Pillar Fellowship: Recent Episodes
Pillar Fellowship
Recently I had someone comment to me: I was thinking about you and your situation and thinking to myself, if I was in Kenn’s shoes, what would I say on our last Sunday? And I didn’t come up with anything. What do you plan to say? What does one say on a day like today? What does one preach? I was thinking…
Though we will not be in Revelation today, we have been walking through the book of Revelation, and we are in the most intense portion of the book where everything comes to a dramatic climax with the conclusion of the tribulation and the return of Christ to judge the antichrist, the wicked, and establish…
Have you ever watched a movie premiere in the theaters where there is a hard fought battle between the good guys and the bad guys, and then just when all hope seems lost, the good guys muster their last bit of strength and pulls out the victory and all the people in the theater cheer because the dastardly…
I want to start things off with a short story. This story has been told many times over the last several decades, but it sets up the conversation so well, that even if you’ve heard it, I’d like to tell it just one more time. There was once a man standing on a bridge and it looked like he was about to…
As I kid I grew up watching Hogan’s Heroes reruns. Anyone else? The sitcom follows Colonel Hogan and his band of soldiers in a POW camp during WWII. They have an entire operation where they smuggle people in and out of the POW camp to get them to safety. In the show the operation is on the absurd side…
In the year 319 AD, a deacon in the church in Alexandria, Egypt presented what today might be considered a paper arguing that Jesus, since is the Son of God, must have had a beginning, and thus cannot be truly God in the same way that the Father is God. This sparked an intense debate that threatened…
AI is changing the world in numerous ways. I know all of you have either used AI, viewed something created by AI, or are otherwise aware of it’s abilities. AI continues to be developed and improved, and it was just a few months ago that I was watching videos created by AI and I was absolutely blown away…
I’m not exactly a connoisseur of the WNBA, but here in Indiana there is a women’s basketball team called the Indiana Fever. On the Indiana Fever there is a player by the name of Caitlin Clark. Women’s basketball doesn’t usually come across my radar pretty much ever, but this year I became aware of stories…
Big Idea: The Conquering King is Opposed by Satan, But Prevails and Protects His People Be Aware: Satan has Always Opposed the Work of God Be Alert: Satan, even now, opposes the Work of God in You Be Assured: God will Preserve and Protect His People, both now and in the tribulation Intro Something that…
Revelation chapter eleven is where we are this morning. As you know, I do electrical work. One of my all-time favorite electrical jobs was working on historic mansions in downtown Louisiville. I tried to go back into my old photos to find pictures of one house in particular, but I couldn’t find what…
A Spiritual Discipline is an intentional habit cultivated in our lives that is designed to lead us into greater Christlikeness in our thoughts, affections, and behavior. Fervent Prayer We engage in regular, fervent prayer because it is commanded, effective, loving, and edifying. Luke 18:1 ; Phil 4:6…
Have you ever wondered what the differences are between a cyclone, a typhoon, and a hurricane? All three are words that describe tropical storms that form massive rotating systems with strong winds, thunderstorms, heavy rain, and form a spiral when viewed from above. The difference between a cyclone,…
A Spiritual Discipline is an intentional habit cultivated in our lives that is designed to lead us into greater Christlikeness in our thoughts, affections, and behavior. A few weeks ago we talked about the concept of the Ordinary means of Grace. While noting that we’d word things a little differently,…
A Spiritual Discipline is an intentional habit cultivated in our lives that is designed to lead us into greater Christlikeness in our thoughts, affections, and behavior. These are things we do so that we might become . The disciplines themselves are not ends in the themselves. The disciplines aren’t…
Most everyone I know is fascinated by a good war story. There is just something about what it takes to win on the battlefield that captives the human imagination. I used to listen a podcast called “hardcore histroy with Dan Carlin” and he would have multi-part series that covered different wars, leaders,…
Open your Bibles to Revelation 9 . In 1941, C.S. Lewis, one of the most influential Christian authors of all time, wrote a series of correspondence letters published in the Guardian, an Anglican weekly newspaper (and not to be confused with the current British newspaper by the same name). These articles…
A Spiritual Discipline is an intentional habit cultivated in our lives that is designed to lead us into greater Christlikeness in our thoughts, affections, and behavior. These are things we do so that we might become . The disciplines themselves are not ends in the themselves. The disciplines aren’t…
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Europe lay in ruins. Cities were reduced to rubble. Millions were dead. The Nazi regime had fallen, and its top leaders—those who had orchestrated genocide and global war—were in custody. But one agonizing question loomed: Would there be justice? The world…
Last week we started talking about how God uses different things to effect change and growth in our lives. God changes you - Phil 2:13 The Word of God changes you - Ps 19:7 ; John 17:17 People change you - Prov 13:20 ; 2 Tim 3:10 Suffering and trials change you - James 1:2-3 ; Rom 5:3-4 You change you…
Please Open your bibles to Revelation 6 . Last week I did a lot of table setting for this and following sermons as we consider what Gad has revealed for us, and this week we get to jump back into the verse by verse exposition of God’s Word. As I noted last week, this section is a heavy section, with…
Last week we talked about the definitions for sanctification. Positional Sanctification refers to the believer's once for all status as being set apart as holy before God, based on union with Christ, and occurs at the moment of salvation. And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified,…
Today’s sermon is less of a verse by serve exposition and more of a stage setting sermon. After working on some of the exposition of this section I found myself feeling the need to take a step back and help us navigate this section with clarity. As we leave the throne room of heaven from chapter 4-5,…
What is sanctification? The word “Sanctification, sanctify, etc.” comes from the root word “holy” which means “set apart, separate, distinct” The concept of holiness is simply that God has called us out to be different, set apart, distinct from the world, and useful for his good purposes. We belong to…
If you would open your Bibles to Isaiah 25 , which will be right in the middle of your Bible. Easter Sunday was always a very special time of year for me during my growing up years. Even though I was not converted until the age of 14, I always loved the fanfare of Easter, and preferred it over that of…
As we think about the cross of Christ and all that he did for us, I want to take a moment to put ourselves into the minds of the disciples that Friday. Theses disciples had followed Jesus around for three years. They left their homes. Their careers. Their families. They saw amazing things! They saw the…
There was a movie released in 2005 titled “The Pacifer”. it starred Vin Diesel and was a bout a man who developed some kind of program that was desired both both the US government and outside governments. The man was killed as he was being extracted, but no one knew where the key to the program was.…
As you open your Bibles and turn to Revelation 4 , I invite you to think with me for a moment. What was the most awe-inspiring moment you can ever remember? Entering into a place filled with wonder and grandeur you never imagined. I’ll never forget walking through redwood national forest, seeing trees…
There is a wasp native to the tropical regions of Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands called the Emerald Cockroach Wasp, or the Jewel Wasp. Personally, I hate wasps, but these wasps are stunning. They are a bright emerald green and blue, which is of course how it gets it’s name.…
On April 26, 1986 at 1:23am, a explosion occurred that shook the earth and rattled homes miles away. Confused residents climbed out of bed to look out the window and were greeted with a sight that almost defies explanation. A strange blueish glow lighting up the night sky while echos of rumblings continued.…
The following took place in the year 155 AD, just 60 years after the book of Revelation was written. An elderly man in his eighties sitting at a table eating dinner, Polycarp knew his life was in danger. A group of Christians had just been executed in the arena on account of their faith. But Polycarp…
Christianity is a religion built on love. The Bible says that God is love. We see God motivated by love for His creation in the sending of Jesus Christ. We see that we are called to love as we have been loved. It is by this that we even know what love is, because of what Christ did for us! In the early…
There are certain people who, when they speak on their areas of expertise, the wise will sit up straight and listen. Individuals like Steve Jobs on technology. Warren Buffett on Finance Greg Maddux on pitching, Barry Bonds on hitting, Michael Jordan on basketball. Goerge Washington, when he presided…
It’s time for a new book study. We spent 5 months and 20 sermons in the book of Daniel. As we wrapped that up last week I noted how someone once said that Daniel is like Prophecy with training wheels because the angel explains the vision to Daniel. Well, now the training wheels come off. We’re jumping…
This is the final message in our Daniel series. We made it. What a ride it’s been. It is my habit when teaching through a book of the Bible to give you an overall outline of the book on the front event and survey the book, and then we walk thought it chapter by chapter and verse by verse, and then as…
If you spend any amount of time online in Christian groups or following Christian personalities on platforms like X, it does not take long to discover that Christian love to argue, and they will argue about just about anything. One of the things they love to argue about the most is politics. In fact,…
This is the last Sunday of 2024. It is customary for many this time of year to do some extra reflections on the year that was and look ahead to the year that will be. Many make their new years resolutions. I’ve never really been much on new years resolutions, personally. It has been shown that these…
I have to tell you, that having grown up in the church, and having heard possibly 50-100 Christmas-time sermons, not because I’m that old, but because of advent series, I told myself that when I became a pastor, I would resist doing the traditional Christmas sermon, not because there is anything wrong…
How many of you are familiar with the children’s program Awana? When I was growing up AWANA was at its peak in popularity and function. They changed a lot since those days, but at that time the emphasis was on Scripture memorization and discipleship. As part of the program, those in AWANA clubs could…
When I first told one of my mentors that we were considering going through the book of Daniel, I was commenting to him how when you use the proper hermeneutic, all the prophecy stuff is really not as complicated as many make it out to be. He nodded his head in agreement, then made the comment “Well.…
Today was intended to be a time back in the book of Daniel, but Jim was scheduled to preach it. Sadly, he fell ill this weekend and thus is unable to preach, and I am not going to preach his notes. So today I’ve dusted off notes of something I’ve taught in the past, although it was before we were meeting…
We will be taking a 1-week break from our study of the book of Daniel as we look at some things related to our conference theme this morning. It’s been a great conference this weekend, very grateful to have Jon and his family here. I’m sad they couldn’t be here at church this morning, but understand…
The things I am going to you today are things that would get you and me mocked and derided in certain evangelical churches and seminaries today. In fact, outside of a handful of church traditions, but the position that I am going to teach today is part of a larger framework that has been blamed for the…
And now. The Moment you’ve all been waiting for. I don’t know if you feel that way, but I kinda do. The end of Daniel 9 . the 70 weeks. This prophecy is arguably the most foundational piece of end time prophecy from a dispensational perspective. Many of the things we associate with our theology have…
As we come into chapter 8, there are a few things that need to be noted. With chapter 8, we move back into the Hebrew language. If you recall, Daniel is a unique book that is split almost 50/50 between Hebrew and Aramaic. Chapter one is in Hebrew, and functions as the prologue to the book. Chapters 2-7…
So often when we come to books of the Bible that are full of stories that are so familiar to us, we run the risk of glossing over them. Our text today is one of the most iconic stories in the bible. We know it like the back of our hand right? Daniel and the lion’s den. A made up law about prayer, Daniel’s…
PRIDE ILLUSTRATION Last week we started walk though this personal testimony of King Nebuchadnezzar. He told the story and he started out with his conclusion. It is God who reigns, it is the most high that has an everlasting dominion, his kingdom is from generation to generation. We saw the grace of God…
Pride goeth before the fall. This was a favorite verse of mine as a child, because I loved to quote it against my siblings if I thought they were acting arrogantly about anything. It was one of my favorite weapon verses, that was handy to whip out to guilt someone into a change of behavior. Imagine my…
Open your bibles to Daniel chapter 2. In the mid 350s AD Christian-hating roman emperor Julian was carrying out a campaign heavily persecuting believers. There is a story told of a roman soldier mockingly asking a Christian of where the carpenter’s son was now. His reply was “The maker of the universe,…
Put yourself, it you can, in a scenario where the nation that you love so much has fallen. Your city was destroyed. And you have been taken captive. Everything you own has been destroyed or looted. Everyone you know if either dead or also taken captive to be a slave as you are. Are you carried off to…
I used to love watching the TV show Mythbusters. Anyone ever watch that show? There are myths about how various things work, and they set out to prove or disprove the myth. For example. Why do most people run in the rain? They want to minimize the amount of time they are exposed to water pouring from…
From the very beginning, the Word of God has been under attack. It is literally the oldest trick in the book! “Did God really say??” The devil deceived the woman by questioning the word of God and twisting the truth. And it has been the most common tactic of the enemy against God’s image bearers ever…
It is my habit when preaching through books of the Bible to begin with the background and overview of a book at the beginning, highlighting key themes, verse, and the overall flow of the book, and then circle back around to that at the end of the study to review what we’ve seen. Usually I’m able to do…
Have you ever watched a movie that had a really confusing ending? You get to the end and you are left wondering....wait....is that it? That’s the end? Surely that cannot be the end. One of my favorite movies is Inception. The basic plot of the movie is that a group of men set out to plant an idea in…
There is a religious ritual practice that has been observed in history in different forms by different cultures over the centuries performed by someone called a sin-eater. A sin-eater is someone who consumes a ritual meal with the intent to take on the sins of another person who has died so the soul…
And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief…
What is hatred? Hatred is a word that is being throw around often these days. Any words spoken against an idea is branded as hatred. We have Hate crimes and hate speech. But our definitions seem to have expanced. Websters dictionary defines hatred as “extreme dislike or disgust” or “ill will or resentment;…
I’ve only ever been pulled over a handful of times in my driving career. And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The…
And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little…
Intro Mark 14:1–2 “It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”” Our passage opens with Mark resuming…
I want to begin our time in the Scriptures this morning with a consideration of something that you probably would not have expected this resurrection Sunday morning. I want us to consider the concept of lament. Laments are interesting things. They can express raw emotion, opening our hearts to the Lord…
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands…
One of, if not THE most classic kids game of all time has to be hide and go seek. I mean, does it really get any better than that? What kid doesn’t love going to hide some place and hoping they don’t get found, but also sorta hoping they do get found? Then there is always the thrill of the seeker, trying…
Introduction - 500 words! “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, and let the one who…
And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 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.” And as he sat on the Mount…
There have been a few times in my life where I wish I had one of those epic movie trailer voices. You know what I’m talking about. “Coming soon to theater near you” “The feature event of a lifetime” “An unprecedented multi media experience that will blow you away” The Lord has not gifted me in that way,…
How long can you balance on one foot. Some of you will do better than others. But even the best of us will only survive several minutes at the most. Well, did you know that the world record for standing on one foot is 76 hours and 40 minutes! That’s over three days! It’s hard enough to stay awake that…
Have you ever thought about how, since energy can neither be created nor destroyed, that all living things are made up of billions of cells that had their constituent parts once part of some other living being. What happens when you die? you body decomposes into the earth, which recycles the matter into…
The Rules Laywer. All of us have played games of different kinds with people. I’m sure we’ve all encountered at some level the “rules lawyer” This is not someone who just a stickler about the rules and wants to keep everyone in check, This is the person who wants to exploit every possible loophole in…
We have all made choices in life that have led to negative consequences. Well, maybe you haven’t, but I have. Perhaps if you’re batting 1.000 on life choices, you’ve at least observed this phenomenon in others. There is a road being walked down that clearly only leads to bad things, but they just keep…
Not long ago I was watching a video online about how to survive stampeding crowd. Let’s say you’re on the riverfront for thunder over Louisville, and something goes down that causes everyone to run or press in one direction. These can be very dangerous scenarios. if you fall down, you are likely to trampled.…
Here we are at the end of 2023. Congratulations. You have survived another trip around the sun. Almost. It is customary for many people to take advantage of the end of the year and plan for the new year, making goals, plans, and resolving to do better in one area or another. We all recognize that we…
On Wednesday, my children received a book of riddles as a gift and have been asking us all riddles nearly non stop since then. The have been some good ones, some classic ones, some interesting ones, and all are fun ones. One of my favorites is the classic misdirection riddle. As I was going to St. Ives,…
When I was in college, one of my classmates my freshman year was guy who was a bit misguided in his approach to the things of the Lord, the Scriptures, and to his fellow classmates. He was a bit of a jokester, which often provided needed levity in a long semester with deadlines and the like, but sometimes…
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 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. If anyone says…
There is none so blind as he who will not see, none so deaf as those who will not hear. This saying seems to go back to the 1500s to English author John Heywood, a man famous for his poems and collections of proverbs. The proverb appears to be adapted from biblical texts Jeremiah 5:21 ““Hear this, O…
What makes a leader easy to follow? Many leaders would love nothing more than to answer that question. Some leaders appear to have the best plans, the most knowledge, and ability to get things to And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed,…
Back in 2012 I was in the middle of my senior year of college. I was serving in a local church heading up their AWANA program, and as a ministry leader and also a young man aspiring to a future in pastoral ministry, the pastor of the church invited me to attend the church’s administrative board’s annual…
Salt is good. That’s not just me saying that, I am a fan of salty food in general. Many people like the sweet, I like the salty. Salt has many benefits that have been known to man for literally thousands of years, and we know even more today about the benefits of salt. Historically, the ancients understood…
“You can pick your actions, or you can pick your consequences, but you can never pick both” This was the central idea of a lecture on ethics I heard a while back. You can pick your actions, or you can pick your consequences, bur you can never pick both. The central idea is this: If you are picking your…
Open your bibles of Mark chapter 9 As a parent of any child knows, there are many things a child must learn as they grow, and so we teach them. We teach them how to use a fork, how to tie their shoes, how to brush their hair, how ride a bike, how to speak politely, how to do pretty much everything positive…
14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the…
What would you do if you could, just for a moment, see the fully glory of Jesus Christ? When I was in high school one of my favorite Christian Music groups was a band called Third Day. They had a song called “Show Me Your Glory”, which was based on Moses’ experience on the mountain with God. As Moses…
Open you Bibles if you would to Mark chapter 8. We’ve been walking through this book chapter by chapter and verse by verse, seeking to grasp Mark’s intended meaning to his audience. We are at the mid-way point of the book, and here we find a significant shift in Jesus’ approach to ministry. Up until…
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?”…
As many of you know, I grew up in the Chicago area. Several you lived in the North East, so I know you likely had similar experiences to me as far as snow fall goes. Every year there would be several feet of snow that would fall over the course of the winter, and sometimes, there would be those more…
How many of you have heard of the concept of a 5-tool baseball player? Traditionally the skill sets needed to be an excellent baseball player are broken down into 5 broad categories called tools. There is the Speed tool, The Fielding ability tool, the arm strength tool, hitting for a high average tool,…
How many of you have read an amazing book that was just absolutely riveting, a story that unfolded page by page by a masterful storyteller, skillfully woven together with a tapestry of words that makes the images simply come alive in your mind? It’s amazing how a good book back fuel our imagination for…
Jesus Christ, Superstar. That was the title of a Broadway musical, and eventually film back in the 70s. I personally have never seen this, but according the worlds foremost authority on everything and most trusted source for all facts, wikipedia. This rock-opera interprets the psychology of Jesus and…
Priorities. Priorities are what makes the world work. We all have our priorities. Yours are different than mine. Mine are different than yours. Sometimes things come along that force us to rearrange our priorities. That happened to me this week, when I went in for a tooth evaluation and ended up with…
This week I received a phone call from an individual in response to our door hangers that we passed out eight days ago. After I answered the phone the person said this: “Hello. I would just like to say that the Lord doesn’t want you soliciting Christianity” and then she hung up before I had any opportunity…
Your Mission, should you choose to accept it..... That line has become iconic of what was first a TV series, and then eventually the epic film series. The main protagonist is given a mission, one that to ordinary agents would be an impossible mission, but this guy has a way of figuring things out and…
Our text today is Mark 5:21-43 . I’m going to read the entire text before moving into any commentary 21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing…
In the introduction to his classic work “The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis wrote “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to be believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves…
I enjoy playing with my children. Many times the will come to me and want me to swing them around toss them up in the air. But not too high, of course. They enjoy it to a point. The second I spin too fast, or toss too high, the look of bliss on their face turns to abject terror. One of my jobs as a parent…
Introduction We live in a world that is rife with sin, wickedness, and evil. We see the morality of our country seemingly in a death spin, wicked leaders in positions of power, both abroad and here in America, children sacrificed in the name of the convenience, issues in justice systems around the world…
Introduction There is a story about a entomologist who was in the early days of his education began to study insects. He took an internship under a rather famous zoologist, who’s first lesson was to give him a dead fish with the instructions: look at the first. After a while I will ask you what you have…
Introduction One of the difficult things about picking up a passage like this is that we are midstream in Paul’s argument in the book of Romans. I will attempt to summarize what Paul has been saying up to this point, but is necessarily an gross oversimplification. In chapter one Paul has demonstrated…
The Blueprint for Discipleship How many of you have had the opportunity to work with blueprints for something in your life? Maybe you haven’t dealt with blueprints yourself, but you know what blueprints are and how they function. A blueprint is a design, a pattern, a plan that if followed, will give…
Why are you a Christian? Now, this is assuming that you are a Christian. Are you? Why do you call yourself one? You might say “because its true” to which I reply. What is true? What do you hope to get out of your faith? What do you hope to get out of obeying what the Scriptures teach One of, if not THE,…
What is the value of asking good questions? Maybe I should step back and ask, is there value in asking good questions? Yes! How do we evaluate that? If there is value, how do we make sure we ask good questions in order to realize that value? Sometimes we’ve heard that “there’s no such thing as a dumb…
If you would open your Bibles to Mark chapter 2. We all instinctively know that there is a time and a place for certain activities, right? No one goes to the baseball game and files their taxes at the ballpark. No one shows up to work wearing a costume, except maybe on Halloween, depending on what the…
One of the challenges with any kind of religious activities that are observed weekly is that we can easily fall into the rhythm and habit and fail to think about what those things mean. This is a concern that many people have about the Lord’s table. Churches in our tradition usually observe the Lord’s…
One of the challenges with any kind of religious activities that are observed weekly is that we can easily fall into the rhythm and habit and fail to think about what those things mean. This is a concern that many people have about the Lord’s table. Churches in our tradition usually observe the Lord’s…
Do you remember when Chuck Norris jokes were all the rage? Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door. When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he actually doesn’t push his body up, he pushed the earth down. Chuck Norris disproves the theory of evolution and natural selection. If it really were survival of the fitest,…
There are so many things these day that call for our attention. There are things that demand attention in our home. Repairs to make, dishes to do, kids to parent, etc. There are things online that call for our attention. I’ve discoverd that facebook reels, or youtube shorts are huge traps for me. I can…
Authority. We all have a mixed relationship with authority, do we not? On one hand, we are rebels when it comes to certain authorities. We bristle at the authority. Don’t tell me what to do. Rules are meant to be broken. And yet, at the same time, we all live under authority every single day. When a…
Open Your Bibles to Mark 1:16-20 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed…
I have to say. I’m really excited to be moving back into expositional preaching. I’m grateful for the topical sermons I preached, the study that went into them, and the result of that labor. But after some time away from weekly verse by serve exposition, I have really missed working through a book and…
If you were to reflect over the course of your life, how many meals really stick out to you as being just especially awesome meals? We all have eaten good food, but over time we forget about them, except for the exceptional ones, right? I can recall the first time I had gourmet duck. I can recall the…
I don’t know what you favorite Christmas movie is. Perhaps its “It’s a wonderful life” or “White Christmas” or “A Christmas Story” or “Elf” perhaps “Die Hard”. Have you ever thought about what it is about these movies that make them so iconic and special for this time of year? In each story, the stage…
When I was growing up, I attended a church that had a multi-purpose building where the youth room, gym, classrooms, and a variety of other room for a variety of purposes was. One year we had a youth event where we covered all the windows and made the entire building pitch black, including the exits signs,…
When we first began observing the Lord’s Table together as a church, I preached a sermon on the meaning and significance of the Lord’s Table. Every week since then we’ve been observing the Lord’s Table, and every week I seek to remind us of a few things before we partake together, but I haven’t done…
This week we had a national holiday: Thanksgiving. I did not do a thanksgiving sermon last week. I’ve never done a thanksgiving sermon. But as I was reflecting on a few things this week I make an decision to preach a thanksgiving sermon after all. This is not a sermon rant in response to something I…
Who are you? The case for membership is certainly an unusual one. Many reject the concept because we do not have clear passages in the Scripture that clearly define church membership. And they are correct. There is no Scripture passage that says “thou shalt practice church membership” To make matters…
I read the following in a book this week: “After the Netherlands fell to Germany in 1940, deacons in the Dutch Reformed church rose up to care for the politically oppressed, supplying food and providing secret refuge. Realizing what was happening, the Germans decreed that the office of deacon should…
As we turn our attention to God’s Word today, you need to know that this sermon is a bit out of ordinary for what we usually do here. 95% of the time we are walking through portions of Scripture chapter by chapter and verse by verse, mining the goodness of God’s Word. Right now we are in a sermon series…
There is a story I once heard of two men who’s job was to chop wood. Every day they arrived at the same time, had the same quota for wood, and worked hard until noon. At noon one lumberjack left for two hours, while the other decided to keep on working. But every day, the man who took the break finished…
If you recall from last week, we saw that Naomi was so excited that Ruth had “stumbled” upon Boaz’ field and that he was treater her so well. One of the reasons for this excitement was that he was a “close relative of ours, one of our redeemers” We are going to see the significance of that statement…
Have you never been in a near vehicle accident? A close call that almost wrecked you, but you just narrowly escaped? I remember one time driving home late on a Wednesday night from church. Do this day I don’t know entirely what happened, but I’m driving on the interstate and I see the car in front me…
Legacy of a Working Faith Legacy of a Laboring Love Legacy of a Steadfast Hope Legacy of a Heralded Word I. Introduction 1. Welcome and thanks 3. Prayer 4. What’s my legacy? 5. I’m self-conscious; I want people to like me 6. You want others to like you too. But leaving a legacy is more than others liking…
When I was going through my Greek class in seminary, my professor gave us an illustration about what to expect as we began studying the grammar. He told us that would could expect to be living in a constant state of heavy fog around the concepts were would be studying at a given time. We would study,…
Let’s walk though the overarching storyline of the book once again and remind ourselves where we’ve been. We noted at the beginning of our study that this is theologized history. The original human author had a point and purpose in mind as he wrote. It was written for a specific prophetic purpose. As…
Here we are at the end of the book of Judges. There are two chapters left, and we are going to get through them today. When we started with the conclusion to this book, we noted that it falls into two stories that are designed to encapsulate the depth to which Israel has fallen as a nation. Idolatry,…
When I was young boy, I decided that I was going to have some fun at the expense of some morning doves that made a nest in our crab apple tree. A bird was sitting on the next so I jumped u[, grabbed a hold of the branch and bounced on it until the bird flew away. I had my fun so I walked it away. It…
Intro Most of you know that I grew up in the Chicago area. You might be aware that Chicago has a nickname. It is often referred to as the Windy City. Some people assume that this is because Chicago is particularity windy. While there is certainly no shortage of wind, Chicago is far from the most blusterous…
Self-Guided Sight 1 Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there…
How many of you have heard the advice that you should never try to meet your heroes? The reason is because we tend to idolize our heroes, and in our minds it seems that they can do no wrong. Their public accomplishments, their public persona, all the things they they have going for them that cause us…
I’m sure you have all heard the phrase that something was functioning as “a well-oiled machine” Usually that phrase refers to some system that is functioning optimally. People were doing their jobs, tasks were being accomplished, and there were no hangups in the process. Not long ago I purchased a project…
Our text today contains a series of negotiations. In many ways, all of life is based on our ability to negotiate, though that may be less true than it once was. We expect our government to negotiate trade deals, peace treaties, etc. Local governments might negotiate with businesses, non-profits, etc.…
There is a children’s song that talks about a little red waggon. I don’t know if you’ve heard it. “You can’t ride my little red wagon The seat is broke and the axle’s draggin” These lyrics are usually followed by some chanting of some kind, and then this line: “Second verse, same as the first, a little…
We will be back in Judges chapter nine today. Forsaking the King Impacts Generations Forsaking the King Breeds Treachery Forsaking the King Brings Judgment 29 Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31 And his…
Some candles burn better than others. All else being equal, there are two primary factors that impact how a candle burns. The wax, and the wick. I learned this week the that best wax the world has to offer is poured beeswax. There are rolled beeswax candles, and they burn relatively quickly, but poured…
What is the nature of faith? I’m not necessarily talking about saving faith, what you must receive by faith for salvation. I’m talking about every day trusting God with every detail of your life. Trust when things are going well. Trust when things go poorly. What is the nature of that faith? What are…
Let’s remind ourselves a little of how we got to where we are in Judges 6 . Midian was oppressing Israel to such an extent that they were like the swarming locusts that come into a land and eat everything in sight leaving absolutely nothing behind. In order to avoid being utterly destroyed, the people…
When it comes to living the Christian life there are two significant errors that must be avoided. One is that of legalism…legalism is an approach to the Christian life that takes your personal convictions and seeks to make them as binding as direct Scriptural commands. It is insisting upon that which…
I don’t know about you, but I love a good ballad. According to oxford, a ballad is a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next as part of the folk culture. Many ballads were written…
As we begin to move through the cycles of the judges, we must bear in mind how the author has set things up for us in the prologue. He gave us the pattern of the cycles in chapter two, and as we move into the cycles themselves, we will see that pattern unfold. We must be on guard for attempts to moralize…
In 1979 a passenger jet carrying 257 people left New Zealand for a sightseeing flight to Antarctica and back. Unknown to the pilots, however, there was a minor 2 degree error in the flight coordinates. This placed the aircraft 28 miles to the east of where the pilots thought they were. As they approached…
In need of a king. In today’s sermon I intend to pick up where I left off last week in terms of establishing the background of the book of Judges. Last week I preached less of a sermon and gave more of a historical lecture on the history of the Israelite people as they were called out by God in Abraham,…
Judges: In Need of a King Judges. One of the least studied books of the OT. Perhaps some of the minor prophets see less attention than Judges, but certainly, as far as the narrative passages go, the book of Judges doesn’t see a whole lot of action on Sunday mornings. On one hand, it's easy to understand…
You may not remember this, but when we first started this series moving through the book of Philippians, I started with an illustration about the Royal Standard, which is the official flag of the Monarch of England. This is a separate flag than the Union Jack flag that we associate with the UK. According…
Money! I hope I have your attention. We don’t talk about money much here. We don’t pass an offering plate to take up a collection, we don’t have regular sermons talking about money. In fact, this is the first time I’ve ever preached on the issue of money in my life. But from time to time as we move through…
When it comes to misued Bible verses, there are certainly no shortage of them to go around. Which is the most misused might depend on which group of people you are working with. If you’re working with unbelievers, they love Matt 7:1 “Judge not lest you be judged” Never mind the context that speaks about…
Why are you here? Why are you here? I don’t know if you’ve ever thought consciously about that. Many Christians or people who identify themselves as people of faith know that they’re “supposed” to attend church, but if you were to press in and ask why, many find it difficult to articulate the purpose…
Introduction Over two Thousand Years ago a child was born that changed the course of history. This is literally why we have dates like 2021. When was year zero? Though the math was off by a few years when this calendar system was started, the intent was for year zero to be the year the Jesus Christ was…