All the Sermons

  Luke 24:50-53 , Acts 1:1-11 Key Verse:  "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 Again, the Great Commission is repeated and Jesus makes sure that the disciples understand that it includes their enemies, the Samaritans.  There are no more walls or boundaries to the gospel.  When Jesus says, "the ends of the earth," He means, "the ends of the earth!"  No longer will there be any exclusivity for the followers of Christ.  No longer will human traits such as being Jewish determine who are God's chosen.  All who believe, are invited and included.  No exceptions are allowed! I t is interesting that, while the resurrection is mentioned in all four gospels, the ascension is treated more as an anticlimactic event in the lives of Christ's followers.   It would seem to be a big deal to watch a man rise in the air.  

Mark 16:9-20 ; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 Key Verse:  Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His Word by the signs that accompanied it. Mark 16:20 The passage in the gospel of Mark may be one of the most difficult and controversial for us to understand.  Many scholars do not even believe that it is a part of the original text, but was added later by a writer of the early church. Some of the signs Jesus mentions here in Mark, such as tongues and handling snakes bring questions of their own.  Was handling snakes referring to Paul, when he picked up a snake on the Island of Malta and shook it off into the fire, ( Acts 28:2-5 ) or are the snake handlers of today justified in performing such feats as a means of demonstrating their faith? Were tongues and healings only meant for the Apostles, or are they signs for today's followers of Christ as well? Once again, I choose not to deal with those questions here.  What I li

Genesis 1:26-28 A, Matthew 28:16-20 Key Verse: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19-20A The first commission that God issued to Man was to, "be fruitful and increase in number;" (Genesis 1:28A).  While God had begun with two individuals, Adam and Eve, it was never His intention to keep it that way.  He gave all living things the ability to reproduce its own kind.  His beginnings may have started small, but His design was for healthy life to grow naturally and that growth is a good thing in God's eyes.  Growth is obedience to God's command. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"  ( 2 Cor. 5:17 )  Here, Jesus issues a new commission for His new creation.  It is similar to the first one, only this time, we are called to reproduce spiritually

John 21:25 Key Verse:  Jesus did many other things as well.  If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." John 21:25 Of course, John himself would continue writing more of what Jesus would do and who He is, through his letters and the book of Revelation.  This verse here, however, is enough to cause us to reflect.  We have probably only touched the surface of all of the amazing things that Jesus did while He walked among the people He loved. The Psalmists tried to list all of the amazing works of God, but their praises fell short of reality.  How do you put into words something bigger and grander than yourself?  How can the created adequately describe the creator?  We are limited by our words and by our own experiences.  I can tell you what the Lord has done for me, but I cannot adequately explain what the Lord has done for you, or any other of His beloved created.  As I said befo

Isaiah 28:23-29 , John 21:20-24 Key Verse:  Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?  You must follow Me." John 21:22 C. S. Lewis' series of children's books known as the Chronicles of Narnia, are meant to help all of us understand in a fresh way how God involves Himself with His children.  The books tell of some children who leave this world temporarily to have adventures in a different world known as, Narnia, in which they meet a Lion named Aslan, who represents the Christ figure.  Aslan guides them through these adventures, sometimes directly and sometimes not.  Sometimes the children follow obediently and sometimes they fail.  The children learn early, in their dealings with Aslan that there are two questions that he will not answer.  One question is, "What if?" and the other is, "What about the other person?"  When the children have to face the consequences of their own decisions, they will o

Psalm 103 Key Verse:  He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. Psalm 103:10 "He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."  (Psalm 103:9-10) There are so many things that God could accuse us of because of our sinful choices.  There are so many things that we choose to do that hurt Him and cause Him to have reason to be angry with us.  How would we have felt toward Peter if he had said that he would stick with us through thick and thin and then ran off when we needed him most?  Betrayal by a friend is painful, but on the beach that morning, Jesus reaffirmed His forgiveness. Our loving Father is the God of second chances.  When we acknowledge

John 21:15-19 Key Verse:  Then Jesus said to him, "Follow Me." John 21:19A Before Jesus was crucified, an event that must have seemed so long ago, to Peter, Peter had denied even knowing who Jesus was.  It was a lie, of course, but to make it worse, he had repeated that lie three times.  Peter hadn't been on trial, he had been in the court yard.  His interrogator hadn't been a man of authority, but servant girls.  Yet, Peter had been afraid to admit to these lowly servants what He had said so boldly to Jesus’ face:  "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  (Matthew 16:16)    His boldness had turned to cowardice in the face of adversity.  Now, face to face with the Master once again, with the relationship restored, Jesus gives him the opportunity to recommit himself to Jesus' cause.  He had denied Jesus three times.  Now, three times, Jesus calls Peter to pledge himself to Him.  "Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep."

John 21:1-14 Key Verse:  Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." John 21:10 Why does God, the all-knowing, all capable include us in His plans and provision?  There are so many things that He could just do on His own.  If He didn't bother to include us, His works would be so much more perfect and would be such a blessing to the world.  Yet, earthly parents do the same thing when they ask their children to lend a hand, or keep them company while they work.  It's about relationship.  It's about encouragement.  It's about partnering with us for our sake and the benefit of our fellow human beings on this earth. Jesus demonstrated this cooperative attitude when He used a boy’s lunch to create the miracle with the five loaves and two fish that fed 5,000. He could have just, provided, but He didn't. So it is again here, He certainly could have just provided a meal for His disciples on the beach and let them keep the rest to

John 20:24-31 Key Verse:  Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."   John 20:29 Thomas is often criticized when a sermon is preached on this event in the life of Christ.  I've always thought that Thomas receives unfair treatment when that happens.  After all, the others were also in doubt a week earlier as they were huddled together in the upper room.  And, even though Jesus had appeared the week before and had proven that He indeed had been raised from the dead, the door was still locked for the gathering on this occasion.  We aren't sure why, though I tend to think it was more out of prudence than fear.  Jesus doesn't seem to criticize Thomas for having questions.  Instead, He answers Thomas' questions with the same proof that He had given the others, His real, resurrected body. We've always taught our children that there are no dumb questions.  It wasn't

Luke 24:33-50 , John 20:19-23 Key Verse: "Look at My hands and feet.  It is I Myself!  Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." Luke 24:39 While two disciples were walking along the road to Emmaus, there were eight apostles who had been spending an anxious day, locked up with fear of what would happen next. We learn later that Thomas was also not in the group and there is no explanation for his absence. John and Peter had gone out and had discovered that, sure enough, Jesus' body was gone. The tomb was empty. No wonder they were afraid of the Jews. They probably knew that they were the obvious suspects. Just as fear had kept the rest of the apostle’s in the boat when Peter stepped out to walk on water with Jesus, now, fear kept these remaining men huddled together, hearing reports, but they did not comprehend what those reports meant. When the two from Emmaus arrived and knocked, the door was opened for them and they burst

Luke 24:13-32 Key Verse:  And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the scriptures about Himself. Luke 24:27 Now we arrive at the event that prompted me to begin this project.  We are told in the gospel of Luke that Emmaus is about seven miles from Jerusalem.  I suppose that the walk would have taken between ninety minutes to two hours depending on the pace.  I've always been curious about that conversation with Jesus and His two followers.  I began to ask myself, could there really have been so much to talk about?  As I began to do my own study, I was amazed at how much of the Old Testament points to Jesus and then, how much of the writers after Jesus point back to Him and the prophets of the Old Testament.  Jesus is the central figure of scripture.  He is the One the prophets foretold.  He is the hope of the world. I often wonder how easy it would have been for me to recognize Him on that day.  Even if I had been familia

Matthew 28:11-15 Key Verse:  So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.  And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. Matthew 28:15 Wow!  Isn't it amazing what a person will do for money? The story, on the face of it, is preposterous! A Roman soldier is willing to admit that he was overpowered by an untrained fisherman who was brave enough to dare to break the roman seal, enter the grave and steal a dead body? When you consider the fact that later stories, in Acts, reveal that Roman soldiers would rather commit suicide than admit that they allowed a prisoner to escape, ( Acts 16:27 ) it is hard to comprehend why the soldiers were willing to humiliate themselves in this way. Yet, sadly, for those who do not want to believe, this fabricated story still exists today. If the Jews were willing to seal the grave when Jesus died, why weren't they willing to look for the dead body and bring the disciples to justice?   Why

Job 19:23-27 , Psalm 16 , 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 Key verses: "I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth." Job 19:25 "Where O death, is your victory?  Where O death is your sting?  Thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:55-&-57 Way back at the beginning of our journey we described Job as an example of a man without the hope of Christ. O how he longed for a mediator between he and God, to plead his case and move the heart of God with compassion in his situation.  He longed to be relieved from his suffering.  We described Job as a man, like so many today, who have no hope of a savior or of a personal relationship with God.  Yet, remarkably, the Holy Spirit reached out to the heart of Job to help him know, without seeing, that there is a redeemer, the one he yearned for and that someday, even after he is dead and decayed, he would meet that One face to face.  Job

John20:11-18 Key Verse: Jesus said to her, "Mary." John 20:16A I often ask myself, how would I have felt if it had been me in that garden instead of Mary? How would it have felt to go from the depths of despair to the heights of joy in the time it takes to say just one word? How would it feel to actually hear Jesus say my name, MY name, not just "hi," or  "How's it goin'?", but my name, in love. And try to picture this, Mary is speaking to and angel, her back to the tomb entrance and from behind her a figure approaches. The angel sees him and starts to smile. But Jesus, smiling a big smile, puts his finger to his lips to signal, "Don't say anything." I'm sure that Jesus knew the effect His encounter with her would have. Yet He asked, "Woman, why are you crying?" (John 20:15) Surely He knew, but in His compassion He chose to show sympathy and care. It was a conversation starter before the shock and surprise

Matthew 28:1-8 , Mark 16:1-8 , Luke 24:1-12 , John 20:1-13 Key Verse: "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not hear.  See the place where they laid Him." Mark 16:6 Wouldn't you think that, of all the events in the Bible, this one, the most crucial one, the gospel writers would have conferred and compared notes and tried to get an accurate account of just what happened?  Was there one angel or two?  Was Mary alone or was she with other women, and which women at that?  Did they touch His feet and worship Him, or did Mary begin to touch Him and Jesus stopped her?  Was there an earthquake?  Why don't all four gospels at least mention that?  Why did the women bring more spices?  Didn't Joseph of Aramathea and Nicodemus take care of that preparation while they were placing Him in the tomb?  Did the women leave in fear and tell no one or run to the disciples who still didn'