Sermons from 2014

Exhortations and Warnings for Youth I. Definitions. A. exhort: To admonish earnestly; to urge by stimulating words to conduct regarded as laudable. B. admonish: To put (a person) in mind of duties; to counsel against wrong practices; to give authoritative or warning advice; to exhort, to warn. C. warn: To make aware, to put on one's guard. To give timely notice to (a person) of impending danger or misfortune. D. youth: The fact or state of being young; youngness. (Often blending with sense 2.) 2. Th...

Chapter 3 vs. 1-4. Jonah 9-7-13 Page 6 A. Jonah's duty still awaited him. NOTE: 1. Rebellion against known duty does not excuse us from that duty nor from chastening but only from blessings. JAM 4:17 c/w LUK 12:47. 2. Punishment for rebellion against known duty does not excuse us from that duty. 3. Deliverance from punishment for rebellion against known duty does not excuse us from that duty. 4. If God be reconciled to the wayward who failed in duty and they, like Peter, be given a second chance, l...

The Better Covenant Premise: The new covenant of which Christ is Mediator is a superior covenant. HEB 7:22; 8:6. A. This covenant is made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. HEB 8:8. 1. It embraces God's elect of all nations, Jew or Gentile. ROM 9:8; GAL 3:29; ROM 2:28-29. 2. Elect Gentiles are in Christ graft into the covenantal blessings of Israel and Judah. ROM 11:17; EPH 2:12-13. B. By His superior priestly ministry, Christ is the mediator of this better covenant. 1. This covenant i...

IX. Fathers! It is your solemn duty to provide leadership conducive to your children reaching the maturity herein described (EPH 6:4). Consider (again) some salient points about effective fathering and leadership. A. The Biblical ideal for effective fathering and wholesome family life is DEU 6:4-9. 1. Normal life is to be saturated with the plan, presence and love of God. 2. Life at home should be so appealing that all else is eclipsed by comparison. 3. This exhortation was timely in view of what would ...

The Day of the Lord Jesus Christ I. Probably the most common scheme of eschatology (study of end-time events) in professing Christendom today is premillennialism. This doctrine basically affirms the footnotes of the Scofield Reference Bible wherein Dr. C.I. Scofield promoted a prophetic outline which looks forward to a 1000-year reign of Christ upon David's throne on earth. It is basically thus: A. The Second Coming of Christ is in two stages: 1. The Rapture: Christ will return secretly at the conclusion...

Chapter 4 vs. 1-9. A. Apostles (ACT 14:15) and prophets (JAM 5:17) were men of passions as other men; they were not supermen. 1. passion: Any kind of feeling by which the mind is powerfully affected or moved; a vehement, commanding or overpowering emotion. 2. Jonah was particularly driven by passion: displeased exceedingly, very angry (v. 1); despondent (v. 3); exceeding glad (v. 6); despondent, angry (v. 9). 3. His emotionalism put him in a position not unlike that which he seems to have hoped wou...

XIV. Young people! This culture is waging a war for the control of your minds. A. This war is being prosecuted by many forces: politics, education, entertainment, technology, mass media, ignorant relatives and friends, false religion, etc. which advance false messages that oppose God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, decency and common sense. B. Consider some of the false messages that are out there: 1. There is no God and therefore no absolute standard of good, nor accountability to God. 2. There was no divi...

D. Friends may pressure you to go to other churches that teach different doctrine, or to not go to church at all. 1. They may pressure you to go to a different church which has more programs, entertainment, groups and friends, etc., and where religion is easy. 2. Church is for the praise of God in spirit and truth (JOH 4:23-24), for the feeding of sheep, not the amusing of goats. And true religion was never meant to be “easy.” MAT 7:13-14. 3. Hold fast to the faith you have been taught in church and ...

Quit You Like Men I. Paul told the church at Corinth, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1CO 16:13). A. This is paralleled in the charge that the Philistines were given in advance of battle. 1SAM 4:9. B. Christian living is described in terms of struggle. 1. Consider the work of Christ's ministers. a. They are to endure hardness as good soldiers of Christ in warfare. 2TI 2:3-4. b. They are to fight the good fight of faith. 1TI 6:12. c. They are to raze opposition to ...

V. Scripture enjoins men to be men. A. The Philistines understood the importance of manliness. 1SAM 4:9. 1. Mind that the Philistines were afraid. 1SAM 4:7. 2. “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear---not absence of fear.” (Mark Twain) 3. If unbelieving, idolatrous Philistines could overcome fear and wax valiant in fight, how much more should men of faith in the living God do so? HEB 11:34. a. wax: To change by growth or increase, to become, turn. (Sometimes used with reference to a sudden o...

XVI. Other faulty messages that are at war with God's words are the corruptions of what being a man or woman is all about. A. Our culture in general teaches boys the wrong ideas about manliness. Television and movies are particularly loud voices in this area but they are not the only ones. Public education is exerting tremendous influence upon developing males to be other than what God intends for them. 1. One message is that being a man means that one must be a mannerless lout, a discourteous badger, or ...

VIII. All of the above examples show that worship entails bringing an offering before the Lord. PSA 96:7-9. A. In worship we give to God what He has first given to us thus acknowledging our dependence upon Him. ROM 11:35-36; 1CH 29:14-16. B. Since worship entails an offering to God, then the greatest act of worship was the sacrifice of Christ. EPH 5:2. 1. There was a time: see JOH 7:6, 30; 12:27; MAT 26:18. 2. There was a place: see LUK 9:51; HEB 13:11-12. 3. There was a method: see ACT 3:18; 1CO 15:3...

Not Easily Provoked 1Corinthians 13:4-8 (4) Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, (5) Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; (6) Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; (7) Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (8) Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall...

Baptism With or By The Holy Ghost I. Some clarity is needed concerning the doctrine of the Holy Ghost/Spirit. A. Scripture speaks of gifts of the Holy Ghost which He distributes. 1CO 12. B. Scripture speaks of gifts of the Holy Ghost in which He is the gift. LUK 11:13. C. Scripture speaks of baptism with the Holy Ghost. MAR 1:8. D. Scripture speaks of baptism by the Holy Ghost. 1CO 12:13. E. Scripture speaks of visible manifestation of the Holy Ghost. LUK 3:22. F. Scripture speaks of invisible operat...

The Bible on Wealth I. Your attitude about and treatment of wealth reveals a lot about your character. LUK 16:10-11. A. Do not set your heart on wealth, nor trust in uncertain riches. PSA 62:10; PRO 23:4-5; 1TI 6:5-10, 17. B. What one values most is where his heart will be. MAT 6:19-21. C. Examine yourself in the light of the following passages: 1. PSA 4:6-7. What brings you the greatest joy? 2. PSA 84:10. How highly do you value God's house? 3. PSA 119:72. Do you esteem God's law above your...

III. Giving of your wealth is an investment that the Lord recompenses. ACT 20:35; LUK 6:38. A. The Lord is to be remembered with the FIRSTfruits. PRO 3:9-10. B. Poverty is not necessarily an excuse for not giving. MAR 12:41-44; 2CO 8:1-4. C. Give generously and cheerfully. 2CO 8:12; 9:6-7. D. Give for the support of: 1. the ministry. GAL 6:6; 1TI 5:17-18. 2. the poor. PRO 28:27; LUK 12:33; GAL 2:10. E. Liberality to the poor is to be regulated according to need. DEU 15:7-8; 1JO 3:17. 1. Giving to th...

F. Inasmuch as Jesus in LUK 19:23 advised of the option of simply putting money into a bank which payed interest (usury), some basic information about banking is in order. 1. As understood in the formative laws of the United States, money was gold and The Bible on Wealth 5-4-14 Page 4 silver. For safekeeping, gold and silver could be stored in banks for a fee. The bank was thus essentially a contracted secure warehouse for money. 2. The warehouse (bank) issues receipts representing the store of gold or...

Reflections On The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ 1 Timothy 3:16 1. 1TI 3:16 And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, received up into glory. A. Paul is here setting forth the essence of Christian religion which sets it apart from all other religious systems or philosophies: God became man. B. All false systems ultimately teach that man becomes God. (1) Arminianism affirms that fal...

Flesh Destroyed, Spirit Saved (A Revisiting of Israel in the Wilderness) I. Bible readers everywhere are familiar with the story of Israel's wilderness experience and the judgments that befell them at that time because of their disobedience. A. There are references to such in the law. The books of Moses are his personal witness. B. There are references to such in the prophets. EZE 20:13-17. C. There are references to such in the psalms. PSA 78:17-22. D. There are references to such in the N.T. A...

Nonintervention Foreign Policy I. We have discarded and forgotten the biblical position of nonintervention and nonaggression which this nation was founded upon. 1. Proponents of an interventionist and imperialist foreign policy will cite O.T. examples of where God commanded Israel to utterly destroy wicked nations and possess them as justification for their position (Jos 6:17,20-21; 1Sa 15:2-3). A. They will say that God hasn't changed (Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8) and therefore a Christian nation such as the USA ...

Appreciate Your Pastor I. The blessing of a pastor 1. A pastor is a gift to the church from Jesus Christ (Eph 4:8,11). 2. As God sets members in the church as it pleases Him (1Co 12:18), so he gives ministers to the church (1Co 3:5). 3. God gives pastors after His own heart to feed His churches with knowledge and understanding (Jer 3:15). 4. God gives the church a pastor for several reasons: A. For the perfecting of the saints (Eph 4:12). i. Perfect v. - 1. a. trans. To bring to completion; to comp...

1 Peter 1:5-7 v. 5. A. This verse teaches the final preservation of the elect. PSA 37:28. B. It is the power of GOD that keeps His people. JOH 10:27-29. 1. God is greater than all. 2. Thus, His keeping power is irresistible: “...NO man is able to pluck them out...” C. This keeping is through faith. 1. If this is the faith of God's children, then there is a danger that they will not be kept since they do not always have faith. 2. These passages set forth examples of children of God without faith: MA...

On Pornography I. The word pornography is a compound word from Greek: A. Porno is from a Greek root meaning “harlotry, fornication, indulgence in unlawful lust of either sex.” B. Graphy is from a Greek root meaning “document, writing, etc.” C. Strictly speaking, pornography treats of lewd or obscene writing but contemporary usage has broadened it to include (almost exclusively) imagery. D. Pornography is essentially a vehicle for fornication with the eyes and the heart rather than physical contact w...

Philippians 1:3-8 A. Paul was pleased with the Philippian church for they had not only received the gospel but kept it, even in his absence. vs. 3-5 c/w PHIL 2:12. 1. They were not “...hearers only...” but doers. JAM 1:22. 2. They had not received “...the grace of God in vain” (2CO 6:1) as do some who bring forth no lasting fruit unto perfection. MAT 13:19-22. 3. They were not as the Galatians who first ran well but succumbed to the influence of false teaching which appealed to the flesh. GAL 5:7; 4:8...

I. This is A. B. C. D. Death or Life and Peace (Romans 8:4-8) a study in self-examination: are we predominantly spiritually minded or carnally minded? minded: Qualified by advs. (forming combinations which when used attrib. are often hyphened): Having one's habitual thoughts, tastes, or sympathies, inclined in a certain direction. mind: To bend one's attention to (e.g. something that one is doing or occupied with); to direct or apply oneself to, bring one's mind or energies to bear upon, or practice di...

Psalm 72 The Character of the Reign of Christ A. PSA 72 is a psalm for Solomon. B. Solomon was the son of David, king of Israel. So too, the Lord Jesus Christ. JER 23:5; MAR 12:35-37; LUK 1:32-33; JOH 19:19. 1. Solomon in many ways was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2. Some prophecies have a fulfillment in both Solomon and Christ. 2SAM 7:12-14 c/w 1CH 22:9-10; HEB 1:5. 3. The prophecy of Solomon's reign adumbrates the reign of Christ. 4. The Jewish Targum (spoken paraphrases and explanations of S...

The Pleasures of This Life I. pleasure: The condition of consciousness or sensation induced by the enjoyment or anticipation of what is felt or viewed as good or desirable; enjoyment, delight, gratification. The opposite of pain. II. Discernment is needed concerning the pleasures of this life. A. Pleasures of this life may be good. DEU 14:26. B. Pleasures of this life may be evil. 2TH 2:12; HEB 11:25. C. The factors that determine pleasure's good or evil are: 1. The nature of the pleasure. a. Is it a...

The General Epistle of James I. The epistle is authored by James, whose identity is difficult to determine. A. There were definitely two of the original twelve apostles named James. MAT 10:2-4. B. James, the son of Zebedee (and sibling of John) was slain by Herod. ACT 12:1-2. 1. Jesus surnamed them Boanerges (the sons of thunder). MAR 3:17. 2. They were zealous for Christ's honor. LUK 9:52-54. 3. They both drank of Jesus' cup of tribulation. MAR 10:35-39. C. James, the Lord's brother, was an apostle,...

III. James has much to say against the deceitfulness and corrupting influence of riches. JAM 1:9-10; 2:1-6; 4:13-16; 5:1-6. A. An indicator of genuine conversion and faith for the Jewish believers was abandoning their traditional notions of redemption with money. 1PE 1:18-19. B. James essentially continues the historic teaching of the Jewish prophets which set in contrast vain trust in riches with vital trust in a Redeemer. PSA 49:6-17. C. The gospel of wealth versus the gospel of grace was the cause of...

D. James begins with how to properly respond to stress, which all believers face. vs. 2-4. 1. Until we are fully delivered from the general curse of Adam, we will groan in pain. ROM 8:22-23 c/w REV 22:3. 2. James speaks of temptations that are to be received with joy and borne patiently. a. Our tendency is to react to such temptations with passion, panic or paralysis. b. Our attitude has much to do with our success or failure as maturing believers. 3. tempt: I. To try, make trial of, put to the test o...

vs. 5-8. A. Having encouraged the believers to expect and bear patiently the pressures that might challenge their stedfastness of faith, James points them to wisdom. 1. wisdom: Capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct; soundness of judgment in the choice of means and ends; sometimes, less strictly, sound sense, esp. in practical affairs. 2. Obviously, strength is needed to bear something. NEH 4:10; ROM 15:1. 3. Wisdom accords with and increases strength. PRO 24:5; ECC 7:19. ...

Timbits 3 1. 2SAM 7:6. God here described His presence in Israel as having “...walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.” A. This refers to God's presence in Israel from Moses' time and forward as He indwelt the tabernacle. EXO 40:18-19, 34. B. Mind that His presence was then not a fixed but a mobile one. His mobility, among other things, distinguished him from the idol gods of fools. REV 9:20. C. God walked in the midst of the camp to deliver them and make them victorious as long as they remained holy. DEU...

vs. 9-11. A. These verses set forth the practical outworking of LUK 1:52, the denial of class superiority or privilege among the true servants of God. Set forth here are the rich poor and the poor rich. 1. The “brother of low degree” is a poor man by virtue of his contrast with “the rich.” (c/w 1CH 17:17). Mind, though, that he is “a BROTHER.” 2. Rich and poor are “...altogether lighter than vanity...” (PSA 62:9-10). 3. One has not more holiness or claim on God because of riches or poverty. a. There i...

v.12. A. James pronounces blessing upon those who endure temptation. 1. bless: To declare to be supernaturally favoured; to pronounce or make happy. To pronounce words that confer (or are held to confer) supernatural favour and well-being. 2. Mind the verb tense, “Blessed IS...” Though there is a future promised crown, the blessedness is current. a. Compare this with MAT 5:3-12. b. Note especially MAT 5:10-12. Those who are tried because of righteousness are blessed now and have expectation of futur...

Parables in Matthew 13:24-52 I. The parable of the tares shows that evil men spring up with the good in the kingdom of heaven. MAT 13:24-30, 36-43. A. The good seed are the children of the kingdom or the righteous. B. Jesus Christ, the Son of man, sows the good seed in the world. C. The devil, the enemy of Christ, sows the tares AMONG the wheat. D. The tares are the children of the devil, the wicked one. 1. They are the things that offend and they which do iniquity. 2. Satan's children are his by na...

vs. 17-18. A. Having just made clear that God is not the origin of temptation and sin (evil), James presents God as being the origin of “Every good gift and every perfect gift...” (v. 17). 1. Adam gave us sin, death, shame, sorrow and the curse (GEN 3; ROM 5:12-19), hardly what could be called good and perfect gifts. Those are evil gifts from below, not above. 2. From God above comes every good gift and every perfect gift. a. That there are good gifts implies that they please God and benefit us. b. Th...

d. Mind that the Biblical classification of creatures is everything “...after his kind...” (GEN 1). (1) Collectively, humanity is mankind. JAM 3:7. (2) The distinction between the elect and the non-elect is described as a separation of kinds at Christ's Second Coming which is the general resurrection. MAT 13:47-50 c/w JOH 5:28-29. (3) The elect are of the same kind as Christ “...the firstfruits of them that slept” (1CO 15:20), being begotten by God out of death in sin with him (COL 2:13) Who is “...t...

Holidays holiday: A consecrated day, a religious festival. Now usually written Holy-day. I. The keeping of religious holidays is virtually universal among the religions of this world. A. Certain calendar days are deemed sacred or exalted above others and are deemed vital aspects of the belief system. The deity is honored by their observance and dishonored by their omission. B. Mind that the kingdom of Jesus Christ is “...not of this world” (JOH 18:36). 1. The religion of Jesus Christ is at odds with ...

vs. 22-25. A. James escalates from the importance of hearing the word (vs. 19-21) to the next level of doing the word. 1. This theme is enlarged upon in the next chapter where he rebukes the vain man for the absence of good works. JAM 2:20. 2. It is addressed again later where he shows that the absence of good works in the face of knowledge is sin. JAM 4:17. 3. He further shows in JAM 4-5 that there was not only an absence of good works among the professing believers, there was an abundance of evil work...

vs. 26-27. A. James here contrasts vain religion and pure religion. From these verses, we observe: 1. 2. 3. 6. B. This is 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. One may seem to be religious but not truly religious. An unbridled tongue “vanitizes” religion; it makes for a defiled religion. Pure religion is more about godly benevolence and godly living than outward show or words. Benevolence is not the sole definition of pure religion. a. One may give goods to the poor but not have true charity. 1CO 13:3. b. One ...

Avoid the Scam! I. James makes clear that failure in resisting temptation is owing to our allowing lust to lead us. JAM 1:14-15. A. Lust by definition is pleasure, delight, desire. These are emotions. B. Remember that lust is deceitful. EPH 4:22. C. Remember that the trio of trouble is “...the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life...” (1JO 2:16). D. Lust is a con-artist's friend by which he reels in his catch. 2TI 3:6. II. The danger of being led by the lusts of the flesh...

Chapter 2 vs. 1-7. A. James here rebukes the sin of having respect of persons in the church. 1. Solomon said that respect of persons sets one up to commit sin. PRO 28:21. 2. James makes clear that respect of persons is sin against the second great commandment. JAM 2:8-9. B. As noted earlier, the word “assembly” (v. 2) translates the Greek word “sunagogue” which is the basis of the word “synagogue.” 1. This is the only clear occurrence of “sunagogue” in a Christian context. 2. As the Christian system...

vs. 8-13. A. James continues with his rebuke of their partiality to the rich which was: 1. a matter of “...having men's persons in admiration because of advantage” (JUDE 1:16). 2. a disregard of the low estate of the Lord Jesus Christ while on earth. 3. a disregard of the equality of brethren in Christ. 4. a disregard of the fact that the rich oppressed them. 5. a disregard of the fact that the rich blasphemed Christ. 6. a despising of their poorer brethren. 7. sin. v. 9. B. Their respect of person...

vs. 14-26. A. James sets forth the doctrine of justification by works. 1. This seems to contradict Paul's teaching. ROM 3:20; GAL 2:16. 2. Martin Luther once condemned this epistle because of this seeming contradiction. 3. There are no contradictions in God's word. 2PE 1:20. B. These verses expand the theme of how to have the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 1) and not be guilty of vain religion. v. 20. 1. They should not have it with respect of persons. v. 1. 2. They should not have it without wor...

The Downside and Dangers of the Digital Age I. (PRO 8:12) I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. A. invention: The thing invented. Something devised; a method of action, etc., contrived by the mind; a device, contrivance, design, plan, scheme. B. Mind that Wisdom does not restrict itself to developing witty inventions. 1. This passage speaks of finding out knowledge of witty inventions. 2. This is as much an appeal to discernment as it is to engineering. 3. We do we...

VI. Man was A. Man was made in God's image (GEN 1:26) and He is God in Three Persons. 1JO 5:7. B. The church is built of mutually supporting members. 1CO 12:21. C. This new digital world with its social networking, emails, and texts boasts itself a utopia for human connection. 1. We can now connect with long-lost relatives, friends, co-workers, and classmates from around the country or world. 2. People commonly have hundreds of “friends” on Facebook or LinkedIn. 3. But has all this digital connectio...