Pastor Matt's Podcasts

Christians are God's holy nation.  In the midst of the enemies of the faith, Christians are to know who they are, where they came from, what their task is, and act on it.  When it looks as though the enemies of Christ are ruling, God, in His divine patience waits until his divine wrath comes upon them. 

God has chosen and called a people out of darkness and into His marvelous light.  They are called a royal priesthood, a holy nation, separate and distinct from all other peoples.  They are to drive out wickedness from among them and sanctify themselves to God, in obedience to His word.  As Christians in America, we are a nation within a nation.  How well are we doing with our task?

In this study, Peter begins making the case that the people of God, the church, who came from dead stones have become alive to Christ.  From dead stones to living stones when recieving Jesus, the Living Stone that caused many to stumble.  What is more, the church is built out of these living stones, so that when persecution comes, the church may stand. 

In this study, we begin to see the necessity of change in the life of the beleiver.  There are things that we are to "lay aside" rather than bring with us into our new life in Christ. These kill life, not only in the believer, but also in the church.  We are to pursue righteous, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, laying aside the sins of our old man. 

In this sermon, we examine the purification of the faith, soul and heart in order to produce fervent love from a pure heart for the brethren.  The body of Christ will come under persecution, it is important that the members of that body encourage, support, and love one another.  

As we continue in our study of 1 Peter, we remember that Peter is writing to the early Christians, preparing them for tribulations.  Once the foundation of this is presented, to have this mindset through faith, Peter then informs them that the natural outgrowth of this faith will be action.  Faith must be followed by action.

In this sermon we examine what the purpose is for suffering for Christ's sake.  As one suffers for the sake of Christ by faith, then perseveres through that suffering, building character in faith, and increasing in hope, God will give more persecution and suffering.  The purpose is to purify our faith.  Going into persecution with this understanding gives us hope for the future here and now, as we...

In our study of 1 Peter, we are laying the foundations of the purpose of persecution and suffering of the church.  In this sermon, we examine more of the total falleness and the total redemption of creation, begining with the Christian.

1 Peter prepares the early church for the coming persecution.  In this sermon, we cover the rebirth of the Christian, who is then able to "see the kingdom" for how things are supposed to operate under the government of God. It is essential that the Christian know who they are in Christ, so that when persecution comes, they are able to stand knowing they are empowered by God's kingdom. 

Peter wrote to the early church warning them of the persecutions to come.  All of his warnings speak specifically to issues that we are now facing today with the rise of Communism and Islam here in the West.  But Peter didn't just think these things up on his own, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he reiterated what Jesus Himself told the disciples.  

What does the victorious church look like?  It is one that is faithful to the word. Here Paul concludes Romans with a description of the faithful, victorious church.

What does a successful church look like.  As Paul concluded Romans, he gave greeings to the brethren, the small community of faithful beleivers.  But he also gave warning about the false teachers.  A successful community of believers has love for the brethren and turns away false teachers. 

Paul used his Roman citizenship against his persecutors.  We here in America have many more rights than Paul did, it is time we utilize our rights against our persecutors. 

Paul wrote to the Romans as mature Christians.  He gave them meat, not milk.  This gives us tremendous insight into the nature of the word of God and its ability to mature Christians in its faithful preaching and hearing.  

In this sermon we study the power that the word of God has on a person's life.  Jesus uses His word, both Old and New Testaments in order to affect change in the life of the believer.  

Any given church is filled with differing opinions.  How are we to handle these opinions?  What would happen if the church decided not to disagree with things that are irrelevant?  How much further could we go in terms of expanding the Kingdom of God rather than expending our virtue fighting the brethren?

With the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it is important to know and understand where the ideas came from, who preached these ideas, and how they have been applied.  This sermon is just a taste of the history and writings of those who were there.  

In this sermon, we look at the fulfillment of the law with love.  How do we truly love one another?  It is not complicated, it has to do with obedience to God's word once again. 

In this last of the three-part series on Romans 13 and civil government, we examine the nature of the Constitution and the character of the people.  The source of authority, the government and the people must be in alignment morally and spiritually in order for the government to function as it should.  A change in one will necessitate a change in the rest.  

The Wall of Separation has been an attempt to neuter the church for years.  But if God is the God who created the church and the State, then both the church and State are equally under God's authority still.  Both are subject to His word, His law. 

Romans 13 has been preached for the last number of years to encourage Christians to unconditionally submit to civil authority.  However, this is not the case.  This scripture describes three things regarding civil government.  First, it describes the source of civil authoirty. Second, it describes the purpose of civil authority and thirdly it describes the powers of civil authority.  If we read it...

In this section, Paul explains more on biblical ethics in terms of interpersonal relationships.  Christians are to live by faith and this includes dealing with those who persecute them.  No one is to return evil for evil, but we are to repay evil for good.  What does this mean?  How does this look in real life? 

In this section of scripture, Paul introduces the action of love without hypocrisy.  Without God's law defining law and its application, love has no meaning. 

After solidifying the body of Christ, as both Jew and Greek, Paul then turns his attention to the functions of the members of the body.  Far from being a program or a corporation, the body of Christ is to function as a body, edifying and encouraging itself, through the gifts of the Spirit.

After incorporating the Gentiles into the covenant, Paul then solidified the body of Christ as one.  It is one body, with many members, each gifted to different functions within the body of Christ.