Preach The Word

Without a doubt the church at Jerusalem, in the first few chapters of Acts, appears as a church that is on fire for God, for the Lord Jesus Christ. They were active and doing the things the Lord had commanded. And, they were doing them in spite of opposition and persecution from those that many looked upon as the “religious authority” of the day. Because of their obedience and faithfulness, the Lo...

By the time we get to the book of Malachi, worship in Israel had been so corrupted that it had become, at best a mere habit and at worst a drudgery. Look at their assessment of it in vs. 13 : “What a weariness is it!” Weariness speaks of trouble or distress. (It is from a word that means to tire, or to tire out.) See their attitude toward it, also in vs. 13 : “Ye have snuffed at it.” Snuffed means...

I heard the story of the preacher who told his church, “I am available to you 24 hours a day.” An older man asked, “If you are available to me and all the others in the church 24 hours a day, when will you have time to make yourself available to God? Or to your wife? Or to your family?” He continued, “If you are running 24 hours a day, you don’t have time to stop and be refilled, and we know that...

Sadly, many times in the Lord’s churches we fail to fully obey our Lord’s instruction to make disciples. I believe one of the faults of modern day evangelism is that some go out to “win souls,” but once they’ve won them, they drop them to go on to another lost person. We may lead people to Christ and even encourage them to be Scripturally baptized. We may welcome them into the church, but our resp...

The bulk of this message is going to come from the first chapter of Nehemiah. But I want to begin by sharing a verse of Scripture I have shared many times. It comes from Judges 2:10-11 : “And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. (11) And the children of Isra...

In these verses we see what our Lord wants, and what He expects, for and from His children. We are continuing our messages on discipleship today with a message on discipline. Now, I know when the word “discipline” is used in relation to one of the Lord’s churches, most people think of what we call “corrective discipline.” But there is another kind of discipline, and that is the discipline we are g...

Sadly, the true state of many modern churches is that we are satisfied to be saved, but we are not motivated to see others come to know and serve Christ as Savior and Lord. It is my humble belief that most of the Lord’s churches in the 21st century have forgotten the purpose for their existence. Too many believe that their responsibility begins and ends at coming to church a couple of times (or ma...

This morning we are going to consider the cost of being a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. To begin, I want to ask you, “Do you consider yourself a disciple of Christ or merely a follower?” What is a disciple? A disciple is more than a follower. A follower merely likes the ideas, thoughts, and teachings of the one he is following. Sadly, many who "profess" Jesus today are merely followers,...

Have you ever wondered why we gather together in this capacity each week on Sunday morning and evening and then again on Wednesday? It is because of tradition? Habit Some other reason? Is there any New Testament instruction for us to assemble together Hebrews 10:22-25 says: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our...

The name “Deuteronomy” is actually the Greek Septuagint’s spelling of the fifth book of the Bible. The Hebrew name for this book is “D’varim,” which means “words,” but also “things,” “matters.” The meaning of the word “Deuteronomy” (or, “to deuteronomion”) from the Greek is “repeated law.” Deuteronomy, then, is literally a restating of the Law that was given by God through Moses. Let’s look at the...

This is a very brief text for the message, but I believe it is of great importance. Jesus used the phrase in vs. 22 quite often in teaching during His earthly ministry, and He states it to each of the seven churches of Asia to whom He spoke in Revelation chapter 2 and 3. Now we know that here He is not referring just to that organ in our bodies by which we can detect sounds and speech. He is refer...

Of course, this is the account of the salvation of a tax collector named Zacchaeus. I have chosen to look at this message from this point: “Four Calls To Soul-Winning.” I am sure that all of us know who Zacchaeus was. He even has a song written about him, “Zacchaeus was a wee little man . . . ” which most of us probably learned at some point in our childhood. But how much do we really know about Z...

It seems today that everything that is not nailed down is coming apart, and Satan is pulling nails as fast as he can. Godly standards and teaching with which we were raised are now being not only dismissed by the world, they are being attacked as passé and “old fashioned.” Many churches and many in churches seem to have traded pleasing God for pleasing men in an attempt to draw more people to them...

If you were driving down the road late at night (midnight) and saw a house on fire, how would you react? It is obvious the family is at home -- cars in driveway, etc -- and due to the time and no lights being on, they are in bed. There is really only one real choice -- call 911 then warn those inside to get out and escape the flames. Why would you react in that manner? Lives are at stake. To keep...

What is the most effective tool (weapon) a child of God, living in this world, has access to today? I am sure you can tell from the title of this message, it is PRAYER. Listen to what the Apostle Paul said in II Corinthians 10:4 : “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)” We are in a war, a spiritual war, and we have weapons! Who...

This psalm was written by Asaph. Who was Asaph? Asaph was an organizer and leader for the temple choirs in the days of David. He begins this psalm by declaring the goodness of God - toward Israel and toward “such as are of a clean heart.” But look at verse two and see the contrast - “But as for me . . . ” He is saying, “Yes, God is good to Israel, but “as for me,” I almost missed seeing His goodne...

Other than the book of Revelation, I cannot think of a book of the Bible that is more appropriate for our day than Habakkuk. Habakkuk lived in a day much like ours. It was a day filled with 1) apostasy among God’s people. (Today there is apostasy in the Lord’s churches) 2) anarchy in the world. (Consult your local newspaper) 3) and apathy in the hearts of men (and, certainly, apathy in the pews -...

The resurrection of Jesus (and the promised resurrection and catching away of all who have entrusted their lives and their everlasting spirits to Him) are central to Christianity. In our text the Apostle Paul tells us that it is a part, a vital part, of the Gospel. If all Jesus did was come into the world, and die on the cross, and be buried, that would not be “good news.” We would have no hope. B...

How do you react when you are in the middle of a crisis? How should we react? It’s easy to be happy, and thankful, and even joyful when things are going well. But what about when things aren’t going well? When there’s a financial crisis? Or, a family crisis? Or a health crisis? How do we, how should we react? God’s Word is full of examples of faithful servants of the Lord who stayed true to Him an...

Many believe that today, in America, we are living in a post-Christian era. Many speak of people like the Jim Joneses, the David Koreshes, the Sun Yung Moons and all the other self-proclaimed Messiahs of this world and just lump us in with them. Because of that many believers and churches have adopted a “live and let live” attitude. It is late in the day, and we do not have the luxury of just bein...

We know that in the last days sin is going to abound ( Matthew 24:12 ). So in light of that knowledge, here is a timeless truth: In these last days, God expects His children to be holy. "Holy" means to be separate, distinct, separated to God. There is to be an obvious distinction between a child of God and a child of the devil. Jesus said to some very “religious” people in John 8:44 : “Ye are of y...

A man, quoting his pastor, said: “For a church to be a great church, you must have a dream” (or a goal). If we do not have a goal, do not know where we are going. It’s like travelling without a map. It will cause us to wander aimlessly in this world. The wisest man to every live, with the exception of Jesus, Solomon said in Proverbs 29:18 : “Where there is no vision the people perish . . . ” "Visi...

Do you know why people say there are “too many hypocrites” in the church? #1 – Because there are. #2 – Because many “professed believers” do not “walk worthy” of their calling. Walk” refers to our living; to deport oneself – deportment. “Worthy” means appropriately; deservingly; comparable; suiting. And our “vocation” is our calling, invitation. We are called to salvation – Romans 8:28-30 . Vs. 28...

Over the past couple of weeks we have seen (two weeks ago) how to get ready and be ready for the rapture of the saved: 1) Be saved - SAVED; 2) Be certain of your salvation - SECURE ; 3) Have a devoted service of the Lord -SERVING; 4) Prepare for persecution (because it will come) - STEADFAST; 5) Learn to share our faith - SHARING; 6) Make a break with worldliness - SEPARATION. Last week we looked...

Matthew chapter 24 is a favorite text for messages about the end times because Jesus very clearly sets forth some indicators of where we are on God’s Timeline for Mankind. In vs. 3 the disciples asked 3 questions. What prompted these questions? Vs. 1 says the Lord’s “disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.” The Temple was the focal point of Jewish life. It sat on Mt. Mor...