Park Road church of Christ Sermons

Baptism is a controversial subject, but we don’t believe it should be. We believe baptism is clearly commanded in verses like Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:38, 1 Peter 3:21 and several others.

This lesson takes a few minutes to consider some of those verses and emphasize the need for baptism, but the primary purpose of this study was to consider why God chose to make baptism a part of becoming a Christian.

Why did God come up with baptism as something that he would want his people to do in order to become disciples of Jesus; as something that he would want us to do that we might enter into a relationship with his Son and, as the Bible says, “Be baptized into Christ” (Romans 6:3)? That’s the question this lesson seeks to answer.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve faced the choice between doing what they wanted or obeying God’s will. It would have cost them nothing to obey the Father’s command, but they chose wrong, and death was the result—for them and (ultimately) for us all.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus had a similar choice, between what he wanted and obeying God’s will. It would cost him everything to obey his Father’s command, and yet he made the right choice, and life everlasting was the result—for him and (potentially) for us all.

Life is filled with a seemingly endless amount of decisions that all come down to the same choice: “God’s way, or my way?” May this lesson give you the strength to consistently say: “Father, not my will, but your will be done.”

This lesson considers what it means to really love Jesus, what it takes to really love Jesus, and how we can be sure to put Jesus first.

Along with resting on the seventh day of every week, the Israelites were also commanded to observe a sabbath year—an entire year resting from their labors and communing with the Lord. As good as that sounds, an entire year of rest means an entire year spent trusting the Lord to provide. This lesson considers the challenges and lessons we can learn as New Testament Christians by putting ourselves in Israel’s place.

When is it hard for you to be a Christian? When is your loyalty to Jesus tested? It is during the test that your loyalty will either be found wanting or proven true.

In Daniel 4, the Chaldean king, Nebuchadnezzar, needed to “recognize that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.“ Sometimes perhaps—particularly during election seasons—we need to be reminded of this too. When the results are announced, whether it’s your guy or their guy who won, “our guy“—the Almighty God—is forever and always on the throne.