Resurrection Sunday! The first evidence of resurrection & the first sighting of Jesus Matthew 27:57-28:10 We as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have by a convinced faith, bound our lives, our eternal futures, and our hopes to the recorded and well attested historical facts regarding the crucifixion, true death,...

Palm Sunday, March 30th 33AD The Triumphal Entry, what’s it all about? Zechariah 9:9, John 3:1-7 What images or impressions are painted in your mind by Palm Sunday, the day of our Lord’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on that donkey? No one who has been in church for more than...

v1, The news of general Abner's death crushed Ish-bosheth's hope of continuing his father, Saul's reign. It also gravely shocked the Israelites who lived north of Judah and who were attached to Ish-bosheth’s reign. Bad news can greatly affect and dishearten us. V2-3 here the writer wanted to make the...

v1, is the summation, the result of the war initiated by the hubris of Abner and Joab in 2:8 through 32: There was a long war between the house of Saul (Ish-bosheth) from Israel and the house of David from Judah. Overt hostilities resolved when David became king over all...

2nd Samuel – God’s shepherd: King and mercy-bearer, David David anointed king in Judah, civil war breaks out 2 Samuel 2 Chapters 2-4 record the tension and positioning of two rival men, two lineages, two different spiritual directions. Ish-bosheth, the surviving son of the deceased Saul, the Saul who was...

2nd Samuel – God’s shepherd: King and mercy-bearer, David David learns of king Saul and sons’ deaths 2 Samuel 1 In the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel (1 book in the Torah) the Holy Spirit records for us the end of the period of the great transition by the...

2nd Samuel – God’s shepherd: King and mercy-bearer, David An introduction to 2nd Samuel 1 Samuel 2:1-10, 2 Samuel 22:26-28 1st Samuel tells how God worked through circumstance and prepared David to serve as Israel's king. 2nd Samuel tells how God used David as Israel's king, including David's stunning successes...

This is the love of God among us – pt11 The atonement: Saving OT  believers before the time of the Cross Romans 3:21-26 One doesn’t have to study the Bible for long and especially the atonement that Jesus made for sinners on the cross, before the question percolates up: How...

This is the love of God among us – pt10 The atonement of Jesus: Ransomed and Redeemed 1 Peter 1:17-21 Imagine a little girl in ancient Rome, no more than 5 years old, her feet shackled, and a list of her features, her health record, her country of origin, and...

This is the love of God among us – pt9 The atonement of Jesus: alienated in Adam, reconciled in Christ Romans 5:6-14 You don’t have to live for very long on this earth before you run into serious conflict with another person. It might be a bully on the playground....

This is the love of God among us – pt8 The substitutionary atonement of Jesus: Its necessity and effects-pt. A 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 In our sermon series, This is the Love of God Among Us, we’ve been focusing on the events of the sending by God the Father of the...

The temptation of Christ Handling temptation and sin the Savior’s way Matthew 4:1-11 If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, if you have heard and responded to the call of the gospel, then you are at war with sin! When the angel commanded Joseph to name the baby Jesus,...

This is the love of God among us – pt6 Prepare the way for the Messiah! John the Baptist Luke 3:1-6 As we move forward into ch 3 in the gospel of Luke, we are jumped some 34 or so years forward. Herod the Great is long dead, in 4BC....

This is the love of God among us – pt5 The humility & obedience of Joseph and Mary. Simeon & Anna Luke 2:21-40 What were the day’s of Jesus infancy like? What were Joseph and Mary like? As we will discover in today’s text, we can learn much and take...

This is the love of God among us – pt3 Breaking the prophetic silence of 400 years! Luke 1:26-38 When the Christmas story comes to mind, what do you think of? Perhaps most often and naturally we’re drawn to the retelling of Joseph and Mary arriving in Bethlehem: There’s no...

For devotion, reflection on this sermon, please consider the video below, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent This is the love of God among us – pt2 Just Who and What was sent to us in that lowly manger? John 1:1, 14, 1 John 4:9 As we enter this season...

This is the love of God among us – pt1 What does sending His only Son to us say to us about God? 1 John 4:7-14 Our lead-in, verses of 1 John 4:7 and 8, are well known, recited, sung and beloved of Christians down through the centuries of the...

Gratitude to the Lord makes everything sweeter You can’t be thankful and complaining at the same time Colossians 3:12-17 Just stop and think about it: Can you feel and express genuine thankfulness from the heart, while simultaneously feeling and expressing a complaining spirit and words? It’s just impossible isn’t it?...

The gospel is not bound by prison walls. The saving work of the Holy Spirit reigns Acts 16:9-34 With all the social and political events and upheavals swirling around us, and all the pressures of our lives, it’s not difficult or surprising for the believer to go from the priority...

Spotify Jesus, the Shepherd of our Souls Jesus guards, feeds and calls His sheep, and we follow Him John 10:1-18 Verses 1-5, our opening scene, describe a typical morning shepherding scene. With the sun just peeking over the horizon, a shepherd enters through a door/gate into a walled enclosure which...

Spotify What comes after What comes after death, but before the Final Judgment Luke 16:19-31 I was recently reviewing my files and happily reminiscing about all the weddings I’ve conducted. And then my attention was drawn to another important list: All of the funerals, memorials and burials I’ve led and...

Click above-right for Study Guide pdf, or to download MP3 sermon. An introduction to 1 Peter The Living Hope and the Guarded Inheritance 1 Peter 1:3-5 Big Idea: Peter writes to believers as royal citizens of heaven living for a season as elect exiles. He anchors them in four foundational...

Click above-right for Study Guide pdf, or to download MP3 sermon. An introduction to 1 Peter The Unshakable Identity of the Elect Sojourner 1 Peter 1:1-2 Big Idea: Our unshakable hope in a hostile world is anchored in our eternal identity, which was planned by the Father, applied by the...

Colossians 1:15-20 In our time in the Word last week, we began to explore the idea that Jesus was indeed sent by the Father into the world both as wonderful savior and as perfect judge. Among important things we learned that Jesus fulfills those offices in some ways, at different...

John 3:16-17, 5:21-29 In our Scripture readings this morning we have two well known sayings of Jesus. In the first, along with John 12:47, Jesus says He came into the world not to judge. In the second He says that the Father has given not only judgment to the Son,...

Hebrews 6:9-20 What gives life and upward force to our spiritual growth? It is hope! And hope is the knowledge that God has made certain glorious promises to us and the earnest expectation that God will fulfill those promises. The Holy Spirit speaks to us in today’s text to urge...

Jonah, the self-centered prophet Seeing the ball and chain of our terrible self-centeredness Jonah 3:5-4:4 When I was a child growing up in Sunday school, I was taught the Bible’s secret to a joyful life in the Lord. It was a song. Maybe you’ve heard it too. “J.O.Y. Jesus and...

John 8:31-42 Hearing about the dear price, the steep cost paid in pain and loss and blood for our freedoms, paid by others we don’t know, how should we respond as citizens of these United States to these sacrifices? Certainly sheer thankfulness is one true response! Another would be action....

How the child of the Father walks in the light One Father, one love, one spiritual growth in Christ, pt5 1 Peter 1:17-2:5 The believer in Christ has a whole new life, because he or she has a whole new, ever-living Father that graciously gave eternal life! That leads to...

How the well-dressed Christian walks in the light of the rapture Living up our salvation in the now, the present tense, pt4 Titus 2:11-3:8 Living the life of the believer in this age between the 1st coming of Christ, when the eternal God the Son came down, stepping into time...

How the well-dressed Christian prays & behaves Living up our salvation in the now, the present tense, pt3 Colossians 4:2-6 Is there some item that is so important to your daily life that you feel undressed or unsettled and unprepared if you leave home without it? For some it might...

What the well-dressed Christian wears Living up our salvation in the now, the present tense, pt2 Colossians 3:12-17 There has been a legal death in your life, and it’s one you should be overjoyed with. In Colossians 2:20 and 3:3, the blessed apostle declares, as he does in Gal 2:20,...

Colossians 3:1-11 Right now, oh believer, you are in the daily, moment-by-moment process of being saved by your God from the prevailing power of sin. In love and holiness, the work and authority of Christ seated above in the heavenlies, and the immediate/indwelling working of the Holy Spirit within are...

Acts 2:22-42, 17:1-14, 30-31 Let your heart pause and ponder the words of one of the songs we sing, “Christ our hope in life and death.” The historical fact of the resurrection of the Son of God, the promised Messiah, Lord and Christ, is not only the centerpiece of Christian...

We’re continuing to dig for valuable gold ore in that period of time between our Savior’s resurrection and His ascension. In the last chapter of John’s gospel we find a surprising nugget. One of surprises there is we find the connection between the now resurrected and now immortal Shepherd, and...

John 20:11-21   In 1945 during WWII, the American and British soldiers held in a brutal German POW camp heard the amazing news, via a newly captured allied soldier, that the war in Europe was in fact over. Germany was defeated and Hitler dead! But because communication was cut off...

John 20:11-21 In 1945 during WWII, the American and British soldiers held in a brutal German POW camp heard the amazing news, via a newly captured allied soldier, that the war in Europe was in fact over. Germany was defeated and Hitler dead! But because communication was cut off to...

Luke 19:28-45 Have you ever been really and truly disappointed in a purchase? Maybe it was a product or even a vacation spot. You saw the advertisements, the flashy and exciting pictures of the product and happy people enjoying it? The glowing description and the pictures illicit a sense of...

2 Corinthians 4:1-7 My goal today is simple and my message short and to the point! It is to present the blazing light of the gospel of eternal life from God in the person of Jesus the beloved Son. And to have the Living God reach down and push back...

1 Corinthians 12:14-27 In my prayers for you all, and in carrying out my shepherding duties in the past few weeks, something has really jumped out and grabbed my attention and stirred my heart… In Christ’s flock here at GBF and in those believers not in GBF, but immediately connected...

Philippians 2:1-9 We’ve been laying out a Biblical view of the Law of God as it relates to and is applied to people and groups in succeeding periods and in relation to the great event and work of the  cross of Christ. We’ve looked at Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses,...

1 Corinthians 9:19-21 & Galatians 6:2 Last Sunday we undertook to understand the teaching of Galatians 2 and the fact and the implications of the Christian in this dispensation being dead to the Law of Moses and being instead Christ being alive in the believer. Today we are going to...

Galatians 2:15-21 Question: Just what is the Christian’s vital relationship to God in the Law of Moses (or  to the Law written on the heart, being made in the image of God – also known as Natural Law)?  This is the central issue in the Paul’s letter to the Galatian...

Galatians 6:1-5 Let’s read Galatians 5:16, which is about an individual’s spiritual walk (peripateo) in the Spirit, and then v25, which is about the whole local church walking in the Spirit together in unison (stoicheo) down the same path with the same ideals and motivations. (note that the word “walk”...

The term, “the Law of God”, or “the Law” most often in the Scriptures refers to the Mosaic Covenant, also known as the Law of Moses. The law (torah in Hebrew, hō nomos in Greek) refers primarily (though not exclusively) to the Sinai covenant and its renewal at Moab in...

Romans 5:12-17 We are having a fascinating and life-illuminating discussion about the Law of God. Last Sunday we gleaned the truth that God’s Law is God Himself, in His triune being. That is that even before it is expressed externally to His creatures, from eternity past God in His very...

Romans 6:12-19 Let’s start with a definition of the term, the “law of God”. In summary it refers to God’s commands given to his creatures to regulate their lives, their worship and moral behavior. While, in Scripture the “law of God” certainly includes this idea but it’s also used in...

Romans 2:12-16 Coming to a good understanding of the right relationship between the Christian and God’s Law in general, and the Law of Moses in particular, is of central importance to growth in not only our appreciation of our great salvation, but in our daily spiritual walk with the Lord,...

2 Peter 1:1-11 You’ve probably noticed that I’ve been away from the pulpit for a few weeks to rest and make progress on some health issues. It’s given me time to ponder and think back over my nearly 6 decades of life in Christ and to explore in my mind...

What is to be the motivation behind giving?  

Body Life Series Ephesians 1:15-23 In our continuing exploration and growth in our understanding of the Body of Christ and our life in it in Him, the apostle Paul reveals a deposit of treasure of truth that is for us, as the members of Christ’s body. This deposit of truth...

Thanksgiving is personal and to the Lord Luke 17:11-19 A hiker was lost for some days deep in the woods of a national park. Later, in describing the experience, he told how frightened he was and how he had even finally knelt and prayed asking God for help to find...

Body Life Series Romans 12:1-8 What does it mean to be in the Body of Christ? How do we get put there, and kept there? What happens in and to a sinner when they are saved, given eternal life, and placed into the Body of Christ? What spiritual privileges does...

Vengeance belongs to the Lord 1 Samuel 26 Chapter 26 here records the last interaction between David and king Saul. The events of chapter 26 mirror in many ways the events of chapter 24, where Saul and his forces are hunting David and David surprises Saul in the cave of...

1 Samuel 25 (reading v1-13) We come now to the end of the era and ministry of the prophet Samuel, son of Elkanah and Hannah, on this earth (he makes a powerful and brief appearance again in ch 28). And we come to the end of the scroll of the...

1 Samuel 24 The end of chapter 23 has David and his men barely escaping encirclement by Saul’s forces in the wilderness  of Maon. Providentially, a message came to Saul that the Philistines were raiding again, so Saul turned and went after them. David’s group moved SE into the canyon...

1 Samuel 23 It should be remembered that David is only in his 20’s during the 9 years of exile forced on him by king Saul. People change a lot and given the right guidance, and the work of the Spirit, believers grow and mature in wisdom and the things...

1 Samuel 21 Important: This passage and sermon interact with Matthew 12 where Jesus gives a defense for why it is not against the Law of Moses (why his disciples are not disobedient to Moses) in breaking off some grain heads and eating them while they traveled on the Sabbath...

See PDF handout attached.

The Spirit’s work, the works of the flesh, and of the Devil 1 Samuel 19-20 There is a golden  key to reading, understanding and benefiting from the historical narratives in the Bible (1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles, as well as the book...

How should we then live and worship? Ephesians 3:14-4:6 What is the “glue” that holds Christianity and Christians together? What is it that causes us to cohere? Is it merely that we share common interests, beliefs and practices? Is it the gluten in the wheat of pot-luck dishes that holds...

1 Samuel 17. The iconic battle of David vs Goliath is one of the most well known scenes from the OT, and a well-tread metaphor in the common vernacular. And rightly so. But for all its popularity, there is an aspect of the story that is sometimes minimized or missed....

1 Samuel 16. As a result of Saul’s further rebellion against the Lord and his subsequent rejection by the LORD, Samuel here is commissioned to seek out the one who would succeed Saul on the throne of Israel. This one had already been identified as “a man after [God’s] own...

1 Samuel 15 If chapters 11 and 12 present Saul at his best, as a man, as king and in the spiritual and moral sense. These next three chapters, 13, 14 & 15, reveal the very different moral characteristics and spiritual depth of two men: King Saul and his son,...

1 Samuel 13 Chapter 11 and 12 present Saul at his best, as a man, as king and in the spiritual and moral sense. These next three chapters, 13, 14 & 15, reveal the very different moral characteristics and spiritual depth of two men: King Saul and his son, Jonathan....

1 Samuel 11-12 Israel has now changed, at her own choice, from a direct theocracy under Jahweh as king, mediated by God’s judges and prophets, into a human monarchy. Though sin was involved in that choice, God honored Israel’s choice and used His prophet Samuel to select and anoint the...

1 Samuel 9-10, (reading 9:15-19) Have you ever wondered how God directs all things to His ends and purposes, for the ultimate good of His people, while down here life seems chaotic and stressful? I title this portion of Scripture, chapters 9 and 10, as, “Where the rivers of Providential...

1 Samuel 7-8, (reading 7:2-12) In chapters 7-8 several decades in the life of Samuel are covered. We go from his 20’s all the way into his elder years, and much transition and change in Israel spiritually, socially and politically occurs. In this time Israel will regain the Ark of...

1 Samuel 5-6 (reading 1 Samuel 5:1-7) The Israelites have lost the battle of Aphek/Eben Ezer against the Philistines, the Ark of the Covenant is lost to the enemy and carted off, Eli the high priest and judge, and his two dissolute sons are dead. The question is, “Where is...

1 Samuel 4 (reading 1 Samuel 3:19-4:4) The end of chapter 3 and the start of 4 bring us forward in time into the early adult life of the prophet Samuel. His prophetic ministry as Israel’s prophet and as one who speaks directly to God, as had Moses, is now...

Samuel is called of the Lord 1 Samuel 3 We are now between the year 1080-1073 BC. Samuel is between 5 and 12 years of age, more likely at the upper end of that range. We are in Shilo, the place of Jahweh’s tabernacle, and Eli the priest, the descendant...

1 Samuel 2 We are now around the year 1085 BC. We are in Shilo, the place of Jehovah’s tabernacle, and Eli the priest, the descendant of Ithamar, the son of Aaron. It is about 35 years before Saul becomes king, and some 45 years before David is born. (So...

1 Samuel 1:1-11 We are embarking now, as a congregation, on a great journey into a time of transition and tremendous change in the history of Israel & Judah. We will be undertaking the study of the book of 1st Samuel. This book, written in part by the prophet Samuel,...

Resurrection Sunday The sequence of events when Jesus was resurrected. John 20:19-29 1. An angel rolled away the stone from Jesus’ tomb before sunrise (Matt. 28:2-4). 2. Women who followed Jesus visited Jesus’ tomb and discovered Him missing (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1-4; Luke 24:1-3; John 20:1). 3. Mary Magdalene left...

Luke 9:51-56 The eight days, from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday, have changed the course of not only world history, but the eternal destiny of all who have placed their faith in the Jesus who walked that course for us. Today, let’s review the first 5 days of the 8,...

Jesus takes his disciples out of country to ask this question Matthew 16:13-21 Things to ponder about the setting where Jesus chose to ask the disciples who they thought he was: What is significant and different about the location, Caesarea Phillipi? Why was Caesarea Philippi built out? What was its...

The Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son John 15:18-27 Have you ever meditated on the multifaceted spiritual gem of the Holy Spirit as He and His work are unveiled to you by the word of God? He is a most unusual gem because of His not...

Romans 8:9-11 Have you ever paused to consider the passages of Scripture wherein the Spirit encourages, equips and communicates to us that God the Father, in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ, lives and moves within those who are born again? (2 Corinthians 13:5). An astonishing truth, yes?,But it...

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 In 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, Paul points out that the natural/soulical mind, the innate abilities we are all born into the world with, the innate powers of perception and thinking by which people evaluate Jesus, the cross and God’s self-revelation… these are incompetent and inadequate to the task...

1 John 4:7-14 For the genuine believer in Christ, a born from above Christian, it’s inspiring to realize that the immensity of “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5). As magnificent as that truth is, and while relishing it’s inward remodeling of one’s...

John 3:22-36 Jealousy is a powerful emotion! Husbands and wives can be rightly jealous of their spouse’s affections. The Bible tells us that God, in his goodness, is jealous and will not overlook worship of another deity. But jealousy can also be unbalanced, destructive and prideful. Jealousy can cause us...

Matthew 10:1-15 Let us think back over the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus and their foundational message from the early chapters of Matthew: To Israel they both cried out, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” John as the forerunner, and Jesus as the proffered kingdom...

Isaiah 2:1-4 As we consider the theme of God’s heavenly rule coming down to establish its reign and glory on the earth in the kingdom preached by both John the Baptist and Jesus, we turn to the OT and discover that the this promised kingdom is a dominant one there!...

Pt-3, The nearness of the kingdom and entry into it Matthew 3:1-3, 4:17 John’s ministry was conducted in the Desert of Judea, barren and rugged land west of the Dead Sea. His message was forthright and had two parts: (1) a soteriological aspect, repent, and (2) an eschatological aspect, for...

Pt-2, Parallels and comparisons with Elijah & Jesus Matthew 3:1-12 It was the practice in the time of Jesus, for forerunners to precede important individuals in order to prepare the way for their arrival. For example, when a king visited a town in his realm, his emissaries would go before...

God sends His fore-runner of Christ, John the Baptist Pt-1, Gabriel’s annunciation of John to Zacharias Luke 1:5-23 In his gospel, Luke lays alongside for similarity and contrast the records of the annunciation, conception and birth of John the Baptist and that of Jesus. We’re going to invest the next...

The search of the Shepherds – Luke 2:8-20 When you set out to search for something, it’s easier if you have clues to guide you. Treasure hunts are based on signs. If you follow them, you find the treasure you’re looking for. V8-9,The situation of the annunciation – Pay attention...

Romans 8:19-23 Consider the words of the hymn #92, “Joy to the World, the Lord is Come”. This is sung at Christmas as a carol, but surely we see that many if not most of the things claimed in that carol are yet to be fulfilled. The carol is truly...

John 1:9-18 Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The birth of Jesus is the grandest light of history, the sun in the heavens of all time. It is the pole star of human destiny, the hinge of chronology, the meeting place of the waters of the past and the future.” The Apostle’s Creed...

1 Thessalonians 5:8-22 Last Sunday the Lord shined His light for our hearts on passages of gratitude and thanksgiving. One of those we enjoyed is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. That encouraging passage rests in the midst of a larger one, where the hope of the rapture, the Blessed Hope, is set...

Psalm 34:1-8 There are many right ways to look at and evaluate the people in the Bible. But there is one simple and profound way in which people are portrayed, one key way in which their hearts and lives are measured.  You see, people can be divided into two camps:...

Revelation 19:1-10 We live in challenging and troubling times. It is a comfort and encouragement for believers to set our minds and hearts on the wonderful future being prepared for us by our Savior We’ve seen where the Church will be during the 70th week of Daniel 9 (the last...

Living in light of the Rapture, the Blessed Hope What comes after the Rapture? Pt 1 – the Bema 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 The doctrine of the rapture of the church, the fact of the translation from these lowly mortal bodies and from death, to glorified bodies and relocation upward into...

2 Timothy 2:19-22, 3:1-12 We’re continuing to focus on our life in Christ in view of the rapture, our Blessed Hope. Paul’s final letter to Timothy lays out a problem that was a threat to the church in Ephesus where Paul had poured out so much time and energy, and...

Titus 2:11-3:8 How should our soon translation affect our living? The blessed hope of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ’s appearing in glory, at the Rapture, also motivates the sensitive Christian to honor God by his or her behavior now. The Greek verb prosdechomenoi (“looking for”) is in the...

Message delivered at Hartstone Bible Camp In this passage the Paul shares the burning hope and eager expectation that motivates him to a life, decisions and attitude that cut off the siren calls of his flesh and instead keeps the focus of his life now aimed at pleasing the Lord....

How Jesus understood Scripture, and we should too Note: A point of clarification: Around minute 6 pastor Eric speaks of fallen human nature. In this he is speaking only of the nature of man in his unregenerate, unredeemed state, not after a person is regenerate/saved/redeemed. In other words, he is...

Daniel 9:1-19 We have moved forward in Daniel’s life. We’re now in the 66th year of his exile from Judah, so he’s in his 80’s now. What Daniel did and saw in this chapter dates from 539 B.C., the first year of Darius the Mede’s (Gobryus’) rule as king over...

Daniel 2 Do you ever wonder: Where am I in history? From the perspective of the sovereign on His throne in heaven, where do we in the 21st century fit into God’s plan of the ages? Is there a plan of the ages, or are we just blindly stumbling forward...

Isaiah 44:28-45:5, Ezra 1:1-2 With all the changes in our society, the confusion and clashes in our government and among nations, one is inclined to wonder, “Just who is in charge of all this?” God’s people have historically taken comfort in the answer to that question, found in the pages...

Nehemiah 7:73-8:12 What does a genuine, Biblically grounded, Spirit-driven revival of a people look like?There have been revivals of different kinds in history. America has had several. Wales had one. Europe during the Reformation period. Some obviously driven by the Spirit using His Word to pierce and change minds and...

A portrait of our loving Savior and God in His Word Word of life, to be held forth Phil. 2:16, John 1:4 Word of reconciliation, proclaimed 2 Cor. 5:18-21 Word of salvation, to be heard Acts 28:28, John 20:31 Word of truth, to be heard/received Eph. 1:11-14 Word of faith,...

James 1:22-25 The fires of our lives as believers in Christ are either stoked by the fuel of God’s Word, regularly consumed and meditated on, or they are stoked by some fleshly and worldly fuels. There’s a wise old saying that goes, “You are what you eat.” This is true...

Nehemiah 8:1-8 Is the Bible understandable and its meaning plain and clear? Or is it obscure, requiring mother church and a priestly caste to safely unravel its mysteries? This was the line in the sand drawn by men like John Wycliffe,William Tyndale, Martin Luther, and Miles Coverdale. They went to...

Jeremiah 23:28-32 Jeremiah the prophet, speaking the word of the LORD, stood like a rusty but grim sign with its skull and crossed bones, warning about the presence of a lethal mine field. Immovable, he stubbornly stood for many years and warned the LORD’s own, the people of Judah, of...

John 8:28-38 In movies, the single most quoted verse in the Bible, (often including just the last portion of it), is John 8:32, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Did you know that in the lobby of the original CIA headquarters in Langley,...

The Holy Spirit uses heresies to clarify truth John 1:1-18 Who, and What is Jesus Christ, the Son of God? In matters of faith, as in matters of science and law, definitions matter! When we say that the Son of God took on flesh, what do we mean by that?...

Jude concludes his brief warning epistle with a formal doxology [glory to God] that included a prayer for his readers. The Apostle Jude wanted to assure them of God’s ability to help them remain faithful in spite of the apostasy that threatened them. “The concluding doxology (vv. 24-25) is universally...

A critical question about the canonicity of Jude, considering that he seems to be quoting from the pseudepigraphal and 2nd century BC Book of Enoch… This is going to get a little technical, and I hope a real blessing in your understanding of the Bible and Jude.

There are certain foods and substances,that when taken into the mouth, instantly suck up the moisture and make you want to spit them out. The teaching and deeds of the apostate teachers are like that to the believer walking in the Spirit. In our passage today they and their deeds...

Jude 11-13 What are the signature markers in the attitudes, actions and fruit (outcomes for them and those who follow) of apostate teachers? Can you see them coming, and if so, why should you stay away? What are their temporal impacts and their eternal destinies?How are they religious and yet...

Jude 8-10 Jude has just laid out three lessons from three groups in history. 1) Israel, 2) certain fallen angels, and 3) Sodom and Gomorrah. Each followed their own desires, rebelled against the good authority of God in a key way, abandoned their assigned positions, and each experienced severe and...

Jude – the half-brother of Jesus has just told his readers to beware of certain licentious/sensual teachers who are creeping in among believers. In their teaching and acts, they effectively deny the inherent right of the risen Jesus to command them (and believers), and they deny his deity. The Lord...

Jude 1-4 If a book of the Bible were a boxer, then Jude is a small, but muscular fighter that punches far above his weight! Pithy and full of sharp jabs, it gets right to work protecting sound doctrine and godly practice. It shows us how to fight the good...

Genesis 15:1-6, Romans 3:19-30 Early in WWII a group of American soldiers on an island in the South Pacific were captured by an overwhelming Japanese force. They were held prisoner along with many British soldiers for many months. To pass the time they organized classes and lectures. One class was...

Romans 3:21-26 Anyone who’s had a sibling, or has when they were a child, interacted on a school playground with other children, has either done this, or had it done to them: Kid A hurts Kid B, the one they’re playing with, either physically, or emotionally with nasty and forbidden...

The meaning and blessings of Salvation! #1 An introduction: Substitution and Redemption 1 Peter 3:18 The doctrine of our salvation by God is both simple and complex. The gnawing problem of one’s sin before our holy God, God’s just wrath toward one’s sin and oneself, and the love of God...

Ephesians 3:14-21 Thesis: The greater good news of the gospel, beyond forgiveness and justification, is that we have been restored to relationship with our triune God through Christ to glory we cannot yet fathom.

Today’s teaching from the Word is simple: Who is Jesus? What does He claim to be and to do? What is His relationship to His sheep, and theirs to Him? And because of Who He is, His sheep, being secure in Him, have true and knowable moral duties and prohibitions.

Jesus keeps us saved John 10:22-33

Do you have a favorite food? In our passage Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who wants his blessed lambs to be well fed and to grow, presents Himself as the most essential staple for life. For real spiritual life that goes on, never dies, and into eternity. Only the Living God...

Which Jesus brings eternal life, and forgiveness of sins? Verses 1, 5 and 12 beg the question, “Do you have the right Jesus, the only one, who brings the new birth and eternal life?” Why does John belabor this point? Why does he urge his readers to make sure they...

Chapter 4, verses 20-21 leave those of us who lay claim to loving God with a command – “love your brother also!” Which in turn leaves us with a dangling question: Just who is my brother? Our text this morning goes on to answer that question.

Perfect love casts our fear – Just what in the world does that mean? Is it that if we keep a general loving attitude that we’ll never experience or suffer from fear in any area of our life? In other words, is this an anxiety management verse that if implemented...

When we pause to consider the man on the Roman cross in the middle, and then we turn and look at ourselves. We can’t help but see and know and feel what real love is. Selfless love, the deep, deep love of God. Since we have been so very loved...

“Test the spirits.” A snippet of a verse that we all know. What on earth does it mean? Is John pointing out some extra-sensory perception that special Christians have? Are believers to tune up some special, spiritual gift-given antennae with which they can discern the unseen world of demonic forces...

Sermon delivered at Hartstone Bible Camp: Here in Acts 14 in Lystra and in Acts 17 in Athens where Paul speaks to the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers on Mars Hill, the Aereopagus, we have the two cases in the book of Acts where Luke records a presentation of God and...

1 John 3:21-24 If we stand back to get the bigger picture, we see a design theme to what John is building in this epistle: 1 John 2:28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in...

The unbeliever, the one who is not regenerate, who is not in Christ through faith in Him, abides in an unbroken slavery to their sin nature. He/she lives in spiritual death, and naturally does the things and has the attitudes of that nature. This even includes hatred. Jesus the Son...

1 John 3:7-12 (Focus on v9) Compasses are curiously simply yet genius devices. When held upright and steady, they point to the magnetic north pole, and with that and a little knowledge, one can reliably find their way. But compasses are also easily upset. When un-level, or when vibrated or...

n 2:28-3:3 John sets the believer’s sight on the imminent and greatly anticipated Blessed Hope, the coming and appearance of our Christ in the rapture of His dear saints to be face to face with Him our Savior! John does this to help the believer rest and regulate their thoughts...

1 John 3:1-3 Have you ever pondered how different, how unusual, how strange, how…exotic it is that we would be loved by God? It is natural for human parents to love their own human children. And animals take care of their own offspring. But God is spirit, invisible, immaterial, eternal,...

John now presses his readers to identify what the false teachers really are, and from whom their errant doctrine of Christ comes: the lying Serpent of old, the enemy of God and so of them! John drives a wedge between his dear readers and the false teachers and doctrines, to...

1 John 2:15-17 John pivots now from encouragement of their assurance and spiritual standing, to stern warnings about an array of different enemies of their souls. Think of this as a guided tour through a museum of devices used to attack and disable Christians and whole churches. A Little Shop...

1 John 2:12-14 John launches into this vital section of the letter by surrounding and buoying his readers in the facts of their essential spiritual competence. He recalls their spiritual standing and further blessings in order to motivate them to cultivate ever more intimacy in fellowship with God. John has...

1 John 1:5-2:2 v5 Provides is the ground, the foundation for what follows in verses 6-10 and, in a sense, for the whole rest of the letter. Findlay said, “Nothing has ever given such relief to the human mind as the announcement of the simple truth of this verse.” The...

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (NASU) Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call...

Welcome and Introduction 1 John 1:1-10 A Christian’s assurance is, in essence their faith, their convinced confidence, that they are in right standing with God now, are beloved in The Beloved, and will continue secure until they reach glorification forever. It is a confidence in Jesus, that he is God’s...

Living the assured life 2 Corinthians 1:15-22 Apprehending and experiencing the assurance, the confidence, of our salvation is intended by our savior God to be our normal spiritual experience and reality. Assurance is an engine for good works in Christ, encouraging us to do and grow well. It is also...

Hebrews 10:19-25, 1 John 5:11-13 Assurance of salvation is simply this: Knowing for sure, being convinced, that you are saved, that you stand forever graciously and undeservedly justified before God by the work of Christ on your behalf, that by faith alone you are now perfectly loved in the Beloved,...

Crucified with Christ – Living life in Christ Living the rewardable life Colossians 3:1-4, Galatians 2:20 John 3:16 concisely sums up the gospel and our saving justification before God the judge, so our verse today, Galatians 2:20, concisely sums up the Christian life and how sanctification and spiritual growth and...

Why does God leave us on earth after we are saved? Aside from the obvious: to witness to unbelievers the salvation of the Lord. The doctrine of rewards for works after justification, in fact, does not stand alone. It is tightly bound to a well defined and grounded theodicy (the...

Revelation 22:12 Introduction: If someone were to ask you what the primary motivation should be to seek spiritual growth, to increase in the walk of holiness, and to pour oneself into doing good works, one might get a range of different answers: To glorify God. Gratitude for eternal salvation. To...

Revelation 22:7-21 In this world there are a wide variety of peoples, cultures, professions, habits, likes, hobbies, cuisines, and worldviews. From simple shepherds in the Himalayas to sophisticated billionaires who send satellites into orbit, from a street artist to an island fisherman casting his net, from Gypsy to honor guard,...

John 4:7-14, Revelation 22:1-6 Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that if she truly understood who He was, to receive Him as such, that He would graciously gift her, “living waters”, with no effort on her part. The free gift was unlike the water she had to labor...

1 Thessallonians 4:13-18 1 Thessalonians 1: 9-10 calls the rapture, ‘a rescue’: “For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from...

Hebrews 11:8-16, Revelation 21 When we think of a person coming in faith to God for salvation in His Son, Jesus, we can’t help but connect that to the Holy Spirit’s regeneration. The Spirit’s work is not to come tidy up and patch up a tired old Adamic life, but...

Revelation 20:1-10, Revelation 21:1-4 The millennial kingdom on this earth, as glorious as it and the reign of Christ with his glorified saints will be, will still be tainted by the sins of mortals. For a complete and total reconciliation between heaven and earth to occur, for absolute perfection to...

Ephesians 1:3-12, Col 1:9-14 It is typical to think of the doctrine of last things, including the messianic kingdom (the kingdom of God/heaven) primarily in terms of timing and events. While these are certainly exciting, key features of the Biblical revelation, they are secondary to the central living Person, work...

Isaiah 11:1-13, Revelation 5:6-10 Last Sunday we got a snapshot of the stunning wonder and majesty of what our bodies will be like in glory because of Christ. Today we take just an enticing peek into what life will be like for us and others in His coming kingdom on...

What will we be like? 1 Corinthians 15:35-52 We watched a *video the other day of a Ukrainian church choir in Lviv, composed of believers from all across their country. They were singing, “Because He Lives”. And though the tune was familiar, the lyrics after the first verse were not....

John 11:17-27, etc This is a fascinating broader review of the various resurrections, as predicted/expected in the OT and as achieved by Christ in the NT, and revealed as the future for the saints in the NT. The handout provides two of the graphics presented.

Luke 23:33-43 Our Spirit-inspired scripture this Easter morning is well known and it’s basic teaching comes readily to the lips of most Christians, it is so stark and simple. It’s an incident recorded only by Luke the historian, among the 4 gospel accounts, and reflects Luke’s heart for the spiritually...

The events of the crucifixion day, and the location.

Matthew 20:17-19: Jesus ascent, triumphal entry, betrayal and false trials, death by crucifixion by the Gentiles (Romans) & resurrection prophesied Jesus starkly and plainly tells them what is definitely set to come. He does this not only to prepare them, but to walk according to prophesy, and to break up...

2 John 7, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 Almost everyone has heard of the Anti-Christ! But who and what is he? Here in 2 John and also in 1 John we get a sense of the theology and Christology of the spirit (demonic person and force) behind the Anti-Christ. If we pair...

2 John 6-11 Christian love, true love, must be jealously guarded by true and unwavering doctrine, particularly the doctrines of God and of the Son, Jesus Christ. Love revels in the great truths in and about our Savior, Jesus. But love among humans, by itself, is a lousy gatekeeper and...

2 John 2-6 Grace, mercy and peace will be with us – a simple sentence, but deep and rich with meaning, purpose and comfort. As born-again children of God these three graces are ours by birthright. Our fuller enjoyment and deployment of these graces depends on a walk in obeying...

2 John Is the primary characteristic of Christianity truth, or is it love? On this question has fallen or risen many church movements and Christian lives. In this personal, brief letter to a church, the aged apostle makes the case that it is necessarily both, but that true love proceeds...

II Corinthians 8:1-15 The Christian is in the unparalleled position to be both the inbound receiver, and a happy channel of God’s outbound grace to others. This special grace, including financial and other material blessings from God, is a stewardship that we can and enjoy and revel in. Giving shows...

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 The imitation of God is the Spirit-illumined, flesh-rejecting golden path of joy and purpose in Christ for those that love Him and who wish to please Him. This path is the hallowed ground on which all true Christian fellowship finds its footing, traction and forward progress. Every child...

Philippians 1:27-2:11 Following Jesus means fellowship in His humility & victory Conduct worth of the gospel: That is the call to every believer, both individually and together as the body of Christ, the church. It includes striving together in defense of the faith, particularly the purity of the gospel. What...

Corinthians 13:11-14 In the New Testament, believers can have fellowship and share together their lives and ministries and their joint expectations of forever, because they first of all have and share a saving, vivifying relationship with Christ and share Him in common (1 Cor. 1:9) Fellowship, then, begins in the...

1 John 1:1-4 Over the entry to the sanctuary, in the foyer, you’ll note that we have the key phrase from 1 John 1:3. “…and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” Have you stopped and pondered, to carefully consider those words and what they...

Acts 4:13-22 This passage has several important practical implications & applications for us in the body of Christ right here and right now!

Acts 2:37-44 We often hear people talking about fellowship. We hear it said that what we need is more fellowship. But our modern ideas of fellowship have become so watered down and skewed that the word no longer carries the same meaning it did in New Testament times. We’re missing...

2 Peter 3:1-13 The story of the people of Assyria and Nineveh her capital, as recorded by the prophets Jonah and Nahum, is one in a long line of human failures to pay attention to God and His call and his warnings about pride, cruelty and wickedness. In fact,2 Peter...

Luke 2:1-7a God’s playbook of the events and people that are central to His divine plan of the ages is nothing like ours. Our playbooks measure, and we are taught, history from the perspective of major events, important stand-out individuals, migrations , nations, wars, invasions, competing interests, disease outbreaks and...

There are some 630 years between the prophesy of Nahum, announcing the imminent judgment and collapse of Nineveh and the Assyrian empire, and the birth of our Savior, Jesus, being born of Mary in Bethlehem. Six long centuries, and many precipitous events, disasters and amazing recoveries for the nation of...

Nahum 2:1-10 The prophesy of Nahum contains four answers to four vital questions: #1 question: Why does God act in judgment? #2 question: When does God judge? #3 question: How does God act in vengeance? #4 question: How is God’s anger necessary to His love?

Nahum 1:6-15 To understand Nahum’s prophesy of the fall of Assyria’s capital, Nineveh, in 612BC, and with it the great Assyrian empire, is to understand God’s anger and judgment of gentile nations who reject God’s grace and mercy and who abuse His Chosen People and who are cruel and wicked....

Nahum 1:1-8 What happens when a people, a gentile nation, having received the illumination of Who God Is and their relation to Him, who have walked with Him for a season, turn their backs on His goodness and kindness and grace? Well, the oracle that Nahum prophesied is of the...

Luke 17:11-19, Psalm 146 Giving thanks and praise to God for His many and signal blessings has been central to corporate Christian worship since the beginning. In fact, its fair to say that they almost define orthodox worship. And personally, when we pray over a meal, we express the same...

James 5 What is the Christian way to find the path forward in painful and difficult circumstances? Or more specifically, what is the source of illumination, of light, in dark places and periods in our lives as Christians, so that we do not stumble so as to fall and lose...

John 17:20-26 The conclusion of our Savior’s great, High Priestly prayer turns its full intent, ministry and benefit to the believers who would come to know and believe in Him through the word of the apostles! Jesus mission would succeed: He would die and be raised. He would send out...

John 17:17-19 Sanctification, unity of faith and practice (one-ness of believers), and glorification of the believer are one sweep of the Master Artist’s brush on the canvas of spiritual life. They are each distinct colors in themselves, but none complete by themselves. Each is also a color that blends in...

John 17:11-16 Jesus here prays for his disciples, because he is going to the cross, the grave and the resurrection. That leaves them in the world, physically alone and vulnerable. Jesus has protected them from the ravages of the world, and kept them loyal to the Father while he was...

John 17:6-11 Have you ever paused to consider the ground you’re standing on? Ever been on or fallen from a shaky perch like a ladder or roof, or walked on a crumbly path or slippery mud or ice? In reference to the Christian faith and your place in it, what...

What did Jesus accomplish on the cross?

John 17:6 Today we need to begin at the end. Why? Because our next verse, v6, points to something so profound and deeply touching, and which burns so divinely hot, that to even begin to let it sizzle into our hearts and souls and warm us down to our toes,...

John 17:2-3 We tend to think of eternal life in rather limited dimensions. We think of its duration (forever – death is not final) and of its location (with God, perhaps in heaven) and perhaps enjoying future sinlessness. Oh, and being forgiven. On a good day we might extent that...

John 17:1-5 Jesus taught his disciples how to pray in Luke 11:1-4 and more famously in Matthew 6:9-13. That’s been called the Lord’s prayer, but it’s better to think of it as the believer’s prayer or the disciple’s prayer. Because of who he was, Jesus could never pray about himself,...

As the life of Christ began with a declaration of God’s endowing and imbuing this sin-agitated world with his peace in Jesus (Luke 2:14), in the same way Jesus, the mediator and means of that peace concludes his message to his disciples, before the cross, of peace.   The Christian...

Sunday, August 22nd 2021  |  Malachi 2:11-16 & Galatians 5:13-18 A review of what we’ve learned so far on the Biblical definition of marriage, as well as the basis for divorce: Marriage is a divine institute intended by God to be a lifelong (as long as both live), one-flesh relationship...

Matthew 19:1-10 Just what is a marriage? There is a lot of noise, confusion and pain on this topic in our culture and even among believers. What was God’s intent in marriage, and how do we, as Christians, live that reality out? What did the Lord Jesus think of marriage,...

Sunday, June 13th 2021  |  Galatians Ch. 5 How do you define freedom? We generally think of freedom as the autonomous right and power to do whatever we wish, without external restraint of any kind. In the West and in America especially, this definition of freedom, with autonomy itself being...

Sunday, November 8th 2020  |  Matthew 16:13-20 At the end of 3 years of training, Jesus takes his Jewish disciples to a radically confrontational and stressful pagan location and asks them two vital questions.  The application for our present difficult, confusing and stressful time is helpful and challenging.

Sunday, August 23rd 2020  |  Romans 12:9-21 Romans ch 13 and the Christian response to government authority does not begin in ch13, but in chapter 12. This is the second in the series on the stewardship of the Christian in response to God’s grace and mercy.

Sunday, August 16th 2020  |  Romans 12:1-8 Romans ch 13 and the Christian response to government authority does not begin in ch13, but in chapter 12. This is the first in the series on the stewardship of the Christian in response to God’s grace and mercy.

Sunday School, April 16th 2020  |  Various Passages Supplemental PDF: Out of Africa Model

Sunday School, April 12th 2020  |  Various Passages

Sunday School, April 5th 2020  |  Various Passages

Sunday School, March 29th 2020  |  Various Passages

Sunday, March 22nd 2020  | Philippians 2:1-18 We are told to have the attitude and mind-set of Christ Jesus. This is especially true with regard to choosing the downwardly mobile path of self-humility. If this life is made the center of our hopes and dreams, we’ll rebel against loss of...

Sunday School, March 22nd 2020  |  Various Passages

Sunday, March 8th 2020  |  Philippians 2:1-12

Sunday, September 29th 2019  |  Various Passages This is a vital topic for the reader of the Bible! Is there a distinction between the gentiles, Israel and the church in the Bible? If there is, then a whole lot of things fall into place. This sermon seeks to demonstrate that...

Sunday, September 22nd 2019  |  Galatians 5:1-15 Paul really shifts focus now! He urges his believing children in the faith to walk away from obedience to the Law and it’s outward symbol, circumcision, as a means of justification and spiritual walk. He tells them they’ve “fallen from grace”, not meaning...

Sunday, September 15th 2019  |  Galatians 4:12-31 Up to now Paul has confronted the Galatians with powerful and provocative, reasoned arguments to pull them away from Mosaic legalism and nomism. He now drops argumentation, having fired the full logical broadside at them, and switches to entreating them, appealing to their...

Sunday, September 8th 2019   |  Galatians 3:22-4:11 Why settle for the limited existence of a child under a hard-nosed, every-watchful guardian-slave, a kind of nose-to-the grindstone whip-master, externally dictating and enforcing behavior and morals, when you’re already a free adult and an heir to a great estate? Why wear the...

Sunday, September 1st 2019  |  Galatians 3:6-22 In chapter 3 Paul forms three interlocking arguments to prove to the Galatians that the Law is incapable of justifying a sinner before a righteous God. In vv1-5 he argues from their universal spiritual experience. In v6-9 he argues from Abraham’s justification by...

Sunday, August 25th 2019  |  Galatians 2:20-3:5 Getting your “I” put out! By virtue of his incorporation into Christ (cf. v. 17) and so into Christ’s death, Paul’s existence in relation to the Law has been decisively severed, the Law has ceased to have any claim on him (cf. Rom....

Sunday, August 18th, 2019  |  Galatians 2:19-21 Our text today is rich, and studded with detail and precious gems. To get the most of it we need to stop the train, get off and inspect it carefully. Pay attention, for here, in compressed form, are some of the most profound...

Sunday, August 11th 2019  | Galatians 2:15-21 Paul continues his aggressive defense of his apostleship by Christ by showing that the mother church in Jerusalem had received him as such, and by his confrontation with a back-sliding Peter! The chapter concludes with a stark and oddly beautiful word picture about...

Sunday, August 4th 2019  |  Galatians 1:10-24 In this part of the Galatian letter, launches into a defense of the gospel of God’s grace, by defending the fact that he has been given direct, divine revelation, an entire systematic corpus of knowledge and doctrine, personally, by the living and resurrected...

Sunday, July 28th 2019  |  Galatians 1:1-9 Just a few short years after Paul planted the gospel in Southern Galatia, a small band of “Judaizers” led by one particular spokesman, have swayed the newly minted Christians away from the pure saving gospel of God’s grace to a perverted gospel! This...

Sunday, May 19th 2019  |  Daniel 6:6-18 Today’s lesson points out that how we see things, even IF we see things at all, is very much determined by what we believe, and by whether that belief corresponds to the truth, especially the illuminating light of the Scriptures Romans 10:16 However,...

Sunday, February 24th 2019  |  Jude 1:20-25 Jude has been pounding away the warning about apostates within: What happened to make them that way, what they look like in action, and the results of their “ministry”, and what their destiny will be. Now he turns his attention to his beloveds,...

Sunday, February 10th 2019  |  Jude 1:12-16 Jude is deeply concerned for the spiritual, moral and social health of the local body of Christ. He illustrates apostate teachers in their midst with five metaphors from nature. These metaphors were things everyone in the ancient near east would immediate connect with....

Sunday, February 3rd 2019  |  Jude 1:5-13 We’ve all heard of the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Last Sunday Jude showed us that apostasy migrates downhill in an individual: from ungodliness (rebellion/disbelief), to licentiousness (immorality), and finally to denial of key doctrines of the faith (telling God He’s wrong and the...

Sunday, January 27th 2019  |  Jude 1:4-7 There are three sequential steps into full blown apostasy. Know them, know the signs and we have a fighting chance to stop them in our churches and in ourselves! “The greatest danger to the church today is not humanism, paganism, atheism or agnosticism....

Sunday, January 20th 2019  |  2 Peter 3:1-18 Tom Meyer recites 2nd Peter from memory and then preaches on the 2nd coming from chapter 3! It is riveting! About Tom Meyer: Tom Meyer is a professor at Shasta Bible College and Graduate School, has lived in Israel, receiving two M.A. degrees...

Sunday, January 13th 2019  |  Jude 1:1-3 The compact, 25 verse sermon of Jude packs a powerful punch about the maximum effort, high priority call of the local church and all believers to contend for the “The Faith” (the body of doctrines which are given in all scripture). No one...

Sunday, September 23rd 2018  |  Revelation 12:1-17 We’re at the mid-point of the Tribulation – 3 ½ yrs. The two witnesses of ch11 have preached, judged, been killed by the anti-Christ, and resurrected and raptured to glory. The saints in heaven see the end approaching and rejoice! Now John’s attention...

Sunday, September 9th 2018  |  Revelation 11:7-19 The first woe was the demonic locusts of chapter 9, the second woe is our subject of chapter 11, the two witnesses in Jerusalem. 11:1-2 tell us where the events of 11:3-14 take place: Jerusalem. The focus is on that city and its...

Sunday, September 2nd 2018  |  Revelation 10-11:6 The Revelation takes a break before the last trumpet (7th) to give additional revelation. John meets a mighty angel with authority and power of both land and sea (all the earth). The angel brings him a little scroll of additional revelation. He experiences...

Sunday, August 19th 2018  |  Revelation 9:1-21 The blowing of the 5th trumpet releases the demonic locust horde upon the earth-dwellers.

Sunday, August 12th 2018  |  Revelation 8:1-13 There is a brief pause in heaven as the seventh seal is opened. It, the seventh seal, unleashes the Trumpet judgments on the earth and its inhabitants. There are seven trumpets in all, several of which are described here in chapter 8.

Sunday, August 5th 2018  |  Revelation 7:1-17 John’s vision shifts now from breaking of the first 6 seals of judgment on the earth, and there is a sudden shift in time (“after these things” – meta tauta). We now approach the mid-point, the end of 3 ½ yrs of Daniel’s...

Sunday, July 15th 2018  |  Revelation 5:1-6:17 The Lamb causes seals 1-6, of the great scroll that only he could open, to be opened!

Sunday, July 8th 2018  |  Revelation 4:1-5:14 Recall that 1:19 gives us the divine outline of the Revelation: Things which John has seen (ch 1), things which are (church age in ch2-3), and the things which will take place after these things (ch4-22). Up to now John has seen things...

Sunday, July 1st 2018  |  Revelation 3:1-22 Sardis: Half-dead in their deeds. Philadelphia: The church of blessedness and encouragement! Laodicea: The lukewarm (yuck!), complacent church.

Sunday, June 24th 2018  |  Revelation 2:12-29

Sunday, June 17th 2018  | Revelation 2:8-11  

Sunday, June 10th 2018  |  Revelation 2:1-7 You have left (deliberately abandoned) your first love! This implies an intentional decision to make love for Christ of lower importance in their thinking, their emotions, devotions, compared to something else, not merely a love neglected through dis-use. The cure for a hard...

Sunday, May 27th 2018  |  Revelation 1:9-20 In this portion of the introduction (pt II), John gets personal and down in the trenches with those he’s writing to. He joins them in their present condition of trial, and grounds it in obedience to the will of God! Then he takes...

Sunday, May 20th 2018  |  Revelation 1:1-11 The book of Revelation/Apocalypse: The revealing, the unveiling of the Lord Jesus Christ in all His regal authority as final judge and terminator of the kingdoms of men (see Daniel 2:31-36), as the Lord who disciplines and then redeems Israel, as the Son...

Sunday, April 8th 2018  |  John 3:12-18 Jesus told Nicodemus, as recorded in John 3, that “just as (in the same manner) Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert” – so that every sin-striken, deadly snake-bit, helpless Israelite who merely looked in faith to the serpent lifted up on...

Sunday, March 4th 2018  |  Romans 6:1-14 We’re used to hearing that Christ died for our sins. But Romans 6:1-14 teach something different: That Christ died TO our sin (singular). This is the concept that he died to sin as the ruling/reigning Master, and we (the Old Man, the man...

Sunday, February 25th 2018  |  Romans 5:12-21 O Felix Culpa! – Oh Happy Fault! The universal domination of sin and death. The glorious freedom of God’s grace in the shed blood of His Son.  Not the name of a rock band or movie star. It is Latin for, “Happy fault!” –...

Sunday, February 18th 2018  |  Romans 5:1-11 Justification by faith alone. Sola Fidei. Just what does this mean? Who is it for? Why is it so? Why is this a most necessary doctrine to grasp?  In this tender handling of Romans 5:1-11, Molher gives us the vital context of Paul’s discussion...

Sunday, January 28th 2018  |  Matthew 24:32-51 What did Jesus mean by “this generation will not pass away until all these things take place”? This is a serious matter and some even think it means Jesus was a false prophet! Pastor Kooyers takes us through the options and tells us...

Sunday, December 10th 2017  |  Hebrews 2 Just what does the incarnation, God the Son in human flesh in the person of Jesus, signal to us, and where does that put us regarding God’s favor towards us?

Sunday, December 3rd 2017  |  1 Corinthians 13:1-13 No talent, gift, or exercise of moral virtue is meaningful in the divine sense, nor reward-able at the Bema, (“it profits me nothing”) unless it is driven by and infiltrated with genuine love.