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In the past few weeks, there seems to have been an overabundance of loss, most due to tragic events. I have counseled with people who are having a tough time coping with death, and with the seeming finality that surrounds death. It is made harder, it seems, when someone dies in a tragic manner and at…

Kids 2 Kings 6:8-23 The king of Aram was at war with the kingdom of Israel. He kept trying to set up ambushes to get Israel’s trade caravans. But the prophet Elisha kept telling the king of Israel all about the ambushes, so the king of Israel could avoid them. This made the king of Aram really mad. He…

Psalm 38:9–11 (ESV) 9 O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. 10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me. 11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off. 19 “There was a rich man…

Introduction How would a local church know if it was dying? And what could it do to stop the process? I’ve heard churches described as “dead” all my Christian experience. Some characteristics described would include: A consistently empty altar. No on getting saved. No joy and enthusiasm in worship. Boring…

Make it Count There are two different or possibly connected ideas of why we age and ultimately die. They are the concepts of weakening of the DNA and damage. We can see in some single celled organisms that they don’t seem to age. They can divide without loss or damage to either the original or the new…

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Sin caused death to rule humanity. 1 Now the serpent was more…

In this world there is nothing certain except death and taxes. So said Benjamin Franklin and it has been repeated ever since. I think that we can add another certainty to his list. That is the certainty of judgment. Last week’s message showed us that a righteous ruler can delay judgment. This week we…

Scripture records the greatest event in history with a shocking lack of words: “There they crucified him.” Here was the culmination of God's plan: the innocent for the guilty, the sinless for the sinful. The participants in this divine drama are carried along fulfilling prophecy after prophecy, Pilate…

The same Gospel David clung to before his death is the same one that we can hold to for our future hope

Persecution and Growth of the Church (Acts 12)

When Gilead, Eastern Israel, became desparate, they sought help from the bandit Jephthah to lead them in the battle against their enemies. In return, he would be their ruler. But does great skill in battle make for a great leader? Join us as we discover the tragic consequences of promoting bad character.

Romans 6:1-14 This morning we are turning in the book of Romans to chapter 6. Last week we looked at the end of chapter 5, we had been in Romans 5 for a few weeks. One of the things that I said introducing Romans 5 was that there are going to be several passages of scripture that really do not fit into…

1 Cor. 15:55-57 TRUTHS THAT SILENCE DEATH Intro : No one likes to think about death. It is an enemy that stalks everyone, 1 Cor. 15:26 ; Heb. 9:27 27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Some die in old age, some die in infancy and others at all ages in between. Some…

Solomon concludes his search for wisdom under the sun with nothing more than empty admonitions to take action rather than doing nothing. But in the end, he says, it's all meaningless. But wait, there's more! A mystery editor concludes the book with an extraordinary turn around: you can exhaust yourself with endless worldly wisdom, or you can take the simple path. What is that simple path, and how do we tread it today?

Mark 15:42-47 Intro : In the fourth-century there lived a Christian named Telemachus. He lived in a remote village, tending his garden and spending much of his time in prayer. One day he thought he heard the voice of God telling him to go to Rome, so he obeyed, setting out on foot. Weary weeks later,…

The Resurrection Guarantees Life both now and into Eternity.

7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 1. Get on the road to _where you want to go_ 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up…

This morning we are going to start with a hypothetical question. If you could only use one sentence to sum up the gospel, what would it be? No doubt most of you are jumping to John 3:16 in your mind. There might be many places we can point to that have similar summaries of the gospel. It is a trustworthy…

Not a tired subject May we never get to a point that we think that prayer is a routine, no thought thing. Prayer is a vital tool, and a command given. We should not be surprised that John addresses prayer to the believers. John is drawing to a close his Epistle and our passage this evening is going to…

ME: Picture of a funeral Our tendency to want to move on YOU: The story is is to shift our focus to Isaac and the next generations. They are about to become the main characters in the story of Genesis. That happens in life… it becomes about our kids... But today we are in a transitional period. And we…

Psalm 16 A Michtam of David. In life, we have two basic desires – to feel safe and to feel satisfied. These two basic desires drive so many choices we make every day. When we don’t feel safe, fear and anxiety grip our minds. When we don’t feel satisfied, greed and lust control our hearts. Entire industries…

Last week I begin a series called Ugly Christmas Sweater. We are looking at the some of the ugly things that happen this time of year. Last week we looked at our ugly thoughts. It is in the mind where thoughts begin and sometimes those thoughts can lead to action and motives and today’s topic, ugly words.…

James 5:19-20 James is passing on to his readers the job he is doing in this letter. Edification - caring for others’ souls 2 Individuals (v. 19) 2 Implications (v. 20) 2 Individuals (v. 19) Notice 2 very different individuals referred to in verse 19. Which one are you? Those who could wander What is…

Psalms equips us to walk the way of life through praise and lament. What way are you walking? What way do want to walk? 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord , and…

Happy Endings Who does not like a movie with a happy ending. I think we all hope for happy endings. Paul lived knowing what he had coming and it made his outlook for the end a happy ending. May we learn and gain his outlook. Tradition would have it: The bible is silent about Paul’s death, but not in…