Sermon Notes

On Sunday we began a new sermon series considering what Scripture teaches about worship. Over the summer we will learn from Moses, David, and Paul, but this first Sunday we beganby hearing what Moses said about God's pattern for worship at Sinai. While our worshipis not at Mount Sinai, but Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:2224), the pattern of worship revealed to Israel teaches us ...

As we took another look at worship this Sunday, we focused on the covenantal history outlined by Moses in Deuteronomy 4. In these verses, Moses directed Israel to remember the covenant God made with them, to guard themselves from idolatry, and to take comfort in Yahweh's ongoing faithfulness. While there are many differences between Israel on the Plains of Moab and the pe...

Flee wickedness. Pursue righteousness. Fight the Good Fight. Take Hold of Eternal Life. These are the commands that Paul gives Timothy as he finishes his letter to his true son in the faith. They are good for us today too. Scripture calls us to run from sin and race towards Christ. But how? What will motivate us, strengthen us, and enable us to finish our race? On Sunday...

A. W. Tozer once said that what you think about when you think about God is the most important thing about you. In his statement, this Chicago pastor captured the way our thinking drives our living. If we could only order our thinking about God and everything else rightly, we would be headed in a good direction. The problem is that we are not just "thinking-things," we ar...

More than what, more thanhow . . . butwhyyou do what you do will ultimately determine the success of your "doings." This sort of thinking has been championed recently by various thought leaders, but the principle goes back to the Bible itself. God does not just look at the outward appearance, he looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Moreover, the command to circumcise your ...

What are you supposed to do in church? What are elders supposed to do in church?And how do elders and members work together in the church? On Sunday I answered these questions with six "how-to's" from 1 Timothy 5:1725. In this section to Timothy about elders, Paul gives inspired counsel for providing for how to honor elders, protect elders, rebuke (sinning) elders, and ap...

While every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection, this last Sunday we celebrated the very day when Christ rose from the grave. In Sunday's sermon from 1 Timothy 3:16 we consider the full impact of Christ's life, death, and resurrection. In six compact statements Paul outlines the major turning points associated with Christ's resurrection. Truly, the church is bui...

On Sunday we focused on the death and resurrection of Christ. While Psalm Sunday directs us to Christ's triumphal entrance to Jerusalem, we focused on Paul's message of the cross in 1 Timothy 2:57. As 1 Timothy 23 spend time on Christ's death and resurrection, we considered how his one death ransomed people from every nation. Indeed, speaking into the divided context of E...

When you hear the words "church" and "drama," what comes to mind? At best, church drama conjures up images of Christmas Cantatas or Passion plays. At worst, church drama brings up painful memories of infighting and relational strife in church meetings. Too often, drama in the church carries a negative connotation, one that always threatens the church. In response to this...

In our sermon this Sunday we considered 1 Timothy 3:1416. In many respects it provides the highpoint of 1 Timothy. Paul provides his purpose for writing and gives the context for the instructions that he has written to Timothy and the church in this epistle. He provides the instructions for how we ought to conduct ourselves in the household of God, the church of the living...