Recent Sermons

Sermon20111030

The church is built up directly by the

Lord

Matthew 16:18
18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Acts 9:31
31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.

Acts 16:5
5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.

Colossians 2:6-7
6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

1 Peter 2:5
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The church is built up indirectly through its

Leaders

1 Corinthians 3:9-15
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Ephesians 4:11-12
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

The church is built up continuously by

your ministry

Ephesians 4:16
16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

1 Corinthians 12:7; 14:5, 12, 26
7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

14:5
5 Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.

14:12
12 So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.

14:26
26 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.

Romans 12:4-8
4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Theme : Three duties through which the church glorifies God so you will commit yourself to its up building.

Outline:
I. Exalting God
Worshiping
II. Edifying the saints
Instructing
III. Evangelizing the lost
Reaching

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Sermon20111023

1 Corinthians 11:17-34
17 But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.
18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.
19 For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.
20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper,
21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.
22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.

Theme: Eight exhortations for partaking of the Lord’s supper
I. Beware of three dangers that threaten the purpose and spirit of the Lord’s Supper vv.17-22
A. The danger of divisions vs.18
Exhortation # 1 Don’t contribute to the divisions in the body
B. The danger of factions vs.19
Exhortation # 2 Don’t become the leader or a member of factions in the body
C. The danger of self indulgence and its consequences vv. 20-22
Exhortation # 3 Don’t become guilty of selfishly neglecting others in the body

II. Understand three characteristics of the Lord’s Supper vv.23-28
A. The supper is for Believers vv.23-26
Exhortation # 4 Make sure you are a believer in Christ, if partaking
B. The supper honors Jesus Christ vv.23-26
Exhortation # 5 Focus completely on our Savior, when partaking
C. The supper requires proper preparation by the recipients vv.27-28
Exhortation # 6 Abstain from partaking unworthily

III. Recognize the consequences of failing to properly partake of the Lord’s supper vv.29-32
A. The consequence is judgement vs.29
Exhortation # 7 Examine yourself carefully
Exhortation # 8 Be thankful for the Lord’s loving-discipline
B. Four aspects of this judgement vv 29-32
1. The reason for this consequence vs.29
2. The three unfortunate conditions vs.30
* weakness
* sickness
* death
3. The way to avoid judgement vs.31
4. The nature of this judgement vs.32

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Sermon20111016

1 Corinthians 11:17-34
17 But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.
18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.
19 For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.
20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper,
21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.
22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.

Theme: Eight exhortations for partaking of the Lord’s supper
I. Beware of three dangers that threaten the purpose and spirit of the Lord’s Supper vv.17-22
A. The danger of divisions vs.18
Exhortation # 1 Don’t contribute to the divisions in the body
B. The danger of factions vs.19
Exhortation # 2 Don’t become the leader or a member of factions in the body
C. The danger of self indulgence and its consequences vv. 20-22
Exhortation # 3 Don’t become guilty of selfishly neglecting others in the body

II. Understand three characteristics of the Lord’s Supper vv.23-28
A. The supper is for Believers vv.23-26
Exhortation # 4 Make sure you are a believer in Christ, if partaking
B. The supper honors Jesus Christ vv.23-26
Exhortation # 5 Focus completely on our Savior, when partaking
C. The supper requires proper preparation by the recipients vv.27-28
Exhortation # 6 Abstain from partaking unworthily

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Sermon20111009

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

17 But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.
18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.
19 For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.
20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lords Supper,
21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.
22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.

The Lords Supper

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lords death until He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.

Theme: Eight exhortations for partaking of the Lord’s supper.
I. Beware of three dangers that threaten the purpose and spirit of the Lord’s Supper vv.17-22
A. The danger of

divisions

vs.18
Exhortation #1 Don’t

contribute to the divisions in the body

B. The danger of

factions

vs.19
Exhortation #2 Don’t

become the leader or a member of factions in the body

C. The danger of

self indulgence

and its

consequences

vv.20-22
Exhortation #3 Don’t

become guilty of selfishly neglecting others in the body

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Sermon20111002

Jude 1:11-16
11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
12 These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;
13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,
15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.
16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

Character profiles of past spiritual terrorists.

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Sermon20110925

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
4 Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.
5 But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.
6 For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head.
7 For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
8 For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;
9 for indeed man was not created for the womans sake, but woman for the mans sake.
10 Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
11 However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
12 For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,
15 but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
16 But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.

Place of functional authority

Practice of functional authority

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Sermon20110918

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Sermon20110911

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
4 Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.
5 But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.
6 For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head.
7 For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
8 For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;
9 for indeed man was not created for the womans sake, but woman for the mans sake.
10 Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
11 However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
12 For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,
15 but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
16 But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.

2 Aspects of Functional Authority.

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Sermon20110904

Jude 1:8-16

8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.

9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke you!

10 But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.

11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

12 These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;

13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

14 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,

15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.

16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

Six distinctive traits that must be seen so that we will be able to recognize heresy and defend the the truth:

1. Recognition of the Desires of Jude – Triplets of Called, Beloved, Kept whoever experience mercy, peace, and love (vv. 1-2)

2. Recognition of the Directive for the Church – Defend Doctrine ! (v.3)

3. Recognition of the Dangers of False Teachers (v.4)

3 Attributes;

Ungodly (Godless)

Antinomian (Licentious)

Insubordinate (Nonsubmissive, Rejecting the Messiah)

Ireverent

4. Recognition of the Damnation of Sin and Apostates

3 Illustrations:

Apostate Israel

Apostate Angels

Apostate Gentiles

5. Recognition of the Description of Apostates

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Sermon20110828
1 Corinthians 10:23 – 11:1

23 All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.
24 Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.
25 Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience sake;
26 for the earth is the Lords, and all it contains.
27 If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience sake.
28 But if anyone says to you, This is meat sacrificed to idols, do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience sake;
29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other mans; for why is my freedom judged by anothers conscience?
30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks?
31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
32 Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God;
33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved.

11:1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

Theme: Three guidelines for exercising your Christian freedom so you will benefit others and glorify and glorify God.

What are the parameters for exercising Christian freedom ?
Be concerned for the weaker brother.

I. Acknowledge three general axioms in the daily use of your Christian vs. 23-24
A. Something can be lawful but not profitable vs. 23a
B. Something can be lawful but not build up others vs. 23b
C. The good of others rather than yourself should be your goal vs. 24

II. Understand two specific examples of Christian freedom in action vv.25-30
A. In relation to personal decisions vv.25-26 (cf. Rom. 14:23)
B. In relation to unbelievers vv.27-30

III. Ultimately in all things give glory to God, imitate Christ !

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