The LORD Sends Ehud to Bring a Sacrifice

June 26, 2016September 25, 2019 BigSpringsEglon, Ehud, Judges 3, sacrifices

Scripture Readings: Judges 3:12-31 (text); Hebrews 4:12 July 3, 2016 (ZCRC Pasig and BSCC) • Download this sermon (PDF) Congregation of Christ: Who among you are left-handed? I am, and in my younger years, to be left-handed had its disadvantages. It was actually frowned upon, even considered “abnormal.” Some teachers would even hit your left hand with a ruler if you wrote with your left hand. ” alt=”sMvKID_5″ width=”350″ />So months before the first day of my first grade year, my father trained me to write with my right hand.…

A Father’s Day Message

June 23, 2016September 25, 2019 BigSpringschildren, discipline, Hebrews 12, Proverbs 13

Proverbs 13:24; Hebrews 12:5-11 June 19, 2016 (KSYC) * Download this article (PDF) “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Heb 12:5b–6). Today is Father’s Day in honor of our fathers. Just a few weeks ago, a popular swimmer of Stanford University in Palo Alto was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman, unconscious and helpless woman. He was sentenced to a paltry 6 months…

Judges Sermons

The Lord Saved His People Through Othniel

June 19, 2016September 25, 2019 BigSpringscivil government, Judges 3, Othniel, Romans 13

Scripture Readings:Judges 3:7-11 (text); Romans 13:1-4 June 19, 2016 (BSCC); June 26, 2016 (ZCRC Pasig) • Download this sermon (PDF) Congregation of Christ: In the introduction to the Book of Judges, the author lays out for us the repeating cycle of sin, oppression, crying out in distress, God sending a judge, restoration, and then back to sin again in the life of Israel. Starting with the story of the first judge, Othniel, we see this cycle in a real historical cycle. Othniel’s story is a short five verses. No other…

Judges Sermons

“There Arose Another Generation Who Did Not Know the LORD”

June 12, 2016September 25, 2019 BigSpringsDeuteronomy 6, Ephesians 6, Father's Day, Israel, Judges 2

Scripture Readings: Judges 2:6-3:6 (text); Ephesians 6:1-4 June 12, 2016 • Download this sermon (PDF) Dear congregation of Christ: This is a quote from a young professing Christian girl who turned into an atheist: If God was absolutely moral, because morality was absolute, and if the nature of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ surpassed space, time, and existence… then why were some things a sin in the Old Testament but not a sin in the New Testament? The young Christian girl is Rachael Slick, who three years ago declared to the world that…

Judges Sermons

“I Will Never Break My Covenant With You”

June 5, 2016September 25, 2019 BigSpringsCaleb, Gideon, herem, Joshua, Judges 1, Moses, Samson

Scripture Readings: Judges 1:1-2:5 (text); Ephesians 6:10-20 June 5, 2016 • Download this sermon (pdf) Congregation of Christ: The book of Judges is a hard book to preach on, so that many pastors avoid preaching or teaching from it. It is full of names, geography, conflict, and even uncomfortably graphic sex, violence and gore. So it is a wonder that sex-and-violence crazed Hollywood has not made more movies about the stories in this book, except about Samson, and Delilah of course. The title of the book comes from the title…

Sermons

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

May 23, 2016September 25, 2019 BigSprings

Scripture Readings:Isaiah 63:7, 10-14; 27:2-6; JOHN 14:16-17; 15:26-27; 16:5-15 (texts) May 22, 2016 • Download this sermon (PDF) Beloved congregation of Christ: Today, in the liturgical year of most Christian churches, is Trinity Sunday. The universal church of Christ believe in the Trinity: there is one God in Three Persons. Our Athanasian Creed declares that these three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – are of the same substance, all uncreated, infinite, eternal, almighty, and co-equal. But the mystery is that all three Persons are one Godhead. Most…

Sermons

“Your Sorrow Will Turn Into Joy”

May 2, 2016September 25, 2019 BigSpringsActs 1, ascension, Holy Spirit, John 16, Luke 24, paraclete

Scripture Readings: Daniel 7:13-14; Luke 24:50-53; JOHN 16:7, 20 (text); Acts 1:6-11 May 1, 2016 • Download this sermon (PDF) Dear congregation of Christ: All of us are very familiar with the famous balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, when the two lovebirds declared their love for one another. Before they parted, Juliet, expressed her sorrow before Romeo left, “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” God made man a creature of relationship. So whenever marriages are broken, sweethearts separate, friendships sour, parents say goodbye to their children who go to college, or a…

Sermons

The Vinedresser, the True Vine, and the Branches

April 26, 2016September 25, 2019 BigSpringsIsaiah 5, John 15, John 6, True Vine, vineyard

Scripture Readings:Isaiah 5:1-7; 27:2-6; JOHN 15:1-17 (text); Romans 11:17-24 April 24, 2016 • Download this sermon (PDF) Dear congregation of Christ: Our reading in Isaiah Chapter 5 is about a vineyard owner who planted a vineyard, tended and protected it with care, but when harvest came, his vineyard produced not sweet, but only bitter, wild and therefore, useless grapes. What a disappointment! God is the vinedresser. The vineyard is God’s covenant people whom he had chosen, planted and cared for until the vines brought forth fruit. In the Old…

Sermons

“If I Do Not Wash You, You Have No Share With Me”

April 18, 2016September 25, 2019 BigSprings1 Samuel 25, Exodus 30, footwashing, humility, John 13, love one another, Psalm 51, Titus 3

Scripture Readings: Exodus 30:17-21; Psalm 51:2, 7; John 13:1-20, 31-35 April 17, 2016 • Download this sermon (PDF) Dear congregation of Christ: Every Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday, some evangelical churches include a footwashing ceremony in their Holy Communion service. Benedictine monks used to practice footwashing as a part of welcoming guests. In the Greek Orthodox tradition in Jerusalem, the archbishop washes and kisses the feet of 12 of his priests. In England, Catholic kings used the wash the feet of 12 poor men. Most recently, last…

Church Blog

On Augustine, Pelagius, Semi-Pelagians, Evangelicals, Catholics, and Other Sunday School Stuff

April 17, 2016September 25, 2019 BigSpringsassurance, Augustine, evangelical, Gregory, justification, Justinian, Pelagius

I praise God for a lively discussion in our Sunday School this morning, as we watched “Justinian and Gregory” segment of Ligonier Ministries’ Survey of Church History (Medieval Age). In the 4th century, Augustine and Pelagius argued about predestination, original sin, and human “free will.” Augustine Augustine taught God’s sovereignty in man’s salvation, specifically predestination and original sin. In his “On the Spirit and the Letter” addressed to Marcellinus in A.D. 412, he wrote: How is it then that miserable men dare to be proud, either of their free will, before…