Chapel Hill Bible Church - Sermons

We're back in Genesis! Chapter 39. We are going to look at God's recipe for success. Now, don't worry, I am not turning into THAT preacher! But seriously, this passage is about success - true success. Joseph is enslaved, tempted, and imprisoned, and yet in all that the Lord is with him and the Lord gives Joseph success - the success of obedience, moral courage, and faithfulness. Students, young pr...

We are at the end of 2nd Corinthians and Paul is giving a last appeal to his beloved Corinthians with a warning and encouragement - a warning to examine ourselves and an encouragement to rejoice because Jesus Christ is in us! Friends - in the light of all we heard this summer, are you ready to embrace your cross?

One thing that proves to me I am not making up this gospel stuff is how counter intuitive and counter culture and "counter Jay Thomas" the gospel is. 2 Corinthians 12 is the highpoint of the letter and it has been used of God profoundly in my life. Paul states the truth as clearly as he can: our weaknesses are gifts God gives us so that in our emptiness and need Christ can fill us with all suffici...

Desperate times call for desperate measures. 2 Corinthians 11 is a weird, exceptional, ironic, and one-off chapter. Paul, having just dropped the mic by saying we cannot boast in our selves but only in the Lord, now goes onto to boast about himself. But here's the thing - he acknowledges the temporary foolishness of his approach, and yet its vital place in his argument - Paul is not going to boast...

The church of Corinth had been infiltrated with false apostles essentially preaching a “ALL crown and NO cross” gospel and they were turning congregants against Paul by discrediting his apostleship. In this final section of the letter, Paul pivots toward the infiltrators and their detractors, but all the while pointing the church toward Christ. For Paul, things are more personal than ever. But ins...

Giving is one of the many ways our worship shines through our lives. In 2 Cor. 9, Paul continues his exhortation to the Corinthians to give faithfully, cheerfully and willingly. Join us as we subject our hearts to the Lord to be shaped by his generosity and compelled by his glory alone.

Finances are an important part of our lives, with money being both an asset and a temptation. In chapter 8 of his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul encourages his readers to excel in this act of grace, that is, in being generous to supply the needs of others. Join us as we reflect on the generosity of Jesus and as we are challenged to lead generous lives.

Have you ever wondered what a pastor's deepest desire is for his congregation? It is for you to know the Truth (Christ) and to enjoy the gift of His salvation (through the Spirit given to those who are saved).  In this portion of the book of Corinthians, we see the pastoral heart of Paul, showing the church when the truth is taught, some will receive it and enjoy it, and some will close their hear...

When you hear the word HOLINESS, what comes to mind? For many it conveys rigidity, fundamentalism, legalism, repression, and old-school "boomer" Christianity. One problem. Jesus is really big on holiness. The Scripture is full of calls to holiness. But, as Inigo Montoya once said: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Holiness is a gift. It is born of grace a...

Sorrowful yet always rejoicing. Really?!? Really. That was Paul's song. That is the pastor's song; the kid's ministry team's song; the song of the elder and deacon. That is the song for every Christian who wants to be ALL IN with Jesus. To be of the kingdom means rejection, slander, betrayal, and general hardship. That is rough. It brings real sorrow as we experience our earthly lives taken from u...

When we hear a phrase like the "fear of the Lord" it can be easy to slip into a mindset of an angry God who looks disdainfully back at us, leading us to cower, run away, and experience shame. What Paul means by that phrase in 2 Corinthians 5:11 is the opposite. Yes, fear is a strong word and we should keep the teeth in it, but the point is that godly fear of Jesus, the True Judge (5:10), leads us...

What is the "eternal weight of glory" for which our "light momentary afflictions" are preparing us? It includes at least three things: resurrection life, the vision of God, and vindication that we are indeed in Christ. This week's passage defines and details the "eternal weight of glory" we heard about last week. In doing so, we are instructed to fix our eyes by faith on our futures in Christ in o...

Do you remember what it was like the first time you drove a car in reverse and had to steer? Everything was backwards. What turned the car one way is now opposite. Did it take a moment - or a year - to learn to steer in reverse intuitively? Learning to live by faith in the Word of God, especially in light of suffering, is a lot like driving and steering a car in reverse. It seems opposite. It can...

If you have ever been accused of not having what it takes to serve Jesus, you know the pain of rejection, betrayal, and perhaps barbs that go to the soul. False accusations are only as powerful as our sense of self outside of the gospel, though. In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul preaches the contrast between the Old Covenant and New Covenant, not for nerding out but to encourage the Corinthians that he is...

Paul had to change his plans to visit the Corinthians, choosing to stay back for a while. This change of plans, along with many other things, was weaponized by his opponents and used to accuse him of being insincere, vacillating, and self-centered. Paul begins his overall defense of his ministry - and discipleship in general - by explaining and preaching that he has utmost sincerity, commitment to...

What if Jesus asked you to sign blank sheet of paper as a promissory document. Your signature of commitment and nothing else. Jesus will fill in the rest and you must trust Him. Now, picture that the sentence "You will suffer for my Name" is on that paper. Will you sign it now?!? You and I would if we knew the trade-off. If we gave our certainty and strength to Jesus, and he gave us His sovereignt...

Sometimes you wonder if these stories in Genesis can get more twisted. Well, they can. You can't make this stuff up. In Chapter 38, we have one of Jacob's sons, Judah, leave the family, head toward the pagan Canaanites, marry one of them, sire two wicked sons and one nondescript ones. Then, on top of all that, through deception, curated sexual sin, and transactional worldviews, a pagan daughter-in...

Remember the J-Curve - the graph of following Jesus? Sometimes we are thrown into a pit, only to be rescued and brought to a greater strength, maturity, and blessing than ever before. That J-curve is the pathway of Genesis 37-50, a new unit we are starting this week. We're calling it "Joseph and the Many Colored Gospel." Chapter 37 is a powerful story of that J-Curve - Joseph is despised and rejec...

Have you ever returned home? By home, I mean where you were raised, and all that represents: your old house, schools, hang out haunts, college campus? I bet a flood of memories come back. Some of us did not know Jesus back then and we can feel the regrets and loss with those memories. However, as it often happens, God meets us in that nostalgia and He reminds us of the intervening work. His grace....

Genesis 34 is a cascade of atrocities displaying the depravity of the human heart. This awful story of disobedience, defilement, deceit, and death highlight our need to be rescued. And while there is no hero in this Genesis 34, praise be to God that this is only one chapter in the story of God's redemptive plan for his people.

God loves us so much, He gives us limps. It is true. Let me argue from this vantage point. God loved the Son so much that He sent Jesus to the cross. The logic is difficult, but clear. In Genesis 32-33 we are going to see a little pre-gospel. Jacob needs to reconcile with Esau. And, in a surprising and beautiful way, they will reconcile. But it is what happens in the middle that makes it possible....

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! The glorious truth of Jesus's resurrection and our resurrection will be celebrated this Easter Sunday and we will look at it from 1 Peter chapter 1. In that text, Peter uses stunning imagery to show us what the resurrection means for our lives as the people of God who are not home yet. In fact, he calls us the chosen people of God who are struggling in the wilderne...

Palm Sunday begins Holy Week often with a refresh on Jesus riding into Jerusalem during Passover week on his way to the cross. This is referred to as the Triumphal Entry. This year, I want to journey with Jesus, but from a bigger perspective. What does this journey to Jerusalem mean in the bigger context of the Biblical story line? I want us to pull up a bit and look at the story of God's glory in...

The Bible is a truly cool interconnected story. God often teaches the same themes through layers of stories upon stories. Genesis 31 is like that. Before the big book of Exodus, we have a small chapter and mini-Exodus. Jacob flees his father-in-law, who has him in slavery. He does so because God commands him out, and promises to be with him, just like Genesis 28:15. The parallels with Exodus are u...

The story of Jacob and his two wives involves much sin and hardship. Jacob's relationship with Laban is marked by trickery and deceit. Yet the worldly intentions and actions of each of these human characters are no match for the triumphant grace of God. We will ultimately see that as God mercifully remembered Rachel, sinful though she was, to give her a son who would go on to be a savior, so he ha...