The Town

Paul was a man who had experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. He claimed that he had times of owning much and times of having nothing. Paul had been through the best and the worst of what life had to offer. When he wrote to the Philippians he was in prison which most sane people would consider a pretty big low point in a person's life. And yet Paul says that he is content.

It is a well established fact that Jesus of Nazareth was born around 2000 years ago. History attests to the fact that this little child would have a grand impact on the world. But Christmas has us asking another question. 700 years before Jesus was born, a little known prophet said, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given." It is not enough to believe that that Jesus was born. When we...

How do we live a peaceable life? Paul says that we must rejoice in the Lord in all things and at all times. But what is the basis of that joy? Paul says, "The Lord is at hand." The basis of our joy is that Jesus is on his way back to make all things new. In the meantime, we are to do all that we can to be living in peace with others by prayer and thanksgiving. We are to think on things that are go...

Paul was in a big mess. His life was on the line. His ministry was on the line. He had enemies. He had every reason to look back on his accomplishments and faithfulness and become angry with God as he sat in prison for no good reason. But he doesn't wallow in self-pity. Instead he writes life-changing words, "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,...

We like to brag about things that make us look good. Paul had every right to brag about his religious upbringing and accomplishments. As a Jew he had done everything that a Jew was required to do and then some. And yet he says that all of his accomplishments and reasons to brag and rejoice in himself as loss rather than gain. The only gain that Paul would rejoice in was the life, death, resurrecti...

Selflessness is inconvenient. It is hard. It means we will lose a lot, maybe even our life. Jesus' life and ministry were not convenient for him. From his birth to his death Jesus was inconvenienced and was willing to give up all that he had in heaven in order to bring us great joy.

There is great joy in assurance. Paul tells the church in Philippi to live in obedience by working out their salvation with fear and trembling. If they are assured in their faith, they, like Paul in his time of suffering, will be able to rejoice in their time of suffering. Our assurance of salvation comes from the word of God. God promises that if we have trusted Jesus as our Savior than we have a...

Jesus left all that he had in order to give us all that he is. We call this the humiliation of Christ. His humiliation was voluntary. He desired to do the Father's will and in fact covenanted with God the Father before time began to become a man in order to save the Father's people from their sin. While on earth, Jesus found great joy in doing the Father's will – even when it was hard and even whe...

Suffering and salvation are both graced by God to the citizens of heaven. This idea of suffering as being graced to the believer is a far cry from what many preachers and churches proclaim today. Many churchgoers are told that belief in Christ leads to earthly prosperity and success. When trouble comes their way they bail on their faith because they don't understand that suffering and salvation ar...

How can a mother who has lost a child sing "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!" just minutes after receiving the news that she won't see her child on this old earth again? How can a husband draw close to the Lord when his young wife is dying of cancer? How can a man sing the praises of a sovereign God when he doesn't know where the next meal for his family will come from? Paul says that his joy in...

What is first in your life? If you have been part of a church for any amount of time than you already know the difference between what the answer should be and what it actually is. You might know that the Gospel should be first and foremost in your life – but is that reality? The reality of whether or not the Gospel is first in your life is directly linked to the depth of joy you can experience in...

Real relationships bring real joy which is only found in Jesus. Real relationships that bring real joy are built and sustained by the Gospel. This means that we see one another as co-laborers in Christ and that we have something bigger than ourselves in common with one another.

Our first worship service on our new property in the heart of west Middletown.

God's tactics for winning battles is very different than ours. He chose Gideon a very weak man to win a great victory for Israel. Today, God works through Christ in a very similar way: he chooses the weak things of this world to shame the strong. Christians will find the source of great spiritual victory when they realize their weakness and embrace dependency on the living God in Christ.

Heaven is the ultimate realization of God's promises to mankind. It is a place, a destination and beyond our imagination. And yet, the Bible tells us much about what God has in store for His people and their eternal life.

Jesus' teachings about hell are some of the most divisive and controversial words of the Savior. It is hard for is to understand how a loving God could punish sin for eternity. This is mostly due to us thinking of our sin as less deserving of punishment than it actually is. Sin against and eternal God is deserving of eternal punishment. Jesus' teaching on hell should compel the Christian to find a...

The defining characteristics of the church are what theologians call the marks of the church and they identify the true church of Jesus. Jesus has instructed the church to disciple members through discipline, to preach the Gospel to believers and nonbelievers and to celebrate the sacraments of baptism and Communion. Each of these marks play a vital role in the individual and collective life of bel...

The church is not an organized religion or simply a non-profit volunteer organization. It is the only institution that Jesus died for. The church is an assembly all over the world of those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ - they are the people that belong to God has his children. The Scriptures paint a picture of how God's people are the church.

God has predestined his children, called them with the Gospel, implanted to new life by His Holy Spirit and has given them the gifts of saving faith and repentance unto life - but what happens next? A whole new standing before God. God in his loving kindness changes treasonous and treacherous people into dearly loved sons and daughters. By faith we are united to the work of Christ and declared rig...

The only possible of outcome of really hearing the Gospel and believing the Gospel is repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. In this sermon Pastor Dan takes a look at what the Scriptures say about saving faith and repentance unto life. Both faith and repentance are gifts of God's grace. Though salvation belongs to the Lord from beginning to end, it is at this point in the process of salvat...

Few Christians terms are well-known to the world more than "born again". And yet so many misunderstand what it actually means to be born again. There is a point where we hear the Gospel and God implants new life into us so that we can and will believe on Jesus Christ as Savior. To be born again means to have new life implanted in us. It is something that God does to us because of love, mercy and g...

God has accomplished redemption, but how does He apply it to mankind? The act of redemption applied is miraculous. The Bible gives us a lot of information about how God actually saves us. Even the act of calling a person to believe the Gospel is a miraculous work.

The doctrines of grace teach that salvation belongs to the Lord. Every person ever born into this world is incapable of doing what is right or pleasing God. This is a central teaching of the Bible. But God, rich and mercy, has graciously chosen to save His people from their sin and radical danger. Even though we are radically corrupt, God has not only provided a way for salvation but has provided...

In the church there are certain teachings that are debatable and there are others that are absolutely crucial to the Christian faith. We differentiate between these teachings as "open handed" and "close handed" doctrines. In this sermon, Pastor Dan outlines one of the close handed doctrines - that concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. His ext...

This sermon was preached by Randy Manley of Molokai Baptist (www.molokaibaptist.com ) in Molokai, Hawaii.