Bart Byl Sermons

Bart Byl on 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11 . Series: Power in Weakness (2 Corinthians) Christians have a sleepless enemy, tirelessly scheming for ways to divide and destroy us. The stakes around Christian unity could not be higher. That's why even though Paul had been deeply hurt by someone in Corinth, he urges the church to forgive him now that he's repented. After all, we all know the joy of God forgiv...

Bart Byl on 2 Corinthians 1:12-22 . Series: Power in Weakness (2 Corinthians) Paul's opponents were accusing him of making promises he had no intention of keep. As he defends his own integrity, Paul turns to God's faithfulness to his promises through Christ. God speaks an unreserved Yes! over his children. We echo that back with a joyful "Amen!". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...

Bart Byl on 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 . Series: Power in Weakness (2 Corinthians) Paul begins his letter with a subject we'd all prefer to avoid: suffering. But he's not embarrassed, because Christian life and ministry is about walking the path of the cross with Christ. And as we do so, God gives profound comfort to our hearts—overflowing comfort that's meant to be shared with those who are suffering....

Bart Byl on Joshua 1:1-9 . Moses is dead, and now it's Joshua job to lead the discontented horde of Israelites across the Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land. "Be strong and courageous," God exhorts him, supplying the new leader with three strong motives for boldness. We need to hear God's own encouragement to us as we begin 2021, to take a firmer grip on his promises, to more diligentl...

Bart Byl on Hebrews 13:8 . As we head into the uncertain future of another year, the author to the Hebrews reminds us of the one truth that will steady our hearts: "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever." The Christ who worship today is the same Christ of the Gospels and of Revelation. He endures the same in his grace, his love, his sympathy, his purpose, and his power. We have n...

Bart Byl on Malachi 3:13-4:3 . Cynical Israelites were complaining serving God was pointless and joyless. It's a temptation we all feel. But those who feared God talked with each other — and God had it recorded in his minutes. Then he promised that the Day of Judgment would also be a glorious sunrise for those who waited for him — a day when they would skip like calves released from long confineme...

Bart Byl on Ephesians 1:3-14 . Perhaps the reason our praise is half-hearted is because we believe God is half-hearted in his generosity ... irritated and resentful at our neediness, a God who needs to be nagged and guilted into giving. But what if he is the God of open-handed, ungrudging, unsparing, prolific and extravagant gift-giving, all through Christ? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...

Bart Byl on Leviticus 25:1-7 . Israel received the Promised Land as a gift from God, and they were to steward it as tenants under God's ultimate ownership. The fallow laws in Leviticus 25 suggest several principles of 'ecological righteousness' for today: curbing consumption, sharing with the community, tending to the needs of animals, and making sustainable choices. We can't be righteous if we ab...

Bart Byl on 1 Samuel 31 . Series: Waiting for the Kingdom (1 Samuel) Saul falls on his own sword to escape capture and humiliation. It's a tragic end to a man determined to master his own fate instead of trusting God. He was the king the people wanted, and his rebellion has brought disaster onto the nation. Have we foolishly harnessed our faith to human leaders? The fate of God's kingdom is in the...

Bart Byl on 1 Samuel 30 . Series: Waiting for the Kingdom (1 Samuel) David and his men return home to find their town burned to the ground and their families missing. His men are about to beat David to death with rocks, but he strengthens himself in the Lord and sets out in pursuit. Two hundred exhausted men are left out of the battle. Do they deserve a share in the spoil? Does God's anointed king...

Bart Byl on 1 Samuel 28:3-25 . Series: Waiting for the Kingdom (1 Samuel) Abandoned by God and desperate to know his fate in tomorrow's battle against a massive Philistine army, Saul has Samuel summoned up from the dead by a medium, a "ghostwife". It's Saul lowest point in his long fall away from God. What greater horror could there be than resisting God for a lifetime, to find yourself abandoned...

Bart Byl on 1 Samuel 27:1-28:2, 29:1-11 . Series: Waiting for the Kingdom (1 Samuel) David crosses the frontier to escape Saul and embarks on a clever scheme to deceive the Philistines. The one thing he forgot to do: seek God’s will. Then disaster strikes: he and his men are sent to the front lines to attack Israel. There’s nothing David can do to control the situation … he can only hope salvation...

Bart Byl on 1 Samuel 26 . Series: Waiting for the Kingdom (1 Samuel) David and Abishai slip among the sleeping soldiers and hover over Saul. But intead of killing him, they take his spear and water jug. David may not yet be the king, but he’s determined to demonstrate faithfulness and righteousness toward God. We too live in the wilderness, but we’re called right now to live out the kingdom values...

Bart Byl on 1 Samuel 25 . Series: Waiting for the Kingdom (1 Samuel) Nabal may be rich, but he's also stupid enough to insult David and his private army. But his wise wife Abigail restrains David from slaughtering their household, reminding him to trust God’s destiny for him. Our own greatest danger is self-sabotage, and we'd do well to listen to those God sends to dissuade us from impulsive and d...

Bart Byl on 1 Samuel 24 . Series: Waiting for the Kingdom (1 Samuel) Saul stops to relieve himself in a cave, not realizing the fugitive David and his men are hiding in there. But David doesn't seize the chance to murder Saul‚ because he's appealing to God for justice. The story warns us of the danger in trying to do God's will, but not in God's way or in God's time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

Bart Byl on 1 Samuel 23 . Series: Waiting for the Kingdom (1 Samuel) If he'd only been concerned for his own safety, the fugitive David would have stayed holed up in the Cave of Adullum. But a cry for help from the besieged town of Keilah moves him to lead his men to the rescue. David is a picture of King Jesus, who will always respond to his people's distress, even though they prove ungrateful. A...

Bart Byl on Philippians 3:1–16 . When the risen Christ confronted Paul on the road to Damascus, it shattered everything he had built his life upon. It took him three years in Arabia to recuperate from his conversion and experience radical deconstruction of his old religious life. Paul invites us with him into a new kind of life of total identification with Christ in his death and resurrection. Hos...

Bart Byl on Psalm 16 . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bart Byl on Ephesians 3:14-19 . Series: Calling Down Blessing (Praying With Paul) There's plenty of reasons to convince ourselves God doesn't love us—our own sin, troubles of life, doubts and accusations from the evil one. Imagine how your walk with God might change if you lived every day with a deep sense of the love of God for you in Christ. That's what Paul prays for the Ephesians, and what God...

Bart Byl on Philippians 1:4–6, 9–11 . Series: Calling Down Blessing (Praying With Paul) Christians celebrate the finished work of Christ on the cross. But there is also a project he is still working on, and that is our personal transformation into his image. He is changing us by his Spirit in order to present us blameless before his Father. Are we fervently praying for ourselves, and for one anoth...

Bart Byl on Colossians 1:9-12 . Series: Calling Down Blessing (Praying With Paul) Following Jesus means joining an ensemble of actors performing for God's enjoyment. We submit ourselves to the director's will: but he hasn't given us the detailed script we might want. God's more interested in us being absorbed into our character than delivering rote lines, so he's assigned the Spirit as our acting...

Bart Byl on 1 Thessalonians 3:9–13 . Series: Calling Down Blessing (Praying With Paul) Paul prayed prayers worthy of the kingdom: God-saturated, Christ-exalting, Spirit-infused prayers. His intercession for others began with thanksgiving, because for Paul no Christian was ordinary. What if we recognized others as participants in a cosmic drama of redemption, and rejoiced in God's present and futur...

Bart Byl on Psalm 103:1–5 . We have the memory of goldfish when it comes to God's goodness in our lives, and this amnesia kills thankfulness, faith and hope. That's why “the Hebrew was called to walk backward into the future,” as Dennis Kinlaw puts it. In Psalm 103 we're given five wonderful reasons to exhort our souls to bless the Lord. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bart Byl on 1 Samuel 21–22 . Series: Waiting for the Kingdom (1 Samuel) David is on the run, and in his panic he makes a questionable decision that brings disaster on a small town. Despite his mistakes, God makes sure David is fed and protected. We're also on a journey of faith. Sometimes it feels like we're all over the map, wandering the land, wrestling with our own fears, making bad judgments a...

Bart Byl on Isaiah 58 . Why doesn't God hear our prayers? Why isn't longed-for revival happening? Perhaps because of our indifference to injustice all around us. God is passionate about justice, and those who claim to know him ought to pursue righteousness and justice not just in their personal lives but in their society around them. He reminds his people, "No justice, no worship." Hosted on Acast...