June 18, 2017: Matthew 1:18-25: The Simple, Godly Man - Father's Day 2017

Sunday morning we celebrated Father's Day by looking at Matthew 1:18-25. Below you will find the audio and notes from that sermon.

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. ²⁰ But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” ²² Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” ²⁴ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, ²⁵ but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

Audio
Notes


For more:
May 14, 2017 | Proverbs 31: The Value of a Godly Woman
May 8, 2016 | Genesis 1-3 - Dad as Priest-King: Why Being a Man is High Calling From God
May 10, 2015 | 1 Samuel 1:1-20 - Mother's Day 2015
Worship Minimovie: A Very Special Mommy

Worship Minimovie: Hi Mom!

The funniest part is that the kid plays for the Wildcats and he's playing in the national championship. Hilarious!

May 14, 2017 | Proverbs 31: The Value of a Godly Woman

Sunday morning we celebrated Mother's Day by looking at Proverbs 31:10-31.

¹⁰ An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
¹¹ The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
¹² She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
¹³ She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.
¹⁴ She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.
¹⁵ She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
¹⁸ She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.
²⁰ She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
²¹ She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
²⁶ She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
²⁷ She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
²⁹ “Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
³¹ Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.

Audio
Notes



For more:
May 14, 2017 | Proverbs 31: The Value of a Godly Woman
May 8, 2016 | Genesis 1-3 - Dad as Priest-King: Why Being a Man is High Calling From God
May 10, 2015 | 1 Samuel 1:1-20 - Mother's Day 2015
Worship Minimovie: A Very Special Mommy

Worship Minimovie: The Reality of the Resurrection

Worship Minimovie: 99 Balloons

Worship Minimovie: Sanctity of Life Sunday

Worship Minimovie: A Very Special Beginning

Due to technical difficulties, we didn't get to show the following minimovie Sunday morning. Here it is anyway.

December 21, 2016 | Luke 1:24-38 - Nothing is Impossible With God: What the Incarnation Tells Us About Salvation

Yesterday evening we had our annual Christmas candlelight service. Here is the sermon/devotion from that service taken from Luke 1:24-38.

²⁴ After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, ²⁵ “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.”

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; ³³ and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” ³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Audio

May 8, 2016 | Genesis 1-3 - Dad as Priest-King: Why Being a Man is High Calling From God

Here is the sermon from Mother's Day taken from Genesis 1-3 looking at Adam.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; ³⁰ and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. ³¹ God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Audio
Notes


For more:
May 10, 2015 | 1 Samuel 1:1-20 - Mother's Day 2015
Worship Minimovie: A Very Special Mommy

March 25, 2016 | John 19:28: The Word of Suffering

On Good Friday I was given the opportunity to speak at Farmdale Baptist Church at a community worship service that featured seven speakers each addressing one of the seven final sayings of Jesus from the cross. I was given the fifth saying, "I thirst" from John 19:28. The sermon is only eleven minutes long. You will find it below. To listen to all seven of the sermons, click here.

²⁸ After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, *said, “I am thirsty.”

Audio
Notes


For more:
March 27, 2016 | John 20:19-31 - Doubting Thomas?: Why Thomas' Faith is stronger than most on Easter Sunday - Easter 2016
April 5, 2015 | Zechariah 3:1-10 - Easter 2015
Ravi Zacharias' 12 Arguments For the Historicity of the Resurrection
5 Books on the Cross and Resurrection

March 27, 2016 | John 20:19-31 - Doubting Thomas?: Why Thomas' Faith is stronger than most on Easter Sunday - Easter 2016

Here is the sermon from the morning Easter worship service taken from John 20:19-31.

¹⁹ So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” ²² And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

²⁴ But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then He *said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” ²⁸ Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

³⁰ Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Audio
Notes


For more:
April 5, 2015 | Zechariah 3:1-10 - Easter 2015
Ravi Zacharias' 12 Arguments For the Historicity of the Resurrection
5 Books on the Cross and Resurrection

Worship Minimovie: Christmas According to Children

Here is the worship minimovie from Sunday evening.

Worship Minimovie: Good News Scale

Here is the worship minimovie from Sunday morning.

December 20, 2015 | Matthew 2:13-15; Hosea 11:1-11

Here is the sermon from Sunday evening taken from Matthew 2:13-15 and Hosea 11:1-11. Matthew claims that Hosea 11 is a prophecy about the birth narrative of Jesus. As we see in the sermon below, it is prophetic, but its a different type of prophecy.

¹³ Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord *appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”

¹⁴ So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. ¹⁵ He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Audio
Notes


For more:
December 20, 2015 | Micah 5:1-6
December 13, 2015 | Isaiah 9:1-7

December 20, 2015 | Micah 5:1-6

Below you will find the sermon links from yesterday morning taken from Micah 5:1-6.

“Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;
They have laid siege against us;
With a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek.
² “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
³ Therefore He will give them up until the time
When she who is in labor has borne a child.
Then the remainder of His brethren
Will return to the sons of Israel.
⁴ And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.
⁵ This One will be our peace.
When the Assyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.
⁶ They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of Nimrod at its entrances;
And He will deliver us from the Assyrian
When he attacks our land
And when he tramples our territory.

Audio
Notes


For more:
December 13, 2015 | Isaiah 9:1-7

Why the "X" in Xmas is not an Anti-Christmas Conspiracy

Every year I am inevitably asked the same question: what's with abbreviating Christmas to "Xmas?" There are usually two types of people who ask this question. On the one hand is the conspirator who assumes that "Xmas" is a secular coo against Christ. On the other hand is the confused who simply wonder why anyone would abbreviate "Christ" with a simple "X."

Good news American Christians, the abbreviation is not that big of a deal.

The Greek word for "Christ" is christos. The first letter of christos is the Greek letter chi which is transliterated into the English letters "ch." The chi itself looks like an English "X." Christians would often abbreviate christos with the Greek letter chi. A good example of this would be the Chi-Rho monogram which was a type of cross with the first two letters of christos - the chi and the rho. A picture of the Chi-Rho Monogram is available below.

Another example would be the ichthus. The word "ichthus" is Greek meaning "fish." Christians turned it into an acronym with each Greek letter representing something about Christ. The iota ("i") meaning "Jesus," the chi (ch) meaning "Christ," the theta ("th") meaning God, the upsilon ("u") meaning "son," and the sigma ("s") meaning Savior.

This brings us back to "Xmas." What appears to be the English letter "X" is actually a Greek chi which has a sacred history of being an abbreviation for "Christ" Thus, "Xmas" is short for "Christmas." Christ, therefore, has not been taken out of Christmas nor is this a secular, anti-Christian attack on Christmas. Abbreviating Christmas does not make one less a Christian or anti-Christmas anymore than abbreviating any other word. The chi is a reminder that Christmas is about the incarnation of God who condescended himself as a man in order to save mankind. The confusion over "Xmas" is not part of the so-called War on Christmas (or Xmas if you so desire).

There is a bigger issue here.All around us are people lost without the gospel. Many bible-believing, Jesus-worshipping, church-going Christians will fight against the secularism of Christmas, yet at the same time do not know the spiritual state or needs of their neighbors. Jesus is more offended by our lack of missional obedience than he is how we write "Christmas" on our cards. He cares more about the truth of the incarnation and the power of the cross than he does about more trivial matters. He cares more about the heart of the Target cashier than whether or not she uttered the words "Merry Christmas" as opposed to "Happy Holidays."


For more:
Advent: God With Us 
Odd Thomas - The Incarnation (Spoken Word)
An Anti-Santy Ranty: A Moralistic God vs. the God in the Manger
Happy RamaHanuKwanzMas

December 13, 2015 | Isaiah 9:1-7

Here is the sermon from Sunday morning taken from Isaiah 9:1-7:

But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

² The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
³ You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
⁴ For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
⁵ For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
⁶ For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Audio
Notes

Worship Minimovie: God With Us

Here is the worship minimovie from Sunday morning. It is one of my personal favorites.


Advent: God With Us from The Village Church on Vimeo.

Worship Minimovie: Christmas Chaos

Here is the worship minimovie from Sunday evening.

June 21, 2015 | 1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12 - Father's Day 2015

Here is the audio from this past Sunday where we celebrated Father's Day by discussing 1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12.

As David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, ² “I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. ³ Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, ⁴ so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

¹⁰ Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. ¹¹ The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. ¹² And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

Audio
Notes


For more:
May 10, 2015 | 1 Samuel 1:1-20 - Mother's Day 2015
Worship Minimovie: A Very Special Daddy
Worship Minimovie: A Very Special Mommy