THE TEXT:
Our text for today is Psalm 50. These are the words of God:
1 The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest…
SUMMARY OF THE …
INTRODUCTION
Two days ago on Independence Day, you fired up the grill, threw on some burgers and dogs, and immediately, out of now where came the flies. I think when I get to heaven, if God asks me if there’s anything I’d like him to explain I’m going to ask, “Why flies. Lord? Were you tired? Did you slip up and say, ‘fly,’ and they just appeared?”
As nasty and pesky as they are, at …
GRAB THEIR ATTENTION
The Pyramids of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Pharo’s Lighthouse at Alexandria, and the Colossus of Rhodes. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. They’ve captured the imagination of school children and archeologists for centuries. But the list is incomplete. In fact, the most glorious of ancient cities, the most beautiful of ancient temples has been overlooked, and that …
Jesus Calls Sinners
An Orderly Account: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Luke 5:27-32
The Text
27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at …
The Healing of Community
An Orderly Account: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Luke 5:12-26
The Text
12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy …
Introduction:
Last Summer I read Ernest Hemmingway’s The Old Man & the Sea while I was at the beach on vacation.
The story follows Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman, who hasn’t caught a fish in 84 days. He’s deemed “salao” (unlucky) by his community. He’s wrestling with his age, his weakness, his recent failure. And he says, “If I can go out to the deep water one more time and catch a giant Marlin that …
Introduction:
No, I am not referring to a tattoo, or to marriage. …
THE DEATH OF DEATH
Gospel of Mark
Mark 15:40-16:8
INTRODUCTION:
Welcome to Easter service at Lake Wylie Baptist. It’s a pretty safe Sunday to attend church because you already know what the preacher is going to talk about.
And there will be no surprises today. You’re going to get a fairly traditional sermon on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, though we will approach the resurrection from a slightly different angle.
Most of us understand …
Jesus is Lord
An Orderly Account: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Luke 4:31-44
The Text
31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.
33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, …
The Jesus No One Expected
An Orderly Account: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Luke 4:13-30
Grab Their Attention
When was the last time you were let down? For me it was Father’s Day last year. No, it wasn’t anything that my family did. We were in Florida and for my Father’s Day gift I had booked a tee time at the hottest new golf course in America, which will remain unnamed. This course …
