Scott LaPierre Ministries

Scott LaPierre Ministries

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Scott LaPierre Ministries episodes

  • What Does the Bible Say About Saving Money? (Proverbs 13:22)

    Should Christians save money? This teaching examines biblical wisdom about saving, inheritance, spending habits, and planning for the future. Proverbs 13:22 introduces the responsibility to consider future generations while handling today's resources faithfully.

    Read the full teaching: https://www.scottlapierre.org/what-does-the-bible-say-about-saving-money/

    1 hr 30 min
  • Are You Burdened by Sin? (Luke 15:2 and Psalm 32:1-5)

    Psalm 32:1-4 describes what it feels like being burdened by sin. David was one of the most vibrant and vigorous men in Scripture, but his sin prematurely aged him. His health deteriorated dramatically at an early age, especially in Old Testament times, and especially for a man as physically gifted and strong as he was. The tax collectors and sinners drew near to Jesus to have their sin burdens lifted.

    Read the full teaching: https://www.scottlapierre.org/burdened-by-sin/

    53 min
  • The Danger of Self-Righteousness and Understanding Justification

    The danger of self-righteousness is that it prevents people from recognizing their spiritual sickness. Self-righteous people think they’re spiritually healthy, so they don’t look to the Great Physician. If you’re sick, but you think you’re healthy you don’t know anything’s wrong. You won’t get the medical attention you need. You keep getting worse, often without knowing it. It is dangerous to be physically sick and not know it, but it’s even worse to be spiritually sick and not know it. If you’re physically sick and don’t know it, the worst you can experience is physical death. But if you’re spiritually sick and don’t know it the worst you can experience is eternal death.

    Read the full teaching: https://www.scottlapierre.org/the-danger-of-self-righteousness/

    48 min
  • Tax Collectors and Sinners Draw Near to Jesus (Luke 15:1 and Haggai 2:10-13)

    Luke 15:1 says, “Tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to Jesus.” The end of the previous chapter contains the strongest verses in all of Scripture regarding discipleship. Jesus preached them because the crowds were bloated. They were filled with people who weren’t true disciples. Jesus wanted to thin the ranks. The tax collectors and sinners not only remained but drew closer to him. They were tired of their spiritual sickness, and wanted to be made well.



    Are you spiritually sick? There is a Physician who wants to make you well. Jesus wouldn’t turn away the tax collectors and sinners in his day and he doesn’t turn them away in our day.




    https://youtu.be/kXvRO7kDmEs
    Luke 15:1 says, “Tax collectors and sinners drew near to Jesus.” They were tired of their spiritual sickness, and wanted to be made well.



    Table of Contents* Family Worship Guide for Tax Collectors and Sinners Draw Near to Jesus* Sermon Notes for Tax Collectors and Sinners Draw Near to Jesus* Lesson One: Holiness can’t be transferred.* Lesson Two: Unholiness can be transferred.* Lesson Three: Keep unholiness out of your life by (part one) evangelizing versus compromising.* Lesson Three: Keep unholiness out of your life by (part two) pointing tax collectors and sinners to the Physician.* Lesson Four: Tax collectors and sinners who know they’re sick draw near to Jesus.



    Family Worship Guide for Tax Collectors and Sinners Draw Near to Jesus



    Directions: Read the verses and then answer the questions:



    * Day 1: Haggai 2:13, 2 Corinthians 6:14, Proverbs 13:20, 1 Corinthians 15:33—Why were tax collectors and sinners viewed so poorly in Jesus’s day? What did the Jews think about holiness in Haggai’s day? Regarding holiness what can and can’t be transferred? What application does this have for us?* Day 2: Galatians 5:13, 1 Peter 2:16, James 1:27—How might we be tempted to disguise our compromise as evangelism? What does it mean to use our freedom as an opportunity for the flesh? What would it look like to do so? Why is it fitting to call Jesus a Physician? In what ways is Jesus like an earthly physician?* Day 3: Luke 5:27-32, 1 Timothy 1:15, Galatians 6:1—What did Jesus mean when he said he didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance? Why did so many turn back from following Jesus at the end of Luke 14? Why do you think tax collectors and sinners drew near to him? What makes you want to draw near to Christ?



    Sermon Notes for Tax Collectors and Sinners Draw Near to Jesus



    The title of this morning’s sermon is, “Tax Collectors and Sinners Draw near to Him.”



    On Sunday mornings we’re working our way through Luke’s gospel verse by verse and we have reached Luke 15. Please stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.



    Luke 15:1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”



    You may be seated. Let’s pray.



    48 min
  • How Does God View Mortgages?

    We know how God views debt. We have also looked at the national debt, credit card debt, and automobile debt. But how does God view mortgages? What does the Bible say about mortgages? Read on (or listen) to find out!



    Table of Contents* Our Story* Being Upside Down in Your Mortgage* Three Ways to Avoid a Mortgage* First, Consider a Rental* Second, Live Modestly* Third, Purchase a Starter Home* Two Pieces of Advice If You Decide to Purchase a Mortgage* First, Understand "Qualifying"* Second, Choose a 15-Year Versus a 30-Year Mortgage* Trust God to Help You Pay Off Your Debt, Including Your Mortgage



    For simplicity’s sake let’s divide our expenses into two categories: nonessential (such as vacations, eating out, entertainment) and essential (food, clothing, and housing). Debt should be avoided for nonessential expenses (such as vacations and flat screen televisions) and it can be avoided for most essential expenses. The one exception is housing because many people don’t have the money to buy a home with cash. If you’re wondering how much to spend on housing, the general rule is 30 percent of your income, whether it’s rent or a mortgage payment.



    Some people consider themselves to be debt-free when the only debt they have is a mortgage. This is an odd perspective because a mortgage alone could be larger than multiple other loans combined. When people have a mortgage, unless they are close to paying it off, they should not consider themselves close to being debt-free.



    Our Story



    When Katie and I first got married, we still owed $160,000 on our mortgage (originally $164,000). Katie also owed about $6,000 in school loans. We owned two vehicles that were paid off. We didn’t (and still don’t) own credit cards.



    We considered not paying off our mortgage because of the tax deduction we could receive, but we were deterred for three reasons. First, we were given The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey as a wedding gift and we read it on our honeymoon. Regarding the tax deductions from a mortgage, he wrote:



    If you have a home with a payment of around $900, and the interest portion is $830 per month, you have paid around $10,000 in interest that year, which creates a tax deduction. If, instead, you have a debt-free home, you would, in fact, lose the tax deduction, so the myth says to keep your home mortgaged because of tax advantages.If you do not have a $10,000 tax deduction and you are in a 30 percent bracket, you will have to pay $3,000 in taxes on that $10,000. According to the myth, we should send $10,000 in interest to the bank so we don’t have to send $3,000 in taxes to the IRS. Personally, I think I will live debt-free and not make a $10,000 trade for $3,000.Dave Ramsey, The Total Money Makeover (Nashville,
    57 min
  • First Sit Down and Count the Cost, So You Don’t Start and Then Stop (Luke 14:28-35)

    Jesus said, “Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28). Jesus wanted to prevent people from starting to follow Him and then stopping later. Expectations shape experiences. When you know the cost involved in following Christ, there’s a better chance of persevering. So, He used two illustrations that both involve foresight: building a tower and going to war.

    Read the full teaching: https://www.scottlapierre.org/first-sit-down-and-count-the-cost/

    54 min
  • Consequences of National Debt, Credit Card Debt, and Automobile Debt

    Now that we know how God views debt, let's zoom in on specific debts: national debt, credit card debt, and automobile debt have many negative consequences. Let's look at each of them.



    NOTE: see this post for a discussion of mortgages.



    Table of Contents* Our National Debt* Biting the Bullet to Pay Off Our National Debt* Sacrificing Our Children's Future for Our Present* The Bible's Condemnation of Our National Debt* How Much Debt Do We Individually Have?* Credit Card Debt* Automobile Debt



    We can get an elevated view of debt by considering the situation in our country. Then we can zoom in and look at the situation in households.



    Our National Debt



    Michael Farris is a lawyer and the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and Patrick Henry College. In 2001 he wrote:



    We should demand that our government respect the economic freedom of our children and grandchildren by eliminating the national debt. In the fall of 1992, the national debt was $4 trillion. That is $16,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. A $4 trillion stack of $1000 bills would be 245 miles high.Michael Farris, The Homeschooling Father (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2002), 110.



    The national debt was $4 trillion in 1992, $6 trillion in 2001, $15 trillion in 2011, and it is expected to reach $30 trillion in 2021. Why do we have a debt ceiling if we keep raising it? If the purpose is to prevent debt from exceeding a certain level but we raise the ceiling when it’s reached, haven’t we defeated the purpose? We should get rid of the pretenses that have no real significance and be honest about our actions: We take on debt recklessly.



    Biting the Bullet to Pay Off Our National Debt



    The way our nation is accruing debt is unsustainable, and ultimately, there are only three possible ways to change the course we’re on. The first possibility is to raise taxes. The second possibility is to spend less. But most economists believe either strategy compromises the economy. Lowering taxes stimulates growth and spending, but also increases the debt. As the government spends money or engages in “quantitative easing,” also known as stimulus spending (injecting large amounts of money into the economy), the economy grows, but so does the debt. It should also be noted that some economists believe when the government stops stimulus spending, the economy returns to where it would have been without it, but with one exception: an increased national debt.



    The third solution is, to put it bluntly, bite the bullet. Suffer through difficult years, including economic slowdowns,
    1 hr 2 min
  • Jesus Said, “You Cannot Be My Disciple If…” (Luke 14:27)

    In Luke 14:27, Jesus teaches that being His disciple means bearing your cross: submitting to Him and being willing to suffer for following Him. “Great crowds” followed Jesus. While many popular religious leaders would try to make the crowds even larger, Jesus seemed to try to stop people from following Him. Of all the statements He made that turned people away, we have reached the most shocking: “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). Learn what this means.

    Read the full teaching: https://www.scottlapierre.org/cannot-be-my-disciple/

    50 min
  • What Does It Mean to Love Christ? (Luke 14:26)

    Loving Christ means giving Him first place, even above our closest relationships. This message explains Jesus' challenging words in Luke 14:26, distinguishes love from feelings alone, and shows how obedience demonstrates our response to the Savior who first loved us.

    Read the full teaching: https://www.scottlapierre.org/what-does-it-mean-to-love-christ/

    49 min

About Scott LaPierre Ministries

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Understand the Bible and apply God’s Word to your marriage, family, church, and everyday life. Pastor, author, and Christian speaker Scott LaPierre shares verse-by-verse sermons, biblical teaching,…