An exposition of Ephesians 5:8-21. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, June 18, 2008.
Walking In the Light
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The Honeymoon Is Over
An exposition of Revelation 2:1-7. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, June 15, 2008.
Beginning in chapter two of Revelation, Jesus is sending messages through John to seven churches in Asia Minor. This letter is intended for those seven churches, but as seven is a number for completeness, this letter is also intended for The Church catholic (churches in every place and every age, past, present and future). Today’s message deals with the first message to the church that is in Ephesus.
Authentic orthodoxy possesses a genuine passion for Christ. Doctrine does matter. You must believe the right stuff, but you must also believe it passionately.
1. Orthodoxy without passion proves to be a powerless thing.
2. Remember, repent and return to passionate orthodoxy for a remedy to powerlessness. 3. An impassioned orthodoxy ensures a glorious future.
It is possible to carry on the work of the church, to continue to hold to all of the orthodox doctrines, and still be on the verge of being stripped of our church by the one who holds the church in his right hand. These are very disturbing and frightening words, and should cause each of us to ask “Where is your passion?”
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Good Figs, Bad Figs & Sovereign Justice
An exposition of Jeremiah 24:1-25:14. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, June 8, 2008.
We need to understand that God’s sovereign judgment and gracious blessing are in direct relation to how we respond to the truth he has made known.
- We must understand to ignore or disregard God’s gracious warning is to insure his righteous judgment.
- We must understand to heed God’s warning brings great blessing.
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Living Faithfully in the Face of Hostility
An exposition of Revelation 1:1-20. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, June 8, 2008.
Many have said that “Revelation” is the most mis-named book in the Bible.
Things to keep in mind when studying the book of Revelation:
- The book of Revelation was given to a church. It was meant to comfort that church.
- It is a gospel book. It is about Christ.
- It is a book of worship.
Three principles from this opening passage from the book of Revelation:
- living faithfully in this world demands a confident hope in the sure return of our redeemer in power and glory.
- living faithfully demands a clear vision of the majesty and glory of Christ.
- Living faithfully demands a compelling conviction that Christ is sovereign over the church and over the world.
Don’t waste your time worrying, spend your time waiting and anticipating the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Genuine Imitation
An exposition of Ephesians 5:1-8. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, June 4, 2008.
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Twenty Years Ago Today
Once upon a time there lived a man,
And his name was Hezekiah.
He walked with God both day and night,
But he didn’t want to die.
He cried, O Lord, please let me live,
Death is close, I know.
Lord smiled down on Hezekiah,
Gave him fifteen years to go.
In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, and said, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.
Isaiah 38:1-6, ESV
It was, not fifteen, but twenty years ago today that God brought me right up to the edge. Oh how thankful I am for the extra years:
- To see all of my children reach adulthood and marry.
- To enjoy four grandchildren, and anticipate the two comming this fall.
- To enjoy the company of my wife.
- To give praise to my Savior for saving me and keeping me.
Life is precious. Make the most of every day God gives you. Serve him with your whole being. It is never too late to start over fresh. Every day God gives you is another chance to make a new start for him.
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Lying Preachers and Deceitful Guides
An exposition of Jeremiah 23:9-40. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, June 1, 2008.
Introduction:
False teaching has been an issue with the people of God from the very beginning. It began in the garden: “Did God say?” Resources available to us today is almost beyond belief; much of it good, much of it not just bad, but deadly. In terms of a mixed bag, nothing much has changed since the times of Jeremiah. What are we to do with conflicting voices? Be careful who you listen to and what you read.
A. Three things about false teachers you should know:
- False teachers come proclaiming their own vain imagining, their flawed dreams, and their false theology, all in the guise of a word from God.
- False teachers consistently deny God’s revealed truth.
- The ministry of the false teachers produces bitter fruit.
How should we respond to the wickedness of false teaching?
- Our first response should be broken hearts and genuine mourning.
- We should respond by carefully guarding our own speech and bridling our own tongue.
- We must make certain to consistently look to Christ 32
Conclusion:
We should not come to the house of God to hear the opinions of men. We come to hear a word from God
Posted in Jeremiah, Sermon Podcast, Sermon Series
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Life-Changing Prayer
An exposition of Mark 9:14-29. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday Morning, June 1, 2008.
Public prayer can be daunting. So very often we perform rather than pray. In today’s message we look at the story of a man whose desperate appeal to Jesus wasn’t much, but it got the job done. Herein lies a message of encouragement and hope. When we aren’t as strong as we ought to be, we are in a great position to be heard of God. The strength of our prayer is not in ourselves but in the one who responds to prayer.
- In verses 14-22 we see that life-changing prayer is born out of disparate need.
- In verse 24 we see that a life-changing prayer tenaciously clings to the person and power of Christ, when all else around says there is no hope.
- Life-changing prayer produces overwhelming results. For the full impact of this truth look at Luke’s account of this miracle in Luke 9:42-43.
What is the end result? “And all were astonished at the majesty of God.”
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A Genuine Make-Over
An exposition of Ephesians 4:17-32. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, May 28, 2008.
There is a genuine transformation when someone becomes a Christian. So what should a transformed life look like?
- A life characterized by truthfulness.
- A life under control.
- A life of honesty and integrity.
- A life of purity.
- A life of compassion.
We are to be radically different from the world around us.
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Alcohol, Soap Operas, and Chickens
Let’s see. Where do I start?
- SBC blogs are just like the soaps: No matter how long you stay away, when you pick it back up, nothing really has changed. There may be a few different names, but the same old story line is still there, chugging away, right where you left it.
- When I read the posts of most fundamentalists, these lines about chickens always come to mind:
And intellectually, they’re plumb light headed.
They’re not confused by the facts.
That’s why there’s no seeing-eye chickens, guard chickens,
Or trained chicken acts (or cogent thoughts). - I’m also reminded of the old Arab saying “death by a thousand cuts” when I see a sane Christian trying to set above fundamentalists straight in the comments.
So I’m not even going to go there. The only criticism I have is: Dr. Finn, you never should have revised your post. You didn’t say anything offensive. I know you are not Jesus, but look what he said to the Pharisees in Matthew 23. At the very least you should have left your “simplistic” history intact. And don’t forget about sufficiency; it is important.
Now, I’m going to watch a movie with my wife.