All the Sermons

Now then, my child, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. Keep to a path far from fools, do not go near the door of the house of fools, lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel, lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man’s house. At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, “how I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.” ~Proverbs 5:7-14 As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that “HAD” to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?” “Martha, Martha,”...

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. ~Proverbs 4:23 “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will Guard your heart and your mind which is in Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 4:7 “Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may bbe able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert, and always keep on praying for all the saints.” ~Ephesians 6:13-18 Be self-controlled and alert. Your...

Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; keep your foot from evil. ~Proverbs 4:24-27 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ~Hebrews 12:1-2 “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” We have an interesting challenge as Christians. We do best when we look straight ahead and focus on Him. Yet, we are also called to...

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But, the way of the wicked is like deep darkness. They do not know what makes them stumble. ~Proverbs 4:18-19 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. ~Isaiah 9:2 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ~Ephesians 5:8-14 This is the message we have heard from Him and now declare to you...

Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way. ~Proverbs 4:14-15 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to anyone, able to teach, not resentful. ~2 Timothy 2:22-24 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. ~James 1:13-15 Incrementalism is usually our downfall. Have you ever heard that saying that goes something like, “Sin holds us longer than we want to stay and c...

Scripture: Luke 11:1-4 & Matthew 6:9-13 Listen Link: Listen link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab. Since we have been talking about prayer, I have decided to start an eight-week series on the Lord’s Prayer to explore its depths and meaning. Though it’s commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, I like to call it the Christian’s prayer because it is the one that Jesus our Lord taught us to pray. I think it’s called the Lord’s Prayer because he came up with it. But he gave it to us for our use. It is a model of Christian prayer. It is the Christian’s Prayer. Many congregations pray this simple prayer pretty much every Sunday, and most all of us know it by heart even if we don’t use it regularly. But do we really think about what we are praying as we recite the words? We have this prayer because the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. We ought to start today by wondering why the disciples even asked Jesus to teach them to pray. They were raised in a very relig...

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go. Guard it well, for it is your life. ~Proverbs 4:13 “When the counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about Me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or Me. I have told you this; so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that b...

Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; Love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor. ~Proverbs 4:5-9 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given. ~James 1:5 Inscribed on the wall of the Library Of Congress: "Wisdom is the principal thing therefore get wisdom and with all thy getting, get understanding" ~Proverbs 4:7 It is amazing to me all of the scripture that is embedded throughout our nation’s capital. In truth, the scripture readings for today are mostly a repeat, or review of things we have already said. Keep wisdom close, as a crown or garland would be, and she will re...

The wise inherit honor, but fools He holds up to shame. ~Proverbs 3:35 “Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.” ~Isaiah 3:10 “God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” ~Hebrews 6:10-12 “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 5:24-25 “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” ~Matthew 12:36-3...

January 23     The cross will humble us all. The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous. He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble. ~Proverbs 3:33-34 And Mary said, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the mighty one has done great things for me—Holy is His Name! His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty things with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as He said to our Fathers.” ~Luke 1:46-55 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or...

Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways, for the Lord detests a perverse person but takes the upright into His confidence. ~Proverbs 3:31-32 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace. The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them. The Lord laughs at the wicked, for He knows their day is coming. ~Psalm 37:10-13 Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. ~Matthew 5:5 Do you remember a few days ago when we were contrasting the difference between a full-grown tree as the righteous person, and chaff, or the hull of a seed, as the one who chooses evil? I believe that theme is what is being revisited here. Solomon is warning us, when we feel that need for justification rising within us, to remember that we are trees, so we shouldn’t act like chaff. He wouldn’t warn us if we couldn’t do it. Meekness is power under control. Think...

Do not accuse another for no reason—when no harm has been done. ~Proverbs 3:30 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” ~Matthew 7:1-2 “Forgive us our sins, as we also have forgiven those who sin against us.” ~Matthew 6:12 We humans are interesting. We suffer small offenses and, instead of going to the offender, we go to our friends. Our friends usually aren’t impartial observers, but encouragers and reinforcers of our perceptions. The end result is that we often go to war over silly stuff.  Sadly, too often, we prefer that war because we feel justified, rather than examining ourselves, apologizing for our part, and leaving the offender to God, if there was really an offense at all. If satan can keep us divided, destroy our community and fracture our churches, he loves it. That is the reason Jesus referred to him as, “the Father of lies.” Lies are his...

Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you. ~Proverbs 3:29 What you have seen with your eyes do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame? If you argue your case with a neighbor, do not betray another person’s confidences, or the one who hears it may shame you and you will never lose your bad reputation. ~Proverbs 25:8-10 Whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet. ~Proverbs 29:5 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” ~Matthew 5:24-25 Again today, Solomon offers more advice about how to live in harmony with others, especially our neighbors. We talked yesterday about the way we live before our neighbors as an extension of our faith. Yesterday, the concern was more about makin...

Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—too much of you and your neighbor will hate you. ~Proverbs 25:17 Loudly bless your neighbor early in the morning, and it will be taken as a curse. ~Proverbs 27:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. ~Psalm 91:14 For, this is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. ~Psalm 118:24 I am a morning person! I can face the morning with enthusiasm almost every day. I often wake up before the alarm and don’t complain about it. I would have no problem singing the song: “This Is the Day,” in full voice in the morning. But I don’t think that Kathy would join me. She is my nearest “neighbor” and we just read that warning against loudly blessing your neighbor early in the morning. Let’s just say I’ve learned that one by experience. Kathy is not a morning person. In fact, I bring her a first cup of coffee, while she’s still waking up, just to help her along. She do...

Scripture: James 5:13-6 Listen Link: Listen link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab. Neil Anderson is a pastor with a lot to say about Spiritual warfare. In one story he shares, the mother of one of his seminary students was a psychic. She said to him once, "Have you been praying for me?" "Of course, I have, Mother." "Well, don't," she insisted, "because you're disturbing my aura." In another story there was a man who was a high priest in the upper echelons of Satanism. Six months after he was set free and became a Christian, he gave his testimony in church. At the close of his testimony Pastor Neil asked him, "Based on your experience on 'the other side,' what is the Christian's greatest strategy against demonic influence?" "Prayer," he answered forcefully. "And when you pray, mean it. Fervent prayer thwarts Satan's activity like nothing else." God’s power is in our praye...