Fellowship Bible Church Sermons

September 30, 2026 PM.Our sin nature makes it hard for us to be teachable, but the book of Proverbs--and the rest of Scripture for that matter--rests on a willingness to be taught by it. To be teachable has to do more with the posture of the heart than one's intellect. Arrogance in the heart of a person makes him resistant to the counsel, instruction, or rebuke of others. But the book of Proverbs calls those wise who love instruction and cherish the correction of others. A person manifests himself to be unteachable by his harsh reaction, dismissive tone, and argumentative spirit. A teachable spirit brings great blessing and is evidence of spiritual maturity.

Various September 27, 2026 PM.In this message, we consider seven helps to handling the very common problem of anxiety and fear. They are: By diagnosing it. By planning in advance how to handle it By knowing God ← this is key By prayer and supplication. By godly living. By humbly casting our cares. By being content.

Romans 12:1-2 September 27, 2026 AM.Since we have completed our series in 2 Corinthians, we turn our to several topics that merit our careful attention. The first has to do with the difficult problem of changing our minds, or changing the minds of others. The mind is a very hard thing to change. We look at some cautions about how changing someone else's mind should not be done, and how we must rely on God's help. We then examined several passages of Scripture concerning the state of mind that exists in someone who does not trust in Christ. Finally, we looked Ephesians 4:20-24 concerning what happens to our minds at the time we become Christians. One matter remains for a future message, namely what continuing work God wants to happen in our minds as we mature in our Christian faith.

Acts 1:3-8 September 27, 2026 SS.Two weeks ago we began to look at what exactly Dispensationalism is. Last week we considered the practical usefulness of this approach to understanding Scripture. In this message, Pastor Postiff offered his proposal that we maintain in our minds a clear distinction between Israel, the church, and the future kingdom. In this connection we looked at some of the things that raise confusion among God's people about the kingdom, particularly its timing and its nature. Then we studied some in Acts 1:3-8 about how the Lord told the disciples that they are not to concern themselves with the times and seasons regarding the kingdom of God, but rather are to focus on testifying about Jesus to the world. In other words, we are to focus on the church task God has given us, and leave the kingdom for its own later dispensation.

Luke 10:2 August 19, 2026 PM.Missionary David Flinck gives a report about the church plant in Arica, Chile, and a challenge from Luke 10:2.

Jude 1:1-25 September 23, 2026 PM.Jude's letter is a timely reminder to churches at the end of the first century as well as throughout all of the church age. The church and its doctrine were well established nearly four decades after Christ's ascension. But heresies and wrong doctrines began to spread quickly, and are still with us today. Jude reminds us that the gospel requires constant vigilance. It is like freedom in the political realm…it is never more than one generation away from extinction. Although God's power guarantees that the gospel will never disappear entirely, it may disappear in your town, your church, or your family, if you do not hold fast to the truth.

2 Corinthians 13:7-14 September 20, 2026 PM.We finished the morning message, specifically looking at four methods or angles we can use to examine ourselves: looking at the Scriptures, at ourselves, avoiding morbid introspection by quickly and thoroughly looking to God and Jesus, and examining whether we have had growth in our faith. These angles cover all the bases of Christian assurance and help us see, on an objective basis, whether we are truly walking with the Lord. Paul closes 2 Corinthians by praying that the believers would stop doing evil things and that they would be restored to wholeness in their relationship with the Lord and with each other. He then gives a few exhortations to them to rejoice, to be restored, to be encouraged, to be united in one mind, and live in peace instead of all the upheaval and discord of the recent past. He prays that the Triune God will pour out upon them grace, love and fellowship.

2 Corinthians 13:5-6 September 20, 2026 AM.The Corinthians had been putting Paul to the test, but now Paul is turning the tables and putting them to the test. They wanted proof that Christ is working in Paul; Paul wanted proof that Christ was in them too! And so it should be for us—instead of looking at everyone else and comparing ourselves to them (10:12) we ought to be measuring ourselves by the ruler of God's Word, the gospel, sound doctrine, good holy practice, the presence of Christ in our midst. Although for Christians the expected outcome of the examination is a good result, it is still imperative that we "examine ourselves" to be sure that we are in the faith, and that Christ is in us.

Various September 20, 2026 SS.This message is a sidebar to the short series of message Pastor Matt began last week about the distinction between the church and the kingdom. In this message, we see how useful the Dispensational approach to the Bible is. It explains the differences between the church and Israel, how in earlier ages less was known about God and His ways than in our present era, how future events are going to unfold and thus how we should conduct ourselves today in light of them. Dispensationalism explains how not every promise in the Bible belongs to us today in a direct fashion, and it gives us a framework for interpreting the whole Bible, not just the parts that have to do with future events.

Proverbs 12:25 September 16, 2026 PM.The book of Proverbs addresses an issue highly relevant to adolescents and young adults: anxiety and depression. Proverbs 12:25 explains that prolonged anxiety leads to depression. COVID-19 caused many young people to plummet into depression. Relationship problems, broken marriages, college debt, and a demanding job—all these have caused many an anxious feeling in a person. Proverbs 12:25 also tells us that a "good word" can cheer the heart and make it glad. That is the antidote to anxiety. As Christians, we ought to offer encouraging words to those who are despondent. What better word than the Word of God, which is able to restore joy and hope in the heart of a person!

2 Corinthians 13:1-4 September 13, 2026 PM.We continued the morning's service sermon in 2 Corinthians 12 by completing the discussion of Paul's hesitancy to visit, particularly with regard to how the Corinthians are not going to like how Paul has to handle things. We then jumped into chapter 13 verses 1-4 and saw how the apostle Paul resolved that he will powerfully deal with the sin in the Corinthian church, for the sake of the church. Despite the apostle's misgivings about his upcoming visit, he has to carry through for the good of the church. He does not seem inclined to give up on them!

2 Corinthians 12:11-21 September 13, 2026 AM.We completed last week's notes, focusing this time on Paul's hesitancy about the upcoming visit to Corinth. Things were very awkward between Paul and the church because of serious sins being committed there. He again implicitly calls them to repent and we reminded ourselves of God's mercy to cleanse and restore any sinner who turns to him in repentant faith. God is very kind and gracious!

Acts 1:3-8 September 13, 2026 SS.This message introduces Pastor Matt's proposal to include the kingdom of God alongside Israel and the church as distinctives in the dispensational system. For this part 1, we introduced the very basics of dispensational theology. Next time we will state the proposal itself and then support it from Acts 1:3-8.

Various September 9, 2026 PM.In this lesson from Proverbs, we contemplate what the sages say about the heart of a man. The heart is the "control center" of a man. The heart is most often used in Scripture to refer to the immaterial aspect of a man, as opposed to the organ in the body. Terms such as mind, soul, and spirit are practically synonyms for the heart in the Bible when it is referring to the immaterial aspect of man. The heart is the seat of man's emotions or passions, as well as the seat of man's volition, choices, and intellect. The book of Proverbs makes the observations that emotions are personal and not easily understood by others, emotions can be concealed and hidden, and emotions are affected by desires of the heart. Scripture does not condemn all emotions, but Scripture ought to cultivate, guide, and at times restrain man's emotions.

Various September 6, 2026 PM.For our Lord's Table service, we thought through how our love for God should be a warm, close love, like that of the Lord for His people. If our love is cold and distant with little conversation (prayer) and time spent in worship, then we really need to ask God's help.

2 Corinthians 12:11-21 September 6, 2026 AM.Paul wraps up the defense he has been offering, in which we see that Paul is not merely defending himself as if he is irked that his name has been run through the mud. His personal reputation is by far secondary to the apostolic office invested in him by Jesus Christ and the gospel message that comes with it. His defense is of the Lord's work in and through him. He has made his whole appeal to the church “before God” and “in Christ” with the purpose to build them up. And even though Paul was an apostle, he was willing to sacrifice himself for the spiritual benefit of the Corinthians.

Matthew 16:15 September 6, 2026 SS.In this lesson we review the Synoptic Gospel accounts of Jesus asking His disciples about His identity. He first asked them who others were saying that He was. He then directly questioned them, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” as revealed to him. It is important for each person to come to the same recognition as Peter.

Various September 2, 2026 PM. The book of Proverbs offers us many incentives to be truthful, and to put away lying lips. The idea of "truth" in Proverbs--and all of Scripture-- is not relative to one's opinion, circumstances, or culture. Truth is what is revealed in God's Word. We learn that God delights in the truth, and so do those who are recipients of truthful speech. Truth is also irrefutable and necessary for upholding the testimony of the who are just and innocent. Truthfulness arises from a heart that is pure and undefiled. Lying, on the other hand, exposes the sinful and evil intents of the heart. Those who lie are detestable in the sight of others and will only bring shame and ruin upon themselves.

2 Corinthians 12:1-13 August 30, 2026 AM.Paul gives the church three more reasons to accept his apostolic authority and teaching. They center on God and God's work in Paul, not in Paul himself. He explains that God gave him a heavenly vision, that God gave him a thorn to keep him humble, and God also permitted him to exercise apostolic signs. His emphasis is on weakness because God's power is very evident in human weakness. For these reasons, the Corinthians should give Paul a good hearing.

Various August 30, 2026 SS.Pastor Postiff briefly discussed the matter of doctrine unites. He gave a number of reasons why this is true in rebuttal to some in evangelical circles who content that doctrine divides. He also spoke on the topic of Christian character, particularly the virtue of faithfulness. The idea of faithfulness is a critical one in Christian theology and practice. The purpose of this lesson is to encourage us to be faithful in the things God wants us to do. Without faithfulness, we will not have a functional family or church family.

James 1:1-5:20 August 26, 2026 PM.James wrote this pastoral letter to Jewish Christians scattered outside of Israel to encourage them to live with a credible Christian testimony so as to demonstrate true faith rather than mere lip-service to Jesus. James tells his readers and us that good works are evidence of real faith. A lack of good works is evidence of spurious faith.

Various August 23, 2026 PM.We examine the moral justification for Hell, reviewing prior points first. Then we thought about how the length and severity of punishment reasonably varies depending on the victim of the crime. Killing a tree has a different length and severity than killing a person. A sin against a dog is worthy of less punishment than a sin against God. We also reviewed a few wrong teachings about Hell.

2 Corinthians 11:6-33 August 23, 2026 AM.Paul boasts about his credentials, even though he would prefer not to do so. This course of action seems to be a way that he can recover the Corinthians from being swayed away by the false teachers. His boasting, however, is almost entirely a list of trials and afflictions that he experiences in ministry. Verse 30 is the key to the passage: if he is driven to boast, he will focus and limit his boasting to his weaknesses. This is hardly "resume worthy" but it actually extols God because the power to survive these afflictions comes from Him. Paradoxically, weakness is better than strength. Suffering better shows the reality of a ministry than strength because it exalts God's power. Weakness overcome by God's grace is a better measure of a ministry, and more convincing than human strength and wisdom like that of the false teachers.

Various August 23, 2026 SS.The point of this message was to remind us of the central place of love in the Christian's life--love for God and love for one another. This extends especially to spouse and family, brothers and sisters in the church, and even to enemies. We saw a number of Biblical examples of people who exhibited love, highest among them our Savior. We also looked at the oft-repeated command to love God and love neighbors and strangers. To top it off, we asked the question as to whether we are truly exercising love in our character, or if it is merely theoretical. God wants real love in His people.

Various August 16, 2026 PM.In this message, we study what the book of Proverbs has to say about wealth and poverty. Wealth is not inherently sinful, but it can pose dangers if we pursue it above godliness. An insatiable desire for wealth can lead to poverty, just as much as laziness does. Proverbs warns against oppressing the poor to increase wealth, as well as other dishonest, evil, and deceitful methods. The book of Proverbs reminds us that godliness, peace, love, discernment, and wisdom, are better qualities to possess than gold or silver. In the end, God blesses the humble and lowly who are diligent, honest, and vigilant in their work.

2 Corinthians 11:5-15 August 16, 2026 AM.Paul helps the Corinthians to understand why they need to listen to what he has to say by comparing himself to the false apostles. Though this is not the method he would choose, the Corinthians sort of forced his hand, so he explains that he is not inferior to these teachers who have come in, that he does not take money like they do, and they are not in fact apostles of Christ like Paul is. In fact, they are apostles of Satan, bringing a different gospel, a different spirit, and a different Christ. Their work can be subtle, but we are warned by this passage to be discerning.

Various August 16, 2026 SS.Christians are not supposed to be aimless. They should be making clear-headed decisions about their goals, plans, and desires. We should want to accomplish something for the Lord. In this message, we give some theological foundation as to why these character traits are particularly Christian and desscribe some Biblical examples.

Psalm 1:1-150:6 August 12, 2026 PM.We continue our series of messages summarizing the Bible one book at a time by looking at the Psalms. The book of the Psalms preserves Israel's hymnody for the Jewish people from as far back as Moses to the prodigious King David, to Asaph, and others who wrote words suitable for worship at the temple and throughout Israelite life. The message of the book is primarily one of praise. To the Lord should be directed not only praise, but also prayer, confession, thanks, worship, and even anger, grief and lament. This is true both in corporate worship as well as individual interaction with God.

Various August 9, 2026 PM.We continue our short series on this somewhat unpleasant but necessary topic by going over a number of other key points in the Bible's teaching about Hell, including that it is a place that has fire and brimstone, a place that was designed for and will house the beast, false prophet, and Satan, and that Jesus has authority over it. We then shifted gears to look at the moral justification for Hell, thinking about why Hell is a reasonable thing for the Christian's holy God to use as a place of punishment for the wicked. We ended with a few brief applications of the doctrine of Hell.

2 Corinthians 11:1-4 August 9, 2026 AM.Paul is very concerned for the Corinthian church. He is jealous over them that they would remain pure for God, not fall away from the gospel, or be deceived by the other voices they are hearing out there. He wants Christians to be single-minded in their purity toward Christ.

August 9, 2026 SS.In this lesson we focus on God redirecting the life of a man named Saul, who was later called by the name Paul. Saul was a man of great zeal, and he went about executing his plan, which was to persecute the followers of The Way. He thought that he should do many things contrary to Jesus of Nazareth. God had a plan for Saul's life that was opposite to Saul's plan. God's purpose was to send Paul to the Gentiles, to open their minds in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by Christ (Acts 20:32).

Various August 5, 2026 PM.In this lesson, we consider what the book of Proverbs teaches us about the vice of anger. Harsh words can stir up anger in others, as well as backbiting tongue. A quick-tempered person is characteristic of a fools who does not fear the Lord. Anger brings consequences, such as strife in relationships and more sin. Proverbs teaches us that the cure to anger is being able to rule over our spirit, demonstrating wisdom, knowledge, and discernment.

Various August 2, 2026 PM.In this question and answer session, Pastor Postiff answered questions about the "reality" of Ezekiel's prophetic behavior. It consisted of several sign-acts that he acted out, not merely "visions." We saw that some of those who killed Jesus did not know what they were doing--not all or most were not knowingly guilty of killing an innocent man. The governor, Pontius Pilate, was probably the most guilty of knowingly killing an innocent man. We also considered the question about what Samuel meant when he prophesied from the grave that Saul would be with him the next day. Other questions came up as well: "Was Paul wrong to go to Jerusalem when he knew he would be arrested? How did John the Baptist know that Jesus was the Son of God, and when did he know it?"

2 Corinthians 10:7-18 August 2, 2026 AM.In these verses, Paul explains that he uses his apostolic authority for edification of the church. He is critical of those who are not so interested in building up the church, but instead building up themselves by stepping into another's ministry sphere and commending themselves. Paul is convinced that right evaluation of Christ's ministers can only be done by God, not by the superficial criteria used by his adversaries, the false teachers, in Corinth.

Various August 2, 2026 SS.In this message, Pastor Postiff addresses the Bible's teaching on Hell. The fact of Hell makes many uncomfortable, and causes some to deny its existence. But Hell is a real place where those who have rejected God will go to face eternal, conscious torment. It is a place of punishment from which there is no escape once there. Only faith in Jesus can keep sinners from an eternity in Hell.

Job 1:1-42:17 July 29, 2026 PM. In this brief summary of the book of Job, we learned that the message of Job is about God's sovereign administration of the world and how it relates to the problem of evil. If you are looking for a full solution to the problem of evil apart from God, it is not to be found. Ultimately the resolution of the problem is found in trusting in God's wise administration of the affairs of the world because He is all-powerful and knows what He is doing. Our study followed through the same categories as prior book-at-a-glance studies, namely a list of several key verses, a review of some key doctrine in the book, literary features, the date it may have been written, some about related scriptures, how it fits in the Bible's storyline, an outline, and some lessons.

Romans 15:14-21 July 26, 2026 PM.The apostle Paul commends the faith and maturity of the Christians in Rome, then speaks of his role in preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles as that of a priest. His priestly service is not in the temple, but in relation to his bringing Gentiles to God. God's will in missions is the redemption of sinners who become acceptable in His sight, thus bringing Him glory. God's will in missions is also the advance of the Gospel to unreached lands. Paul explains in this text that He wants to take the Gospel where it had not yet been preached.

2 Corinthians 10:1-6 July 26, 2026 AM.In this section of the letter, Paul asks to be able to come to Corinth with meekness to set things aright, instead of with a less pleasant method of divine power. Some have offered heavy criticism of him personally, including a strong ad hominem attack about his manner of interaction with them. Some are undermining his apostleship. Paul corrects their mistaken idea that he is strong with his words when he writes and timid in person. Instead, he is writing to them "timidly" and in meekness, appealing to them to change their minds and hearts. This was a not about personal attacks against Paul, but the Corinthians attack on his apostleship, his teaching, and his message. To attack these, is to attack the gospel.

Various July 26, 2026 SS.Pastor Postiff continues his series on Christian Character. In this section we are thinking about having a heart for God, about being like Jesus, about being holy in heart and conduct. Sometimes godliness is an expression of the phrase “according to God” in the New Testament. It is something like “the state of how God is.” Sometimes people liken it to “god-like-ness” not in the sense that Satan desired, but in the sense God's good moral qualities can be replicated in people albeit to an imperfect extent.

Various July 22, 2026 PM.Proverbs teaches us that the wise person is humble. Humility begins with a fear of the Lord, demonstrates a teachable spirit, honors others, and does not praise oneself or seek praise from others. Scripture tells us that God honors the humble and will exalt them in due time. If Jesus willingly humbled himself by laying aside the glory He received in heaven, we should not think highly of ourselves but cultivate a humble spirit.

July 19, 2026 PM.In our ongoing series about Bible translations, we focused on future translations of the Scripture, those that do not yet exist. Although the topic of "how to" do a Bible translation can fill several college-level courses, our attention was drawn to the vast need of translation. More that three thousand languages need the Scripture translated. The task is enormous, and the time it takes from start to finish can sometimes be 20 to 30 years or even more. We spent a few moments talking about research that a little team of our volunteers has been doing to use artificial intelligence to speed up the translation process.

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 July 19, 2026 AM.Pastor Postiff reminded us of several principles that guide Christian giving at the beginning and end of the message. One of those is that God blesses generous giving, and this led us to consider the blessing promised to those who bless Israel in the Abrahamic covenant. We thought through an important sidebar to this, which concerns the current debate over how to think about modern Israel in relation to God's promises concerning the future nation. Current events cannot negatively impact our view that God will certainly fulfill His promises to the nation of Israel, because God's promises are irrevocable.