Preach The Word

Did you ever say those words to anyone? (COMFORTABLE = [Oxford Languages Dictionary] - “providing physical ease and relaxation.” Webster says it means “providing physical comfort; physically at ease.” Synonyms are: cozy, snug, easy, restful. But Webster’s also has this note: Comfortable “applies to anything that encourages serenity, well-being, or (the one that caught my eye) complacency. I believ...

What kind of picture do you use as a PowerPoint background when you are sharing a message about Jesus? We do not know what Jesus looked like. We just know that Isaiah said of Him ( 53:2,3 ): “. . . he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. (3) . . . and we hid as it were our faces from him . . . ” That doesn’t much sound like the paint...

I believe the greatest disobedience toward God, and toward our Lord Jesus Christ by His churches today is the failure to witness of Him to a lost and dying world. I believe there are several reasons for this, and at the outset of this message I want to name a few. The first and foremost reason, I believe, is fear. 1. Fear of opposition - that someone might just be opposed to our wanting to talk to...

We are going to look at prayer this morning. Prayer is without a doubt the most powerful tool that a child of God has to get things done for his Lord. Prayer can go where we cannot go. Prayer can be offered anytime, from anywhere, and can reach any place. Prayer can touch lives that we cannot touch (because it enlists the power of Almighty God). Prayer is direct communication with God through our...

I realize this may be a strange sort of message to begin a new year, but what could be better than to enter the new year armed against the wiles and devices of the devil. Not a one of us knows what will happen in our lives in the year to come. I am pretty sure that we all had things happen to us or in our lives in 2024 that we never would have imagined at the beginning of that year. What will this...

The book of Joshua is about the people of God getting what the Lord has for them. It is about moving out of the past and past difficulties into peace and blessings. It is about battles and victory. It is about the battles Israel faced in order to claim that promise from God. It is about warfare, painful defeats, suffering, and great victories. It has much to teach us about obtaining spiritual vict...

There are many kinds of gift givers this time of year. There are those for whom “just anything will do, as long as I get them something.” There are those who are the “askers.” They ask, “What do you want for Christmas?” then get it. There are those who give thought and search high and low for the “perfect” Christmas gift. If you are in that third category, you can stop searching for the “perfect”...

This morning I want to share what I call "The Christmas Story As You Have Never Heard It." Often, when we think of the “Christmas story” we start somewhere in the middle or near the end. However, the story has its roots and its beginnings long before what we call the traditional story. The “Christmas story” does not begin in the city of Bethlehem, nor does it begin in with a couple named Joseph an...

The book of II Corinthians is a book of encouragement. Paul certainly had reason to get discouraged. In II Corinthians 11:23-28 he tells us: “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. (25) Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; (26) In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in...

The term “day of the Lord” is used several different ways in the Scriptures. It can refer to the Lord’s day -- Sunday. Or, it can speak of the time of the rapture, the Millenial Reign of Christ, etc. Or, it may speak of that time of God’s great and terrible wrath upon the earth and all that live on it. Here Peter uses it to refer to just that. In light of present persecutions, he reminds believers...

In scrolling around on several internet sites I saw the question, “Is Thanksgiving a Christian holiday?” George Washington’s first Thanksgiving proclamation was issued on October 3, 1789 acknowledged God and His provision, providence, and protection of this nation. The Bible is full of examples of and admonitions to God’s people to offer thanksgiving to Him. This is the theme of many of the psalms...

Finish this sentence for me. “Jesus is _____________.” This morning we are going to consider the lordship of Jesus. Back in the 1970s and 80s at what I believe was the height of the Charismatic Movement in America you could hear and see all over the place signs and stickers that said “Jesus is Lord!” Jesus would love to be truly recognized and followed as Lord over this city or that city, but just...

I want to center my thoughts today on vs. 16 : “. . . yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” We spend a lot of time “dressing up” the outward man which Paul says is perishing. Many have special diets, go to gymns, don't eat meat, etc. But regardless of all of that, the outward man, the flesh, is dying and will eventually die. In the meantime, many, if not most, who profess Christ as Savior tod...

For four hundred years there was silence, with no word from God from Malachi to Matthew. In Amos 8:11 God had warned them of this time: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord . . . ” I believe we are facing a similar famine today from preachers who won’t preach the Word a...

The tabernacle was the Israelites’ place of worship in the wilderness as they were leaving Egypt and heading for the Promise Land. It was a temporary place of worship. When they settled in the land that God gave them, under King Solomon they built a permanent place of worship called the Temple. In I Corinthians 3:16 God said to the church at Corinth (and every true New Testament church) through Pa...

As I have mentioned many times from this pulpit often the most difficult part of preparing a message is determining what God would have me share with you each week. I DO NOT want to preach what I want to preach. I DO NOT want to preach simply to fill up the time from the end of the song service to the final prayer. It is my desire to share the appropriate message to the appropriate people at the a...

I am concerned about our nation! I have been praying about the upcoming election. At times (sometimes I feel alone is this type of praying) I have wondered, “Can just one praying person change things?” The Bible has many accounts of the power of one dedicated, praying child of God which demonstrate to us the great power that is available to believers. Moses heard from God at a burning bush, went b...

No doubt we are all familiar with Jonah and his encounter with the “great fish.” We have heard it from our childhood. Jesus referred to it (“legitimizing” the account) in speaking of His coming death, burial, and resurrection. Some would call Jonah a Zionist. We would call him a patriot. He loved Israel! He loved his land so much that he wanted to see her enemies destroyed. So, when God told Jonah...

Each week it is my prayer that God would lead me to a message that He can use to touch our hearts, draw us closer to Him, and make us better servants of our Lord. I like simplicity. Things that are difficult or complicated often “boggle” my mind. But, I fear that we often oversimplify the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have heard preachers say, and I have said many times, “Jesus ble...

Many people believe that the only purpose for salvation is to keep them out of hell. Because of that, once they are saved they are content. They see no other benefit in salvation and no other responsibility, in their lives, toward God. But we have been saved to serve Him - Ephesians 2:10 . We are all familiar with vv. 8-9 that tell us, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of your...

In preparation for this message I decided to research the following question: “When did the practice of piercing ears begin?” Here is what I found. “Ear piercing practice dates back to about 5,000 years ago. Body piercings have been practiced for thousands of years and can be traced back to ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Rome, and India.” In ancient Egypt, body piercings were seen as a symbo...

Question: Have you ever complained about the things God has provided for you? Be careful before you answer that! In Matthew 6:33 Jesus said if we will seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first that He will “add” or provide the things listed in vs. 31 - our needs - food, drink, and clothing. But many people are dissatisfied when God only takes care of their needs. They want Him to give th...

The verses we are going to look at in Matthew 24 deal with events of the last days which lead up to the time of tribulation that is to come upon this earth. We know from Daniel 9:24 that 70 seven year periods (or 70 weeks of years) were determined upon the Jews: “. . . to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righ...

Someone once said, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” I believe that is the way most people are about the Second Coming of Christ. People talk about it. They say things like, “It’s got to be close.” Or, “I don’t see how God can wait much longer before Jesus returns, etc.”? But few “do anything about it.” (What do I mean?)   If you knew that Jesus were goin...

In vv. 24-25 of our text Ahaz is king. The Scripture says he “did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord . . . ” He made images for Baalim, burned his children in the fire, and sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. When God brought chastisement on Judah, Ahaz “ did . . . trespass yet more against the Lord.” In vs. 21 he took a portion out of the house of the Lord and gave it...