Category: Sermons

Luke 19:1-10
I Timothy 6:6-19

After worship one Sunday a little boy told the pastor, “When I grow up, I’m going to give you some money.”

“Well, thank you,” the pastor replied, “but why?”

“Because my dad says you’re one of the poorest preachers we’ve ever had.”

This morning I am preaching my 820th sermon since I have been the Pastor of CrossPointe Community Church. Of those 820 messages, a scant 28 have addressed the subject of how our wealth and possession affect our walk with Christ. That’s 1 and ¾’s of a sermon per year on this important to Jesus subject.

How do we know it was important to Jesus? Because one-third of all the parables He taught have to do with the wise use of money and possessions. Because someone took the time to discover that 1 out of 6 verses spoken by Jesus directly bears on how His followers would handle money. By that reckoning, should have given 140 by now. So that means I owe you 111 or a little over two year’s worth to catch up.

Why is this so? I’ll give you two or three reasons next Sunday. But for today let me say that in CrossPointe’s history, there haven’t been too many times when we as a church needed to address this for practical reasons.

But now we need to.

Last Sunday after worship Annie Dean presented CrossPointe’s Investment Plan for 2018.

The figure of $133,326.69 represents the amount of money we will need to raise to meet our ministry goals for 2018. It covers things like staff salaries, utility needs and other operating expenses and ministry and outreach goals. When you divide the total by 52 Sundays in a year we need to average $2564 per week. So far this year our average is 2395 per week. So in order for us to meet our ministry goals, we will need to raise an average of $169 more per Sunday.

But I’m not worried . . . for there is good news here. We have a lot of people who wholeheartedly believe in and therefore support this church. We have people in this church who have already wholeheartedly embraced the Biblical principles of faithful stewardship. And I am confident that we are ready to hear and respond to the word of God. (more…)

Luke 18:18-30

“It is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.”

If we had been within earshot of Jesus, we would have understood what He meant about a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Incorporated into the main gates to ancient cities there often stood a smaller gate, known as a needle’s eye, that was used mainly by pedestrians. The main gate was almost always closed at sunset and on the Sabbath for security purposes and to keep camels and their camel jockeys and their wares from entering the city. But people could still pass through if need be.

Now once in a while, there was an insistent camel owner, who for whatever reason wanted to get inside the city walls even though the main gate had already been closed. Was that possible?

Notice Jesus didn’t say it was impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle He said it was very difficult. In his commentary, Ivor Powell suggests it was difficult because it required three things:

The animal had to be small; the load had to be taken from its back, and the camel, somehow, had to go forward on its knees. It could be done, but it was difficult. ¹

Because we who live in America are rich, it would do us well to consider the same three requirements for it is still harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.

First, that person must be on the small size, not physically, but attitude-wise.

For Jesus is more interested in the rich man’s attitude toward his wealth than anything else. (more…)

Luke 13:18-19

A mustard seed is one of the tiniest of seeds. It is only slightly larger than a grain of sand.
But a mustard seed contains something a grain of sand does not: Life. It grows into a beautiful mustard plant. Mustard plants can grow to be over eight feet tall.

Jesus challenges us to understand that like that living seed, His Kingdom is alive and although often starts small, it grows very large as well.

In 1924, Kitty Suffield wrote a song titled Little Is Much When God Is In It. Kitty was the pianist at a small church in Ottawa, Canada. The pastor had a teenage son who had a great singing voice but he was shy and lacking in confidence; besides what good would come from one boy singing a song. But Kitty encouraged him to offer his gift to the Lord. That boy’s name was George Beverly Shea, who grew up to sing to millions at the Billy Graham Crusades. Little is much when God is in it.

In the scriptures little becomes much when God is in it.

God tells Gideon he has too many warriors to do battle against the Midianite army
after winnowing them down from 32,000 to 300, God gives the victory. Little is much when God is in it.

I Kings 17 tell the story of a widow who because of a severe drought is down to her last bit of flour and oil. Elijah asks her to use the little she has left to prepare him a meal. And when she does, God provides her sustenance until the drought ends. Little is much when God is in it.

A little boy offers Jesus five loaves and two fish which in the hands of Jesus end up feeding over 5,000. Little is much when God is in it. (more…)

Luke 9:18-27, 57-62; 10:25-28

Have you ever heard the story of the hen and the hog? They were walking down the street and came to a church with a sign outside: “HELP THE NEEDY.” They started to talk about it.

Hen: “I know how we could help. We could give them ham and eggs for breakfast.”

The hog was horrified and said, “That’s fine for you only giving a partial contribution, but for me, it’s total commitment.”

What’s the takeaway from that fable? Perhaps to consider whether we are offering ham or eggs to Christ.

In 1675, a German pastor named Philipp Spener wrote a work called Pious Desires. With uncommon vigor, Spener insisted that too many ‘so-called Christians’ had only the outward form of religion without the power. His call to holiness and intentional Christian growth was so inspiring it launched a movement called Pietism, which heavily influenced John Wesley and many others and eventually led to the First Great Awakening. Tell me if you think what he wrote in 1675 still applies today:

…there are not a few who think that all that Christianity requires of them (and that having done this, they have done quite enough in their service of God) is that they be baptized, hear the preaching of God’s Word, confess and receive absolution, and observe the Lord’s Supper, no matter how their hearts are disposed at the time, or whether or not there are fruits which follow. ¹

Sounds like what Wilbur Rees wrote 300 years later in his book, $3.00 Worth of God:

I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please.” ²

Luke 9:51 invites you and me to consider whether we desire $3.00 worth of God, or if we desire more. (more…)

Romans 8:15-16

Last Sunday we gleaned three truths from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians about the process of being adopted into God’s family.

1. Our adoption was planned from the very beginning:
   Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:4-5)
   Creation, fall, redemption, adoption
2. We were adopted despite the fact that from a human viewpoint we were unadoptable:
   Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature, we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
   We are all in a basket of deplorable’s.
3. A very high price was paid so that we could be adopted:
   He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. (Ephesians 1:7)

Today I am turning to Paul’s letter to the Romans (8:15-16) where he also uses the word ‘adoption’ to flesh out three blessings of adoption

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

First point; our adoption is irrevocable.

I point this out because there are always Christians who are troubled by the thought that they have sinned away God’s grace. That is, we feel as if we have crossed the line with God one too many times. And that perhaps, as a result, He is through with us.

And so I say loud and clear, that once we are adopted into God’s family, we are part of the family forever; permanently. (more…)

Ephesians 1:1-8

A first grader brought in a family picture for show and tell. One of the more astute first graders noticed that one of the little boys in the picture had different color hair than the other family members. Another child suggested that he was probably adopted. A little girl said, “I know all about adoptions because I was adopted.”
“What does it mean to be adopted?” asked the teacher.

“It means,” said the little girl, “that you grew in your mommy’s heart instead of her tummy.”

The Apostle Paul used many different kinds of images and metaphors to express the blessings of knowing Christ. He searched both the Old Testament and 1st century culture to find words that would create a new theological grammar for the fledgling church. Some of the words he chose to describe what we refer to as ‘salvation’ are “atonement,” “justification,” “reconciliation,” “redemption.”

And as you have already guessed from today’s scripture reading and message title, one of them was “adoption.” The Greek word literally means, “to make [someone] a son”.  Paul used the word “adoption” five times in his letters: once in Galatians, (4:5); three times in Romans (8:14, 23; 9:4) and in today’s text in Ephesians (1:5).  In each case it refers to God’s adoption of us as His children.

Today, I want to cover 3 things Paul lets us know about the adoption process in his letter to the Ephesians. And next week, we’ll discuss the blessings of being adopted into God’s family.

First I note this process of adoption was planned long ago.

Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes” (Ephesians 1:4).

(more…)

2 Peter 3:3-17
Luke 13:1-9

A priest and pastor from the local parishes were standing by the side of the road holding up a sign that read, “The End is Near! Turn around now before it’s too late!”

“Leave us alone, you religious nuts!” yelled the first driver as he sped by.

From around the curve, they heard screeching tires and a big splash. The Priest sheepishly looked at the Pastor and asked, “Do you think our sign should have simply said, ‘Bridge Out’ instead?”

How many of you wondered with me last week whether or not the world was coming to an end? I mean, can you recall another time when so many natural disasters were occurring so close together? There were hundreds of people in Texas clinging to rooftops waiting to be rescued as the waters from Hurricane Harvey threaten to engulf them; wild-fires burning out of control in several western states prompting warnings to stay indoors to avoid breathing toxic air; an 8.1 earthquake in Mexico toppling buildings and spawning tsunamis and five unusually strong solar flares spewing a torrent of electromagnetic radiation toward our fragile planet. And then came Irma.

It is times like these that make us who believe in God to wonder, where is God in all of this? Does He not see what’s happening? Does He not care? Is He the one who we should hold responsible?

Not according to actress Jennifer Lawrence, who said last week that the two devastating hurricanes in Texas and Florida are expressions of Mother Nature’s wrath and anger over the election of Donald Trump. I didn’t know the Donald had that much power!

In today’s passage from Luke, Jesus perceives that His listeners are grappling with similar causality questions concerning a natural disaster.

Perhaps an earthquake, perhaps faulty engineering, perhaps a combination of both caused some sort of tower to collapse in the Village of Siloam killing 18 people and doubtless injuring others. The prevailing thinking of the day is that things of that nature were God’s justice meted out toward evil sinners. Jesus quickly nixes that theology: (more…)

Psalm 119 (selected)
II Kings 22:1-11; 23:1-3

How about a little Bible Trivia?

At what time of day was Adam created?
A little before Eve.

How long did Cain hate his brother?
As long as he was Abel.

What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden?
Your mother ate us out of house and home.

Which servant of God was the biggest lawbreaker (sinner) in the Bible?
Moses; he broke all 10 commandments at once.

Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
Samson. He brought the house down.

Did you know why some believe that Jesus was an American Indian?
Acts 4: refers to Him as Chief Cornerstone.

What does the word ‘Bible’ mean?
Book

How many books in the Bible?
66 – 39 in OT, 27 in NT

Which five books of the Bible are not divided into chapters?
Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.

Does anyone know the longest chapter in the Bible?
Psalm 119 with 176 verses.

I took the time to count some of the nouns in the Psalm: ‘commandments’ 21 times, ‘commands’ – 22, ‘decrees’ – 22, ‘instructions’ – 25, ‘laws’ – 21, ‘regulations’ – 20 and ‘word’ appears 27 times.

All 158 of those nouns are references to God’s Word, and they are either preceded or followed by the verbs: ‘follow, guide, keep, listen, meditate, obey, reflect, rejoice, teach, and trust.’

I have chosen to read 19 of the 176 verses; trusting that these 19 provide a good representation of the entire Psalm.

1 ‘Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD.’
11 ‘I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.’
18 ‘Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.’
33 ‘Teach me your decrees, O LORD; I will keep them to the end.’
34 ‘Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.’
35 ‘Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.’
35 ‘Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money!’
36 ‘Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.’
66 ‘I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgment and knowledge.’
67 ‘I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word.’
97 ‘Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long.’ 
98 ‘Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide.’
99 ‘Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your laws.’
100 ‘I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments.’
101 ‘I have refused to walk on any evil path, so that I may remain obedient to your word.’
102 ‘I haven’t turned away from your regulations, for you have taught me well.’ 
103 ‘How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.’
104 ‘Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.’
105 ‘Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.’

Would you believe research indicates that 92% of all households in America have an average of three Bibles?

That works out to be about 306 million bibles in this country. Wow, that’s a whole lot of Bibles! However; would you also believe that 41% of those same households admit they rarely if ever open those Bibles; which means there are about 125 million Bibles gathering dust. Why? (more…)