Category Archives: Sermons

You Are the Man – But God Is Still God

Posted on September 28, 2021 by salooper57

But now David ends the cover-up, confesses his sin, and the prophet tells him that God has forgiven him. How could God do that? David didn’t even have a media consultant to craft a public apology. There was no teary mea culpa, no woke gift to the Survivors of Sexual Exploitation Fund. I ask again: How could God forgive? Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Peace with God, Sermons, Spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

I Would Have Given You Even More: David and Bathsheba

Posted on September 12, 2021 by salooper57

What might that phrase, “I would have given you even more,” include? What did David miss out on that would have been his? What joys, what adventures, what honors, what insights and raptures might have been David’s, had he not forfeited them by his disastrous choices?

Look at what God says he had given David. An anointing: He anointed him king when he was still a teenager and an unknown. Deliverance: he delivered him from ruin and death at the hands of Saul. Authority: He had given him his master’s house with all its symbols of power. People: He had given him Israel and Judah: their admiration and love, as well as their obedience and submission.

What about us? Has God given us anything? Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Peace with God, Sermons, Spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Good Shepherd: That They Might Have Life

Posted on September 10, 2021 by salooper57

In John 10, Jesus used a figure of speech while he was teaching and, verse six, people did not get it. That is a comfort to me, a preacher, for there have been times when I was speaking that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Good Shepherd

Posted on September 9, 2021 by salooper57

Back in the 1980s, a congressional panel, led by Claude Pepper, revealed that thousands of Americans might be receiving treatment from doctors who lied on their medical school loan applications, and then used the money not to go to school … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Sermons, Spiritual life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

God The Builder (2 Samuel 7)

Posted on September 6, 2021 by salooper57

2 Samuel 7 has been called “one of the most important chapters in the Bible.” Here we explore its importance to the biblical story of Jesus and to our lives.

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Faith, Sermons, Theology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Asking Questions of John 3: What Does Jesus Mean by “Be Born Again?”

Posted on August 27, 2021 by salooper57

What on earth does Jesus mean when he talks about being born again? The answer to that question needs to be clearly grasped, and so merits study and careful thought. For now, let me say this: to be born again … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Sermons, Spiritual life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Original “Nick at Night”: Asking Questions of John 3

Posted on August 25, 2021 by salooper57

In John 3, a man named Nicodemus comes to see Jesus. Nicodemus is a mid-level celebrity in ancient Israel, a respected scholar and prominent national leader. As far as we can tell, he’s a stand-up kind of guy. He’s got … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Sermons, Spiritual life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How to Seek the Kingdom

Posted on August 22, 2021 by salooper57

…if we don’t give priority to seeking his kingdom, we’ll never find it. “Seek second the kingdom and his righteousness” and you’ll be wasting your time. But that’s the way God intended it. The half-hearted, the religious dabbler, the spiritual dilettante never see the kingdom. “The kingdom of heaven,” Jesus once said, “is like a treasure hidden in a field.” Any number of people can pass right by it and never know it’s there. It is the one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness that is filled, not the one who nibbles at it. It is “he who seeks [who] finds,” not he who daydreams. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Sermons, Spiritual life | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

You Can Take “It” With You

Posted on August 19, 2021 by salooper57

I have often heard people say, usually in an appeal to evangelize, “The only thing you can take with you to heaven is another soul.” But that is not quite true. You can take a bigger soul with you – … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Sermons, Spiritual life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Kingdom Commission

Posted on August 15, 2021 by salooper57

Earth is in a civil war – a spiritual war, really, though we must understand that spiritual means more than religious, or mystical or emotional. Spirit is un-bodied personal power, and earth is caught in a cosmic struggle between opposing … Continue reading →

Posted in Lifestyle, Mission, Sermons, Theology | Tagged , | Leave a comment