Trinity Evangelical CC's Podcast: Recent Episodes
Pastor Keith Blank
We have been a friendly community church on the 67th Street Hill in Rutherford, PA, for over 100 years. Offering both traditional and contemporary worship. Listen to our Sunday sermons from Pastor Keith Blank and Ryan Martin.
Our Vision Statement: We purpose to make disciples of Christ by providing a climate in which personal spiritual growth and worship occur, by encouraging Christians to consecrate themselves to God's purpose in their lives, by equipping believers for effective ministry to reach the Rutherford area and beyond, and by attracting and leading the unsaved to Jesus.
Purpose Statement: The Prayer of Jabez is where Jabez asks God to bless him, enlarge his territory, keep his hand upon him, and protect him from harm. This brief Scripture in between names describes Jabez as more honorable than his brothers and notes that God did grant him his request. A book titled: Prayer of Jabez was written by Bruce Wilkinson. Why and how do we pray?
Purpose Statement: Our church was birthed in 1909. We celebrated our 100th Anniversary in 2009. Do you know our story? How did more people come to Christ when we saw the church grow? Evangelistic outreach inspired many new people to join the church, youth programs were expanded, missionary support increased, and training for teachers was available. How do we view our experience here at Trinity E.C.C.? What is the truth about this church? What will your legacy be?
Purpose Statement: This Psalm of David is a Call to Worship. David encourages to “Sing Wherever We Go!” “Bless the Lord, O My Soul!” To bless someone means that we are not asking for our own blessing, but to Call our soul to Bless the Lord by our Worship! Honor our Lord by the way we worship! Overflowing worship and praising God for salvation. David was passionate and emotional. David speaks to these emotions to follow the Holy Spirit by faith and to “Bless the Lord!” How do we magnify the Lord in Worship?
Purpose Statement: Have you ever heard on the radio or tv announcer go on and on and on about an incredible deal? And the last ten seconds of a commercial he talks faster than what you can hear? He says the conditions which you can’t understand. You might not buy the product if you heard. That’s what the devil does with sin. The devil makes sin alluring and convincing us to do something that we don’t want to do. We become slaves to sin. Sin never delivers us from its grip to freedom. Do we have room in our hearts for the Lord? How does this Scripture relate to the parable of the soils? Does the Word of God take root in our hearts? Freedom is found in Christ!
Purpose Statement: How do we exhort leadership? What kind of leaders does God equip and with expectations? Peter was an eyewitness of the suffering of Jesus. What are some insights of those in leadership? Shepherd the flock of God. Keep on the lookout overseeing the flock. Care, show compassion
Purpose Statement: It was in 1776 that the now famous Liberty Bell was rung for the first time. Fifty years later, July 4, 1826, it ushered in what was known as the “Jubilee Anniversary” of the American Republic. Our forefathers who founded this country were well acquainted with the Bible and therefore it is not surprising that they associated liberty and a bell with the blessings of our freedom. Great is a nation whose God is the Lord! What was General William Booth of the salvation Army prophecy?
Purpose Statement: It was dark, the wind was blowing, and the waters were rough. How would you react if you saw someone on a boat walking on the water towards you? What would you think if whatever it was on the water began to talk to you? And what would you do if He asked you to come to him?
Purpose Statement: What miracle is the only one written in all four Gospels? What is one detail only John tells us? How much bread does it take to feed five thousand? How does only John record that the loaves and fish came from a small boy? The willingness of a boy to give up his food reveals his heart. Do we trust Jesus for what He can do with our spiritual gifts?
Purpose Statement: A speaker at a conference was opposed by someone who ridiculed the idea that there was a God who heard and answered prayer. The speaker stopped and asked the troublemaker, “Do you pray?” The troublemaker said, “No, of course not!” The speaker asked “What do you know about prayer?” The troublemaker was silent. What did the disciples witness of Jesus? What did the disciples ask Jesus to do? Teach to preach or sing or pray? Many who pray have had remarkable answers to prayers. Have you prayed, “I need this or that?” And you received your answer to prayer.
Purpose Statement: At first glance Jesus’ response to the royal official seems rather cold. However, it shows the importance of faith. Faith is like a muscle. How do we exercise? Jesus wants growth spiritually. Jesus wants deeper faith for the official and us. What is the agenda of Jesus? What is our agenda? Will we take Jesus at His word?
Trinity Evangelical has been given the same assurancesof blessings and protection by our Good Shepherd, described inthis passage. Therefore, we can enjoy the thrill together ofstepping out in faith and stewardship as God’s church, and wecan reach out to the people this community. There are people wedon’t know, maybe people who are not like us, people of newcultures, but in Christ we can do it. With our Good Shepherdleading us, we can and will do thrilling things, because that’s theexciting life that Jesus’ little lambs are called to!
Anyone who comes to God in repentance and faith isaccepted by Him and will become part of His kingdom. This is theunderlying message of the Book of Revelation. God called John towrite this book for it to be a wall of encouragement & strength tothe church in difficult times. And it can be an encouragement &strength for us today if we’ll read it, & just see what God has tosay.
Jesus enabled Israel to change its heart and life, and he will do the same for us. There is a big difference between just calling yourself a Christian and really being a disciple for Christ.What’s the difference? The difference is found in living a committed, sold-out life for Christ and discovering that it requires one scary four-letter word: risk! You see, the way of Christ is the way of risk. To be a Christian is to risk. Lots of people don’t like that word!
Belief in the whole of the resurrection is a vital key to the Christian’s existence. In short, everything the prophets predicted, everything Jesus taught, and everything the apostles would write for our understanding – all that the Bible says about the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, this must be believed and lived outbefore a watching world.
Today, just like the city of Jerusalem, we find ourselves in thepresence of Jesus. I wonder what He finds when He looks into our faces.Does He see people who are so busy doing things here and there that theynever bother to consider those things that are eternally important? Does hesee people who recognize Him for who He is - the Messiah, the Christ, theSon of God, or does He see something else?
Christians are always to be in the process of a change - atransformation. It’s a part of our nature. Just like a human can’thelp but grow old, the Christian also can’t help but change. Hehas to. But it’s not something that we try to stop or hide, no, thischange is a good thing - it makes us beautiful. Unlike thetransfiguration of Christ and more like the caterpillar, it is moresubtle, more difficult to see. What kind of a change is it? Howdoes it come about, and are you including it in your prayerrequests?
We are called to live our lives as children of the light, theway Christ did. The light He planted inside of us will produce fruitthat will please the Father. Do you hold everything that you do upto the light to make sure it will be pleasing to Him, or do you justgive of yourself what is pleasing or convenient to you?
It is perhaps the Christian’s greatest fear. What isit?... personal evangelism, sharing one’s faith with anotherperson. After all, I may not know what to say. They mightask me a question I cannot answer. I might fail. I am notgifted in evangelism. That’s the pastor’s job, isn’t it? I amafraid
It’s interesting, that so often, when different folks try to interpret the “Real Jesus”, the “Real Jesus” quite often comes off looking a lot like them! But for us to limit the Real Jesus to the finite, sinful, prejudiced typecast of me or you or anyone else, is to do great abuse to the image of the One True God. Paul tells us that we are “to be conformed to the likeness of” Jesus Christ…it’s not the other way around. So, how in the world do we go about doing that?
God’s Word teaches that a neighbor is more than theperson who lives next door to us. The model neighbor that thechildren of God are to be is that of one who is kind, honest andloving. It is this reflection of the character of Christ that will makean impact and cause the light of Christ to shine bright.
We all have a choice: We can spend our life longing for worldly wealth or we can recognize the greatest treasure any person can possess is a relationship with Jesus Christ. If God has given you earthly treasure, use your earthly treasure for the exaltation of Christ.
Even though we all know that we are born to die, we often lose track of the important things in life. Today James talks to us about setting priorities.
Murder, strife, envy, and pride. All these character flaws are all a part of today’s sermon. Righteous living as a church begins with righteous lives of our members. James told us in the previous chapter about how we praise God and curse man with the same mouth. These words all come from thoughts within. They come from our desires. Our desires, not God’s will.
: The tongue is a double-edged sword. Arguments and wars have been started by words of misunderstanding. This week, in James 3 we read about being held responsible for what we teach and the words we say. Here James teaches us that true wisdom has many characteristics.
We need to show our faith by what we do, not just simply put lip service to it. It is easy just to say, “yes I believe”, but it’s harder to prove it. Strive to prove your faith by your actions.
Pride, prejudice and discrimination, three things that you would not expect to find in church but you do. Lets see how and what we can do about it.
What is one of the most common complaints among spouses in today’s marriages? I read a People magazine article and the number one complaint is communication. Women say men don’t understand or listen and men say that women don’t understand us…Today we see what James says…
: Last week, I introduced you to James, brother of Jesus, one of the most influential people of the bible. Today we start the process of digging deeper into the Book that God had him contribute to the Bible. When Peter and Paul sought wisdom and guidance in the growth of the early church, they both came to this man. James begins his letter, showing us why.
James’ passion for Christ pours out over the words that he uses. He has the passion of a sincere Jewish Christian and may well be called the Amos (after the prophet) of the new covenant. His letter is thick with pastoral encouragement, and pastoral rebuke. Over the next several weeks, we will discover it!
There is nothing casual, convenient, or comfortable about true discipleship. There is a denial you must embrace. How in the world do we do that? Jesus is telling us that we can no longer be the center of our lives. Remember what Paul said, "You are not your own; you are bought with a price."
God’s promises to Jacob in the desert are like the promises He made to us. Like Jacob, God has promised us his PRESENCE, a permanent PLACE and PROTECTION. We PERFECT his promise when we respond by trusting Him.
Sometimes we believe the whole world revolves around us. Other times, we wonder if God really cares about us. Psalm 8 gives an attitude adjustment for both. Our true self-esteem is found in God, who is great and greatly to be praised!
After the disciples left the Mount of Olives, they returnedto Jerusalem to obey Christ (Verse 12-14). There they did theonly thing they knew to do. They gathered together and prayed.Out of that meeting the church was born. The early churchexpected to be used for the good of the kingdom. Soshould we.
The Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the heart andenables people to change their perspectives so they cancreatively visualize everything that God wants to dothrough them. Ask the Lord to help you to be willing tochange your perspective by the enabling power of theSpirit so you can VISUALIZE EVERYTHING God wants to dothrough you.
Jesus does not want to have a distant andprofessional relationship with us. Jesus wants to bepersonally engaged in our lives from day to day, day in andday out. In our text today Jesus develops that thoughtusing the familiar pastoral model to show us three thingsabout the relationship.
Does your life reflect what God has done for you? Do yousacrifice for God in your life promoting purpose, holiness,worship, praise, and mercy? Are you honestly carving your life onthe inside and the outside to look like Jesus Christ?
If we would just take some time to understand thedepth and breadth of God’s love for us, we would learnhow to love Him in return. When you are in God’s peace,joy and contentment permeate your life. But God’s peace isnot like the "peace" that the world offers. The world basesits peace on its resources, often on material things. WhileGod’s peace depends on, and is based on, relationships. Tobe right with God means to enjoy and bask in the peace ofGod.
God’s promises, do we really accept what He hasin store for us? I’ve decided to preach on the subject ofheaven today. And I hope that it leaves you with a feelingabout what God has done for us, & what we have to lookforward to as Christians, when finally one day we’re withthe Lord for all eternity. So my subject is "heaven." But atthe same time, I know that I’m going to fall short becausewords are just not adequate to describe what God hasprepared.
Today is the first Sunday after Easter and throughout theworld, Christians of many branches of Christ's church are waking upfrom food and family overdoses, and getting back to whatever they call“normal”. However, if we make the mistake of not seeing how Godattempted to change us in the season of Lent, then we will have gonethrough it all for nothing. We must never forget that God desires hispeople to grow, evolve, and change into ever more useful citizens of Hiskingdom. Much of the answer to these questions can be found in thewords of the psalmist, David, and the letters C, P, and R
- Jesus called the two disciples who were on the roadto Emmaus that day “foolish and dull-minded” because theydid not believe all that the prophets were talking about. This“on the road” story could be called “Faith in a Nutshell”because it spells out all the basics of our belief. As such, weshould refer to it often, especially on this Easter occasion!
This prayer, given by Jesus on the night of HisTriumphant ride, later while at the Last Supper, is possibly thegreatest prayer of all time because it show’s Jesus’ heart and truedesire for His people…that they be unified. Palm Sunday was thepinnacle of unification of His people in His favor…days later, itwas the pinnacle of His people unified against Him. Both factsshould be present in our prayers
Paul’s preaching on prayer and worry can becompared with Christ’s words in the Sermon on theMount…our anxiety is always surpassed by God’sprovision. Today we go deeper in our understanding ofprayer.
Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus appliesto us as well because it asks that they fully know andexperience the great power that is at work in all of us…thesame power that raised Christ from the dead…and put himin power over everything for the church…is that power inyou as his church?
Here Jesus not only teaches a prayer, he givesmuch information as to our approach to prayer…God is notimpressed with many words, He wants to be in relationshipwith us! Today we pull the prayer apart so we can put it allback together for a better understanding as to why we praythe way we do. It depends on ATTITUDE, SUBSTANCE, ANDKONDITION… (ASK).
Paul tells us that we are “to be conformed to the likenessof” Jesus Christ…it’s not the other way around. We should notlimit our view of Jesus to the finite, sinful, prejudicial typecast ofme or you or anyone else. Many people have their own compositeview of Jesus that is just wrong.
God’s Word teaches that a neighbor is more than theperson who lives next door to us. The model neighbor that thechildren of God are to be is that of one who is kind, honest andloving. It is this reflection of the character of Christ that will makean impact and cause the light of Christ to shine bright.
Of all the choices with which we are faced, there isnone as important as to how we will respond to ourCreator. When we sort through the implications of ourchoices, be they major or minor, how does a relationshipwith Jesus Christ figure into the equation? There isperhaps no greater choice facing us each and every day ofour life than this choice.
Some people are hesitant to tithe, because they feel thatthey have too many financial obligations to spare anything. But,did you know that the Bible teaches that both our financialtroubles and our daily trials will lessen or cease if we do tithe?
The wisdom of God as taught to us by Jesus calls us tocitizenship in a different Kingdom, a Kingdom where things areupside-down, where the last are first, where foolishness iswisdom, where the poor are rich, the dead alive.
The true follower can only be found in the life of the onewho is Committed… When Jesus calls us – He’s looking forcommitment & sacrifice…He looks for those who hunger for Himday and night.
It is perhaps the Christian’s greatest fear. What isit?... personal evangelism, sharing one’s faith with anotherperson. After all, I may not know what to say. They mightask me a question I cannot answer. I might fail. I am notgifted in evangelism. That’s the pastor’s job, isn’t it? I amafraid.
What do you need to approach God with? Is thereanything in your life you have been holding back from Him?Maybe there is an area of your life you haven’t given over to Himto have control in. Approach Him this morning. Answer His call.His door is open, you don’t need to make an appointment, juststart the conversation and be real with Him. Don’t treat God’sgrace as a mystery. Pour your heart out to Him. He promises tohear you.
Isaiah Chapter 60 begins with this: “Arise, shine for yourlight has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See,darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,but the Lord rises upon YOU, and His glory appears over YOU.Nations will come to YOUR light and kings to the brightness ofYOUR dawn.” What have YOU done to prepare to reflect God’slight onto others?
For the Advent season it was good to remind ourselves ofthe nature of the greatest gift. Now we find out that we are calledto dedicate our lives as a thank you note to the one who sent thegift. Today the scriptures ask, “who will lift up their voices, whowill go forth to sing the praises of the greatest gift ever given?”
It is said that on Christmas Day, all those years ago, wereceived the greatest gift ever given…but do we really understandwhat that is? Today we look at the name “Prince of Peace”…”ofthe increase of His government and peace there will be noend…peace like a river.”
It is said that on Christmas Day, all those years ago, wereceived the greatest gift ever given…but do we really understandwhat that is? Today we look at the name “Everlasting Father”the one who is ageless, timeless…, the actual establishment ofHis eternal kingdom dwelling inside all believers.
It is said that on Christmas Day, all those years ago, wereceived the greatest gift ever given…but do we really understandwhat that is? Today we look at the name “Almighty God”…asthe one and only God from whom all blessings flow.
Today Paul continues in Second Thessalonians by reminding us that we should stay away from every brother or sister who is leading an undisciplined life. What is the “gold standard” for discipline? The root word of discipline is “Disciple”, which means to be a student, “one who studies.” So if that is the case, would you call yourself undisciplined when it comes to the things of God and His Son?
In every society certain groups of people are considered “untouchable” because of their political views, their immoral behavior, or their chosen lifestyles. True Christians anchored in Christ must not give into the pressure to avoid these people. We must speak to whoever will listen, knowing we have the help of the Holy Spirit who can guide and change their hearts.
Sometimes in the middle of the fight, we look around us and do not see a wealth of support for the cause of Jesus which we are trying to uphold. Paul tells us to prepare for those times by going ever deeper into the word and way of Jesus. It reminds me of Paul’s words in Philippians 4:13- “I can do all things through He who empowers me.” How about you?
As Paul’s second letter to Timothy continues, he has to take the time to remind Timothy to steer clear of false teachings by remaining faithful to the precepts taught by Jesus because they are eternally true. Today’s churches seem to have run far afield of those truths. How do we avoid the “disturbing noise” of today’s society which are aimed at watering down the truth of God?
Paul says that useless arguments and battles over words are threatening to tear the church apart. Has anyone seen that happening? If so, what should we do about it?
On this day when the world’s Christians come to the table set by God through the Holy Spirit, we focus on strength in our numbers. Paul says that we are to revive God’s gift that is present in all who believe. When we look at the state of Christianity in the world we can become discouraged because His church is under fire. Paul’s message to Timothy serves as a reminder that there is strength in the midst of adversity!
In this passage, Paul uses active and forceful verbs to describe the Christian life: “run, pursue, fight, hold tightly.” Some think that Christianity is a passive faith that we can just pick up when we are not busy doing other things. Here, Paul reminds Timothy and us that we must have an active faith: training, working hard, sacrificing and preparing to do that which is right. Have you identified this need for action in your life?
We are set free to serve Christ as the Holy Spirit leads us. We are to bathe all things in prayer, looking for guidance and seizing opportunities sent by God as an answer to that prayer. Don’t be discouraged when the answer doesn’t come right away, stay the course!
Jesus says in this passage that he came to bring division on the earth. Then He goes on to describe that division in the households of believers. Have you experienced this? Think of how we naturally despise division in our families. How should we deal with this?
Receiving Christ as Lord of your life is the beginning of true life in Christ. However, you must continue to follow His leadership by being rooted, built up, and strengthened in the faith. Paul tells us that Christ wants to guide us through the problems every day. Will you let him?
Paul reminds the people in the church in Christ at Colosse that no one can ever honor and truly serve God unless they are convinced of the supremacy of Christ as the true image and representation of the invisible God and His church. Sometimes we forget that we are caretakers of the church. It is not ours. We are here for a short while and then pass it on to the care of others. The one thing that is constant though is the sovereignty of God to lead us on.
The disciples did not have a clue who Jesus was, they did not have a clue where they were going, they did not have a clue of what waited in store for them. All they knew was that this was the man with the plan. He is on journey here, and they wanted to go with him. “Whatever you say Jesus. Whatever you say.” Is that what we say?
We honor fathers and father figures today and by faith trust that we will be all that we can be with the strength of Christ. We not only look at the Prodigal son’s return but also the faith of the waiting father.
In today’s gospel Jesus is preparing the disciples for the day he will no longer be with them. Jesus is not only preparing them for His journey, his ascent into heaven, but also their journey out into the world as they will proclaim the coming of God’s kingdom through Jesus.
Theme- This was a call to do something that Peter had never done, in fact, had never imagined doing. Taking the message of Salvation in Christ to Jews in Jerusalem and Judea, sure that made sense. But to Samaria, those ethnic and spiritual halfbreeds (as the Jews thought of them)? To the ends of the earth? This would mean reaching out to people so different. People, the likes of whom none of the disciples had ever met, much less, been around. This was going to be hard. This was going to have to be a Holy Spirit thing.
Most of the women of the Bible got into its sacred pages because they were married to famous men, or because they had famous sons, or because they did some great and unusual deed. Dorcas is one of the few women who became famous for simply sewing…Sewing clothes AND SOWING SEEDS!
Theme- The conversion of the apostle Paul is one of the most thrilling and inspiring conversions we have ever heard about. Paul truly had a conversion. Today the modern churches talk about DECISIONS, not CONVERSIONS! Is that consistent with the words of Scripture?