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As we return to our series, “Understanding Acts: Body #2 Takes Over!” we find Paul in the early part of the final stage of his life and ministry as he gets to Jerusalem and immediately begins to be attacked and falsely accused.

He had been warned several times and heard the prophecy of Agabus about what awaited him there. He would face five very serious difficulties in Jerusalem:

(1) false accusations; (2) people ganging up on him; (3) physical violence; (4) public humiliation; and, (5) rejection

While many of us face these specific difficulties from time to time, very few of us have or ever will face them as intensely as did Paul. God allowed these difficulties to come into Paul’s life for many reasons including teaching us – through the preserved biblical record – how to deal with our difficulties as well.

As you prepare to hear this sermon next Lord’s Day, read over these verses and think about how these truths enabled Paul to deal with his difficulties and how they can enable us to better deal with ours…

Romans 8:28; Philippians 1:12-14; 1st Kings 8:54-57; 2nd Timothy 1:8-12; Romans 8:18; 2nd Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:7-10; Acts 22:24-29; and 25:9-12

As the Lord allows, I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side…

Recently, I have been thinking over a question that has come to my mind from time to time and about which I have been asked on more than one occasion. The question is about the room in which our Church gathers on Sunday mornings to worship God… is that place a “Sanctuary” or is it an “Auditorium?”

While this may strike most people as being of little or no consequence, to some people it is a very important issue. It can, in fact, be a very emotional issue for some! I certainly feel it deserves my time and attention to think it through and come to what I believe to be a biblical conclusion.

I have researched the Scriptures, I have thought it through, and I have come to a biblical conclusion. Let me share my thinking with you…

According to Dictionary.com, the word, “sanctuary” means, sanc·tu·ar·y (sangk-choo-er-ee) noun, plural sanc·tu·ar·ies.

1. a sacred or holy place.

2. Judaism:

     a. the Biblical tabernacle or the Temple in Jerusalem.

     b. the holy of holies of these places of worship.

3. an especially holy place in a temple or church.

4. the part of a church around the altar; the chancel.

5. a church or other sacred place where fugitives were formerly entitled to immunity from arrest.  

I think most Christians today think of a “Sanctuary” as the main room in a Church facility where the members meet to worship God.

This was much easier to discern in the Old Testament when God met with His people first in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple! Seems easy at first – but, not so fast! What made the Tabernacle and the Temple a “Sanctuary” was not the presence of God’s people there, it was the very presence of God! In both the Tabernacle and the Temple, God had chosen to dwell uniquely within the Ark of the Covenant, which was physically located within these structures.

So the “Sanctuary” where God is worshiped is that place where God (Who is, of course, omnipresent) chooses to dwell and to manifest Himself and His glory in a unique way to enable and facilitate worship.

With that being said, let’s look at the key New Testament Scriptures:

First, it is perfectly clear that God through His Spirit indwells the body of the individual believer!

1^st Corinthians 3:16-17 “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

Second, it is perfectly clear that God through His Spirit is manifestly present when His people are gathered together!

Matthew 18:20  “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”        

2^nd Corinthians 6:14-18 “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

Ephesians 2:19-22 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the  apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

So, here is what the Bible teaches about “God’s Sanctuary”:

The physical body of the believer is “God’s Sanctuary” where He dwells in order to enable us to worship Him!

The Body of Believers who are gathered together is also “God’s Sanctuary” where He dwells among us to enable us to worship Him!

Therefore, the beautiful room in which we gather together on Sunday mornings is not a “Sanctuary” but it is rather an “Auditorium!”

According to Dictionary.Com, an auditorium is:  au·di·to·ri·um: aw-di-tawr-ee-uhm, noun, plural au·di·to·ri·ums

1. the space set apart for the audience in a theater, school, or other public building.

2. a building for public gatherings; hall.

The root of this word is, of course, “to hear”. It is a room where people gather to hear someone or something.

Beloved Ones, I – like you – thank God continually for the beautiful facilities He has allowed us to have and to use for His glory and the good of His people. But, all of us desperately need to know that YOU AND I (both individually and corporately) are the “Sanctuary of God” and that He uniquely dwells in and among us!

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012

Romans 3:10-19 “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.”

God owes salvation to no one!

The first grace of regeneration is to see ourselves as a sinner who rightly deserves the wrath of God. It is God’s gracious revelation of our true condition that leads us to repent of our sin and call upon the Name of the Lord for forgiveness. The lack of this simple revelation of our true nature reveals the reality of an unregenerate heart.

Do you think you “deserve” to go to heaven? Repent! Do you think you deserve to go to hell? Rejoice in the grace of God that has revealed this to you! If you have not yet done so, ask God to forgive you right now and commit your life to obey and follow Jesus right now!

If you do, please let me know.

Marriage and Divorce experts continually tell us that financial problems are among the primary issues that lead to divorce! A recent article at Divorce.Com brings several questions to mind:

How are people impacted by the typical roller-coaster ride of financial issues they face in life and how does that impact their marriage?

What happens when two people with two very different philosophies about money try to build a life together?

How does controlling the finances in a family impact the marriage?

How do differing values about money impact the efforts of a married couple to successfully manage their money?

What role does gambling play in the breakup of many marriages?

As we look at several different passages of Scripture, I want us to focus on five key things that the Lord does to help us manage our money in a way that glorifies Him and blesses us!

First, what do Deuteronomy 8, Malachi 3, and 2^nd Thessalonians 3 teach us about God?

Second, What does Proverbs 6:1-11 teach us about our part in managing our family finances?

Third, what does Luke 15:11-17 teach us about taking care of our finances after we acquire them?

Fourth, what does the famous parable in Matthew 25:20-21 teach us about investing our resources?

Finally, what key principles do you find in Luke 6:38 in relation to how we come to have and how we use our money? What does God promise us in this passage?

I hope you will take the time to read over these verses and think about these questions in preparation for the message this coming Lord’s Day!

Remember! This coming Sunday is Father’s Day and we will have a time of special prayer and recognition and a gift for the Fathers who are present… so, do not forget to invite your Dad to attend church with you on Father’s Day!

As the Lord allows, I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side…

It has been an interesting and fun week and this coming Lord’s Day ought to be interesting and fun as well! We have been doing Vacation Bible School all this week and it has been a fun time. We have had a smaller than usual number of children, but we have had the most adult helpers ever.

Thanks to everyone who has worked and/or provided resources for this great event!

Our VBS “Family Day” is being held on this coming Sunday instead of Friday. This is the same pattern we followed last year. Doing this on Sunday accomplishes three helpful goals:

1) It gets the kids and their parents here on a Sunday to see our facility and meet the Church!

2) It allows nearly all of our members to see the workers, kids, and their family; which gives them a much better idea of what we do in VBS and how dramatically it can impact our community!

3) It makes for a really fun Sunday…  We will see and “hear” the kids and learn lots about all that they did and learned this week. We will get to meet them and their family. AND, we are going to end the day with a cookout at church to have some time to get to know them even better!

As the Lord allows, I will continue my sermon series entitled, “Marriage Matters” with a message from Ephesians 5:22-6:4 on the subject, “Five Essentials for Successful Parenting.” Hopefully, it will be a blessing to all of you and our guests as well.

People have very different ideas about what a successful parent is, so I want to use these verses to give biblical principles and application to answer that question.

There are, of course, many decisions and actions by the parents that make it either easier or more difficult to succeed as a parent. God has a clear pattern for family life, but, even those who do not achieve God’s standard can make the best of their situation and work together to be the best possible parents.

Single adults can, and often do, accomplish God’s highest standard for raising children. It is much harder to do it alone, but many people do!

Sadly, there are some children who are determined to destroy themselves and any hope of building a good life. This happens in even very good families. We will look at three of God’s choice servants in the Bible whose children brought disaster upon their own life.

In fact, the Bible clearly reveals that there has only been One Perfect Father, and all of His children ultimately rebelled against Him!

Think about these questions from our text:

According to Ephesians 5:32, to whom is this instruction given?

According to 5:25-31, 33 and 6:4, what does successful parenting demand of Dad?

According to 5:22-24 and 33, what does successful parenting demand of Mom?

According to 6:1-3, what does it require of the children?

I hope to see you Sunday Morning with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and family and friends by your side!

Read Colossians 1:9-18

This coming Lord’s Day morning, as the Lord allows, I will continue my series on “Marriage Matters” with a sermon on the subject, “Who’s the BOSS?”

Obviously, Jesus Christ is the BOSS!

What does Genesis 1:1-3 and Colossians 3:15-18 have to do with this claim?

Does God care about each and every minute detail of our life?

What if one or both of the married couple refuse to recognize that Jesus is the BOSS of their life and marriage? Does that matter?

What does Matthew 7:24-27 teach us about building a marriage and a life together?

Who ought every husband and every wife really want to please in their marriage?

What role does forgiveness play in this issue?

Every husband and every wife have one great problem! What is that problem, and what is the absolute never-fail remedy for it?

I hope to see you Sunday morning with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and family and friends by your side!

Read: Colossians 3:16-17

What do you believe is the first and most important step in building a biblical marriage? Of course, it is TO MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Easily said… but, more difficult to do. Does the Word of God indeed have guidelines on this matter? Yes.

What do you think would be two key perspectives about God that would immediately impact this decision?

Someone long ago said, “Ignorance can be easily cured with information; but, you can’t fix stupid!” Well, I am not sure about that… at least I hope you can fix stupid because I have acted stupidly from time to time. But, I do know what they meant by that harsh sounding statement.

Our message for Sunday Morning will be based on a simple exposition of these two verses from Colossians making a direct application to the matter of choosing that person to whom you will be married. I will submit four specific applications for us to consider…

What is the impact of biblical thinking on this all-important decision?

Where and from whom should we seek additional input about this life-changing decision?

Who is the best source of counsel as we think about this make or break decision?

And, finally, does Jesus have the right to tell you who to marry, and if you think He does not; how is it that you consider yourself to be, “a Christian?”

REMINDER: This coming Monday is Memorial Day. It is a time that we remember those who gave their lives in the defense of our Nation and our freedoms. It is a great time to remember and honor our fallen heroes, as well as to take time to pray for the safety of those who protect us and our freedoms today!

I hope to see you Sunday at 9am with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!

I am committed to preaching God’s Word “Book by Book” and “Doctrine by Doctrine.” A few days ago, a dear and very helpful friend asked about my current series, “Understanding Acts – Body #2 Takes Over!” They asked me if I might consider preaching some topical messages soon. I am fully aware of how much people need a break from time to time in the midst of a long series of messages; and, Acts has already taken sixty sermons with several more to go!

As you know, last Sunday I began a break in the series and we are doing six sermons from Mother’s to Father’s Day on “Marriage and the Family.” I hope that you will be blessed by this timely much-needed series! As the Lord allows, I hope to have the series of sermons on Acts completed by mid-November.

As I thought about my preaching pattern, I have done some “home work” and have discovered the following facts:

1. Since coming here (first as “Interim Pastor” in June of 2006, and as “Pastor-Teacher” since May of 2007) I have preached sixteen different series of messages!

2. Eight of them (50%) have been verse-by-verse through Books of the Bible: Psalms 1-16; Philippians; Malachi; Mark; Revelation; Daniel; Minor Prophets; and Acts. Note that four of them are from the Old Testament and four of them are from the New Testament.

3. Eight of them (50%) have been on various Biblical Topics: Doctrine of Scripture; Heaven; Prophecy; Lord’s Supper; The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts; The Gospel; Overview of Systematic Theology; and Marriage and the Family!

4. WOW! I am doing better at balance than I thought… 8 Bible Books, (4 O.T. and 4 N.T.); and 8 Topical Series.

5. But, the three very long series, “Mark” (66 Sermons), “Revelation” (30 Sermons), and “Acts” (likely to be 72 Sermons) demonstrate the reality that I am most often preaching through a Book of the Bible.

6. So, what is coming up after Acts? While I am always trying to be sensitive to the leading of the Lord – and sometimes my perception of His will changes with little notice – I believe that I will do two doctrinal series from January to June of 2013 on the subjects, “Why Should Christians be Baptists?” and “What do Baptist Christians Believe?”

7. As the Lord allows, from July through mid-November of 2013, I am planning to do a verse-by-verse study of “The First Eleven Chapters of Genesis” including several sermons on the Creation versus Evolution controversy. These three series in 2013 should take about forty weeks, which will leave twelve weeks open for messages on various subjects!

I deeply need and appreciate your prayers and helpful input about my preaching! Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with me. I hope this post is helpful to you as you read, pray, and prepare to hear God’s Word each week.

Serving Jesus, serving you, study for preaching, and preaching are obviously four of the great loves of my life. I thank God and you for the opportunity to preach to you in this beautiful place!

As the Lord allows, this coming Lord’s Day I will bring the second in a series of six messages on the subject of Christian Marriage. Obviously, not every Christian is married or will be married, so I believe it is wise to consider some of the many verses in Scripture which deal with living single to the glory of God!

And, YES, every Christian needs to hear this sermon! If you are not single and are wondering how this will apply to you, consider the fact that you may have children or grandchildren whom you will need to advise about these issues (as well as other family and friends); and, do not overlook the unhappy possibility that someday you may be single again.

YES, you do need this. Your family and friends need to hear this message as well!

1^st Corinthians 7 is a passage that was written during a time of great persecution of Christians and it is helpful to understand it in that context. Paul, who was clearly single at the time he wrote 1^st Corinthians, has great instruction for those who are single as well as those who are married.

Let me encourage you to read over, pray over, and meditate especially on verses 7-9, and 32-35. I want you to think about the following questions…

What is the most important thing in the life of a single Christian?

What tends to be the most important thing in the life of a married Christian?

Should every Christian seek to remain single?

Should every Christian seek to be married?

Which is better for the Christian, being single or being married?

What about divorcees?

What about widows and widowers?

What does Paul mean when he talks about God giving some Christians the “gift” of singleness?

By the grace of God, I plan to apply these verses to all of these questions. I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!

As the Lord allows, this coming Lord’s Day morning, I will begin a six-week series entitled “Marriage Matters” with an introductory sermon covering the primary issues about marriage. Please read the following verses and think about these key questions…

Genesis 2:18-24; 1st Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:1-2; 1st Thessalonians 2:13 (KJV); Mark 10:6-9; Ephesians 6:4; and 1st Corinthians 6:9-11

Would not the One Who conceived, created, and sustains an institution be the logical source of instructions about how that institution will best function?

As important as marriage is to humans as individuals, couples, and a society, should we not expect the Creator of marriage to prepare, provide, and preserve a “perfect operations manual” for it?

If we ignore such an “operations manual” should we not expect problems?

What if the instructions are really, really simple? Should we assume them to be sufficient, or should we continually reinterpret and reapply them?

What do these instructions say about the children?

If the Creator of marriage has provided a perfect guide whereby to maintain a marriage, why do so many people hate the very idea of “Biblical Marriage” and those who espouse it?

Finally, what happens to the individuals, families, and society if God-haters succeed in their efforts to redefine and ultimately remove the entire concept and practice of Biblical Marriage?

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!