South Union Sermons

Bottom line: God's precious promises belong to God's precious people.

God promises His love for us, His presence with us, His provision to us, His grace in us, and His heavenly home awaits us.

Bottom line: Trust the One who makes the plan to fulfill the plan.

Let's trust God. He makes the plan. He fulfills the plan. He does it for His glory and our good.
In the face difficulty let's remember that 1) we don't understand it all, 2) we must hold on to our faith, 3) we must not go our own way, and 4) God will get us through.

Bottom line: Real faith is a fruitful faith, i.e. genuine faith produces works that validate and verify its authenticity.

James poses the question, "What good is it to have a faith that produces no works?" Can that kind of faith, a fruitless faith, really save? James will go on to say, "Show me your faith without your works, and I'll show you my faith by my works."

The point is simply this: a real, true, saving faith will by proven by the works we do. It is faith alone that saves, but a faith that saves is never alone. As James says, "Faith without works is dead being alone."

Bottom line: These are faithful sayings: suffering leads to reigning; spiritual exercising leads to godliness; trusting Jesus saves sinners.

The Apostle Paul in writing to Timothy shared with him some statements of truth that he called "faithful sayings," i.e. "Timothy, you can trust what I am saying is true." We might say it this way today: "Timothy, you can count on it; you can take it to the bank."

Jesus came into this world to save sinners. He paid the sinner's penalty and provided for the saint's victory.
Exercising spiritually leads to godliness in us and has benefit in the this life and the life to come.
Suffering for the cause of Christ and/or the plan of Christ will lead to reigning with Christ. Suffering has a promise reigning. It's a paradox, but it is true.

Bottom line: Being faithful to my identity in Christ provides for my empowerment and enablement to live my life for Christ.

The key to me being identified with Jesus is my crucifixion with Jesus. Paul said that as a believer, we are crucified with Jesus the moment we believe, and we are then to die to self daily, i.e. live out our identification in a living relationship with Jesus as we experience our crucifixion with Jesus daily in dying to self. When we depend on Jesus, we gain His strength and power for victory and fruitfulness.

Bottom line: Faithful and fruitful servants will receive eternal and valuable rewards.

The Judgment Seat of Christ is not a judgment of the believer for the purpose of doling out punishment. It is a judgment of the believer's works for the purpose of awarding reward.
The believer's sins were forever judged and paid for by the cross of Jesus. Our eternity in heaven is based on Jesus finished work. We are saved by grace through faith. Our rewards, however, are based on the works we do. Our works will be revealed and tested by the judgment of Jesus. Based on His righteous judgment, reward will be won or lost.

Bottom line: As we grow and work on the family farm, God produces fruit in and through us.

The church is a family that must grow in maturity. Are you growing?
The church is made up of farmhands who labor in dependency on God. Are you laboring? Are you doing your part?
The church is a field, farmland, that is to be worked in order to produce fruit in quantity and quality. Are you being fruitful? Are you helping the church to be fruitful?

God doesn't want our faith to remain at the foundational level of trusting Jesus as Savior. He wants us to give all diligence to add to (exercise) our faith to virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. If we do this we will be fruitful in our walk, secure in our ministry, and welcomed one day into heaven with an abundant entrance.
We are the stewards of the message of life, and we are the stewards of the message of a better life. Jesus not only makes our life better, He makes us better at life as our faith grows in maturity.

Bottom line: God's power and presence are manifest in a praying church.

Prayer is a vital sign of the church. It is like spiritual breath. Are we breathing spiritually as a church?
Prayer should be the atmosphere of the church. Prayer is a pleasing aroma to God. When God takes in a deep breath, does He smell a pleasing aroma?
Prayer brings the power of God to a church. His presence is manifest in the midst of a praying church. The Holy Spirit descended and empowered the early church in and during a prayer meeting.
Prayer is treasured by God so much that He bottles it up. He wants prayer from us. He treasures it. He motivates us to pray by treasuring what we pray.

The early church was "open on the God-ward side." Let us be the same and we will see the the power and presence of God in and among the church.

Bottom line: Believe Jesus and you will have life eternally. Know Jesus more and more and you will experience life abundantly.

John wrote his gospel to convince his readers that Jesus was the Son of God and that by believing, they would have eternal life. If we believe, we are saved. And if saved, we need to get to know the One that saved us. He is the Word, the Creator, the Light of Life, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, and the Messiah. The more you know Him, the more abundant your life will be.
We are the stewards of the message of life. We are the stewards of the message of a better life. The more you know Jesus, the better (sweeter experience) life is.