Memory Chapel

Today we look at Malachi 3:6 - “I am the Lord, I do not change” - and consider what this really says about the Living God. Along the way we will explore some Neo Platonist philosophy, some bad theology, the concept of “immutability”, and something called “proof texting”. Buckle up and get ready to engage with the Word!

Jesus warms his followers of the dangers of hypocrisy. This message was originally delivered at Memory Chapel on Sunday, July 9, 2023.

When Jesus' detractors demand a miraculous sign, he responds by telling them that the only sign they will get is the sign of Jonah. This message was originally delivered at Memory Chapel on Sunday July 2, 2023.

Jesus shifts the conversation from prayer to the Holy Spirit and delineates the Holy from the unholy. There is a line in the sand and no neutral ground. We cannot seek the holy apart from the Holy Spirit. The path of blessedness lies in hearing the Word of God and heeding it! This message was originally delivered at Memory Chapel on Sunday, June 25, 2023.

This week we emphasize a word: magnanimous. It refers to a person that is great in spirit. It wraps up the ideas of being gracious, generous, others-oriented, others-serving, and quick to forgive. The Bible might not use the word “magnanimous”, but it definitely does teach us that all that is summed up by this word is true of our Heavenly Father. In Luke 11:5-13, Jesus teaches us about prayer by highlighting the contrast between human fathers that even at their best can nevertheless be self-serving with the magnanimity of the Heavenly Father who defines himself by other-serving love. This message was originally delivered at Memory Chapel on Sunday, June 18, 2023.

The prayer Jesus taught his followers to pray repeatedly calls us to acknowledge our dependence on the Father and his sufficiency. This message was originally delivered at Memory Chapel on Sunday, June 11, 2023.

Jesus's emphasis on our radical dependence continues to track through the prayer he taught his students to pray. It extends to our radical need to be forgiven AND to forgive. This message was originally delivered at Memory Chapel on Sunday, June 4, 2023.

As Jesus teaches us to pray, he focuses our attention upon our inherent, radical dependence upon God. We should acknowledge and embrace this dependence… a dependence that we will never outgrow, but rather, as we grow to maturity in Christ, our realization of this dependence will only grow. This message was originally delivered at Memory Chapel on Sunday, May 28, 2023.

Following the Founder's Day service at Memory Chapel, Pastor David fulfills a speaking engagement at North Ten Mile Baptist Church - the church where founding pastor Rev. Arleigh Cale was ordained.

We celebrate a special time to remember those who labored and sacrificed in order to establish the ministry of Memory Chapel.

We look at the New Covenant expressed by the symbol of New Jerusalem the City of God wherein God dwells with his people.

“The Kingdom in Symbols”. We look at two symbols used by the New Testament writers to picture the Old and New Covenants. This message was originally delivered at Memory Chapel on May 7, 2023.

The New Arrangement that God made with His people through Christ's sacrifice is the basis of the kingdom of God. Let's see how this New Arrangement is fundamentally different from the Old Arrangement. This message was originally given at Memory Chapel on April 30, 2023.

We continue unpacking important truths about the kingdom of God. This message was originally delivered at Memory Chapel on Sunday April 23, 2023.

We continue our study of the kingdom of God by unpacking some very important elements. This message was originally delivered at Memory Chapel on Sunday April 16, 2023.

Jesus had told his disciples to pray for the Father's kingdom to come… but also indicated that it was a present reality in their midst and an opportunity that must be entered into. Then, on the night he was betrayed, he indicated that it was something that awaited fulfillment. Today we will look at what has to be fulfilled in order for the kingdom to fully come. This message was originally delivered at Memory Chapel on Easter Sunday April 9, And 2023.

The rule of the king was never in question; it's the rebels we are worried about! Daniel predicted the exact time of Messiah's arrival, execution, and initiation of a new and living way. The rebels would be reconciled into the rule of the king - if they will humble themselves and enter in! Luke 11:1-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Daniel 9:24-27; Luke 19:28-40

Abraham's promised descendant would also be a descendant of David that will rule forever and build the house for the Lord. But is the promise shattered when the Lord judges Israel and Judah for their iniquity and scatters them amongst the nations?! How do these two national tragedies and the additional promises of the Lord for a complete regathering of God's people shape the expectations of a nation? Isaiah 39:5-7; Isaiah 40:1-2; Ezekiel 36:16-19; Ezekiel 36:24-30; Ezekiel 36:33-38; Ezekiel 37

The outworking of the Lord's redemptive plan for humanity had a number of pivotal moments, such as when the Lord called Abraham. Today we look at another one of these pivotal moments: The Lord's promise and oath to David concerning a descendant who would reign over the Lord's kingdom forever and who would build the house of the Lord.

The second request of the prayer that Jesus taught his students to pray is for God's kingdom to come. To understand the request, we must understand the concept of the kingdom of God. We begin laying the groundwork for our understanding of the kingdom by taking a big picture look at the sweep of the scriptures so that we can uncover the roots of the kingdom as well as the rejection of the king in a long ago time.

“Our Father… hallowed be thy name…”. How often have we prayed these words that Jesus taught his disciples, but have we understood what all is wrapped up in them? Today we will unpack it.

“Lord, teach us to pray,” the disciples said to Jesus. “When you pray, say ‘Our Father,'” Jesus replied. Today we begin a multi-part series that takes a closer look at a very familiar prayer. We call it the Lord's Prayer, but it is what he taught his students to pray - it is a prayer for students. And it begins with an invitation to draw near to the Living God and to know him as our Father.

The Lord desires close intimate fellowship with his people. What happens when they drift away from him? And why might this happen in the first place? We will look at two passages that speak to the problem of drifting away from the love we had at first in our walk with the Lord.

The legal expert was interested in justifying himself by defining exclusions: "Who is my neighbor?" But Jesus shifts the emphasis of the question in a subtle way through telling a story that suggests that the spirit of the law is not in defining who I may exclude from merciful love but rather is found in answering the question, "Am I behaving like a neighbor by showing merciful love without exclusion and reservation?"

The 72 disciples that Jesus sent out on mission to the towns and villages he was preparing to visit have completed their mission and have returned to joyfully report the results of their ministry. “Even the demons submitted to us in your name!” Jesus reminds them that there is an even greater thing to rejoice in: that their names are written in heaven. Then Jesus does some rejoicing of his own and praises his Father for the way he has been revealing truth to some and concealing it from others. Let's see what that is all about.

We turn to Luke 10 and the familiar story of the Good Samaritan in order to learn about love and the God who defines himself by that character quality. This sermon was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday December 18, 2022.

We consider several examples of people who had the choice of Joy set before them. Then we consider the greatest example of all from Hebrews 12:2 - the Lord Jesus, who for the Joy that was set before him endured great suffering and shame. We will look at four aspects of the Joy that was set before Jesus and consider how often we choose against the Joy that the Lord sets in front of us. This sermon was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday December 11, 2022.

The most divisive figure in human history? Who would it be? Would you believe me if I said “Jesus”? His bold claims have divided people for centuries. Nevertheless, for those who receive him as Savior and Lord, Christ is our peace: he has made peace between God and people, peace between peoples, and peace in our perspective.

God is sovereign. That is, he does as he pleases. Regarding his rebellious creatures, what has he pleased to do? He has chosen to reconcile them to himself through the Son that he sent. It has pleased him to reconcile not only Jews but also all the nations of mankind. Jesus is the hope of the nations!

Jesus, preparing for an extended journey to Jerusalem, appoints and sends 72 disciples ahead of him to minister in all the cities and towns that he is preparing to visit. We will look at the significance of the number Jesus sent and the warnings he issued against those who would reject the message of his apostles. This sermon was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday January 22, 2023.

Simon Peter had gotten something right: When the Lord asked his disciples who they thought that he, the Son of Man, was, Peter had responded, "You are God's Messiah!" But after this, Peter and his brethren were to experience a long string of failures. For the next few weeks, it seemed that they consistently got things wrong. Today we will look at seven instances that Luke provides of Jesus' disciples getting things very wrong over and over again. This message was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday January 15, 2023.

We explore a title of our Lord that he often used but we seldom consider: the Son of Man. What does it mean? What is its significance? This message was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday January 8, 2023.

The Twelve get sent on tour; Herod the Tetrarch becomes totally perplexed; thousands turn up to be taught; and privately, Jesus reveals a troubling aspect of his Messiah mission before issuing a test of total commitment. What is the take-away for us? This message was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday January 1, 2023.

We take a look at three stories that Luke 8 provides that display Jesus' power and authority: over the physical realm, over the spiritual realm, and over disease and physical death. This message was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday November 20, 2022.

We look at the well-known parable of the Seeds & the Sower. "Why do you teach in parables?" the disciples asked him. Jesus' answer was a bit surprising: "To conceal the truth!" We'll examine that perplexing purpose as well as the responsibility we have to not only be hearers but also doers of the word. Finally, we'll look at an amazing new concept that Jesus presented to his listeners: "the Family of God". This message was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday November 13, 2022.

Jesus was preaching and telling the good news of the Kingdom of God. What is it about God's Kingdom that makes it good news for us? Today we look at three ways that the Kingdom of God is truly good news for us. This sermon was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday November 6, 2022.

Jesus accepts a Pharisee's invitation to dinner, but things take a dramatic turn when an uninvited woman shows up at the table. What follows is real-life dinner theater with these featured roles: the Separatist, the Sinner, the Savior, and a group we'll call the Supper Club.

Luke 7 provides us with three instances of Jesus showing compassion: A foreigner, a grieving mother, and a prophet who was struggling with his faith. We learn that God shows mercy to the merciful and that when a person places their faith in him it will always move his compassionate heart; God has compassion on those who are in great need; and God even has compassion on those who are struggling in their faith. Jesus IS God's compassion in action. ‌ ‌

This is a tale of two Israels: An apostate unbelieving Israel that was cut off from God's blessings when they rejected his Messiah and a faithful remnant-Israel who embraced the Savior and entered into blessing. How is the faithful remnant to relate to each other in the kingdom? How is the faithful Israel of God to relate to those on the outside of the kingdom? And how are they to distinguish one from the other? These questions and more will be explored in this episode. This message was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday October 16, 2022.

We have seen Jesus speak and act with authority in the preceding chapter of Luke's gospel. Now Luke shows us seven ways that Jesus claimed authority over proclaiming God's Kingdom, calling people into it, making the unclean clean, forgiving sins, inviting sinners into fellowship, declaring the forms of the old arrangement (the old covenant law of Moses) to be inadequate for kingdom life, and even authority to alter the old arrangement's forms so as to make a new arrangement between God and humanity that is suitable for life in the Kingdom of God.

When Jesus spoke, people recognized that there was something different. What was it? It was the authoritative way that he proclaimed God's kingdom. Jesus spoke with authority. But there was more. He backed up his words with his deeds. Jesus acted with authority. Today we will be looking at Jesus' authority - in word and in deed.

We conclude our study of 1 Corinthians in this episode. Paul shares his parting thoughts in his letter to the Corinthian Church, and we consider the blessing of being IN Christ... IN the family of God as opposed to the cursed condition of being OUTSIDE of Christ and OUTSIDE the family of God. THis message was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday, September 18, 2022.

We look at Paul's plans for travel and ministry and notice that there are seven key principles in his ministry objectives... principles that we, too, would do well to apply in our lives and our ministries to others as we serve the Lord. This message was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday, September 11, 2022.

We take a look at Paul's special project: the Jerusalem Relief Aid Project. He saw it as a way to bring Jewish and Gentile believers together in love. We will look at the Kingdom principles that govern Christian giving. This really ISN'T another sermon on tithing! This message was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday, September 4, 2022.

The Apostle Paul uses both natural revelation (What can Nature teach us?) and special revelation (What has God taught us through his prophets and apostles?) to answer some questions about the resurrection and the resurrection body. This message was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday, August 28, 2022.

Paul brings up two instances that simply wouldn't make sense if we didn't hold as essential doctrine that the dead are raised. Then he points out the logical conclusion of NOT believing that the dead are raised. Following Paul's reasoning, the bottom line is this: Doctrine matters! Our belief drives our behavior. This message was originally given at Memory Chapel on Sunday, August 21, 2022.