Sermons on Service
I Know What Love Is
Sermon text: 1 John 3:16-17 You cannot know true love apart from accepting Jesus as your Savior and Lord. You can read about it and hear others talk about it. But you cannot have a real personal knowledge of what God’s love is unless you surrender your life to Jesus. When you do, you gain an understanding of His great gift. His crucifixion is definitely key to this, but Jesus’ entire life was one of service and sacrifice. Every follower…
Make Jesus Famous
Sermon text: Luke 3:16-17 John the Baptist was massively famous in Israel around 30 AD. Yet he knew his mission. He was a forerunner of the One to come. He was to prepare the people’s hearts for repentance. When the people began to question whether John may be the Messiah, he wasn’t coy about it at all. He pointed them to the One who was truly the Messiah.
Being Social Biblically
Sermon text: Galatians 5:22-23 Maybe you’ve memorized the fruit of the Spirit. Nine words that describe the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. But what do these words really describe? Based on the context in which they reside, they give a picture of servanthood. They provide a portrait of a life in tune with God and others. Ultimately they give a brief depiction of how the follower of Christ should behave and interact with the…
What’s Your Mission?
Sermon text: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 Every follower of Jesus Christ has a mission. Certainly we have the overall mission given to the church, to make disciples. We have a mission as a part of a local church. But we also have a personal, individual mission. This mission will definitely line up with the larger missions of Christianity and our local body of believers. But no one else will have a mission just like you do. Do you know your mission?
The Good Kid
Sermon text: 1 Peter 1:13-16 All who call on Christ as their Lord have hope for their future. Scripture has many verses that assure us of this fact. But often that hope can be clouded by the cares and distractions of this world. Early in his first epistle Peter warns his readers to avoid this pitfall. Using the example of an obedient child he tells us to live holy lives. We need to not conform to the world in which…
Think Like Jesus
Sermon text: Philippians 2:5-13 Jesus was the greatest servant who ever walked the earth. In fact, His very mission was to come here to serve the most people. He accomplished that task perfectly, in that He took our sin upon Himself on the cross. The apostle Paul makes it very clear in the focal verse for this sermon that Jesus is the very embodiment of how we should live our lives. But not just in how we act. We should…
Laser Focused
Sermon text: Luke 9:51 Jesus was not caught by surprise when He was arrested in Jerusalem the week after He entered the city so triumphantly. He knew why He was arrested and what the punishment would be. He had told His disciples repeatedly that He would be killed in Jerusalem. He also told them He’d rise again. But for all that He knew He would go through, He was totally focused on completing His mission.
Portrait of an Encourager
Sermon text: Acts 4:36, Acts 9:27, Acts 11:22-30, Acts 15:36-41 Barnabas played a major role in the first years of the Christian church. He was respected and trusted by the apostles. They were the ones who gave him the name Barnabas, which means “Son of Encouragement.” The life and ministry of this man can teach us a lot about what it means to be an encourager.
More Effective Sowing
Sermon text: Galatians 6:7-9 The law of sowing and reaping is universal and God ordained. But it’s easy to miss the finer points of this important principle. First, if you plan to have a worthwhile harvest you need to sow with intention. A willy-nilly approach to sowing won’t yield very much of worth. Second, we must be careful to not limit our sowing opportunities. There are many occasions in our everyday life when we can sow seeds which honor God.
Going Deeper
Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:1-3 You know when a baby is hungry. Everyone in earshot knows as well. Peter compares this sort of hunger to how believers should crave God’s word. This is much more than just reading a short devotional every day, or going to church once a week. Instead, this is a life-altering, desperate desire to connect with Scripture. Peter makes it clear that the absence of this in a believer’s life can lead to a critical and…