This sermon was originally preached in 2016. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, having nothing more to do with him, know that such a person is warped and sinful; …
The two parables within our study communicate the same basic truth, yet they do so using different similes that present it from two angles. The big idea behind these deceptively simple parables is that the kingdom of heaven is exceedingly valuable. In fact, it is worth losing everything you have in order to obtain it. …
Continue reading The Parables of the Hidden Treasure & Pearl of Great Value | Matthew 13:44-46
Having now addressed the responsibilities and qualifications for the two offices found within the church, we now turn our attention toward the entire congregation, the church members. As with elders and deacons, we will study both the responsibilities and qualifications of being a church member. Here we will focus on church members’ three big responsibilities: …
Our Father in heaven Matthew 6:9 ESV We fittingly place our study of the Lord’s Prayer after our study of the Apostles’ Creed. The creed provides us with the foundational information for who God is, and knowledge of God is, of course, quite necessary for us to properly pray to Him. Having established, therefore, a basic …
SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION Ecclesiastes 11:1 | Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:4 | He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. OPENING THOUGHT No other book, inside or outside the Bible, is …
Continue reading The Vanity of Knowledge Under the Sun | Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
All this took place to fulfill what the LORD had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:22-23 Jesus is the centerpiece of all human existence. His advent, His arrival is the highest point of human …
God: I gave you my very Word. Why did you not meditate on it day and night (Psalm 1:2)? Man: I definitely would have, but you see, I was far too busy. God: Yet you most days watched multiple hours of television. You gave 9 years of your life to it. Man: Perhaps, but that …
She tries every single morning without fail to get the squirrels chattering happily in the trees above the backyard. She's out there each day but hasn't even come close to catching one (and wouldn't know what to do with it even if she did). It's a worthless exercise, but one that she will urgently awaken me to …
Continue reading My Dog Never Catches Squirrels (and neither do I)
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42 ESV It is wonderful to speak about the importance and preeminence of making disciples; however, most of it is meaningless if we never ask the next question: How do we make disciples? There has …
Continue reading How Do We Make Disciples? (Making Disciples: part three)
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And …
Continue reading The Great Commission (Making Disciples: part two)
B. C. Newton 