Stonebrook Church, Ames, Iowa, Sermons

Before the Apostle Paul was the “Apostle”, he was a religious leader who hated Jesus Christ and any of his followers.  In his obsession against Christ, he persecuted many men and women, unjustly dragging them off to prison, and even having some of them put to death. A few years later, Paul had an encounter with Jesus, and he repented of his rebellion against God, he believed in Christ, and then he...

When Jesus was on the earth the first time, the religious leaders knew many of the right answers.  They had studied the Scriptures.  Memorized them.  Taught them to the people. But there was a huge problem. Jesus said, Matthew 23:2–4 CSB  The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses.  Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don...

Sunday, May 14, 2023 1 Timothy 1:  The King Eternal Letter writing in our electronic age is quite uncommon, isn’t it?  I was never a great letter writer before texting and emailing, but it’s been years, it seems, since I’ve written a letter, and especially a letter with pen and paper. In the Bible, we have in our hands two letters written by a man named Paul to his protégé.  His disciple in the fa...

Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 19. When I talk with my non-Christian friends about my job as a Bible teacher, I often describe my task as something like that of a historian. My job is to understand and to teach what the church has taught about this book since the beginning of the church and for the last 2000 years. My job is not to find some exciting new understanding that has been...

Please open your Bible with me to Revelation chapter 22. Today our Revelation series comes to a close. What a great Spring it has been walking through this book with you all. I’ve appreciated the feedback, the questions, the conversations, the encouragement, the little bit of debate, and you know, even the tiny bit of criticism here and there. I trust that as we’ve walked through and made this boo...

Revelation 19:17–21 (CSB) 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of military commanders, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small...

Please turn with me to Revelation chapter 19. Today is Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, and it might seem a little strange that our text for the morning is Revelation 19. But we made the decision not to take time out of this important series for this week, but rather, we worked to schedule the series so that chapter 19 fell on this morning, because in our chapter today, we get to see a powerful...

Please open your Bibles to Revelation chapter 17.  We are now down the home stretch of this great book. We’re on week 12 of 16 of this series. And it has been a wild ride! Last week we Brad taught through chapters 15 and 16—the seven bowls of judgement, which depict the final pouring out of God’s wrath on an unbelieving world on judgement day. Where John goes next in this book is sort of a zoom-ou...

In Revelation 15 and 16, we are drawing near to the end of this world as we know it. Our holy, just God has been patient with this darkened, sinful world for centuries, even sending his own Son to redeem those under wrath. But a day is coming when his patience ends and his wrath is poured out. This serves as a warning to all those who have rejected him, but it strengthens his followers, for his pu...

Last week we read a startling passage about two beasts who make war on God’s people. We learned that “the whole world” worship the beast, that is, all those “whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb…” This week we will study Revelation Chapter 14 where we get to learn who these people are, and be encouraged that as we maintain our faith in Christ,...

Last week, we studied Revelation 12 where John introduces the enemy of God’s people: The Dragon, Satan. This week we will study Revelation 13 where we are introduced to the other two members of “The False Trinity”: The Sea Beast and the Land Beast, traditionally considered The Antichrist and The False Prophet. In chapter 12, the dragon is described as “making war on the offspring of the woman” — i...

This week, John introduces us to the true enemy of the church: The Devil. Characterized as a Red Red Dragon who makes war on the offspring (The church) of the woman (Israel). Next week, we will finish this section by being introduced to the other two members of the false trinity, two beasts empowered by satan to spread a false message and to enforce adherence to the false message. Through it we wi...

This week we reach the center point of the book of Revelation, an interlude between the 6th and seventh trumpets. John sees a vision of a huge, mighty angel who commissions him to prophesy against many peoples, nations, languages, and kings, and then he hears a strange combination of things about temples, altars, and martyrs, and finally the seventh trumpet sounds, announcing Christ’s final triump...

In Week 5 of our series on the mysteriously remarkable book of Revelation, we read in chapters 8 & 9 of the seven trumpets of judgment. We will notice two crucial aspects of God’s nature that impact all of us. First, the Lord notices injustices on the earth and he will someday soon act with perfect and final justice. Second, even in his wrath we see hints of his offer of mercy, though people still...

Pastor Dave explores the Seven Seals from Revelation 6 and 7.

This week we get to follow John up into the Throne Room of Heaven and see a vivid depiction of our glorious, triune God. We will join in a heavenly worship service as we see that Jesus, the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, the slaughtered lamb who is alive and reigns over heaven and earth, is the only one in all creation worthy to unseal God’s book and oversee the course of history.

In Week 2 of our series through the mysteriously remarkable book of Revelation, we discover Jesus, the glorious head of all the churches as he directly speaks to his people who are engaged in holy war. He calls them to pay attention, walk with him, and place their hope in the glories of eternal life. In letters he wrote to seven Asian churches, we will find some words to challenge and strengthen u...

This week we kick off our 16 week walkthrough of one of the most enigmatic and evocative books in the whole Bible. Revelation. Join us as we begin to explore a book that was written to bless, strengthen, and encourage the first century church, as well as every church and every believer through ages, including us today, and every church to come (possibly for ages more!), until Christ finally return...

The wonderful prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah 9 declares that He is our “wonderful counselor” and our “prince of peace.” This week, we will discuss how Christ promises to bring us peace through prayer. This promise can feel hard to believe sometimes, but as we look at Christ’s example, we can find the encouragement and grace we need as we strive for peace in our souls.