Joel Gilbert

Throughout history and in various stories, people have gone to great lengths, doing wrong things for the right reasons. President Lincoln bent some laws in the least and may have broken some in order to end the scourge of slavery in our country - the wrong things for the right reason - in his case, the…

With friends like these… In the early days of WWII, the Netherlands sought to maintain a position of neutrality. However, when the Nazi German army invaded the nation, the leaders of the Netherlands sided with the allied forces in opposition to Germany. On February 22, 1944, bad weather caused allied…

Ways that we demonstrate strength wealth Physical Knowledge Force of personality Legal as Jesus prepares to suffer, he demonstrates that our strength comes not through ability or self- sufficiency, but through surrender. And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples…

One of the things I love about Jesus is the way that He teaches. Now, in some ways, I would prefer a didactic, logical, clearly outlined type of teaching with points and sub-points that allow for a thorough understanding of a topic in a clear and succinct way- but that’s not the way that Jesus does it…

At the beginning of January, several of us traveled to Louisville, KY for CrossCon - a missions oriented conference for your adults. Incidentally, we are planning on going again this next year (St. Louis, MO). Young adults, I’d love for you to join me. At the conference John Piper gave a talk entitled…

Sermon Passage: Luke 21:25-38 An article was featured in “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” website, on April 16, 2024, titled “The Top 10 Doomsday Scenarios that Never Happened”. Here are a few of the predictions that were listed: The Stöffler Flood of 1524 (Show Slide 2) Johannes Stöffler, a German mathematician…

Luke 21:5-24 By realizing that h______________ a________________________ are t_______________ (vv. 5-6). By not being d__________________ (vv. 7-8) By not being a_________________ (vv. 9-11) By being f____________________ in the face of o______________________ (vv. 12-19) By t____________________ God’s…

People watching There are some people who have a hobby of “people watching.” It’s not necessarily creepy or stalking, just observing. My dad is one of those people. Whether going to a mall or an amusement park, before the advent of cell phones, he would just sit and watch people while the rest of us…

Theological debates have baffled people as long as there have been humans on the earth. Adam and Eve wrestled with the Sovereignty and goodness of God and the Volition of Humans as they listened to the serpent and ate of the forbidden fruit ( Gen. 3 ) Cain faced the balance between grace and justice…

Introduction Worship wars - conflicts within churches and schools battling over styles of worship music. Hymns, tradition, theological richness Choruses, emotive, passionate Relevance vs. reverence New vs. old contests and grand conflicts can happen in religious circles in a variety of ways. the authority…

What is peace? Peace is something that we often long for in a variety of areas of our lives - interpersonal, political, financial, academic, even internal, and spiritual peace. Peace in all of these things is achieved through a variety means, but many of those means seem to contradict one another. In…

Invocation Good morning Lord. This morning we join with the angels around your throne in obedient praise as an act of worship. As your people who have been made priests through the blood of Jesus, we serve you for your glory and for our good. We come to delight in you. We come to worship you, King of…

The Story of Bartimaeus ( Luke 18:35-43 ) Cry for _________________ (18:35-38) Persistent _______________ (18:39) Jesus’ __________________ (18:40-42) A _____________________ life (18:43) The Story of Zaccheus ( Luke 19:1-10 ) Zaccheus wants to ___________ Jesus (19:1-4) Jesus seeks after the __________…

After prayer Now, I know, normally the kids have their own special time in Kids Connection. Being that we are all together and that it’s the end of the year with a holiday, I’d love for us to do something a little bit different. If you’re in Kids’ Connection - can you come to the front? Kids, I have…

What is a good Christian like? Is it someone who doesn’t as the saying goes “drink or smoke or cuss or chew or date/marry people who do”? Is it someone who faithfully attends church? Is it someone who waits until marriage to engage in sexual activity? Is it someone who is morally upright? Is it someone…

Winston Churchill speech - never give up There are so many areas of life in which people can feel discouraged: weight activities And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected…

Thoughts of kingdoms Human drawn Boundaries ( interesting, we don’t see any boundaries when looking from space) Leaders Governing systems and structures Maybe languages when it comes to thinking about the Kingdom of God, what does that mean? As we have on a few other occasions in our study of Luke, we’ll…

Sermon Title : Thankfulness Is Expected! (Show Slide 1) Sermon Text : Luke 17:11–19 —Jesus Healing the Ten Lepers Introduction I hope that everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends and that you got the chance to show your gratitude to the Lord and others in a special way. Today…

Faith is an interesting issue. Over the years, I’ve heard stories of people who seemed to demonstrate great faith as they recounted the ways that God has answered prayer. One such person was George Mueller. He lived from 1805-1898. In an era when people would pay “pew rents” in order to have reserved…

In response to the ridicule of the Pharisees and their propensity to greed and service to mammon, Jesus turns aside to his disciples with some very important and challenging comments. He begins by noting that they and we should… Recognize Reality (1-3a) And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin…

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been able to learn about the ways that God considers us and how He searches for us and welcomes us when we come home, when we truly repent. While life with God is one of peace and rest because of His great love for us and because of Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice…

How do you view God? Some people view God as a heavy-handed, demanding judge with strict rules of right and wrong. Others view God like a doting grand-father who willingly gives his grandchildren whatever they want - practically spoiling them. Some may view God as aloof and distant, uninterested or unconcerned…

70s a new kind of church started - seeker sensitive or attractional Model that changed things in order to entertain or entice people into a relationship with God Has produced some good fruit and brought many people to faith But I one of the things that we see in our text is that it’s not the lost who…

The Internet is full of information on how people can do certain things: How to repair a specific broken belt on a lawn mower How to balance a budget How to cook a dish How to pay for college There is also a ton of information on how to avoid certain things: How to avoid debt How to avoid phishing scams…

Conversations over meals can be consequential in variety of ways. slow down and be together Share stories Get to know one another (Tell me something about you that will help me understand or truly know you better- Dobson) Teach and learn biblical truths Influence CG meals Family meals Wedding or funeral…