I am away from my normal pulpit duties this morning–instead I am teaching and preaching at the Northwest church in Oklahoma City for their Missions Emphasis series. In the Spanish class, my theme will be “The Call of God.” God calls us to share his message (Jer. 20:7-9) even when we would rather not. When …
Category Archives: Sermons
It’s Sunday Again: Giving That Which Costs Me Nothing
Bonus Sunday was postponed from last week. I will preach once more on the subject of giving–three consecutive Sundays. I wish we had a better word. Stewardship doesn’t help. Some speak of the contribution or the offering. Others speak of the tithe. It ultimately boils down to giving. The Bible uses the verb give (obviously …
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It’s Sunday Again: What Happens When I Give?
Understanding why people give is not always easy. Millions of dollars have been donated to help relieve the hurt and suffering in Haiti. Compassion sometimes motivates giving–especially if the victims seem powerless and could not have averted the problems. Compassion doesn’t always work as a motivator if there is a perception that the receiver could …
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It’s Sunday Again: Developing Grace
We praise grace but are sometimes less than gracious. We are grateful that God is gracious, but miss the opportunity to become like him by developing grace in our own lives. Peter urges us to grow in grace. Paul writes to the Corinthians urging them to develop “this grace also”. Paul’s subject is clearly a …
It’s Sunday Again: Church without Covenant?
Our culture is filled with churches that are trying to be or do the work of God apart from “covenant relationship” with God. As an increasing number of persons in our national culture seek the relationship of marriage without commitment or covenant, a similar situation has developed in many churches. What does it mean to …
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It’s Sunday Again: The Paralysis of Fear
Fear is paralyzing. Big challenges go unaccepted; big jobs remain undone. The “what if” gets in the way of the “what can be.” I remember taking an evangelism course a number of years ago that defined fear this way: False Expectations Accepted as Real. The ideal New Year’s Resolutions are simple, limited in number, and …
Know What We Know: Response Required
When one has clearly seen God, the human dilemma, and the faithful graceful initiative of God, one question overwhelms. What does God want? How should I respond to him? In this series we are affirming that God desires that his human creation recognize him as God and pay him respect and honor in worship. The …
Know What We Know: The Human Dilemma
We have really messed up! The message is not popular, but it is relevant, spiritually vital. We are a rebellious bunch–the whole lot of us. This message is “bad news”. Nonetheless, one must hear it, realize its truth, own it. Good news is relative! News is not good if it doesn’t meet a need. I …
It’s Sunday Again: Praise
An amazing thing has occurred–in the discussion of biblical concepts and ideas, the church has come down in many places against praise! We make fun of praise songs. We make fun of repeated choruses (despite the repetition of the Psalms, for example Psalm 136). One brother spoke of “7-11” songs–seven words eleven times. Such does …
It’s Sunday Again: Acts 29
Last sermon in the series: Do you know Jesus? The rubber meets the road. The answer is not hard, in fact is obvious. What does your life look like? The book of Acts predicts the spread of the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Through a series of summary statements …