All the Sermons

Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. ~Proverbs 10:12 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. ~Galatians 6:1-3 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. ~James 2:12-13 Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ~1 Peter 4:7 We are given a contrast today that we are all too familiar with. We are given the end result of hate and love. We all know that God’s way, is the way of love. Hate breeds quarrels, as we all know. James says it like this: “What causes

One who has integrity walks securely, but the one who takes crooked paths will be found out. ~Proverbs 10:9 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the ways of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their hearts. They do nothing wrong; they walk in His ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying Your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise You with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You. Praise be to You, O Lord; teach me your decrees! With my lips I recount all Your laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoi

The wise in heart accept commands. But a chattering fool comes to ruin. ~Proverbs 10:8 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith. I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. ~James 2:14-20 What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, “Son, go and work today in the vineyard.” “I will not!” he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, “I will sir,” but he did not go.

February 26 How Will You Be Remembered? Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. The memory of the righteous will be blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. ~Proverbs 10:6-7 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely. Their children will be blessed. Turn from evil and do good. Then you will dwell in the land forever. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake His faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off. The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. ~Psalm 37:25-29 You may be sure that your sin will find you out. ~Numbers 32:23B The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them. The sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden. ~1 Timothy 5:

He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son. ~Proverbs 10:5 When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.” ~Matthew 9:36-38 I’ll bet you thought that Solomon was talking about crops, and I suppose he was, but Jesus was talking about a crop too, right under His disciples’ noses and they didn’t notice. Yesterday, we talked about the difference between those who are lazy as an act of will and those who don’t have opportunity. We already know from the proverbs over the last two days that laziness isn’t a good idea. However, shouldn’t the same admonitions apply to lazy Christians? It’s not that there is no opportunity to witness. What in the world is a lazy Christian, right? Well, fourth

Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. ~Proverbs 10:4 He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment. ~Proverbs 12:11 The lazy person does not cook his food, but the diligent prizes possessions. In the way of righteousness is life; along that path is immortality. ~Proverbs 12:27-28 Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor. ~Proverbs 12:24 The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. ~Proverbs 13:4 The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway. ~Proverbs 15:19. Laziness puts on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry. ~Proverbs 19:15 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. ~Ephesians 4:28 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with you

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35; Matthew 6:12; Luke 11:4 Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab Well, is it sins, debtors or trespasses? I hope you’ll forgive me if this comes across as controversial, but this may be the most argued about line in the prayer. This is because in our own experience we hear at least two different versions of the prayer depending upon which church we go to, even in the same town! Have you ever attended a wedding or funeral at a different church, and the pastor leading the service starts reciting the Lord’s prayer and everybody joins in? Have you been distracted while your reciting the part you know, by wondering which word the pastor was going to use? Some churches pray this prayer saying “debts,” some say “trespasses,” and some say “sins.” How do we explain this difference? The Greek words used for "debts" in Matthew and Luke are different from each other. Matthew uses a term that means to owe someone or to be indebted or obl

The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but He thwarts the craving of the wicked. ~Proverbs 10:3 Then Jesus said to His disciples: “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan wor

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death. ~Proverbs 10:2 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what he has done.” ~Matthew 16:25-27 The one who loves his or her life will lose it, while the one who hates his or her life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me. ~John 12:25-26 Interesting juxtaposition here: Ill-gotten treasure opposite righteousness? What is an ill-gotten treasure? Hmmmm! I’ve heard of ill-gotten gain, but ill-gotten “treasure?”  What if….it is life itself? What if we saw doing what we want instead o

A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping. ~Proverbs 19:13 The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them. The sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden. ~1 Timothy 5:24-25 Wow!  The first thought that came to me when I read this proverb was, “Poor guy.” Where does he go to get a break? Besides that, w hat does this proverb even mean? It's surely not a bit of obscure advice. It's kind of an obvious fact. And once you have a son and a wife, it's kind of too late to fix it with wisdom. You just have to deal with it. But there's also no sage advice for how to handle this sad situation. It's just kind of out there. Ouch.  But what if the wisdom here is to simply be aware that some people's countenance and attitude may have an unseen explanation? We have experience with cranky people of whom we may ask, "Wha

If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you. If you are a mocker, you alone will suffer. ~Proverbs 9:12 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash. ~Matthew 7:26-27 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ~James 1:5 What is a mocker anyway? We all probably think we know and we all probably are pretty clear when mockery is happening in our presence, but just in case…here is a dictionary definition. Noun: teasing and contemptuous language or behavior directed at a particular person or thing; an absurd misrepresentation or imitation of something. Late Middle English: from Old French moquerie, from mocquer ‘to deride’. A mocker is not the same as a fool. To put it simply, a fool doesn’t know that t

When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice! When the wicked rule, the people groan. ~Proverbs 29:2 By justice a king gives a country stability, but one who is greedy for bribes tears it down. ~Proverbs 29:4 I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream! ~Amos 5:21-24 I wonder what it would be like to live in a Theocracy. That’s what Israel was. God’s rule had been established for centuries before any government of man came about. Even then, Israel’s first leaders were usually charismatic, able to attract a following for a cause. Then, after a military victory was achieved, the people would disperse, back to their lives until the next cr

Reading: Exodus 16:4-5, 15-18; Matthew 6:11; Luke 11:3 Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab "Give us today our daily bread." How basic is that? Jesus instructs us to include in our prayers a request for food as basic and simple as bread. But our nutrition savvy appetites immediately spring into action and defend our cravings for more! "Oh no, Jesus! We need more than bread! Didn’t you also say, “man shall not live by bread alone?” We need fruits and vegetables and dairy and proteins! Bread isn't even that good for you with all those carbs and gluten! But, there it stands, "give us this day our daily bread." No more, no less; and not even with butter. However sometimes one piece of bread means a lot. A story is told of an orphanage that housed many refugee children who had lost their parents to the Holocaust, during WWII. These children had endured much suffering and tragedy in their young lives, and many of them had experienced

Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still. Teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. ~Proverbs 9:9 I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. ~Luke 19:26 Yesterday we talked about knowing when to speak and when not to speak and we used the four soils as an illustration of the types of hearts that may be more receptive or less receptive depending upon their heart condition. Then I said that I hope that all of the readers on this list are the fourth soil and I gave some examples of what the fourth soil might look and act like. For the sake of review, we said of the Fourth soil person: You want to know. You want to grow. You want to be fruitful. You should be a safe person to have a deep discussion with about spiritual matters without being easily offended. You should be a person who is interested in knowing the truth, even if it means having to change your thinking on a matter

Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult. Whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you. Rebuke a wise man and he will love you. ~Proverbs 9:7-8 Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger. ~Proverbs 29:8 Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls before pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. ~Matthew 7:6 Okay, perhaps some of you on this list will remember the words to the chorus of the Kenny Rogers’ song, “The Gambler” which says: “You gotta know when to hold um, Know when to fold um, Know when to walk away, And know when to run.” Kenny Rogers was talking about the wise gambler who is trying to hold on to his money. I can’t help but think that the same advice can apply to our words, even if they are wise, when we consider our audience. In fact, leaning on wisdom will help us discern when to speak and when to hold our tongue. Even Jesus seems to be agreeing w