Sermons About Sin
The Church of Thyratira: Revelation 2:18-28
In America, most of us have not been physically threatened for our faith. However, like the church at Thyratira, I would argue that most of our greatest temptations to compromise stem from either economic or social pressures. The church today is radically tempted to compromise by valuing the same things that the culture around us values. We serve a God who calls us to consider everything rubbish in order that we might gain Christ and be found in him. We cannot cling to the values of this world and still hold fast to the righteousness of our savior. Jesus offers us himself. Jesus calls us live lives of repentance, constantly letting go of our sin and clinging to his blood, shed on the cross for our sin, to forgive us and give us his perfect righteousness.
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Know Thy Enemy: The World
How do you respond to this flawed world? In this sermon, Pastor Robert uses 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 and Romans 12:1-2 to introduces us to a new series addressing what some have called the Unholy Trinity, the world, the flesh and the Devil.
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The Call to Courage: Paul's Arrest
Fear freezes. And, truth be told, our society seems to be getting more fearful. Courage is not the absence of fear but a proper handling of fear. As a pastor, what amazes me is all the different fearful situations our congregation faces week in and week out. How will we be different than everyone else? Do we have resources that enable us to live, not without fear, but in the face fo fear in Christ? Today in the Word we come to a section of Acts that focuses on Paul’s trials. We have said these are more than legal trials. As every defendant knows, a legal trial is also an internal and spiritual trial. Such trials call for courage. It is so easy in this age to turn away from the hard but right path and or to buckle in the face of fear. But Jesus calls his disciples to courage. I believe He calls the church to courage. He died to save us from sin and to turn us from freezing fears and cowardice to courage. This is wonderfully illustrated in the life of Paul in Acts 22 and 23. Let God speak to you through His Word and the sacrament this morning. And let this All Saints Sunday remind you of the many believers in the past who have lived with courage in Christ
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God's Gracious Love
In this sermon, Phil Auxier encourages us to look at God's love with amazement and humility.
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The Church of Pergamum: Revelation 2:12-27
The church at Pergamum, much like many of our American churches, was filled with three kinds of people: the faithful, the compromisers, and the people who didn’t know which group was correct. As the political capital of the region, emperor worship was at its zenith in Pergamum; it was the place where Satan had his throne. In this context, Jesus rebukes the faithful for tolerating people in their church who are both compromising and telling others that it is ok to compromise. He calls the church at Pergamum and us to confront sin, root it out, and fight it. Our Savior calls us to repent of everything that threatens us from knowing and experiencing the fullness of joy that he has come to offer.
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