Woodland Friends Church

In this first sermon released from the vault, we dissect two verses in Mark showing how serious Jesus takes forgiveness. The point of the Gospel is that we've been forgiven. If we can't forgive, it shows we don't understand the Gospel to begin with!

You and I are likely familiar with fire. It’s random, and it’s sometimes all encompassing. It’s destructive and sometimes it goes everywhere. And while some forests with decaying and dying dry limbs, branches and trees might be stripped clean, meanwhile houses unfortunately burn and the air gets polluted. Fire can be refining and purifying, and it can be deadly and destructive.

The Puritans would...

We live in this paradox. We have more Bible translations in our own language than any other time in history, and we have the lowest amount of Biblical literacy than we’ve had in a long time. There was a time when the Bible wasn’t accessible by the common man, and I get that, but from about mid-1500s when the Bible was becoming accessible to maybe the early to mid 1900s, Bible-reading was up. Bible...

We live in this paradox. We have more Bible translations in our own language than any other time in history, and we have the lowest amount of Biblical literacy than we’ve had in a long time. There was a time when the Bible wasn’t accessible by the common man, and I get that, but from about mid-1500s when the Bible was becoming accessible to maybe the early to mid 1900s, Bible-reading was up. Bible...

Jesus' call to give souls for rest is not an invitation to a select few, that’s an invitation to any who are ever willing to admit this world’s well has run dry! "This life I try to take control of is really out of my control! The burdens I carry do get heavy!
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The world is not set in stone. We can conjecture all we want, but the fact is, tomorrow isn’t written in our books, sure it is in God’s - but last time I checked, God hasn’t given us the news for tomorrow. And what God says to the Israelites waiting redemption from Babylon is, “don’t consider the things of old,” right? History might repeat itself so we like to make conjectures, but God’s got more...

The Psalmist, more than desiring God to speak, states there needs to be a desire for God, period. Many of us desire God for something, but do we just desire Him?

King Jesus has His sights set on the world. He makes no qualms about that. He is an occupying and invading force, that will eventually have the entire world under His feet. There is no nation in the world right now that can even be classified as a threat to the Kingdom of God. He says “All authority is given to me!” His plan is to spread His Kingdom by His Gospel. 
And when a Kingdom is invading a...

The man’s life was spared from an earthquake, in a prison, where foundations just broke and doors just crumbled. The man was just spared from suicide, thinking that he’d be put to death eventually for losing some prisoners. But this man, in this moment knew of a more pressing matter. Having survived an earthquake, and survived cause to kill himself, he must know now, "Sirs, what must I do to be sa...

Indeed the kings of the earth are setting themselves, and the rulers are taking counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed at great peril! By they’re doing so, they’re effectively laying the wood before their Sovereign whose wrath is quickly kindled! No! They must kiss the Son! They must take refuge in Him!

"And the prisoners were listening to them." That’s why we pray. That’s why we worship. Not the only reason, indeed, we pray for what God does in us, and we sing for what God does in us and how it reorients our own hearts - but I’m saying, people are watching. People want to know when the losers are put to the screws, will their faith hold? What do the faithful do?

The Bible speaks of God's creation being used to speak to us and teach us. This message is from a visiting speaker, and how God used his new dog to teach him how to be a better disciple of Jesus.

I have come to this Book of Acts, as many Christians have, with awe. With a tinge of regret and conviction. Because we see - bam, pentecost! Holy Spirit fire! We see Peter heading out to the Roman centurion. We see the church coming together saying, “God is for everybody!” We see Antioch Church planting and sending out missionaries! We see Paul and his companions saving the world! And we Christian...

This is David who’s been anointed as king, realizing that he has to run from his would-be kingdom and from a king now who wants him dead. It’s like Abraham being promised lots of children while in his 70s without any kids, and without a wife who is at childbearing age. “God you promised me this, but uh - we’re way over here in the world’s worst-case scenario for that to happen. How can I be a king...

I believe the Bible says people have free choices, but our choices does nothing in terms of threatening God getting His way. Now, a caveat, a big caveat. God wants everyone to be saved. Not everyone is, why? Free choices of human beings. Does Got get His way? Well not in that sense, but He has made a way for everyone. Furthermore, the people who won’t be in heaven, I believe are people who won’t w...

When times of trouble come, what do you do? How are you helped? Who is your help? Audio failed to capture. See sermon at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5BFDfX2Y8o

The choices that you and I make, and we think them to be - well, rather inconsequential… not so. Some of you know this the hard way. You made choice after choice and each one was fun, exciting, adventurous, daring, but you never thought they’d be what they were - tragic, self-destructive, long-term effects, and so on.

We hear about King David, King Jesus, and the Gospel again! "Give me something that I need!” You need this. You need this.

We look at it, “Well… sinning, and doing what’s right. Doing what I want to do… and doing what God wants to do.”

And we read “Mindset of the flesh, mindset of the Spirit,” that’s just Biblish. That’s Christianese. And Paul uses these weighty words because of the weighty concepts they portray.

What was Pentecost Sunday about? Repentance, and the ability to carry out what God calls us to. Every Christian has access and power to the Holy Spirit who empowers believers to do what God calls them to do, but do the believers DO it then?

**PLEASE START AT 1 MIN 25 SECONDS, BEFORE THAT IS BACKGROUND NOISE** When you despair - know that He has brought victory. When you wonder about the future, know that the future has been decided about at a resounding victory from the past. When the road is dark, know that a shining victory from the past echoes to the future.

Faith in God should - for us - change the challenge. It is not, “can I accomplish the greater things that God is calling me to do?” Rather, it's “will I accomplish the greater things that God is calling me to do.” It’s not a question of ability but obedience. David didn't question the ability for God to take down Goliath, all David had to do was decide on his obedience to do what God was calling h...

David has a focus in mind. “There are bigger fish to fry. I don’t know if you see this Eliab, there’s a gigantic threat, literally, taunting the God you and I serve over there, but if you feel like now’s a great time to lay into me, great.”

Do you ever feel like the stakes are high. The world has a champion or many champions with loud voices, and they’re defying God… heaping on shame and reproach? Does the Kingdom that you thought God was King of feel threatened…? Just one battle away from the kingdom’s foundations being overtaken…?

The sun dawned today on two words: the seen and unseen. What we do in the seen world often has ramifications in the unseen world. Similarly, the unseen the world has activity that can explain a lot of what we see, know, and experience in the seen world.