Is It Really All Vanity? (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11)

The book of Ecclesiastes does not start with the greatest encouragement by telling us that life is all vanity.  This really does sound like some sort of skeptic who has given up on life.  However, this book is in our Bible, and I believe it should be in our Bible so it is doubtful that the author is a hopeless cynic. What are we missing if we think that this is just a hopeless book?  Why would we want to follow along with the preacher on his quest for wisdom?  What does this introduction to this sermon tell us about the preacher’s quest for wisdom?

Your Kingdom Come (Matthew 6:10; LD 48)

When you read the Old Testament one of the great hopes is that when the Messiah arrives the kingdom will be fully established.  It is clear that when Christ walks this earth that the kingdom of God is at hand, but there is still something that is not finished.  If the kingdom has come with Christ entering history then why do we pray, “Your Kingdom Come” if that kingdom is already here?  How can we rest in Christ’s work if the kingdom is not fully here as Israel expected?

Desiring the Greater Gift (Philippians 4:14-23)

So, Paul wraps up this letter to the Philippian church.  What is the final desire that Paul has for them?  What is the thing that Paul wants this church to know if they never meet each other again?  What is the ultimate comfort that we take from this letter?  Does Paul want them to know that he is thankful for them giving him an offering or is Paul calling their attention beyond his ministry and their offering to him? 

Hallowed Be Your Name (Luke 11:2; LD 47)

Normally our second sermon would be posted to the web this morning, but due to technical issues the second sermon did not get recorded.  We apologize for the inconvenience, but normally they will be posted on Wednesday and Friday mornings each week. 

UPDATE:  We got the file off the CD.  Here is the evening sermon from last week.  

The Lord’s prayer teaches us that we are to pray for all things Spiritual and physical.  It is interesting that as we pray for all we need physically and spiritually that there is no request in the Lord’s prayer for our sanctification.  This is strange considering that we are called to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord and conform to Him.  So, why is it that we are not to ask for the grace to conform, but only that the Lord’s name is made Holy?  He is God and the absolute standard of Holiness.  So, why would we ask a Holy God to be Holy when we need to be made holy?

Growing Pains (Job 42:1-9; Philippians 4:10-13)

It is wonderful that Christians want to grow in grace and grow in conformity to the Lord.  We should all desire to grow in the Lord.  One of the things that is interesting is that Paul knows two things, but he knows these things because he has learned.  How does this learning testify to the growing pains of conforming to the Lord?  What is the benefit of enduring these pains?

Our Father in Heaven (Matthew 6:9, LD 46)

The thought of God being in heaven makes the Lord sound distant, uncaring, and completely unreachable.  However, Christ teaches us to pray addressing our Father in heaven.  Calling attention to God being in heaven is something that is good and positive.  How can you Father being so far away be something that is also positive?  How does God’s abode in heaven encourage us to know that He has not forgotten about us? 

How Can We Always Rejoice? (Philippians 4:4-9)

When we face challenges in life it is easy to complain about challenges.  I doubt that the first thing we think in our minds is that we just rejoice in the midst trials.  On the one hand rejoice in trials might just make a mockery of the common curse of this age.  On the other hand it might just dismiss the seriousness and the struggle of the trial.  So, how can Paul command us to rejoice in the midst of trials?  How can we rejoice always without being superficial regarding life’s challenges? 

Is Wisdom Really the Answer? (James 1:5-8; LD 45)

When we face trials in this age the last word we think to describe them is, “joy.”  When we face those trials we generally pray for strength, healing, grace, or any of the above.  However, James tells us to ask for wisdom.  Why would we want wisdom to get through a trial?  I thought wisdom was the thing that you gained after a trial. 

Living in the Peace of the Gospel (Philippians 4:1-3)

When we think about ethic we turn to passages in scripture that tend to be more ethical.  What if we thought of Philippians as being a book that has many rich gospel truths that lead up to the reconciliation of two sisters?  How do the ethics of the resurrection impact our daily life?  How does the ethic of the cross impact our life as we go through this age? 

Happy Slaves (Philippians 1:1,2)

Satan knew that the thought of being a slave is something that is just horrible. The hope that Satan presents to Adam and Eve is that they will not have to submit to the Lord, but they can be their own boss without any enslavement to the Lord. This leads to Adam and Eve to both see that the forbidden tree was pleasing to the eye. Will man ever overcome his desire to usurp God? Why would we want to be servants of the Lord?

Loved in Christ (Philippians 1:3-8)

Adam knew the consequence for rebelling against God would be horrible. This is why Adam and Eve hid in the garden after they sinned against the Lord. It must have been overwhelming for Adam to receive a new garment from God and to realize that Adam would still be in fellowship with the Lord. How does this same joy inform Paul, the Philippian church, and even us today?

Abounding in Christ's Love (Philippians 1:9-11)

When Joseph’s father dies his brothers are concerned about what will happen to them. They sold their brother Joseph into slavery, lied about their actions, and are a cause for Joseph’s hard days in Egypt. So, now that Joseph rises to power what will he do without their father to stand in the way? Why would Joseph let them get away with such horrible actions? Or does Joseph see something that Paul sees while Paul waits for his appeal to Caesar?

Paul’s Ironic Prison Ministry (Philippians 1:12-18)

If you found yourself in prison for the sake of the gospel you would hope that the church and fellow Christians would encourage you. What if they did not encourage you, but rather made your life in prison more challenging? How would you cope? This is what happens to Paul, and so how does he cope with men slandering him while he is in jail for His Lord as Christ’s slave?

Enslaved to Christ (Philippians 1:18-26)

Paul knows that the reality of his appeal could be death. As a Christian there can be a freedom in death because we go to be with the Lord, and the challenges of this life are finished. How can Paul speak about the positives of death, but still be one who desires to live for Christ?

Living as Heavenly Citizens (Philippians 1:27-30)

Sometimes we can read the New Testament letters and think that they are only for the immediate church. Other times we can read the letters and not have any sympathy for the original context always asking what this might mean for me. Why would it matter that Paul was in prison when he writes his letter to the Philippians? How does Paul being in prison make it easier for us to hear Paul exhort us to live as Christian sojourners?

How Can We Complete Paul’s Joy? (Philippians 2:1-4)

When we think about our current Christian context we might think that we are not in as beneficial of a time as the first century church. They were able to receive direct letters from the apostles, but we have to deal with the hand me downs that are ours today. Is it really fair to think that our letters are just hand me downs? How is Paul’s exhortation for the Philippians church to make his joy complete just as forceful and personal today?

(Sorry, but the file got corrupted and the full sermon was not recorded)

Why Worship an Empty God? (Philippians 2:5-8)

The Lord is one who has every right to demand that we live as a servant people counting one another as better than ourselves. We should do this because we are the Lord’s people. However, if we are honest, the motivation of just saying, “Well, God demands it,” does not always motivate us to conform to the Lord. Is there another reason we should want to live as slave people for the Lord? If there is another reason then what is that reason?

Guaranteed Outcome of Humility (Philippians 2:9-11)

The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:32 let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. This is something strange because Paul seems to be encouraging the church a glutinous philosophy that we just live for today and today we live to the fullest. So, why would Paul say such a thing? The reason is that if Christ is not raised from the dead then it means that this life is all we have. So, how do we know that there is more to this life than just eating and drinking? How do we know that our suffering will all be worthwile?