Paul Washer - Shocking Message (full length)

Greatest Sermon Ever Preached - SM Lockridge - Sermon Jam

Recognizing the Gospel

Today we will be considering what the Gospel is and what it isn’t so we can think about what to share and how to share it.

There are a lot of different ways to approach this but I want to start by looking at Acts 15. First a little background – start with verse one. 

Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. ³ The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. ⁴ When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

⁵ Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”
⁶ The apostles and elders met to consider this question. – Acts 15:1-6

We can see here that people have called the nature of the Gospel into question from the beginning of the Church even while the people who actually been with Jesus personally were still alive. Some important things to point out is that people wanted a Gospel based on what they thought was important. In this case: what they saw as the basis of Judaism – the Laws of Moses in general and the custom that all men must be circumcised in particular. Every single heresy and cult begins with corrupting the Gospel.
Look at the form of the argument given in verse 1: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This is a pattern.  “Unless you are ________, according to the custom taught by _______, you cannot be saved.” The only difference between all other heresies is that they just fill in the blanks differently. For example, historically, Mormonism had said “Unless you are a Mormon, according to the custom taught by Joseph Smith, you cannot be saved.” In Islam: “Unless you are a Muslim, according to the custom taught by Muhammad in the Quran, you cannot be saved.” You can summarize every worldview and every religion in a similar way. 

Just like the First Century Christian, we have to combat heresies today because they lead people away from God. Let’s take a look at what the Apostles did. They held on to what the Gospel fundamentally is. Look at verses 6-11

⁶ The apostles and elders met to consider this question. ⁷ After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸ God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹ He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? ¹¹ No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

Peter starts by showing what God has already validated that Gentiles did not have become Jews to be Believers by treating Gentile believers no differently than the Jewish Believers. Peter defines the Gospel: Salvation through the grace of our Lord Jesus. This is the same as taught throughout the New Testament. Paul, Peter, James, John, and all those following Jesus taught this. More importantly Jesus said of Himself!

²³ But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” – John 8:23-24

The first century church was just stating what Jesus had already said. We must do the same today. Therefore let us define the Gospel the way we are supposed to. It is stated in various ways but always the same thing: We all deserve death because of our sin but we are saved from sin and death by faith alone though Jesus alone, according to Scripture alone. Here is one of my favorite ways of stating the Gospel and what it means to us.

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20

People try to deny and avoid the Gospel. Part of witnessing is disarming their defenses and pointing them back to Jesus. One objection that keeps getting raised is the fact that we come to Christ by faith. The world objects to the Gospel by trying to redefine faith into something the Bible never tells us to believe. “Faith” is not believing something or anything despite a lack of evidence or contrary to reality. God does not condone it nor commands it. Many people you may find yourself witnessing to might try to use this objection. Don’t fall for it. Also we have to know what “Faith” is for ourselves. Let us look at an example of what real faith looks like and how it should be applied.

⁶ Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷ For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:6,7

We know from Hebrews that Faith is trusting in God, but not without evidence. Or continuing and deepening relationship with God is part of that evidence. What we need to focus on right now is why is “Faith” contrasted by the sense of “sight”. We know from Hebrews 11 that faith is the evidence of things we cannot see.  This points out how unreliable our eyes and how we process that visual information we get from them truly is. Ironically the sense of sight is the faculty we rely on most but the most easily fooled. This is why we are told to hold onto our faith and trust in God’s word not on what we see or think.  Our eyes are not ultimately trustworthy. I’ve got some proof of that. 

Look at this image: All the hearts are actually the same color. Our brains fill make the hearts different colors

http://www.psy.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/AIC2009.html

We live in a 3D world, right? How do you know? Do you see in three-D? Nope….not with our eyes. You cannot project a 3D image on a 2D surface – which is the on the back of the eye. Our minds fills in the third dimension because we know it should be there. This is also a blessing of having two eyes instead of one – perceiving depth and distance – it’s not a coincidence. But let me show you how easy we can be fooled if we go on our eyes alone

See 2D moving image that look 3D. (Yeah, I could have chosen other images but I want to make sure y’all were paying attention.)




Such effects are everywhere. In all our media. Taking advantage of how our brains work so our  minds think we are seeing what really isn’t there. Here is another example.  

 So the take-home point is that you can’t trust your  eyes alone to understand reality. This why the Bible says we need faith! Here is another example of such an effet!
Let’s look at two quick videos on how some of Brothers in the Lord are doing witnessing.


Let’s look at two quick videos on how some of Brothers in the Lord did some witnessing.

Old School – Dr SM Lockridge

Current  – Dr James White  and Ivey

This is what the people we witness to have to deal with – the Gospel. We all do. No matter what. As you sit in your seat today, what have you done with the Gospel? Have you gladly accepted it? Do you live by it? Is it more precious to you than anything else? If you cannot answer “Yes” to any of the above questions, you need to find out why you can’t and make some changes so that you can. Jesus loved us so much that He proved it. We cannot do any less. 

Recognizing and witnessing the gospel online version from Marcus McElhaney

What Are You Groping For?

Today I had the honor of preaching today at my church. I have posted the powerpoint slide I used below, followed by my notes .

What Are You Groping For?

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What Are You Groping For

Black History Sermon - Sunday February 20, 2011

Last Sunday, I had the honor of giving a short presentation on Black History for my congregation. The point of the presentation was to explain how God is the God of History, explain why History and its study is important, and to select a handful of lives to explain how God used them to impact the lives of all of us today. They just happened to be black. I also wanted to encourage who view the presentation to strive to be like these people and live up to the purposes that God has in mind for us. The people I covered were:

• Benjamin Banneker
• Granville T. Woods
• Louis Latimer
• Garret Morgan
• Anna Berry Smith
• Charles Harrison Mason

I have posted the power point I used and a word document comprising the notes I used while I was speaking.

Celebrating Black History 2010

More PowerPoint presentations from Marcus McElhaney

Black History Sermon February 20 2011

Sermons from London at Trinity Road Chapel

James White has posted links to the sermons he gave today in England at Trinity Road Chapel. He writes:

I spoke on the historicity of the crucifixion in the morning service, and was asked, specifically, to revisit Romans 9 for the congregation Sunday evening. Here is the download page from Trinity Road Chapel. The Romans 9 presentation, while similar to last Sunday evenings, includes a refutation of "equal ultimacy" as well (which would not have been helpful in the preceding weeks' context).

Sermons from London at Trinity Road Chapel

Jesus Is Our Propitiation

On Sunday, December 12, 2010, I had the blessing of preaching at my church. My subject was: Jesus Is Our Propitiation. It was an amazing  day. The whole service seemed to be driven to be setup to discuss this. subject. By the time I spoke, we was ready. I've posted the powerpoint below.

Jesus Is Our Propitiation

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Related articles

• Salvation by Grace (anointedplace.wordpress.com)
• What did Jesus Do? What did Jesus' life look like? (compassioninpolitics.wordpress.com)

Two Video Clips from Lima

Here are some clips James White linked to on his blog of him ministering in Lima, Peru.




Two Video Clips from Lima

Reformation Day Studies/Sermons

Dr. James White blogged the following sermons from October 31, 2010 regarding celebration of Reformation Day and what the Reformation really means and how it's important today.

Sunday School Lesson on the Backgrounds of the Reformation

Morning Sermon from Galatians 2 on the Gospel of the Reformation

A Needed Balance and a Call to Passionate Faith

Reformation Day Studies/Sermons

Who is Jesus?

I had the opportunity to preach about a week ago ant my church. I was one of two speakers. We preach about who Jesus is and why we can put our Faith in him. For my part I did a short powerpoint. I've posted it below. The video at the end of the powerpoint my not pay so I posted it below the slide presentation. Below that I posted a word document that lists many of the scriptures I referenced during the sermon.

Who is Jesus

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I didn't quote each and every verse I referenced and the document doesn't list all of them but here are the ones the jump out at me the most.

Apostasy: A Necessary Study

James White has posted a couple of videos in which he explains what Apostasy is and how its actually a blessing to the church. Good study!






Apostasy: A Necessary Study

Armoring Up for Spiritual Warfare

Yesterday I had the honor of preaching at my church. My subject was discussing the "full armor of God" and how it is used in Spiritual Warfare. It went well but I had a couple of technical glitches. I had a Powerpoint presentation that included videos. I have included the Powerpoint I used in the presentation on this blog post. The clip I used from Deadliest Warrior was played in the slide but to get it work through Authorstream I can only provide a link on the slide. The most important thing is that the message I was to deliver was delivered.

Armoring Up Online - Final

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Rich Dad Poor Dad Robert Kiyosaki

If you have ever heard of Network Marketing, Robert Kiyosaki always comes up. He wrote a book and gives presentation that many leaders in Network Marketing think is a great approach to building businesses. He explains using the lives of his father (who tried to make money in traditional capitalism - his poor dad) and the father of his best friend who was a self-made millionaire through building his own business and mentored him - his rich dad). The lecture is humorous and enjoyable. The thing is that Robert stresses hard work but instead of trusting God he talks more about trusting in oneself. Whenever God is left out of the equation I think that there is a problem. In Christianity, the word of faith movement and doctrine teaches much of the same things - they just tack God on but devoid of his sovereignty and power. I suggest that listening to Kiyosaki is not a bad thing but you have your discernment turned as high as it can go.




Rich Dad Poor Dad Robert Kiyosaki

Relationship With God

Last week, I had the honor of having words at my church during our night time service. I thought that I would share my notes.

The point of Christianity is not religion.  I would define “Religion” as defined as a set of behaviors and rituals practiced habitually with the usual purpose of touching, communing, or even to gain control over the unseen world that we all instinctively know exist – whether we choose to consciously accept it or not. There is a hole – an emptiness – in the heart and mind of every single human being. We spend our lives attempting to fill it. Some choose to fill it by practicing a “Religion”. This is a hole that can only be filled by God. “Christianity” is not like other religions. It’s not about doing stuff and not doing other stuff in attempts to be worthy of God’s notice. Christianity is about building and growing a relationship with God. We could not reach out to God on our own and God, through the person and work of Jesus Christ came and filled the  between us and Him. It’s through Jesus Christ that we can be friends of God. The Bible is full of examples of men and women who had a relationship with God. It is through them we can see how God deepens our relationship with Him.  Let us just pick a few Biblical personages. In other words, let us spend a few minutes looking at friends of God.

1.       Abraham

2.       Moses

3.       David

I could go over quite a few other examples, but for now in the interest of time we can just look at the Old Testament. We have it much easier than any of the men and women of the Bible Times. We have the hindsight of their lives and the Holy Spirit empowering us – given us access to God that was not really open to those who lived before Jesus came.

Just like our relationship with people, we can loose sight of what is important with our relationship with God. No one wants to be in a relationship with someone who cares more about what you can do for them than they care about you. That is not what a friend is.  We must keep the old saying that we must seek God’s face not his hands. The things is we have gotten so bold and feeling entitled that we try to get into God’s pockets not just his hands. The people I want to focus on tonight did not live that way.  Let’s quickly look at some scriptures that show this point.

 ¹⁰ Glory in his holy name;
       let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
 ¹¹ Look to the LORD and his strength;
       seek his face always.
 ¹² Remember the wonders he has done,
       his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

1 Chronicles 16:10-12

 ¹⁴If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity.  I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." – Jeremiah 29:12-14

Abraham

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. – James 2:23

¹⁶Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
 ¹⁸Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." ¹⁹Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. ²⁰Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ²²This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."

 Abraham believed God that God would fulfill His promise to build a lasting nation through Isaac that when God told Him to sacrifice that very son that was promised, Abraham was willing to go through with it.  – Romans 4:16-22

If you want to be God’s friend you should emulate Abraham, in this way.

Moses

¹⁰ Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. ¹¹ The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

 ¹² Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.' ¹³ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people."

 ¹⁴ The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

 ¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" – Exodus 33:10-16

Moses is said to be a friend of God…but we notice it’s not an equal relationship. Moses recognizes that God is not on his level and treats God as such. God finds favors with us and that frees us to be His friends.

David

¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command." – 1 Samuel 13:14

After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.' – Act 13:22

 ¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
       and renew a steadfast spirit within me. – Psalm 51:10

This verse is one of the verses that I believe tell us the most about how serious David was about His relationship with God. The word translated “Create” is the same Hebrew word “bara” used in Genesis 1:1 where it says that God “created” the heavens and the earth. The word carries with it the idea of calling something into existence that did not exist! Think about it! God called all that exists out of nothing! David is not just asking God to clean him up…to arrange the stuff that is in him that is already there.  He is asking for God to do much more than that. He wants God to put that pure heart in him!  That is what it takes to be God’s friend.

 ³⁶"For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed.  -Acts 13:36

What better epitaph could you have for your life as a friend of God? We can see through the lives of these three men that God not only wants our friendship He has given us everything we need to do it…just like He did for Abraham, Moses, and David. We see that God reached out to them. They did not reach out for Him on their own. If you are not God’s friend tonight, God is inviting you to become his friend. If you are already saved then God is inviting you to deepen your relationship with Him. Today is the day. We should not let any opportunity to deepen our relationship with God.  I mean Isn’t that what friends are for?

Truthbomb Apologetics: Sermon by Ravi Zacharias: Mind the Gaps

Chad, who publishes the Truthbomb Apologetics, has posted a two-part sermon by Ravi Zacharias. It was great! I really enjoyed Dr Zacharias' sermon that challenges Christians to really examine how we think and our attitude towards God.

Truthbomb Apologetics: Sermon by Ravi Zacharias: Mind the Gaps

My Easter 2010 Sermon - Director's Cut

April 4, 2010 I had the opportunity to preach as an official minister at my Church. It was a much different experience than teach Sunday School or any other time that I have ever spoken in public. It was Easter Sunday and thanks to my Pastor I realized that I can't do exactly what I would have normally do. I had to cut and condense what I had originally intended. I like to do power point slide presentations and I like to write out my thoughts in an ordered way and use these as a guide. Because I had to change a lot at the last minute, it didn't turn out as I expected but I think it turned out the way God wanted it to and what I was supposed to say was said.  I had no control and I was literally depending on God for what was coming out of my mouth. Fortunately, He never disappoints to do what is needed. Here is the document I wrote and the original slide presentation. I only used the first movie and the actual content of the presentation was abbreviated to just about 20 minutes.  This is my director's cut...much of this I can present later in another form. See the slides for the multimedia content and music track is at the end.


Easter 2010

Resurrection Power Online

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Apologetics 315: In Intellectual Neutral: William Lane Craig MP3 Audio & Video

Over at Apologetics 315 is an interesting lecture by William Lane Craig calling for Christians to become intellectually engaged in our society today! I agree! For example, people are asking today if Christians believe that Haiti endures so much disasters and problems because they are under the wrath of God? We should be able to answer "No!" and explain why! People are asking why do bad things happen to the innocent? God answers all of these questions. They are in the Bible. We ought to be able to give an answer - reasons why we trust God! Read the post to get the links to the audio and video.


Apologetics 315: In Intellectual Neutral: William Lane Craig MP3 Audio & Video

Doctrines of Grace , Saint Charles

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Dr. James White has posted the 2nd and 3rd parts of his recent sermon defining and defending the Doctrines of Grace.

Apologetics 315: 5 Characteristics of Willful Unbelief MP3 Audio by John MacArthur

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 Here is a great sermon from John MacArthur I got from Apologetics 315. I like the way he gives 5 things that characterizes the unbelief of people in plain contrast to facts. Her uses the unbelief of the Jewish leaders when they questioned the man Jesus healed who had been born blind.. Worth listening to. 

Apologetics 315: 5 Characteristics of Willful Unbelief MP3 Audio by John MacArthur

Apologetics 315: How Can A God of Love Send Anyone To Hell? MP3 Audio by Albert Mohler

Here is another great resource from Apologetics 315. I really like this sermon by Albert Mohler. Her really puts his finger on the pulse of the issues. No one likes thinking about hell nor accepting the truth that each and everyone of us deserve it. Thank god for Jesus who saves us from the inevitability of Hell. God's justice demands that we go to Hell. His mercy spares us.

Apologetics 315: How Can A God of Love Send Anyone To Hell? MP3 Audio by Albert Mohler