I was twenty-five years old and fresh out of seminary when I became the pastor of a small church in […]
Text: Romans 15:5-7In our zeal to serve God, we may actually end up opposing him.
Sermon Series: Faces Around the CrossFor the last few weeks in our studies of Romans 14-15, we have been looking at the call of God […]
Sermon Series: The Transformed Life (Romans 12-16)Christians disagree about almost everything. And when we disagree, we usually start a new church. Which reminds me of a […]
Text: Acts 15:36-41To understand forgiveness, consider Jesus on the cross. In his dying moments He uttered words that still ring across the centuries: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Even as he said those words, the crowd laughed, mocked, cheered, jeered. They taunted him. When he died, the people who put him to death were quite pleased with themselves. No one seemed very sorry. No one said, “I was wrong. This is a mistake.” And yet he said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” That is precisely what we must say if we are going to follow Jesus.
Text: Romans 15Christian Liberty – You are free! Absolutely free. Christ has liberated you from the terrible burden of having to prove your worth by keeping a set of rules. You are free from the law, free from rule keeping, and free to make responsible choices. God has set you free so that you can please him with the choices you make.
Text: Romans 14:13-23Christians 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 14:1-12Love 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 13:8-10Jesus stands at the end of life’s road for all of us. In the end there can be no middle ground.
Text: Matthew 2:1-6