In this message Pastor Ray reminds us everything we believe rests on the sovereignty of God. Salvation starts with God, not with us. Because he has chosen us, we can stand firm amid the trials of life. By standing firm we prove to ourselves and to the watching world what we truly believe.
Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17“I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (v. 2). We have […]
Text: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5Christians 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 14:1-12Some people are surprised to learn that in the beginning Christianity had no recognized symbol. In the earliest days Christians recognized each other by declaring “Jesus is Lord.” It took several generations for the cross to become the universal symbol of the Christian faith. Perhaps the cross is little more than a symbol to many people. Yet, it is much more than a symbol and has great meaning and significance.
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25No matter how hopeless the situation looks, God has not lost the battle. In the end we’re going to come out on the winning side.
Text: Romans 11:1-10Last week’s sermon was called Straight Talk About Predestination. If I were giving someone else advice, I would say that […]
Text: Romans 9:30-33In the history of the Christian church, few doctrines have been so hotly debated as the doctrine of predestination. Since predestination is a biblical concept, we must face this doctrine squarely whether we like it or not. It’s in the Bible, therefore we must first seek to understand it and then to ask what difference it makes.
Text: Romans 9:19-29If hell is real, it ought to break our heart.
Text: Romans 9:1-5If God didn’t move in mercy, we would all end up in hell.
Text: II Peter 3:9This 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