To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, making disciples to advance the Kingdom of God

Category: Sermon

Honoring God With Our Substance – Pastor Chris Black

Proverbs 3:9-10 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
The book of Proverbs is about wise living. Written by the inspiration of God and penned by the wisest man to ever live outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word “honor” as a verb means to show great respect and admiration for someone or something, to fulfill a promise or agreement, or to accept and pay a bill or a debt. There are different ways we can and should honor God… with our time, with our talents and with our treasure. Here the verse says to honor God with our substance. Substance means our possessions and our living. Does God need our money? No, He doesn’t “need” anything, but we should honor God with our substance because everything we have is directly due to Him.

He Cannot Forget You – Pastor Chris Black

At different times in scripture, the phrase “and God remembered” appears. It does not mean that God had forgotten people or promises, but rather that He began to act on a past promise, covenant or situation. It’s a form of human language used to help us understand God’s actions, and signifies God’s compassion, grace and fulfillment of His word by bringing His attention and purpose to a particular person or situation. It means that something was brought to the forefront of God’s mind, leading to His intervention and care.

1 Thessalonians Session 2 – Pastor Chris Black

Last week we went through the first two chapters of this first epistle to the Thessalonians. This letter begins much more personally than Galatians or Colossians. Paul recalls his missionary journey there and how they received the gospel. That the preaching came in power, and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. He wrote of his great love for them and how he had tried to come back to them but was hindered. He also wrote of their behavior among them…how that they went above and beyond to not be a burden to them and to be gentle and nurturing.

Psalm 1 – Pastor Chris Black

The first psalm is one of my very favorites because it speaks in such an illustrative way on the importance of the word of God in a person’s life. The first verse describes the blessing of not being influenced by the lost world. It’s a progression: Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly – counsel is advice or instruction given for directing the conduct or judgment of another Don’t get your instructions from the ungodly – because the ungodly are cut off from God and this is how they think

Charity – Pastor Chris Black

Most of the modern Bible translations use the word “love” in place of charity because it is believed to mean the same thing, but it doesn’t. The word charity means “love in action”. The Greek word translated as charity is agape which is used for a selfless, unconditional, and sacrificial love that is not based on emotion or attraction, but rather on a deliberate choice to seek the well-being of others, even to the point of sacrifice. This word is often used to describe God’s love for humanity. Agape love is not dependent on the worthiness of the recipient or any expectation of return. It’s love that gives freely and completely, even to those who may not be deserving or responsive. Agape love is characterized by a deep desire for the other person’s best interests. It seeks to bless and benefit the other person, regardless of their actions or character. While agape love can be accompanied by feelings, it is fundamentally a choice and an act of the will, rather than a spontaneous emotion.

Colossians Chapter 2 – Pastor Chris Black

Last week we went through an introduction to the epistle to the Colossians. We went through why this letter was written and the reasons for Paul writing it. The Colossians were converted to Christ through the ministry of Epaphras and Paul had never seen these people before, yet he prayed consistently for them. The Colossians had been exposed to the Gnostics which were people that believed in Jewish rituals and mysticism, as well as Greek philosophy. They believed Jesus Christ to be an emanation that appeared from time to time to his followers like a spirit guide and not the Son of God in flesh. They worshiped and sought the direction of angels as well as hidden wisdom. Paul exalts the deity of and the eternality of Jesus Christ in this letter more than any of his other writings.

God’s Purpose for Our Wilderness – Pastor Chris Black

To give you the setting of this scripture, this is Moses speaking at the close of the 40 years they walked through the wilderness. He is retelling the experiences of the journey to a new generation that was little or not even born yet when they walked through the Red Sea and began their time in this wilderness. This generation is preparing to cross the Jordan into the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Moses is revealing why they were led there and why they spent so much time there.

Colossians Chapter 1 – Pastor Chris Black

…Paul wrote this letter both to encourage these people that are young in faith and to instruct them against heresies that had been introduced to them by Gnostics. The Gnostics were a mixture of Jewish legalism and Greek hidden knowledge seekers with a dab of Christianity on top. They majored in hidden knowledge for salvation that was only made known to a few. They didn’t believe that Jesus had a physical body but was an emanation that appeared to his disciples to reveal hidden knowledge. They also did not believe in the physical resurrection of Christ but saw it as a spiritual event.