Sermons and lessons from the Leavenworth Church of Christ Pulpit, including lessons from John Telgren the preacher and other members of the Church in Leavenworth
Proverbs 31:1-9: Honoring our mothers I not just a nice thing to do, but a biblical imperative that comes with life altering results. One of the ways to honor a godly mother is to heed her words carefully. Mothers instruct and guide their children from childhood to kinghood, if that is where their child winds up. A mother's instruction in Proverbs 31 was for her son to beware of the things that can destroy him and to be faithful in his responsibilities
(Luke 7:1-10) Sermon by Michael Summers
Sermon about Evangelism from Acts 17
Acts 18:1-22: Rather than focus on the content of his message or persecution as the text does in other places, the account of Paul in Corinth focuses on how Paul got his "second wind" after the difficult circumstances in Macedonia. These sources of encouragement include Christian fellowship, faithful persistence, and the reassurances of our Lord. These types of encouragement are still available to us today.
Reflections on the songs, Up From the Grave He Arose, Because He Lives, and Salvation Belongs to Our God
Acts 17:1-34: Sharing the Gospel and apologetics go hand in hand and has a different starting point that depends on who you are talking to, but always has the same ending point, which is Jesus and the response to him, which will be varied, as demonstrated by the varied responses in Acts 17.
Acts 16:16-40: Since we as Christians are not of this world, and the world loves its own but not Christ, we can expect persecution when we follow Christ fully. The characteristic Christian response to persecution is confident faith, persistent focus, and public pride, as is demonstrated by Paul and Silas in Philippi. We reject the fear and shame the world attempts to place on us for our faithfulness to our Lord.
(Acts 16:6-15)God, the Bible, and pure Christianity are not demeaning to women or chauvinistic, but regard women highly as an indispensible part of God's creation and team to carry out God's redemptive purposes in the world through worship, faithfulness, hospitality, and service as exemplified in people like Lydia
(Acts 16:1-5) We see in Timothy a model of what some desirable characteristics are in a Christian who is godly and able to effectively fulfill God's purposes. These qualities include a discipleship that results in a good reputation in one who is willing to go the distance to connect and identify with people out of love and kindness
(Acts 15:19-41) The ideal for the church is for it to be unified, which does not necessarily mean uniformity in all things. When we have differing convictions, we need to be open and up front about it, and honor the judgment call of leaders who graciously work toward having unity so that the church can be edified and continue sharing the Gospel to the world.
As Christians, we avoid buying into the lie that romantic, erotic, and other kinds of love does not come from Hollywood, Hallmark or any other place of this world, which has a tendency to twist and distort what God has created as very good. True love comes from God who expresses his intense love for us in various ways, including betrothal and marriage. Love, including romantic love, is a reflection of God, and is very good when exercised in according with God's design.
Sermon by Tommy Herken to prepare the congregation in the search for a new minister at the Leavenworth Church of Christ.
(Acts 15:1-35) When people who are "different" choose to believe in Christ and accept his lordship, we need to remember that salvation is extended by Christ equally and in the same way to them and us by his grace, and that God values all humans and extends redemption to them equally, regardless of ethnicity, culture, social status, etc. Therefore, the church, in all its diversity, is one in Christ.
(Acts 13:42-14:28) To avoid being paralyzed by intimidation, fear and shame, we need to remember that persecution and opposition is normative for the Christian life because no one can stay neutral when confronted with the life altering message that says we must turn from vain things to serve the true God. Our response to persecution may be to stay or go, depending on what will further the spread of the Gospel, and to encourage the brethren, reminding them that God is near.
(Acts 13:13-43) The Bible provides not only the message, but models for how to present the message of Christ. God’s message is presented as God bringing about his purposes throughout history up till the present time with Jesus the promised Messiah as the focal point because he was crucified and demonstrated to be the fulfillment of God’s promises when he raised from the dead. Therefore, he is the only savior who can free us from sin, which means that acceptance or denial has eternal consequences. This is our story and message.
(Mt 18:21-35) Our inclination should always be to graciously forgive because God has forgiven us a massive debt we cannot pay. As hard as it is, there are some simple steps we can take to move toward forgiving from the heart
(Mt 25) God has blessed us with many opportunities to serve in the name of Christ, which we have not buried in the ground. Christ could come at any time, when means we are staying ready and watchful by investing what he has entrusted us with in order to serve those in need in the name of Christ
As the historical Nicholas of Myra has been distorted and morphed from Nicholas, to Saint Nick, to Sinterklass, to Santa Claus, we must be careful not to do a similar thing with Jesus, but to come to the real Jesus, not a caricature, and devote our lives to him as God who came to earth in the flesh and became our crucified and risen Lord and Savior.
The reason we have traditions is to pass on and root us in our inherited identity. God has given us certain traditions for this and he also allows us to have our own traditions as long as they do not conflict with his will and instructions for us. Therefore, we ought to sanctify all of our traditions, otherwise they are nothing more than an empty habit rather than a rich tradition.
(Ex 3:1-6; Hos 11:1-11; Isa 6:1-8) We need to avoid caricatures of God that emphasize his love and compassion to the exclusion of his righteousness and holiness. Otherwise, it will cause us, in serving something of our own making, to twist the idea of purity and holiness, and to cheapen the idea of grace and mercy, which will in turn affect our mission in such a way that we do not come to terms with the fact that people are lost without Christ.
(Psalm 100) In response to God and his gracious works for us, we respond in a way that is fitting and pleasing to God, which includes energetic joy and praise along with service in his name and blessing him wherever we go by giving him the credit, honor, and glory for our redemption and reconciliation.
The songs, My Jesus I Love Thee, and The Love of God reminds us of the vastness of the love of God, enabling us to love in return
(Luke 10:25-37)Thee great commandment to love God and your neighbor involves being willing to minister to people who may be different from you because they are precious to God and made in his image. It may involve taking some sort of risk to minister to them. It is worth the risk because people are important to God and love trumps ritual.
The Church is not a place, but the holy family of God that worships and serves him while proclaiming the Gospel that destroys the devil's stronghold and brings life and peace to us under the reign of God
(Acts 13:1-12) When the church follows the lead of the Holy Spirit in advancing the Good News, it will collide with many "Bar-Jesus" types, but the church needs to be frank in exposing false teaching while making meaningful connections with those who are open to hearing the word, which is what ultimately will bring faith and salvation.
(Acts 11:27 - 12:25) When faced with persecution, Christians respond with faith by praying to God and continuing to serve and minister to others while encouraging one another, reminding one another that God acts in ways we don't sometimes expect
(Acts 10:1-11:26) God did something exceptional in the way the Holy Spirit manifested himself in the conversion of Cornelius, showing us that regardless of a questionable background on one hand, or devoutness on the other, all people need Jesus in order to be saved, which means we as Christians need to take the Gospel to all who will listen.
(Acts 9:32-43) The story of Dorcas inserted in a cluster of conversion stories reminds us that in the midst of all else we do, we must never underestimate the importance of ministries of mercy. It was important enough that when Dorcas, a servant of widows, died, we was brought back to life and presented to the widows. Like Dorcas, we are at our best when we simply use what we have in order to minister to others who are in need.
(Acts 9:1-31) The Lord can break through even the worst kind of blindness, bringing sight and conversion through the word, transforming us into guides who share sight with others who do not yet see, bringing opposition and persecution from those who refuse to acknowledge Christ as Savior and Lord.
(Acts 8:25-40) God’s plan for the salvation of the world didn’t stop with Christ or the Apostles, but continues with ordinary Christians whom God uses to bring additional light of the Gospel to those who have an open heart so that they may respond by accepting God’s offer of redemption through Christ
(Acts 8:4-24) Belief and baptism must be accompanied by true change on the Lord’s terms, which means giving up any futile and poisonous attempt to true and manipulate God, which would only result in bondage to sin. Instead, we must accept his gift the only way we can receive it, which is as God’s gracious and undeserved gift. This means trusting in God to rule all of our life.
(Acts 6:8 - 8:4) If we are truly serving in the name of Christ, we will face opposition and persecution. We should be spiritual and emotionally prepared for it by knowing what we believe and being ready to share or defend it, focusing on Jesus more than on defending ourselves and keep in mind that our conduct may strengthen or discourage other Christians and move bystanders to consider Jesus
(Acts 6:1-7) As the church progresses, new challenges often arise from within, which requires a type of leadership that models healthy humility, encourages cooperative participation, and empowers new godly servant leaders. This helps to strengthen unity in such a way that the entire church can more effectively carry out God's purposes.
God created a good creation, but sin corrupted it. God's solution was for Christ to become flesh and die for us to provide a means for redemption for those who would come to him in faithful obedience.
(Acts 5:17-6:7) Our purpose is to serve God even when local authorities instruct us not to do so. When they threaten and persecute us because of Christ, we are not overcome by shame or fear, but consider it a sign of honor to stand with Christ as we continue to teach and serve others in his name.
(Acts 4:32-5:16) Jesus has filled us with abundant grace, which should affect our perspective and attitude by focusing outward through generous sharing rather than inward on self centered wants and pride that God is opposed to. This will unite the brethren in the sharing of the ministry of the Gospel.
(Acts 4:1-31) When threatened or intimidated for the exercise of our faith, with reliance on the Spirit, we should focus on defending and explaining Jesus openly and boldly. We can do this if we see the larger picture of what is happening, recognizing that it is God who created this opportunity, which means that our prayer should be that we recognize the opportunities and ask God not to remove it, but to grant us confidence and boldness to speak and do good works in the name of Christ
(Acts 3:1-26) Jesus, the fulfillment of God’s promises, is the only one who can restore what has been damaged as the result of sin. Even when we in ignorance reject Him as the Jews did, God has not rejected us, but offers a change to repent and turn to Him, which means submission to Him with a profound change in our lives.
(Acts 2:38-39) Through Christ, God grants not only forgiveness, but also his Spirit that has been the guarantor for the authority and faithfulness of the written word of God, and gives us the strength and ability for personal transformation and restoration of our mind and heart as we walk by the Spirit. This biblical message encourages us by dispelling the lie that people cannot change. Through the Spirit, we can and must change and become more godly
(Acts 2:1-47) Communicating the Gospel effectively goes hand in hand with defending the Gospel with evidences that Jesus and his apostles provided. The evidence has shown that Jesus is both Lord and Messiah, God and savior who died and rose from the grave for our redemption. We respond with repentance and baptism for remission of sins and become a devoted part of the people of God
(Acts 1:12-26) The Lord does not abandon or leave his people to themselves, but remains present and involved in our lives. The affects our dispositions in many areas of our life, including prayer, relationships, disappointment, and when faced with tough decisions. We should always remember that the Lord is with is in all things.
(Acts 1:1-11) The story of Jesus and his ministry does not end with the Gospels, but continues in his people whom he has equipped to continue his mission which involves taking his message and salvation to the whole world so that when he comes back, he will have found that we have spread the message giving others the opportunity for life in Christ.
God is the model for godliness, which also means he is the model for fatherhood as well. Some of the characteristics of godly fatherhood that we see exemplified in God himself is that he leads by being present yet he does not force or control, but allows his children the freedom to grow and learn through trial and error because he values them highly, so highly that he paid the greatest personal price for them. These are some of the things that Fathers do.
(Heb 12:8-10; John 1:14; 2 Cor 5:1-8) The Bible reminds us that our time on this earth is short and temporary. As Abraham lived in tents and walked with God, we do the same. As Jesus tented on this earth and fulfilled God's purposes of redemption through caring and sharing, we do the same. Our ultimate home is not the tents we live in now, but the home that God is preparing for us. We want to be ready when he comes.
When we become a Christian, we put off the old self, and put on the new self, which means we are clothed with Christ. Part of this means to put of pride in all its forms, and to put on humility and meekness, which is precious to God. This humility should be expressed even in the way we dress, which is what is called modesty. If modesty is humility expressed in dress, then we should examine the motivation for our appearance and dress.
The Bible has plenty of things to say about pleasure. These tell us something about the nature of God, and how he created us to live.
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