January - 2018

Water Grave

As I conclude my sermon series this morning on baptism, follow along as I read our text, Colossians 2:11-13. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your s

The Double Cure - Part 2

When I was 8 or 9 years old I started drawing my own comic books. I would spend hours at the desk in my bedroom with the radio playing just drawing and writing stories I created. Like Marvel and DC comics I had a whole stable of superheroes. At one point, I even attempted to interpret the Bible in comic book form. I persisted in this passion until I was around 16 and I have a box full of drawings that I numbered, dated and stapled together like comic books to prove it. My

The Double Cure - Part 1

Sermon from 1/14/18 Have you ever heard of the double cure? Augustus Toplady coined that phrase in his most famous hymn, Rock of Ages. “Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Save from wrath and make me pure.” Our tendency today is to excuse sin by saying we all fall short and although that is true that is also the problem we face. You see, we have double trouble in

Why is there a Hot Tub at Church?

Sermon from January 7, 2018 Years ago, I was talking to a person who had recently begun visiting the church I was serving and I asked him if he had any questions. The only question he had was why do we have a hot tub at church? At first I did not know what he was talking about then I realized that the baptistery, made out of fiberglass and filled with water, looks a lot like a hot tub. We, especially those of us who grew up in the Christian Church, automatically know that t

Honoring Christmas in Your Heart All Year Long

Sermon from December 31, 2017 Twas the week after Christmas and all through the house Nothing would fit me – not even a blouse. The cookies I’d nibbled, the fudge I did taste All the holiday parties have gone to my waist. I remember the marvelous meals I’d prepared The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rare; The pies and the cakes, the bread and the cheese And the way I never said, “No thank you please.” So away with the last of the sour cream dip Get rid of the fruitcake, e

Sterling Park Christian Church