All the Sermons

How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver! ~Proverbs 16:16   Teach me, O Lord, to follow Your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep Your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from selfish things; preserve my life according to Your word. Fulfill Your promise to Your servant, so that You may be feared. Take away the disgrace I dread, for Your laws are good. How I long for Your precepts! ~Psalm 119:33-40   The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. T...

Scripture: Matt 5:3-6 Video link: https://www.facebook.com/gregory.dubois.547/videos/10158111252311195 We have talked about the true disciple, one who follows Jesus and lets him change us into people who fish for other people, to make new disciples. Let me summarize the definition of a disciple again: That is a person who is following Christ. You made a mental decision to put him in charge of your life. And because of that decision you are now being made into a fisher of other people. You are letting Jesus change your heart. And finally, you are committed to the mission of making new disciples, putting your mental assent and your heart’s desire into action. A disciple is following Christ, being changed by Christ, and is committed to the mission of Christ. [i] Last week we talked about all the hurting and broken people, as well as the injustices that cause their suffering. I challenged you to choose which story line you wanted to contribute to, the hurt or the healing. Of course, ...

(The word “leader,” has been substituted for king.)  The lips of a leader speak as an oracle, and his mouth should not betray justice. ~Proverbs 16:10  Leaders detest wrongdoing, for leadership is established through righteousness. Leaders take pleasure in honest lips. They value a person who speaks the truth. A Leader’s wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise person will appease it. When a Leader’s face brightens, it means life. His favor is like a raincloud in spring. ~Proverbs 16:12-15  A Leader’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass. ~Proverbs 19:12  When a leader sits in his seat to judge, he winnows out all evil with his eye. ~Proverbs 20:8  The leader’s heart is in the hand of the Lord. He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases. ~Proverbs 21:1  Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been ...

Be wise my child and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt. ~Proverbs 27:11  After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.” ~John 17:1-5  As God’s child, could you pray this prayer of Jesus’ for yourself, concerning your obedience to the Father? In Jesus, we see a life totally consumed with wanting to please His Father in heaven. Even in His death, He sees the opportunity to bring God glory.  One of our bride’s maids, was a friend of Kathy’s that she had met he...

He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces finds mercy. ~Proverbs 28:13 But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; you may be sure that your sin will find you out. ~Numbers 32:23 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ~1 John 1:8-9 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sins the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. ~Psalm 32:1-5      The prayer offe...

Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided. When your ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even your enemies live at peace with you. ~Proverbs 16:6-7 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though, for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ~Romans 5:6-8 I will listen to what the Lord will say. He promises peace to His people, His saints—but let them not return to folly. Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land. Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before Him an...

June 25 The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: they will not go unpunished. ~Proverbs 16:5 Goliath said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.”   David said to Goliath, “You come at me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day, the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”   As the Philistine moved closer to attack him,...

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. ~Proverbs 15:22 All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works out everything for His own end—even the wicked for a day of disaster. ~Proverbs 16:2-4 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. ~Proverbs 16:9 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. ~Proverbs 19:21 Make plans by seeking advice. If you wage war, obtain guidance. ~Proverbs 20:18 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward one according to conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” ~Jeremiah 17:9-10 Then a teacher of the law came to Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the S...

To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue. ~Proverbs 16:1 Blessed is the one who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders You have done. The things You have planned for us no one can recount to You. Were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. ~Psalm 40:4-5 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and will listen to Me. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” ~Jeremiah 29:11-13 Creativity is a gift from the Lord. It would only make sense that the Master Creator would pass on His gift, of enjoying being creative, to His children. Our ways of expressing that gift are all different. Some are more drawn to the visual arts while others expres...

The one who listens to a life giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. The one who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding. ~Proverbs 15:32-33 The sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakes me morning by morning, awakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. ~Isaiah 50:4-5 I am so grateful for the people who have loved me enough to speak into my life when a course correction was needed. Of course, the biggest course correction of my life took place when friends, and a Pastor, spoke into my life to lead me to Christ. I had really made a mess of things and had been heading in the wrong direction. In fact, when they spoke to me, I had actually stopped heading one way and was at a standstill, not knowing where to go next. I suppose that’s one reason that I speak so often about Chris...

2 Cor. 5:16- 20 video link: https://www.facebook.com/LakeCityEvangelicalPresbyterianChurch/posts/3937418642966956 Happy Father’s Day! As a father myself, I can tell you it does my heart good when I see my children getting along well with each other. I am also saddened when my kids don’t get along well. I’m thinking about this because God our heavenly Father is presently watching his children on earth having a really difficult time.   So, today, I feel the need to speak about the social stresses and issues we are dealing with in our culture today. It must break our Father’s heart to see our land in this condition. For weeks now it may seem that I have been avoiding any discussion of current issues. There have been lots of stories in the news. But I have been digging into the Bible and focused on what it says about life in Christ. That doesn’t mean I’m ignoring current issues. I believe that the power of the Gospel is still real and can have a profound and positive impact on ...