For our 2024 Advent sermon series, we will consider the four blessings traditionally associated with each week of Advent: Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace, and we will do so using the Gospel of John. In this sermon, pastor Joel looks at John 15:11 and reminds us that we were created to find joy in God […]
In this sermon on the death of King Saul and his sons, pastor Joel reminds us that we need a faithful king who will honor the Lord in life and death. And unlike the “good news” of Saul’s death, proclaimed by the Philistines, the good news of Jesus Christ that we proclaim is that the […]
Gossip and slander is documented and condemned more than any other sin mentioned in the Bible. Of all the turmoil, tragedy, testing, and trauma David has experienced, slander seems to have caused the most distress to his mind and body. Hurtful words continue to devastate people to this day, with far-reaching and long-lasting consequences. In […]
Having seen Saul’s disregard for the word of Samuel and his rash vow, we now come to Saul’s third and final “fall,” where he is rejected by God as king over Israel. In this sermon, pastor Joel encourages us to not trust in religious behaviors but remain faithful and obedient to Jesus.
In this sermon, pastor Joel looks at Malachi 3 and Israel’s corruption to show us that our practices of giving are directly related to our relationship with God. What we will see is that how we handle our money reveals the condition of our heart, and what we do reveals what we value. In other […]
After the glorious visions of chapters 60–62 and the vision of God’s day of vengeance in 63:1–6, Isaiah offers a prayer of lament on behalf of Israel and their future exile. Isaiah calls attention to their crisis of separation from their covenant God and Father, and he prays for mercy. In this sermon, pastor Joel […]
As Jude closes his letter, he praises God for his preserving power and his promise to keep believers from stumbling. In this sermon on the final two verses of Jude’s letter, pastor Joel reminds us that Jesus is the only friend who is able and willing to deliver us, and he alone is worthy of […]
Having taken a detailed look at the false teachers who have crept into the church but are kept for judgment, Jude now describes what “contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints (v.4) looks like for believers in the local church. In this sermon, pastor Joel shows us that true believers practice, […]
After speaking about reality of true and false believers, Jude spends the majority of his letter describing false believers that have crept in the church. He marshals all kinds of historical events, people, and predictions, and then all kinds of present behaviors, metaphors, and labels to show the true nature of these false believers. In […]
