This message by guest preacher, Rev. Bowden McElroy, was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, May 27, 2007, and was taken from Judges, chapters 17 and 18.
Monthly Archive for May, 2007
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, May 23, 2007, and was taken from Acts 2:41-47.
"Maintaining Faith in the Face of Faithlessness: A Study of Jude" [39:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (703)This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, May 20, 2007, and was taken from the book of Jude.
Introduction: Pastor Rod comments on the comments he read on the internet on the passing of Jerry Fallwell. This is the world we live in. This is the culture that surrounds us. This is the dead, dark world that we are to be salt and light in. The world is changing. It is an increasingly faithless world. What does the book of Jude have to teach us?
- vs. 1,2: We must faithfully, regularly remember our glorious salvation.
- We are called: “those who are called”
- God loves us: “beloved in God”
- Christ keeps us: “kept by for Jesus Christ”
- v. 3: We must fervently fulfill our sacred obligation: “contend for the faith”, or stand for the truth of the gospel. This is one thing worth fighting for. This is one thing we can contend for without being contentious. Why must we contend? see v. 4
- vs. 17-23: We must perform our solemn duty. Together we are commanded to build up one another.
- vs. 24, 25: We must tenaciously cling to our future hope. Jude, in this doxology, finishes where he began in verse 1. “kept for Jesus . . . Now to him who is able to keep you”.
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, May 20, 2007.
What do we do when the path seems overwhelming? Every child of God is called to ministry. Therefore we must look to Jesus for instruction on how to faithfully deliver authentic gospel ministry.
Two principles of authentic gospel ministry.
- An authentic gospel ministry refuses to be pressured by the crowd, neither do past successes sidetrack the primary mission (vs. 7-12). Jesus healed many, but there were many He did not heal. Jesus’ primary mission was to save the lost. The church must meet the physical needs of those who are hurting, but we must never neglect the main task of preaching the gospel of grace found only in Jesus Christ alone.
- How do we respond to this pressure? An authentic gospel ministry also recognizes the need for rest (v. 13), renewal (vs. 14,15) , and reinforcements (Luke 6:12,13).
#10 in the “Back to Basics” seies. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, May 16, 2007.
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, May 13, 2007, and was taken from the book of Obadiah.
Obadiah is preaching to a secure, prosperous, self-sufficient people. Sounds a lot like us sometimes. What can we learn from this small book? Mark Dever has divided Obadiah in this way: 1. Who are Gods enemies? 2. Who are God’s friends? 3. Who is God? Pastor Rod uses a similar division in bringing this book to the people at Trinity Church.
- God pronounces judgment on Edom because:
- they are a proud and arrogant nation, and
- they oppose the people of God.
- God shows his protection over his people, even though they are wayward. God’s people are comforted.
- God sovereignly proclaims his reign over all the peoples of the earth in the last line of Obadiah: “…and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.”
Application for us today: 1. What are we trusting in? 2. Are we telling the whole truth about the nature of God?
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, May 13, 2007, and was taken from Mark 2:18-3:6.
1. vs. 18-22: The joy-filled nature of the Christian faith stands in stark contrast to the lifelessness of a religion of rules.
2. vs. 23-28: Genuine Christianity places a premium on the grace of God rather than a slavish devotion to custom. Jesus asserted His own authority over the Sabbath.
3. vs. 1-6: Genuine Christianity allows mercy to triumph over dogmatic tradition.
Ask yourselves: “Are we more concerned about doing things the right way, than the gospel? Are we more concerned with rules than with relationships?” We need to focus on preaching and living a full-orbed gospel.
#9 in the “Back to Basics” series. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, May 9, 2007, and was taken from Revelation 3:20
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, May 6, 2007, and was taken from Acts 17:1-9.
An authentic Christian ministry:
- is gospel saturated (vs. 1-4).
- is sure to produce opposition (vs. 5-9).
- has long-lasting results (v. 2, only three weeks ministry).
What are you doing for the kingdom of God?
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, May 6, 2007, and was taken from Mark 1:40-2:17.
This message tells the story of three men whose lives were for ever changed after meeting Jesus. In the account of these three encounters we get a glimpse and insight into the ministry of Jesus. Rigidly applied rules were the norm of the day in the religious establishment in Jesus.
1. In the story of the cleansing of the leper, Jesus’ ministry was to reach out and touch the lives of those whom no one else wanted to touch. Jesus defied every medical and religious principle in dealing with this man.
2. When Jesus heals the cripple, Jesus points the real need of every one of us. Looking beyond the obvious, Jesus looks into the soul and says “My son, your sins are forgiven.”
3. With the call of Levi the ministry of Jesus gives a new lease on life and new hope, by reaching out to the outcast and despised of society. Tax collectors in Jesus’ day were considered dishonest, unprincipled, and sellouts to their own people, as they worked for the occupying Romans.
In every case Jesus broke down the pre-conceived notions of the religious establishment. That is why Jesus described his ministry as “new wine”. We all too often avoid ministering and witnessing to people who are different from us. Is this carrying on the work of Jesus. Will we cary on the work of Jesus?
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