Sermons from 2020
Welcome the Message
We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of…
Christmas Eve: Together from Home
Remembering the birth of Christ with Scripture, song, and Gospel proclamation!
The Word Made Flesh
Christ the Word, the eternal second person of the Trinity, took upon Himself mortality and all human emotions and experiences. The God of creation revealed in Genesis 1:1, John 1:1, and Revelation 1:8 bridged the gap between God and humanity that we might know Him and find forgiveness through Him.
Imitating Christ
The imitation of Christ is to be our chief end. There should not be a gap between the Christ we proclaim verbally and the Christ we present visibly. With dependence upon the Holy Spirit, let us seriously consider the life of Jesus and pray for holiness.
Loved and Chosen by God
Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers that they were loved and chosen by God before the creation of the world. Being chosen results in our spiritual adoption into His family and our progress in holiness, with the ultimate goal being that we will respond in praise and worship.
Sights, Sounds and Significance of the Cross
On the cross, the Son of God endured agony and public humiliation. As He heard the mocking of the onlookers He spoke words of forgiveness, promise, care, and victory. The significance of the cross is that Christ died specifically for each of us as individuals, to absorb the wrath of God on our behalf and bring us to reconciliation with God. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on…
A Prayer of Thanks to God
Paul expresses thanks to God in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 for His transforming grace in the lives of the Thessalonians. Their faith has produced a zeal for good works, their love has prompted them to intense labor and service, and their confident hope in the return or Christ has resulted in steadfast endurance. Let us verbally express our thanks to God for these same virtues and ask Him to increase them in our lives.
Grace and Peace to You
Paul’s greeting to the Thessalonians is “Grace and peace to you…”. Grace is God’s undeserved favor and kindness to those who have dishonored His name, disobeyed His laws, and rejected His authority. Peace is reconciliation with God through being justified by faith in Christ and His substitutionary sacrifice for us. Grace and peace make us into a church community, called out of the world to publicly belong to Christ.
Let’s Study 1 Thessalonians
The Bible contains the authoritative truth of God which has the power to change us. The book of 1 Thessalonians teaches us how to live in anticipation of the return of Christ, with joy and with love for each other and for a lost world. As we begin our study of 1 Thessalonians , let us study this epistle humbly, expectantly, and prayerfully.
Living Hope
The living hope that Peter proclaims in 1 Peter 1:3 is the hope of a certain future that is based on the finished work of Christ and is established by His resurrection. Hope flows out of personal transformation and fixes our gaze on future certainties. We are to be alert, ready for action, conforming our lives to the pattern of Christ.
Share the Story
He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:20-21 Pastor Roger explains and demonstrates an easy way to share the gospel with your friends.
Sharing Your Story
1Peter 3:15 reminds us to always be ready to share the hope that is within us. One way to share our hope is to share our “before and after” story, focusing on the person we were before encountering Christ and how we are now different because of the transforming power of Christ. Even though our lives are not perfect and we each have many weaknesses we can share how we now lean on Christ’s strength and respond differently to temptation and difficult situations.
Impacting Your Sphere of Influence
1Peter 2:9-12 and 3:15 encourage God’s people to display and declare the love and salvation of God. Doing good works flows out of who we are in Christ, forgiven by Him even when we were opposed to Him. We are to live in such a way that it demands a Gospel explanation. We should expect opportunities to happen and be prepared to tell about the hope that is in us, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Others need to know the how and the why we are able to live a godly life.
Two Kinds of Fear
The book of 1 Peter was written to believers whose identity, values, and mindset set them apart from those around them. Peter instructed those believers to not fear what the world fears, but to have a reverent fear of the Lord that is rooted in love, results in holiness, and empowers for witness.
A Witnessing Church
The early church persistently proclaimed the Gospel in the power of the the Holy Spirit, depending on God to open minds and transform hearts. A witnessing church is a Spirit-filled authentic community, faithfully praying and living a witnessing lifestyle despite persecution.
Dedicated to Fellowship
Fellowship is the mingling of our lives together, often at great cost, because of all that we have in common. Our salvation which allows us to have a personal relationship with Christ immediately brings us into a corporate relationship with others. Fellowship means living for one another, helping each other grow spiritually, and taking care of the needy among us in genuine love.
Assurance of Salvation
1 John 5:13 assures us that we may know for certain that we have experienced true salvation and will one day go to heaven. This passage, along with the remainder of 1 John, declares the marks of a Christian. First, a genuine Christian believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the savior of the world. Next, a believer will show progress (not perfection) toward an obedient lifestyle of holiness. Finally, Christians love one another sacrificially and humbly (1 John 4:7-11).
What is Salvation?
What does it mean to be saved? Salvation is an “all of life” term that begins with a specific point in which we have been saved, delivered from the penalty of sin through faith in Christ (Romans 2:15 & Ephesians 2:8,9).
Salvation continues as we grow in holiness through dependance upon God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. We are being saved from the power of sin (1Corinthians 1:18). In the future day of glorification, at the return of Christ, we will be saved from the presence of sin (Hebrews 9:28).
Devoted to Worship
Worship is a natural response to grace as the Holy Spirit gives us the desire to speak and sing to God about His attributes and actions. We are to worship God in spirit (heartfelt) and truth (in accordance with Scripture). Worship is an eternal joyous reality (Psalms 145:1-2), a corporate activity (Psalm 95:1-2), and a daily lifestyle (Psalm 104:33). Like the early church in Acts 2:41,47 let us be devoted to worship.
Devoted to Prayers
Private and corporate prayer both flow out of our love for God and for others. We have access to the Father because of Christ the righteous, our mediation (Hebrews 10:19-22). The early church was devoted to prayer, making it a priority. We should specifically plan for times of praise, confession, and intercession, and we should also live in an attitude of prayer, ready to lift up prayers as we feel led throughout the day.