Love Worth Finding | Audio Program

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Matthew 5:14; 16

In Matthew 5, Jesus calls us the salt and light of the world. When salt is applied, it goes inward; but light comes from within, and appears outwardly. Salt speaks of character while light speaks of testimony.

This means that, as bright lights in a dark world, we are meant to be people of character and confession.

Matthew 5:14-16 says, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Who is the light of the world? You.

Adrian Rogers says, “God’s plan is to take ordinary people and do extraordinary things.”

This world is the darkest it’s ever been—deepest in difficulty and lowest in enlightenment. We have substituted intelligence for wisdom. But we, as children of God, have the wisdom of His Word. Though the world considers us foolish, we have learned the mysteries of life and death, through Jesus Christ.

What is the light of the world for? It is meant to shine.

We cannot hide our testimonies or be ashamed of our faith—hiding our light is foolish. We need to tell others what Jesus Christ has done for us. When we are courageous enough to share our faith, we are proving ourselves faithful to God. And when we as Christians come together, our collective light becomes a force of nature, ever more powerful together—a city on a hill. (See Matthew 5:14,)

How are we going to be the light of the world?

We let the light of Christ shine, and we keep feeding the flame that burns within us. Education, science, culture, and the world’s religions cannot save us. It is Christ alone. The life we live is Jesus within us; we have to let the world see it.

Apply it to your life

If we don’t shine, who is going to? It is our privilege, our duty, and our responsibility to shine for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Matthew 5:13

Salt is necessary for both physical and spiritual life. Only God could design the chemical makeup of salt: sodium (deadly and explosive) combined with chlorine (noxious and also deadly) make something necessary for life, preservation, and purity.

Likewise, by God’s divine chemistry of the cross, we as Christians have become new creatures with significant importance to the world around us.

Matthew 5:13 says, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

In this passage, Jesus calls His followers “salt of the earth.” Once we understand the importance of salt in Jesus’ time and in our own, we’ll better understand our role as salt and light to this desperate world.

This passage first clarifies the dynamics of pure salt.

Salt seasons, preserves, and heals; likewise, we are called to preserve truth and to have a zest about our lives that heals this sick world.

But salt also burns and penetrates; it is an irritant that permeates everything it touches. We cannot fear our nature to irritate this corrupt world and permeate Jesus Christ with everything we touch.

This passage also warns us about the dissipation of polluted salt.

Salt that is filled with impurities is worthless and harmful. It kills crops and poisons water. The only safe place for polluted salt is the roadway—it makes for good cement and nothing more.

Finally, there is a demand for preserving salt.

If there were ever a need, a time, and age for salt to work, it is now. Things once considered sin are now considered sickness, and socially acceptable practice. Banning prayer in public schools, legalizing abortion, an increase in suicide rates and drug use in teens… this world—specifically our country—is in desperate need of some salt.

Adrian Rogers says, “Not only is God America’s biggest, and only, hope. God is America’s biggest threat.”

The only hope to keep this country from moral decay is the salt of the earth—God’s people. It’s not too late for a revival to sweep this nation, if only we will repent of our sins and become salt with savor.

Apply it to your life

This world needs some salt. Do you bear the salt and light in which we have been called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Proverbs 3:5-6

Man is a clever creature, but he has lost his way in the darkness. We live in a day of guided missiles and misguided men, which is a shame because God has cultivated wonderful plans for each of our lives.

Proverbs 3:5-6 explains, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

In order to shed some light on the future, we must first let God choose the way. Every step we take is to be in His plan and for His purpose.

It is difficult to trust in someone we don’t know; we must know and love the Lord in order to trust and obey Him. We must receive God’s wisdom rather than lean on our own understanding. When we search for God’s wisdom and get serious about knowing His will, He promises that we will find it. When we have complete confidence in God, we will faithfully comply with His plans. Only then will we receive His faithful direction.

Second, we must let God confirm the way. God has promised to direct our paths, and He will do it through the Word of God.

Psalm 119:105 confirms, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The Word of God reveals God’s will concerning our salvation, the Holy Spirit, and sanctification. God often directs us through prayer; He speaks to our hearts directly as we pray to Him. He also guides through wisdom and directs us by His providence; He is the one who closes and opens doors.

Finally, we must let God clear the way. After we receive faithful direction from God, the Lord clears the path for us.

Adrian Rogers says, “God will go before you like a bulldozer, He will clear the way. God will open and no man will shut, and God will shut and no man will open. And God Himself will take away the obstacles that keep you from His will for your life.”

Apply it to your life

Are you serious about knowing God’s will for your life? Express your full dependence on Him and receive His faithful direction. Begin by knowing and trusting Him; then obey Him.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Isaiah 9:6

The greatest event in human history is when Almighty God stepped out of Heaven, put His feet upon this Earth, and saved us from our sins. Seven centuries before the first Christmas, the prophet Isaiah wrote about the coming Savior, and expressed how His name is wonderful.

Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder…”

We must understand His supernatural nature.

The baby of Bethlehem was not an ordinary child. He is not part-God, part-man; He is fully God in human flesh and there has never been another like Him. The Bible clearly and plainly states that He was born of a virgin, but His beginning was not at Bethlehem. There was never a time when Jesus was not, and there will never be a time when Jesus is not. He is everlasting, forever God.

This passage also reveals Jesus’ sovereign nobility.

Isaiah 9:7 says, “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.” God has already declared that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Adrian Rogers says, “You have to take the cradle and the cross and the crown and put them together, or you don’t have the true story of Christmas.”

Finally, this passage shares with us the meaning of Jesus’ saving name.

“And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

-Wonderful: There is wonder in His name, if only our spiritual eyes can begin to see it.

-Counselor: There is wisdom in His name, the One we rely on to guide and advise us.

-Mighty God: There is wealth in His name, the One to whom everything belongs.

-Everlasting Father: There is worship in His name, for He alone is worthy of worship.

-Prince of Peace: There is welfare in His name; He is the only One who can satisfy the yearning for peace in our hearts.

Apply it to your life

Do you know Jesus Christ as your Wonderful Counselor? Is our Mighty God your Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace? As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, remember His supernatural nature, sovereign nobility and saving name.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Luke 1:35

Many who don’t believe in Jesus will call Him a great moral teacher. But when we look closely at His teachings, we find that He left no room for interpretation. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and the story of Christmas is a tribute to the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:35 says, “And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’”

The doctrine of the Trinity is what makes our faith different from all other faiths.

First, we must recognize the sublime mystery of the Trinity.

We will never understand the Holy Trinity by human investigation, logic, or science. The only way we can know about the Holy Trinity is by divine revelation.

There is one God, and He is a triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If we try to understand it on our own, we will lose our minds; if we deny it, we may lose our souls.

Adrian Rogers says, “I wouldn’t have any confidence in a God that I could understand.”

Second, we recognize the sacred history of the Trinity.

John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

There is no contradiction between the three, because they are One. The Trinity, together, created the world, composed the Scriptures, conceived the Christ, and commissioned the Church.

Finally, we recognize the saving ministry of the Trinity.

Through the Holy Trinity, we have our salvation. Salvation has been in the heart and mind of God before we were ever born. The Father thought it, the Son bought it, and the Holy Spirit wrought it.

Adrian Rogers says, “You have been selected by the Father, saved by the Son, and sealed by the Spirit.”

Because of the mystery of the manger, the blessing of Bethlehem, and the treasures of the Trinity, we can never lose our salvation.

Apply it to your life

It’s not enough to simply accept the intellectual premise of the Holy Trinity. Give your heart to Jesus, the Son of God.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Micah 5:2

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but His existence did not begin in Bethlehem; He has been from everlasting. The Book of Micah offers us a clear picture of Christmas to come in the Old Testament.

Micah 5:2 says, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

Adrian Rogers says, “Without the Lord Jesus, the Old Testament is simply a bundle of unfulfilled prophecies, of unexplained ceremonies, of unattainable laws. But when you bring Jesus into it, it unlocks the whole thing.”

First, there are portraits of Jesus in the Old Testament.

In Luke 24:44, Jesus says, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”

Jesus is who all the Old Testament prophets have given witness to. He is portrayed as the Prophet, Priest, and King of every story from Genesis to Malachi. He is in every ceremony, and even in the design of biblical architecture such as the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. When we read the New Testament, we find the fulfillment of each law and prophecy.

Second, there are prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament.

There are more than 300 prophecies concerning the Messiah in the Old Testament. Throughout the Books of Law and Prophecy, God narrows the focus to a specific man from the nation of Israel.

He would come from the Tribe of Judah, specifically the family of Jesse, and the household of David. He would be born of a virgin in Bethlehem, betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, crucified, and then raised from the dead.

Jesus fulfilled each of these prophecies, and many more. Mathematically, when we speak of the laws of probability, there is no doubt He is the Messiah.

Finally, Jesus is presented in the Old Testament.

We must decide how we will respond. Do we crown Him or crucify Him—accept or reject Him?

As we study Scripture, we’ll find that we can believe the Bible and trust Him as our Savior.

Apply it to your life

Jesus has been presented to us in the Old and New Testaments. How will you respond? Do you believe in Him? Do you accept Him as your Lord and Savior?

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: John 3

Birth is, perhaps, the greatest miracle each of us has ever experienced. But John 3 mentions an even greater second birth for those who are born again in Jesus Christ.

In John 3, the Pharisee Nicodemus represents the problem of the sinner’s birth.

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3).

Because Nicodemus was born into the natural world, he was bound to the sinful world. Those of us once-born have a sinful nature. There is no “cleaning up” our nature before we get saved.

Our sinful nature also blinds us to the spiritual world. Adrian Rogers says, “I can preach truth, but only the Holy Spirit can impart truth. They may get the words, but they’ll never get the music unless the Holy Spirit of God turns the light on in their soul.”

But this passage also reveals the purpose of the Savior’s birth.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Jesus came, being born of a virgin, to redeem us, to reveal the truth of God to us, and to restore us to be what God made us to be.

Then, we experience the second birth.

God breathes new life into us, and we become completely new creations. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit are the “parents” of our new birth. As a result, our new character mimics that of our spiritual parents. (See John 3:5.)

We love the Lord Jesus Christ and have the witness of the Spirit. We have the nature of our Father and desire to share Jesus with others.

Just like there is a finality in our natural birth, once we are saved, we are always saved; we receive a fresh start and begin to grow with the certainty of our miraculous rebirth.

Adrian Rogers says, “A newborn child has no yesterdays; he’s all tomorrows. So it is with the new birth: we receive a brand new future; our past is in the grave of God’s forgetfulness.”

Apply it to your life

Do you have the markers of a twice-born believer? Do you love Jesus, have the inner witness of the Spirit? Do you have the nature of your Heavenly Father, and a desire to share the Gospel with others?

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 10:43

In Acts 10, Simon Peter testifies to the household of Cornelius, and reveals that Jesus is the Christ of the Old Testament. “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

Adrian Rogers says, “Jesus is the master key that unlocks the mysteries of the Old Testament.”

First, the Old Testament is a portrait of Jesus, who was to come.

In Luke 24:44, Jesus says, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”

Jesus is who all the Old Testament prophets have given witness to. He is portrayed as the Prophet, Priest and King of every story, from Genesis to Malachi. And when we read the New Testament, we find the fulfillment of each law and prophecy.

Adrian Roger says, “The Old Testament, without the Lord Jesus Christ, would be a dead-end road leading to nowhere, and yet, as you look at the Bible and back off and see it, you see Jesus everywhere—Prophet, Priest, and King.”

Second, the Old Testament reveals the prophecies of Jesus Christ, who has come.

There are more than 300 prophecies concerning the Messiah in the Old Testament. Throughout the Books of Law and Prophecy, God narrows the focus on a specific man from God’s chosen race, the nation of Israel. He was to come from the tribe of Judah, specifically from the family of Jesse and the household of David. The Messiah would be born of a virgin in Bethlehem, betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, crucified by the piercing of His hands, and then raised from the dead.

Jesus fulfilled each of these prophecies, and many more. According to the law of mathematical probability, there is no doubt He is the Messiah. And according to the Book of Revelation, He will come again.

Apply it to your life

Do you trust in the Word of God, and the God of that Word? You don’t have to understand how God runs the mighty Universe to put your faith and trust in Him.

Adrian Rogers says, “True faith is rooted in evidence, true faith goes beyond evidence, and true faith becomes its own best evidence.”

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 10:34

Would you be prepared to share your faith the moment someone asks about it?

Adrian Rogers says, “We tell people to keep the faith; not only should you keep it, but you ought also to give it away.” Winning souls is not only a command of God but also a great privilege. God doesn’t send angels to win souls, He sends us.

In Acts 10, Simon Peter is invited into the home of Cornelius, a Roman officer, to share his faith with him and his household.

In response, Peter gives a three-fold testimony that reveals how we can share our faith.

Acts 10:34-35 says, “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.’” Peter, a Jew, preached the message of salvation to the first Gentile, claiming that the door of salvation is wide: anyone who wants to enter may come. But the way is very narrow: Jesus is the only way to Heaven. If we are not saved by Jesus alone, we are not saved at all.

First, Peter has a personal confidence as a soul-winner.

Having walked with Jesus and witnessed Him firsthand, Peter has unmatched confidence in the virtuous life, vicarious death, and victorious resurrection of Christ. Likewise, despite our differences in opinions, what holds us together as believers is our united confidence in Jesus Christ.

Second, Peter has the powerful confirmation of the Scriptures.

The Old Testament bears witness that every prophecy is fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

Finally, Peter bears the persuasive conviction of the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit of God anoints Peter, so that his words may convince and convict Cornelius and his family.

Peter’s confidence, Scripture’s confirmation, and the Spirit’s conviction form a three-fold cord that is not easily broken.

Remember, as believers, we are not waiting on the Holy Spirit. God has already sent Him to strengthen and empower us to witness to others.

Apply it to your life

Are you confident in Jesus Christ? Do you know enough Scripture to use it to convince someone about the Lord? Have you asked God, through the Holy Spirit, to use your testimony to convict others? Learn to share your faith!

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 12:1

Troubles come and go every day, but every so often we come up against an unexpected, ferocious crisis. In all the confusion, when we’re unsure where to turn, we can turn to the Christ of every crisis.

In Acts 12, the Early Church was facing a genuine crisis as Herod unleashed violence on its members.

“Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also...” (Acts 12:1-3).

When we’re in the middle of a crisis, we must respect the mystery of God’s providence.

Just because things don’t make sense to us at the moment doesn’t mean they do not make sense. Life is not a problem to be solved; it is a mystery to be lived. Life isn’t a series of good, then bad; the good and bad run parallel, happening simultaneously and working together.

Second, we should request the ministry of God’s people.

“Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church” (Acts 12:5). As God’s people, we must pray to God without ceasing, intensely and specifically. God is pleased when His children pray, but He is even more pleased when His children pray together.

Adrian Rogers says, “The devil mocks at our schemes, laughs at our organizations, ridicules our talents, but he fears our prayers.”

Third, we can rest in the mastery of God’s peace.

Because he was no longer afraid of death and he knew that God’s people were praying for him, Peter slept in prison. Even in the crisis, God was still on His throne; as a result of the church’s prayers, an angel of the Lord broke Peter out of prison.

We must remember that if God is not working according to what we can see, it doesn’t mean God is not working. We can rejoice in the majesty of God’s power, because even if evil seems to succeed, it is temporary. The Christ of every crisis is eternal.

Apply it to your life

Are you facing a genuine crisis, and you aren’t sure where to turn? Live by God’s promises, invite other believers to pray with you, and rest in God’s peace. Remember that the Christ of every crisis is with you in your circumstances.