Woodland Hills Church of Christ

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Woodland Hills Church of Christ episodes

May 18, 2025 The Murderer Within
Topical Sermons / Speaker:David Desloge
The post The Murderer Within appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
50 min
May 18, 2025The Gospel Call to Discipleship
Topical Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
The Gospel Call to Discipleship
Introduction: Ezekiel 36:22–32
Twice in this text (22 & 32) God said that what he was about to do was not for “your sake.” Lest we think God was only fed up with Israel, the fulfillment of the prophecies in this text have to do with us. In the beginning, before sin, God crowned us with glory and honor and gave us dominion over his creation (Psalm 8). But because of sin, we lost the glory God intended for us. Not only did we lose our glory, but we profaned God’s name causing a deficit in how the creation viewed him. Therefore, for the sake of his holy name, he acted to re-create us and reverse the “glory-deficit” we had created.
Ephesians 3:9-11 (NET) “…and to enlighten everyone about God’s secret plan —the mystery that has been hidden for ages in God who has created all things. The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms. This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Note, God did this through Christ Jesus our Lord (King) to fulfill Ezekiel’s prophecy and return glory to himself.
Ephesians 3:21 “…to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Reversing God’s Glory Deficit
Going back to Ezekiel 36, we see what God did to reverse the glory deficit he experienced when we profaned his holy name.
24: He brought us out from the nations. That is, he set us apart from the ways of the rest of the world. 2 Cor. 6:17, “Come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean.”
25: He cleansed us from all our uncleannesses.
26: He gave us a new heart and a new spirit, and removed the heart of stone from us and gave us a heart of flesh. God took away our stubborn rebellion and gave us a heart that is pliable and willing to change into the image of God.
27: He “put his Spirit within” us, and “caused us to walk in his statutes and be careful to obey his rules.” Through the work of the Spirit, which is through the offering of Jesus (Romans 5:5-6), the Lord poured out his love into our hearts, causing us to desire him and to be careful to obey him.
Consider for a moment that even though God primarily did this to the praise of his glory, he also did it because of his great love for us.
Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Consider God’s great love toward us. Is his great love shown simply in forgiveness? Far from it. Yes, forgiveness, but forgiveness and then raised us up with Christ, and seated us with him in the heavenly places.
Paul throughout Ephesians 1-3 keeps reminding us that it is Christ’s experience in how he lived, how he died, and his resurrection is the way God is glorified, his holy name vindicated, by bringing us to glory with him.
All of the above drives us to one simple conclusion that we all know but rarely verbalize in discussions about salvation. God’s saving grace is more about transforming us into his image than it is forgiveness of sins. That transformation is exactly what we see in Ezekiel 36. To put it bluntly, Ezekiel 36 is the plan of salvation. Jesus referenced Ezekiel 36 when he described “born again.” “Forgiveness” is a part of the plan, but far from the complete plan.
All of this is to bring us to understand that living as a disciple of Jesus is the key to our salvation. Repentance and baptism is the means to an initial cleansing that enable us to be disciples of our King. That concept is quite evident in how Jesus and his apostles taught. The Principle: “We are saved by allegiance to the King since allegiance unites us to the King and his benefits.”
The Path to Salvation: True Disciples of Jesus
Matthew 16:21-25
Notice the pattern of the text. Jesus announces his journey to the cross. Peter rebukes him, and then Jesus rebukes Peter, calling him “Satan.” Peter is not setting his mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. That is, the path to glory is through the cross.
Jesus follows up with a shocking assertion. The path to “saving one’s life” is by “denying self and taking up his cross and following me.” It is necessary for every disciple to “lose his life for my sake.” To do otherwise is to “lose your life.”
This description of discipleship is embedded in the Gospel message. 1 Corinthians 1:17, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” The idea of the cross emptied of its power was a direct attack on the Corinthian preachers and their “gospel of health and wealth.” The cross was chosen by Jesus because it vividly pictures the path of salvation for all disciples.
Matthew 28:19, is a straightforward reminder of this. The Great Commission begins with the words, “Make disciples…”
Back to Basics: The Plan of Salvation
Romans 10:9-10 We hear this text often and our immediate reaction is, “Well, those verses are used to teach faith only. What about the passages that talk about repentance and baptism?” How often to we make this major mistake in our Bible study? To say the above is to dismiss what Paul is actually teaching by diverting our attention to what he isn’t teaching. The question is not what the text doesn’t say, it is about what it does say.
Paul’s words in these verses are a conclusion from his quotation of Deuteronomy 30:11-20 where Moses stressed Israel must “choose life” by giving up their idols, *“loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life!”
Moses said, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.” Then Paul added, “that is, the word of faith that we proclaim.”
In other words, confessing that Jesus is Lord, is pledging loyalty and allegiance to him as King. Is that what we were doing when we made our confession prior to being baptized? Or, were we simply saying that we accept the factual truth that Jesus is the Son of God? Why was that such a minor, practically invisible part of coming to Christ? It is because we didn’t understand the message of the GOSPEL.
Look at it this way: when we heard the “plan of salvation” rattled off at the end of a sermon, what was said? “Believe, confess, repent, be baptized, and live a faithful life.” Hmmm. How did we understand “believe?” Was it not simply, “I believe in God and I believe in Jesus,” now let’s move on to baptism?
Consider further. We all recognize that “belief” comes first. Nothing else will matter without “faith” in God. Okay, that being true, what is the most important thing we should be teaching prior to repentance and baptism? When we know that Gospel message is, “Our God Reigns,” the answer is simple. What one must know and accept and promise before all else is an allegiance to King Jesus.
We have denounced the “faith only” doctrine for years, teaching time and again that “belief” is not just an acceptance of the facts about Jesus. But then we turn around and imply that confessing belief moments before baptism is an acknowledgment of the facts about Jesus. The point is, when we ask a person to confess Jesus, do we know what we are asking and do they know what we are asking?
The presentation of the gospel is flawed when baptism is presented in blinking neon lights and the commands to believe and confess Jesus as Lord and King is in tiny seven-point letters!
Have you heard me constantly emphasizing baptism? Or have I emphasized knowing God, loving God, and giving your allegiance to God and Jesus as King? When we have talked about what our children need to know above all else as they grow up, what is it? We don’t want to make the emphasis on baptism because children will see that as “works” I must do to be saved just like Jews saw circumcision. We need to emphasize knowing God so that we submit to him as our King. When that happens, all else falls into place. But constantly teaching our children baptism like it is a “magic bullet,” will never bring them to an allegiance to King Jesus. This is a major reason that 18-25 year olds are leaving the faith. They never had the faith!
Please! If you think you “obeyed the gospel” and are saved just because you were baptized, you don’t know the message of the gospel of the kingdom of God.
“There is no salvation apart from Jesus’ kingship, because it only comes through his kingship.” (Matthew Bates)
Romans 1:16–17 — In the gospel God’s righteousness is revealed “from the faithfulness of Jesus to our faithfulness.” The definition of our faithfulness is based on the faithfulness of Jesus our Christ and King.
Compare the above to Romans 3:21-22 “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (although it is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed—namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction” (NET).
The words translated “faithfulness” in regard to Jesus and “believe” in regard to us, are the same Greek words. The faithfulness of Jesus Christ is the model and pattern for our belief or faithfulness.
Conclusion: The Gospel Story is about God bringing us back to glory through his King, Jesus the Christ. Jesus was incarnated to become a model and pattern for our lives. In his life, he called himself the Son of Man, implying his ultimate rule, but also implying his perfect example of how “Mankind” is to live as a true image-bearer of God. Therefore, the plan of salvation cannot be realized without living the definition of a disciple: “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40).
Berry Kercheville
The post The Gospel Call to Discipleship appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
38 min
May 18, 2025 1 Timothy 1:12-20
Bible Classes / Speaker:Adam Malone
The post 1 Timothy 1:12-20 appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
45 min
May 15, 2025 1 Kings Chapters 17 & 18
Bible Classes / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
The post 1 Kings Chapters 17 & 18 appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
46 min
May 11, 2025 Job 22-25 : Third Round of Speeches – Eliphaz, Bildad and Job
Old Testament Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
The post Job 22-25 : Third Round of Speeches – Eliphaz, Bildad and Job appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
54 min
May 11, 2025The Gospel: Our Need of a King
Topical Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
The Gospel: Our Need of a King
Introduction: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’” (Isaiah 52:7 ESV).
You will notice in the above text that the good news (gospel) brings peace, happiness, and salvation. But the “gospel” is not peace, happiness, and salvation, it is that God has returned to reign over his people. And when God reigns, the result is peace, happiness, and salvation. The text illustrates our need for a King and his kingdom.
If we were asked why we need the gospel, I’m sure most of us would immediately answer that we need to be saved from our sins. That would be absolutely true, but what we need to pursue this morning is that the need for forgiveness is secondary to the primary reason we need the gospel. The primary reason is because we need a King.
When you became a Christian, did you think of Jesus as your King? Did you even think you needed a king? Probably not. Most of us were just thinking about our need for a Savior so that we can be forgiven. In fact, if someone said that the most important thing we need is a king, we would likely have said, “Why?” That is interesting because it means we did not consider the emphasis both Old and New Testaments devoted to a King and a Kingdom. How did Jesus begin his model prayer? “Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come…”
God’s Promise to David (2 Samuel 7:8-16)
The rise of kings ruling over Israel is an interesting study. In 1 Samuel God rebuked the people for desiring a human king instead of him. But God allowed it. There may have been many reasons, but primarily God allowed it to prove that we are unable to rule over ourselves without disastrous results. Even David fails to bring what is needed.
Therefore, notice in this text that when David desires to build a house for God, God rejects his plan and promises that he will build a house for David through one of his descendants will establish a throne and kingdom that will last forever.
Again, we do not see God immediately talking about the need for salvation from sins, but the need for a King, a King who will establish a Kingdom.
Verse 13: “he shall build a house for my name…” indicates the ultimate purpose of God’s name (character and honor) be exalted in the earth (the first request of Jesus in the model prayer – “hallowed be your name”).
Verses 9-11: Note the benefits/end purpose of this kingdom:
9: “I will make for you a great name…” That is like saying that God will make him famous. Note the similarity of the promise to Abraham.
10-11: “I will appoint a place for my people…so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more…and I will give you rest from all your enemies.” These words give us an understanding of the greater purpose God had and the need for a Kingdom. God’s intent is not primarily about individual salvation, but a collective, a “holy nation,” a people with a great name.
“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us into a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.” (Revelation 1:5-6)
The Hope of the Messiah–King
Consider, what was Israel looking for in their messiah? The word “messiah” is the same as the “Christ,” and “Christ” is the “anointed.” Anointed for what? Anointed to be the King. That is exactly Israel’s hope, a fulfillment of the promise to David. As Isaiah 52:7 tells us, the good news is “Your God reigns.” The gospel is first and foremost a royal proclamation.
The apostles seemed to understand the importance of a king and a kingdom far more than we have. We can see this by the number of times they asked Jesus about what their position would be in his kingdom. Even the thief on the cross asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom. We have misread that text by thinking that the thief asked Jesus to forgive him. No, he asked to be in his kingdom. It is the kingdom that people desired and longed for.
This was the promise to Mary when the angel appeared to her: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33)
When we read Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 we are in such a hurry to talk about “repent and be baptized” that we neglect Peter’s lead up to the command.
30: “Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne…”
33: “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”
34-35: “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’”
36: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Therefore, first and foremost Peter’s message that triggers their response is the Messiah/King is “reigning at the right hand of God.”
Consider how this should affect our coming to Christ.
We are pledging our allegiance to King Jesus. We are not thinking primarily of ourselves, but of our responsibility to please our King who is bringing us to glory
Is that not what was announced by the “beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ…a voice crying in the wilderness…prepare the way of the Lord?” (Mark 1:1-2). The gospel’s purpose is loyalty to our King because of the kingdom he has brought & bringing.
Why Is a King and Kingdom the Hope?
In other words, what was wrong with simply thinking that “we sinned and were separated from God, but now Jesus died and raised for us and we are saved?”
The short answer is, that was not the fullness of God’s plan. We abbreviated the purpose of God, and in doing so we made everything about that singular point of forgiveness.
What has been especially missing from the “gospel” is God’s purpose for glory and honor. As a reminder, God introduced his intentions in Genesis and spoke of its fulfillment in Hebrews:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” (Gen. 1:26)
“Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:5-6)
“For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, ‘What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him. You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.’” (Hebrews 2:5-8)
“At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor” (Hebrews 2:8-9)
You should have noticed so far, along with you other scriptures, that God is always intentional about promoting the welfare of his people. But even further than that, God is promoting the exaltation of his people. That part is fairly foreign to our thinking primarily because we have just felt lucky to have our sins forgiven. But again, forgiveness alone is not the primary gospel message. Quickly note a few representative passages:
“Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in the Christ, Jesus, with eternal glory” (2 Tim. 2:10)
“If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:11–12)
“He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thes. 2:13)
“For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” (2 Cor. 4:17)
Consider: the Hebrews’ writer gave 5 warnings to the Jewish Christians about what they were going to lose if address their need for endurance.
2:3–11 You will lose a great salvation – crowned with glory and honor as brothers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
3:6–4:13 You will lose the eternal rest God promised from the beginning.
5:11–6:20 You will lose the promise made to Abraham, “I will greatly bless you…” You will lose the opportunity to “taste the heavenly gift, the good word of God, become partakers of the Holy Spirit and the powers of the age to come.
10:19-31 You will lose the confidence to enter the most holy place into the presence of God and the continuous intercession of Jesus on your behalf.
12:18–29 You will lose the glory of “coming to Mt. Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, myriads of angels, the general assembly and church of the firstborn…and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood.”
Verses 28-29 You will lose a kingdom that cannot be shaken when the heavens and earth are taken away.
What is the consistent message? You are going to lose glory! Defining glory is as simple as reading each of the above sections and seeing what will be lost.
Our Place in Attaining Glory
The problem of the “gospel” being primarily about our personal salvation, is how self-centered that is, allowing us to go about our business instead of being about God’s Kingdom business.
We must understand that though the gospel solved our sin problem, the gospel was primarily a solution to God’s problem.
Ezekiel 36:19-27 God “vindicates the holiness of his great name” when he re-creates us in his own image.
Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14 explains that God’s purpose in choosing us was to have a people “holy and blameless before him” … “to the praise of his glorious grace” … “that we might be to the praise of his glory” … “to the praise of his glory.”
Consider two passages:
“Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Romans 1:22-23)
“They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. So they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass.” (Psalm 106:19-20 NASB)
“They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.” (Psalm 115:7-8)
God’s glory and our glory is intertwined. God has his own inherent glory without us, but what he has done through us enhances his glory and praise in both the heavenly and earthly realms.
Therefore, Paul summarizes our purpose: “And to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose” (Ephesians 3:9-11).
Therefore, glory is having value, worth, honor, and reputation. If we are “vessels of dishonor,” we have no value!
God’s glory and our glory is further enhanced by our work with him in saving souls and getting each other to the final reward.
“For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand—just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.” (2 Corinthians 1:12-14)
Conclusion:
The gospel is the recovery and restoration of human glory in God’s eternal kingdom that God intended from the beginning. In the kingdom, God is about crowning us with glory and honor in spite of our worthlessness because of sin. His love in restoring us brings about greater honor and praise toward him. It is a cycle of glory. Consider a concluding text:
“Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:13-15)
Therefore, when the gospel is defined as “salvation from sins,” it places our problem, our sinful condition, at the center. It is a selfish perspective. We need to see this more as God’s problem because it was our sin that profaned his holy name! In the Kingdom, God restores his own glory, which at the same time gives us the glory he desired for us.
Final question: Is your life enhancing God’s glory or creating a deficit in God’s glory?
Berry Kercheville
The post The Gospel: Our Need of a King appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
44 min
May 11, 2025 1 Timothy 1:1-11
Bible Classes / Speaker:David Desloge
The post 1 Timothy 1:1-11 appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
39 min
May 08, 2025 1 Kings Chapters15 & 16
Bible Classes / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
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46 min
May 04, 2025 Job 18 – 21 : Second Round of Speeches – Bildad, Zophar and Job
Old Testament Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
The post Job 18 – 21 : Second Round of Speeches – Bildad, Zophar and Job appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
49 min
May 04, 2025 1 Timothy – Build Your Own Intro
Bible Classes / Speaker:Adam Malone
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26 min