September 8, 2019

Luke 18:35-43 - Blind Bartimaeus

35 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:
36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.
37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.
38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
40 And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,
41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
 43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

Main Topics/Questions

Please consider the following topics/questions as you listen to the sermon:

1. How are the four Gospels alike? How are they different?
2. Can some details that at first glance may sound contradictory be explained?
3. What is Satan’s favorite question to use to attack us?
4. Matthew Chapter 20, Mark Chapter 10, and Luke Chapter 18 all speak of the same event. How does Mark Chapter 10 help explain the perceived difference between Matthew 20:29 and Luke 18:35 about where the event happened?
5. What is the explanation for the perceived difference in Luke 18:35 and Matthew 20:30? How does Mark 10:46  support the explanation?
6. How can many of the so called contradictions in the Bible be explained?
7. How can you find answers? Who is John Gill and how can his commentaries help us?
8. What do two articles, one from Christianity Today and the other from The Gospel Coalitio, tell us about Christian Colleges and Universities?
9.  What does this text have to say about who Jesus is?
10. What does the text teach us about the timing of our prayers being answered?
11 What happened immediately after the prayers of blind Bartimaeus and his companion were answered? Why is this important?

Conclusion:
Even if God isn’t answering a prayer you are praying right now He has answered other prayers. Indeed as soon as you prayed for the forgiveness of your sins because you believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ, that prayer was answered as soon as you made it. Blind Bartimaeus and his companion had that level of faith when they called Jesus the Son of David. Most translations of Luke 18:42 say, Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." But a more literal translation of Luke 18:42 (NRSV) reads, Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has saved you." Because of their faith in Jesus, Bartimaeus and his companion weren’t just healed from their blindness; more importantly they were saved from sin, death, and hell.

You can be too, so long as you repent of your sins and trust in Jesus. And if you’ve prayed that prayer and received this great gift of salvation then you understand why everyone in this text is praising God and also why you need to praise Him. God is worthy of worship because of all the great things He has done.

Click on the player to listen to the full audio sermon.

If the player doesn't work, you can listen to the sermon on Google Drive.

Do you feel an emptiness in your life? Are you seeking answers but don't know where to look? Have you ever wondered if you are good enough? Please read the summary of the gospel message, "Four Things You Need to Know About God"

Please send an email to the Pastor if you have questions.

September 1, 2019

Luke 18:31-34 - Predictions of Christ’s Suffering, Death, and Resurrection

31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

Main Topics/Questions

Please consider the following topics/questions as you listen to the sermon:

  1. Why were those who were following Jesus fearful during this climactic journey to Jerusalem? What were some of their concerns and beliefs?
  2. What was Jesus predicting in verses such as Luke 5:34-35; Luke 9:21-22; Luke 9:44; Luke 12:50; and Luke 17:25? Did the disciples understand?
  3. According to the Bible the Messiah or Christ is the true representation of what? In what ways? What are some examples?
  4. How does Psalm 106:4, many verses in Psalm 22, and Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 relate to Luke 18:32?
  5. Why do these bad things happen to Jesus? What things happened?
  6. What was predicted in Psalm 22:14-18 and Isaiah 52:14 about the Messiah?
  7. What was predicted in Isaiah 53:4-9?
  8. Luke 18:34 uses three different phrases that all communicate the same thing in order to demonstrate what?
  9. Who is really to blame for Christ’s death?
10. How should Jews and Christians interact despite our huge disagreement as to who Jesus is?
11. What did the last part of Luke 18:33 predict about Christ?  How does Psalm 16:9-11; Psalm 22: last part of 21-31;  and Isaiah 53:10-12 relate?

Conclusion:
This is what the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus is all about. It’s about our sin. It’s about the suffering and death we deserve because of our sin now as well as the eternal suffering in hell we deserve later. And there’s nothing you or I can do to make up for the evil things we’ve done. Therefore what all of us desperately need is a sinless substitute. Someone who can take our place and take the punishment for our sins even though He Himself is sinless and deserves no punishment. And that’s exactly what Jesus Christ did and He did it just as the prophets predicted hundreds if not thousands of years ahead of time.

And while some will say this is all either a coincidence or a conspiracy, it’s not. Because when we found the Dead Sea Scrolls we found copies of these prophecies that are older than the first coming of Jesus. So if all of this is true and the evidence says that it is, then you have to make a decision. What are you going to do with Jesus? You can’t stay blind anymore because now you’ve heard the truth. So are you going to keep ignoring Him? Are you going to keep fighting against Him? Or are you going to surrender to Him as your Lord and Savior? The decision is yours. I hope and pray you make the right one.

Click on the player to listen to the full audio sermon.

If the player doesn't work, you can listen to the sermon on Google Drive.

Do you feel an emptiness in your life? Are you seeking answers but don't know where to look? Have you ever wondered if you are good enough? Please read the summary of the gospel message, "Four Things You Need to Know About God"

Please send an email to the Pastor if you have questions.

August 25, 2019

Luke 18:24-30 - The Impossible Becomes Possible

24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!
25 “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?”
27 But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
28 Then Peter said, “See, we have left all[fn] and followed You.”
29 So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30 “who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Main Topics/Questions

Please consider the following topics/questions as you listen to the sermon:

1. Why is eternal life in God’s kingdom of heaven so hard for the wealthy to obtain?
2. What are the things God cares about?
3. Why is Christianity shrinking in Europe and North America and flourishing in the poorer continents of Africa and Asia?
4. What are some explanations of what Jesus meant by “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”? What is Jesus actually saying?
5, What is one of the biggest threats to the gospel of Jesus Christ today? How did false teachers twist  the meaning of some Old Testament Scriptures and how does that relate to what some are doing today?
6. Did Israel perfectly obey God’s commands? Do any of us? What is one false teaching both then and now about being rich?
7. Why did the disciples respond to Jesus the way they did?
8. The human impossibility of salvation from sin, death, and hell becomes possible because of what?
9. According to the Bible the blessings of God are tied to what?
10.  How were the disciples obedient?
11. Our lives are a mixture of obedience and disobedience so our lives are also a mixture of what?  What are some examples?

Conclusion:

This isn’t the prosperity gospel. This isn’t about multiplying mansions for yourself. This is about Christian brothers and sisters rallying together despite our faults to serve the One Great God who saved us. This is about the blessings of Christian fellowship both in this life and in the life to come. The only question is: Do you have these blessings? It’s so hard to get to heaven it’s actually impossible for you to earn your way in. But you can still get in because of the work of Christ so long as you repent of your sins and trust in Him.

Click on the player to listen to the full audio sermon.

If the player doesn't work, you can listen to the sermon on Google Drive.

Do you feel an emptiness in your life? Are you seeking answers but don't know where to look? Have you ever wondered if you are good enough? Please read the summary of the gospel message, "Four Things You Need to Know About God"

Please send an email to the Pastor if you have questions.

August 18, 2019

Luke 18:18-23 - The Rich Young Ruler

18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
20 “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”[fn]
21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”
22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

Main Topics/Questions

Please consider the following topics/questions as you listen to the sermon:

  1. How does the story about the interaction between Jesus Christ and a person known as the rich young ruler illustrate the need for good Bible study habits as well as good Biblical teaching and preaching? Why is this important?
  2. Why are there some slight differences in the story told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke? What are those finer details? How is the meaning still very much the same?
  3. In what way was this man a ruler?
  4. What was the rich young ruler’s question? How important is this question?
  5. What is the big assumption in the question that can be problematic? How do you know what is truly good?
  6. What does the secular world try to tell us about what is good?
  7. Why does Jesus answer the way he does ? Why doesn’t Jesus quote commandment number ten?
  8. What are the dangerous assumptions in the young ruler's statement: “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth up; what am I still lacking?” How do we make the same assumptions today?
  9. How is commandment number ten (do not covet) different from commandments 5 - 9?  How does it deal with our thoughts in regards to other commandments?
10. What is the biggest problem the rich young ruler has?
11. What does the response of Jesus to the young ruler's statement (correcting him) show us about true love?
12. The gospel only requires repentance of sin and faith in Christ, so why does Jesus ask the rich young ruler to sell all that he has?
13. How does this apply to us? Does Jesus want us to sell all that we have?
14. What are examples of things we might need to do to bring us to a place of repentance and faith?

Conclusion:

Don’t make the mistake of the rich young ruler. Because the three Gospels record that after he heard what Jesus said he became very sad, his facial expression fell, and he went away grieved, for he was extremely rich owning much property. The rich young ruler weighed his current lifestyle in balance against eternal life in God’s heaven and decided that his best life now was better than eternal life in paradise in the future, but he was dead wrong. The problem is the rich young ruler’s mistake is very common. You and I love our sins and we don’t want to give them up even though they hurt us. We convince ourselves that life in the pig sty is good and we put any thoughts of death and eternity out of our minds. We don’t think about things like the fact that George Washington will have been dead for 220 years this coming December. George Washington has already been dead more three times longer than he was alive. How much longer does he have to go?Wouldn’t you agree that the place where George Washington is spending eternity is much more important than how he lived his life? And if that’s true for George Washington it’s also true for you. Where will you go? Will you experience eternal life in heaven or eternal death in hell? The rich young ruler made the wrong choice while the ones who came for baptism today made the right one. What about you? No one knows when death will come for them.

Are you safe in the hands of Christ?

Click on the player to listen to the full audio sermon.

If the player doesn't work, you can listen to the sermon on Google Drive.

Do you feel an emptiness in your life? Are you seeking answers but don't know where to look? Have you ever wondered if you are good enough? Please read the summary of the gospel message, "Four Things You Need to Know About God"

Please send an email to the Pastor if you have questions.

August 11, 2019

Luke 18:9-17 - Responses to the Gospel

 9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
12 ‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’
13 “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
15 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
17 “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

Main Topics/Questions

Please consider the following topics/questions as you listen to the sermon:
  1. What is the most persistent type of challenge the Church has faced in every era? Why is this not surprising?
  2. What is one of the oldest and most persistent challenges to the gospel?
  3. What are the two responses to the gospel in this parable?
  4. How did the Pharisees, Samaritans,  Sadducees and tax collectors differ?
  5. The Pharisees better understanding of what was right and what was wrong made the vulnerable to which more subtle sins?
  6. What’s wrong with the prayer of he Pharisee? How do we fall into the same trap?
  7. Fasting and tithing can be good. When is it bad? What does legalism add to the law?
  8. Who is Joshua Harris and how does he relate to legalism?
  9. Rather than be self-righteous or a legalist, what type of person should we be?
10. What do the verses about Jesus and the little children have to do with your proper response to the gospel?

Conclusion:

There are a lot of challenges to the gospel. There are a lot of improper responses to the gospel. These include self-righteousness, legalism, pride, and among many other things. But what is your response? Is it a response of humble repentance of sin? Is it a response of complete dependence and trust? If your response hasn’t been along those lines, it needs to be starting today.

Click on the player to listen to the full audio sermon.

If the player doesn't work, you can listen to the sermon on Google Drive.

Do you feel an emptiness in your life? Are you seeking answers but don't know where to look? Have you ever wondered if you are good enough? Please read the summary of the gospel message, "Four Things You Need to Know About God"

Please send an email to the Pastor if you have questions.