From the sermon I preached at Linden Alliance Church on July 3.
Have you ever thought to yourself, if only…? If only I could have a different job, or have more vacation time. Or maybe you can’t wait for things to be over with so you can move on. Maybe you are in high school or college and things will just be better once you are done school. Maybe your kids are at an age that makes life difficult and you think it will get better once they get out of this stage…
When my wife and I came to Prairie Bible College last year, we knew God was up to something beyond just going to school for a few years and getting a degree. As the year went on, I began to think about how everyone has different paths and some look quite straight and consistent, and others look more like a roller coaster. I observed other students, and saw how some, like a fellow pastoral student, who are there to get a degree and go back home,…
What is the difference between faith that works and faith that doesn’t work?
Below is an outline to a sermon I prepared for my Introduction to Pastoral Ministry class last semester. Maybe I’ll preach it one day. I welcome your feedback.
James 2:14–17 (ESV):…
It is when we regularly approach our Heavenly Father on behalf of others that we demonstrate our sincere love for the church and our firm dedication to the work of God.
At the end of our prayers, we often say the words, “in the name of Jesus we pray.” Saying these words is not only claiming the power of Jesus in our prayers, but it is also making the assumption that we are praying the very words that Jesus would pray…
This last Sunday, I preached at Wimborne Alliance for the second time. This sermon was a continuation of the last sermon I preached there. Here is a small excerpt from the sermon I preached yesterday. This part is based on Romans 4:4, which helps to explain the concept of the grace mentioned in Romans 3:24.
When you work for someone, you don’t get grace, you get wages. When you work for someone you put them in your debt. Your employer owes you when you work for them. When you get paid for work, it is not grace, it is wages. Grace, however, is given to you by a person who owes you nothing. Therefore, it is an abomination to try to work for God. There is nothing you can do for God that will put Him in your debt.
You have two options: you can get nothing by working for God, or you can get everything by receiving grace from God.
When we trust these words, and we think about God as the giver of gifts rather than the payer of wages, our lives will be transformed. We are free to go through life enjoying the free gifts from God rather than trying to put Him in our debt.
What a wake-up call! That’s what I thought as I was reading an open letter from Reverend Fletcher Matandika addressing the North American Church.
I strongly encourage you to read the entire letter yourself, so I will not be providing a summary of what he wrote. Rather, here is my response: Amen!
When I visited India in January, I praised God for the work going on in the churches there. Most of all, I was thankful that Christ was being preached; that the central message of the children’s ministry is that Christ is King. May that be the reason we gather together.
May we live as people who have Christ as our King.
