All the Sermons

Isaiah 6:9-13 , John 12:38-50 Key Verse: Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in Him." John 12:37 Back in the parable of "The Rich Man And Lazarus," ( Luke 16:19-31 ) The rich man had begged Father Abraham to send Lazarus back to earth to talk to his five brothers so that they would believe and not end up suffering the same fate as he. Abraham responded, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rise from the dead." ( Luke 16:31 ) It's hard to accept, but there are those who will refuse to believe no matter what they see, hear, or experience. They have a willful, hardness of heart that can explain everything away. This is nothing new. God warned Isaiah about this attitude of willfulness more than seven hundred years before. "For this reason they could not believe,” because, as Isaiah says, "He has blinded their eyes and ...

John 12:20-37 Key Verse: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds." John 12:24 When Jesus was brought to the temple to be dedicated, as an infant, the old prophet, Simeon, came to His parents, took Jesus in his arms and prophesied, "My eyes have seen Your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Your people Israel."  ( Luke 2:30-32 )  In our reading for today, we see this prophesy starting to be fulfilled. During the time of Passover, Jerusalem was full of people from around the known world.  All Jews would come to celebrate Passover near the temple, but also, God fearing Gentiles were around to observe and get as close as they could.  They would have been witness to all of Jesus' teachings and sparring with the leadership. The cleansing of the temple that had taken ...

Ezekiel 34:11-24 , Matthew 7:21-23 & 25:31-46 , James 1:22-25 Key Verse: "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Matthew 25:32 This is Jesus’ final message on this theme of how it will be in the end. Jesus continues to make it very clear that things are not always as they seem. Those who live well and at ease in this life are not necessarily the blessed ones according to God. First of all, I should explain that shepherds in the Middle East often do heard sheep and goats together. However, since they are needed for different purposes, there are those times when the shepherds need to separate them. As we can see from the passage in Ezekiel, since long past, God has been dealing with the false piety of the religious, those who think that they are saved because of their behavior and those who serve the Lord out of love. He has been frustrated by those who...

Luke 12:49-53 Key Verse: "Do you think I came to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but division." Luke 12:51 We can see in this passage how frustrated God is with evil. Yet, we also see how patient He is to do what must be done, in the proper order, to conquer evil fully and completely.  When we began this journey, and looked at the first sin that brought evil into the world, we said that God was faced with a choice. He could take what had been broken and sweep it into the garbage, or painstakingly put the pieces together again to make the creation whole. If God had taken the first choice and began over again, what would have prevented Satan from just destroying that creation as well, creating a cycle of frustration for God of creation and destruction? We said that God obviously made a different choice because of love. Today, Jesus says, "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, ...

Matthew 25:14-30 , Luke 19:11-27 Key Verse: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7-8 Well, here we go again, with two different versions of the same story. Remember, if Jesus did use this parable on more than one occasion, as story teller, it is His prerogative to adjust the story depending on His audience. We will do better here again to focus on the similarities to get to the basic message. So, we have here, once again, a master, who is a powerful person, who leaves home. We mentioned before the importance of a master to be able to leave the care of his property and possessions in the hands of servants he can trust. We actually learn, in this parable, just how the responsibility was distributed. He gave the first s...

Matthew 24:36-51 , Luke 12:41-48 Key Verse: Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." Matthew 24:42 We've had the example of a master being gone for a short period of time, perhaps an evening and returning home during the night. We've had the example of the bride, waiting with her friends for the bridegroom. Now, Jesus will give several examples of a master who is actually gone on a journey, over a longer period of time. Yet, the servants who are left behind are still required to remain vigilant for the master's return. Remember that in Jesus' day there were no cell phones. Sending a message home to a servant could not only be expensive and tedious, and if the servant could not read, ineffective. The master would leave on a journey and be out of communication with his home for the duration. It was important, therefore, to have trustworthy servants who would keep the house running, and in good order so that the mast...

Matthew 25:1-13 Key Verse: "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or hour." Matthew 25:13 It is a bit unclear exactly when these next teachings actually took place. Were they a continuation of Jesus' conversation with His disciples on the Mount of Olives? Did these conversations spill into the next day? This may be the case since much of what Jesus had to say was aimed, once again, at the religious leadership. But what he says is more important than when he said it. Jesus is continuing His theme of the importance of being ready, no matter when, for His return. Again, He wisely draws from a common experience of everyday life, to convey truths. Jesus draws on the practices of the day, of the marriage ceremony, to once again illustrate how it will be when He returns. This is not the last time Jesus will use the wedding and the betrothal practices of the day to relate the kingdom of God to His listeners. This would actually make sense since He is ...