Tri-State Community Church - Sermons

Life is full of decisions and these decisions turn into plans. As image bearers of God we were created to think, reason, and plan. And this is something we do constantly. In this message, Pastor Rick Anderson takes us through Proverbs 16:1-9 to show us the relationship between our plans and God's sovereignty and how we should approach our thinking, reasoning, and planning before our sovereign God.

Sociologists are telling us that Americans are afraid of more things and they are more afraid of those things than they have been in the past. And this resonates with what we see in our culture so we are not surprised by these findings. In this message, taking a large leaf out of John Flavel's work on fear, we begin to explore how we are to navigate through our fear.

The German Reformer, Martin Luther wrote these words concerning Psalm 118: “This is my own beloved psalm. Although the entire Psalter and all of Holy Scripture are dear to me as my only comfort and source of life, I fell in love with this psalm especially. Therefore I call it my own. When emperors and kings, the wise and the learned, and even saints, could not aid me, this psalm proved a friend and helped me out of many great troubles... Would to God that all the world would claim this psalm for its own, as I do!' In this message, Pastor Rick Anderson first breaks the psalm into digestible sections, then briefly explains each of these sections with the eye of showing how this psalm looked forward to Christ and how it applies to us today. It is our prayer that this psalm become your loving friend and aid as well!

This morning we come to Luke 19:28-48 in order to consider what the church has historically called Palm Sunday. This event is of great significance for in it, Jesus, conscientiously and deliberately fulfills the then 500 year old prophecy spoken by Zechariah. In this message, Pastor Rick Anderson takes us through both the broader context of Luke as well as the context of the Old Testament in order to show the amazing significance of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.

In 1 John 2:15-17 John gives us this imperative: “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” This passage has been often misinterpreted and misapplied to great harm. In this message, Pastor Rick Anderson first shows John's method in bringing us to this imperative and then shows some misinterpretations and misapplications of it. From there we look at the verse more closely defining what John means by the word “world” and the word “desires” to show how this text is deeply penetrating. The message concludes by asking and answering how to overcome loving the world.

If you have read John's first letter then you have probably been puzzled by his use of “children, fathers, and young men” in chapter two, verses twelve through fourteen. Who is John speaking to? Who are the children, fathers, and young men? And why is John repeating himself? In this message, pastor Rick Anderson takes up these questions to show that something very powerful and pastoral is going on here—something that can give the true believer great confidence in his or her salvation.

In our passage John mentions an old commandment and a new commandment. Something has happened. Something that has powerfully transformed the old into the new. In this message, Pastor Rick Anderson explains John's meaning and its implications, namely, that the true church is to be wonderfully loving because it has been transformed by and reflects the very love of Christ.

When we think of the phrase "the love of God perfected" we may be inclined to think of mountaintop experiences, warm fuzzy feelings or even ecstatic emotions. In this message Pastor Rick Anderson takes us through John's words in order to discover what this great truth describes and how it wonderfully applies to all the faithful followers of Christ.

In 1 John 2:1-2, John introduces the word "advocate." In this message, Pastor Rick Anderson takes us through several questions: 1) what is an advocate 2) who is our advocate 3) what is the scope of His Advocacy 4) why does it matter?

The Real Deal // 1 John 2:1a by Tri-State Community Church

This message begins with three "flyovers" which set us up to understand the Psalm from our side of the resurrection of Jesus. From there we look at each verse in order to gain a working understanding of the message of Psalm 2. The fruit of this understanding is the wonderful news that our Psalm 1 Messiah is our Psalm 2 King!

The aim of this message is: 1) to explain the many metaphors and terms in the psalm 2) answer the question, "Who is the man in which Psalm 1 is referencing 3) show how Psalm 1 proclaims the gospel and empowers us to become Psalm 1 men and women.

The Son who is promised in this great verse is a human born just like any other human. But our text also informs us He is to be called Mighty God. Herein is the great gospel truth that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. In this message we gaze at what the bible says about Christ as Mighty God: He is Mighty to create, Mighty to Re-create, Mighty to Save, and Mighty to Keep.

In this message we continue our study of this great passage. After a period of deep darkness, Isaiah speaks of a coming light--a Great Light. This Great Light will dispel the tyranny and oppression of this world and the spiritual forces of darkness imprisoning it. This joy and deliverance comes because "to us a child is born, to us a Son is given. This Son is the light of the world who will dispel the darkness and bring to us peace. This Child is Jesus. He is wonderful. He is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace."

At the start this message may sound like a history lesson but what we have is a great anecdote to the increasing fear and anxiety which abounds today. As we look at the ancient history we see many parallels to our own time and more importantly, we see God's very own cure for this age old problem.

This message continues where last week's left off, namely, in verse 6 where we saw that walking in darkness is walking in the realm or kingdom of darkness. From this kingdom there can be no holistic fellowship with God. In this message we consider John's contrast, namely, walking in the light. Walking in the light is walking in the realm or kingdom of light. This contrast has led some to conclude the Christian should walk in sinless perfection. While that is attractive it is impossible in this life. Because of its historic popularity in the Ohio Valley we spend some time with it concluding with some remarks on what it is to walk in the light.

When John says, "if we say we have fellowship with God but walk in darkness we lie and do not practice the truth," who is he referring to? The false teachers? Antinomians? Nominal Christians? True believers who have sinned? True believers with besetting sins? True believers who have fallen into a pattern of sin? All the above? If yes to all the above, can the true believer lose fellowship with God? In this message we answer this important query.

In 1 John 1:5, John begins to share the message he had heard and proclaimed. As others have pointed out, one of the great lessons of verse 5 is found in John's starting point. We may have expected John to begin with the love of God. But instead, John begins with the character of God. In this message, Rick Anderson develops John's starting point, shows the implications of it for evangelism, shows how it leads us to ask the right questions, and finally, how it helps us face difficulties and tragedies.

Last time we began to look at the amazing subject of fellowship with God, and we began by looking at this fellowship from God's side of the relationship. In this message, Paster Rick Anderson continues the discussion on fellowship with God, this time looking at this fellowship from our side of the relationship.

Earlier in this study it was argued that the heart or essence of the Christian faith is fellowship with God. In this message Pastor Rick Anderson digs a little deeper into this fellowship by looking at what this fellowship is from God's side of the relationship. The answers are absolutely staggering and uplifting.

As wonderful as it is, the purpose of Jesus' earthly ministry goes far beyond forgiveness of sins. There is an inherent danger today of stopping too early and seeing forgiveness of sins as the essence of the Christian faith. In this message, Rick Anderson shows us the true essence of the Christian faith is fellowship with God.

This week we begin a new series in John's first letter. The opening verses of this short letter are lofty. And in order to begin to appreciate the loftiness of these verses we begin by looking at some introductory material--things that had we been part of the original audience we would have known. From there we look at the amazing fact that the "word of life" has appeared and the apostles bear witness to it!

In this series, we have been looking at who God is and what He has done. So far we have looked at the Father and the Son. In this message we now turn to the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

In this series, we have been looking at who God is and what He has done. And for most of us, if not all of us, we first learn about who God is by learning what He has done, namely, what He has done on the cross. On the cross, Jesus, the Son of God, suffered. He was buried and on the third day He rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father in absolute authority. He shall come again in glory to judge both the living and the dead. And His kingdom shall endure forever. In this glorious kingdom there shall be neither tears nor suffering nor evil of any kind but only perfect love in the visible presence of the Lord!

In this message our discussion of the Trinity continues. After a brief review, we look at three things: 1) The Son of God is indeed very God of very God 2) all these blessing have come down to us from heaven 3) how God has chosen to experience human suffering in the person of Christ. This third point has huge ramifications in: 1) our understanding of the love of God displayed at the cross 2) counseling one another 3) putting the problem of evil in perspective.

In this message we begin to move into the heart of one of the most complex doctrines of the faith--the Holy Trinity. We begin by looking at a New Testament pattern expressed by the common phrase, "God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." And from there we begin a discussion on the phrase "only-begotten". The purpose of this is to go deeper in our understanding of who God is so that our worship of Him is deepened.

Having invested a couple of weeks on the importance of the historic creeds and confessions, this week we begin to look at what the church has historically called the Nicene Creed. We begin by offering a thumbnail sketch of the historic context of the creed. There we see its importance for worship, salvation, and our understanding of who God is. Then we look at how to properly use the Creed in the context of the teaching ministry of the church. And finally, we look at the first article of the creed.

This message continues the discussion of the importance of Creeds and Confessions, this time centering Paul's Pastoral Letters.

Recently I was reminded how vast the bible is. This reminder came as I gave a bible to a person whom I had just spent about an hour sharing the gospel with. I was also reminded how important the creeds of Church history are: The Nicene Creed, the Apostles Creed. And also, our historic confessions. For these documents lay out the clear teaching of Scripture. They have been examined for hundreds of years by the church and they clearly state what the church has historically believed. Unfortunately, many have abandoned these important statements of faith and the results have been disastrous. In this message, I begin to demonstrate how important these documents are to the health and stability of the believer in Christ. My prayer is you will benefit greatly from this study series. Pastor Rick Anderson.

Psalm 24 raises two questions: "Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? Who shall stand in His holy place?" The answer, "He who has a pure heart." This immediately leads us to another question. We do not have pure hearts so how can we ever brought favorably into God's holy presence? In this message Pastor Rick answers this important question from the text of Psalm 24.

Psalm 23 is one of the most popular and beloved psalms in the entire psalter. And it contains some of the best known verses in all of the Bible. "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." In this message, Rick Anderson takes us through this great psalm with the purpose of encouraging and strengthening our faith and confidence in the Lord our Great Shepherd.

As we walk with the Lord through this earthly pilgrimage we will go through seasons of great difficulty. And in the midst of this difficulty we may even find a period of time where it seems as though the Lord is absent--absent in terms of answering our cries. What do we do? In this message Rick Anderson shows us how Psalm 22 guides us through these difficult seasons.

This message is part two of the previous message in Psalm 20 and that is because Psalm 21 is immediately connected to the prayer of Psalm 20. In this message, Rick Anderson begins by reviewing Psalm 20 and from there discusses a historical example from Isaiah 36-37 where the principles of Psalm 20 were employed. This helps us "get into" Psalm 21. From there we begin to see that Psalms 20 and 21 form a team that powerfully works against our common anxiety in order to bring us to a place of security in Christ.

As we turn to Psalm 20 we find the psalmist in the "day of trouble." As we have discussed in earlier messages, this is a common occurrence in the psalms. But each psalm makes its own contribution and Psalm 20 is no exception. In this message, Rick Anderson takes us through Psalm 20 to show its contribution to God's overall message and how it is exceptionally relevant to the spiritual battles we face today.

In this message on Psalm 19, Rick Anderson takes us through four important and amazing truths: 1) God has made Himself known though what He has made 2) God has more accurately made Himself known through His word 3) the value of His word 4) what our response should be.

Psalm 19 by Tri-State Community Church

Psalm 17 by Tri-State Community Church

The subject of prayer is a vast subject but it is also a subject that can yield feelings of guilt and inadequacy. When you read books about people who regularly spent hours in prayer each day and you attempt to rise up to this the results can be oppressive. Or you read the prayers of those who have come before us you can easily conclude “I cannot speak like this. I cannot even think of all of these things. This is something that only certain people can do, it is out of my reach.” In this two-part message, Rick Anderson, takes us through Psalm 17 where we discover five important and motivating truths that can help us in our time spent with God in prayer—whether it be five minutes or two hours!

One of the key words of Psalm 16 is the word “preserve.” David prays, “Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge.” In this message, Rick Anderson explains each verse of this precious psalm and shows how the idea of preservation is at the heart of this sacred word.

Who shall live in the presence of God? That is the question Psalm 15 takes up. Its answer can be summarize by the words “he who walks blamelessly.” At first glance that doesn't seem like good news. But as the Psalm is studied something absolutely beautiful emerges. In this message, Rick Anderson takes us through this study to see not only the beauty of it but also the magnificence of its promise for us as followers of Jesus.

Here is a three word question with profound importance: Who are we? Improperly or inadequately answered and what Jesus has done on the cross makes no sense or worse, becomes irrelevant. In this message from Psalm 14, Pastor Rick Anderson answers this question and in doing so exposes the profound importance of what Jesus has done.

Regardless of whether we have embraced Christianity or not the words “how long” are very recognizable and meaningful. And in the Christian life, we will face trying seasons where God's answer to our prayers are seemingly absent. What do we do as followers of Christ when no relief is in view? When God is seemingly silent? In this message, Rick Anderson answers this question from Psalm 13.

In Psalm 12, David calls on the Lord to save from the widespread lies and flattery that abounded everywhere in his day. Moving to our own time we all recognize we also live in a time of widespread deception. Can the garden survive when it is totally overrun with the weeds of lies and manipulation? In this message, after developing both the danger of deception and common types of deception, Rick Anderson answers this question from Psalm 12.

In ancient times the city had walls that were carefully constructed to protect it from invasion. In the event of war, the walls would be the last thing to protect the city from their enemy. In the same way, we have enjoyed freedom to proclaim the Word of God in this country. Freedom protected by the walls of freedom of religion and speech. What happens when these walls come down? In this message, Rick Anderson develops this important question and explains six important truths that strengthen our faith when the walls come down.

As we follow the Lord there are two things we need to keep worked out in our minds and hearts: God's promises and His timing. In our frailty, God's timing, especially if it is delayed, can cause us to weaken in our conviction of His promises. In this message, Rick Anderson explains how the psalmist has struggled through this common pitfall and how the psalmist prayerfully prevailed. In following the psalmist we can also prevail through these difficult seasons growing stronger in the Lord.

In the midst of one of the most terrifying attributes of God is a wonder that is beyond comprehension. The Bible is abundantly clear God is a righteous judge and that is terrifying—if we haven't found it to be frightening we have not come to grips with it yet. But Psalm 9 teaches us that God is a Sovereign Judge who is both an Advocate and a Refuge for all who know His name and put their trust in Him. To know His name is to know He is holy and compassionate and that He calls all people to repent and trust in Him. In this message, Rick Anderson labors to show that as we trust in Lord, the Sovereign Judge not only becomes a refuge but also an advocate!

Psalm 8 has had an interesting history. It has been described as being about human dignity. It has also been described as being about human insignificance! What the Psalm is really about is the majesty or excellence of the Lord. In this message, Rick Anderson shows how man, though insignificant in himself, is nevertheless given unspeakable dignity by the Lord. And how the Lord, through the instrumentality of human weakness, has restored this unspeakable dignity. Psalm 8 is a shock to the egocentric and a wonder to the humble but, most importantly, it is truly awe-inspiring to all who receive it in faith. O LORD our Lord, how majestic is Your Name!

Galatians 6:9-10 by Tri-State Community Church

Galatians 6:7-8 by Tri-State Community Church

Galatians 6:6-10 by Tri-State Community Church

Isaiah 11:1-9 by Tri-State Community Church