I begin with the words of British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, from an interview with William F. Buckley: “As an old […]
Text: 1 Peter 4:12-19This is the second sermon in a two-part miniseries on God and our money. We’re doing this because we’re praying […]
Text: Matthew 6:19-34For the past few months I’ve been preaching a series of sermons from I Peter. We’re taking a break from […]
Text: Acts 20:35Throughout history, God has grown and moved his church as his people scattered to diverse locations geographically. This pattern has not changed and believers are still called to grow and expand as a church today, whether we move across national boundaries, ethnic and cultural boundaries, or do church planting in our immediate communities. Beginning with the first generation of believers in the book of Acts, we hear of Phillip, who was emboldened and changed by the power of God as he moved out in obedience to spread the Gospel. Despite severe persecution, great joy descended on those who received the truth that came with power. In this present age, we have the account of the phenomenal growth of the church in China. In 1949 all Christian missionaries were evicted leaving less than one million indigenous believers behind. They faced relentless bloodbaths and eradication. Yet the church grew in the midst of that persecution when determined believers scattered and went underground. The challenge to believers today remains the same—to be willing to be moved out of our personal comfort zones, to walk in faith, to make personal sacrifices, and most importantly, to trust God for our personal well-being and needs.
Text: Acts 8:4-8God uses catastrophe and disasters to scatter the church so that His word can be spread to all parts of the world. We can become comfortable and content in our lives, but God in His sovergn nature does things we are not used to.
Text: Acts 8:1-4But whether we are on earth today or in heaven tomorrow, we are still part of the church of Jesus Christ.
Text: Hebrews 12:1I still believe in God’s church. What about you?
Text: Ephesians 4:1-6God has a big family—and if you know Jesus, if you have trusted him as your Lord and Savior—you are part of that family.
Text: Matthew 16:18If you leave God out, you’ve missed the fundamental truth about the universe. That means that in order to understand human origins and the true history of the universe, we must begin
Text: Revelation 4:11This sermon gives the history of how the Apostles’ Creed came about and explains the importance it has in the Christian church throughout history as well as in our individual lives. The Apostles’ Creed is a declaration of faith recognized by all branches of true Christianity. For 2,000 years the Apostles’ Creed has served as a succinct statement of the irreducible minimum of the Christian faith. It is the common heritage of the true Christian church. It offers a broad survey of Christian doctrine, that focuses all on God as the object of the faith, and what he has done for believers. In this declaration of beliefs, the God of the Christian church is sharply distinguished from the gods of other religions by what he has done for his believers. The authority of these statements of belief embodied in the Apostles’ Creed lies entirely on the Word, that is the Bible, and not on any personal or private interpretations. It follows then that a person who professes to be a Christian must therefore subscribe or believe in everything stated in this creed, at the very least, as a start of what the Christian must believe. The Creed reminds us that truth is not optional. There are boundaries to the Christian faith. Not everything is negotiable. Some things must be believed if you are to call yourself a Christian. You can choose to live outside those boundaries, but if you do, you aren’t a Christian and you shouldn’t call yourself one.
Text: Romans 1:16