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I came across a story about some distraught parents whose 13 year-old son had two serious brain tumors that soon would have taken his life. They managed to get in touch with one of the most skilled neurosurgeons in the world, who was able to operate and restore the boy to health. The cover picture of…

Introduction We have been walking through a series entitled “The Gospel in the Gospels” In this series, we are asking the question, “How did Jesus present the Gospel in His ministry?” We took the time to look at Jesus’ presentation of the Gospel to people He came across Now we are looking at how Jesus…

Death and Wisdom In the slightly over two years I have been here, I have preached through a few books of the bible. Galatians, Acts, John, and now Ecc. And without a doubt, up to this point, Ecc has been my favorite. We still have about half the book to go, but I don’t see that changing anytime soon.…

Previously, Jesus has been addressing misunderstandings of the law and of practice. In this section, he addresses three practices (giving, praying, and fasting). In each of them there is a contrast between the practices of the religious leaders of the day and how followers of Jesus ought to practice…

ILLUST Where are you from? Who’s “from” the farthest away? Can you tell when people “ain’t from around here”? Where are you going? The most important question you need to answer Seeking and Finding Jesus READ John 7: 32-52 (v. 53 part of 8) 1) Jesus’ Origin and Destination In question: Where He is from?…

Last Year was Rise Above We will continue to rise above with Jesus this year and moving forward. Ezra and Nehemiah Temple and the walls Are there any boundaries that Jesus wants you to build stronger? What Gates are you called to be? What Gates does He want you to explore with Him? Last Week’s Activation:…

We are all striving for something. I believe this is a lyric of a song but I am not certain. Basic needs: power/achievement, freedom/independence, fun/enjoyment, survival, and belonging. These are some of our basic needs and sometimes they compete with one another. Sometimes we want what we need. Sometimes…

Grace and Truth This morning we are going to wrap up our study on the gospel of John. If you remember back when we started our journey through John, John begins his gospel with a prologue. Setting the stage for what we can expect to read and how we should interpret his work. And one of the key phrases…

There are times we all need a little help with something. For me it is often finding something in the kitchen. I can spend 5 minutes looking for something I know we have, a pot, pan, food item, whatever. Then I give up and ask my wife where it is. She’ll generally tell me where it is, or if I continue…

Today we continue our series in Luke chapter 4. Let me remind you that Jesus has just been baptized. The Holy Spirit has ascended on Him like a dove and God has spoken from Heaven. Jesus leaves the baptism and goes off into the desert where our text today picks up in chapter 4. So, if you have your Bibles…

Please continue praying about first baptist in Oak Grove. I am meeting with the pastor in the morning to discuss that possibility. Pastoral Prayer INTRODUCTION We’re going to read about one of Jesus’ most well known miracles today, “The Feeding of the 5,000”. This is the only miracle that is found in…

Unity and Disunity Over the last few weeks we have really seen the importance of Christian Unity. I hope I have done a sufficient job at helping you see the importance of our being with and encouraging one another to grow in Christ. We saw in Chapter 2 how the early church loved one another, spent time…

Intro This week Ben Lechnir and I went to a prayer and fasting retreat put on by Acts29 - the church network we’re a part of down at Summitview Church in Vancouver, Washington - or the Couv or Vantucky - however you prefer it. It was a great time spent fasting, praying, seeking God on your behalf and…

Young and Old Just a couple of weeks ago, I was having a conversation with and on the television there was a story about Dolly Parton. We were curious as to how old she was. So I took out my phone and googled her to find out. She is 77 years old. She doesn’t look 77 years old. She looks much younger.…

Greed and God I had a conversation with one of my buddies back in NC a few weeks ago and he went to a pastor’s conference. At the conference, the one of the things that stood out to him was a speaker who was encouraging pastors to talk about what are taboo subjects in many churches. And I was curious…

Last week we discussed the concept of covenant and how we are in a covenant relationship with the Lord. In that covenant relationship, God has promised to uphold his end of the covenant, but we must be careful to uphold ours. As a saved, but still imperfect people, we will violate the covenant from time…

If we are not careful, there comes a time in our desire to live Christ-honoring lives when we establish rules to live by that may be helpful, but are not scriptural mandates. What happens from time to time is churches might take an application of a biblical principle and make it the biblical principle.…

Intro: As we come to the end of Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, let’s briefly review what we’ve learned. The main theme that we have been focusing on within these two letters is that we are to be “ Ready and (Actively) Waiting for the Lord’s Return ”… We saw that some troublemakers had stirred…

Come And See I love to see the excitement on a kids face when they discover something new or receive something surprisingly unexpected. They get so excited about it they want to show and tell everyone about this new thing they have. Just this week Eden went to the dentist. As she was leaving they gave…

A Fool and his money Luke 12:13–15 (ESV) 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for…

Light, Authority, and Salvation Intro Throughout the gospel of John we are presented with different themes that John wants us to see. One of those themes is light vs. darkness. We are all familiar with the ideas and experiences of light and darkness. That creaky door doesn’t bother us during the day,…

After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Bread is food Water is also necessary for life. He walks “On” the water, he walks over the life? he transverses life, he is lighter than life, he is over the sea, chaos…

“War and Peace” Rev Thomas A West Sr. March 13, 2022 Scripture: Psalm 120:6–7 (NKJV) 6 My soul has dwelt too long With one who hates peace. 7 I am for peace; But when I speak, they are for war. Let me start with this statement from Matthew 6:24 “ No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate…

We are two weeks away from Easter and I am teaching a few weeks on the importance of reaching out to those around us. Last week, I preached on becoming Salt and Light in a Dark World . Today the message is Look Around. If you think about how good it feels to know that you have been forgiven of everything…