Christians remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus, son of Mary. Traditionally this has been done throughout many centuries either on January 6 or December 25. The date of his birth is never revealed, but the fact of his birth is essential for the salvation of people. The death of the Messiah Jesus by crucifixion was decreed by God from all etern…

How does anyone bless God? It is strange sounding yet the Bible exhorts us to bless God and gives examples of people blessing him.Of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Psalm 103:1LORD is Yahweh, the personal covenant name of God.Psalm 104:1 Bless Yahweh, my soul. Yahweh, my God, you are very great. You…

Zechariah the aged father of John the Baptist has his voiced restored on the 8th day of the child's life. It happened at the moment of his naming following his circumcision. This speech is called the Benedictus and is easily divided into 2 parts. The first is a praise prayer declaring God's faithfulness in sending the Messiah as promised in the Abr…

This sermon looks at the two prayers of Hannah, the barren first wife of Elkanah. The first silent praying under her breath for a child and Eli thinking she was drunk. The second is her jubilant prayer of praise after the birth of Samuel. Her prayer of exaltation of God as the Deliverer, the Savior exalts God in his attribute of holiness. Her praye…

The Psalms are useful to stimulate prayers and provide words we can actually pray. In active reading of the psalms we take note of who is addressed in the various verses. It could be direct speech to God or words directed towards others or to one's self. Join me in a prayer reading of psalms 4 and 5.…

All Christians at times encounter difficulty in praying. At such times it is important to understand that prayer starts with bring one's attention Godward. Genuine prayer begins inwardly before it is expressed outwardly. Believers have turned to the Psalms through the centuries to help them express their thoughts to God and to themselves and toward…

This ancient prayer of the prophet Isaiah was a cry for Yahweh to be merciful to his sinful people in remembrance of his covenant with Abraham to establish a people for himself. It is a plea for him to "come down" among them. This prayer was answered when the Father sent his Son to be incarnated and live, die, and rise for the salvation of his belo…

Happy birthday! This is a common greeting in America. Birthdays are usually significant in the western world but hardly mentioned in many eastern cultures. The question some ask is, "Why celebrate birthdays?" The Bible never mentions birthday celebrations although there were a number of days marked for celebration in the Mosaic Covenant. In the anc…

What does God do with our prayers? How do our prayers relate to the return of Messiah Jesus to the earth? another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne. Revelation 8:3 This action is the answer to the prayer recorded in …

Paul often began his letter to the churches with a thanksgiving to God for what he has done and is doing in them. Two of the assemblies Paul wrote were Thessaloniki and Colossae. He overflows with thankfulness because of God's work in them and how this is being demonstrated in their lives. Four things are pointed out beginning with God's sovereign …

God has given his Son Jesus as the great Shepherd of his people. Christ in return has appointed undershepherds. Paul is a great example of such a pastor. He gives thanks to God for his grace at work in his people at Corinth and Philippi. These thanksgivings are found at the beginning of his letters to them.…

Paul, Silas, and Timothy show us how to pray:I. …To God himself to whom thanks is due – the source of the blessings. V.2, 3II. ,,..by giving thanks to God for his work among all the diverse people among the Thessalonians.III. ..by .giving thanks to God constantly for his gracious and powerful work among them and continued to pray for their growth i…

One of the most powerful testimonies in the New Testament of the transforming power of the gospel among a group of people is seen in the opening verses of 1 Thessalonians. There Paul thanked God for the clear and obvious evidence of his mighty saving work in the lives of the Thessalonian Christians. It happened then. It can happen now!…

King Jehoshaphat's prayer of distress when a confederation of nations came to Judah. How did it get to this point? Consider the backstory and then hear his prayer.We are helpless. We don't know what to do! But our eyes are on you!God gives an immediate reply by a prophetic utterance and the next day Judah is confronted with the dead bodies of the i…

After God has established a covenant with David and his household David comes before the presence of Yahweh God. David's prayer of response can teach us much about prayer. Prayer is an intentional come before God in humility to present our acknowledgement of him and to ask him to fulfill his will.Af Wayne Conrad

Yahweh God used the prophet Nathan to tell King David that his throne would endure forever by the future placement of one of his descendants as the Ruler of the kingdom of God. In response to this revelation David went immediately into the presence of God in prayer. His responsive prayer teaches us much as to how to approach God in prayer. Christia…

The first mention of prayer in the Bible is Genesis 4:26. "To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD" (Yahweh). This simple phrase, calling upon the name Yahweh, functions as a basic definition of prayer, a vital experience of the Christian life.…

The Christian life is lived in a faith community of disciples of Jesus Christ that is marked by a personal confession of Christ and sealed by the ceremony of baptism.Af Wayne Conrad

We must look to the inspired Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments for both the substance and as the final or ultimate authority for our teaching and practice. To the inspired, inscripturated Word alone do we find the answer to the burning question, How does a person find acceptance with the all holy God? All humans are sinners and sin is agains…

Reformation Sunday sermon preached at One Church with 3 congregations combined for the annual remembrance. This sermon focused on the atoning death of Jesus Christ once for all. People are justified, forgiven and accepted by God because Jesus died on their behalf and rose from the dead for our justification. The cross of Jesus where he shed his hol…

In a sense we could say that the spiritual renewal of gospel that happened in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformers was sparked by a discovery of a correct translation and interpretation of two verses of Scripture. Luther came to see that Matthew 4:17 which had been mistranslated by Jerome as penance( From that time Jesus began to preach, …

Paul describes God as "the only wise God" in Rom. 16:27. As we consider this final attribute in this series, we will look at God's wisdom in:1) Creation from Psalm 1042) Redemption from 1 Cor. 1:18-313) Providence from 1 Phil. 1:12-14In viewing his great wisdom in these areas, may we be drawn to worship him with more awe, and rest in his providenti…

John the Immersionist (baptizer) appeared in the wilderness of Judea on the banks of the Jordan River proclaiming, Prepare the way for Yahweh! He is the prophesied Forerunner of the Messiah in fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi and Isaiah and he prophecy of his own father, Zacharchi at his birth. And his father Zechariah was filled with the Hol…

Jesus made the bold identity to his disciples in John 14, I am the way, the truth and the life. The next day he was arraigned before Pilate and testified, "For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice."Pilate responded with the age old ques…

There are 4 men named, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John who wrote short books to spread the good news (gospel) of Jesus. Each one has a particular target in mind and the key to their presentation is found in the opening lines. This podcast gives an overview of how the person and deeds of Messiah Jesus are presented. Also listeners are challenged to rea…

Deut. 32:3-4 is a good place to start as we consider "God, the Righteous One:" I. Yahweh's Work is PerfectII. Yahweh's Ways are Justice and JudgmentIII. Yahweh's Nature is RighteousIV. Yahweh's Judgments are UprightThis sermon goal is to help us understand more clearly that God is righteous so we might know him more accurately to the end that we ma…

Paul in both his letter to the Roman Christians and the believers in Ephesus gives us a picture of our natural state as humans from birth. It is not a picture of innocence or even of a neutral state but one of spiritual death, captivity and rebellion. In fact it is a state of condemnation from birth awaiting execution!Romans 5: 12 sin came into the…

Grace is a word often used but seldom truly understood. We first hear of it in Genesis 6, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.Who is this God of all grace that Moses requested to see in Exodus 33 and 34 and who is manifested full in Jesus Christ. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 An expos…

Grace is a word often used but seldom truly understood. We first hear of it in Genesis 6, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God declared his covenant name to Moses in Exodus 34:5-7 Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed Yahweh's name. Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, "Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful a…

In 1 John 4:17-21 we see these truths:I. God's Love Is Fundamental to His Beting - vs. 8 & 16II. God's Love is Revealed in Christ - vs. 9-10, 14III. God's Love is the Prime Cause of Our Love for One Another - vs.10-11Jesus did the greatest thing: he loved his people and died and rose for them. We who believe in Christ must, therefore, respond tohim…

The Apostle John uses a phrase three times in his writings to refer to the nature of God. In1 John 1:5 he makes this declaration: This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.The message he heard and proclaimed was the message of the coming of the Son, the Word into the world. J…

God's knowledge is personal and complete. Although no one can know the depths of God's knowledge he has chosen to reveal himself especially in Jesus Christ. This is true knowledge. To know we must know him in Jesus the Christ.John 17 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.1 John 5 And …

When we enter the meeting area where God's people assembly to offer him worship what do we see? In many churches today we see a stage with musical instruments with few if any symbols of the God ordained ways to offer him acceptable praise. Why is this the case? Could it be a loss of the sense of the reverence we owe to God? Have we traded reverence…

Isaiah 57:15 leads us to consider these truths regarding God, the Holy One:I. There is only one God who is holy.II. This Holy God inhabits eternity.III The name of this God is holy.IV. The holy God lives with those of a contrite and lowly spirit. The creator God is high and exalted, separate and unique from us. Yet calls us to know something of his…

Holiness is the most prominent of the attributes of God. It is the one attribute that is used in a threefold manner as seen in Isaiah 6:1-3 and Revelation 4:8-11. It is often used in connection with other attributes such as love.When we think of God as holy our tendency is to understand it like we use it to refer to people. But this is the wrong pl…

Isaiah 40 verse 18, To whom will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him? The obvious answer is no one, nothing. Why because God is God and he is in a different category as the Creator, transcend above his creation. God is One, an undivided essence yet shared by Father, Word/Son and Holy Spirit. God has attributes which are shared i…

How shall we begin a study of the being and the attributes of God? As creatures who have a beginning, the study of the ever-living One, the eternal God, reveals to us the magnificent awesomeness of God's nature, so different from ours. To think that there never was a time when God did not exit, and there never will be a time when he will not exist,…

I have a question for us. Are we at times due to our emphasis on what in our understanding or opinion God cannot do anymore, pedaling an impotent, weak and powerless God?Af Wayne Conrad

Paul writes the Galatian churches with a heavy heart because the one true gospel he had preached there and by which they had been saved was under siege by rival messages advocating deeds, rituals and laws as necessary additions."even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accur…

Sometimes we read a verse of Scripture in isolation from its context. This can result in an error of interpretation and false teaching. This podcast takes up a proper method of reading Bible verses in their context. The verses to be considered are 1 Corinthians 4:13 and Jude 24. "No trial has overtaken you that is not common to mankind. And God is …

We are familar with the frequent exhortations to believers to sing to God. It is a command of Scripture. An example is Psalm 92: 1-5 It is good to praise Yahweh,to sing praise to Your name, Most High,to declare Your faithful love in the morningand Your faithfulness at night,with a ten-stringed harp and the music of a lyre. For You have made me rejo…

Jude not only warns Christian assemblies of the danger of false teaching and teachers who have slipped into the churches but he also gives a summary of how to combat them. He does so in the command "keep yourselves in the love of God. He relates 3 ways of doing this. Jude 20-21 20f But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy …

Jude sounds the alarm warning of false professors within the assemblies who lead others astray. He paints pictures of their false teachings and ungodly lifestyle from the Old Testament scriptures depicting evil actions and illustrated by certain individuals.Jude "Woe to them! For they have traveled in the way of Cain, and have given themselves up t…

An introductory look at the letter of Jude. Jude states his main point and why he is compelled to write this letter to the assemblies.1 Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. 2 May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.3" Dear friends, although I was ma…

Jesus had brother named, Judas and he wrote a letter we find in the New Testament with the altered name Jude. How would liked to have received first hand a hand written scrolled fro him encouraging you to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints?a brief introduction to this important letter tucked away in our Bibles just…

In these two verses Judes tell us why he wrote this letter: a great problem had arisen in some of the churches. Some infiltrators had crept in and were teaching false doctrines, seeking to undermine the true doctrines of the once-for-all-delivered-faith, as well as seduce believers into imitating their immoral behavior. In this passage Jude reminds…

Do you know what truth is? Pilate asked this question of Jesus right after Jesus made a claim as to why he came into world. John 18:29-3829 So Pilate went outside to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" 30 They answered him, "If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you." 31 Pilate said to …

The first two verses of Jude are loaded with rich and crucial theological content. Two main subjects direct our thoughts into this passage:I. Jude, a Submitted Servant of Jesus ChristII. The People of God, Secure in Their Triune GodThe "effectual call of God" is an important truth this sermon presents. Those called by the Spirit are inextricably al…

Often people quote Bible verses out of context to promote an idea. One such verse is John 8:32 where Jesus says, "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."Let's consider the verse in its context of John 8:2-30After these opening startling claims about himself Jesus makes the statement." So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed hi…

Three basic truths are set forth in this book:I. Truth is the foundation of Christian fellowship - v.1II. Christian Truth Does Not Stand Alone, but is Wedded to Christian Love - v. 5III. Christian truth is based upon fact of Jesus Christ's coming in the flesh. -v.7The truth of Jesus Christ's incarnation is essential to our salvation. We must know t…