Michael Easley Sermons: Recent Episodes
Michael Easley
Verse by Verse Bible teaching from Dr. Michael Easley. From the ministry of Michael Easley inContext.
In his sermon at Immanuel Bible Church, Michael discusses the purpose of affliction in light of the God we serve.
Links Mentioned: Candle of The Lord by Phillips Brooks To read the full show notes, click here.
This sermon is Michael's last sermon as Teaching Pastor at Stonebridge Bible church given on May 14, 2023.
Links Mentioned: Knowing God by J.I. Packer Leadership and Self Deception by The Arbinger Institute Visions of Grandeur by Ralph Mattson To read the full show notes, click here.
Proverbs 7 is the fourth lecture on the adulterous woman the father is teaching the son about. Without wisdom, temptation always wins, the immature lose, and catastrophe awaits. To find Michael's recommended Proverbs resources, click here. Read the full blog here. Resources Mentioned Ask Dr. E episode 106: Should we use people's preferred pronouns when it's counter to God's truth?
In Proverbs 6:1-19, the father warns his son to watch out for the irresponsible, lazy, and wicked. Throughout the text, we learn what pleases and displeases God.
Resources Mentioned: Proverbs Resource Page
Read the full blog post here.
Proverbs is God's wisdom in marriage and life being imparted to man. How do we help a simple man understand our brilliant God? We use easy-to-remember parallels, couplets, and rhymes. The simple and naive can learn, but the fool may never understand. Read the full blog post here.
The earlier we expose our children to the truth of scripture, the reality of Jesus Christ, and the truth of the wisdom that comes from God, the longer they will have to prosper in the right way. Simply put, Proverbs 4:10-19 could be called ‘choose.’ You get to choose the way of righteousness or the way of wickedness.
Read the full blog post here.
Proverbs 3:13-18 is about something more precious and priceless than anything. It’s not something we grab out of a burning home, but the wisdom in understanding what wisdom is. The parallel is that when we find wisdom, we gain understanding. Read the full blog post here. Resources Mentioned: Derrick Kidner- Proverbs Bruce Waltke- Proverbs: A Shorter Commentary Tom Constable’s notes on Proverbs Bible.org
Do you want wisdom? If so, there is a path to get it, but it's not what you think. Wisdom is the deliberate pursuit of something whose origin is God; it is manifold and multifaceted. Bridges wrote, "The fear of the Lord is that affectionate reverence by which the child of God bends himself humbly and carefully to his Father's law." It doesn't often look this way in our lives, but that's what it means to understand the fear of the Lord.
Read the full blog post here.
It is important to remember that Proverbs is not a verse-by-verse exposition. It is exposition, but due to the nature of the text, we must follow its existing structure. Dr. Bruce Waltke discusses the importance of our prayers as we study so that we "become porous, so the spirit of what was taught becomes part of our personality. This is where the spiritual life and exegesis kiss one another and need one another."
Get the full sermon notes here
Proverbs is not a random or disorganized collection. Dr. Bruce Waltke argues that Proverbs is divided into seven collections:
Proverbs 1:1
Proverbs 10:1
Proverbs 22:17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise
Proverbs 24:23 These also are sayings of the wise
Proverbs 25:1
Proverbs 30:1
Proverbs 31:1
These divisions help us organize our thoughts and look at the book of Proverbs with a clear mind.
In this episode, Michael teaches through the first collection, Proverbs 1:1 through Proverbs 9:18.
Read the full sermon breakdown
If the book of Proverbs has ever seemed disorganized or even inaccessible to you, this episode is for you.
Have you heard the joke that maybe Solomon dropped his dissertation on his way to have it bound? Perhaps that’s why his Proverbs can seem so disorganized…But that isn’t the case at all.
Solomon was the wisest man on the planet in his day and his book of wisdom is brilliantly organized. It simply takes a bit of methodology to be able to see its brilliance.
In this episode, Michael teaches through the tenants of bible study methodology that help us understand the brilliance of the book of Proverbs.
More info & resources are in the Show Notes.
Welcome to a new season of Michael Easley Sermons! We're beginning a new series today: The Fear of the Lord, the Beginning of Wisdom.
Join us for a study through proverbs.
Find resources mentioned in this episode's Show Notes.
Do you have a biblical or theological question from this (or any other) episode of Michael Easley Sermons? Share your question with us to be answered on an upcoming episode of our Q&A Podcast: Ask Dr. E, where Dr. Michael Easley answers your questions in 10 minutes or less. To listen to our catalog of over 100 questions answered, search for Ask Dr. E wherever you listen to podcasts or Click Here.
The best investment any one of us can make is the one many of us struggle to prioritize. If you've struggled to spend time in the Word lately, this message is for you.
In this sermon, originally recorded at Mood Bible Institute's Founder's Week in 2019 at the Moody Church in Chicago, IL, Michael teaches through 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and demonstrates that scripture—all scripture—is profitable in a person's life in every way.
More resources available at michaelincontext.com
How do we keep going? When we're bogged down, discouraged by the state of the world or, perhaps, our own circumstances, where do we go to muster the faith to continue to grow?
We look back.
What's the "therefore" there for in Hebrews 12:1? This is a unique "therefore," occurring only one other time in the New Testament. It's, perhaps, a "therefore" of exasperation. The Hebrews Hall of Faith is not just some boring list of old names that are dead and turning into dust in some grave—they're evidence.
We have so many men and women of faith who have gone before us, who believed in something they didn't see and are now witnesses. Therefore: look back. Consider the evidence. Lay aside every encumbrance. Consider Him who endured the greatest hostility against Himself by sinners so that you and I will not grow weary and lose heart.
This sermon was originally recorded at Mood Bible Institute's Founder's Week in 2007 at the Moody Church in Chicago, IL.
This sermon was originally recorded at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, TX in 2014.
What if God's Grace makes you angry?
What if God, by the demonstration of His kindness and mercy, shows someone grace that you or I think are not deserving? How do we respond to that?
How do we ask for God's grace for people we hate? That's at the crux of Jonah's complaint. Michael teaches through the book of Jonah.
Resources and more in our Show Notes.
Michael teaches through Psalm 40.
The way through our present troubles is found in looking to God's faithfulness in our past.
This sermon was originally recorded at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, TX in 2011.
Originally recorded at Cedarville Unversity in 2008, Michael teaches through Psalm 101.
Originally recorded at Cedarville Unversity in 2008, Michael teaches through Psalm 12 with a poignant reminder of the power of words—God's, others', and our own.
John 3:16 is perhaps the most widely-known verse in Scripture, but how well do we really know it? Michael gives context to this oft-quoted text to help us understand the nature and function of God's love.
Come back next week for a sermon on John 3:16 (a bonus episode) and then check back in late-fall when we will be airing our next series on Proverbs. If you aren't on our email list, now is the time! Go to https://michaelincontext.com and on the bottom left of our website you can sign up to receive updates on new episodes.
Dr. Michael Easley teaches from Philippians 4:20-23 "Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.The brethren who are with me greet you.All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."
Dr. Michael Easley teaches from Philippians 4:14-19 "Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Dr. Michael Easley teaches from Philippians 4:8-9 "But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."
Dr. Michael Easley teaches from Philippians 4:8-9 "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."
Dr. Michael Easley teaches from Philippians 4:1-7 "Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Dr. Michael Easley teaches from Philippians 3:17-21
"Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself."
Dr. Michael Easley teaches from Philippians 3:12-16 "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained."
Michael teaches from Philippians 3:10-11
If we want to know Christ, we must know Him on His terms—beginning with knowing the power of His resurrection.
Dr. Michael Easley teaches from Philippians 3:4-9 "Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith."
Dr. Michael Easley teaches from Philippians 3:1-3 "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh" Sinful man can do nothing to be right before God. God has done everything to make man right before Him. False teachers and false teaching will always press in. The believer must be vigilant, staying close to God’s word, God’s Spirit, and God’s people.
Dr. Michael Easley teaches from Philippians 2:25-30. "But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you.Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me." Christ is our ultimate example of faithfulness and humble obedience is Christ. Yet we also find motivation and encouragement in the lives of Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus.
During his teaching, Michael references a podcast episode on inContext with Janet Parshall that can be found here: https://michaelincontext.com/american-church-janet-parshall/