Rockville Church of Christ: Recent Episodes
Rayford Welch
This feed is a collection of sermons preached in the gatherings of the Rockville church of Christ in Rockville, MD. If you are in the area, we would love to join us for worship so we can meet you in person. If you are not in the local area, thank you for listening as well. E
Located at: 1450 W Montgomery Ave, Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 301-279-7977
1Jo 1:9 ESV - [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Mat 5:13 ESV - [13] "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
People have many reasons to give up on life, Jesus continually show us why there IS hope In Christ!
“Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side…”
We explore the biblical themes in this timely hymn.
In the 3rd lesson in our series on the biblical perspective on gender, we look at some of the restrictions placed on men and women in the areas of Teaching and Authority. How do we make sense of the instructions in 1 Timothy 2? We explore.
A rebellious prophet, pagan sailors who turn to God, a vicious king who humbles himself, animals wearing sackcloth, grief over a plant. The Book of Jonah is full of surprises. And each chapter contains some anticipation of the life and teachings of Jesus.
A 17-year-old who speaks freely of his dreams of grandeur. A father who favors him over his other brothers. And older brothers whose envy of this cocky little tattletale has reached a boiling point. What could go wrong?
3 metaphors - Shepherding/Sheep, The Human Body, and House Construction - get thrown in a blender and out comes Ephesians 4:11-16. And this blend of language is vital for our understanding of leadership and church growth.
Romans 1:20 says that through our observation of the created world, we should be able to discern some things about God:
- His nature
- His eternal power
- His invisible attributes
Psalm 36 is a reflection on what the elements of creation teach us about God, especially in highlighting 4 central virtues of His nature.
These 4 verses give us a lot of meat to chew on about what it means to suffer for the sake of Jesus, including 4 specific forms of persecution which Christians may face.
Many documents in the ancient world and time of antiquity contain “haustafels” (house tables or house codes). The members of a household who are in a position of subordination (wives, children, slaves/servants) are addressed with responsibilities toward the man of the house. The Bible contains a few house tables as well. But it is unique in also addressing the husband and father. He is also held accountable for his actions in a Christian understanding of family. We look at 3 of these “House Tables” in the Scriptures and some other relevant passages for understanding Gender Roles in a family.
It’s the shortest book in the Old Testament. And its message seems to be mostly directed at the Edomite people. But there are still some universal lessons here about judgment on prideful peoples/nations, and how the Kingdom of God inaugurated in the work of Jesus provides an alternative to those who will seek refuge in it rather than being defined by the sins of their nation/tribe.
Isaac was the culmination of everything Abraham and God had been wrestling about for about 40 years. He was the child of promise. Yet God shows up and says Abraham is to end the life of this son. We examine what we learn about faith, about obedience, and about shadows of Jesus from Genesis 22.
1 John 4 compels us to test the statements about the identity of Jesus to make sure they are true. We examine some foundational confessional statements about Jesus from the Scriptures.
Can a church be sound in doctrinal practice, active in its work, and enduring in the face of persecution, and still not be a church which Jesus finds pleasing to Him? Apparently so, according to Jesus’ letter to the church at Ephesus.
The human body is a gift and an important part of the human self, along with the heart, the mind, the spirit, and the soul. But we distort the intended order of the self when we allow the body to be in the driver’s seat.
We begin a new series on Gender by laying out 4 problematic perspectives and then establishing some principles from the Creation Account which will be foundational for this entire series.
The economic numbers are looking strong in Amos’ day. Israel and Judah are enjoying another Golden Age…at least on the surface. But there are major spiritual problems: Idolatry, Excess, and Injustice. So a farm boy is going to be called to the urban population centers to call out those who are perpetuating these problems. We explore how the themes of this book set us up for a greater appreciation of Jesus and His Kingdom.
What could a locust plague have to do with anticipating Jesus? We explore “the day of the Lord” in Joel and how 2 New Testament passages shed light on Joel’s message.
The armor is not only what God gives for His people to wear. It’s what He Himself has worn into battle.
Jesus has just performed a miracle involving bread. Now He feeds a crowd another meal - this time for their ears and souls. What is the Bread of Life? Why do we need it? And how do we partake of it?
There are many central texts on the significance of Baptism, 1 Peter 3:21 being one of the them. It gives us 3 clauses which tell us how baptism “saves us.”
A watchman has 2 responsibilities: seeing danger on the horizon and alerting others to that danger. Ezekiel 3 walks through 4 scenarios of issuing spiritual warning and how others may respond. We use this passage to reflect on our own responsibilities toward each other.
Several Bible texts associate the work of demons with worldly wisdom. We explore how spiritual warfare is being tased in the arena of Wisdom.
Satan has lost the decisive battle, but he will not away quietly. We use Revelation 12 and the Book of Ephesians to examine the strategy of the powers of darkness after the cross and the tomb.
Proverbs has a lot to say about wealth, poverty, spending, debt, and generosity. We survey the book for wisdom applied to money.
Heartbreaking events bring the prophet Hosea right into the pain of God. How will this faithful God react to an unfaithful spouse? And where is Jesus in this story?
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What Scriptures relate to the topic of when a human being is capable of sinning? If there are babies or other humans that are not capable of sinning, are they still separated from God? If such a person dies, then what can we know about their situation?
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Was Elijah sinless since he did not die?
We preach on the cross often, but how often do we look at the crucifixion within the framework of the war between light and darkness? If Satan wants this to happen but it is also God’s predetermined plan (Acts 2:23), something has to give. Someone loses. We connect 2 of the Psalms with the Gospel accounts to explore the battle in the spiritual realm being waged on Mount Calvaly.
“The gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” I imagine a Pharisee giving a hearty Amen to this teaching of Jesus. But he would only do so because he believes he is on the narrow way and is a gatekeeper deciding who is in and who is out. But what if Jesus exposed the Pharisee for where he actually stood in such a metaphor? On the outside. But how can the most religious people be on the outside? We open Matthew 23 to hear some of the fieriest words of Jesus ever recorded.
This was not an easy sermon to preach. But it was a necessary one. Far too many Christians do not follow the Matthew 18 protocol to handle disagreements, offenses, or concerns. Why? Either we still don’t know the protocol, or, more likely, we ignore the protocol because other means of “dealing with our concerns” are easier. So how do we get back to addressing concerns in the way of Jesus?
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If a man was saved but then commits suicide, is he still saved?
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Can you pray and intercede on behalf of someone who has passed?
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Please help me understand 1 John 3:9. I sin every day.
We tackle the following questions on Prayer:
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When we pray to God, is it ok to then ask the Holy Spirit to plead for us as there are times we need to be asking for help or wisdom and don’t even know how?
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Can we change God’s mind through prayer?
Proverbs presents us with several caricatures, and the most prominent ones are the wise man and the fool. So what does the life of the wise man look like when it comes to his interactions with others?
In Part 6 of the series, we discuss the attempts to tap into dark powers. These attempts we place under the umbrella term "Occult." What are some of these practices? Why are they appealing? Is it all fake or is there anything real going on? And how should the people of God view these practices?
What can 2 men burying the body of Jesus teach us about Peer Pressure and discipleship?
There’s so much in Ezekiel’s prophecies which anticipate Jesus. We focus on 3 components:
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A New Temple
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A New People
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A New Shepherd
Responding to this question: “If prophets and patriarchs were in direct contact with God or in their dreams, why does the church believe that God is no longer talking to man like He had done throughout history?”
Three companions of Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” each have their own “If I only had…” song. If we’re paying attention to the narrative of Genesis 29-30, three characters also emerge with their own “If I only had…” song. So what does Jacob have his heart set on? What about Leah? And what about Rachel? And why do all of them end up in profound disappointment?
God provided water in the desert for Israel. Several Old Testament texts use the image of water to convey the promise of another event where God would provide water for those who are thirsty. So what does this have to do with Jesus? And with the Holy Spirit?
Though Ephesians 5 directly addresses husbands and wives, the principles of the previous chapter - intended for all relationships - are necessary for a Christ-centered marriage. We explore 5 principles which we should be applying to our marriages.
Returning to our series on spiritual warfare, we examine the work of demons (or unclean spirits) in the Bible. Where did they come from? What powers do they have? And how may they be connected to the “gods” of the nations?
1 Peter 2 walks us through answers to a progression of questions: Who are we? How did we become who we are? How will this identity play out in our daily life? How will we impact others?
3 John is one of the short and often overlooked books. But it tells us a lot about our interactions with brothers and sisters beyond the local congregation. We find some models of love, truth, and support of those beyond “the locals.” And we also find an example of a dangerous mindset - that of Diotrephes.
Jesus knew His hour had come. There would be some painful darkness for both Him and His disciples. So what was the key to His endurance and His encouragement to His followers in their endurance?
We need a balanced approach to our Bible Reading and Meditation if we are to get the most we can out of Scripture and actually make its message a reality in the way we live. We discuss 3 approaches we need.
In the 4th installment of our War Against the Darkness series, we encounter 2 family trees in 1 John 3 - the children of God and the children of the devil. These family trees begin to develop in Genesis 3-4. We trace the development of humans who become part of the family of Satan and how this plays a role in the mission of Jesus.
4 episodes unfold in the sequence of Mark 10:1-31: A discussion on marriage and divorce, a blessing of children, a rich young ruler, and a question from Peter about reward. So what ties all this together?
1 Corinthians 3 raises some challenging questions about our Kingdom Work and its durability. So what does this work encompass? How will that work be tested? And what does that testing mean about our own salvation? We explore.
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Did Jesus die for the sins of all people or only of those He knew would become Christians? And if He did die for all people’s sins, then why would we not say that everyone will be saved?
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I was raised in the Lutheran church. When the Lord’s Prayer was said, it ended in “Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever. Amen.” This is not actually part of the prayer. Do you know how it got to be said?
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What are the prerequisites for partaking in the Lord’s Supper? Is it for the baptized Christians only?
The story behind the hymn “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go” is soul-stirring. What’s even more powerful is the text from which its ideas are drawn - Romans 8. We dive into this text in order to see the truths which ground our confidence in a divine love which will not let us go.
Deuteronomy 30 says that the Word of God is neither out of reach or too difficult for us. What do each of those mean? What does this passage teach us about our access to God and to His will?
Everything looks good in God’s creation until this serpent figure shows up in Genesis 3. So who is he? And what about the use of the word “Satan” later in the Scriptures? Is there a discernible backstory here? What was this being’s original purpose? How did he become what he did? These questions may not be answered as definitely as we have assumed or as we would like, but we can at least discern some plausible information.
Naomi and Ruth do not have a biological mother-daughter relationship. But their story becomes one fo the most powerful mothering stories in the Bible, especially how adults continue to foster mother-daughter relationships far beyond childhood.
David’s reaction to his son Absalom’s death is gut-wrenching. For those who have lost someone close to them, a wide range of feelings can accompany grief. One of these is often guilt. We use David’s moment of grief as a springboard for considering the types of guilt we may experience after losing someone.
As part of our series of looking at how each Bible book finds resolution in Jesus, we examine Lamentations and its themes of godly repentance and the hope which is tied to God’s faithfulness.
In the second lesson in our series exploring spiritual warfare, we take a look at a passage which has been problematic or at least strange for biblical interpreters - the origin of some unusually large people called the Nephilim in Genesis 6. And they actually show up again in and around the land of Canaan when it’s time for the Conquest of the land. So where did these giant people come from? Why are they targeted in the Conquest of Canaan? And what does all this have to do with war in the heavenly realm?
Since “Atonement” is one of those words which may strike us as too theological to comprehend, the Bible gives us several “languages” which communicate what atonement means using scenarios we can relate to. We explore 5 of these languages: The Battlefield, The Marketplace, The Temple, The Law Courts, and Exile. And we ask 3 questions of each: Where does this language place me w/out Jesus? Where does this language place Jesus? And where does this language place me once I am in Jesus?
In the first of a series on spiritual beings and spiritual warfare, we introduce the angelic realm. Who are these “sons of God” or “host of heaven”? What is their origin? And what is their purpose? How does God desire to use them?
In the second of two sermons, we move beyond diagnosis of the problems with our thinking and work toward the solutions which are available in Christ. If Christ is the redeemer of our entire being, then He is also the redeemer of our minds. We explore 8 categories of thoughts from Philippians 4:8 on which we should be focusing our thinking.