Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: John 4:46-54

In the Kingdom of Heaven, faith is the medium of exchange. Whatever we receive from God is according to our faith.

Adrian Rogers says, “The greater your faith, the greater glory God gets; by faith man gives God pleasure and by faith God gives man treasure.”

John 4 tells the story of a man whose superficial, superstitious faith was transformed into a strong, saving faith.

“So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe’” (John 4:46-48).

First, we must see the problem of superficial faith.

In this passage, the nobleman had heard about Jesus’ first miracle, turning water into wine, and was blown away. But Jesus knew that signs and wonders do not truly help in developing a strong faith.

We must also consider the problem of superstitious faith.

God performed miracles through Jesus to authenticate His ministry. It is dishonoring to demand a sign from God in order to believe in Him. It is also self-deceiving; signs and wonders can easily deceive; it is how our enemy leads others astray.

This passage also shows the progression of strong faith.

There are steps in developing this sort of saving faith, the first being hearing the Word of God, and then believing it. What we believe is not contrary to reason; it goes beyond reason. We must obey the Word of God, and then rest in it.

Adrian Rogers says, “Faith is not seeing signs and wonders, rather, it is a response to the character of God.”

Finally, this passage shows the provision of saving faith.

After the nobleman’s son was healed, he not only believed in a miracle worker but in a Messiah.

All of Jesus’ miracles point to the greater miracle, which is the new life in Him.

Apply it to your life

If you want to strengthen your faith, get a good grip on the Word of God. Don’t look to the miracles, but to the Messiah; do not follow the signs, but the Savior.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: James 1:22

The Bible is so full of rich, variegated splendor that there are many emblems and symbols for the Word of God. The Book of James identifies God’s Word as a mirror.

James 1:22-23 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror…”

In this passage, James has in his mind two imaginary people in front of a mirror. The first person takes a casual glance: “for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was” (James 1:24).

There are some who casually scan the Bible, but God doesn’t reveal much truth to the people who just glance at His Word.

On the contrary, the other person noted in this passage takes a concentrated gaze: “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25).

We need to absorb the Word of God, look into it as a mirror that reveals who we truly are. When we study Scripture, it can reveal in us any sin we’re harboring, or have yet to confess, so that we can do something about it.

Adrian Rogers says, “When you read the Bible, the Bible reads you. When the Word reveals something, whatever it is, take heed to it. Don’t just read it and forget it; if you do, you’re deceiving yourselves.”

The first purpose Scripture serves is to show us what we are by nature, but it also shows us what we ought to be by grace. And the ultimate reason why we read Scripture is to become more like Jesus.

This means we never stop growing: we simply go from one stage of glory to another stage of glory. (See 2 Corinthians 3:18.)

Apply it to your life
Adrian Rogers says, “Do you want to be a great Christian? God’s given you a mirror. Each morning, look in there and see what you look like. If you’ve got a dirty face, get clean and then continue to read: not only see yourself but see your Savior.”

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Ephesians 6:10-20

Whether we realize it or not, we are part of a war between light and darkness, good and evil, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Christ and Satan. We cannot afford to be ignorant, and we cannot possibly be neutral.

Adrian Rogers says, “When you were born again, you were born from above. And you, being Heaven-born are Heaven-bound. You were born for the battle, and you were born to win.”

We’re not wrestling against flesh and blood. We’re wrestling against principalities and powers of darkness.

Ephesians 6:10-20 shows us how to prepare ourselves for this Christian Warfare.

In preparing for the battle, we must first remember our adversary. Satan is a decided fact; never underestimate him or count him out. He is a destructive force; systematic, spiritual, strong, and sinister. Yet, he is our defeated foe.

Adrian Rogers says, “Satan had his back crushed and broken at Calvary; soon his head is going to be crushed when Jesus comes again.”

We must remember our armor, which is specifically outlined in Ephesians 6:

The Belt of Truth

The Breastplate of Righteousness

Feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, knowing nothing stands between our souls and the Savior

The Shield of Faith

The Helmet of Salvation

God wants us to enter the battlefield armed with integrity, purity, tranquility, certainty, and sanity. Don’t leave off any piece of the armor of God in this battle. Christian warriors must understand their point of attack. We have the victory. God has equipped us with three things:

The first is our stance.

We are called to be strong, to stand against these dark forces of evil with the blessed assurance of victory in Jesus.

Second, we recognize the power of our sword,

which is the sword of the Spirit and the Word of God. We must also remember the power of our prayers when prayed in the Spirit.

Finally, the Christian warrior must remember his allies.

“...praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…” (Ephesians 6:18).

We don’t fight alone; we need to pray for each other.

Apply it to your life

As you prepare for this spiritual battle, remember your adversary, your armor, your attack, and your allies.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Ephesians 1:2-14

As children of God, we have the privilege of knowing not only that we are saved but also that we can never lose our salvation. God has saved us by His grace, and He keeps us bound to Himself with a three-fold cord that cannot be broken.

Ephesians 1:2-14 describes the three-fold cord of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

First, this passage reveals that our salvation was planned by God the Father.

“...to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).

We have been chosen to be saved. Adrian Rogers says, “You've been chosen in the past, predestined to the future, and accepted in the present.”

This does not mean that God chose one sinner above another sinner; it means that God had us in His heart and in His mind before He laid the foundation of the world. God gives everyone an invitation to come to Christ; we can only choose Him because He first chose us.

Our salvation was also purchased by God the Son.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…” (Ephesians 1:7).

In the Garden of Eden, Adam sinned and forfeited our inheritance to Satan; but at Calvary, Jesus redeemed us with His blood. We are freed by His blood and forgiven by His grace; we are filled with His wisdom and fixed with His wealth. We have fellowship and a full inheritance as we become like Jesus Christ.

Adrian Rogers says, “The greatest miracle in the world is not walking on water or changing water into wine; it is taking a Hell-bound sinner and transforming him, making him holy and blameless.”

Finally, our salvation is preserved by God the Holy Spirit.

“...you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Because of the Holy Spirit, our salvation is a finished transaction; our ownership has been transferred to God and we are secure in it.

Apply it to your life

If you are a Christian, your salvation is found in a three-fold cord that cannot be broken.

Do you recognize that you are chosen by God the Father, in fellowship with Jesus Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit?

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Luke 1:13

The Bible instructs us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). But so many times, we pray and seek God, ask according to His will; and yet our prayer seems unanswered.

At the beginning of the Book of Luke, we meet Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth, both righteous before God, blameless, yet barren. They were well in their old age, and without any children, they had prayed for their whole lives. Verse 13 says, “But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son…” We can learn three things from Zacharias and Elizabeth when prayer seems unanswered.

First, unanswered prayer could mean it has simply been denied.

God will not grant prayers that aren’t according to His will. Sometimes, we pray with sin in our heart, outside of the will of God. Remember, God wants to meet every one of our personal needs, but He will not enable our lust, pride, or selfishness.

An unanswered prayer could also mean it’s strategically delayed.

Adrian Rogers says, “With God, timing is far more important than time.” Answered prayers could be delayed to display His glory. As we see in Zacharias and Elizabeth’s story, God could wait until the situation is so difficult, there's no way we, ourselves, get the glory from it.

Or, our prayers could be delayed to dispense God’s grace.

As interested as He is in His glory, God’s also interested in our joy. In Luke 1, God was about to bring Jesus into the world. God planned the arrival of Zacharias and Elizabeth’s son, John the Baptist, so he could prepare the way for this long-awaited Messiah. God knew what He was doing; He had a strategic plan to display his glory and to dispense his grace, in the fullness of time.

Finally, the answer to your prayer may be strangely different.

For Zacharias and Elizabeth, God gave them something better than they asked for; it was different. He was the forerunner of the Messiah. Their son filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb.

Adrian Rogers tells us, “God gives the best to those who leave the choice with him.”

Apply it to your life

What do you do when your prayer seems unanswered? Check to make sure you are seeking the glory of God. Then pray without ceasing.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Matthew 19:1-6

Adrian Rogers says, “A home is the sweetest place on earth, the nearest place to Heaven. It’s the only part of the Garden of Eden that we have left.”

Matthew 19 discusses the importance of family faithfulness; first, by recognizing that marriage is made by Heaven.

And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, ‘For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?" (v. 4-5).

Marriage is the supreme commitment, overruling every other commitment we could ever make. The priority of marriage is to build a home, and we cannot build a home without God’s guidance. We raise children with the intention of them leaving home to build homes of their own.

Marriage is also permanent, and its purpose is to be one flesh, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Adrian Rogers says, “Marriage is a romance in which both the hero and the heroine die in the first chapter, and a new person comes into being: one flesh.”

But marriage can be marred by Hell; there is nothing wrong with romantic love, but we are deceived if we believe that is enough to sustain a marriage. We are commanded in Scripture to love our spouses unconditionally, as God has loved His church.

There is no fear in perfect love, only peace, security, and joy. We must be careful not to allow guilt to fester in our marriages; guilt turns to anger, and anger into bitterness.

When we experience trials, reconciliation and forgiveness are called for in order to put the family back together. If we seek restoration, we’ll find that the relationship can potentially be even stronger than before it was broken.

Finally, marriage is always marked by hope. No matter our circumstances, there is always hope because the grace of God covers all of our sins. God does not hold grudges; His forgiveness is always available for those who seek to honor Him in their relationships.

Apply it to your life

A godly home is the greatest testimony we have in this world. If you are married, make certain that Christ is the head of your home and continue to feed your love day by day.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 5:29

The family was the first institution formed by God, created to meet the deepest physical, social, and spiritual needs of mankind. It is in the home that a child should learn who he is, what he can do, and what is expected of him.

In the midst of this moral free fall, it is time we ask ourselves: what is the future of the family? Adrian Rogers says, “If there is no future for our families, there is no future for this nation.”

Deuteronomy 5:29 says, “Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!”

Our homes are the universities of life.

In these homes, we must train our children to abide by God’s law so that we can preserve the family’s future. God gave the Ten Commandments to the family. God’s priority plan for us is to pass our faith from parent to child.

Parents are the professors of their homes.

Deuteronomy 6:7 says, “You shall teach them diligently to your children...” Though we can’t control our children, we can guide and teach them in the way they should go. Our primary goal as parents should be that we love God with sincere, selfless, and strong love so that we can set an example for our children to love Him, too.

The Ten Commandments are the curriculum.

These commandments are the liberating laws of life and the tracks upon which our families run. We are to set boundaries for our kids around the parameter of God’s law.

Our children are our students.

It is not the church’s responsibility to raise our children in faith, it is ours. “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:8-9).

Finally, life is the laboratory.

Life is where these things are taught. We must teach our children convictionally, consistently, creatively, conversationally, and conspicuously.

Apply it to your life

Our homes are where our children learn everything they need to know about life. Have you established your home as a university, yourself as a professor, and God’s law as the curriculum? Are your children your students, viewing life as the laboratory?

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: 1 Corinthians 6:19

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body...”

We have been commanded to treat our bodies as temples to maintain and dedicate to God for His glory. Our bodies are carefully crafted, finely tuned machines, and our maintenance manual is the Word of God.

There are some reasons why we have physical ailments that are not in our control; but whatever we can control, we are responsible for maintaining.

There are four principles to remember as we work on our family fitness.

1. Family fitness is a matter of discipline.
1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

We must be disciplined in our diet and exercise, which extends our life expectancy and improves our wellbeing. In a world of fad diets and quick fixes, we are called to consume natural, real foods, within the right portions. There needs to be discipline in how we rest. Psalm 127:2 warns us: “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for He gives His beloved sleep.”

2. Family fitness is a matter of disposition.
Choosing to express positive emotions should be part of our family fitness regime. Adrian Rogers says, “Hardening of the attitudes is just as bad as hardening of the arteries.” Stress will derail us physically; it will cripple our thinking, weaken our bodies, and reduce our efficiency. We must guard our hearts and minds against hatefulness and stress.

3. Family fitness is a matter of devotion.
When we love God and serve Him in the church as we should, we can experience an increase in health.

4. Family fitness is a matter of decision.
We will not stumble across family fitness, physically, mentally, or spiritually. It takes work to gain and maintain, work that we decide to do intentionally. Our families should stand out by our faith and our fitness, recognizing our responsibility to maintain our bodies as unto the Lord.

Apply it to your life
Do you recognize any areas in your health, or your family’s health, that could improve? Make the decision to maintain your family’s health, physically and spiritually.