Hold Up The Book

Mercy and grace differ from each other by a matter of quality and of degree. All mercy is grace, but not all grace is mercy. But both are seen in abundance when we look at the Gospel plan as realized in the cross and in the empty tomb. This communion meditation reminds us to be grateful for God's mercy in the Cross and for his grace in the Resurrection.

The Bible gives so much guidance for how we ought to live as Christians. But in many cases, what God gives us is wisdom about moral choices, and he leaves it to us to decide exactly how we will apply that wisdom. In many of those cases, we would do well to draw clear lines for ourselves that we will not cross—not that we bind our self-imposed rules on others, but that we draw the lines that we will not cross, even sometimes drawing those lines far back from the potential of getting into trouble.

Who is in charge of Christianity and Christians? And how do we know what that being wants from us?

This message reminds us of the Bible's claim that God is sovereign—that he rules the universe in his own good way. And if we believe that, then we will also accept that he has spoken to us through the Bible and that we should do all we can in life to respect his authority through the Bible.

This is a classic treatment of the subject of God's authority, hopefully offered with clarity, concision, and a degree of freshness.

In 1 Kings 18, God's prophet, Elijah, faced off with 400 prophets who served the god, Baal. And their conflict teaches us some powerful lessons about God's eternal nature, whether we choose to trust him or not.

God's people are called to be honest in all of our dealings — the big stuff and the small stuff. We are supposed to be people who keep our commitments; who do what we say we will do. We shouldn't need large piles of legal documents and ultra-serious-sounding language to hold us to our agreements; we should just be trustworthy in all of our dealings. This lesson reminds us why that's important for Christians and gives some practical advice on doing it well.

In this message, we talk about why it's important to take deep dives into the Bible. It can be intimidating, and it will always challenge us... but it is always worth it. The treasures to be found in it are wonderful—whether old or new.

PS — Click here to read a recent article that I wrote from Matt. 13:52 along these same lines of thought.

Generosity is a defining hallmark of God's people throughout our history, all the way back to the first century, when The Apostle Paul organized an effort for Christians from all over the Mediterrenean to give generously to their brothers in Judea to buy them food in a time of famine. In this message, we learn these lesson from a straightforward textual study of 2 Corinthians 8-9.

This message, preached on Father's Day 2015, discusses the importance of passing our faith down on to our children. Obviously, they don't just inherit that faith—they must choose to make it their own. But, there is so much that we can do encourage them to do just that: to lay hold of the truth about Christ and develop their own lasting convictions in that.

Note: This sermon was heavily inspired by a sermon that a friend of mine—Don Truex—wrote. Outline used with permission.

Sometimes, trying to raise godly kids can feel like trying to build something with no blueprints; we're never quite sure what the next move should be. But, God hasn't left us to completely wing it — he's taught us some wisdom for thinking about how to train our kids to maturity. In this lesson, we look to the book of Proverbs for four parenting concepts that will help Christian moms & dads as we guide our kids to become saints who give glory to God.

This message talks about the unity of believers, based on a prophecy about the city of Jerusalem from back in Isaiah. The prophecies of the Old Testament were already teaching God's people so much of the grand truth about the church; we would do well to look back and see that once in awhile for the clarity it can add to our understanding the present.