More Than Missions (Psalm 108)

If missions is one of the greatest purposes of the church, what possibly could be more than missions? Listen in to Psalm 108 today, on this being one of our "Missions Emphasis Sundays", and hear how the worship of the Living Creator God is even our deeper calling in life. More than missions, our hearts, mouths, and perspective sings to the God who has a promise that sings through the ages.

Why Praise? (Psalm 106)

Why in the world would you want to praise God? This is a command in the Scriptures, and a grand assumption when you walk into a church on a Sunday morning. But why? Why praise God? Listen in today as we learn about one of the most famous and oft-repeated phrases in the whole Bible - "give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His steadfast love endures forever."

God the Promise Keeper (Psalm 105)

What are the promises that you've heard, or that you've even promised to others? As we listen to Psalm 105 read in its entirety, we hear about the great promises of God, beginning all the way back in Genesis 12 with Abraham, and continuing on throughout history. What are the promises of God and what meaning do they have for you today? Listen in today to this message from Alan Vance on the promise of God.

Good From the Beginning (Psalm 104)

Psalm 104 assumes that there is a Creator of the whole universe and everything we see around us. But even deeper, what kind of Creator is it? Listen in today as we learn not only about the assumption of a Creator, but about what kind of person He is, and how we fall into a few common traps that cause us to miss the goodness of who He is.

Praying for Enemies (Psalm 83)

While all of us would like to be loved by everyone, unfortunately, it's pretty commonplace in our world today to feel pushback, opposition, and antagonism by someone or some group of people. The Bible has a lot to say about enemies, surprisingly. Listen in today as we hear one of the "Imprecatory Psalms" and learn how to pray when we feel encircled all around us, like Israel did many times. Instead of praying for destruction, what is Jesus's stunning suggestion?

The God of gods (Psalm 82)

What kind of world do we live in? Psalm 82 is one of the places in Scripture that gives us a peak behind the curtain, to see a world that is more than we usually imagine. But we also discover within this Psalm the profound worth that humans have to God and a potential for real and lasting justice beyond our deepest hopes.

Honey From the Rock (Psalm 81)

The wilderness is a scary and dangerous place to be, and we all find ourselves in the wilderness in life at some point. But Psalm 81 gives us a beautiful hope to cling to - there's a Rock in the wilderness, and even deeper, there's honey in that Rock. Listen in today and learn afresh how the difficulties and tests of life that God leads us into actually can give us something sweet that we can't find anywhere else.

*Sermon outline is derived from a sermon delivered by Timothy Keller on May 19, 2002. You can find that beautiful sermon by clicking this link - https://podcast.gospelinlife.com/e/honey-from-the-rock/

Tearful Hope (Psalm 80)

In times of tears and darkness, it is natural for humans to have soul-cries towards something or someone outside of ourselves who can restore us. Psalm 80 repeats this cry for "restoration" three times. What does this teach us about challenging times we go through, and does this even have something to teach us about where we place our ultimate hope? Listen in today and discover how Jesus Christ steps into that space we long to have filled.

Why the Church Can Work (Psalm 79)

The purpose of the church, or even religion itself, is often discussed in the modern world. As we listen to an admittedly "brutal Psalm" today in Psalm 79, what possible hope can we gather from Israel's defeat at the hands of Babylon in 586 BC? What we discover is a heartfelt reflection on something we admittedly misunderstand about God (his jealousy), something we love about what God can give (his forgiveness), and something we all cry for throughout the ages (his justice). But we learn something even more important - we learn about the community he is redeeming for the world and why it works still even today.

Tangible Evidence (John 20:19-31)

While the claim of the resurrection of Jesus is a supernatural and miraculous claim, there is tangible evidence for it - both for the fearful disciples hidden in a locked room on the evening of the first Easter, for doubting Thomas, and for modern people like us. Listen in today as we listen to the evidence, as we believe what Thomas saw with his eyes and touched with his hands, and receive from God His greatest gift - the gift of life itself.

Books mentioned in the sermon:

  • Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (by Richard Bauckham)

  • The Resurrection of the Son of God (by N.T. Wright)

  • When Skeptics Ask (by Norman Geisler & Ronald Brooks)

  • I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist (by Frank Turek & Norman Geisler)

  • A Ready Defense (by Josh McDowell)

  • Hope in Times of Fear (by Timothy Keller)

  • Basic Christianity (by John Stott)

  • Living the Resurrection (by Eugene Peterson)

Burning Hearts (Luke 24:13-35)

What really is the true story behind the person of Jesus? This is the question 2 sad people were asking as they walked home from Jerusalem after Easter 2,000 years ago. Maybe this is one of your questions as well. Before believing in the great hope of the resurrection, our curiosity must lead us to answer this question. Listen in today as we hear this first story about how Jesus Himself comes to us and meets us in our deepest questions of life.

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The Pioneer & Perfecter (Hebrews 12:1-2)

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“No one remembers who climbed Mount Everest the second time.” — Edmund Hillary

As we begin Holy Week and celebrate on Palm Sunday the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem before us, we focus in on the reality that Jesus is the true and only Pioneer of faith. What does that mean for us? Why is that important? How did Jesus live in the way we could never ourselves? Listen in today as we learn about the power of presence, freedom, and purpose that Jesus unlocks for us.

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By Faith (Hebrews 11)

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Faith is one of the most fundamental parts of Christianity. But in a world of multitasking, distraction, and competing ideas, having a singular-focus on Jesus Himself can be admittedly difficult. How do we "fix our eyes" on Jesus alone? Listen in today as we learn about how faith invites us to see a new world, to look around at one another without competing, and to run the marathon of faith and not merely short sprints.

"Faith is that which is able to survive a mood." - G.K. Chesterton

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The Most Important Thing About Us (Jonah 4:5-11)

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What is the most important thing about you? As we arrive at the end of Jonah's epic story, we begin to finally see God reveal Jonah's deepest heart. What does Jonah care most about? Through the object lesson of a plant and worm, God not only reveals Jonah's heart, but ours as well. Along the way, we discover the most important thing about God too - that He loves humans more than we ever thought possible.