The Word from St. Andrews

We can live with the expectation that Jesus has more for us. Let’s expect something from God each day; expect the Holy Spirit to lead us; and expect the unexpected.

We welcome interim Pastor Lawrence Dennis as he shares his Mother's Day sermon. Moses' mother applied faith, hope, and love to give him the best chance she could of living in God's hands... By faith she gave up Moses, by giving him up, she was able to love him when he was given back to her to nurse and raise; and her hopes for him came to fruition when he led God's people out of Eg...

Pastor Dee asked one of his friends and ministry mentors how many messages he had on file. His friend replied, "I have scores of sermons, but only one message." Every life has a message we're delivering to the world each day. In his final sermon before retirement, Pastor Dee shared what he hopes the message of his life in ministry has been and challenge us to live a message that poin...

As we dive in Philippians, we learn about the character of God. As His children, it is important to be like Him, and follow His example. Sunday, we learned just a few of the ways that we can follow His example in humility.

No one needs convincing that life is difficult at best. Those who've lost someone they love know that death is a terrible enemy. But the resurrection of Jesus gives those who know and trust Him a new identity and a living hope.  Sunday, we celebrated how, for "Easter People," everything is changed.

A centurion who witnessed Jesus’ death was so moved by what he saw and heard that he decided Jesus was, in fact, God’s Son. What can we see at the cross of Jesus that will stir our hearts to faith and lead us to confess him as God’s Son? Sunday, we looked through the eyes of this Roman soldier that we, too, may be changed by the cross.

What changed Judas from a devoted follower of Jesus to a betrayer who led Jesus’ enemies to him to arrest him and put him to death? Sunday, as we continued our study of people changed by the cross, we saw that Judas betrayed Christ because he couldn’t accept the cross as God’s way to save lost humanity. Rejecting the cross will lead us to betray Jesus, too.

Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea believed in Jesus but followed him secretly and in silence because they feared rejection by their people. But after Jesus died, these two men boldly step forward and ask to be allowed to care for Jesus’ body. What changed them? Sunday, we considered how seeing the cross brought these men, and can bring us, out of the shadows and into Christ’s service.

"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" We read that verse and think that it is directed to atheists. In fact, this warning is for those who may believe God exists, but that He doesn't matter in their lives. Sunday, we explored the faith of a fool and seek the wisdom that leads us to honor God in all things.

Christians aren’t called to enjoy hardship, but we are invited to find joy in what God can do for us through hardship. As we continue our study of ways Christians can be transformed, we will see how remembering God’s presence and seeking His purpose will change the way that we experience trials when they come.

The attitude and experience of thankfulness transforms the believer's life. "Giving thanks in all things" opens our eyes to see good and to see God at work. That is why thankfulness in all things is God's will for us in Christ Jesus. Sunday, we explored how thankfulness restores our vision of God's presence and work in our lives and in the world.

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). For better or worse, your thoughts shape your life. Paul says that an essential part of Christian transformation is the “renewal” of our minds. Honoring Christ in how we see our lives, approach our problems, resolve our differences, and recognize our blessings will bring a more obedient and more abundant life.

When you come to church, which are you more likely to leave at home; your cell phone or your Bible? The Bible has become, for many, a book on the shelf rather than a transforming power at work in our lives. Sunday, we explored approaches to Bible study that will help you experience the life-changing power of God’s Word.

Nicodemus came to Jesus, looking for the way to make his spiritual life complete. Jesus shocked him by saying that his life couldn’t be fixed; he needed to begin a new life transformed by God’s grace. We, too, must be transformed by the gospel. The answer, Jesus says, is not what we do for God, but what we allow Him to do for us.

Daniel and his friends were pressured to do something wrong, worship a golden idol, but chose to stand strong in their faith and their loyalty to God. Their example can teach us much about standing strong in our day.

Coping with illness requires the sufferer and those who love them to accept some things they cannot change. But, in the words of the Serenity Prayer, we can also claim the courage needed to change the things we can. Sunday, Pastor Dee shared how this discovery changed his life and his family.

Thanksgiving is a time to remember our many blessings, but it's also a time to rediscover the purpose of the good things God gives us. Sunday, as he shared some family Thanksgiving memories, Pastor Dee challenged us to see that our blessings are not fragile treasures to be guarded in a china cabinet as much as they are tools to be put to work in God's kingdom.

Jesus says that you and I must enter His kingdom as children. What we need to know most about God, we probably learned as children through the songs of the faith we were taught. Sunday morning, Pastor Dee lead us in singing some of those childhood songs and remembering the great truths they teach us about being God’s children.

When Phillip accepted Jesus’ invitation to follow him, Philip hurried to find his friend, Nathanael, to invite him to meet Jesus, too. Nathanael had questions and doubts about Jesus, but Philip offered him a simple invitation, “come and see.” Sunday was Friend Day. Pastor Dee shared the story of Philip and Nathanael and invite everyone to lay aside their questions and doubts and “come and see” Jes...

God speaks to us through the simple beautiful moments of life. Sunday, Pastor Dee shared an experience God used to teach him how and why Christians help others find the place where they can see Jesus for themselves and know that He is coming to them in love.

The Apostle Andrew had a gift for bringing people to Jesus. The New Testament gives us three clear examples of him doing this. Sunday morning, Pastor Dee shared what he believes to be our church’s most important step forward; for each of us to cultivate an “Andrew” lifestyle, creating and seizing opportunities to bring others in touch with our faith and our church.

People will often say “That’s my song” when they enjoy a song’s melody or connect to its message, but you have a song in a deeper spiritual sense.  Your life has a message and a melody that fills you with joy or sadness and touches all of your relationships.  Sunday morning, Pastor Dee lead us in hearing our songs and asking God to make it new.  

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—t...

Paul writes that Jesus “has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.” Still, in our hearts and our world, many barriers divide us. For Jesus’ sake, they must come down. Sunday, as we observed World Communion Sunday, we remembered that Christ came to make us one and to call us to join Him in tearing barriers down.

Welcome to the Word from St. Andrews, the weekly sermon podcast from St. Andrews Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina.