Weeping Over Moab

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Isaiah 15-16
February 19, 2023

Isaiah 15-16: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high place to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved and every beard cut off. In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping. Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint.

My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the way to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonair they lament their destruction. The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left. So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars. Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab; their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim, their lamentation as far as Beer Elim. Dimon's waters are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon -- a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land.

Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert, to the mount of the Daughter of Zion. Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.

“Give us counsel, render a decision. Make your shadow like night -- at high noon. Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer. The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land. In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it -- one from the house of David -- one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.”

Sermon Outline

1. The certainty/sadness of God judging sin, illustrated by Moab's ruin

• God judges sin

• Assyrians were fierce

• National mourning in Moab

2. The grief of God & his prophet over Moab's ruin

• Assyrian atrocities and Moabite mourning

• God grieves for Moab as He judges their idolatry

3. The possible solution

• "Cabinet meeting" of Moabite leaders: Request asylum in Judah?

4. The even deeper solution

• Messianic prediction: "One from the house of David"

• Implication: "Moab, you can share in this hope!"

5. Moab rejects the solution, God judges Moab in tears (Isaiah 16:6-14)

• Moab chooses her false god over the one true God

• More lamenting, grieving, and destruction are the result

6. Applications

• God will judge sin

• Ultimate rescue comes only through Great David's greater Son

• God's people should "hide the refugees"

  • Mission to the World

  • Samaritan's Purse

• Pride will keep us from his salvation

• As we announce the consequence of rejecting him, weep!

Benediction

May the Lord Jesus Christ who wept enable you to weep and to rejoice in His coming as Messiah — paraphrased from Luke 19:41-44 & Revelation 21:4

Living By Dying

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Matthew 16:24-27
February 12, 2023

Matthew 16:24-27: Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done."

Sermon Outline

1. Christ invites people to follow him by suffering with him

• An unusual sales job

• "Deny himself"

• Take up one's cross

2. What taking up our cross looks like

• Lesser deaths

• Greater deaths

3. By embracing Christ's cross, I will find my life

• "Will find his life" in this world

• Transition: But horrific things happen here on earth

• "Will find his life" in the world to come

4. By refusing Christ's cross, I will lose my life

• Great temptation to "save" it

• "Will lose one's life" in this world

• "Will lose one's life" in the world to come

The "Must" of Jesus' Cross

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Matthew 16:21-23
February 5, 2023

Sermon Outline

1. The most important thing about Jesus Christ is his atoning death and resurrection

• Jesus explained that he must die

• How much of his statement did his disciples understand?

2. The most important thing to Satan is to frustrate/oppose the atonement of Christ

• That day, Satan used the leader of the apostles to oppose Christ's atonement

• Today, Satan uses a popular strand of supposed "Christianity" to oppose Christ's atonement

3. Jesus opposes those who oppose his atoning death

4. Applications

• Even our believing friends can unwittingly harm us spiritually

• Under their own understanding, humans are offended by the cross

• The cross of Christ goes against our self-righteousness

• Mourn for your sins, repent of your sins, confess your sins, but stop trying to pay for your sins

Sanctity of Human Life

Download MP3
Speaker: Mike Rudolf
Scripture: Various passages
January 29, 2023

Romans 1:20a: For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.

Genesis 2:7: then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Psalm 139:13-16: For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Jeremiah 1:5: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

Ecclesiastes 11:5: As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

Ephesians 1:4: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing the the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world.

Sermon Outline

1. Human life is sacred because it is God-created

2. Human life is sacred because it is made in God's image

• Male and female

• Eternal souls

• More valuable than many sparrows

3a. Human life is sacred because God loves life

• The right to life takes precedence over every other human right

• God takes special care to craft each human life

• Woe to those who call evil good and good evil

3b. Human life is sacred because God sent His Son to die on a cross to redeem it

• Jesus, the Lamb of God, willingly went to Calvary

• All of heaven celebrates when a sinner repents

• Human life is made for God's glory

• God lives human life beyond measure, born and unborn

4. Applications

• Wake up if you've been napping on this issue

• Imitate Jesus in humility and service

• Keep on!

Summary

• Life is sacred because it is God created

• Life is sacred because life is in the image of the creator God

• Life is sacred because God loves life and sent his son to redeem it

Grace Upon Grace

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:14, 16-18
January 22, 2023

John 1:14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:16-18: For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

Sermon Outline

1. We can love Jesus because we've all received "grace upon grace" (Jn 1:16)

• Literally "grace instead of grace"

• Two ideas of grace

• Think of your life

2. We can love Jesus because we've received grace from his fullness

• Illustration: Engine trouble on the road

• Jesus has infinite fullness

3. We can love Jesus because what he brought us far exceeds what former believers experienced

• Nothing wrong with the Law given through Moses

• What Jesus taught and did is vastly superior

• "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ"

4. We should love Jesus because he alone can make the Father known to us

• Jesus is "at the Father's side" (Jn 1:18)

• Jesus is called "the only GOD who is at the Father's side"

• Jesus is called "the only God

Benediction

Now to him who loved us and washed us with his blood be eternal praise, and to you who believe be eternal grace and joy. Amen. — paraphrased from Revelation 1:5-6

Children Born of God

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:12-13
January 15, 2023

John 1:12-13: But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Sermon Outline

1. People became children of God by believing in his Son

2. Believing is more than a feeling

• To describe becoming a child of God, John uses an action word

• (With fellow apostles) John coins a new expression to describe the activeness of faith in Christ

• J.C. Ryle on the need to believe

3. Believing means trusting in a person, not just acknowledging a set of doctrines

• John shows the personal nature of believing by the phrase "believed in his name"

• John shows the personal nature of believing by adding a parallel word

• Illustration: Steve the summer youth director

4. How people do not become children of God

• Natural descent

• Human decision

• Husband's will

5. How people do become children of God

Benediction

Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

2 Corinthians 13:14: May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

The World Did Not Know Him

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:10-11
January 8, 2023

John 1:10-11: He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

Sermon Outline

1. The fact that the world did not know him

• Before public ministry

• During public ministry

2. Why the world should have known him

• World should have known him because it was made through him

• World should have known him because he was in the world

• World should have known him because he came to those in the best position to know him

3. Why did the world not know him?

• World was spiritually blind

• World was resistant

4. Applications

• For the believer

• For the resistant

Not in the Flesh, but in the Spirit

Download MP3
Speaker: Matt Carter
Scripture: Romans 8:9-11
January 1, 2023

Romans 8:9-11: You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Sermon Outline

1. Summary of last sermon (Romans 7:14-25)

2. If we are in the Spirit, we are not in the flesh

• Our location identifies us

• Being in Christ frees us from the need for self-importance

• Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him

3. If we are in Christ, our bodies are dead, but our spirits are alive because of righteousness

• Our bodies are dead because of sin

• Our spirits are alive because of righteousness

4. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal body if He dwells in you

• How much power does it take to raise the dead and why should the answer matter to us?

  • The exact same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us who live in Christ

5. Applications

• We need to accept that our bodies (as discussed today) are dead

• We need to believe that surrendering to the work of the Holy Spirit will turn out for our good

Benediction

And now, may the love of God the Father who sent Jesus Christ to the cross because he knew that the cross would turn out for both Jesus' vindication and ours; may the faith of Jesus Christ who surrendered himself to the cross because he believed that the Father was faithful and that the Spirit was powerful; and may the power and goodness of the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and who will raise us also, be with every true believer in this room. Amen

And the Word Became Flesh

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:1-3, 14
December 25, 2022

John 1:1-3: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Sermon Outline

1. Background

• In the beginning was the Word (logos)

  • Pagan understanding of the Word

  • Jewish understanding of the Word

• John personalizes the Word

2. Surprisingly, the Word came to earth in a lowly, humble fashion

• The Word became "flesh"

• How John describes the Word living among us

3. The Word came to earth with splendor and magnificence

• We see this from the idea of "tent”

• "We have seen his glory"

• How was glory seen in the Word?

John the Baptist Introduces the Word

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:6-8, 15
December 18, 2022

John 1:6-8, 15: There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light

(John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'")

Sermon Outline:

1. The idea of a "witness"

2. John the Baptist's witness

• Manner

• Role

• Message

3. Lesson #1: Don't over-value God's witnesses

• John the Apostle disabuses the notion that John the Baptist was the pinnacle

• Application

4. Lesson #2: Don't under-value God's witnesses

• Don't under-value God's witnesses in general

• In particular, don't under-value witness of the two Johns

5. Lesson #3: It's not enough to merely hear the gospel; you must do something with it

Remembering God's Kindnesses: Samuel Raises a Memorial Stone

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: 1 Samuel 7:2-13
December 11, 2022

Sermon Outline

1. The background

• Israelites sin, are routed by the Philistines

• Ark of the Covenant taken to Philistia, God makes Philistines' lives miserable

• Philistines send Ark back to Israel, Israelites rejoice

2. The story

• Israelites' idolatry

• Divine discipline

• Real repentance

• Samuel sacrifices

• Philistines flee

• Ebenezer erected

3. The Ebenezer Stone

• What is Ebenezer?

• What does Ebenezer mean?

4. The Lessons

• God's people experience his help only when they have a mediator

• God is honored by special occasions of remembering his kindness

• God will continue to remember with us only as we continue to remember him

The Word as Light and Life

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:4-5
December 4, 2022

John 1:4-5: In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Sermon Outline

1. In him was life

• The Word is the reason any life existed

• The Word is the reason any joy in life existed

• The Word is the reason any spiritual life existed

2. That life was the light of men

• Makes things possible

• Brings joy

• Shows things as they really are

  • Better than we think

  • Worse than we think

3. The light shines in the darkness

4. The darkness has not overcome it

• Definition of "overcome"

• The point

Spiritual Blindness and the Glory of Jesus

Download MP3
Speaker: Dave Royes
Scripture: Luke 4:14-30
November 27, 2022

Sermon Outline

1. The significance of Jesus' coming

2. The seriousness of the human condition

• Their minds are too familiar

• Their hearts are pre-committed

• Their lives are inconsistent

3. The shadow of a coming cross

The Word in the Beginning

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:1-3
November 20, 2022

John 1:1-3: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Sermon Outline

1. In the beginning...

• The Word existed
  B. The Word was with God
  C. The Word was God

2. The "Logos" (Word)

• Pagan understanding of "The Logos"

  • John: "Let me tell you about this Word"

• Jewish understanding of "The Logos"

  • John: "Through the Word all things were made"

3. Summary

4. Applications

• God smiles on creativity in presenting the gospel to non-Christians

• You cannot reach God except through Jesus

• Your savior is mysterious

• To stand before him...

  • In judgment: indescribably awful

  • Accepted: thrilling beyond words

Help with Being Holy: When My Sanctification Is Stuck

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Psalm 130:1-8
November 13, 2022

Psalm 130:1-8: Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
     O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
    that you may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plentiful redemption.
And he will redeem Israel
    from all his iniquities.

Sermon Outline

1. Psalmist's situation: "Out of the depths..."

• Description of depths

• Result of depths

2. Psalmist "cries out"

3. Psalmist waits for the Lord

4. What waiting looks like

• Psalmist waits intensely

• Psalmist reminds himself of what he knows of God

  • Forgiveness

  • Unfailing love

• Psalmist helps others before he gets relief

Closing song: "Tired" by Linda Rich

Benediction

Now to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,... to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. — paraphrased from Revelation 1:5-6

Son of David, Have Mercy on Me!

Download MP3
Speaker: Wendell Stoltzfus
Scripture: Mark 10:46-52
November 6, 2022

Mark 10:46-52: And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Sermon Outline

1. Previously in Mark...

• Jesus predicts his betrayal, humiliation, death, and resurrection

• James and John request the most honorable spots

2. Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus

• Not given his own name

  • Bar means "son"

• Begged for a living because of his blindness

• Invisible to society

3. Jesus, Son of David

• Came to serve

• Bartimaeus knew he had nothing to offer Jesus

• James and John thought they had something to offer Jesus

• Bartimaeus calls, Jesus hears. Jesus calls, Bartimaeus runs to him

4. Conclusion

• When God calls, he creates in us what he's looking for

• When people around us overhear our conversations, do they hear about Jesus?

• If you are unsaved, run to Jesus, for he is calling

Sheep and Goats

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46
October 30, 2022

Sermon Outline

1. Scene of the last day of the world

• A great bringing together of all nations

• Angels

• The Son of Man (Jesus Christ)

• All will sense what's happening

2. Purpose of the gathering

• Two groups

• Gathered as nations, divided as individuals

• All will sense the purpose and the results of the event

3. Sheep are addressed first

• The King speaks directly to them

• "You who are blessed by my Father"

• Element of surprise

• Destiny of the sheep

4. Goats are addressed next

• The King speaks directly to them

• "You who are cursed"

• Element of surprise

• Destiny of the goats

5. Applications

Benediction

Revelation 1:7 : Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him.

Matthew 24:42: Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

Grace to all who love his appearing. Amen.

A Gift to Groaning and Growing Christians

Download MP3
Speaker: Matt Carter
Scripture: Romans 7:14-25
October 23, 2022

Romans 7:14-25: For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Sermon Outline

1. Paul discusses the biggest barrier to our Christian growth

• We believe God's standards are very good

• We grieve as we recognize how far short we fall of those standards

2. Paul is talking about himself as a Christian in this passage

• How Paul describes his pre-Christian life is different from how he describes himself here

• Paul expresses genuine delight in God's law throughout this passage

• Paul uses the present tense when describing his conflict with sin

3. The gift in the passage

• Every Christian experiences conviction over their sin

4. The struggle with our sinful nature

• We delight in the nourishment we get from scripture

• As we grow in our relationship with Christ, we begin rejecting what he despises

• As scripture reveals the depths of our sin, we grieve our revealed predicament

• Christ's sacrifice on the cross is enough to atone for all our sins, not just the sins we're currently aware of

• Through Christ's sacrifice, we are made righteous. Our sinful nature is now foreign to us

Benediction

And now, may the love of God the Father who sent his Son so that you could be made perfect in him. May the love of Jesus Christ, who's cross is sufficient to cover every failure: past, present, and future. And may the sweep presence of the Holy Spirit who takes these things and makes them fully yours be with you all. Amen

Help with Being Holy: The Means of Grace — Parents

Download MP3
Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-9
October 16, 2022

Deuteronomy 6:4-9: These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Sermon Outline

1. General Principle: Major way God blesses kids spiritually is through parents

• We hear most conversions are by age 12

• Proverbs 22:6: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old(comma) he will not turn from it."

2. Kids thrive spiritually only as parents take their own spiritual lives seriously

• God addresses parents instead of their kids

3. For parents to take spiritual life seriously, they must grow in their understanding of God

• Gained through the Bible

  • Parents grow to understand the Bible as they gather in church

  • Parents grow to understand the Bible as they study it at home

4. For parents to take spiritual life seriously, they must actually love and fear God

• Parents must have a fear of God

• Parents must have a love for God

5. If kids are to thrive spiritually, parents must make their spiritual training at the core of their family life

• Deeply stamp God's Word on the minds of your children

• God gets personal about this

• What "impressing" looks like

A Life Transformed by Repentance

Download MP3
Speaker: Andrew Hageman
Scripture: Luke 7:36-50
October 9, 2022