Preach The Word

In this year of and on this day after the 250th birthday of this wonderful nation I want to reaffirm my love for this United States of America. I have been blessed to travel half way around the world and back - twice! - but I know of no other place I would want to live than here (except, maybe, Heaven). I have said before and will unashamedly repeat today that I get a lump in my throat and a tear...

In this message, and in these verses we are going to look at the significance of an authentic New Testament church. We understand the nature of an authentic New Testament church. The word “church” in the Bible is from the Greek word “ekklesia” (EK - a primary preposition denoting origin - “out,” or “out of.” KALEO - “to call.”) So, “ekklesia” refers to a called out assembly as demonstrated in Acts...

The greatest need in America today is revival -- in the Lord’s churches, and certainly in our homes. Why? We bring the spirit of our homes into the church. Imagine a husband and wife having an argument on the way to church. Yet, when they come into the building they are all smiles, calling others “brother” and “sister,” etc. Though they are pretending that all is well they still have anger toward...

There was a time in these United States of America that we were united as a nation. All sorts of people came here from different lands with different backgrounds, and they wanted to be “Americans.” President Theodore Roosevelt once said, ““There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism . . . a hyphenated American is not an American at all . . . Our allegiance must be purely to the Uni...

From time to time children of God need to be reminded of what we were before we were saved and what God has done for us. It is easy to get so “busy” with life that we forget what God has saved us out of. It is at times like those that we may sometimes take our salvation for granted. This can affect our faithfulness and our service of the Lord. We have seen and need to learn to appreciate the great...

Paul’s love for these believers caused him to pray for them. He was thankful for them -- vs. 16 – “I . . . Cease not to give thanks for you . . . ” ( CEASE = stop, quit, come to an end.) Are you thankful for your brothers and sisters in Christ in this church? Do you show it? Do you tell them? ( Vs. 16 – “Cease not . . . making mention of you in my prayers . . . ” has the idea of, “Constantly makin...

Paul is writing to a church that lived in the midst of the wealth of a pagan world, and in that scenario it would be easy to compare “what we have” to “what the world offers.” We live in a similar situation. Daily the world’s wealth is paraded before us. Many dream of material wealth but have forgotten about being rich toward God (Remember Luke 12 - the rich farmer with the “too small” barns.) We...

Ephesus was also a very wealthy city, and that wealth (of the world) was in evidence throughout the city. It was the capital of pro-consular Asia. It was located on the western coast of Asia Minor and was an important shipping port. It was an old city with a history dating as far back as the fifth century B.C. The Great Theater in the city was elaborate and could seat 25,000. The temple of the god...

As you can tell, this message is about faith - trust, dependence upon God. God’s Word has a lot to say about faith. It speaks of: 1) Great faith and little faith, and of some who had no faith. 2) Healing faith and saving faith, and faith “as the grain of a mustard seed.” 3) The righteousness of faith and sanctifying faith, and the obedience of faith. 4) It talks about strong faith and weak faith....

I remember December 18, 1983 very clearly. We awoke to find the house half-filled with smoke. At almost midnight we jumped out of bed; we threw windows open, and on the coldest night of the year so far, we turned on the attic fan. It was a desperate situation. We live in desperate times and a desperate situation -- nationally, locally, morally, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, ecclesiastically...

Some people think discipleship works like all those “instant” products. Many believe you take lost sinner, lead him/her to Christ, get them to submit to Scriptural baptism (and some don’t even require that), and viola, you have a disciple. But there is a big difference between a believer and a disciple. There is no such thing as an instant disciple; like the word says, it takes discipline. True di...

Our text clearly states that as believers and as the Lord’s churches we are to be involved in evangelism. What is evangelism? I feel sure most, if not all of us, know what evangelism is, however in this day and age it seems that few give thought to it. First of all, evangelism is not simply inviting someone to church. It is good to invite people, especially lost or unchurched friends and family me...

God has a work for you to do . . . and He has a work for me. In fact, God has a work and a purpose for all who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Someone said that it has yet to be seen what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully dedicated to Him in this present age. I believe the Apostle Paul was determined in his heart to be like that when he asked, “ . . . Lor...

As we come to our text for today let’s first remember all of the events that have led up to it. Jesus had gone from: A triumphant entry into Jerusalem about a week before, to a betrayal, an arrest, a denial (by Peter), to a mock “trial,” to hearing the people cry out for His crucifixion. He endured mocking, a crown of thorns, and the scourging which left the flesh on His back hanging in ribbons. (...

The following statement is not intended for “shock value.” It is the expression of my heart. I am tired of hearing preachers talk about “the rapture of the church.” Does that surprise you? It shouldn’t. As those who know the Bible to teach that a true, New Testament church has only one nature - local and visible - we should also understand that not all of the saved are in a true church, or in any...

Our text is the account of God’s instructions to Joshua as he becomes the leader of the Israelites in the place of Moses. Joshua was a man of great faith -- Numbers 14:6-9 . He was one of the two spies who brought back a good report of the Promise Land and expressed faith that through God the Israelites could conquer it. He said, “(8) If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land...

There are two extremes to so-called “worship” today -- a cold, unresponsive formalism which gives the impression of a dead church, or a wild chaotic confusion of which God is not the author. Prior to their slipping away from God and going into idol worship, I believe the people of Israel had a clear understanding of the holiness of God . . . and showed it in their worship. The displays of thunders...

We woke up last Sunday morning to learn of a joint attack on Iran by the United States of America and Israel. I don’t know what you thought (obviously), but I was not sure what to think. When I begin to consider the rapture, or the catching up of the saved, the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming of Christ to this earth, and eventually His Millennial Reign, we must look to the Middle East. The th...

Someone has said that the epitaph of our society today should be: “This civilization died because it just didn’t want to be bothered. It did not care.” Dr. Lawrence M Gould, one time President of Carlton College said: “I do not believe that the greatest threat to our future is from bombs or guided missiles. I don't think our civilization will end that way. I think it will end, and it will die when...

Our text is the account of our Lord’s healing of the centurion’s servant. This centurion was a Roman, a pagan, but he exhibited great faith in Jesus. His faith was so great that it prompted Jesus to say ( vs. 10 ): “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” We heard a wonderful testimony Wednesday evening of multiple incidents where men placed their faith in God a...

The book of Judges is an account of a 450 year period when God gave deliverers to His people Israel. It lasted from the time of Joshua’s death to the rise of Samuel, the prophet. In fact, Samuel is referred to by some as the last judge and the first prophet. However, before we can truly understand why these judges were needed, we must know what was going on. The first verse of this book reveals Is...

I believe it is “crunch time” in America. In case you haven’t noticed it . . . There is and has been for some time an all out war against God, against Jesus, and against the Bible in this nation. This war is coming rapidly to the Lord’s churches and in an ever increasing degree. We may feel like we are enjoying a “lull” in the fighting at the present moment, but I can guarantee you that the sinist...

Today in America someone is paying to have billboards erected that say, “Jesus is not God.” I don’t know what your response to this is, but I, for one, am outraged over it. This is not just an attack on Christianity, but an attack on Jesus Christ Himself. I like the photo I saw of a man who had climbed the billboard and was painting over the word “NOT.” People may deny Jesus, but that will not neg...

We saw last week that the Bible is the divinely inspired, inerrant, infallible, authentic, and perfect Word of God. We should value our Bibles. We do not worship them as we would worship our Lord, but we are to value them. Just think, as we stand here and hold our Bibles we hold in our hands the precious Word of God. Let that sink in a moment. Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a great Baptist preacher/p...

If you will take your stand today on what the Bible teaches someone will ask you, “Why do you believe the Bible?” Probably 9 out of 10 people would reply, “Because it is the Word of God.” That would prompt the question, “How do you know it is the Word of God?” Here is the attitude of so many people today. They say, “Well the Bible is a good book. It is full of good stories. It teaches some good le...