Serious Joy: Recent Episodes
Jeff Rogers
"Take care! Encourage one another all the time, any chance you get" - How the people of God are the means of God to keep us in the life of God.
Paul offers the work of Christ in creation and redemption as the rebuttal against the confusions and delusions of the world.
The Bible offers strength and encouragement for facing struggles in such a way that Christ is exalted and those around us are blessed.
We need to develop a taste and desire for the whole counsel of God's word...not just the pieces we like here and there.
Paul offers up his own suffering as assurance and encouragement to be strengthened in Christ.
Paul had a big prayer for this little church. Do big things with big joy and big hope in a great big God.
The 25th Psalm shows us a man who is in distress, but he is not shaken because he takes refuge in the goodness of God.
Jude warns about the judgement that awaits those who twist God's grace, but in his warning, there is hope.
In so many other aspects of the Christian life, the bible teaches that God will fight the battle for us, yet when it comes to biblical doctrine, the scriptures charge us with its defense
Jude asks us to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. What does he mean by "the faith"?
Your prayer is hindered by unconfessed, unrepentant sin. Bring it out into the open, so that you can pray with effectiveness and power.
As James draws to a conclusion, he encourages to trust God's process, his promise, and his purpose.
It is a dangerous place to be to call oneself a Christian, but refuse to live like one.
There are two kinds of wisdom, one that is demonic and leads to destruction, and one that is divine and produces a harvest of righteousness. James tells us how to know the difference.
Salvation comes by faith alone in Christ alone, but faith never remains alone. James reminds us that faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
James calls us to live as ones who will be judged under the law of liberty. Showing partiality is inconsistent with the life that is lived in Christ.
We can know so much about him, and still completely miss him. Don't make that mistake. Ryan Ballard brings us a challenging and encouraging word from John 6.
James clearly sees a difference between testing and tempting. God tests, but he doesn't tempt. How does that play out in our lives?
In times of lack and lowliness, we have every cause to boast in Christ, and in times of abundance and high status, we have no cause for boasting except that we boast in Christ.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." We have only to ask, and God is faithful to supply.
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet various trials." There is a purpose in Christian suffering.
In the final words of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asks us to consider two builders, one wise and one foolish. Only the wise one who has built on the solid rock will stand in the coming storm.
The only case that we must plead when we face judgement is that we have placed our hope in Christ.
God has been and is such a lavishly good Father to us that we ought to overflow in goodness toward others.
In a world of shifting cultural norms about gender and sexuality, the bible still speaks loud and clear about these issues.
Sunday, 12/19/2021 "Of Pigs and Pearls" Matthew 7:6
This is one of those passages that people tend to take out of context to make it mean something that it doesn't. What is Jesus telling us with this talk of pigs an pearls?
"Judge Not, that you be not judged." This is probably the most well known statement Jesus made. What is he commanding us to do? Are Christians never to make judgements on behavior and teaching, or is there more to it than that?
In this message, we look at the commandment to not be anxious and how that is rooted in our treasuring and trusting Christ.
We are missing the first 5 or 6 minutes of Audio and Video, that was just a recap of some of the concepts in the previous message in this series, Trash and Treasure.
Below is the sermon manuscript for the couple of minutes that where missing in the video so you will know where the audio and video pick up.
Manuscript: Read Matthew 6:19-34
"The last time I spoke to you, we looked at this same text…specifically the first few verses…verses 19-24. In those verses, Jesus is making the point that only heavenly things are worth being truly treasured. If you truly treasure something, then it is precious to you. If you treasure something, and you don’t have it, you want to get it, and you work towards acquiring it. It’s your goal. If you already have it, then you want to keep it. You want to protect it; you want to gaze upon it and admire it. BECAUSE…treasure, by definition, is TREASURED! And Jesus is making the argument that all earthly treasure is subject to corruption and theft. Why would you treasure something you are just going to lose? Why prize something that will just rot and decay? Why not instead treasure something that cannot rot, and cannot be stolen…something permanent, eternal? … something worth treasuring! So, this is basically the foundation for the apostle Paul to be able to say in Philippians 3, “I count it all as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.” Paul treasured HEAVENLY things and not earthly things. He sought FIRST, the kingdom of God."
Jesus said that where our treasure is, our heart is also. How do we keep our treasure and our hearts in the right place?
Jesus clearly teaches us that we are to be motivated in doing righteousness by the reward we receive. So, then what is that reward? It is the unshakable joy of satisfaction in Christ.
Jesus offers a way of escape from temptation. "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Ryan Ballard ministers the word of God from Ephesians and Revelation with a warning to complacent churches and Christians. Do not forget your first love.
We have an example, a great power, and a great friend in Jesus Christ to stand against temptation.
The praise of men is an intoxication temptation. If we fall into it's lure, we lose the reward of our Father.
There is danger in doing the right things for the wrong reasons. Glory belongs to God. Let us not be thieves.
Our testimony of God's goodness can be seen in how well we treat those who don't treat us well.
Christ calls us to a better response when we are treated poorly by others. He empowers us in that better response through his assurance of a better possession in eternity.
The strongest defense we have for protecting our marriages is the picture we have of Christ and the Church.
We go to great lengths to defend and protect what is important to us...property, rights, relationships. To what lengths will we go to defend and protect our relationship with Christ?
Jesus calls us to a ministry and message of radical reconciliation that requires humility and a desire for peace.
Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
We have a responsibility to pray for others. What then should we pray for them when we don't know what to pray for?
Salt that isn't salty is worthless. Christians who don't live like Christ are no different.
Not all persecution is blessed, but that, for righteousness sake, has both a purpose and a reward.
Persecution will come to the Christian. That is the testimony of scripture, the testimony of the Apostles, the testimony of history, and the testimony of our Lord. But be encouraged. Though we are reviled, our reward is great.
We are not to be passive about our pursuit of peace with others. This is a defining characteristic of those who are children of God. God's children ARE peacemakers.
Seeing God is the blessing of a pure heart. That's not just a future hope for a future glory, but it is solid joys now.
Mercy is more than forgiveness. We are called to a life of mercy, not just acts of kindness and forgiveness here and there, but a whole life.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...an ancient and divine invitation, refreshed and renewed in Christ.
Meekness is often overlooked in the list of Christian character traits, but it should define us because it is the very heart of God.
It is a time of mourning for us as a church as we deal with the loss of our beloved founder and senior pastor, Terry Rogers. But we do not weep as those who do not have hope. Christ is risen, and that is our assurance and our hope also. Let us weep. Let us mourn, but let us not be dismayed, for our hope is secured in the completed work of our risen Lord.
There is comfort in our suffering and grief when we realize that God is ultimately and decisively in control...the same God who is your Father, who loves you beyond measure, and works all things for your good.
We know that we are feeling Godly sorrow that leads to repentance and not worldly guilt when our affections toward God are exposed, when we are convicted to push further into righteousness, and when we are moved to declare salvation to others.
Christian mourning is blessed because it moves us with compassion for the lost to proclaim the kingdom of God, and we are comforted seeing the new life that is given by Christ to all who come to Him. Mourning over the sins of the world is at the heart of the Great Commission.
Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount by saying "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." He starts there, because that is where we must start...poor in spirit. In this message, we explore some of what that means.
Jesus came to show us The Way. The Way is humble and authentic. The Way is passionate for the glory of God in all things to the joy of all people. The Way is hard. The Way is sure. The way is Jesus. Today we begin a series through the Sermon on the Mount. We will take our time discovering and re-discovering Jesus' teachings of The Way.
It may seem like Jesus is asking too much, or like the mission is too big...to make disciples of all nations. It may seem overwhelming to teach "all that he has commanded", but be encouraged that He had all of that in mind when He gave us that impossible mission.
Woe to us if we do not share the great gift of Christ with the world. He has given us the Keys of the Kingdom so that we can swing wide the gates of Heaven to a lost and dying world.
When life comes at you hard, we have our marching orders. Better yet, we have an assured victory. Press on, faithful soldier. Press on.
Sorry there is no video. We had some problems with the camera. Today's message is Paul's plea to Timothy, and all of us to live on purpose, intentional, for the mission. I pray you are blessed.
In Hebrews, we are told that we must hold fast to our confession of hope, and we are told how. You and I are instruments of hope for one another. Let us not forget that. Let us not neglect that.
Why would the world want anything we have to offer if it looked just like what they've already got?
The antidote to our blindness toward those who are lost is found in compassion that is enabled and fueled by serious joy.
We fail to really see the lost around us, and thus we fail to be moved with compassion to do what we can to bring them to Christ.
Jesus put all of his authority behind the great commission. He is passionate about our call to make disciples.
Jesus said "I will build my church." Then, in the Great Commission, he essentially told us to go and do what He just said He would do. How does that even work?
Gary Youngblood ministers on how we are all Anointed to do the ministry of Jesus Christ in the world, and without that anointing, we are powerless to help anyone.
Gary Yougblood ministers on Encouragement. We all need to be lifting one another up in the love of the Lord. Thank you, brother Gary for this word of encouragement!
New Covenant Christian generosity is far superior to the Old Covenant tithe. We are not called to less, but to more.
The way to grasp on to what is true lift is through our kingdom generosity in this life.
Money offers us a lot of things, none of them permanent. We must be careful that we are not deceived into thinking that money
Generosity is a Gospel issue.
The books I mentioned in the sermon can be found here: The Treasure Principle: https://bit.ly/TreasurePrinciple
Money, Possessions, and Eternity: https://bit.ly/MoneyPossessions
What does it mean to lay down your life for your friends? John gives us some direction.
Paul tells us to present ourselves for the sake of the spreading of the gospel, being transformed and not conformed. Thank you, Pastor Terry, for opening up the scriptures for us today.
I have to say this. I rely so heavily on my notes..every word comes from my heart, and I want to get every word right. To stand back and watch my dad, who is blind, recite the scriptures from memory, and preach from his heart without the benefit of having notes or even the ability to look at notes is both uplifting and humbling. Thank you, Dad. -- Pastor Jeff
Paul explains how to respond in conflict. In these divided times, it is more important than ever that Christians reflect Christ.
So....what about food offered to idols? - Part 1 Mid-Week Bible Study - 6/17/2020 Looking at 1 Corinthians 8
Christians must actively and passionately pursue reconciliation with our neighbors just as our Lord pursued it with us.
Some additional thoughts on marriage from the Apostle Paul before he moves onto other things.
Christians must do the difficult work of keeping our words in check. James gives us some warnings about how great our need is for "bridling" the tongue.
Don't let the enemy and the cares of this world fool you into thinking that God isn't worth it!
What's the big deal if someone in the church engages in open sin? Paul tells us in these verses.
The world may be reeling in uncertainty, but one thing remains absolutely certain. Christ is on His Throne!
"All things are legal", but not all things are good. - What does Paul mean by this statement?
During this time of "shutdown", idleness is a real temptation. Why should the Christian avoid being spiritually, mentally, and physically idle?
Continuing our journey through Paul's first letter to the church at Corrinth. Tonight we look at how Paul addresses conflict and legal disputes in the church.
Our first Online-Service during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Apostle Peter tells us to trust in the Lord, but still be vigilant.
God's grace has a disruptive effect on our lives. It is the power of God to radically change us.
Going to heaven will be like going home. It will be familiar, yet different...better. God has many wonders in store for those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.
In the resurrection, God makes all things new. The curse touches every part of the universe, and all of it will be made new.
Siloam Baptist Church in Bagwell, TX In this world, we will have problems. Jesus promised us this. He also told us to be of good cheer because he had overcome the world. There is a promise in your problems.
To see the wonder of the resurrection and to appreciate its reach, we must first consider what it is that we are being resurrected from. In this message, we look at the curse, and how far-reaching it is so that we may appreciate how miraculous and complete the resurrection will be.
What happens to Christians when we die? Do we fade into oblivion? Do we just fall asleep? Or do we go to be with Christ? In this message, we explore these questions.
Without a course correction from Jesus, we are all headed to a very real place of never ending torment. The fear of Hell is not our great motivator for righteousness, but knowing what we are saved from helps us appreciate what we are saved into.
Our problem isn't that we are so Heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. It is that we aren't Heavenly minded enough.
If the bible is in fact the word of God, and we believe that is, then doesn't that necessitate that we submit ourselves to it's teaching, that we hold the scriptures as authoritative in our lives, and that we bring our thoughts, desires, and passions in line with what it says?
The bible's claims to be the word of God necessitate that we take it as wholly the truth or as wholly a lie.
We reached way back into the archives to pull this one out for Pastor Appreciation Sunday. It is an encouraging word from our founding pastor, Terry Rogers.