Feb 2, 2014 | Matthew
It must be repeated over and over again – Heaven and eternal life are NOT REWARDS for faithful service. A person may work his way to Hell, but not to Heaven. Paul for example, was a servant of God – not in order to become one of the Lord’s people, but because he...
Feb 1, 2014 | Matthew
Last Thursday, Judy and I attended the funeral service of a philatelic friend of mine. I had known Ed for five or six years, and had visited his home and several hospital rooms. And we had spent hours together in various meetings. Judy and I attended because, as I...
Jan 11, 2014 | Matthew
Peter had been listening to the exchange between Christ and the rich young ruler. After the man had walked away, and the Lord Jesus had answered the disciples’ question about salvation, Peter in his own unique style blurted out – :”Lord, we’ve done just what you told...
Jan 9, 2014 | Matthew
When I started preparing last Sunday morning’s message, I had one thing in mind, but as it unfolded, the Lord seemed to have something else. For those who were not here, that message was entitled “WHO then can be saved?” First, I considered what the disciples might...
Jan 8, 2014 | Matthew
This man who can come to Christ was rich in the things of the world – of that there was no doubt. As in a great many things – like intelligence, health, and strength – there is no sin in wealth. However, as in things like intelligence, imagination, power and youth,...
Jan 7, 2014 | Matthew
As we have seen, an exceptional young man has come to Christ with a very worthy question – “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” If more people asked that question, then perhaps we’d see more righteous people in this world. It was...
Jan 6, 2014 | Matthew
If Brother Carter had not preached here last Sunday, I would be giving you a message on the goodness of God tonight. I don’t think that he was aware that his theme was a part of our context, but the Lord certainly did. I could probably give you another lesson on the...
Jan 5, 2014 | Matthew
Just after I left my employment at the Silver Lake mall I began to visit – just about every day – the wife of the mall manager. I was visiting her in the hospice wing of the Kootenai County Hospital. She was dying of cancer. I had met her years before and had gotten...
Jan 4, 2014 | Matthew
A little rural church was having their very first Bible conference. They had visitors from all over the state, and most were staying in the homes of various members. After the first night’s service, one of the visiting brethren went to the home of a young farm...
Jan 3, 2014 | Matthew
Here we have three little verses, saying very little, but suggesting so very much. Sadly, there are a lot of people who think that these verses say far more than they actually speak. We would be greatly remiss if we didn’t spend at least thirty minutes considering...
Jan 2, 2014 | Matthew
The Lord Jesus has once again traveled down to Jerusalem with His disciples. He will not return to Galilee. He knew perfectly well, what was going to transpire there in the Israelite capital. That makes me wonder whether or not He said “good bye” to the people...
Jan 1, 2014 | Matthew
If I had a choice, I’d make sure that all of my sermons had an eye-catching, or ear-catching, title. That is not always possible, but I think that this morning I have succeeded. The title of today’s message is – “Jesus the Liar.” Of course, I don’t believe that to be...
Jul 15, 2013 | Matthew
Two day’s ago, as I was planning this morning’s message, I intended to read all the verses that I just read. But as my thoughts matured – or was it, as they “fermented” – I chose to cut the Lord’s parable in half. I created two parables, fully realizing that the Lord...
Jul 14, 2013 | Matthew
Matthew 18 has several divsions, but it is all about one subject. It reads somewhat like a well-written story. I have never studied the art of creative writing. But I have read a few books, and I’ve learned a few things about a good story. Some of those...
Jul 14, 2013 | Matthew
As I said this morning, I believe that the underlaying theme of the entire chapter is “unity.” It is not the ecumenical, love-everyone-wearing-the-Christian-label variety of unity. Christ was speaking to His church – one in which there was a problem of pride and...
Jul 13, 2013 | Matthew
If you noticed the title of this message in today’s bulletin, and then heard the reading of the scripture, you could very well have jumped to conclusions about my theme. Perhaps it was my intention to misdirect you just a little bit, but I’ll not actually confess to...
Jul 12, 2013 | Matthew
It seems when Baptist church’s come to church discipline they often go to one of two extremes. Many churches do absolutely nothing to discipline errant members. While others move too quickly to dismiss people, without following proper Biblical guidelines....
Jul 10, 2013 | Matthew
The scripture which we read from Matthew 11 was our text for a message preached about a year ago. It was entitled – “Christ and His Father.” I hope that you will excuse me for returning to a couple of the thoughts which that message contained. But I want...
Jul 9, 2013 | Matthew
Have you ever meditated on “the will of God,” or as the Lord puts it here “the will of your Father in heaven”? I didn’t spend a lot of time on the subject this week, but I did come up with different areas to explore. There is the will of God –...
Jul 8, 2013 | Matthew
As I read these four verses a few minutes ago, they probably didn’t jump off the page at you. These are not among the gemstones of the scriptures – demanding, by their beauty, that we spend an hour studying them. In fact, we have seen two of these verses in a...
Jul 7, 2013 | Matthew
Mark, tells us that it was while the disciples were journeying back to Capernaum that they had began squabbling about pre-eminence in Christ’s kingdom. As I have said repeatedly, the kingdom of Heaven is a multifaceted subject. You and I are currently living in one...
Jul 6, 2013 | Matthew
After the first few years of my Christian life, I was inserted into an atmosphere of hyper-evangelism. By that I mean that men who pastored and taught me were so interested in what they called “the salvation of souls” that they were not above bending the...
Jul 5, 2013 | Matthew
This wonderful story is given to us only here in the Book of Matthew, and I am surprised at that. It has practical value for the Christian, so I’m surprised that the Lord hasn’t emphasized it for us. And it ought to be in the Book of John, because it clearly...
Jul 4, 2013 | Matthew
Let’s introduce our thoughts for this morning with a fictitious story. A wife and mother of five hasn’t been feeling well for several weeks – rundown, lethargic, constantly tired. She thinks that it is probably nothing, so she doesn’t tell her busy husband, but she...
Jul 3, 2013 | Matthew
Something not shared with us by Matthew is that the man and the lunatic boy were not the only people with the disciples at the foot of Transfiguration Mountain. Mark introduces the healing of this possessed boy by saying – “When he came to his disciples, he saw...
Jul 2, 2013 | Matthew
The title, if not this entire sermon, is probably not politically correct. I have entitled it – “Mercy on the Lunatic.” If I had to guess, I’d say that “lunatic” is not to be found on some accepted vocabulary lists. Both this word and the...
Jul 1, 2013 | Matthew
Let’s start this evening by returning to another question that I’ve asked several times already – Why did the Lord choose Moses and Elias to discuss our Lord Jesus’ decease – His “exodus.” There is no definitive answer to that question – at least there...
May 7, 2013 | Matthew
I would like to return to subjects to which I have already referred several times. The first relates to these three disciples who were invited to witness this transfiguration. And the second is one which has often popped up, but which has come up with a different...
May 6, 2013 | Matthew
As they were descending from the heights of this mountain, Jesus told His three disciples not to repeat what they had witnessed. At least they were not to talk about it until after Christ’s resurrection, ascension and glorification. “And as they came down from the...
May 5, 2013 | Matthew
I am reasonably sure that as our Lord climbed to the top of Mount Hermon, He knew what was going to take place there. Yes, He wanted to get away from the maddening crowd – and perhaps He wanted to get a little rest. Then as Luke tells us “He took Peter and John and...
