Tom Claibourne's sermon preached on August 29th, 2021 at Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester, Ohio.

Outline:

I. Some walls are NECESSARY and GOOD.

     They are necessary because of SIN.

     A. PHYSICAL protection. (Ps. 122:6-7)

     B. MORAL protection. (Jer. 1:17-18)

II. Some walls need to be TORN DOWN. (Eph. 2:13-18)

     Keys: TRUTH, JUSTICE & LOVE.

     A. Walls of HATRED. (Matt. 5:43-48)

     B. Walls of EXCLUSION. (Gen. 3:20; 9:18-19; 10:32; Acts 17:26)

     C. Walls of ISOLATION. (I Thess. 2:8; II Cor. 6:11-13)

     D. The wall of SIN. (Eph. 2:11-13; Gal. 3:26-28; Ps. 66:18-19)

           (Jesus' part and our part in that process)

III. No walls are TOO BIG for God. (Jer. 32:17, 26-27: 51:58: Josh. 6; Eph. 2:12-14)

I want to TRUST and FOLLOW Jesus when facing the walls of life.

Tom Claibourne's sermon preached on August 22nd, 2021 at Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester, Ohio.

Outline:

I. The foundation makes all the DIFFERENCE.

     A. The lesson from the tower.

     B. A parable by Jesus. (Luke 6:46-49; James 1:22)

          * Many SIMILARITIES; different RESULTS.

II. The Bethlehem church must remain on the proper foundation: JESUS and His WORD. (1 Cor. 3:11; Eph. 2:19-22)

     A. Jesus is our HOPE. (Eph. 1 & 2; Acts 4:12; Jn. 14:6)

     B. Jesus is a PROVEN foundation. (Isa. 28:16; Rom. 9:33)

     C. Jesus is our HEAD. (Col. 1:18; Matt. 28:18)

     D. Jesus is our STANDARD.

III. Our PERSONAL lives must remain on the proper foundation: Jesus and His Word.

          * Isaiah 33:5-6

     A. We live with HOPE.

     B. We STAND FIRM in the storms of life. (Prov. 10:25)

     C. We REFLECT Jesus.

     D. We grow STRONGER. (Luke 6:46-48)

Today I want to RESTORE my life to the proper foundation.

Tom Claibourne's sermon preached on August 15th, 2021 at Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester, OH.

Outline:

I. The Dead Sea is UNIQUE ... and in TROUBLE. (One of a kind; salty; evaporating)

     * The Dead Sea rarely receives any FRESH water.

II. We need CONSISTENT nourishment. (Psalm 63:1-5)

     (PHYSICALLY & SPIRITUALLY)

III. GOD is our nourishment.

     A. Through His PROVISION. (James 1:16-17)

     B. Through His PRESENCE. (Ps. 63:1-3, 7-8; John 15:4-6; Rev. 22:1-2)

     C. Through WORSHIP. (Psalms)

     D. Through His WORD. (Ps. 119; I Pet. 1:22-23; 2:3)

     E. Through our personal DEVOTIONAL time.

          Some aspects:

          1. PRAYER.

          2. MEDITATION.

          3. JOURNALING. 

          4. FASTING.

Isaiah 55:1-3

Will I begin today to become MORE ALIVE?

Christian Martin's sermon preached on August 8th, 2021 at Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester, OH.

Outline:

Venice -> Water; Israel -> God

I. PROTECTION. (Num. 9:15-23; 10:33-36)

a. Venice had protection in WATER.

b. Israel had protection in GOD.

II. WEALTH/SUSTENANCE. (Num. 11:1-15)

a. VENICE’S WANTS overcame them.

b. God met ISRAEL’S NEEDS.

III. DANGER. (Num. 14:20-38)

a. WATERand SALT are destroying Venice.

b. Israel turned their back on God and HIS PROMISES.

If Israel’s foundation had been solid, they would have trusted in His PROMISES, PROTECTION, and PROVIDENCE. Will you be able to endure the rising tide, the corrosive waters, the raging current, or will you be washed away? How is your foundation?

Tom Claibourne's sermon preached on August 1st, 2021 at Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester, OH.

Outline:

I. To climb higher we have to WANT TO. (Ps. 61:1-4; 62:1-2; 63:1-8)

     Do you want the result without the EFFORT?

     Are you actively WORKING at your relationship with God?

II. To climb higher we have to PREPARE adequately.

     A. Physical preparation for a Mt. Everest climb.

     B. SPIRITUAL preparation for our climb. (Eph. 6:13-18; Heb. 12:1; Prov. 24:3-5)

III. To climb higher we have to STICK TOGETHER. (Eccl. 4:9-12)

IV. To climb higher we have to TAKE some RISKS.

     *God did not save us so we would live SAFE, decent lives. (Ps. 18:31-33. 28-29)

V. To climb higher we have to PERSEVERE when things get TOUGH. (Acts 14:22; II Cor. 4:8-10; Heb. 12:1-3)

Am I wanting God to bless MY PLANS, or am I really allowing Him to LEAD ME?

Tom Claibourne's sermon preached on July 25th, 2021 at Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester, Ohio.

Outline:

I. The pharaoh's grandiose pyramids: a FUTILE display.

     A. It is futile to ACCUMULATE things. (Eccl. 5:10-15; Prov. 23:4-5; Luke 12:15; Matt. 6:19-21; Mark 8:36)

     B. It is futile to have a GLAMOROUS burial.

Transition: Matt. 27:57-66; 28:1-6

II. Jesus' EMPTY tomb: the source of HOPE.

     A. He offers us what money can't BUY, and people can't BUILD. (1 Pet. 1:18-19; Heb. 11:9-10; 12:22-24; Rev. 21:22-27)

     B. He gives us a reason to have HUMILITY and HOPE. (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7)

     C. He is concerned about our SPIRITUAL burial, not the PHYSICAL one. (Rom. 6:3-7; I John 2:17)

Will I bury an OLD life (or habit) and live for what MATTERS?

Tom Claibourne's sermon preached on July 18th, 2021 at Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester, OH.

https://sermons.church/archived?church&sermonid=18924&cred_referrer_form_id=25

Outline:

I. Strong walls provide PROTECTION and SECURITY.

     A. A principle from history. (Psalm 122:6, 7; Deut. 3:5)

     B. The Great Wall of China

     C. Necessary LIFE walls. (Neh. 4:13, 14)

II. Faulty gates and gatekeepers make walls MEANINGLESS.

     A. The Great Wall of China. (Once they enemy got their foot in the gate, it was all over)

     B. We must be ALERT to the enemy. (I Pet. 5:8, 9; Eph. 6:10ff; 4:26-27) (Sin the result of: Undetected WEAKNESS, unexpected TEMPTATION, unprotected LIFE).

     C. We must SECURE the gates. (I Chron. 9:17-27; Eph. 4:26-27, Luke 11:34-35; Ezra 9:8ff; Isa. 62:6)

          Our gates: EYES, EARS, MIND, BODY.

     D. We must practice SELF-CONTROL. (Prov. 25:28; Isa. 30:12-14; Titus 2:11-14; Prov. 4:23)

How STRONG are your walls and gates?

How sure is your HOPE? (Rev. 22:12-17)

Kevin Whitsett's sermon preached on July 11th, 2021 at Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester, OH.

https://sermons.church/archived?church&sermonid=18700&cred_referrer_form_id=25

Outline:

God desires that Christians have an active, evident and "ridiculous" faith.

Story of Elisha and 3 kings.

Lessons learned:

Obedient, active faith causes God's blessings to flow. Go dig a ditch!

Tom Claibourne's sermon preached on July 4th, 2021 at Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester, OH.

https://sermons.church/archived?church&sermonid=18300&cred_referrer_form_id=25

Outline:

It's time to STAND strong, LIVE well, restore our HERITAGE, and RETURN to the Lord.

Christian Martin's sermon preached on June 27th, 2021 at Bethlehem Church of Christ in Winchester, OH.

https://sermons.church/archived?church&sermonid=18299&cred_referrer_form_id=25

The families in Genesis have MALFUNCTIONS because others have rewritten the DESIGNS and FUNCTIONS that God made. (Gen. 4:17-26)

What are the DECISIONS you are making and VALUES you are placing in front for your family?