Today, this last Sunday of October, is Reformation Sunday. Reformation day itself is October 31 which led to the birth of Protestantism. For on that day Martin Luther[1] is said to have posted his 95 Theses on the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in protest of the …
I think that one of the most difficult doctrines for us to understand is that of election or of why it is that some are chosen by God for salvation in his Son—and some are not. And though I would love to say that this morning I’ll be presenting the …
Last week during our adult ed class on 1 John, I shared a part of my testimony about how I came to a saving faith and knowledge in Jesus Christ. Though it’s common—and appropriate—to hear people say that what drew them to Jesus was learning that through him they could …
Have you ever “fret because of those who are evil” (verse 1)? Have you ever wondered why some people, at least metaphorically, seem to be able to get away with murder—or at least to profit or benefit from doing what is wrong? What is more, have you ever been “envious …
Last week I began by asking whether we wanted to be remembered by the worst sin or the most virtuous act we’ve ever committed. As we noted, we may resonate with the apostle Paul in his exasperation in doing the evil he hated rather than the good he desired to …
I want to begin this morning’s message with a question: Do we want to be remembered by the worst sin we’ve ever committed? By the worst thing we’ve ever done? Or, conversely, do we want to be remembered by the most virtuous act we’ve ever committed? By the best thing …
Well, I certainly hope you’ve left yourselves extra time for worship this morning because, for the first time ever, we’re going to be covering an entire book of the Bible in one sermon! But then again since that book is Philemon—and it only contains one chapter—I think I should be …
During these past two weeks we’ve looked back at some of those whom the author of Hebrews has recognized and acknowledged as exemplars of faith. And as we’ve done so, we’ve noted some of the characteristics entailed in having confident,[1] successful[2] faith: First, we aren’t called to have great faith, …
As we worked through the Gospel Saturation Primer this past Spring during our Adult Ed class, one of the topics we considered was that of what a “successful” church looks like in practice. And though the first thing that often comes to mind is to equate a successful church with …
[Sing] “I have confidence in sunshine. I have confidence in rain. I have confidence that spring will come again! Besides what you see I have confidence in me.”[1] So sang Maria, the irrepressible young nun played by Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, when she sought some much-needed courage …
