All the Sermons

No sermon today! But there was a great message! Led by the Spirit, the people of God shared their stories of God’s love and miraculous provision. Cathy F. talked about the house fire that took everything from her family. But then one of the firemen brought her the one item that was salvaged. It was a little singed on the cover but the rest of her grandfather’s Bible was intact! Precious gift! Dave talked about his days in Viet Nam serving our country. His buddy took a mortar shell, right next to him, and died. Dave said the last thing he remembered about that horrific scene was the pages of the Bible his friend had carried, fluttering down around him. Dave said he often wondered why his buddy was taken. Dave was single at the time. He thought nobody would have missed him. But his lost buddy left a wife and three kids. Well, about seven years after Dave got back to Michigan, he decided to visit his buddy’s widow, also in Michigan, just to say how much he admired and r

1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 14:1-5 Listen Link:    http://www.firstcovenantcadillac.org/#!this-weeks-sermon/c20mw Gifts is a nice word. Everyone likes to receive gifts. So we tend to focus in that word in these texts and we can miss something really important. I want to zoom in on this line in verse 7 of 1 Cor. 12, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” I have heard people talk a lot about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but not so much about the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Could it be because gifts are something we own and we control? Are we really innately that selfish? Let’s be honest and humbly admit that the answer is yes. We like to receive gifts and we want to be in charge of what we do with them. But manifestations are different. “Manifestation” is not a synonym for “gift.” Manifestation has synonyms like appearance, display, exhibition, sign, and demonstration. That would mean that it is not us, but it is the Holy Spirit using

This service was designed by my wife Kathy. I added the “commentary” parts of the message. Unfortunately, this one didn’t get recorded. But it would have been complicated to edit anyway. Four Scripture readings head up four sections to the message. I went ahead and put them all in here so you won’t have to look them up this time. Each section ended with a specially selected song. For your enjoyment I have included a link to a youtube video for each song. Some interactions also occurred which are explained as they arise as you read the sermon. Dove:   John 1:29-34; “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and re

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18 Listen Link:  http://www.firstcovenantcadillac.org/#!this-weeks-sermon/c20mw There’s a war on! And it’s not overseas. I am not talking about the war on terrorism. I am talking about the war in which your heart is the battle ground. It is a war between spiritual forces of good and evil. The victory is ours in Christ. The battle belongs to the Lord. But we are called to play our part. That is why Paul instructs believers like you and me to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”  The life of discipleship gives us no time to relax and live our lives ignoring the spiritual battle. We are ordered to fight. It’s not a pleasant metaphor these days. But Paul had no qualms about telling Christians to be good soldiers, prepared for battle. Even when we do take a Sabbath and rest in the Lord, it is only so that we made ready for the next battle. But this kind of battle won’t wear us out if we are strong in the lord. In fact, we will rejoice! This is not a gr

1 Corinthians 12:1-27 Listen Link:    http://www.firstcovenantcadillac.org/#!this-weeks-sermon/c20mw Way back in ancient history, back in 1979, Kathy and I used to attend the Thornapple Covenant Church in Grand Rapids. They used to meet in a school gymnasium. One of my favorite things about worshiping there was watching all the people pitch in to set up the "sanctuary."    Oh, uh, I pitched in too. Tables and chairs had to come out of a closet, and be arranged. The risers for the choir had been handmade by a man with the gift of carpentry in our congregation.    Our banners were supported as a screen behind the podium, in paneled frames, also made by the carpenter. Of course, the banners themselves were made by people with gifts for that kind of work.  One day the church service was held up because the one who had the key to open the building was late. The preacher was there, but he waited outside with everyone else until the one with the gift of stewardship-showed up with th