Love Worth Finding | Audio Program

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Proverbs 17:17

Adrian Rogers says, “The greatest joy of your life or the greatest disappointment of your life is going to be your friend.” Our deepest longings, whether we’re young or old, are for enduring friendships. We all want to commune with someone who truly understands our deepest needs, our highest aspirations, and our worst fears.

A true friend is a great treasure, as Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

We are all instructed to have casual friendships with those who are not saved, but we should not be so intimate with them that we regress in our faith.

This is especially true for our children; teenagers are more affected by friends than almost anything else. The wrong kind of friend is the greatest danger that a teenager can possibly have because we ultimately become like our friends. Every teenager starts out as a simple teenager, having knowledge but lacking spiritual wisdom and understanding. Teenagers are easily led into error, ready to believe anything.

If a child remains naive, he becomes a scorner, he defies instruction and despises the good and godly. Because of this, he is destined for destruction. The scorner is very hard to reach, but there is still hope for him. If the scorner is not reclaimed, he becomes a fool; the scorner is insolent, but the fool is immovable. The fool rejects wisdom, ridicules righteousness, and rejoices in iniquity. His moral sense has been so perverted, he thinks good is evil and evil is good.

We cannot allow our impressionable teenagers to hang around with scorners and fools; we must be firm with who we allow them to be friends with. As parents, we must help them to understand the dangers that are involved, carefully guard their company, and teach the importance of their choices.

Adrian Rogers reminds us, “You’re free to choose, but you’re not free to choose the consequences of your choice. After you choose, then your choice chooses for you.”

Apply it to your life
Adrian Rogers reveals six things to keep in mind when raising teenagers:

-Have a positive attitude
-Learn to listen to them
-Try to see life from their point of view
-Be gentle with them
-Learn to touch, hug and show non-verbal expression
-Be available to your kids

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Mark 10:17-27

There’s a real problem we may have today of trying to live outwardly good lives without ever finding a new life in Christ. Mark 10 tells the sad story of the rich young ruler who, when given the opportunity to follow Jesus, turned away. This story offers four insights to help avoid striking out at the opportunity to follow Christ.

First, proud men at their best are sinners at their worst.

This man in Mark 10 was quite proud of his achievements; he was eager, full of strength and the vigor of youth. Outwardly, he was morally clean; he knew the commandments and had kept them in his youth. But Jesus taught him something he didn’t expect: the young ruler, in himself, was not good, and also Jesus Himself is God.

Second, God’s perfect law condemns man’s sinful pride.

God is a holy God with holy laws; the purpose of the law is to show us our need for Christ. God’s grace means nothing to us until we first see ourselves as sinners in the sight of a holy God. Adrian Rogers says, “When a man has been wounded by God’s law, then he’s ready for the healing balm of salvation.”

When Jesus asks the rich young ruler to sell everything he has, give it to the poor, and follow Him, the reality of the man’s depravity was exposed. He was unwilling to do this because he loved his money more than he loved God and his neighbor. Jesus showed him the futility of trying to behave himself into Heaven; all he had was a superficial knowledge of his own goodness.

Third, Jesus teaches no man can serve two masters, but he must serve one.

In order to follow Jesus, we must turn from our idols to serve the living God. This turning is called repentance, which means to change your mind and change your life.

Finally, Jesus teaches him that whatever master a man chooses will master that man.

Adrian Rogers says, “Faith is not merely nodding a head to a series of theological facts about Jesus; it is enthroning Jesus.”

Apply it to your life
Every man has three opportunities to go to Heaven:
-Pass away before the age of accountability (infants)
-Keep the commandments perfectly -- never sin (impossible)
-Come and follow Jesus.
If you fail to do this, that’s three strikes, and you’re out.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Proverbs 1:20-22

These days, our nation is in troubled waters, and the problem is rooted in fathers who fail to accept their responsibility. The Book of Proverbs reveals how to be the father of a wise child.

Proverbs 1:22 says, “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge.”

When our children are young, they are simple, ignorant, and careless, which is to be expected. However, some children are never taught to grow in wisdom and remain simple in their adulthood. They may have knowledge, but they lack spiritual wisdom and understanding. They are easily led into error, ready to believe anything.

If a child remains naive and has not been led by his father, he becomes a scorner. He defies instruction and despises the good and godly. Because of this, he is destined for destruction.

The scorner’s very hard to reach, but there is still hope for him. If the scorner is not reclaimed, he becomes a fool; the scorner is insolent, but the fool is immovable. The fool rejects wisdom, ridicules righteousness, and rejoices in iniquity. His moral sense has been so perverted, he thinks good is evil and evil is good.

As parents, there are four things we must keep in mind in order to raise wise children.

First, we need to expound truth to our children; saturate them in the Proverbs, emblazon the Ten Commandments into their consciousness, teach them the Beatitudes, that they might learn these simple, basic truths.

Second, expose sin: children need to see the repercussions of sin to understand their weight. We must pull away the veil and show them the ugly truth of sin and its consequences.

We must also expel scorners, as Proverbs 13:20 instructs, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” We cannot let our young, impressionable children hang around scorners and fools; we must be firm with who we allow them to be friends with.

Finally, we must express love; be gentle fathers, transparent and available.

Adrian Rogers says, “Words can hurt your children more than an open hand and a slap in the face. Love your children and delight in them.”

Apply it to your life

Are you raising your children to be wise or foolish? Remember your instructions from Proverbs: expound truth, expose sin, expel scorners, and express love.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Proverbs 1:7-9

Psalm 112:2 says, “His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed.”

As parents, our chief desire for our children should be that they love God and honor Him with their lives. The Book of Proverbs is full of wisdom for those who want to raise kids that count in the cause of Christ.

We must first give them an example.

“My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother…” (Proverbs 1:8). Our children will learn more from our lifestyle than they will learn from our words. Good character is not so much taught as it is caught; it must be demonstrated through us.

Second, we should give our children unconditional love, regardless of their misbehavior.

This doesn’t mean we give them everything they want. True love is not giving children what they want, but rather, what they need.

We must give our children constant encouragement.

There’s a difference between praise and encouragement. Praise focuses on the accomplishments of the child, while encouragement focuses on the actual child.

Our children need to know they are not a sum of their achievements, and that we love them for who they are.

We must also give them wise instruction.

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” When we teach our children Scripture, it should be joined with training, so they can learn how to apply it for themselves when they are grown.

We should also give them reasonable restrictions.

Adrian Rogers says, “Limitations don’t bind the child; really they set him free.” When we establish restrictions, our children will naturally push against them. If the restrictions give, our children will lack confidence in themselves. This is the reason so many children are conquered by the things of this world.

We must also give them a listening ear.

Be ready when they’re ready to talk, and make time for it.

Finally, give them a happy environment.

Our homes should be full of laughter, fun, joy, and silliness. Adrian Rogers says, “A vegetable plate is better than a steak dinner if you have love, joy, and happiness.”

Apply it to your life

If you want to raise kids that count for the cause of Christ, remember to be firm, fair, and fun.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Titus 2:3-5

God is in favor of beautiful homes; yet these days, our families face many enemies that threaten to drain us of our splendor. The key to a beautiful home is the wife and mother.

Titus 2 shows us what it means to be a godly mother and how to make a home beautiful.

“…the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things…” (Titus 2:3).

This passage first addresses the legacy the godly woman is to leave.

She teaches younger women how to be homemakers and how to instill values in their own families by example. She has the perfume of God in her life, marked by holiness, godly in her speech. She is not to be a false accuser, scandalmonger, or slanderer, nor does she indulge in addictive behaviors.

Secondly, this passage tells of the love the godly woman is to learn.

“...that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children…” (Titus 2:4). Some look at children as burdens rather than blessings. Older women are instructed to teach the younger women how to love their families.

Adrian Rogers says, “Being a homemaker is not easy, not glamorous, but there is no higher calling. Fathers have influence on their children, but mothers make the greatest impression.”

Finally, this passage teaches us the lifestyle the godly woman is to live.

“...to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed” (Titus 2:5).

Here are some descriptions regarding a godly woman:

-Discreet: She is sober-minded, sensible, using good judgment in her shopping, bookkeeping, decorating, and physical culture.

-Chaste: She is pure and sexually moral.

-Homemakers: A woman’s primary responsibility is to keep the home.

-Good: She is kind-hearted.

-Obedient to her husband: Submission is not subjugation; wives are instructed to submit to their husbands’ loving leadership in the home.

Adrian Rogers says, “When is a train more free: on the train tracks or running through the meadow? When you get on God’s plan and begin to obey the Word, you’ll find that God will give you incredible liberty.”

Apply it to your life

These verses have inspired us to make a home beautiful and adorn the doctrine of God. A woman is to learn these three things: The legacy she is to leave, the love she’s to learn and the lifestyle she is to live.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Acts 4:34
The Book of Acts tells the story of a man called Barnabas, which translates to, “son of encouragement.” Five characteristics of Barnabas’ “gift of encouragement” show us how to be encouragers for others.

First, Barnabas saw a need that he could meet, and he met it.

In Acts 4:36-37, Barnabas sold his property and gave the profits to the church. He decided to meet the needs of others with the resources God had given him, no matter what it cost him. Encouragers understand that we all have something to give. Encouragers find needy people and enrich them through their money, time, or service.

Second, encouragers find lonely people and include them.

After the Apostle Paul’s conversion, he was despised by his old colleagues, but feared by his new brothers and sisters in Christ. He was a man who needed a friend. Barnabas found him and became a friend to this very lonely new disciple. A lot of new Christians need somebody to find and befriend them. An encourager finds the lonely and neglected, puts an arm around them, and brings them into the fold.

Encouragers will also find a misunderstood person and affirm him.

In Acts 11, the Gospel was spreading quickly, and new believers were sprouting up everywhere. There were some concerns that some of them were not sincere. But Barnabas’s encouragement validated and affirmed those who were misunderstood.

Encouragers develop disciples.

Barnabas found buried gifts in new disciples and helped them develop their talents.

Our churches are full of talented people with abilities waiting to be discovered and developed. But it takes a “Barnabas” to find them.

Finally, encouragers help failures find second chances.

After the disciple Mark ran away from his calling, Barnabas sought him out and gave him another chance. This young disciple went on to write the Gospel of Mark. Thank God for the encouragers in our churches who see second chances in us when no one else does.

Apply it to your life
Adrian Rogers says, “Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost; it was God in Him. Because you see God has cornered the consolation on consolation.”

We can all be encouragers like Barnabas. Ask God to fan the Holy Spirit in you to meet needs, befriend lonely people, affirm the misunderstood, develop disciples, and offer second chances.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Ephesians 4:7

When God saved us by His grace, He gave each of us spiritual gifts. However, many of us do not understand how to use them. In order to be faithful in ministry, we must identify and develop our spiritual gifts.

Ephesians 4:7 says, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”

Spiritual gifts are God-given abilities for service and ministry. We do not choose our spiritual gifts; as our natural talents are embedded in us at birth, our spiritual gifts come at our new birth.

There are several spiritual gifts identified in the New Testament, such as wisdom, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, and discerning of spirits. Other gifts include speaking in tongues, acts of service, ministry, exhortation, teaching, giving, ruling, and mercy.

Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…”

There are five ways we can know our individual spiritual gifts:

-Desire: We consider what we enjoy doing—what do we feel we naturally do well?
-Discovery: We discover our gift as we endeavor to do it.
-Development: Though they come naturally, our gifts must be crafted and studied.
-Dependence: Our gifts must operate in the power of the Holy Spirit.
-Deployment: We understand how our gifts operate as we work alongside other believers.
Finally, our gifts are displayed as we mature in our ministry.

Ephesians 4:13 says, “...till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…”

Adrian Rogers says, “You can tell when the gifts are working in a church when the church becomes like the Lord Jesus Christ.”

When the gifts are working, we will not be blown about by every wind of doctrine. Instead, we will learn how to speak truth in love and find that all of our gifts work together in flexible harmony.

Apply it to your life
It’s important to know our spiritual gifts and to discover and develop them, so that God may be glorified as we serve the Church.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: 1 Corinthians 12:12

It is important that we understand that while Jesus Christ and the Church are not identical, they are inseparable. We cannot forsake the church; we must remain faithful in fellowship.

1 Corinthians 12:12 says, “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.”

This passage describes the church as a body, with Christ as the head. As our bodies inhabit our humanity, the church inhabits Jesus Christ. The body serves the life of the person who lives inside of it; likewise, we are Jesus’ hands and feet.

Adrian Rogers says, “Jesus is the invisible part of the visible church, and the church is the visible part of the invisible Christ.”

We are not just a collection of parts; we have life. The Holy Spirit moves us, therefore we are more than an organization… We are an organism. We have many members, but we have one agenda.

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

The formation of the church body begins when the members are born again and spiritually baptized by the Holy Ghost. As a result, we are bound together as a single body in fellowship.

We share a common life, unified by the Holy Spirit dwelling in each of us. We belong to one another, casting aside any competition with one another or isolation.

We also show a common love as 1 Corinthians 12:25 and 26 say: “...that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

Finally, we serve the same Lord; Adrian Rogers says, “Loyalty to Jesus means loyalty to His body; you cannot love Jesus without loving what Jesus loves.”

As Jesus loves the church—faults, failures, flaws and all—so should we.

Apply it to your life
We are all somebody in His body; accept your role, whether you are an ear to hear or an eye to see. Be yourself and give yourself to the church; as we work with each other, Jesus Christ will be seen through us.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: John 4:3-24

Our greatest need, privilege, and supreme duty as Christians is to worship God; it is the very reason we were created. We are invited, commanded, encouraged, and empowered to worship God because we become like what we worship.

Adrian Rogers says, “If you want to be utterly miserable, turn your life inward. If you want to be filled with joy, turn your life upward. Look into the face of God and learn to worship.”

In John 4, Jesus met a woman who had been blinded by Satan, broken by sorrow, and bound by sin. What Jesus shares with this Samaritan woman reminds us why it is important to be faithful in worship.

First, Jesus taught her the meaning of true worship.

It is easy to fall into the trappings of idolatry, insincerity, and iniquity. But, as Adrian Rogers says, “True worship is all that we are, responding to all that God is. It is the adoring contemplation of God revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. We worship according to the worth we place on God.”

Second, Jesus tells us how to practice the true method of worship.

John 4:23-24 says, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

We must be regenerated by the Father. We cannot worship a God that we don’t know; we must make certain that we have been born into the Father’s family. We must be activated by the Spirit; it is impossible to honor God apart from being filled with the Holy Spirit. We must also be regulated by the Word; true worship is linked with studying the Word of God, for we worship in spirit and in truth.

Finally, Jesus reminds us of our motive as worshippers.

We go to church not primarily for what we can get but for what we can give. We glorify God when we bring our worship to church; it reveals that He is of the utmost importance in our lives.

Apply it to your life
What does your worship life say about how much worth you’ve placed on God? Consider the meaning, method, and motive of true worship as you glorify God in your faithfulness to Him.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Romans 8:28-30

The five pillars of salvation are identified in Romans 8. These are five pillars upon which the temple of truth rests. If you take away any one of these, the Gospel comes tumbling down.

The first pillar of salvation is the supreme wisdom of God: “For whom He foreknew…” (Romans 8:29). God’s wisdom is unlike any other man’s knowledge or understanding. It is not based upon guess or whim; He sees the beginning, the end, and everything in between.

The second pillar of salvation is the sovereign will of God: “He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).

When God predestines something, nothing can stop it—it will come to pass. God wants to redeem the whole human race, as 2 Peter 3:9 says, He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

But because He lovingly gave us free will, we have a choice in the matter and we will give an account for the choice we make.

Adrian Rogers says, “There is no contradiction between the sovereign grace of God and the free will of man.”

The third pillar rests upon the seeking word of God: “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called…” (Romans 8:30). “Called” means to issue a summons; God sends His Word to those who would hear it, His Gospel to those who would receive it.

The fourth pillar is the saving work of God: “...whom He called, these He also justified…” (Romans 8:30). Justification is more than a pardoning or acquitting of our sins, it is being made righteous in God’s sight. We receive this justification through grace and grace through our faith.

The fifth and final pillar is the settled ways of God: “...and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:30). Because God deals in eternity, He sees the future as well as the present. And because we have been predestined for glory in Christ, we are already glorified.

Apply it to your life
We cannot lose our salvation, because it is not dependent upon us. It is held up by the five pillars of God’s wisdom, will, Word and work. Though we may slip back into sin, our destiny is settled by His grace. Rejoice in this truth today, and share it with someone.