Cliff Terrace Church

Before we begin today, I want to encourage you to go back and read all of Acts 11 . We will not read any of that chapter today. I want us to go to chapter 12. We will begin reading at verse 1. What kind of trials are you facing today? What kind of persecution are you facing? The things we go through…

Let me encourage you to finish reading chapter 9. I want to skip down to chapter 10 and look at a story that is very important to all of us Gentiles. As we study the gospel message of Jesus Christ, it is important that we understand that this message is for all people. The story of Cornelius is a very…

This morning I want to remind you that the most important connection that you will ever make is the connection you will make with Jesus Christ. Today I want to show you a conversion that would change the course of Christianity forever. This conversion is about a man who we first became aware of when…

Imagine a large, ancient oak tree. It has stood in the same place for hundreds of years, weathering countless storms. The tree's roots run deep, anchoring it firmly in the ground. One day, a powerful storm comes, with fierce winds and pounding rain. Other trees in the forest bend and sway, some even…

This morning I'm not going to read all of chapter 5 for you. I want you to go home and read chapter 5. However, I do want to briefly look at the first story about two people named Ananias and Sapphira. Some people get confused about this story. They wonder why they were struck dead on the spot. I want…

Has anyone here been to the Symphony before? Imagine a symphony orchestra preparing to perform a grand piece of music. Each musician plays a different instrument—some play the violin, others the trumpet, flute, trombone, or whatever. Each instrument on its own can sound beautiful, but it cannot capture…

Lamp Illustration: How many of you like my lamp? It is a nice lamp. When I look at this lamb, in my mind I see something that will shine bright for me to see. It will illuminate everything around me. (Try to turn lamp on) Nothing happens. The bulb is here, the wiring is fine, everything seems to be in…

The next two Sundays we are going to look at two messages that Peter preached. One message takes place right after the upper room experience. We will look at that one in a second. The second message took place a few days later after Peter and John ministered to the beggar at gate beautiful. Both messages…

Before we get to our text this morning, I want to give you a brief introduction into the book of Acts. The book of Acts is the second book written by Luke. It is written to the same person that He wrote the book of Luke to, Theophilus. We just finished the Gospel of Luke that gave us a beautiful look…

Last week when we left off we had looked at the death of Jesus. The followers of Jesus felt like it was over. They laid His body in the tomb. They saw the stone rolled in front of the tomb. There were guards placed in front of the tomb. They felt like it was completed and their wonderful master had died.…

Many years ago a man named Siddhartha, left the palace that he grew up in in order to see the world. When he left the palace, he didn't like what he saw. He saw a world that was full of poverty. He saw a world where people were hurting. He decided that he wanted to end suffering. The first place that…

We have three weeks left of our series in the book of Luke. I want to remind you that we will be moving right into the book of Acts when we finish Luke. Acts was the second letter that Luke wrote to Theophilus. In Acts we will look at the church and how it began. But for now, we are towards the end of…

Today is our 24th week to be in the book of Luke. Including today we have just 4 weeks left. Over the next four weeks, we are looking at the last fews days of Jesus' time here on earth. There are many verses to cover and we won't spend a lot of time on each one. I know for many of you, you probably know…

I want everyone to take a moment and think about the time that you asked Jesus to be your savior. Did you feel an emptiness in your life? Were you running from God when you finally submitted to Him? Or were you like me and you decided at a very young age that you wanted Jesus to be in your life? Think…

I love a good story. I don't read much. Most of the items that I read is either non-fiction or some kind of news item. However, I love watching a movies. There is something about a good story. I love it when a story takes us on an adventure. I also like a good story that teaches us something meaningful.…

Today we are continuing a series that we began in January. We are taking the long journey through the book of Luke. This is one of the Gospel accounts written by the physician Luke. The Gospel of Luke is written to the Gentiles. A Gentile is anyone that is not jewish. When we get to the book of Acts,…

Have you ever thought about what you would do if you only had one year to live? What would you do to finish up your life? Would you spend it making lots of money? Would you spend reaching out to family members that you have never met? Would you spend it going places you've never been before? These are…

Have you ever lost something of value to you? Have you ever lost something that was so important that you looked all over until you found this item? Today, we are moving right along in our series on the book of Luke. I am in chapter 15 and in this chapter Jesus gives us three parables of something that…

We are moving along in our series on the book of Luke. Today we are in chapter 14. Jesus is making his way towards Jerusalem. He knows that it is getting closer to the time that He must fulfill the purpose that He has come to earth for. Chapter 14 is a common scene that have been noticing throughout…

Two weeks ago, we left off where Jesus was addressing the crowd and His disciples. In the final verses of that weeks sermon, Jesus told a parable about a servant being ready for when the Master comes. This week, we finish up chapter 12. Jesus transitions us to another thought along this line. Look at…

Sunday Service for Pentecost Sunday May 19, 2024

Today, since it is Mother's Day, I wanted to take a day away from our normal text in Luke and I want to make a tribute sermon to mothers. A 15 year old son comes how from school and he notices that his mom is laying down, he asks, “Are you okay?” She said, “I'm feeling a little sick.” The son thought…

If I were to ask you what the opposite of light was you would say darkness, right? Some of you probably think about this and some of you probably don't. Some of you only think of the natural world that we live in. How many of you think about the supernatural world? First of all, the supernatural world…

Today, we begin Luke chapter 11. Do you remember the first time that you wanted to learn how to pray? For me it was probably early on in middle school or junior high. I was in my youth group and I felt this deep urge to want to know how to grow in my relationship with God. I knew in order to grow with…

Today we are continuing Luke Gospel in chapter 10. This is our 13th week in the book of Luke. I hope you have received something from Luke's Gospel. Maybe you have noticed that Luke is a very thorough guy when writing his Gospel account of Jesus. I have said this many times in this series. Luke records…

For the past several weeks, we have been reading where everywhere Jesus goes, people have been asking the question, who is this man Jesus? When He calmed the storms, who is this man that even the winds and waves obey Him. When He cast the demons out, who is this man that even the spirits listen to Him…

Today is a special Sunday, because it is Easter. Why do we celebrate Easter? Because we celebrate Jesus' resurrection. If you look all throughout Paul's teachings, he is always quick to point out the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is why we celebrate Easter. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus…

Last week we ended with the first three verses of Luke 8 . If you missed last week, be sure and go back and catch up with this series. I believe it was a powerful message last week that you need to get a hold of. Today, I want you to know that Jesus wants us to receive. Jesus has so many truths that…

My prayer this morning is that you will figure out how to make some time with Jesus. Find a time and place and learn to get alone with the trinity. That is what we are going to talk about today is getting alone with Jesus. If you have your Bibles, go with me to the book of Luke. I am in chapter 7. We…

A couple of weeks ago, we left off with Jesus naming His disciples. If you remember, I said it reminding me of a pick up basketball game where you would pick teams, except Jesus picked 12 to be on His team. There were still more that followed Him, but He chose 12 to be in His inner circle and then He…

How many of you had the page of MVP's on the back pages of your high school yearbook? You know the one's that said, “Most Likely to Succeed.” Or, “Most Athletic.” How about “Cutest Couple?” I never made any of those pages. I don't even think I made the top 10. Here in a little bit we are going to name…

Last week we ended at verse 29 of Luke chapter 4. Today I want to go back to verse 16 for just a moment. How many of you understand that punctuation is important in the English language? It is important to know when to use and not to use the common and a period. For instance, if I was to say, “Let's…

Today we continue our series in Luke chapter 4. Let me remind you that Jesus has just been baptized. The Holy Spirit has ascended on Him like a dove and God has spoken from Heaven. Jesus leaves the baptism and goes off into the desert where our text today picks up in chapter 4. So, if you have your Bibles…

Today, we begin week 4 of our series that is taking us through Luke's writing in both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. So far we have gone through chapters 1 and 2. If you have not been doing so, please read through the books of Luke and Acts with us. These messages on Sunday morning will mean…

This evening I want to give you a brief word from God about the church. As I was studying I came across a word found in Ephesians 3 different times. The word is fullness. The Greek word for Fullness is pleroma. It means that which is or has been filled. So, let's look at each of the instances where this…

Have you ever received exciting news but you couldn't tell no one? I hate it when someone comes up to me and says, “I'm going to tell you something but you can tell no one.” I'm not talking about pertaining to my job. As a Pastor people tell me stuff all the time that I can't tell anyone about. I keep…

Today and for the next several months we are going to be studying in depth the books of Luke and Acts. As you read these books you will notice that it is one continuous story divided into two books written by the same author, a physician named Luke. But before I get started in Luke, I want you to go…

Tomorrow, we begin a new year, 2024. Do any of you think about what a number means. Numbers are important to God. Numbers are so important that He wrote a book about numbers called Numbers. It is the fourth book in the Bible. Today I want to give you a look into what the number 24 means. First, all of…

Let me begin this morning by saying Merry Christmas to everyone that is here. We have finally made it. This entire year ends with a celebration of the one that came to bring hope, love, joy and peace to our earth. He came here to save us. Jesus is truly at the heart of Christmas. If you have your bibles…

We are one week away from Christmas. Over the last few weeks we have been looking at what is at the heart of Christmas. We have talked about hope, peace, and joy. Each of these has a place at Christmas time, but one thing that many of us would think about at Christmas time is love. Love is truly at the…

One of the most beloved Christmas songs of all time is Joy to the World. Did you know that this song was written not as a Christmas tune but it is a song about Christ's second coming? It was never intended to be sung at Christmas time. However, I thing it to be a fitting tune at Christmas time. It is…

I've told this story before. I like it so much that I wanted to tell it again. On Christmas Eve night 1914 something amazing happened. Something that still has the world scratching its head. It was at the beginning of WWI and there was a fierce battle going on in Belgium between the French and the English…

Today we begin a new series called The Heart of Christmas. Over the next few weeks and concluding on Christmas Eve, we want to look at what is exactly at the heart of Christmas. Today, I want you to know that hope is at the heart of Christmas. Let me take a moment and show you what I mean. I remember…

Today we are concluding our series on the seven churches that are featured in Revelation. Before we look at the entire passage, I want to look at how Jesus greets this church. If you notice Jesus greets each church by describing Himself to them. This one is no different. Look at Revelation 3:14 14 “To…

Over the last few weeks, people have talked about the end times more than in the weeks prior. I have preached about the end in the last few years more than I have in the years prior. I believe that Christ is returning soon. It is so important that we get ready. In our text today, Jesus tells the church…