Woodland Hills Church of Christ

By Woodland Hills Church of ChristReligion & Spirituality Christianity

Woodland Hills Church of Christ episodes

July 19 2 Timothy Class (Lesson 3)
Bible Classes / Speaker:Adam Malone
The post 2 Timothy Class (Lesson 3) appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
46 min
July 19Jeremiah 17 Fixing Our Heart
Old Testament Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
Fixing Our Heart
Jeremiah 17
Introduction: Every person who has ever desired to turn away from sin and turn to God has lost the battle because of the same mistake: we try to stop the sin without fixing the illness of the heart. Jesus said in Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Jeremiah 17 is a blessing to us. God exposes the problem with our heart and then gives us the answer. It is typical of the graciousness of God. He always knows our weaknesses, but always comes to the rescue.
Sin Engraved on the Tablet of Their Heart (1-4)
God presents a contrast between 16:19-21 and these verses. While Israel stubbornly refused to obey God and give up their idols, the nations would come to the Lord and confess the foolishness of the idolatry of their fathers.
Therefore the opening of chapter 17 is an expose of Israel’s root problem: “their sin is engraved on the tablet of their heart.”
The heart is more than just our minds. The heart has to do with our inner most thoughts and desires. When the heart is wicked, it results in making decisions that affect the direction of our life. Habitual has only one outcome: sin is embedded/etched in our heart.
We would say it this way: their sins are set in concrete. Verse 2 explains when he says, “their children remember their altars and their Asherim.” Their altars were placed on high hills and under green trees where lascivious rituals were practiced. The Asherim were a female fertility goddesses which gave the people further excuses to practice sexual sins. In other words, their evil had been normalized from childhood and thus embedded in their thinking. To suggest living differently would be abnormal! This is how movies, TV shows, and other various corporate advertising normalizes sin so that kids who grow up with it are shocked when anyone objects.
The “horns of their altars” reveals even further wickedness. The horns of the altar was to be smeared with blood in order to provide forgiveness of sin and protection from the wrath of God. Thus they had mingled their sins with their worship to justify themselves.
The price of “high places” would eventually be paid. For the greater part of 200 years they served the sin of their high places, and there did not seem to be a downside. In the same way, the consequences of our own neglect of God is not immediately apparent. But the principle of Galatians 6:7 stands, “Whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
Romans 2:5 “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”
Where Is Our Trust? (5-13)
Now the Lord enters into a discussion on the choices the heart makes. In other words, even though sin is engraved on their heart, it does not mean they cannot change. We must never allow Satan to convince us that we are beyond hope. If we desire to change, the Lord promises to give us the strength to do so (Deuteronomy 30:11-18; Ephesians 4:16-21).
Contrasting 5-6 with 7-8, we learn an important principle: everyone has faith. No one lives without faith. Faith is trusting in an object or person or activity that we hope will provide the unfulfilled desires of our heart. As God points out in this text, everyone trusts in something. In fact, God narrows down two objects of faith, either man and human strength or God and his desire and ability to care for his creation.
Thus, discussions with unbelievers need to focus on this point. You also live by faith. You put your trust in yourself and other people with the hope of a successful outcome.
How will we know which “faith” will accomplish the goal of human fulfillment? It cannot be seen at the moment, but when life begins to dish out trials and tribulations, which faith will put us to shame and which will answer the call even when “the heat comes” and “the year of drought?”
9-10 Understanding the Heart! How do you hear verse 9? Maybe you are thinking, “Well yes, some people are really crazy. They are just sick in the head.” But that is not the case. God is not talking about “some” people. He is exposing all of our minds—our human way of thinking, our goals and our desires. He is getting our attention that our human thinking is not something to trust. Notice the description:
“The heart is deceitful above all things!”
“The heart is desperately sick…”
“Who can understand it”
Who would want to trust something like that!
The Lord to the rescue! God understands our hearts. God tests our minds. And, most importantly, God will give to everyone according to his ways and according to his deeds. [God won’t make mistakes in judgment] So, who is the “fixer” of our desperately wicked minds? Only God.
Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
We will only be able to discern the thoughts and intents of our heart by turning to God’s word. Please understand: that is all 66 books! You might say, “Why all 66?” Well that gives you an idea of how complicated and easily deceived our hearts are! Casual and occasional Bible readers are not going to succeed in fixing their deceitful and desperately wicked minds—meaning they are not going to grow a passion for God and overcome a heart engraved with sin. [Like a prescription for antibiotics. We can’t stop halfway through.]
11-13 summarizes the end result of those who do not put their trust in the Lord compared to those who do.
Somewhere in the “midst of his day” his riches will leave him, and…
“at his end he will be a fool…and he will be “put to shame.”
The reason? “They have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.”
But those who trust in the Lord will have “a glorious throne set on high from the beginning.” That will be their “sanctuary”—where one who trusts will be secure without fear.
Jeremiah’s Prayer (14-18)
Remember that in 15:19 Jeremiah was struggling with his faith and the Lord rebuked him. The prophet now turns his who heart to God. What does that look like? True dependence on God: “heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; same me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.” God and only God is now his refuge.
It is impressive how the Lord reveals that even his prophet struggles with faith at times. We can certainly relate. But his prayer is the answer. The whole prayer is an expression of being on the Lord’s side even when it is uncomfortable.
Jeremiah kept arguing with God for the redemption of the people. His human thoughts and human compassion kept him from seeing the necessity of the people’s destruction. Can we relate? Certainly. But those final words say it all: “bring upon them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction!” That is a prophet who now sees man’s persistent unrepentant rebellion from God’s point of view.
Warning of Sabbath Keeping (19-24)
At first, this sudden dissertation by the Lord concerning the Sabbath seems out of place. But when we consider that the theme of the text has been trust and the heart, we will begin to see why the Lord used the Sabbath command as his concluding emphasis.
Let’s start with this: what was the penalty for breaking the Sabbath? Numbers 15:32-36 was the first incident of Sabbath breaking. A man went out and picked up sticks on the Sabbath. When he was discovered, he was brought to Moses, and Moses inquired of the Lord since the penalty had not been revealed. God’s answer was, stone him to death. And that was that. Nothing else said. It was an example of a “high-handed,” in your face, sin.
Let’s look at why the Sabbath was so important to God:
Sabbath was the fourth commandment. It was a pivot point between loving God and loving your neighbor. Sabbath reminded Israel of their need for God and their need for reflecting God in their love for one another. As Jesus said, “Sabbath was made for man…” It is not difficult to see the parallel today in God’s command that we meet together.
Sabbath was a unique gift to Israel, giving balance to time for work, time for rest, and time for God. Sabbath “prevented work from becoming a dominating idol” (Christopher Wright) in life. Again, we can see the parallel value today of God giving us the first day of the week to celebrate the rest from sin that Jesus has given us and our future eternal Sabbath with the Lord.
Therefore, “Sabbath was not so much a burdensome prohibition on work for a day, as a liberating permission to rest for a day” (C. Wright). God desires our rest because only in rest can we truly contemplate and enjoy God—“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
For Israel, Sabbath was a celebration of God’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage in which labor never ceased. Therefore, God is remembered as both our Creator and our Redeemer. To break the Sabbath exhibited a rejection of God’s grace that revealed a heart of greed for earthly possessions over the riches of God and love for fellow citizens in the Kingdom of God.
Though we have not been given a Sabbath “day” as was given to Israel, we can see all the same “Sabbath messages” for our lives today. Desiring to limit our time together for Bible study and encouraging one another to love and good works is counter-productive to God’s purposes as seen in the Sabbath command. Are we worshiping and studying together to check boxes so we can go back to fulfilling our desires? In the scriptures, God has given us 66 books that reveal his mind, his love, and his judgments, and are required to bring us to maturity and to salvation. Remember, the penalty for breaking the Sabbath was death!
Conclusion: This text begs the question for all of us: Where is our heart? Where is our trust? Are we living in such a way that reveals a heart trusting in the flesh or trusting in the Lord?
Berry Kercheville
The post Jeremiah 17 Fixing Our Heart appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
36 min
July 16 2 Chronicles 19 & 20 Jehoshaphat – Part 2
Bible Classes / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
The post 2 Chronicles 19 & 20 Jehoshaphat – Part 2 appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
47 min
July 12Reaching The Lost: Every Member Has A Part: Can You Invite?
Topical Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
Every Member Has a Part: Can You Invite?
Luke 5:27-32
What do we learn from this text?
Levi was proactive and used an opportunity instead of having a private dinner party with Jesus.
A meal together draws people closer to one another.
Jesus came to call sinners to repentance. Who are the best opportunities?
We are “salt.” We must touch the lives of “sinners” for them to be saved.
There are two scriptural approaches churches and individuals have used to get Bible studies: Personal & Impersonal.
Impersonal approaches are where we are inviting people to “come and see.” (Invitations to attend a church worship, group Bible study or via social media), Jesus used an “impersonal” approach when he preached the parables in Matthew 13 to thousands. He transitioned to “personal” when some came into the house and asked the meaning of the parables.
Personal approaches are more private, personal studies with one or two Christians. In these studies we can directly deal with the individual needs and questions of our friend. Opportunities may be created for this invitation by developing personal relationships and friendships. Do you need any more friends? (Example of the elderly group in Oregon)
Advantages and disadvantages:
The advantage of an impersonal approach is (1) that it is easier and less intimidating to inviter and invitee to offer a group Bible study than to be more direct with an individual “one on one” study. (2) Large groups of people can be invited at once.
The advantage of a personal approach is that the teacher can gain a deeper friendship or relationship that is so helpful in bringing a person to Christ. When we read 1 Thessalonians 2, we see the deep love between Paul and the church that was developed through Paul giving his life and soul to them.
Enables “reasoning” & answering personal questions. This exhibits Paul’s teaching style: Paul “reasoned” (exchanged thought with thought) with the people he taught. As did Jesus, he often started with an impersonal approach (preaching to a synagogue group), but conversions came from the discussions from individuals who approached him after the sermon.
Which approach should we use? That depends on the circumstances. Both approaches are needed. Impersonal approaches offer widespread invitations that can lead to personal studies. However, the most successful Bible studies in terms of coming to Christ, comes much easier from the personal approach.
What is the best and easiest way to get an and opportunity to invite? Do you need any more friends?
Berry Kercheville
The post Reaching The Lost: Every Member Has A Part: Can You Invite? appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
38 min
July 12 2nd Timothy (Intro – Pt.2)
Bible Classes / Speaker:Adam Malone
The post 2nd Timothy (Intro – Pt.2) appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
44 min
July 12Jeremiah 16 Apathy Brings Judgment
Old Testament Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
Apathy Brings Judgment
Jeremiah 16
Introduction: Have you ever noticed how difficult it is for us to accept a coming major change in our wellbeing? After Enoch and Noah had warned for 1000 years of the coming judgment, Jesus said, “For as in those days before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark…” And so it was with Nineveh, Jerusalem, Babylon, Persia, and Rome. The same was true in 1929 and the Great Depression and the murder of six million Jews in Nazi Germany. When we are comfortably living in peace and prosperity with a mighty military, it seems unimaginable. Paul urged Christians in 1 Corinthians 7, to not marry because,“the fashion of this world is passing away. What we tend not to consider, is that “world” passing away did not happen by an invasion, it happened internally by a corrupt empire.
We can’t imagine it in America, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening or won’t happen, whether by trials on an individual, national corruption, the temporal judgment of a nation, or the final judgment, apathy will leave us unprepared.
This is the Lord’s message in Jeremiah 16. But the apathy and disbelief of the people will lead to their utter destruction.
Joy and Gladness Will Soon End (1-9)
Jeremiah was given three restrictions in order to get the attention of the people.
Do not marry and have children—all the fathers, mothers, and children are going to die of deadly diseases, sword, and famine. They will not even be buried, and animals will eat their dead bodies.
“Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament or grieve for them.” To understand this better, consider the purpose of going to a funeral. We are hoping to give those who grieve some peace and love. But in this case that would be a lie. Things are only going to get worse. All peace and love has been taken away by the Lord.
“You shall not go to the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.” No, even though the invasion had not yet happened, Jeremiah’s refusal to participate in a simple dinner party indicates the coming doom. As the NIV translates, God will “bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.” Just imagine, no one will even dream of marriage or dinners or rejoicing together! Everyone’s joy will be gone. ESV, “I will silence in this place.”
What is the point? God wants Jeremiah to show the people the reality of what is coming. God used Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, to demonstrate their coming destruction through various signs but to no avail. It illustrates the difficulty of humans to accept a world that is about to turn upside down.
“What Is Our Iniquity?” 10-13
The people obviously see the meaning of Jeremiah’s refusal to participate in the normal activities of a culture. They get that Jeremiah is predicting their doom. So they ask, “What is our iniquity?”
How could they even ask that question! It illustrates how easily our minds become calloused when we begin compromising God’s commands. We convince ourselves that what we are doing is not that bad.
There are three points God we need to consider:
Their extreme callousness began in previous generations, two to three hundred years previous! If nothing else will wake us up to the way we are living our present lives, this should. A Christian’s mediocrity and compromises today will produce a downward spiral of wickedness and godlessness long after we are gone. In other words, this isn’t just about you!
Notice the phrase, “you have done worse than your fathers.” As we see throughout scripture, fathers are the primary key to the spiritual future of their children. A spiritual upbringing cannot be left solely in the hands of mom. This does not simply mean that fathers should teach their children the scriptures!!
The teaching of a father is near worthless without the example of a father who is passionate about his own service to God.
As Malachi 4:6 “The hearts of the fathers must turn to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” A rigid rule-making, authoritarian father will simply drive his children away.
Then notice, “…everyone of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me.” When I read this I was immediately reminded of Christians who left the Lord and the local church. In many cases, the reason was because they either did not like what a fellow member said or did or a well-meaning Christian saw that they were slipping and attempted to help. So they got mad and left. The surprise was their attitude even years later: STUBBORN! “I’ll never go back!”
We often forget that serving God is not simply prohibitions against sins. Peter insists that we must grow in faith, virtue, knowledge, godliness, perseverance, self-control, brotherly love, and love for all people. If we do not, we are denied entrance into the everlasting kingdom (2 Peter 1:10-11). “…if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Verse 9 states that if we do not grow in these things we are blind and forgotten that we were cleansed from our sins.
God’s Purpose in Judgment, Now and at the End
14-15 Inserted in the midst of God’s promised judgment, is his announcement of a new exodus. Two things are impressive:
God just announced to these people what they are going to miss. It is the same way the Hebrews’ writer approached the Christians who were slipping away from the Lord. The motivation of hell is one thing, but the more powerful motivation should be what we will miss.
Luke 13:28 “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.”
There is a major difference in how we serve God when we are just thinking about escaping hell and serving God because we love him and want to please him and desire to be with him. When we are just trying to escape hell, the tendency is to ask questions about how much God really expects from me. “You don’t really think I would be lost just because…”—fill in the blank. That isn’t loving God.
Notice that this new exodus will cause the people to forget the first exodus. This is obviously our exodus from the bondage of Satan. We do not talk about the God who brought us out of Egypt, we glorify God and always remember how he brought us out of the captivity of the devil.
16-18 But in spite of God’s promise of a new exodus, these people have made their decision and will be judged. Fishers and hunters will be sent to find the wicked and bring judgment on them. God says, “They have polluted my land, … and filled my inheritance with their abominations.” Wherever we are in the world, we are living in God’s land. The realm of the Kingdom is the world, and we must not fill it with abominations. (Parable of the Tares). “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:13
19-21 Israel has rejected God, but the nations will see the foolishness of their fathers’ idols and will confess their desire to serve God: “my strength and my stronghold, my refuge…”
It is a beautiful picture to see even the nations coming to the Lord and confessing the wickedness of their father’s gods. “Such are not gods!”
The greatest turning point in a person’s life is learning that the “gods” of our fleshly desires are not gods.
The Lord concludes that when the nations come to him, he will have shown the world his power and might, and that his name is Yahweh (his covenantal name)
Berry Kercheville
The post Jeremiah 16 Apathy Brings Judgment appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
40 min
July 09 2 Chronicles 17 & 18 Jehoshaphat – Part 1
Bible Classes / Speaker:David Desloge
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The post 2 Chronicles 17 & 18 Jehoshaphat – Part 1 appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
47 min
July 05Reaching the Lost: Prayer
Topical Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
Reaching the Lost: Prayer
Introduction: In my opinion, the major issue Christians have had when considering the work of reaching the lost would be that most do not understand that everyone has a part to play (Ephesians 4:16). Most have thought that only Christians who know the scriptures well and can teach it, are responsible for doing this work.
That understanding is far from true. In fact, a church will have very limited success if the work is left to the few who are considered qualified to teach. Therefore, we want to explore the importance of how every member has a part.
Prayer
We have already talked partially concerning the important of prayer. Let’s note a few more passages that we did not get to in our last lesson.
John 15:7-8
Key goal of the text? Bearing fruit. What is “fruit” in this context? See verse 16, “…and that your fruit should abide…” [that’s us!]—therefore we also bear fruit—“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
Can you think of things you would pray for as you seek the lost?
2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you…”
Colossians 4:2-4 [NET: “Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.”]
Vs. 2: “Continue (be devoted to, attached to, persevere in) in prayer.” A once in a while prayer is not sufficient! We need to be disciplined and committed to prayer.
Being “alert” or “watchful” in prayer literally means to stay awake in prayer. Have an awareness of spiritual needs (“your kingdom come”) so that your prayers are effective.
“With thanksgiving”: All prayer must include thanksgiving lest our prayers simply turn into personal demands— “Lord give us this; Lord give us that; Lord, I need this…” Thanksgiving presupposes humility.
Vs. 3: The request is to open a door for the word. We should be praying for opportunities. In Ephesians 6:19, Paul adds, “…making supplication also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.”
[an open door does not necessarily mean an absence of opposition (1 Cor. 16:8-9, “But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”)]
Vs. 4: “…that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”
Consider how important our prayers are!
Ephesians 6:19, “…making supplication also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.”
Ezekiel 36:37-38 What is striking to you about this text? God telling us to ask him to do something that he already wants done.
Why would God tell us to ask? Why wouldn’t he just do it? We know how important it is to him. So just do it!
We are his servants. Are we going to serve him in all the ways that he asks of us?
God wants us to work together with him (2 Cor. 6:1-2).
Conclusion: All members should participate in prayer for lost souls. Let me encourage all prayer leaders to ask God for help in having and utilizing our opportunities.
Berry Kercheville
The post Reaching the Lost: Prayer appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
46 min
July 05 2nd Timothy (Intro)
Bible Classes / Speaker:Adam Malone
The post 2nd Timothy (Intro) appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
43 min
July 05 Abraham’s Final Test
Old Testament Sermons / Speaker:David Desloge
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The post Abraham’s Final Test appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
28 min