Sin’s Wages and God’s Gift

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A Model Church

When developers start a new housing project they usually build a “model home” which serves as a pattern for the other homes to be constructed. In Acts 2 God establishes the first church which serves as a pattern for us. We will look at the way in which the church was initially formed: through the preaching of the gospel. Then we will consider the practices to which the early church was devoted as a model for our church.

Financial Wisdom from Proverbs

Most of you are aware of the sharp downturn in the housing market which has been caused by defaults by subprime borrowers.
As we drive around our neighborhood we see many “for sale: foreclosure” signs. These problems in the housing sector have caused major problems in the construction and banking sectors which have led to significant layoffs. There is concern that the entire economy may go into recession.

What does all of this have to do with the Bible? These problems in our economy are caused by what the book of Proverbs calls foolishness. If more people had been following the principles of financial wisdom contained in Proverbs (especially concerning debt), their problems would be much less severe.

Today I will be preaching on “Financial Wisdom from Proverbs.” Proverbs gives a balanced perspective on wealth and teaches us how to acquire, spend and save money wisely. We also will speak of Him who took our debt upon Himself and thereby made us rich (II Cor. 8:9).

Missions to the End of the Earth

In our Sunday evening service, Fikret Böcek, a pastor from Turkey, shared about his conversion from Islam to Christianity and Christ’s commission to His church.

Wise Work in Proverbs

This past week we celebrated “Labor Day” which may be fitting because most of us spend more hours on our vocation than on any other activity (or at least we should be!). The Bible has much to say about Christian vocation, especially in the book of Proverbs. The Word of God teaches us that the wise and godly person isn’t found in the monastery meditating and reading all day, but rather in the field, in the office, and in the kitchen working for the glory of God. The Scripture tells us the secrets to success in our careers and warns us against the folly of laziness.

We will be covering many texts, but a focus will be Proverbs 6:6-11.

Unity

Ephesians 4:1-6 - Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

David’s Friends and Christian Charity

On Sunday evening I plan to bring a brief message from II Samuel 17:27-29, a text which we passed over quickly last week.
Often in my studies there are lovely nuggets of truth which I have to leave out of the sermon because of time and continuity.
This Sunday night I decided to present one of these nuggets in which David’s eastern friends who helped him in his darkest hour portray Christian charity and the love of Christ.

Victory, Judgement and Grief

In the morning service I plan to preach from II Samuel 18 about David’s victory in the civil war and his grief over the death of his son Absalom.
This tragedy raises many issues which apply in our lives today as children still rebel against their godly parents who are often guilty of being passive.
The grief of such parents is like that of David who wept over his son Absalom.
Absalom in death is a monument of warning to those who rebel against the Lord in their foolish pride.
We also see Christ in this text. Like David he was rejected but now reigns as a conquering king.
As David was willing to die in the place of his wicked son, Jesus actually died for His wayward people.
Just as Absalom as the enemy of the Lord’s anointed was crushed, so those who refuse to bow the knee to Christ shall wind up like Absalom.