Christ Church Bentonville

The brief sermon during our 2022 Deacon Installation Service.

In the midst of suffering, trials, and persecution, James calls us to persevere, pray, and preserve one another.

No matter how arrogant and presumptuous we may be, His grace is more and is always in abundant supply. 

God gives grace to those who know they need it.  But his abundant grace doesn’t nullify our striving.  

While we are unable to tame our tongues, we are no less responsible, having been united to Christ, to try anyway by God’s grace and for His glory.

We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. True genuine faith is life-giving, and the life it gives is a life that is lived toward God.

Favoritism, partiality, or discrimination, has no place in the church.  There are no qualifiers.  Christians don't play favorites.

Because we are in Christ, His law is not burdensome.  Obedience is possible because the Word has brought us to life, has been implanted within us, and we have listened to and received it with humility.  Therefore, we are to be doers of the word and not hearers only.

When trials come it is possible to take responsibility for our active steadfastness and endure, but it is also possible to doubt and blame God.

Just as Christ's coming had marked the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New, His going would mark the end of His earthly ministry and the beginning of His heavenly one.

Encounters with the resurrected Jesus led to burning hearts, opened minds, and promised power.

There are a lot of good reasons to believe that Jesus is alive.  The most important are the words of Christ. 

Christ was innocent for us in that He was a spotless sacrifice that paid our debt in full.  He was also innocent for us in that his sinlessness and record of perfect righteousness was imputed to us so that we would be not only blameless but holy.

The Father was leading Christ to the cross who was pleading for an alternative.  The Father sent an angel to minister to Him in the midst of the battle, but the alternative to the cross never came.

Jesus is enough! (Sermon given by Aaron Raines our Assistant to the Pastor)

We are called to serve, not to be great.

God does something in us when the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper are met by the Spirit and received by faith.  We feed upon Christ and are satisfied.

If God can take a diabolical plan that involved wicked betrayal and bring about His purposes, He can work out His purposes in our lives as well no matter what obstacles there may be. 

Jesus didn’t tell the disciples (or us) to expect the rapture or a golden age on the earth before or after his return.  He said the next big event in redemptive history would be His return.

In the midst of the already and not yet, we aren't looking for signs or waiting for the rapture, a golden age, the temple to be rebuilt, or Jerusalem to be restored.  We're waiting for the return of the Son of Man.

If you take away the resurrection, Christianity comes crashing to the ground. (This was preached at our outdoor Easter service).

Hypocrisy is something we all must be aware of and combat due to the danger to which it exposes us and others.

In a public debate with the Sadducees, Jesus shows from the Old Testament God is the God of the living, not the dead, so His promises mean that at the last day all men must be raised from the dead. Those who are united to Christ by faith will share in His blessed life for eternity. This sermon was preached by Aaron Raines, RE and Assistant to the Pastor.

Our obligation to render to God the things that are God’s is an obligation to render all things to God because all things are His. 

This last parable in Luke's gospel answer's the question posed to Jesus in verse 2 of chapter 20.  Jesus' authority was given to Him by His Father and that authority had been given to Him because He was the eternal, only begotten, beloved Son.