This parable is not just teaching us about final rewards. It is also probing at the level of our motives. Why are we doing what we do? If it’s a straight reward you want, fine, you’ll get it. God will never cheat you. But that’s all you’ll get. And you’ll go to heaven grumbling all the way, always checking to see how you are doing compared with someone else – overestimating your own importance and underestimating the grace of God. But if you decide to do your work for the Lord’s sake alone, you will never be disappointed.
Text: Matthew 20:1-16Take time to say “Thank you, O Lord!” as you count your blessings this week.
Text: Luke 17:11-19Here is part of an email from a friend: Do you have any suggestions for getting rid of bitterness? What […]
Sermon Series: Total Forgiveness“Then He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…’ What did Jesus mean? He meant there were many people ready to be harvested for the Kingdom. All around us there are broken, bleeding, hurting people, ripped apart and left to die, they are ready to be reached if only someone will go to the harvest fields. If only someone will tell them about Jesus. Where are the harvest fields today? Let me name a few ….
Text: Matthew 9:35-38Christians have always disagreed – a lot! And it’s not a bad thing. But there is always a danger that our own personal preferences will grow so important that we no longer accept our brothers and sisters in the Lord who disagree with us. The great unifying factor for the people of God is the Lord Jesus Christ. He has broken down the wall that separated us from God and from one another. In Him we are joined together in the body of Christ. If we truly believe in Him, we can let Him deal with those who disagree with us. In the meantime, don’t forget to treat those who disagree as brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Text: Romans 14:1-12Part 1. There are many ways to kill the faith of a new Christian, but the easiest way – and the quickest – is through criticism and a lack of acceptance. We all have a tendency to criticize people who don’t do or say things the way we think they ought to be said or done. Terrible things can happen when we are too quick to offer personal judgments on believers who don’t meet our personal standards. How can we overcome the impulse to criticize our brothers and sisters in Christ?
Text: Romans 14:1-12Lord, don’t you care – that my child is sick, my marriage is falling apart, I have no money, I feel so alone? All of us have moments when life tumbles in around us, when we feel utterly alone and forgotten by God. In those moments we have a choice to make.
Text: Mark 4:35-41Christians, do you know what time it is? The Apostle Paul tells us it’s time to wake up, put off the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. In light of the return of Christ, and the lateness of the hour, how should we then live?
Text: Romans 13:11-14Love is the medicine for a sick and fallen world. We need to see love and feel love and experience it in our lives. And we need to know how to pass it along to others. This is the fulfillment of all that God asks of us.
Text: Romans 13:8-10(A few days ago I received a letter that took over a month to finally reach me. It came from […]
Sermon Series: Christmas Messages