Thanksgiving and (Not) Understanding

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Speaker: Steve Boyer
Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-20
November 26, 2023

Ephesians 5:15-20: Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…

Sermon Outline

1. Thanksgiving as memory (Psalm 136)

• Giving thanks for all the good things

• Giving thanks must become a habit

2. Thanksgiving as anticipation (Luke 22:14-20)

• Trusting God to keep his promises

3. Thanksgiving as faith (Ephesians 5)

• Giving thanks in these evil day

• Giving thanks in the Name of Jesus

• Giving thanks even when we don’t understand

Faith at the Walls of Jericho

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:30-31
November 19, 2023

Hebrews 11:30-31: By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

Sermon Outline

1. The setting

2. Several days earlier...

• Spies are inside the city

• In Rahab's house

3. Jericho vs. Jehovah

• Day one

• Days two through seven

4. Lessons

• True faith overcomes insurmountable odds

• True faith results in doing

• True faith saves even the most unworthy

Moses' Faith Rescues Others

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:28-29
November 12, 2023

Hebrews 11:28-29: By faith [Moses] kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

Sermon Outline

1. The Israelites believed the warning that judgement was coming

• Punishing plagues

2. The Israelites believed Moses' directions to escape the tenth plague

• Only one method of salvation was given

• The people obeyed

• That dreadful night

3. Crossing the Red Sea

• 600,000 freed men and their families march out of Egypt

• God leads them south

• Pharaoh goes after them

• The miraculous parting of the Red Sea

4. Lessons

• True faith benefits not just yourself, but others

• True faith believes not just the Bible's good news, but also the bad news

• True faith always focuses on God as Savior, not on imitating the actions of true believers

The Faith of Moses

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:24-27
November 5, 2023

Hebrews 11:24-27: By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he preserved because he saw him who is invisible.

Sermon Outline

1. The life Moses was adopted into

• The food he was served

• The surroundings he grew accustomed to

• The first-rate education he received

2. When he was grown, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter

• He chose one kind of life and forsook another

• What life did Moses choose?

• What life did Moses refuse?

• The result of his choice

3. How was Moses able to do this?

• He was enabled by faith

• He considered the facts

• Fact: Sin brings pleasure -- heaven brings ecstasy

• Fact: Sin's pleasures are brief -- God's ecstasies are forever

4: Conclusion

Faith for the Next Generation: The Parents of Moses

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:23
October 29, 2023

Hebrews 11:23: By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

Sermon Outline

1. Background: Israel's history in Egypt

• Israel (aka Jacob) moves to Egypt with his family

• The Hyksos take over Egypt and enslave the Israelites

• The Egyptians regain control

2. The family of Moses

• Parents, brother, and sister

• "...they saw he was no ordinary child"

• His parents' life-saving plan

• This is what the readers of Hebrews needed to read

3. How God spared Moses

4. Lessons

• It's absolutely necessary for believing parents to trust the Sovereignty of God

• It's the absolute responsibility of parents to raise their children from their earliest days to know the one true God

This Present Age and the Age to Come

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Various Passages
October 22, 2023

Sermon Outline

1. Suffering was introduced to the world by the fall of man

• There was no suffering before Adam and Eve sinned

• After the fall, Earth became a hostile place

• God promised the restoration of paradise

2. The present age and the age to come

• How are they described?

• When will the age to come occur?

  • Already, but not yet

3. Why does God heal some, but not others?

• The age to come has begun, but has not been consummated yet

• Jesus healed to show what the Kingdom of God was like, but never intended to heal every disease of every believer

4. Conclusion

• Did Jesus die so believers could live the good life on this earth?

• Believers, past and present, have tasted the powers of the age to come

We Live by Surrendering

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Speaker: Matt Carter
Scripture: Romans 8:12-17
October 15, 2023

Romans 8:12-17: Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation — but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Sermon Outline

1. Which is easier: fight or surrender?

2. The deceitfulness of our sinful nature

• Promises fulfillment, but doesn't deliver

• Surrender to our sinful nature produces death

3. The life-giving leadership of the Holy Spirit

• Those led by the Holy Spirit are children of God

4. Application

Honor Them: The Shape of Christ in the Quietly Faithful

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Speaker: Dr. Mark Garcia
Scripture: Philippians 2:25-30
October 8, 2023

Philippians 2:25-30: I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Sermon Outline

1. Paul's relationship to the church in Philippi

• Converts at the river and at the jail

• Philippians want to help Paul while he is in Jerusalem

2. Philippian church sent a letter to Paul in prison

• They are poor and have problems with dissenting members

• "Keep Epaphroditus and send Timothy"

3. Paul's letter to a church in turmoil

• "Epaphroditus is the pastor you need"

• A servant's heart without celebrity

4. What "Epaphrodituses" are in our midst?

Faith for the Generations to Follow

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:20-22
October 1, 2023

Hebrews 11:20-22, NIV: By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

Hebrews 11:20-22, ESV: By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones.

Sermon Outline

1. Isaac's faith on his deathbed

• His wife and the birth of his twin sons

• Jacob and Esau's early life

• Esau exchanges his birthright for stew

• Jacob steals the blessing of the firstborn

• The blessing given to Jacob

• The blessing given to Esau

• How Isaac showed faith

2. Jacob's faith on his deathbed

• Why Jacob fled

• Jacob in Haran

• Trials in Canaan

• How did Jacob have faith?

• What we learn

3. Joseph's faith on his deathbed

• Joseph spoke about the exodus

• Joseph gave instructions about his bones

Offering Up Isaac

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:17-19
September 24, 2023

Hebrews 11:17-19: By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

Sermon Outline

1. About human sacrifice

• God hates human sacrifice

• The near-sacrifice of Isaac pictures Jesus Christ being sacrificed on the cross

2. What made God's command hard?

3. Abraham thought it through

• "Is God erratic or am I finite?"

• Abraham's faith-based reasoning

4. Faith is what makes obedience possible

• Prompt obedience

• Sustained obedience

• Willing obedience

5. God testing your faith always has something glorious in mind

6. Applications

• What hard thing has God asked of you?

• Jesus says, "Take up your cross and follow me"

• God will show you the glory behind what he called you to either in this life or in heaven

Waiting for Isaac

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:11-12
September 17, 2023

Hebrews 11:11-12, NIV (1979): By faith Abraham, even though he was past age — and Sarah herself was barren — was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

Hebrews 11:11-12, ESV: By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many and the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

Sermon Outline

1. The promise of an heir was made four times

• The first time

• The second time

• The third time

• Impatience results in Ishmael

• The fourth time

2. The promise was fulfilled in God's timing

3. Lessons

• Remember why this story was included in the letter

• Faith can be real even when it is weak

• Faith is ultimately always about Christ

Deliverance Out of Despair

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Speaker: Andrew Hageman
Scripture: Exodus 6:1-13
September 10, 2023

Sermon Outline

1. When you are filled with doubts, God graciously repeats His promises.

• Moses cries out, God comes alongside him caringly.

• God reminds Moses of who he is.

2. When you are filled with despair, God promises hope for the future.

• God's name is so powerful, it's like he's using it as his signet ring.

• What future does God decree for his despairing people?

3. A follower of God is known, not by perfection, but by faith in God's forgiveness.

• The Israelites won't hear God's offer.

• Moses doubts his ability to convince people.

4. The Exodus from Egypt foreshadows God's ultimate deliverance in our Savior.

• The Israelites were freed from slavery to Egypt, but not from slavery to sin.

• God progressively revealed his plan to free them from slavery to sin.

• This passage highlights the perfection of Christ's work on the cross and his role as our perfect leader

The Faith Behind Noah's Ark

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:7
September 3, 2023

Hebrews 11:7: By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Sermon Outline

1. Human wickedness spreads

• Adam and Eve

• Cain and Abel

• The righteous and unrighteous family lines

• The family lines merge

2. How God responded to human wickedness

• Delayed judgement for Noah's sake

• Blueprints for Noah's Ark

3. Noah's faith

• Noah believed God's warning of incoming judgement

• Noah believed God when he had no children

• Noah believed God over a long period of time

• Noah believed God despite the world's scorn

4. The Great Flood

5. What do we learn from Noah's faith?

• Faith can rescue one's family

• Faith draws a line between the redeemed and the unredeemed

Faith Through the Unfamiliar (Abraham)

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:7-10, 13-16
August 27, 2023

Hebrews 11:7-10: By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with fundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:13-16: All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Sermon Outline

1. The life of faith often involves leaving all that’s familiar

• What Ur was like

• God’s command to leave Ur

• Abraham’s faith in unfamiliar Canaan

• Abraham’s life pictures faith when we leave all that’s familiar

2. The life of faith often means seeing only one step at a time

• When he left Ur, Abraham did not know his destination

• Even when Abraham learned the general trajectory, he was detoured

• Had God’s Word dropped to the ground? No.

• The life of faith is one step at a time for all believers

3. The life of faith often involves disappointments in how God fulfills His promises

• Abraham had constant struggles

• Abraham needed to keep moving

• Abraham and his family were foreigners in the land

• For all believers, this life is full of disappointment with how God’s promises are fulfilled

4. The life of faith involves knowing that God’s promises — only dimly fulfilled in this life — will come blazing true in heaven

• Ur

  • for Abraham

  • for us

• Canaan

  • for Abraham

  • for us

• Disappointing Canaan

  • for Abraham

  • for us

Two Ancient Believers

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:4-6
August 20, 2023

Hebrews 11:4-6: By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Sermon Outline

1. Introduction

2. Abel (Genesis 4:1-16)

• How did Abel know God approved of his offering?

• Why did God accept Abel and not Cain?

3. Lessons from Abel

• Faith makes your prayers and church attendance acceptable

• Faith makes your life speak long past your death

4. Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24)

• His lifespan

• He walked with God

• He hadn't always lived acceptably to God

• He never experienced physical death

• His faith is what pleased God

5. Lessons from Enoch

• Faith in God saves believers from hell

Finding Bread for Your Friends

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Speaker: Wendell Stoltzfus
Scripture: Luke 11:1-13
August 13, 2023

Sermon Outline

1. The prayer and the parable

• The theme in Luke 11 is prayer

• And yet, we struggle to pray

2. The three friends

• An unexpected guest

• An inconvenient hour

• Who the three friends represent

3. The Bread of Assurance

• We who have the Bread of Life, rub shoulders with those who don't

• In the terms of the parable, each of the three friends is, ultimately, starving

4. Real bread, real impudence

• No doubt many of us struggle with assurance at times

• Obnoxious persistence in prayer

• How do we begin?

5. God's answer to prayer

• Jesus says you and I are the link between his bread and our hungry friends

• What will happen if you pray for your hungry friends every day?

• What if we don't see any change?

6. Conclusion

• An inconvenienced friend

• An unfailing God

What is Faith?

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-3, 6
August 6, 2023

Hebrews 11:1-3, 6: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Sermon Outline

1. Mistaken ideas about faith

• Wishful thinking

• Emotion

2. Faith is a confidence in God based on good reasons

• Confidence in God

• Based on good reasons

• More about faith based on good reasons

3. Faith responds positively to what God says

4. Lessons

• Faith involves your mind and your will

Suffering and Safety in Christ

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Speaker: Tyler Estes
Scripture: Romans 8:18-28
July 30, 2023

Romans 8:18-28: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Sermon Outline

1. The primary theme of Romans 8 is that those who are in Christ are safe

2. The suffering of Christians is not something to treat lightly

• Our sufferings are sometimes the result of our sin

• But our sufferings are sometimes the result of another's sin

• And our sufferings are sometimes the result of vanity in a fallen world

• The Bible draws a connection between our sufferings and the glory that we receive with Christ

3. Our sufferings are insignificant compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us at Christ's Second Coming

4. We are sustained in our sufferings by the hope of our salvation

5. We are also sustained in our sufferings by the intercession of the Holy Spirit

6. Applications

Christian: Persevere

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 10:32-39
July 23, 2023

Hebrews 10:32-39: Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathised with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For,

“in just a very little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”

And,

“But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

Sermon Outline

1. What the readers experienced in the past

• Pressure from fellow Jews

• Pressure from Gentiles

• Result of pressure

2. Argument #1: You've already come so far

• Regarding loss of property

• For those who escaped ill treatment...

• Now... persecution seems to have returned

• The point

3. Argument #2: Great rewards for perseverance; awful consequences for abandonment

• Perseverance

• Abandonment

4. All this takes reasonable faith

5. Closing exhortation

Focused Eyes for Spiritual Endurance

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Speaker: Dave Royes
Scripture: Philippians 3:16-4:1
July 16, 2023

Philippians 3:16-4:1: Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Sermon Outline

1. Eyes on true faith in true believers

2. Eyes weeping for the world around us

• Short-lived pleasure

• Suppressed conscience

• Secular mentality

3. Eyes up toward heaven