Sound Teaching

The sermon examines the service Elisha rendered to Elijah, as recorded in 2 Kings 2. He exhibited qualities of a good servant. These attributes of Elisha can be used to establish what constitutes good discipleship in our service to Jesus.

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Invitation delivered by: Jeremiah Cox

Jeremiah appeals to Matthew 7:21-ff and James 1:21-25 to establish the necessity of doing the will of God. This is contrasted with religious people who claim to serve God, but only practice the aspects of God’s will that suit them.

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The Facebook website is ubiquitous. It was recently reported that 750,000,000 people worldwide are active participants on the website. The number is mind boggling.

Late Tuesday evening a change was made to the format and functionality of the site. While there are some obvious improvements, change is always a bit disconcerting, and many have bitterly complained about the alterations. A few have maintained a good humor about it, though, and I came across this particular quote about the revisions:

I am appalled that the free service that I am in no way obligated to use keeps making changes that mildly inconvenience me.

Continue reading “In the News: Criticism, Facebook and the Children of Israel” →

Irony is defined as follows:

(1) Incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result. (2) An event or result marked by such an incongruity. (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, 1977 edition)

One tragic example of real-life irony about which I recently read concerns a motorcyclist in New York last July. The helmetless man was riding his motorcycle as a part of a large group of cyclists staging an organized protest over the state’s mandatory helmet law. The 55 year old man crashed, hitting his head on the road, and suffering a fatal skull fracture. A state trooper was quoted, “The doctor felt that the death could have been prevented if he simply had been wearing a helmet.” (Reuters)

Continue reading “Tragically Ironic” →

To illustrate the condemnation reserved for false teachers, Jude used three examples in this text. First, those of the Exodus who exhibited unbelief despite the miraculous intervention of God. He “destroyed those who did not believe.” Second, the rebellious angels. Though little is revealed about this rebellion of higher beings, we know that God placed them under “everlasting chains.” Third, the immoral cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, that suffered by His hand, “the vengeance of eternal fire.”

These serve as an object lesson to the current false teachers that Jude warns his readers about. These evil men are sensuous and rebellious. Because of their evil ways, they are worthy of condemnation.

In verse 9 of the text, a reference is made to a conflict between Michael, the archangel, and the devil, about the body of Moses. We have no knowledge of the nature of the dispute, and it is worthless to speculate. However, the occasion is used to point out the audacity of the false teachers Jude condemns. Their brashness leads them to do things even Michael himself would not.

A problem common to our time is an inappropriately casual attitude toward worship. I recently came across a quote from a preacher, dating to 1985. I do not know of him apart from the tract, titled A Burning Fire. His name is James W. Boyd:

It makes my blood nearly boil to hear the smart-aleck liberals castigate what they call “traditionalism” in such flippant terms. One describe dour worship to God as two songs, prayer, another song, “juice and crackers.” That man proved that all fools aren’t dead. The very idea of speaking of the divinely ordained memorial to the sacrifice of the Son of God as “Juice and crackers.” You can see the level of his respect for God and His will!

The man’s purpose in writing was to encourage preachers to be careful in the language they use in and out of the pulpit. He further wrote:

Reverence and respect for that which is divine and of divine order is mandatory lest we sin by being sacrilegious and blasphemous.

It is probable that the problems with such casual and unthinking attitudes have grown greater in the 35 years since this was written. It certainly is something for us to think about!

The text of 1 Corinthians 9 is used to support the concept of financial support of preaching, and to establish the value of the preacher’s work.

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The Title of this sermon refers to Ezra’s reading of the law to the remnant of Israel (Nehemiah 8:8), and giving a sense (explaining the law) so that his listeners could understand. This sermon is an exegesis of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, (Acts 2).

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Invitation delivered by: Josh Cox

Josh uses teaching in Luke 12 and Mark 10 to point out that a focus on worldly possessions, or the means of obtaining said possessions, is a vain pursuit. Instead, it is proper to focus primarily on our service to God.

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More and more often you hear of Christian young ladies participating in cheerleading activities. Is there anything objectionable about cheerleading? Well, yes and no. There is nothing objectionable in leading cheers at football games and other school events. However, too often cheerleading includes two things that a Christian girl should have no part in: 1) Immodest dress; and, 2) Lascivious choreography.

Continue reading “In the News: Cheerleaders and Modesty” →

John 4:16-24

Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well was astounding in both circumstance and content.

The Jews hated the Samaritans, and the feeling was mutual. The conflict had its origin in the divided kingdom, and the animosity only grew through the centuries until the time of our Lord. It is important to note that the Samaritans were the remnants of the northern Jews who had been taken into Assyrian captivity, and had intermarried with other races upon their return to Samaria. The mingling of races, combined with the Samaritans acceptance of pagan gods led to a mongrel race and religion.

Continue reading “True Worship” →

Can you imagine the audacity of a man who would seek to exalt himself against an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ? That is exactly what Diotrephes did, as he sought preeminence in a local congregation, and refused to accept John and his companions.

This note, which explains the tactics of Diotrephes, serves as an object lesson to Christians today. The man lied maliciously about John. Further, he compelled others to do his bidding, and put them out of the church if they were unwilling to go along with his agenda.

The lesson, concisely put in a quotation most commonly attributed to Edmund Burke, is that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” God’s word tells us what to do with men such as Diotrephes (cf. Tit. 3:10).

In contrast, John calls upon his readers to imitate good rather than evil. Where Diotrephes is shown to be an example of evil, John puts forth Demetrius as an example of good. He had a good reputation, one that was valid because he was obedient to truth. For this, he received the commendation of the great apostle.

A simple lesson establishing the fact of Hell as a place of eternal torment, and the danger of risking the wrath of God through disobedience to His will.

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In verse 7 John continues his contention that the child of God must “walk according to His commandments” (vs. 6). He notes that false teachers would come, denying the humanity of Jesus, and in so doing lead some to forfeit their faith and standing with God.

He refers to these as deceivers and “an antichrist.” The term antichrist (antichristos) simply refers to one who opposes the Christ, and should not here be construed as referring to any one person, past or future. All those who deny the deity or the humanity of the Christ make themselves opponents of Him. Thus, they are antichrists.

John calls for awareness of this false doctrine, and warns his readers lest they be influenced by the teaching. Why? Because, if such is embraced, they might “lose those things we worked for” (vs 8).

Embracing false doctrine can cause one to lose his soul. Concerning such individuals, Peter wrote that they twist the scriptures “to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).

We must be diligent, “that we may receive a full reward” (vs. 8).

Today we have reached the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade center in New York , and the Pentagon.

No doubt you (as do I) remember where you were and what you were doing when you got the news of the attacks. All of America watched the television, thrilled to the bravery of our firefighters and police, and mourned the loss of American lives. Voices were raised as one in condemning the cowardly attacks against our nation, and in the call for retribution against our enemy.

An important lesson seemed to be learned by our nation, as so many turned to God in the midst of the crisis. A call to righteousness was heard, and prayers were offered in the realization that our greatest help comes from the Almighty.

Unfortunately, the focus on God was short lived. As time passed, most lost the ardor and virtue that was so prevalent among Americans in the weeks following the attacks. Partisan politics returned as the parties sought to capitalize from the event. An easily distracted populace returned to its pattern of conspicuous consumption and pursuit of worldly pleasures.

As we contemplate the attacks a decade later, may we realize the importance of turning to God as our help and stay. “Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).