NYNCF Sermons

Psalm 88 (ESV) - 1 O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. 2 Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! 3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. 4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, 5 like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. 6 You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. 7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah 8 You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; 9 my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you. 10 Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah 11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 12 Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13 But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14 O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? 15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. 16 Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. 17 They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. 18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.

Joshua 5:13-15 (ESV) -13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua,“Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Matthew 25: 31-46 (ESV) - 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him,then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Ecclesiastes 7:1-12 (ESV) - 1 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity. 7 Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart. 8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. 10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. 11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. 12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

Ecclesiastes 6:1-9 (ESV)1 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. 3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. 5 Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place? 7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. 8 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 5:8-20 (ESV)8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice andrighteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by ahigher, and there are yet higher ones over them.9 But this is gain for a land in everyway: a king committed to cultivated fields. 10 He who loves money will not besatisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has theirowner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether heeats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. 13 There isa grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to hishurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but hehas nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again,naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in hishand.16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain isthere to him who toils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness inmuch vexation and sickness and anger. 18 Behold, what I have seen to be good andfitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils underthe sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19 Everyonealso to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, andto accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.20 For he will not muchremember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

John 13:1-17 (ESV) 1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him,“If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example,that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Matthew 18:21-35 - 21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin againstme, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not sayto you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heavenmay be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousandtalents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with hiswife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servantfell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay youeverything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him andforgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of hisfellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began tochoke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down andpleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused andwent and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.31 When his fellow servantssaw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reportedto their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and saidto him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded withme. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercyon you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should payall his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do notforgive your brother from your heart.”

Revelation 3:14-22 (ESV) - 14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen,the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. 15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 (ESV)1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is betterthan to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Benot rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God,for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3 For adream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words. 4 When youvow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay whatyou vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and notpay. 6 Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messengerthat it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the workof your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity;but God is the one you must fear.