Sermons

Genesis 15:1-6 (sermon note: 09-20 sermon note) (watch here: https://youtu.be/bcHgYlKKFVg) After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’ But the word of the Lord came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very [...]

Genesis 2:4b-7, 15-17; 3:1-8 (watch here: https://youtu.be/6ZWxfjA7yAI) In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.   [...]

Luke 11:2-4 (watch here: https://youtu.be/Cl9gnlXVqXQ) He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name.    Your kingdom come.    Give us each day our daily bread.    And forgive us our sins,      for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.    And do not bring us to the time of trial.’ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a plane that was preparing for takeoff. After all the passengers had boarded and gotten situated in their seats, the pilot and copilot walked across the tarmac and boarded as well. Both the pilot and co-pilot were wearing dark sunglasses and using canes to guide their [...]

Luke 11:2-4 (watch here: https://youtu.be/Q03T0RAq9GY) He [Jesus] said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name.    Your kingdom come.    Give us each day our daily bread.    And forgive us our sins,      for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.    And do not bring us to the time of trial.’ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The petition of Jesus’ prayer that asks, “give us each day our daily prayer,” reminds me of the one about a young woman who brought home her fiance to meet her parents. After dinner, her mother told her father to find out a little about the young man. The father invited the fiance to [...]

Luke 11:2-4 (watch here: https://youtu.be/az3NNarLefY) He [Jesus] said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name.    Your kingdom come.    Give us each day our daily bread.    And forgive us our sins,      for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.    And do not bring us to the time of trial.’ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The petition of Jesus’ prayer, “your kingdom come,” reminds me of the one about a kingdom. Well, in that kingdom was a very annoyed king. He was so mad that every man in his kingdom was only listening to their wife’s orders and didn't make any decisions for themselves. So the king decided to [...]

Luke 11:2-4 He [Jesus] said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name.    Your kingdom come.    Give us each day our daily bread.    And forgive us our sins,      for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.    And do not bring us to the time of trial.’ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As we set out on this 4-week journey looking at Jesus’ model prayer for us, I’m reminded of the one about two boys who were staying at their grandma’s place for the weekend. Just before bed, they kneeled next to their beds and began doing their nightly prayers. The first boy quietly said, “Lord, if you could [...]

2 Corinthians 8:1-15 (watch here: https://youtu.be/raih4dGhYHs) We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints— and this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, so that [...]

2 Corinthians 5:1-21 (watch here: https://youtu.be/MOClEA-n3Us) For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling— if indeed, when we have taken it off we will not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very [...]

2 Corinthians 4:1-18 (watch here: https://youtu.be/aEOwtnRF6zs) Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the [...]

2 Corinthians 2:1-10 (watch here: https://youtu.be/PI-qAGv8G5M) So I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came, I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice; for I am confident about all of you, that my joy would be the joy of all of you. For I wrote to you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but to let [...]

2 Corinthians 1:1-11 (watch here: https://youtu.be/tH72dGdHGmE) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is in Corinth, including all the saints throughout Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the [...]

Job 41:1-8; 42:1-17 (watch here: https://youtu.be/E0tcdu6Oric) [The Lord said,] ‘Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish-hook,    or press down its tongue with a cord? Can you put a rope in its nose,    or pierce its jaw with a hook? Will it make many supplications to you?    Will it speak soft words to you? Will it make a covenant with you    to be taken as your servant for ever? Will you play with it as with a bird,    or will you put it on a leash for your girls? Will traders bargain over it?    Will they divide it up among the merchants? Can you fill its skin [...]