All the Sermons

Scripture: Revelation 2:18-29 Listen link: https://www.lcepc.org Then look for “Sermons” tab. Truth or consequences. Remember that game show? It was a comical way of putting people in a practical joke type of situation if they couldn’t answer a quiz question truthfully, or correctly. Either tell the truth or pay the consequences. That was fun to watch. Another slant on the concept of truth or consequences is the little factoid that says, “Ideas have consequences.” That is actually the title of a book that was published back in 1948. It argues that all our modern difficulties in society, such as relativism and apathy, and lack of respect for authority, are the result of a philosophical shift away from belief in absolute authority. In other words, rejecting the Bible as the truth of God has led to the current situation. But you didn’t need a philosopher to tell you that did you?   It’s pretty obvious! It’s obvious to us today! What’s interesting is that if this book had been tak

Revelation 2:12-17 Have you ever had a job performance review with your boss or supervisor? In my past that always happened in private, just between me and my employer. So, I am assuming that’s the way it usually is. Now, you may really like the idea of sitting in on someone else’s review to see how they are doing and if the boss gets it right and thinks of them in the same way you do. But how would you like it if everybody else you worked with got to hear your performance review and learn what the boss really thinks of you? That’s how it is in Church. Missionaries give regular reports to their supporting churches every time they come home on furlough, and everybody knows what’s going on. It’s quite public. In our own business meetings, the various committees report on their activities. And I submit the pastor’s report. So, what would happen if everybody had to submit a report, and everybody was in on everything that would result from it?  Do you see yourself as a servant of God?

Scripture Rev. 2:8-11 Listen link: https://www.lcepc.org Then look for “Sermons” tab. When things are going well, and there is a feeling of blessing, people often say, “Somebody up there likes me!” Or else when things are going poorly, or we are afflicted by lots of problems and troubles we might think God is punishing us. Well he does discipline us, and the consequences of our sins can be a source of affliction. But that is training, not punishment. Also, and importantly, good behavior doesn’t guarantee a problem free existence, neither does strong and obedient faith. The church at Smyrna was outstanding and commendable in its mission work. Jesus had nothing against them in his job review. Yet they were also poor and afflicted. They were being slandered by some people called the synagogue of satan. And as if that were not bad enough, Jesus had to tell them that there was more trouble ahead, a time of testing that they were about to suffer. Jesus wrote to encourage them to han

Scripture: Revelation 2:1-7 What or who would you say is your first love? I am not talking about your spouse or your ex. I am talking about the most important person or thing in the whole world to you. Okay, your spouse can come in second, or maybe chocolate. But for everyone one in this room, the answer ought to be, Jesus! Of course it is, right? But, do you live like it? And what about the Church as a whole? Does the Church in America heed Jesus’ words in this text and keep on doing the things that the church did at first? How is the church doing in its Christian witness and ministry? How many churches in Lake City are regularly reporting new conversions to Christ and are baptizing them? In fact, I really want to find out about that. If I were to call every church on my list, I wonder how many of them would report any conversions at all, and I wonder how many conversions have happened anywhere in Lake City in the last year. It is my prayer that our congregation will learn how t