2 Corinthians 5:1-10 In a world where homelessness—both physical and spiritual—can feel overwhelming, Paul reminds us that our earthly bodies are only temporary dwellings. This sermon explores the longing we all feel for a permanent home, one not made with hands but prepared by God. Through trials and burdens, we groan for something greater, and in Christ, we are promised a home…
Sermons on Christian Living
1 John 1:5-2:11 John wrote to a people who were struggling with false teachings and with divisions. They were dealing with a pervasive doctrine that taught the “unreality of Christ”—the separation of divinity and humanity, which was the exact opposite of Christ’s incarnation: God in the flesh. This resulted in division, frustration, and pain among the membership. And to help them to…
Judges 12:1-7 Where did the term, “Shibboleth” come from? What did it mean? And what can it meanfor us today? While the answer is found in JG 12 and the judge, Jephthah, to trulyunderstand its context, we have to go back a bit further: to an earlier judge we maybe a bit more familiar with: Gideon.
Ephesians 6:10-24 In a world filled with uncertainty and spiritual conflict, Paul’s message in Ephesians 6 calls Christians to “armor up” with truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, and the Word of God—spiritual tools powered by prayer. This sermon reminds us that our true enemy is not people, but the devil and his schemes, and that victory comes not through our own strength,…
Deut. 12:29-13:5 Today, we often spend so much of our attention on getting people to “obey the gospel”—but after a person comes up out of the waters, what’s next? We encourage them to keep coming—twice on Sundays and once on Wednesdays. We call on them to continue their study of God’s Word and to apply it to their lives—becoming a new person…
Aquila and Priscila were left behind in Ephesus to continue the work—supporting the local church and continuing to evangelize the city while Paul moved on to Caesarea and beyond. It’s then that Luke takes a break from following Paul’s journey and, instead, remains in Ephesus to account for the arrival of a Jewish man: Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria,…
1 Kings 18:20-19:21 Today, we often find ourselves feeling weak and defeated—far from our potential assoldiers and servants of God. But God has a way of awakening the wolf—of bringing outthe strength from even the weakest of men and women! And as we come to 1 Kings 19,we’ll see that God would use His wisdom and power to awaken the wolf in…
Acts 4:1-31 I don’t know for sure how much time passes between Acts 2 and Acts 4. It could have been a few days, or a few weeks. But while Acts 2 appears to show a church widely accepted by the community, Acts 4 begins to show the resistance by the ancient Jewish power center. Culminating in the priests, the Sadducees, and…
Matt. 11.1-15 Who was John and how was his question and his suffering to fit in with God’s plan?
Ezra 7:10 The book of Ezra is rather short—only 10 chapters long. But in this short book, we find a rather unusual statement that is repeated a number of times: the hand of the LORD his God was on him. (Ezra 7:6) I took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from…