Tucker Presbyterian Church Sermons

Sermon Manuscript We live in what has been called a post-Christian culture. Christianity’s moral impact on our nation’s conscience has been eclipsed by many things… most recently by a new revolution which in most ways is opposed to Christianity. And even before the pandemic, church attendance had been plummeting, 7% in only 11 years according to a 2019 Pew research poll. And speaking of the pandem...

Sermon Manuscript Introduction One of my college math professors was an expert in fractals. Fractals are these geometric patterns that are really amazing. If you do an internet image search on fractals, you will see several examples - some look like snowflakes, some like paisley patters, others like the stars in the galaxy – each intermixing patterns in a magnificent array of colors. The beauty of...

Sermon Manuscript Two weeks ago we looked at God’s revelation to Peter that the Gospel was for all nations. God brought Peter and Cornelius, a Jew and a Gentile, together. Last week, we considered the clear Gospel message that Peter proclaimed to Cornelius and his household – that peace with God comes through Jesus Christ. And these verses this morning tell us what happened next – that Cornelius a...

Sermon Manuscript We’re near the end of Acts 10, verses 34-43. You’ll find that on page 1092 in the church Bible. As a couple quick reminders. This chapter is a transformational chapter in Acts and really the Bible. At the beginning of chapter 10, God had given Peter a vision to teach him that faith in Christ is not limited to specific people group – not limited to the Jewish people. No, rather th...

Sermon Manuscript As I’ve been preparing this week, I’ve run across an interesting comment… multiple times from different sources. It’s that this chapter, Acts 10, is the most important chapter in the Bible. Wow. Even some well known pastor who I respect have made that note. I’m not sure that I fully agree. Other important chapters come to mind like Romans 8 on salvation, the Gospel accounts of Je...

Sermon Manuscript We’ve been working our way through the book of Acts over the last 4-5 months, except for a brief break at Advent. And it’s been helpful, hasn’t it? Especially as a church plant. The reason we’ll mainly go through books of the Bible… is that God in his providence has given us his Word. His very Word. • And so our philosophy here is we start with God’s word… • and we seek to unders...

Sermon Manuscript I’m guilty. I have friends and family members that I’ve written off for the Gospel. In my mind, I’ve thought, “no way would they ever believe. They have too much anger, or other sin, or unbelief, or hurt. They are too opposed to the claims of Christ… or they don’t see their need… or they’re too proud to submit to Christ… and would never to turn their life over to him.” And the sa...

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Sermon Manuscript I’m going to wade into the world of politics for a moment. It’s a risk, but I hope you’ll see the point as it relates to Acts 8. And let me say this up font. I’m about to critique our current president’s views on Christianity… but don’t misunderstand me… a similar critique could be said of our former president… just with a different focus. involving his character. Last week, the...

Sermon Manuscript “Those who can’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Those words were spoken by Spanish philosopher George Santayana, but quoted by others… like British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Let me say it in a different way. “If you forget history, you are doomed to repeat it.” In other words, the same patterns of history tend to happen over and over in different ways. Act...

Sermon Manuscript “I am a New Testament Christian.” That statement has been said many times over the years. And usually, the one saying it is critiquing the Old Testament as irrelevant. One person who used that phrase also said this: “Jesus’ teachings and my daily conversations with God is what’s MOST important to me.” That person probably has a red-letter Bible. You know, one where Jesus’ words a...

Sermon Manuscript Introduction One of the early church fathers, Tertullian, famously wrote “The Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the Church.” A Christian martyr is someone who is killed because of their faith in Christ. Tertullian was saying that the church grows not despite the fact that Christians are martyred. No, rather God uses their blood to further his church. It’s counter intuitive to t...

Sermon Manuscript This morning, we are picking back up in Acts where we left off at the end of November. Chapter 6. Before we read these verses, I wanted give a quick summary of the first 5 chapters. Back in the first sermon. I used the acronym ACTS. It not only summarized the first several verses of chapter 1, it’s also a summary of the whole book. • A stands for Ascension – a big emphasis in the...

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Sermon Manuscript Part of the allure of Christmas is a hope for peace. Think of all the Christmas cards that you send and receive each year. Peace. Love. Joy. Often with serene scenes of calm and tranquility. Or Coca-cola commercials with everyone holding hands and singing. At Christmas, we read in Luke 2, “on earth peace, good will toward men.” We long for peace. And perhaps at one point in each...

Sermon Manuscript We made it to Christmastime. With all that’s happened in 2020, last December seems like a decade ago. This year felt like that well known quote from CS Lewis in the Chronicles of Narnia… “always winter never Christmas.” But we’ve had hope. Even with COVID, with the racial tension, with the political anger that’s divided families and friends and neighbors this year… we’ve had hope...

Acts 5:12-42 Rev. Chuck Emerson 11/29/2020 On a Mission from God: Obedient Gospel Witness

Sermon Manuscript When Bad Things Happen to Good People That is the title of Rabbi Harold Kushner’s 1981 book. For multiple weeks it stood on top of the New York Times best seller list and is still popular today. In it, Kusher attempts to ask and answers the question, how should we respond when bad things happen? But Kushner doesn’t acknowledge that God is sovereign. Rather, he says this, “I belie...

Sermon Manuscript Last Sunday was IDOP… the international day of prayer for the persecuted church. According to Open Doors, an organization focused on the persecuted church, an estimated 260 million Christians live in areas of high persecution, today. That’s about 1 in every 8 Christians in the world. In fact, persecution has been on the rise around the world in the last few years. It’s up 6% from...

Sermon Transcript Introduction Five years ago, the New York City Rescue Mission conducted a social experiment. They tracked 6 New Yorkers walking down a street with multiple homeless people. What they didn’t know is that one of their closest family members was pretending to be homeless - a cousin, sibling, parent, grandparent, or spouse sat on the side of the road in dirty old clothes, looking for...

Sermon Manuscript Recently, we’ve been watching the TV show Alone. It’s a reality show where 10 people are dropped of in separate remote wilderness areas. There’s no camera crew, because they are the camera crew. And the person who lasts the longest wins. The ingenuity and survival skills are impressive. But over the weeks, there’s something that weighs on every single contestant. Being alone, wit...

Sermon Manuscript Introduction: A Life Transformed by the Word and Spirit In the cool of the night air, the guards quickly kindled a fire. The blaze cast flickering light and shadows across the courtyard. On one side, a man bound in captivity. Soldiers on guard. Close by, another group argued in hushed tones what to do with him next. Their eyes casting occasional daggers in his direction. Around t...

Sermon Manuscript Acts 2:1-21 What is the best gift you’ve ever been given? a vacation, a ring or necklace, some sort of electronic device, a watch, tickets to your favorite sports team, a car? Have you seen those commercials with a big bow on top of the car. I’ve always wondered if that ever happens. And how does that conversation go… “honey, I spent all our savings, but I got you a car. I hope y...

In the spring of my senior year of college… a campus wide revival broke out. It began at a Sunday evening worship service… which normally lasted an hour. However, this particular worship service went on for over 5 hours. Student after student testified to the Lord’s work in each of their lives. The word got out, and students poured into the chapel. For the next several evenings, the revival contin...