Sermons: Recent Episodes
Oakridge Community Church: Stillwater, MN
Faithfulness in the Christian life is dependent upon a greater understanding and experience of God's grace.
All of life is to be lived for the honor and eternal dominion of the immortal, invisible King.
Live and minister in such a way that you will not be ashamed when you stand before Christ.
The 4th command for living a persevering life is for Timothy to take hold of what is already his in Christ.
The second command for living a persevering life is the command to "pursue" a life of holiness to the Lord. The call is simply to be a living demonstration of the power of the Gospel, and a living contradiction to the false teachers.
God's work of preserving His people is accomplished by giving them persevering faith. The closing section of 1 Timothy is a call for Timothy to persevere as a Christian, and as a Christian minister.
Principles to use our wealth for the glory of God, the support of the needy, and the advancement of the Gospel.
Rich believers are given instructions for how to use their riches in a manner that glorifies God.
The true gain of godliness is godliness itself. A life of fellowship with Christ (godliness) produces a life of contentment in Christ.
A charge for Timothy to be faithful to his ministry, and helping him understand how to deal with those who will oppose him.
Christ expects His people to be fearless and faithful as they face challenging circumstances.
Revelation 2:8-11 gives Christ's encouragment for the church in Smyrna. They were facing difficult times, and it was going to get worse. These are Christ's instructions for how they would remain faithful to Him. .
The church has the responsibility to ordain men into the eldership. She must do so with caution.
There is a balance to maintain between the use of God's good gifts (like wine), and upholding godly caution for the well-being of pour souls.
Timothy's usefulness in ministry was connected with taking care of his health. God's concern about our bodies should govern how we treat our bodies.
The process of church discipline requires a spirit of impartiality. There is only one way for believers to avoid reaching the point where they are in need of church discipline: they must abide in Christ.
God has established a process to correct sinning elders in the church, which is the process of church discipline.
Before God gives instructions for correcting elders, he gives rules for protecting them.
The demands and importance of a faithful preaching ministry for the health of the church makes supporting men who labor in preaching and teaching a priority.
Where the Gospel establishes a local church body, it will sound forth from that local church to others.
The elders of Christ's church are called to rule, but it is their responsibility to make sure that they rull well.
The slef-indulgent woman is unfit for support by the church. Her self-indulgent behavior reveals the true state of her soul; she is dead to God.
The godly widow's hope in God will give birth to a faithful, rich, and consistent prayer life.
What is the kind of widow the church should honor? The widow who should be supported by the church must be a hopeful and godly woman.
The Church must show God's compassion for the poor and needy, especially for widows; but mercy ministries of the church are not to be indiscriminate. 1 Timothy 5:3-16 gives us the qualifications for a widow to be supported by the church.
Thetre are certain responsibilities believers have toward one another as fellow members of God's family. One of those responsibilities is the need to confront and correct sin. However, as we see in 1 Timothy 5:1-2, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.
A faithful servant of Christ Jesus must ememplify the power of the Gospel he preaches in his own life.
To be a faithful minister fo Christ Jesus in the public aspects of his ministry, Timothy had to command and teach God's Word.
Strength and power to train ourselves for godliness comes from a fixed hope in the living, saving God.
Timothy had to tranfer the nourishment he was receiving from the Word of God into a disciplined pursuit of godliness (God-wardness).
If Timothy would be a good servant of Christ Jesus and a faithful minister of the Word, then his own soul needed to be nourished on the words of the faith and good doctrine.
For Timothy (and any preaching pastor in any local church) to be a "good servant of Christ Jesus," he must devote himself to faithfully preaching God's Word.
Life in the Holy Spirit is founf in having a true knowledge of God's Word, a true faith in God's Word, and a living a life sanctified by God's Word.
How do Christians live out our unity in Christ when we find ourselves disagreeing in matters of opinion?
How do Christians live out our unity in Christ when we find ourselves disagreeing in matters of opinion?
We will only walk in a manner worthy of Christ in the circumstances we face by being content in Christ in every circumstance we face.
The way to walk worthy of Christ in any circumstance is to rejoice in Christ in every circumstance.
IN every circumstance, the Church walks worthy of the Gospel of Christ when she maintains and cultivates unity in the Gospel.
What is the nature of government, and what relationship are Christians to have with the governing authorities in light of our supreme allegiance to Christ?
The more the resurrected Christ was proclaimed by the Apostles to the church, the more the resurrection life of Christ manifested in the church.
Palm Sunday is a day to remember the unveiling of Christ as King, and to renew our allegiance to Him.
Some markers of the kind of faith that departs from Christ, and how true believers must respond to the danger of apostasy.