the influence of Christianity continues to wane. But what is so unusual about this that the prevalence and availability of Christianity. Through modern media, there are more popular preachers today than at any time in church history, but few powerful ones. There also are more popular churches, but few powerful ones. There is much activity, but little spiritual fruit; much talk about Christianity, but little conviction; high moral proclamations, but little accountability; doctrinal creeds, but much compromise. (MacArthur, 36)
A form of Christianity is still prevalent, but it is not effective. We are left to ask the question why? Today I am going to propose the reason for the ineffectiveness of Christianity is the failure of the church to stand on the Word. For decades, the church has moved away from the centrality of the Word. They have instead promoted a feel-good religion designed to attract the seeker. They have moved away from the Word and the tough teaching it provides and moved to modern psychology, entertainment methods, and self esteem models. Theology/Biblical teaching is viewed as boring and unhelpful. And so churches have moved away from the Word. But this misses the very purpose of the church.
Ephesians 4:12-14 – to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Hebrews 6:1 – Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
The Church and the Christian are called to live deep effective lives which impact the World around them. We are called to be strong in the Lord. This is the message to which Paul now turns. He calls for Timothy and us to be effective Christians. And in order to be effective Christians, we must be strong in the Lord.
In the late 1800s Charles Spurgeon commented, "Everywhere there is apathy. Nobody cares whether that which is preached is true or false. A sermon is a sermon whatever the subject; only, the shorter it is the better." He went on to warn that the Church was drifting away from the purity of the Gospel. Instead of boldly proclaiming the truths of Scripture, Christians were candy-coating the Word, being careful not to offend anyone. As a result, Christianity's influence in nineteenth-century England was severely weakened.
100 years later, this is true of the United States. Churches have moved from centering on the Word and the Gospel to centering on the program and entertainment. Music is judged based on how it makes me feel, not on that it actually says. All for fear of offending the world in the name of Christ. I have often stated that a preacher need not worry about splitting a church over preaching heresy, no they need to be worried about splitting the church over the color of the drapes.
The reason that our country is in the state it is in is not because sinners are acting like sinners, but because saints are ashamed of being saints. Our country is in the state it is in because our churches are in the state that they are in. And the reason that the churches are in the state that they are in is because the believers are ashamed of the gospel. We fear the persecution of the raised eyebrow. We are unwilling to share the gospel, we are unwilling to stand for truth, we are unwilling to call out the insane worldview of the world around us because we are afraid of feeling uncomfortable. In short, we are ashamed of the Gospel.
God has called us here at Cambria to be a lighthouse of the gospel. God has called us to be willing to share the Gospel and stand on the truth of the Word, even and especially when it is not popular. This is of increasing importance as the word continues to degrade.
June is Pride Month in which the world celebrates the depravity of the LGBTQ+++ movement. But no longer is this a fringe celebration. Just a few days ago, the children’s program Blue’s Clues featured program that sought to normalize polyamory (relations between multiple men and women), polyamorous parenting, and all varieties of sexual deviancy. Throughout the episode, the writers were sure to cover every aspect of the LGBTQ+ spectrum. The host of the show was an animated drag queen who celebrated “Ace, bi, and pan grownups” (a group which covers all imaginable aspects of sexual deviancy). The innocent children’s show is no longer an innocent children’s show.
As this engine gains steam, do not be mistaken, they are coming for you and your children. Do not be confused, they will not allow the church to escape unscathed. The day has arrived in which you must decide, are you a cultural Christian or a true Christian. For cultural Christianity will soon cease to exist. It is time for us to decide, will we stand for the Gospel or will we be ashamed of the Gospel?
This is not the first time in history that Christians have needed to make this choice. In fact, much of what we face is a mirror of what the early church faced in ancient Rome. As Paul sat in the prison cell awaiting martyrdom, he pled with Timothy not to be ashamed of the Gospel. In this plea, he gave Timothy some direction towards the power to stand for truth.
We don’t like to think of death, but have you ever thought about what you would say if given the opportunity to utter your last words? What message would you convey? We think of final words that have been said over history. Some have been unfortunate. General John Sedgwick, a general in the union army during the civil war, said to his men who were ducking from a confederate sniper, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” And was promptly killed by the sniper. Some last words have been touching. Ludwig Wittgenstein, an Austrian Philosopher is said to have uttered, Tell them I’ve had a wonderful life.” What would yours be? Would you seek to pass on any wisdom you have gained? Perhaps give final instructions to your family.
The book to which we will now turn our attention and spend the next few months in are the final words of the Apostle Paul. He knows that he is facing certain death. He understands that his time on earth is short. So he writes to Timothy some final words as he passes on his ministry to his protegee. Yet these final words are fascinating. As we work through this book, we will discover that the topic of the final message he sent to Timothy was to endure suffering through faithfulness to the Word of God. he sought once again to ground Timothy in the Word. He reminded Timothy that the Word is sufficient for everything that we face in life. In each chapter we find some combination of the idea that we must endure suffering through the Word of Truth.
Endure suffering through faithfulness to the Word of God
As we begin this study, we will do so with the first two verses. These will serve for us as an introduction. As is always the case when we begin a new book study, this first message will be a little different. This message serves to provide the background and theme of the book so that we can understand it rightly and handle it properly.
The Bible cannot mean for us what it did not mean to the original author and audience. While the applications may change, the meaning does not change. So in order to understand the proper meaning intended by God, we must understand the background and purpose of the letter. So that is what we will attempt to do today.
Whenever we finish a book, it is like saying goodbye to an old friend. We have spent almost seven months in 1 Timothy and today we bid it farewell. This epistle is a vital epistle for the church to understand. If we can understand this epistle, and obey it, we can avoid many of the challenges which split churches today. As we worked through the book, we learned that the church is the visible picture of Christ. As such the church is entrusted with the role of guarding and obeying the truth of Scripture. We observed this in …
1 Timothy 3:15 – if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
Our world today hates the concept of truth. We have arrived at a place in our post-modern world in which everyone can choose truth for themselves. Whatever makes life work for you can be your truth. There are only a couple of important caveats. First, love (at least the world’s concept of love) is the ultimate truth. The world’s concept of love trumps any truth claim you might make. Second, a religious statement of truth cannot be tolerated. And so, we live in an age of confusion. For, when everyone gets to determine their own truth, there is no truth. Yet, truth (real, dogmatic, unchanging, undeniable truth) does exist. God is truth. John 14:6 reveals to us that He is the truth. Not that he has the truth, but that he is the truth. Truth us bound up in his person and as such he is the determiner of truth. Second, God has revealed that truth to us in His Word (John 17:17). As a result, the church is charged with being the guardian of the truth.
We have seen this reality over and over in the epistle. As Paul ends this letter to Timothy and the Ephesian church, he reminds them (and us) one last time to guard the faith from all that would destroy it.
It is easy for many of us to skip over the text for today when we come to it in our bible reading because it is a text about wealth. Those who have wealth tend to overlook it because they don’t want to hear its message. The rest of us immediately think that this passage is not for us because we are not wealthy. However, those who have wealth need this message in order to understand God’s expectations of them. The rest of us need to recognize that we are actually wealthy.
A recent study revealed that 71% of the world makes less than $10k per year. If you make more than 30k per year you are in the top 10% of the world. So, while you may not think so, this text is for you. We live in a day of unprecedented wealth. Most have some kind of discretionary spending. But with this blessing comes responsibility. It is vital that we understand what God’s expects of the wealthy.
There is a storm on the horizon. There is a cultural (a spiritual) revolution occurring before our eyes which will bring trouble and trial to true believers. ... In the not to far distant future, this storm will arrive at our doorstep. And we will be called to stand. Society will seek to overwhelm us and force us to comply with their beliefs. The outer walls have been breeched and we have a decision to make. Will we stand or will we fall?
In the first century, the church at Ephesus faced a similar crossroads. Pagan society encroached into the church. The people were to busy obsessing over myths and foolish teaching to notice. Interpreting Scripture to fit their agenda. So Paul wrote this epistle to inform them and Timothy how to stand against the oncoming storm. As he closes the epistle, he gives Timothy and the church a command: Stand for the Truth.
How do you know if that book, bible study, teacher or preacher, or website you are looking at is truly a good Christian thing? There are a lot of things that place themselves under the label of Christian. Out of curiosity I looked at what Amazon sells under the label of Christian books and got 80,000 results. 80,000 books all claiming to be good Christian teaching. Then we consider the thousands of Christian podcasts and tv shows. Needless to say, with this many options, I hope that you realize that all that labels itself as Christian is not indeed Christian.
It is important to realize this because, as we saw a couple weeks ago, you are what you think. What you place into your soul is what you become. You will soon emulate and follow the kinds of teaching you consume. Therefore, it is vital that you fill your mind with good teaching. Further, with the vast number of resources available today, why would you waste your time with resources that are not excellent?
How can we judge between what is good teaching and what is not? How can we tell if that book, bible study, preacher, or website is good or bad? If we are honest, most of us simply judge the matter based on whether we like it or not. It makes us feel good, it aligns with our thinking, it is energetic and entertaining, therefore it must be good. Is this really the best way to determine whether something is good or bad?
As Paul began 1 Timothy, he presented the characteristics of false teacher, teaching that we should avoid. 1 Timothy 1:3-7 – As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
Now, as Paul finishes up 1 Timothy, he returns to this topic. From the foundation of the church, there has been a problem with bad teachers and teaching. As a result, Paul seeks to equip the church with the means to judge between good and false teaching. As we continued in 1 Timothy 6 last week, we observed that Paul presents for us the marks of false teachers. This week we will examine the marks of Godly men. We begin with the final phrase of verse 2.
There are a lot of things that place themselves under the label of Christian. Out of curiosity I looked at what Amazon sells under the label of Christian books and got 80,000 results. 80,000 books all claiming to be good Christian teaching. Then we consider the thousands of Christian podcasts and tv shows. Needless to say, with this many options, I hope that you realize that all that labels itself as Christian is not indeed Christian.
It is important to realize this because, as we saw a couple weeks ago, you are what you think. What you place into your soul is what you become. You will soon emulate and follow the kinds of teaching you consume. Therefore, it is vital that you fill your mind with good teaching. Further, with the vast number of resources available today, why would you waste your time with resources that are not excellent?
How can we judge between what is good teaching and what is not? How can we tell if that book, bible study, preacher, or website is good or bad? If we are honest, most of us simply judge the matter based on whether we like it or not. It makes us feel good, it aligns with our thinking, it is energetic and entertaining, therefore it must be good. Is this really the best way to determine whether something is good or bad?
As Paul began 1 Timothy, he presented the characteristics of false teacher, teaching that we should avoid. 1 Timothy 1:3-7 – As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
Now, as Paul finishes up 1 Timothy, he returns to this topic. From the foundation of the church, there has been a problem with bad teachers and teaching. As a result, Paul seeks to equip the church with the means to judge between good and false teaching. As we continue in 1 Timothy 6, Paul presents for us the marks of false teachers and the marks of Godly men. We begin with the final phrase of verse 2.
What does Easter Sunday mean to you? Jelly Beans, Chocolate Bunnies, Easter Baskets, Breakfast with family, Easter dresses and suits? Of all the holidays we celebrate, this one is the most important. All of history centers on this weekend over 2000 years ago. For on this weekend, our sin was pardoned, our souls were redeemed, and lives were justified through the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
But the glorious message of the cross is not just that Jesus died in our place. Rather, the glorious message of the cross is that Jesus conquered death though His glorious resurrection. This is the message of Easter. The most fantastic story, the most wonderous news. Jesus lives, and so will we! So for the next few minutes I want to spend some time together rehearsing this glorious news. ...
Ours is a society that does not place a high value on the work. In a day in which we are told there is record level unemployment, businesses are struggling to find those who are unemployed. In an NPR article last month, one business owner commented, “I keep hearing about all the unemployed people, I certainly can't find any of those folks.” As you drive through the county you will notice business after business hiring. Yet, no one seems to want to work. According to one recent survey, 70% of American workers do not like their jobs. Of those 70%, 90% said they did not feel like getting up in the morning to go to work. If the person could pay for their fun without work, then they would leave work tomorrow.
Unfortunately Christians are no better. In many cases, we are worse. We view work as a result of the fall. We think that work is the result of sin and we long for heaven where we think we will live without work. However, as we examine Scripture, we learn that work is not the result of sin. In fact, God created us to work.
Genesis 2:15 – The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it
With this in mind then, we must begin to examine how we are to be different as Christians in our work. As Christians, how are we to view work. As Paul begins chapter 6 of 1 Timothy, he addresses this question.
Every good coach focuses on the fundamentals of the sport with their team. No team can succeed if they fail in the fundamentals. A football team that can’t tackle, block, or run the right routes will lose a lot. Any basketball team that can’t dribble, pass, or shoot will lose a lot. During his career, every offseason, Peyton Manning would go and meet for a week with his old college quarterback’s coach. That week all they would do is practice the fundamentals of playing quarterback. They would spend time evaluating his footwork, his throwing motion, his line of vision, and so on. Even in his 15th year of NFL football (already one of the greatest to ever play the game), Manning headed to North Carolina where his coach lived and went through a week of drills. All because he understood, if you fail in the fundamentals you fail. A successful quarterback must be the best at the fundamentals.
Paul reminded Timothy of this same concept. A successful church and a successful minister is one who focuses on the fundamentals. There are certain marks which must be true of any minister in order to be considered successful in the sight of God. This text this morning is vital because these fundamentals have been deserted today. In order for Cambria Baptist to be successful, we must keep the main thing the main thing. So what exactly is the main thing? What is a minister to focus his time and energy on? What are the fundamentals/the marks of a faithful minister? ...
Millennials: can you believe them? With their distressed jeans, avocado toast, and entitled perspective. You’ve heard statements like this. The older generation has taken to calling them snowflakes. Soft, weak, insignificant. Millennials (and Generation Z) responded with the derogatory phrase, “OK, boomer” as a way to pass off the attacks as ramblings of old people yelling at clouds. Generational challenge and conflict has been a reality from the dawn of time. The older generation looks at the younger with thinly veiled contempt for their youth, and the younger generation stand in bitterness with an outsized opinion of themselves.
Often, these generational conflicts work their way into the church. As a result, the church seeks to make itself compatible to one generation or another. Hanging doggedly to tradition in order to please the older generation, and tearing it all down in order to appeal to the younger. But how is the church actually supposed to respond to these generational conflicts?
Timothy faced the reality of these conflicts as he sought to bring the Ephesian church back to health. Last week we observed the challenge that Paul gave to Timothy to faithfully stand for the faith, faithfully study the faith, faithfully stand against foolish teaching, and faithfully pursue godliness. He concluded with the challenge to command and teach these things to the church. Yet, this was not going to be easy because of the generational conflicts which were apparently taking place in the church.
What makes a successful church? What makes a successful servant of God? These are perhaps the most important questions we must ask in any church. The problem reveals itself in the fact that there are so many answers to these questions in the Christian world today. Most measure the success of a church by the number of attenders. A large church equals a successful church. A small church means that something is wrong. This view means that everything should be done to get people in the seats. Another view believes that the success of a church or servant of God is measured by the number of ministries that church has or that leader oversees. If the church or servant of God is busy and accomplishing a lot of things, then they are successful. Others measure success by things like popularity and exposure, influence, finances, or facilities.
All of these have two major things in common. First, every one of these is easily measurable and seen. You can count attendance, ministries, and finances. You can look at schedules and facilities. Second, every one of these is driven by the American consumer culture. They are the same measurements which businesses would use to measure their success.
Yet is this the way that God determines the success or failure of a church? Are these the measurements by which God determines a good servant of Christ? One day, when we stand before Christ, what will be the measurement used to determine whether He will say to us, “well done”?
The Ephesian church faced the same problem that we do today. They had lost sight of the true measure of success. As Timothy worked with the church to bring it back to health, Paul reminded him of God’s measurement of success. Through this text, we learn what makes a good servant of Christ and a successful church.
Over the last three years we have continually emphasized the importance of the Word. We sing the Word, pray the Word, Read the Word, preach the Word, picture the Word (through the ordinances), so that will live the Word. This emphasis is vital because the Word is Truth. In John 17:17, Christ states, Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. We must remain solidly on the Word of God because many who claim the name of Christ do not follow the Word of God. Just because something claims to be Christian does not make it Christian. Just because the individual speaking claims to be a Christian does not make what they day true. The Word is what determines truth.
So in our services, we guard carefully who stands behind this pulpit and that those who do, faithfully exposit the Word. We zealously guard what songs we sing. We insist that our songs be deeply theological and faithfully biblical. For much music today that claims to be Christian is nothing more that theologically shallow, unbiblical, self-focused, emotional drivel.
However, we must ask, “Are we being unnecessarily narrow?” Does what we sing, and what we say really matter all that much as long as it is spiritual in nature? In our text this morning, Paul reminds Timothy and the Ephesian church of the danger of departing from the Word. For these things that pull our attention away from the Word and cause us to depart from it are not just dangerous, they are Satanic.
Throughout the first part of 1 Timothy we have been examining the Biblical structure of the church. We have been called to stand for Biblical fidelity, we have answered the questions, what is a woman to do in the church? What is a pastor to be? And what is a deacon to be? However, as we have examined these instructions, perhaps you have wondered, Is this really a big deal? Many of these instructions go directly contrary to modern thinking and perhaps even our own thinking, So why is it so important that we structure the church in a certain way? Why is it so important that we follow biblical roles in the church and demand certain character in our leaders? In this next transitional section in 1 Timothy, Paul gives the answer to these questions. We must follow these instructions and demand certain character of our leaders for two important reasons.
Without question, the issues discussed the last month have been very hard. They have gone directly contrary to our cultures egalitarian demands in the role of women. They have opened old wounds as we discussed what a pastor and deacon are to be. But they have been discussed for good reason. And we must stand for these biblical guides for two important reasons which we find in this text: the vital importance of the church, and the great mystery of godliness.
Caring for the church is a big task. This quickly became evident in the early church. As the apostles preached and the church grew, the needs grew along with it. In short order, a conflict arose because some felt that they were not being adequately cared for. We see this in Acts 6. Interestingly, the apostles did not step in to solve the problem. Instead, they instructed the church to select a group of men to oversee the care for these individuals. The spiritual care of the church is demanding and requires much time for prayer, study and discipleship. Rather than pull the pastors from this noble task, the solution was to institute godly men who would see to these issues. The title deacon is not found in the text, but all indications are that this group of men are the precursor to what became known as the office of the deacon. By the time that Paul penned 1 Timothy (around 30 years later), the office of deacon had been firmly established.
But we must ask, what is a deacon? What is a deacon to be? There is a lot of confusion about these questions today. As we consider the church, we understand that there are two God ordained offices in the church: that of the pastor and the deacon. We spent three weeks looking at what a pastor is to be. Next, Paul addresses the other God ordained office: the office of the deacon. In this section he addresses that a deacon is to be.
As we work through this, I hope that this will be a help to you as a body. Each year you select from among yourself, men who will serve in this office. In many places and in many churches, these kinds of selections turn into a kind of popularity contest based on likability or business acumen. However, as we look at this text, I believe that we will discover that there is much more that needs to be considered as we select deacons.
There is a pandemic sweeping the nation. Do you fear it? No, I am not talking about COVID. No, this pandemic is far worse. It is a pandemic of murder. This murder has nothing to do with gangs and guns. This murder is not confined to a large metropolitan area. This murder takes place all over the country, and even in our own county. Last year, this pandemic resulted in over 42.7 million lost lives globally. This pandemic is the sin of abortion.
Last year Planned Parenthood reported over 300,000 abortions. They did this receiving $500 million dollars from the government.
Psalm 127:3 – Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Although as believers we know this, the reality is that …
Since the Roe v Wade decision, 60,000,000 babies have been murdered through abortion in the US. 60,000,000 innocent lives have been snuffed out. Compared to deaths by gun violence in that same period (1.5 million) we find the ratio to be 1/60. And yet our society screams to end gun violence but screams for the right to snuff out the lives of innocent babies at a 6000% greater rate.
Matthew 19:14 – but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
God loves children. As the children were clamoring to meet Jesus, the disciples believed that he did not have time for them. But Jesus response was to state his love for them. But today they are being murdered by the thousands. This cannot be ignored; this cannot be forgotten. As God’s people we must act. But what can we do? We aren’t legislators. We aren’t powerful? How can we affect change? To answer this question we must look at the core of the problem. Why is it that so many desire to do away with their children? Because we have forgotten God’s sovereignty in the home. We have bought into the lie of the world that we control our own destiny. In Psalm 127, the psalmist lays waste to this myth. In our time this morning, I would like us to walk through this psalm and understand the responsibility we have and the ability we have to change our country through the way we live our everyday lives.
For the past two weeks we have been looking at the position of the pastor. The church is weak today because they have accepted men into the pastorate who are unqualified. We hold a high standard for this position. Paul covers this standard in our next text in 1 Timothy. In this text, Scripture presents very clear qualifications for a pastor.
At times I have been asked how America, our culture, and Christianity have arrived at the mess we are in. I have been blunt in my answer. The fault lies in the pulpit. The church has settled for and followed unqualified men. The church has forgotten what a pastor is to be. You see, not just anyone should serve behind this sacred desk. So, what is a pastor to be? Who should be a pastor? What expectations should we have of the pastor? There are a lot of views about this in the church today regarding a man’s education, family life, and background. Are there some things we should expect regarding ability, personality, beliefs, and so on? Can just anyone be a pastor? Or should we be picky? And how do we know if someone should be a pastor?
Too many churches have not thought deeply about these questions. As a result, many pulpits in this country are filled by unqualified men who have no business being in the ministry. Too many churches are just happy that someone would be willing to be the pastor. This is a sad thing and has done immense damage to those churches and the lives of their members. As your pastor, what standard are you to hold me to? What are you to look for in the next guy? As we look to expand our staff, what are we looking for? What is a pastor to be? ...
Every January we pause our study to take some time and return to some foundational issues. We call this annual series, Foundations. This year, the next section in 1 Timothy lines up with what I want to cover in the Foundations series and so we will kill two birds with one stone as it were. We will continue our study in 1 Timothy as it covers some important foundational aspects of the church. This next section in 1 Timothy covers the leadership of a church. We believe that God has ordained two specific offices in the church: pastor and deacon. But who is to fill these offices? Does God give us a list of what we ought to expect from those who are in these offices. The answer is “yes.” Over the next several weeks we will look at what God tells us about this in 1 Timothy.
When we think of leadership in a church, we immediately think of the office of pastor. But what is a pastor to be? Who should be a pastor? What expectations should we have of the pastor? There are a lot of views about this in the church today. Some churches believe that the pastor must have extensive advanced education. They will not consider a man for the pastorate without advanced degrees. Other churches believe that formal training is a waste of time. All the man needs is a love for people and he is good. He don’t need no edumication.
Are there some things we ought to expect regarding his marriage status? Some churches believe a man should be married, the Roman Catholic church requires that its priests be unmarried. Are there some things we should expect regarding ability, personality, beliefs, and so on? Can just anyone be a pastor? Or should we be picky? And how do we know if someone should be a pastor?
Too many churches have not thought deeply about these questions. As a result, many pulpits in this country are filled by unqualified men who have no business being in the ministry. Too many churches are just happy that someone would be willing to be the pastor. This is a sad thing and has done immense damage to those churches and the lives of their members. Over the next two weeks, we will seek to answer the question, “What is a pastor to be?” As your pastor, what standard are you to hold me to? If tomorrow I get run over by a rogue Amish buggy and God calls me home, what are you to look for in the next guy? As we look to expand our staff, what are we looking for? What is a pastor to be?
What is Christmas all about? This is an important question for us to contemplate every 25th of December. This week I came across an article about Christmas written in 2015 by a man named Murray Bass. The title was, “What is Christmas About?” Here is a paragraph from that article:
Then, there is the traditional Christmas: The holiday. It’s the celebration of love demonstrated by selfless giving, the celebration of goodness, of right over wrong, of giving our hearts to others who need our love. There are memories of Christmas past. From childhood, my mother’s long cotton stockings hanging from the mantle for the four Bass children; and Christmas morning when the stockings held a big apple or orange, a few pieces of hard candy and maybe a Big Little book. And the traditional feast to warm the bodies and hearts of the fortunate and unfortunate alike.
To his credit, the author does go on to demonstrate how these find their place in the actions of Christ. But as I read the article, I could not help but be reminded that this is that the world thinks of Christmas. The movies, the songs, the traditions, all loudly proclaim that Christmas is all about warm fuzzy feelings towards one another. It is all about self-sacrifice. It is all about finding love and joy. Certainly, these are all redeemable things. But is this what Christmas is about? As Christians, we ought to take the opportunity Christmas provides to share the glorious message of Christmas. Not warm fuzzy feelings towards one another, Not self-sacrifice, not finding joy and love. Rather the sacrifice of Christ, the way to joy and love through his redemption. In order to understand this, we must look at the very first Christmas.
We often think of Mary, Jesus, the Shepherds, and the Wise Men when we think of the Christmas story. But there is so much we can learn from Joseph, the forgotten character.
Earlier this week, a news article came across my news feed that an actress named Ellen Page had decided that she was no longer a woman and is not identifying as a man named Elliott page. The article suggested that we were not only to honor this, we are to celebrate this. Our culture continually seeks to make gender a choice and believe that there are no repercussions of this. How did we get here?
The foundation of gender fluidity is Feminism and Egalitarianism. As with every battle, there are some concessions that are important to make in order to understand the heart of the issue. It is not ok for men to subjugate women and treat them as lesser beings. The battle to allow women to vote was right. It is not ok to act as though woman have lesser values or lesser intelligence. However, to state that those who hold strongly to gender roles believe that it is ok to do these things is incorrect and muddies the issue. At its core, feminism and Egalitarianism is calling for genders to be equal and same. While the Bible teaches equal but different. For when genders are equal and same, there is not need for gender. And now our culture, having bought into the lie of equal and same, has moved passed gender and it is now obsolete. Thus we have the chaos of today.
I bring this up, because the foundation of the gender confusion, feminism and egalitarianism, has taken root in the church. There is a battle for genders to be equal and the same in the church.
As I mentioned last week, this is a battle for Biblical womanhood. It is an unpopular battle. We will win no points in the culture for this battle. We will probably not even win points in the Christian realm for this battle. But it is a vital battle for us to wage if we are to be faithful to our God and His Word.
We speak often of the battles waging in culture today against Scriptural truths. But one battle we have not discussed much is the battle against biblical womanhood. This battle has been ongoing since the Fall in Genesis 3. Through each successive age and generation, this battle has morphed and changed. In America, this battle has taken on two distinct fronts which seem opposed to one another, but are allies in seeking to destroy the biblical view of womanhood.
One front seeks to define women through their beauty and appearance. The other seeks to redefine women’s roles under the guise of liberation. And these fronts have unwittingly infiltrated the church. They have created conflict and frustration. But this is not new. Timothy faced this same battle in the first century church in Ephesus. In our text today, Paul addressed these two fronts and presents for us God’s expectations for women in the church.
Now this text today is the most discussed passage in the pastoral epistles today. As you read books and commentaries on this text you will discover that interpretations range from seeing Paul as a liberator and champion of women’s rights to dismissing Paul as wrong and irrelevant in today’s culture. George Bernard Shaw, the author and political activist of the early 1900s, called Paul the eternal enemy of women.
Admittedly, this text is going to take us two weeks to work through. It is one of the most challenging texts (possibly in all of Scripture) to interpret and apply. However, as we work through it, I believe that the point Paul is seeking to make will be very evident and that when we are done you will have a firm grasp on God’s desire for Christian women.
In this thanksgiving service, we looked at the challenge from Psalm 100 to give thanks to the Lord because He is God and He is good. In the midst of an unusual year, we need the reminder that God is in control and that He is good always.
This sermon continues last week message looking at the purpose for prayer and the posture in prayer.
It has been quite a week. This election week fits well with this year. Confusing, frustrating, fascinating, scary, worrisome, irritating might all be descriptors of this week. Maybe those who are old enough to remember the election of 1960 between JFK and Nixon thought that would be the most frustrating election of their lives. Maybe those of us who remember the hanging chads of the 2000 election thought that was going to the be most frustrating election of our lives. And then comes 2020. I will be honest, I have no idea what the news outlets are saying regarding this election, because I have intentionally turned them off for months now. But I can imagine that it is not leading to peace and serenity of life. I have done my best to limit my time on social media because it has definitely not led to godly attitudes. In the middle of this mess, we must ask, how should we respond as Christians? In God’s providence, we are coming to a text this morning in 1 Timothy which gives us some instruction on our response. The reason that we feel all that we have felt over the last week is the desire to see real, true, lasting change in our country towards morality and stability. We want to live lives of peace. In our text this morning, Paul presents for us the secret to living peaceful and quiet lives in the middle of a political tsunami. ...
Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf served as the foreign minister of Iraq under Saddam Hussein. You probably know him as Bagdad Bob. During the second gulf war, he appeared on television regularly, proclaiming that the forces of Saddam Hussein were in fact winning the war. At one point he claimed that the American troops were committing suicide by the hundreds, and denied that any US tanks were in Bagdad when in fact the battle was only yards away from where he was speaking and the sounds of tank fire could be heard in the background.
His rabid denial of the truths about the war became fodder for comics and satire. He became the poster child for denying the obvious. He denied the war, and then he lost the war.
Sadly, too many of us are Bagdad Bob. We fail to recognize that we are embroiled in a cosmic war. We are in a battle for our souls and the souls of those around us. Too concerned about our own comfort, and too ignorant of the truth of Scripture, we deny reality. And because we deny the war, we lose the war.
In our text this morning, Paul reminds us that we are at war. This war is far more important than any struggle between nation. This is a war which has been raging since the fall of Satan. And Paul reminds us that we have an obligation to fight for the truth against all who would oppose it.
A man named Daniel Whittle captured the mystery and marvelous nature of salvation with a poem which has been put to music and has become a great hymn of the faith. He said this …
I know not why Gods wonderous grace to me he hath made known, Nor why, unworthy, Christ and love, redeemed me for his own. But I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.
The wonder of salvation is that God would redeem unworthy depraved people to adopt them as his own children. As great as our sin and failure is, God’s mercy is more. As great as our struggle and frustration is, God’s mercy is more. Nothing can overwhelm it; nothing can remove it; nothing can change it. God’s mercy stands forever.
As Paul addressed the false teaching in Ephesus, we saw last week that he took exception to the false teacher’s use of the law. Apparently, these teacher where taking the law and using it as a billy club against the believer. They emphasized God’s wrath and they missed God’s mercy. So, Paul addressed the proper use of the law. It is to convict us of sin and drive us to Christ. An in Christ, we find mercy. In our text today, Paul uses his personal testimony to demonstrate the amazing mercy of God.
The greatest danger to the church does not exist outside the church, but rather inside the church. There is nothing outside the church that can destroy the church. Persecution from the world will never destroy the church. In fact, history has demonstrated the opposite. There is, however, something far more deadly and destructive that can destroy the church. Like a cancer than springs up inside the body, this springs up inside the church and renders it ineffective and ultimately dead. False teaching will destroy any church that allows it to continue. This is why Christ warned us,
Matthew 7:15 – “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
2 Peter 2:1 – But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
From the very founding of the church, Satan has sought to destroy the church through all manner of false teaching. The danger in this teaching lies in its attractive subtlety. This teaching never presents itself as false. Rather it always presents itself as helpful, important, novel, and exciting. So as Paul instructs Timothy about helping the church in Ephesus regain its health. He beings with a discussion regarding the danger of false teaching. In fact, Paul’s preoccupation in this first chapter is with the importance of maintaining true or sound doctrine and refuting false doctrine. Because no church can survive which tolerates false teaching. ...
Does is matter how a church is structured? A quick survey of the hundreds of churches in Hillsdale county will reveal a variety of church structures. Some are heavily structured, and some have very little structure. Does it matter what a church does? Again, a quick survey of the hundreds of churches in Hillsdale county will reveal a variety of actions by the churches. Does it matter what a church believes as long as they believe in Jesus? A quick survey of the hundreds of churches in Hillsdale county will reveal an amazing diversity of beliefs and doctrine. So, does it really matter? Or is it really just up to each individual church to decide for themselves? From the very first time I interviewed here, I made it very clear that these things do matter. In fact, they are of supreme importance to God. Fidelity to God’s Word demonstrates that God cares deeply about the structure, actions, and beliefs of His church. So we, as his church, ought to care and know what structure, actions, and beliefs God expects of us.
For this reason, the next book of the Bible that we will walk through together is the book of 1 Timothy. When we are done with 1 Timothy, we will turn to 2 Timothy. These books (along with Titus) are known as the pastoral epistles. Although they might be better named the church epistles. Because they present to the church what God expects regarding the structure, actions, and beliefs of the church.
As we work through these Letters, we will discover that God cares about the structure, actions, and beliefs of the church, because the church is the visible picture of Christ and His Kingdom. Christ is in heaven, and his physical Kingdom has not yet become a reality. The only way the world and we as believers can physically see Christ and His Kingdom is through the church. So, it is important that the church accurately reflect Christ and His Kingdom.
As we begin each book, there are some important things of which we must remind ourselves. We are looking at the very words of God. Therefore, it is vital that we interpret these words correctly. One thing we have been striving together for over the past few years is an understanding of how to properly interpret the Word of God. Now we spent a little over a year walking through the Gospel of Mark. So, it has been a little while since we have looked at these foundational principles.
We must first remember that this book is written as a book. So, everything in the book must be interpreted in its context: in the paragraph, section, book, and testament. Second, it cannot mean for us, what it did not mean to its original hearers. Meaning does not change. But if we do not understand the context of the original hearers, we will not rightly understand the book. Applications change, meaning does not. So, we will spend some time today looking at the author and the original hearers. Third, the structure of the book gives insight into the purpose of the book. Typically, Paul follows a very distinct two-part structure. However, in this book, the structure follows more of a manual style, consisting of four to five parts. Each part relating to the structure, beliefs, and actions of the church.
Today may feel a little more academic than what we normally feel on Sunday. However, it is vital that we lay the proper foundation today, so that we can gather all that God intends for us to gather from this book. And when we are finished with this book, we should have a clear grasp of what God expects from Cambria Baptist Church in regards to its structure, actions, and beliefs.
This book begins with a two-verse salutation. In this salutation, We discover many of the foundational principles we need to cover in order to lay a proper foundation to understand the book. ...
There is a classic movie many of you are familiar with called Princess Bride. In the movie, the hero Wesley is killed by the villain. Discovered by his friends, Wesley is taken to the miracle worker name miracle Max. As he examines Wesley, he informs the friends that Wesley is not actually all dead, he is just mostly dead. He revives Wesley and Wesley goes on to defeat the villain and save the princess his one true love.
The humor of the scene is found in that idea of not being all dead, just being mostly dead. Because death is an all or nothing event. Some claim that on the cross, Jesus did not die. Rather, he was mostly dead. But this misses the reality and glory of redemption. Jesus was all dead. But the good news is that Jesus didn’t stay dead. Today we reach the climax to Mark’s gospel: the resurrection. Without the resurrection, the death of Jesus is nothing but an overwhelmingly tragic event. The good news about Jesus Christ is that God, by the resurrection of Jesus, defeated sin, death, and hell. Our hope in life and death is Christ alone. Because of his resurrection, we need not fear death, and we can live a complete life.
Mark records the resurrection events through the eyes of the women we introduced us to in the crucifixion account. On Friday, April 3, AD 33 Jesus was murdered on the cross. Hastily he was laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea before the Sabbath which began at sundown. After the Sabbath, on Sunday April 5, AD 33, three women witnessed the climax of all human history, the resurrection of Christ. ...
Due to the sensitive nature of the message by our missionary yesterday we cannot publish it online. So we are happy to bring you the next message in our Characteristics of a Healthy Church Series from 2019.
Through the most horrific act in history, our redemption was gained. However, this was no mistake. This was God's plan from before the foundation of the world. Pastor Dave discusses this amazing love as we continue through the Gospel of Mark
Due to technical difficulties we are unable to bring you yesterday's message from the Gospel of Mark. So we are reaching into our archives and brining you the second characteristic of a healthy church: A high view of God's Word. Originally preached on February 10, 2019.
One message seems clear in our world today as we contemplate all that is going on around us: Justice seems to be in grave danger. Whether we want to discuss the racial conflicts in our country, the debates in every state (and definitely here in Michigan) regarding the authority of the governor, the glaring hypocrisy of our national leaders, or the discriminate application of executive orders between various groups, the common theme is a lack of justice.
To be honest, most don’t even have an idea what justice would look like anymore, we just know, this isn’t it. Too many times we have seen justice fail in the courtroom. We all remember OJ walking free as we shockingly heard the not guilty verdict. We have seen religious institutions forced to provide abortive birth control and wedding services forced to provide for homosexual unions. We have all seen miscarriages of justice which led us to shake our heads in perplexity.
We wonder what is going to become of our world with each passing day of injustice. We worry about the world our children and grandchildren will inherit where injustice reigns. But all of this pales in comparison to the ultimate miscarriage of justice that occurred 2000 years ago. On that fateful morning, God himself, experienced the most unjust ruling ever handed down. On that morning, Jesus suffered injustice. But this was not without purpose in the divine plan of God. Jesus suffered injustice, to make us just.
As we look at our text this morning, we will do so in two parts. As is typical of Mark, he sandwiches two scenes together in order to teach us an important lesson. Let’s look at the two scenes in this narrative today in order to revel in the glory of God’s grace in salvation. And to be encouraged to stand with boldness for Christ regardless of the cost.
What comes to mind when I mention salvation? What comes to mind when I mention the cross? Most likely like me, you have some sanitized thought that comes to mind. We sing upbeat songs with joy about the fact that Jesus died. And we ought to sing with joy. But often, we miss the heinous nature of the cross. We don’t see our sin for what it is. As a result, we don’t truly understand the suffering that Jesus faced. To compound matters, if we don’t understand the suffering that Jesus faced, we will not be able to rightly face suffering ourselves. All of this results in fear.
After through the last supper and on the way out of Jerusalem afterwards, Jesus was preparing the disciples for the suffering that they would face in the coming hours, days, and years. Yet they still didn’t understand. They insisted that they would die with Jesus. Further, the reality of the cross began to weigh heavily on Jesus. So our Suffering Savior faced suffering for us and showed us how to face suffering ourselves.
They didn’t know it yet, but their world was about to spin out of control. What they had trusted would happen would be ripped away from them. All hope would be stolen from them. Chaos would reign. In a few hours they would move from complete comfort to running for their lives. Within 24 hours, their leader would be dead.
The disciples had no idea what the next day would bring. But Jesus did. So, over the day on Thursday, prior to His death, Jesus prepared the disciples for what they would face. How would he prepare them? By reminding them of the most important lesson. Regardless of what happened, regardless of appearances, Jesus was in complete control.
We could have started the message the same way, but instead said they had no idea what the nest year would bring, and we would have been talking about us in 2019. Yet here we sit. And the lesson Jesus gave the disciples is no less important for us. Regardless of what happens, regardless of appearances, Jesus is in complete control. ...
Due to a technical difficulty with our recording yesterday we are unable to provide yesterday's sermon. So we would like to present this message from February 3, 2019 for your edification. More in our foundations series can be found on our website https://www.cambriabaptist.org/foundations/
The end times is a preoccupation we all love. When I was growing up, it was the film Thief in the Night. Later it was the Left Behind series by Tim Lahay that dominated the church. We love the charts and the signs and the speculation. Everyone’s favorite series is end times study. Over and over I hear believers state that this or that is a sign of the end times. Wars, persecutions, coin shortages, viruses, riots are all stated as signs of the end times. But are they really? In our text today, the disciples asked Jesus what the sign of his coming would be. And he gave them a clear and sure answer.
Mark 13:1-3 – And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
After sparring with the leaders and teaching the people in the temple, the time has finally come for Jesus to leave and head back to Bethany. As they leave, the disciples could not help but be overwhelmed again with the magnificence of the temple. Historians tell us it was a structure that was awe inspiring. The massive stones shone white, much of the building was overlaid with gold which glistened in the sun. It was an edifice unlike any other. As they left, these Galilean men could not help but gape at it. One of them commented on the beauty of the temple to Jesus. No doubt, this was an off hand comment like we make when we see something amazing.
Yet Jesus’ answer was not one we would expect. Instead of agreeing with the disciple, Jesus comments that these great buildings would be destroyed. To the extent that not one stone would be left standing. ...
Guest Speaker Dave Deets (Vice-President of the Institute of Biblical Leadership) walks us through Psalm 23. He reminds us that God is our Shepherd, we shall not want, we shall not fear, and we shall be blessed forever.
What is God like and how do we please Him? If I asked you that, how would you answer? There are a multitude of views about God, from a doting grandpa to a blacksmith ready to smash us with a hammer. But your view of God dictates your view of life. For how you view God determines how you believe you can please God. Further, your view of God determines your view of everything around you: You possessions, your circumstances, your trials, your blessings, and even yourself.
After sparring with the Jewish leaders and revealing their hypocrisy, Jesus get to the point of how we can live lives pleasing to God. Admittedly, the last few passages have been very hard. Week after week I have ended feeling rather beat up. Convicted of spiritual self-righteousness, of lacking trust in God’s control of our civil authorities, and of unacceptable biblical ignorance, I entered this week thankful that we have arrived at the section which provides comfort and hope. We can have the power to do all these hard things and we can please God. We will discover that a life pleasing to God is tied up in the very person of God. In this text, Jesus presents for us three necessary steps to live a life pleasing to God.
We need not look far to discover Biblical ignorance in our world or in our church today. We quickly discover a gross misuse of Scripture, making it say what it never meant. We see some using Matthew 7:1 as a statement that we have no place to pass judgement on the sinful acts of others. We see some using 1 Corinthians 9:20 to justify sinful actions in the name of evangelism. We see the misuse of texts to justify not wearing masks or to dictate the use of them. We see the misuse of Scripture to justify hatred. We see the misuse of Scripture to justify sinful authority problems in our lives towards our bosses and government authority.
We also quickly discover Biblical ignorance in the complete ignoring of Scripture. Some churches have made worship all about getting people in the door. They don’t point to any Scripture, but rather to modern psychology and self-help books. Sadly, the church which should be the most biblically literate is the most biblically ignorant.
So how do we avoid this biblical ignorance? How do we understand what God says? How do we know how to live our lives so that one day we will hear God say, Well Done!?
In our text this morning, we discover the appalling biblical ignorance of Jesus day. But in the text, Jesus provides for us the solution.
Would you agree or disagree with this statement? Nothing is more nauseating to contemporary youth than hypocrisy, and nothing more attractive than sincerity. … Young people hate our adult shams and subterfuges. They have a very sensitive nose with which they can smell the faintest odor of religious humbug from a considerable distance. (Stott, Between Two Worlds, 203). People hate hypocrisy. Often when asked why someone won’t go to church, they reply, “Because of all the hypocrites.” While we might bristle, there is some truth to their statement. Modern Christianity is marked by hypocrisy. And if we are honest, our own lives are often marked by this. If I am honest, my own life is marked by this.
I say I love God, but only obey when it is convenient or fits my thinking. I say I am a child of God, but my attitude is marked by ungodly attitudes. I say one thing and do another. I make excuses for this hypocrisy, but at its core, it is still hypocrisy. In our text today, Jesus addresses the hypocrisy that is found in all of us. And he does so using a circumstance in which most of us struggle with hypocrisy more than any other. The area of civil government and politics. This will be a challenging text. I ask that as we work through it, you keep and open heart, asking God where you need to change. All of us struggle here. So let’s work on it together.
We all love a good story. Whether it’s a love story, an action story, a historical narrative, or a good bit of fiction, our lives are surrounded by stories. But sometimes these stories are meant to teach us something. And some stories, from the nursery rhymes of our childhood to some fantasy allegories today, use word pictures to teach us those lessons. Jesus was a master storyteller. Throughout his ministry, he used story telling as a common method of teaching. We call these stories parables. They are some of the best-known teachings of Jesus. From the parable of the Good Samaritan to the parable of the prodigal son, even secular society knows many of these parables. But these parables served a greater purpose than entertainment. They served the purpose of teaching an important lesson. In our text today, Jesus uses another parable to teach an important lesson the Jewish leaders and Jewish people.
As you may remember, last week we discussed the narrative in which the Jewish Leaders questioned Jesus’ authority. Through a question of his own, Jesus unmasked their hypocrisy and revealed that he is the Son of God. Jesus then immediately follows with a narrative in order to further reveal the danger the Jewish leaders were in, and to provide for us some very great and special promises.
We live in a day when one can determine their gender regardless of their biology and it is considered normal. A day when one can be accused of racism simply because of the melatonin or lack thereof in their skin and no one can argue. When the reigning ideology is tolerance, except to those you perceive as intolerant. And when everyone gets to determine truth for themselves, as long as it lines up with the values of current culture. How did we get here? What impact does this have on the believers? And how should we respond.
Each one of us view the world through a kind of lens, we call this our world view. What we believe is the source of truth, who we believe is the authority to determine truth, and therefore what we perceive as the purpose of life determines how we view and react to every situation in life. The problem today is a question of authority. …
In the 1500s there was a notable English seaman and privateer who made three voyages to the new world by the name of Martin Frobisher. His goal was to find a northwest passage to Asia. He spent the majority of his time searching the St Lawrence River and the areas north. On his second voyage, he made an amazing discovery. He discovered a huge deposit of what he thought was gold ore. He loaded 200 tons of it on his three ships and sailed back to England. Where he dropped it off and promptly returned. On his second voyage he returned with even more ships and loaded 1300 tons onto the ships for his journey home. On the journey home, he believed that he had become an incredibly wealthy man. He could build a castle on acres of land and live the rest of his days in luxury and peace. However, after smelting, a startling discovery was made. Although very pretty, the ore he had so laboriously brought him was worthless. He was informed that he had shipped to England 1500 pounds of iron pyrite (or fool’s gold). No doubt you have seen this mineral before. It is gold, it is shiny, it looks like the real thing. But it is not. Gold is incredibly durable and valuable. Iron pyrite has little durability or value. It’s pretty, but it’s worthless.
Sadly, many of us are like Martin Frobisher. No, we don’t load 1500 tons of fool’s gold to ship to our homes. Instead, we load tons of spiritual fool’s gold and think that we are shipping it to heaven. We do ritualistic acts of religion and God stuff without complete dedication to God and believe that God is amazed by it. We expect that because of these ritualistic acts and God stuff that God will bless us, and that God is pleased with us. Sadly, we will discover one day that these things, like fool’s gold, are pretty but worthless.
Two weeks ago, we looked at the narrative commonly known as the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. We were reminded that Jesus is the eternal King. But as King, Jesus demands our lives, not just our service. This is the message of the narrative from the next day. In our text this morning, Mark recounts for us the events that followed. And in them, Mark challenges us to live lives for God that are of value. We are to live lives that bear fruit. He does this by picturing for us the danger of fruitless lives.
Guest speaker, Pastor Wayne Muri, presented the four tests believers must face from John 21.
In our final outdoor service, we looked at the events of Palm Sunday:
I have come to the point where I have no desire to turn on the news. I hate social media more and more every day. 2020 has given us a worldwide pandemic, crushing economic struggles, murder hornets, and now anarchy in the streets (not just of major cities, but even smaller towns). I waffle between consternation and hopelessness. If Jesus is in control, how can these things continue to happen? But I am reminded that Jesus is still King, He is still in control, He is still sovereign. The problem is my view of God. The problem is my handling of the Word of God. The problem is not with Jesus, it is with me!
In our text this morning, we are reminded that Jesus is the sovereign King. But this does not always mean what we think it means. Only when we properly understand Jesus role and purpose as King can we find hope and peace in the middle of a broken world.
Mark 11:1-11 – Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus[a] sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
When we properly understand Jesus role and purpose as King, we can find hope and peace in the middle of a broken world. In this text, Jesus demonstrated His sovereign rule in three ways on this glorious day:
Wearing masks is really important, everyone should do it when in indoor public spaces. Wearing masks is worthless and stupid. It is simply another way the state is trying to control us. We need to open the economy up today. If we don’t many will lose everything and then the death due to suicide will be numerous. If we open the economy up now more people will die, don’t you care about life? The church should never have closed. They responded in fear and lack of trust in God. The church should not open yet, they need to honor government and love others. This virus is the most dangerous thing we have ever faced in our lifetime. This virus is nothing more than a bad flu. You can find everyone of these statements made by good people who love God. Each one of them believes strongly in their opinion, many times they support it from Scripture, and they struggle to understand how anyone can disagree.
We live in a divided age. This crisis has done nothing to alleviate it. It has only exacerbated it. As we begin to open the church back up, Satan would love nothing more than to take these diverse opinions and to divide the church over them. He would love to divide us over the economy, masks, vaccines, physical distancing, and changed worship structure. We have a diversity of opinions in the church. We have disagreement. So how can we have unity in the midst of such stark disagreement? How can we remain a strong church with so many different views? This problem is not a new problem. In two separate texts, Paul addressed unity in the midst of disagreements. But through these texts, we learn that we can have unity in the midst of disagreement. We will focus on Romans 14 today (although we will refer to 1 Corinthians 8). In this text, we learn that we can have unity in the midst of disagreement if we recognize three things.
For many of us there came a time when we had to acknowledge that we could no longer see the way that we used to see. We were going blind. Perhaps the chalkboard began to get blurry, or we struggled to see the words on the page, or maybe we took the eye test at the DMV and didn’t pass, or we went to a routine eye examine and were informed there was a problem. For whatever reason we needed corrective lenses so that we could see again. But when we put them on, we were reminded of colors we forgot existed. We saw signs in the store again. We could read the score on the screen as we watched our favorite sports. Life was good again. In our text this morning, we meet another man who was blind. But his blindness serves for us as a picture of our spiritual blindness and gives us the path to spiritual sight.
Mark 10:46-52 – And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Sometimes in life we feel as though all is lost. We see all that is happening around us: in our relationships, in our finances, in our jobs, in our health, in our country, and we feel as though there is no hope. But this reveals that we have taken our eyes off of God. In the last text, James and John missed the message of Christ. So Jesus reveals to them again the new ethic in the Kingdom of God. They were blind to His working, so he sought to help them see. So often in life, we are blind to what God is doing. But he is at work, we just need to see. Mark uses another miracle in Christ’s ministry to reveal this important text to us. We will examine this text by looking at the four characters in the text and be reminded that we must call on God in faith if we want to find peace and joy in life.
In 1776, on July 4th, the Continental Congress released a Declaration to the King of England declaring the 13 American Colonies to be free and independent. Every year we joyously celebrate the freedoms that we enjoy because of these men. In that text, the deist Thomas Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” If these rights are defined according to the Word of God, we may agree with Jefferson. No one has the right to take another’s life. No government has the right to infringe on the freedoms of men to worship God, and every man has the right to pursue happiness in God. However, whether that was the original intended meaning by Jefferson could be debated and regardless, these words have taken on an entirely different meaning today depending on where one stands on the political spectrum. My point this morning is not to debate the validity of that foundational sentence in the Declaration of Independence, but to use it to point us to an even more foundational declaration made by King Jesus in our passage today. A foundational declaration for the Kingdom of Heaven (a far greater Kingdom than even our own beloved country). This declaration could be summarized as “The right to life, slavery, and the pursuit of service.”
On its surface this seems both terribly anti-American and absurd. But as we work through this text, we will discover that indeed, Jesus is calling us to be good citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven through sacrificial service to others.
As you may recall, Jesus ended our last text by stating in verse 31, But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
The disciples still did not grasp this. So, in our text today, Jesus seeks to inform them and us that our Kingdom citizenship calls us to slavery and service to others.
In this Drive in Service, Pastor Dave expounds Mark 10:13-31
For years, in the early exploration of North America, the Spanish sought for the fabled fountain of youth. They searched in vain for this fabled spring whose waters created eternal life. Today we recognize this as a fable, but we seek other forms of delaying death. We live in a day that is keenly aware of death. We are taking all measures possible to prevent it. Arguments for opening the economy often center on the emotional toll of the stay at home orders and the increase in suicide. Arguments for keeping the stay at home order in place center on the death toll from the virus. Death is all around us. With this increased awareness about death, comes an increased awareness about life after death. What happens after death? What if I told you that while the fountain of youth is indeed a fable, you can still have eternal life? What if I told you that you don’t need to fear death? This morning, that is indeed what I am going to say. You can have eternal life. You don’t need to fear death. In our text today, Jesus gives us the secret to eternal life: complete surrender to God.
Through three scenes in this text, we learn the secret to eternal life is complete surrender to God.
Thursday, the Wall Street Journal published an article which revealed that the marriage rate has plunged to its lowest point since the government started tracking it in the 1860’s. This cannot be explained away as an economic issue, this is at its core a moral issue. We live in a society that no longer sees the purpose of marriage. When people “love” each other, they simply live with one another. There is seen no need for a piece of paper stating that it is legal. This rate comes with devastating consequences and stems from an unbiblical view of marriage. Further, This period of quarantine has forced families to spend significant time with one another. No longer can we escape to our jobs or our hobbies. We must actually spend time with our families. I fear that this will lead to a surge in divorce due to the poor views of marriage today. Last week we began the next section of Mark in which the Pharisees asked Jesus a question that we need to ask today as well, “Does God allow divorce?”
As we work through this text, we will cover the issue by asking and answering 4 questions: What does the Bible say? What is God’s plan? Does God really mean this? And where do we go from here? Through these questions we will see that God's plan from creation was life-long, flourishing marriage. As a result, we will call each other to commit to and be content with where God has you. Last week we covered the first question. The goal today will be to cover the last three.
Recently we celebrated two monumentous anniversaries. At the end of December, we celebrated Harold and Geneva’s 70th wedding anniversary. And just a couple of weeks ago, we congratulated as best we could during this time, Chuck and Barb’s 64th wedding anniversary. That means that for the majority of most of the lives of the members of this congregation, these two couples have been married. These are monumentous anniversaries, in large part, due to the high divorce rates we have seen over the past few decades. Last year, the divorce rate stood at 40%. 4 of every 10 marriages ended in divorce. The average length of first marriages is currently 8 years. 60% of second marriages ended in divorce, and 73% of third marriages ended in divorce. We have a marriage problem in our society. What is this problem owing to? There are several factors, but the chief of all factors is the cheapening of marriage. The idea that marriage is simply a social construct that is created by the government. It is simply a piece of paper. If you want to trace the moral decay in the country, a major milestone you must mark is that, in 1977, 8 states adopted no fault divorce. By 1983, 48 states had adopted the practice. This led to split families and latch key children.
I know that some are now very uncomfortable. So why are we talking about this today? This is not in order to condemn or pour guilt on those who have been divorced. One advantage of systematically working through a book of the Bible together is that it provides very readily for us the next topic. Whatever is next in the book is what we cover next. This also provides the opportunity to discuss hard topics without someone thinking they are being singled out. Why are we discussing this today? For two reasons: (1) It is the topic of the next section in Mark. (2) It is a very important topic that is vital for all to understand today.
We live in a society that thinks nothing of marriage and divorce. When you fall in love with someone, you might get married to them. And when you fall out of love with them, then you simply end it and divorce them. But as people of the Book, we must always ask the question: Does God allow this? Does God allow divorce? In God’s providence, He provides for us the answer in this text, as the Pharisees ask that very question.
As we work through this text, we will cover the issue by asking and answering 4 questions: What does the Bible say? What is God’s plan? Does God really mean this? And where do we go from here? Through these questions we will see that God's plan from creation was life-long, flourishing marriage. As a result, we will call each other to commit to and be content with where God has you. This text will take us a couple of weeks to get through as this is a dense and important topic.
What is the one issue that divides churches more than any other? What is the one issue that splinters friendships and relationships more than any other? The answer is without question, “pride!” Our natural sinful tendency is to seek our own elevation even at the expense of others. Our natural sinful tendency is to elevate our opinions and thoughts above others. We naturally demand our own way. We naturally seek recognition. In short, we struggle with pride.
Our society promotes pride, not as a vice, but as a virtue. We label it as confidence, or self-assurance. And we seek leaders whose pride emanates from them. When individuals are struggling with life, our society diagnoses the problem as a lack of pride or self-esteem. Social Media is built on pride. The belief that everyone needs to know what you (or your kids) did today. The belief that everyone needs to know what you think on a subject. Social media is built around love of self. And this love of self, finds its way into the church. The result is a pandemic of churches splitting and failing because of the sinful, selfish pride of its members. Yet nothing could be further from the heart of God.
At the college I graduated from, each of the graduates received a towel upon graduation. This seemed, even at the time, like a very odd gift. This towel (displayed in my office) has the message on it, “Be Great: Serve!” The longer I have observed churches, the more I am convinced that this message is needed desperately today. In a country built upon the concept of personal pride (Pull yourself up by your own boot straps / You are the only thing that holds you back / you can be whatever you want to be) we need to learn humility.
This is not a new problem. In our text this morning, the disciples illustrate for us the incredible need for humility exemplified by service. And they hear the clarion call of Christ to focus on eternity: humble yourself and serve others.
In the midst of a confused age, one of the challenges for Christians is the idea of faith. What exactly is faith? What does it look like? We know that 2 Corinthians 5:7 states …
2 Corinthians 5:7 – 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
But how exactly does that work. Does that mean that we throw off all precautions and jump into any unknown? Does this mean that we drive without our seatbelts on trusting that God will preserve our lives? Does this mean that in this time we act as though nothing is different and go about hugging everyone we meet and gathering with everyone we can?
I hope that the obvious answer to these things is “no!” This is not what faith is at all. So, what exactly is faith and what does it look like in our lives? Some of you by now have thought of the definition found in Hebrews 11:1.
Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Faith is complete dependence on God and obedience to His Word and His Laws. It means that we believe in our heart what the Word says about God and we live in accordance with it. So, we don’t jump into the unknown throwing off all precautions because the Word commands us to be wise and plan ahead. We don’t drive without our seatbelts on trusting that God will protect us or today go about life as if all is normal because the Word commands us to love our neighbor and to honor and obey our authority.
Faith means that we live lives dependent on God’s power. Unfortunately, we often live lives dependent on our own power. We depend on our own gifts and abilities. We depend on our own goodness. We depend on our own ideas and thoughts. We turn only to God’s Word when those don’t work and often, we try to twist the Word to fit what we think.
The disciples had been with Jesus for some time now. They had seen Him work in marvelous ways. They had grown in their own abilities. Now Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John and had gone off to some mountain. He left them alone for a time and they began to act in their own abilities. Unfortunately, it ended in disaster for them. Through this next section of Mark, Christ teaches his disciples (and us through them) that His power comes only through faith and submission. And He calls us to believe and depend on Christ to accomplish all things.
As the realities of the current situation continue to set in, many of us have begun to feel the impacts. Some of you have lost jobs. Some of you are facing deep loneliness. Now all of us are stuck at home. For many, this is just another challenge on top of deep life challenges you are already facing. Congress can’t seem to make up their mind. The press conferences from our leaders many times feel unhelpful. For many, we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. Where does this end? When does this end? How does this end? Social media and the news are filled with dire predictions. But we are not prognosticators. We are not experts. We really don’t know. This can lead to deep concern. Even anxiety or worry. How is a believer to respond in the midst of these deep trials? How can we find peace when the world falls apart?
In the middle of his sermon on the mount, Jesus answers these questions. Even when the world is falling apart, the believer can live a life marked by peace. Even when illness, economic depression, or relational struggle strike, we can have a deep abiding peace. Even when you don’t really have any answers and your life seems like one big question mark, you can have peace.
This is an unusual time. I hope that you miss gathering with the body like I do. That you recognize what we are doing here is a poor substitute for the gathering of the body together. And in these times, it is easy to lose sight of God himself. It is easy to forget that the sovereign God reigns. We see a rogue virus wreaking havoc on the world. And we wonder if God is still in control. We see decision makers (government, business, and church leaders) making decisions that we may not agree with. And we wonder if God has indeed sovereignly placed them over us, and if the command to honor them still stands. It is easy to respond in these times with fear or foolishness. And it seems much harder in these times to see that the Sovereign God reigns. I believe it was the sovereignty of God that had me schedule this text for this Sunday a year ago. For in the text today, we are reminded of the absolute sovereignty of Jesus. Mark reminds us that Jesus is the Sovereign God to whom we should listen. And so, our challenge this morning is to See and listen to Christ.
The disciples finally came to a realization that Jesus is the Christ. But immediately after this, Jesus began to teach them plainly that since He was the Christ it meant that he would suffer, die and rise again. Not throw off Rome and take the throne as they thought. This was unthinkable to the disciples. This went against everything that they believed. So, Peter rebuked Jesus, he attempted to correct this bad decision. Jesus then made an even more disturbing statement. He said that if anyone would follow Him, they needed to take the same path. They needed to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus.
It would have been easy at this time to lose sight of God. It would have been easy at this time to become disheartened and discouraged. Their world was changing, and the disciples didn’t know what to do. Their leader was making a decision they thought was wrong and completely against the Word. How would they respond. Into this environment, Jesus inserts an event to remind the three leading disciples of who He is. And He reminds them that although He was not throwing off Rome and taking the throne, the sovereign God reigns.
What is a Christian? How would you answer that question if you were asked? Perhaps you would say something like, “Someone who believes in God.” Or maybe you would say, “Someone who has been saved.” Perhaps even simply, “Someone who goes to church.” For some time now, American churches and therefore the rest of culture has gotten the answer to this question wrong. The view has been one of moral people who do some God stuff, just not the uncomfortable God stuff. They go to church, they stay out of trouble, they don’t do drugs, they vote republican, and they love America. As long as one stayed in this lane, they could engage in extra-marital sex, drink all they wanted, live for pleasure, and still be good. But as we will see today, this is far from the Biblical definition of a Christian.
We have all had those moments in life when the light bulb goes on for us. You know what I am talking about. Times like when a baby figures out that they can walk. Or when they try ice cream for the first time. Times like when you learned to ride a bike without training wheels. We have all had those time. Something happens and now what didn’t make sense before, what seemed impossible before, now makes sense.
Over the last two weeks we discussed the reality that our view of God dictates our view of life. As a result, we need to open our eyes and see Jesus for who he is. We noted that the disciples didn’t see Jesus for who he is. They were busy worrying about food while he was teaching them. But these texts set the table for the text today. The text today serve as the centerpiece of the Gospel of Mark. Everything in the book has been leading to this point. And in this text, the light bulb goes on for the disciples. Throughout the book, the question has been, “Who is Jesus?” and in this text, the disciples finally have the answer. Yet, as we saw with the healing of the blind man last week, this comes in stages. In this text, Mark reminds us that Jesus is the Christ, who died for us, that we should follow. And encourages us to acknowledge Jesus as Christ and follow Him. And through this text, we discover what it means to follow Christ. We will read through verses 27-38. However, as with the last text, this will take us a couple of weeks to work through.
Are you struggling right now in life? Are you burdened by worry? Why is it that we are not marked by joy? Your view of God dictates your view of life. The answer comes back to the fact that we are blind in our view of God. In the narratives we began last week, Mark challenges us to open our eyes and see Jesus for who he really is, God the Creator the Sufficient Savior.
In this section there appear to be four different narratives. The feeding of the 4,000, the conflict with the Pharisees, the discussion with the disciples, and the healing of the blind man. However, as we saw last week, Mark is driving home the lesson that we must open our eyes and see Jesus. Through the narratives as well, he gives us insight into how this is accomplished. Last week we looked at the two first narratives ...
Why don’t people see Jesus for who he is? Why don’t I often see Jesus working in my life? Why is it that sometimes it just feels as though this is all just a show? The reality is that often we share the Gospel and the ones with whom we share it fail to grasp the significance of Jesus. Sometimes we walk through the course of our lives and it feels as though Jesus isn’t real at all. If God is so great and Jesus is so marvelous, why doesn’t everyone run to God?
Mark 8 serves a pivotal text in the Gospel of Mark. The book began with the statement that Jesus is the Son of God. Over the past seven chapters, Jesus has been proving this reality in a variety of ways. But the disciples keep seeming to miss the fact. Later in chapter 8, the disciples finally grasp the reality the Jesus is the Son of God. And the Gospel of Mark ends with the soldier at Jesus’ crucifixion declaring that Jesus is the Son of God and Jesus proving it through his resurrection.
This pivotal section begins however with the explanation as to why we and others don’t see Jesus. Through the first 26 verses, Mark establishes beyond doubt that Jesus is God the Creator, the Sufficient Savior. But demonstrates that we often miss this reality. Through this section, Mark challenges us to recognize and trust Jesus with our lives.
We will read the first 26 verses because each of these narratives build on one another towards this one theme. However, we will be honest with the fact that we will not make it through all 26 verses this morning.
In this section there appear to be four different narratives. The feeding of the 4,000, the conflict with the Pharisees, the discussion with the disciples, and the healing of the blind man. However, as we get into these narratives and see the way they build on one another, we will discover that through them, Mark is driving home the lesson that we must open our eyes and see Jesus. Through the narratives as well, he gives us insight into how this is accomplished.
What happens when we have been cleansed by Christ? What are the marks of a person who has a relationship with God? Are there things that should happen when we have confessed Christ as our Lord? Ephesians 2:8-9 inform us that salvation is by grace through faith. But then verse 10 informs us that we have been predestined to good works. So what are these works? In the narrative this morning, we discover that one of the works that mark a true believer is the desire to share the good news of Christ with others. When we see Jesus for who he is, we cannot help but proclaim it.
Over the past few weeks we have been examining the glorious cleansing form sin found in Christ. We learned from the Pharisees that this cleansing does not come through religious traditions. We learned from the Syrophoenician woman that this cleansing comes through Christ and is available to all. In our text today, we learn that Christ grants sight and hearing so we are to use it to proclaim him. ...
What must be true about a person in order for them to enter into a relationship with God? While we would hopefully quickly say something to the effect that all that is needed is repentance and faith, often we act as if there is more. We act as though a person needs to get their life cleaned up in order for God to accept them. We act as though there are certain people that are too far gone so that God cannot accept them. We measure these people by our own standards and find them coming up short.
As we saw last week, the Pharisees fell into this category. They measured people not by the commands of Scripture, but by their own traditions. They stated that people needed to follow a set of rules in order to be acceptable to God. If the rules were not followed, then the individual was defiled. Jesus quickly and harshly confronted them about this heresy and demonstrated that the Word provides the way to cleansing. In today’s text, Mark uses the next incident in Christ’s life to demonstrate that this cleansing found in God’s Word comes only through Christ and that it is available to all who come in faith.
The Pharisees hated Jesus because he did not keep their traditions. In our text this morning, this frustration reaches a boiling point, and results in a classic confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. While the Pharisees believed that their tradition kept them in communion with God. Jesus countered that, since sin proceeds from the heart, human tradition cannot make us clean. And so, he challenged them and us to make the Word the priority
There is a pandemic sweeping the nation. Do you fear it? No, I am not talking about this new super virus people are scared is going to come from China. No, this pandemic is far worse. It is a pandemic of murder. This murder has nothing to do with gangs and guns. This murder is not confined to a large metropolitan area. This murder takes place all over the country, and even in our own county. Last year, this pandemic resulted in over 300,000 lost lives. This pandemic is the sin of abortion.
Last year Planned Parenthood reported 332,000 abortions (their highest number in a year to date). They did this receiving $500 million dollars from the government. Since the Roe v Wade decision, 60,000,000 babies have been murdered through abortion. 60,000,000 innocent lives have been snuffed out. Compared to deaths by gun violence in that same period (1.5 million) we find the ratio to be 1/60. And yet our society screams to end gun violence but screams for the right to snuff out the lives of innocent babies at a 6000% greater rate.
We understand what it means to worship in truth, but what does it mean to worship in spirit? We need to understand three important factors to worship in spirit.
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There are two more foundational principles in worship if we are to worship the right one the right way.
We continue to look at how to worship the right one the right way. God has instructed us how we are to approach Him. Therefore we cannot approach Him any other way. So what does this look like?
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Foundations Series 2020
Worship & the Church
Everyone worships, so how do we worship the right one the right way? This sermon begins to answer that question.
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