Salem Evangelical Free Church of Fargo Moorhead: Sermons

When we live in a world of busyness and noise, we become starved for solitude and silence whether we may realize it or not. Intentionally removing ourselves from interactions with other people and the noise of the world to create time alone with God and quiet to hear His voice, we feed our soul.

We study and meditate on God's word, for it reminds us that our identity and purpose in this life are rooted in God's deep sacrificial love for us.

As powerful and wonderful as God's grace is, it's pretty easy to drift from it. As Peter ends his letter to those exiled and suffering, he calls us back to true grace and to stand firm in it.

Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between fiction and reality. But a godly church knows who the real enemy is…Satan. And he is out to devour.

The church is designed to be a humble community, led by humble leaders, who follow Christ's example. Why? Because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

The youth bring a challenge to raise the bar in your walk with the Lord.

Suffering for proclaiming Jesus or following Jesus can be exhausting and painful, but eternal victory awaits. Suffering forces us to refocus on the eternal rewards, rather than the problems of our current circumstances.

The resurrection in the central defining event of the Christian faith. It not only provides us with eternal life, it gives us new life now. As a part of God's family, we have new purpose, new perspective, and new priorities.

Suffering as a Christian is unavoidable. While challenging in many aspects, the aim of 3:18-22 is to bring hope. To remind us that Jesus is vindicated, and so are we.

Scripture reminds us to be prepared to give an answer, or make a defense, to anyone who asks about our faith. Are you prepared? Are you living differently enough that others notice and ask?

Most people know physical retaliation doesn't resolve conflict. And yet we seldomly realize how powerful our words really are. Christ set an example to follow: We are not to curse, but rather to bless. In so doing, we invite people into a life of flourishing.

Marriage in Peter's day looked a lot different than today, but something that spans across time is that healthy marriages are patterned after the example of Christ.

Our obedience honors God because non-believers are observing how Christians respond to authority.

As a part of our new Christ-identity, Peter reminds us that we are called to grow into Christlikeness and to proclaim his great news, which in the end will bring God glory.

The author ties together Hope and Holiness - reminding us that we are called to be different because God himself is different.

Do we realize how much we've been forgiven? When we recognize how forgiven we are, we can more fully take in how deeply we are also loved.

There's no avoiding suffering in life, but how we respond to our trials will either shape us in good ways or for the worse.

We all endure trials and suffering. God's word reminds us that no matter how hard they may be, there is always joy in our salvation, which means we can have joy in all things.

The moment you receive Christ, is the moment you become an exile. And we are exiles, because we were chosen.

Really loving someone is one of the hardest things we can ever do, because it goes against some of the deepest fibers in our being. But because of Christ's extravagant love, we can love others genuinely.

Fruits of the Spirit show my maturity, while gifts of the Spirit reveal my ministry. As we grow closer to Jesus and experience His love at deeper levels, we grow in the fruits of the Spirit. Nobody can do what God has uniquely created you to do, with your spiritual gifts. Pastor Ken referenced a free online spiritual gifts test in his message, and you can take that test here: https://giftstest.com/

How are you going to live, when you recognize the sacrifice of Christ for you?

We don't want Christmastime to be just another event in the year, or to miss the majesty in the midst of the magical. As we head into the new year, we can ask ourselves: What is my distress? Who am I choosing to trust? What am I celebrating most? Asking these three questions will help cultivate thankfulness.

Is it possible we might just be going through the motions concerning Christmas? The problem might be that our view of Christmas is too small... which means that our view of Christ is too small.

Faith in Jesus must be grounded in a proper understanding and acknowledgment of who He truly is. What do you think about the Christ?

When we're forced to wait, we feel an intensity because we have to surrender control. But in Psalm 40, David reminds us we can wait patiently for the LORD, because despite our desperate situation, there is deliverance in Jesus. 

God created the enormous heavens and mysterious earth. He saw mankind, He sees you, He sees each of us throughout all time, and sent His only Son to be born in a humble stable. Jesus died on the cross for each of us, because God loves us.

The Heavenly King and Royal Son, and the HOPE of Christ this Advent season.

As we wrap up Daniel, we find more details about the challenges that lay ahead for Christians. No matter the chaos, we continue to hold firm to our belief in Jesus, because our future hope is built on all that Jesus accomplished and will continue to accomplish for us.

Chapters 7-12 take the thrust of chapters 1-6 and put them into fresh perspective. But the message is the same: God is sovereign and we can have hope! But even when God lays out the future, like Daniel, we often still have doubts. The beauty is that those doubts don't have to hinder us from living faithfully and joyfully. 

Our God delivers us from evil, delivers on his promises, delivers love and provision, delivers us the Way, the Truth and the Life through Jesus and he rescues us from ourselves, rescues us from evil. This doesn't mean that God will rescue us from every danger or every evil, but he delivers and rescues us from the things that separate us from him and his perfect love.

It takes only 31 verses in Aramaic to describe the events leading up to the fall of the Babylonian empire. The LORD weighed him out and found him lacking. As a result of the king's pride and mockery his days were numbered and his kingdom divided. But the same judgment against the king is the same judgment we each face apart from Christ. For we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). While in Daniel God reveals great mysteries, we are reminded that the greatest mystery ever revealed - whether past, present, or future - is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God is full of both grace and truth. His desire for us to be drawn near to Him and to be loved by Him. Yet, as King Nebuchadnezzar learns, we are called to be humble before God.

Christians are pressured to conform to the culture of the world, every day. How might your commitment to God be a witness to others where you live, work, study, and play?

Some things may seem impossible, while still some things actually are impossible. The good news is that there is a God who reveals mysteries and makes the impossible possible. The greatest of which is human salvation.

The story of Daniel beings with God allowing the unthinkable to happen: an exile. For us, life in a dominating culture teaches us a valuable lesson...that wherever our conviction stops is ultimately what or who we'll conform to.

Paul reminds us how much joy there is in the ministry of reconciliation. But he also reminds us that our job is not to be impressive. Our job is simply to point people to the one who is: Jesus.

We are all disciples of someone or something. The question is whether or not we are being intentionally formed into Jesus.

Though Jesus' strategy was simple (Be with - Be sent), it takes a lot of intentionality.

Our vision at Salem is to build a disciple-multiplying culture, because more than anything, we value Jesus.

This week we invite our entire church to fast and prayer around our Vision.

So often religion is about achieving, but real faith is one that would trade everything for Jesus.

As Christians we are called to seek the things that are above, which includes celebrating the diversity of God's people.

God created us to work. But because of sin, it's only by the power of the gospel, through the work of the Holy Spirit, that we can work heartily for God.

The gospel of Jesus Christ impacts every aspect of our lives. The imprint of a Biblical worldview is evident in the origins of the science historically, and the opportunity for a Christian to pursue science as an act of obedience to the cultural mandate, and an opportunity to cooperate with God as stewards of His world.

The gospel promises eternal life. But it's also an invitation to participate in the redemption and flourishing of all creation.

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We live in a world that's far too easy to exchange one "good news" for another, but the gospel must be the defining good news for those who believe.

Jesus alone is life: completely, truthfully, and victoriously.

What step of faith can you take today, trusting in God?

Can you trust God to stick the landing?