Sermons Archives

Reflections on Jeremiah 29 - Part 6 (April 3, 2008) - This is the final post in our series on Jeremiah 29. You can read parts one, two, three, four, and five if you're just tuning in. The final point is this: God's good plan is to give us more... ( Keep Reading » )

The Fearful-Psalm 56 (April 2, 2008) - This past Sunday I preached on fear in the first message in our series, Psalms: Real Help for Real People. This is the video that introduced the message: I preached from Psalm 56 which says, "When I am afraid, I... ( Keep Reading » )

Reflections on Jeremiah 29 - Part 5 (April 2, 2008) - Continuing in our series on Jeremiah 29, we're learning more about God's good plans for his people. If you need to catch up here are parts one, two, three, and four. Point number five is this...God's good plan includes... ( Keep Reading » )

Reflections on Jeremiah 29 - Part 4 (March 31, 2008) - We've been studying Jeremiah 29 with this series of posts. You can read parts one, two, and three if you need to catch up. God's good plan starts right where we are. A lot of times we think that... ( Keep Reading » )

Reflections on Jeremiah 29—Part 3 (March 27, 2008) - Continuing this series on God's letter to His exiled people in Babylon, recorded in Jeremiah 29. In the first post, we considered the original context of this passage, which is often disregarded despite the popular love for verses 11-13.... ( Keep Reading » )

Reflections on Jeremiah 29—Part 2 (March 26, 2008) - A few days ago, I began a series on God's letter to His exiled people in Babylon, recorded in Jeremiah 29. In the last post, we considered the original context of this passage, which is often disregarded, despite the... ( Keep Reading » )

Reflections on Jeremiah 29—Part 1 (March 21, 2008) - All of Scripture is God's inspired word. We know that every page is profitable for teaching, correcting and training us in righteousness. And yet there are certain sections of Scripture that hold a special place in our hearts. These... ( Keep Reading » )

Sermon Correction (March 15, 2008) - For anyone who heard my sermon on Jeremiah 29:1-14 last Sunday, I need to correct an error in the message. I said that the deportation of 597 B.C. described in Jeremiah 29 was the same that took Daniel to Babylon.... ( Keep Reading » )

Affluenza, Part 7: Rescued from Greed (January 2, 2008) - This is the final installment of our affluenza series, based on a sermon I gave looking at Jesus' parable of the rich fool in Luke 12. Having, in the previous posts, looked at the deception and destruction of greed,... ( Keep Reading » )

Affluenza, Part 6: Spending and Materialism (December 30, 2007) - We continue looking at ways to be vigilant against the deception and destruction of greed, considering Jesus' parable of the rich fool in Luke 12. The last 2 posts of the series suggested we recognize our unique vulnerability, and... ( Keep Reading » )

Affluenza, Part 5: Guarding Against All Kinds of Greed (December 28, 2007) - Today we return to our series on the deceitfulness and destruction of greed, based on Jesus' parable of the rich fool in Luke 12. In the last post, considering how we can be vigilant against greed, I wrote that... ( Keep Reading » )

Affluenza, Part 4: Our Unique Vulnerability (December 19, 2007) - As we have been looking at Jesus' parable of the rich fool in Luke 12 and discussing the deceitfulness of greed and how it ultimately destroys us, let's now look at how we can guard against greed. There are... ( Keep Reading » )

Affluenza, Part 3: Greed Destroys Us (December 17, 2007) - In the last post, looking at Jesus' parable of the rich fool in Luke 12, we considered two things about the deception of greed: that it lies to us, and that it blinds us. Point number three is this:... ( Keep Reading » )

Affluenza, Part 2: The Deception of Greed (December 15, 2007) - As we continue to learn from the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12, let's look at 3 specific points Jesus teaches us in this text about the deceptive work of greed: Number one: Greed lies to us.... ( Keep Reading » )

Affluenza, Part 1: The Real Money Problem (December 14, 2007) - What is "affluenza"? Affluenza is a nifty little word that some clever sociologist created by mixing two different words together. The word affluence means having a great deal of money. Influenza is a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease.... ( Keep Reading » )

Discernment and Ira Glass (July 29, 2007) - A few weeks ago I shared the story of my run-in with Ali G. In this short clip from the same message I illustrate the point that discernment requires resisting the world's way of thinking. I point out that this... ( Keep Reading » )

Discernment and Ali G (July 12, 2007) - Discernment is the ability to distinguish right from wrong, true from false—to "test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil" (1Thess 5:21-22). On the past two Sundays, I've preached on the topic of discernment. In... ( Keep Reading » )

Be Like Zacchaeus (June 22, 2007) - Before we conclude our series on Zacchaeus, I want to take a look back at Luke 18:31. Not long before Zacchaeus encountered Jesus, Jesus took his disciples aside and explained what would happen in Jerusalem. Though his disciples did not... ( Keep Reading » )

Zacchaeus' Savior (June 20, 2007) - With all we've discussed about the example Zacchaeus sets, it's possible for a person to wrongly conclude that Zacchaeus is the hero of this story—that it is his action, his running, his climbing, his repenting, and his giving that saves... ( Keep Reading » )

Zacchaeus Transformed (June 18, 2007) - Jesus makes his way past Zacchaeus' perch and the unthinkable happens. Jesus stops, looks up and calls Zacchaeus. He says in Luke 19:5, "Hurry and come down for I must eat at your house today." Again Zacchaeus serves as example... ( Keep Reading » )

Zacchaeus' Example (June 15, 2007) - If we've rightly understood the character of Zacchaeus, our first thought must be that he can only be a bad example. But that's the surprising twist in this story—a twist that Jesus seems to take particular delight in. He... ( Keep Reading » )

Zacchaeus' Character (June 13, 2007) - To fully grasp the profound nature of Jesus' saving work in Zacchaeus' life, we need to consider what kind of man Zacchaeus was before he met Jesus. In the story, Luke devotes only a few sentences to describing him,... ( Keep Reading » )

A Wee Little Man (June 11, 2007) - Last year, I preached on the story of the day that the wee little man named Zacchaeus met Jesus. Of course, the fact that I preached this story is most appropriate. I am a wee little man myself, and Zacchaeus... ( Keep Reading » )

Why Sacrifice? (May 16, 2007) - This month our church is asking the question, "Why sacrifice?" To sacrifice is to give up something valued to achieve a greater goal. Sacrifice isn't a concept most of us are naturally drawn to. Why give up anything that... ( Keep Reading » )

God Wants Your Heart (May 12, 2007) - Today I'm preparing a sermon about sacrificial giving and living for the sake of advancing the gospel. Our church is focusing on sacrifice as we prepare to give to our "Go Forward Fund." This fund was created to accelerate... ( Keep Reading » )

Removing Obstacles (April 1, 2007) - "The gospel advances when we're more concerned with reaching the lost than protecting our rights." That was the theme of my sermon on 1 Corinthians 9:1-23. Last week, I posted my first point from Paul's example of how to reach... ( Keep Reading » )

Do You Know Them? (March 21, 2007) - The Corinthians of Paul's day were preoccupied with their rights and freedoms. But they weren't really thinking about others. They had knowledge that puffs up, but not love that builds up. In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul taught that the... ( Keep Reading » )

My Rights Box (March 10, 2007) - Everybody has a "rights box." It's represents the stuff I'm allowed to do. It's all that I believe to be permissible, allowable, and perfectly justified within my Christian liberties. In a sense, it's what works for me. But is... ( Keep Reading » )

Holiness Requires Putting On Christ (February 24, 2007) - After a brief break in the series, this is the final post related to cultivating holiness. These are based on Romans 13:11-14:Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation... ( Keep Reading » )

Holiness Requires Putting Off Sin (February 20, 2007) - Today, I continue this series of posts related to my message on cultivating holiness, drawn from Romans 13:11-14: Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to... ( Keep Reading » )

Holiness Requires Urgency (February 17, 2007) - I shared part of the message I did about the importance of not "feeding our flesh." In the same message, there were three other aspects of cultivating holiness that I highlighted. Over the next week I'll share them here. Romans... ( Keep Reading » )

Feeding the Flesh (February 10, 2007) - Recently, I preached from Romans 13:14 which says, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." In my message, I wanted us to consider what "the flesh" is, and how... ( Keep Reading » )

Purity Series (January 26, 2007) - We're now doing a series on purity at Covenant Life. In the last 3 weeks: "God's Good Plan for Sex" considered a biblical view of God's good plan for our sexuality, and how we can flee temptation to go outside... ( Keep Reading » )

A Heart of Wisdom: Conclusion (January 9, 2007) - "The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty... So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom." -Psalm 90:10, 12 Over the last week, I've been posting thoughts... ( Keep Reading » )

A Heart of Wisdom: Runs to God for Mercy (January 7, 2007) - "So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom." -Psalm 90:12 Today I post my 4th and final quality of a "heart of wisdom:" A heart of wisdom runs to God for mercy. In... ( Keep Reading » )

A Heart of Wisdom: Seeing God as Holy Judge (January 6, 2007) - This is part 4 (and point 3--confusing already) on my series of posts on Psalm 90--learning to "number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom." I'm exploring 4 qualities of the "heart of wisdom." The first was... ( Keep Reading » )

A Heart of Wisdom: The Insignificance of Man (January 4, 2007) - If you're just joining in, I'm in the midst of posting some reflections on Psalm 90, exploring how we can learn to "number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom" (v.12). We can only live our days... ( Keep Reading » )

A Heart of Wisdom: In Awe of the Eternal God (January 2, 2007) - A couple days ago I shared that I yearly reflect on Psalm 90 in order to be reminded of and humbled by the brevity and unimpressiveness of my life. I also said I'd be posting on 4 qualities of the... ( Keep Reading » )

"Teach Us To Number Our Days" (December 31, 2006) - Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 32. When I was a kid, I resented the timing of my birthday. December 30th is not the best day to be born if you're hoping for a truckload of birthday presents. I often... ( Keep Reading » )

Wee Little Man (April 18, 2006) - On April 9, I got to preach from Luke 19 on the story of Zacchaeus. This of course was a most appropriate passage for me to preach since I am a wee little man myself and Zacchaeus is the patron... ( Keep Reading » )

The Prodigal (March 25, 2006) - Last Sunday I had the joy of preaching the parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15. When the rebellious son returns in repentance, the father runs to meet him. He embraces him and kisses his son who has dishonored... ( Keep Reading » )