Joel Gilbert

Sermon Title: Trusting the Righteous Judge (Show Slide 1) Sermon Text: Psalm 7 Happy 4th of July weekend everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed the 250th year Birthday of the USA with family and friends. I want to start today by telling an illustration story called “The Echo in the Valley” (Chatgpt) The Echo…

Forms of persecution: religious ethnic general harassment We can face it at different times and in different ways from different sources. It can be so frustrating to be persecuted because often it’s without reason. Today as we continue our study in the book of psalms, we turn to Psalm 5 , a psalm that…

“Sticks and stones can break my bones - but words will never hurt me.” How many of you have said this? Maybe some of us have been the recipient of this rebuff. This playground mantra has been a defense mechanism for so many - maybe even some of us. But if we’re honest, I think we know that names, lies,…

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been considering the first two psalms. In many ways, those two chapters provide a helpful foundation for the rest of the psalter. Psalm 1 provides a wise perspective for an individual. Psalm 2 expands the scope by helping us see that God is sovereign over all and…

Have you noticed that rebellion against authority has been on the rise in recent years? We see it in the news, violent street protests, court rooms, schools and even in our homes. I saw a video recently that went viral across social media. Parenting expert Jo Frost from the “Supernanny” show, made a…

Over the next couple of months, we’ll begin a pattern of walking through the Psalms in the summer - hence the name “Summer Psalter.” Between now and Labor Day, we’ll examine one Psalm each week (we should finish around Psalm 16 this year). Next year, Lord willing, we’ll pick up where we will leave off.…

One of the things that has surprised me in our study of the book of Luke is the number of times that the kingdom of God is referenced - over 30 times. Over the course of the last 67 sermons, we have discussed various aspects of the Kingdom of God - what it is, who it entails, how to enter, what Kingdom…

Pastoral Prayer Good morning Lord, Today, we join the psalmist as we worship you for your omnipresence… Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I lift up the wings of the dawn,…

I would guess that most of us have been to the eye doctor at some point. If, like me, your natural vision is bad and declining, your visits to see Tom and Robin will be regular. When you sit in the chair, there are a variety of things that doctors will do in order to understand what you can see (because…

He is risen…He is risen indeed For centuries, Christians have used that call and response, especially on Easter Sunday. It’s a simple and brief call and response, but it proclaims one of the central truths of our faith - that Jesus is alive! Yes, He was crucified. Yes, He was buried. Yes, He is alive.…

Crucifixion and death of Jesus

Mocking and religious trial=

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…