Sermons – Wichita Falls Baptist Church

2 Kings 17:7 gives the foundational issue leading to Israel’s defeat and exile: they did not fear the LORD. Today, Pastor Mollenkopf examines verses 24-41 which, eleven times, mentions "fearing the Lord." So what is it? Should Christians fear the Lord today? What blessings flow from having a proper fear of the Lord?

Continuing his expositions of the "I am" declarations of Jesus Christ, Keith Pond begins by taking us into the ever-present darkness of the world, caused so by the work of Satan and the wretched condition of our own flesh. But God did not leave us there. Into this darkness the light of Christ has dawned. What did he mean by that? Upon that solid footing, the message concludes by examining what it...

The long forestalled punishment of God upon Israel now occurs. The author leaves no question as to why God’s judgment came though. He clearly lays out the reason, the punishment, and the fairness of it.

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 that Jesus was crucified in accordance with the Scriptures and that he was raised in accordance with the Scriptures. Pastor Mollenkopf looks that three passages from the Old Testament that point us to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the hope that we find in the historic foundation of that truth. He is risen!

Though Ahaz had all the blessings to be a great king, he drastically turned from and rebelled against God. He had a great family history, and he had great prophetic words through Isaiah. However, he tragically chose to follow Israel and the other nations.

In today's passage, we encounter two kings from Judah and five from Israel.  Yet, in general, though we are talking about kings of nations, we find it boring.  This raises the question, if kings don’t even lead meaningful lives (under the sun), then how do we? Is there meaning and purpose to life?

Amaziah begins as a faithful king, submitting to God’s word even in the midst of challenging circumstances. Yet, after a miraculous victory, he tragically turns to idolatry, and he refuses to hear from God’s word anymore. His kingdom then spirals out of control, and He is humiliated after attempting to conquer Israel.  We then read of Israel expanding its borders, and all seems to be going great....

2 Kings 13 tells us very little about two Israelite kings, but rather what dominates is discussions of how they relate to God and His prophet.  What truly matters in life is our relation to God.

Russia in the Ukraine. Iran getting itchy for nuclear weapons. North Korea testing ballistic missiles. China leering at Taiwan. We are living in a time of international turmoil, and many Christians don't know what to make of it. This morning Keith Pond looks at what Jesus told his disciples about the difficulties and travails that would come before he returned to the Earth. Jesus also offered grea...

Jehoash begins his reign well due to the godly influence of the priest, Jehoiada. Jehoash even begins to show some maturity perhaps even exceeding Jehoiada's. Tragically though, at Jehoiada’s death, Jehoash listens to ungodly counsel and pursues other gods.  His one great achievement, the restoration of the temple, ends up being emptied due to his sin.

God anoints Jehu to be king, and he follows God’s will in removing Ahab’s descendants and Queen Jezebel. Yet, while most of what Jehu does pleases God, there are times when his zeal seems more focused on himself than on God. Most tragically, though he removed Baal worship, he kept worshipping the bulls that Jeroboam set up.

God promised in 1 Kings 19 that he would punish the house of Israel through Elisha, Hazael, and Jehu.  We have not heard anything in 10 chapters about this, but now all three are on the scene.  God provides opportunities for Israel and Judah to see his mercy and repent, but they continue to worship Baal. A major theme is that though God will judge (and in a sense, he delights in this), he prefers...

This morning, Keith Pond begins a series of sermons that will air sporadically throughout the year on who Jesus Christ declared himself to be focusing particularly on his "I am" statements in John's Gospel. Today, Keith focuses on the power and implications behind Jesus statement, "I am the life."

In Israel’s rebellion, God brings judgment upon them. Yet, even when they reach their nadir, they refuse to repent but instead, curse God. The King thinks his words will have more power than God’s words, and when God does not act in the King’s timing, the King rages in anger.

In these two stories, Pastor Mollenkopf explains how God cares for the "smallest" or "least" of people, while at the same time holding sovereign and gracious control over the largest and most powerful of nations.

Who knew that a pagan general being cleansed of leprosy could yield such glories for the living God? Well, God knew. Pastor Mollenkopf examines four more powerful contrasts in this narrative of God using Elisha to heal Naaman, the Syrian general, and the consequences of Gehazi's greedy heart.

The story of the healing of Naaman is very rich, so rich that we will spend two weeks on it.  Each week we will see some crucial contrasts in the story.

God provides for his prophets (and people) through mistaken errors and faithful believers. They do not always get their daily bread in the way they might have thought, but God provides.

A Savior? A baby is a Savior? Do I really need a Savior? And how does that work? God tells us that all of this is good news of great joy. Keith Pond closes out our Christmas series with this testimony to God's goodness and holiness displayed in the birth and death of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus, the word made flesh, showed us the glory of the Father, full of grace and truth.  We can enjoy the peace, hope, joy, and salvation of Christ(mas), because Jesus concealed his glory for a time so that he might bring us to glory.

Jesus came to give joy, but we don’t always experience that each moment in this life.  When he returns, he will give us joy eternally. So what do I do in the here and now? Pastor Mollenkopf explains.

During the month of December, Jeremy Mollenkopf and Keith Pond will be looking at the words that we have come to associate with Christmas. This morning, Pastor Jeremy looks at "Peace." Due to our sin, peace was lost with God, with humans, and with the world. Jesus came to bring peace and restore it in each of these areas.

This passage tells of two stories that mirror stories of Elijah’s actions in 1 Kings 17:8-24. We see that God has blessed Elisha as he did Elijah, and thus, we see God’s power working through him. We look at people and we see their beauty. We see their wealth. Does God see such things? Will he treat me different if I am rich or poor? Pastor Mollenkopf brings clarity to God's word.

We see two kings both seeking success but neither seeking it from God. Tragically, both serve as negative examples of how far we can fall when we define success outside of God and pursue it outside of His will.

Diotrephes' pride of wanting to be number one is a cancer to a church. So what is the alternative? John exhorts the saints to imitate the good. Keith Pond explains how we are to do that in a culture reticent to imitate anyone, and points to the person John points out as exemplifying what it means to live out the Truth in the church today.