Feeding the Sheep the Word: Read & Proclaimed

Are You a Pyro? (James 3)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 12:57:00 +0000

James 3 (along with Matthew 5:9 and 12:33-37) show us the greatness of the tongue. It is a spark that can set a forest on fire. Some people enjoy setting fires (pyromaniacs). Some people are not consistent -- bearing olives and figs at the same time, blessing God and setting fires with the same mouth. And yet others will see a harvest of righteousness from their words that will give them assurance of faith. If we could just get the tongue under control, we could exercise self-control over the whole body. But what is impossible for us is possible for God.

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Shabby Clothing Day (James 2)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:35:00 +0000

James 2 (also read Matthew 5:7 and 5:17-20) is fairly difficult to apply in a Presbyterian church. After all, most Presbyterians assume that the seats in the back pew are the seats of honor. In any case, this message encourages sharing the gospel with the poor in word and deed as signs of genuine faith. The two major themes are partiality and works.

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Tricking the Heart (James 1)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 14:08:00 +0000

James 1 (like selections from Matthew 7) tells us that believers should ask God for wisdom, believers should hear and do the word of God, and that not all who claim faith have it. James, in particular, tells us that we can deceive ourselves concerning God's character and promises (especially under trial when we might accuse God of tempting us), by hearing and not doing the word, and with worthless religion rather than religion that is pure and undefiled before God (i.e. visiting orphans and widows). May these warnings encourage your growth in the grace of God.

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The Empty Tomb (Matt 28:1-15)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:46:00 +0000

Matthew 28:1-15 shows us the tomb was empty and that the women saw Jesus. While everyone agrees that the tomb was empty on the first day of the week, the disagreement is over the reason it was empty. The sermon confronts you with the authority of the risen and reigning Lord Jesus. Sinners will interpret these things through sin-stained glasses, believers will respond to the statement "He is Risen" with "Risen indeed." May God give you grace to interpret these things as He does.

Click here to listen to the one from 8am.

Click here or the title to listen to the 11am sermon.

What Do You Mean by This Service?

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:00:00 +0000

Exodus 12:24-27, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, and Matthew 28:18-20 are the inspiration for these short comments on the nature of teaching by q and a (catechism). The q&a I suggest for the Lord's Supper is: Q. What do you mean by this service? A. It is the Lord's Supper. We proclaim the Lord's death until He comes as often as we eat this bread and drink the cup in remembrance of Him. This answer does not address what all God does in and through this sacrament (which is not the question posed), just that we are proclaiming our faith in this Jesus by participating in this meal.

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The Last Temptation (Matt 27:32-54)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 12:46:00 +0000

Matthew 27:32-54 shows us the third temptation again but now on the lips of the seed of Satan: "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." It was a temptation of "save yourself." We too are often tempted to try to save ourselves rather than to depend on the salvation Christ accomplished. The Judas method was to try to fix it himself by offering his own blood for atonement. The Pilate method was to wash his hands of it and pass the blame onto others. Neither way works. Your blood, sweat and tears cannot save you. You cannot save yourself or ignore your sins and thereby make everything ok. Depend on God for grace and salvation.

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Are You Putting Jesus on Trial? (Matt 26:57-75)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:07:00 +0000

Matthew 26:57-75 is a powerful passage to equip the saints to share the good news (aka evangelism). After addressing how we should not put Jesus on trial with the unbeliever as a judge of the evidence, we see that we (like Peter) are the ones on trial. Of course, our trial is not even close to the amount of pressure Jesus was under. May we not deny Him but share about our relationship with Him to any and everyone.

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Taking up Your Cross or a Crown? (Matt 4:8-11)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:50:00 +0000

Deuteronomy 6:10-15 and Matthew 4:8-11 tell us, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." This is a temptation with international and even cosmic consequences. And it is resumed in Matt 16:21-26. The temptation is to skip the cross for a crown. The question is whether we are seeking crowns like power and money or are we taking up our cross -- are we worshiping and serving God alone.

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Is God Testing Us or We Him? (Deut 6:16-19, Matt 4:5-7)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:13:00 +0000

Deuteronomy 6:16-19 and Matthew 4:5-7 tell us that we should not put God to the test. One way that we commonly do test God is to ask Him to prove His love and concern for us through miraculous signs like healing. Another way is to seek our will rather than His will in our prayers even if we sound religious by quoting Scripture promises. And a third way we test God is by grumbling. Jesus passed the test for us and so whenever we encounter temptation we should not test God.

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Living by All of God's Word (Deut 8, Matt 4:1-4)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:02:00 +0000

Deuteronomy 8 and Matthew 4:1-4 show us what it means to live by all of God's word and not by bread alone. As you listen, may it not make you physically but Spiritually hungry and may you be driven to seek out more of God's word. The temptations are a traditional Lenten text, we will look at the next two from Matthew in the coming Sundays.

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Good Works Are Worth It (Titus 3)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:14:00 +0000

Titus 3 is written to Christians and shows Christians why good works are worth it. They are not worth it for what we will get can out of them. We cannot save ourselves by doing good works. In fact, for an unbeliever to do good works might even be detrimental because they then may fail to see their need for Jesus' righteousness. But for those who believe good works are worth it because there is nothing in it for us. They allow us to give thanks to God for His mercy by showing mercy to others. And they are worth it because there is something in it for others -- because they benefit others, they profit others.

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How Attractive Is Your Lifestyle? (Titus 2)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:59:00 +0000

Titus 2 shows us what a Spiritually healthy and attractive lifestyle looks like. This way of life can be characterized as respectable living, respecting one another, and doing works demanding respect. Life is a quest for godliness among those who know Jesus Christ. And others whom we evangelize should find this something that they want for themselves because they see it in us.

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How Healthy Is Your Faith? (Titus 1)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:12:00 +0000

Titus 1 tells us about a sound (that is, healthy) church. Such a church has a healthy leadership and members who submit to them. Such a church has healthy teaching and teaches it with their words and deeds. Such a church has healthy living that flows out of that teaching. Thus one thing all healthy churches have in common is the word of God publicly proclaimed and privately pondered. This message will improve your Spiritual health if you take the medicine it prescribes.

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Boaz and Mr. So & So (Ruth 4)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:04:00 +0000

Ruth 4 shows us what is in a name, a Scripture allusion, and a genealogy. For us the answer to all of these questions is Christ. A name is to be remembered -- remembered is resurrection language -- in other words, it is only important for us to be remembered by God in Christ Jesus. A Scripture allusion points us to God's story, which is the story of Jesus. And our genealogy to memorize is quite simple -- God the Father is our Father, Jesus is our elder brother, and we who are in Christ are brothers and sisters in Him. Do you know if your name is in the book of life? Are the stories of Scripture your story? Are you a part of the family?

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Midnight Madness (Ruth 3)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:49:00 +0000

Ruth 3 is a midnight madness situation. Naomi told Ruth to do something that was more than just very risky but downright dangerous. The passage has all kinds of sexual overtones so that we will not miss how messy this could have been. But thankfully because Ruth was a worthy woman and Boaz a righteous man they acted right in the middle of this mess. The passage does teach us something about dating and about dating the church. Most importantly it shows us Boaz taking an oath that he will redeem Ruth if others will not step up. Christ took an oath to redeem you His bride and He has done it.

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Do You Make Others Feel Lucky? (Ruth 2)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 14:11:00 +0000

Ruth 2 introduces Boaz who makes Ruth feel lucky. She was lucky to come to his part of the field because he did not make excuses to turn a blind eye but saw her and had compassion upon her. She was lucky to come to his part of the field because he not only satisfied the letter of the law, narrowly interpreted, but went far above and beyond that. Actually there is no such thing as luck, it was the providence of God that brought her to the worshiping congregation where she could feel lucky, whereas in another field she might have been assaulted.

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Your People Shall Be My People (Ruth 1)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:38:00 +0000

Ruth 1 leads us to reflect on this snowy day on the radical commitment of church membership -- a radical commitment to one another. The passage shows many contrasts. Bethlehem means "House of Bread" and Moab is the people who would not give Israel any bread when they came out of Egypt. The church is where we feast on the bread of life. Ruth and Orpha are another contrast. Here is where we see the text as a challenge to radical commitment -- marriage like commitment to one another. And then Ruth and Naomi are contrasts as well. Ruth as a type of Gentiles coming to Christ and Naomi as a type of the Jews coming to Christ. Both Jews and Gentiles coming together to form one church.

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The Cost of Christmas (Matt 2:1-12)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:47:00 +0000

Matthew 2:1-12 shows us the cost of Christmas. Usually we mean this negatively -- what is Christmas going to cost me? There is a dark side to Christmas as Herod kills the infant children in the region of Bethlehem. But the cost of Christmas we tend to think of is money. Instead, I propose that the "cost" (if we even want to call it that, though it would be considered a cost to unbelievers) of Christmas is rejoicing exceedingly with great joy whenever someone sees the path to Christ, falling down and worshiping Him and nothing else, and giving our treasures to Him. All of these are gifts we give to God. God wants us for Christmas.

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Miracle on Your Street (Luke 2:8-20)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:56:00 +0000

Luke 2:8-20 shows us that a miracle on your street can transform you to not fear the judgment of God, to glorify and praise God, make peace with one another, and treasure up the word of God and ponder His word in your hearts. Thanks be to God. Merry Christmas.

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Do Not Disturb (topical, Isaiah 7:10-17, Luke 2:1-7)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:24:00 +0000

Isaiah 7:10-17 and Luke 2:1-7 are the inspiration for these thoughts entitled "Do Not Disturb." In the former, Ahaz wickedly says that God has a Do Not Disturb policy. In the latter, we see that the Bethlehem Inn had no vacancy. This is part of a larger pattern of Christ's rejection by His people. People often declare to God "Do Not Disturb" there is "No Vacancy" through attempts to obstruct His plans, a failure to seek Him, and a failure to repent and lead others to repent. May God disturb us.

Click here to listen to the 7pm sermon.

Click here or the title to listen to the 11pm sermon.

Mary, the Worthy Wife (topical, Luke 1:39-56)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:44:00 +0000

Luke 1:39-56 is the inspiration for these reflections on the blessed Mary. She was a worthy wife for Joseph, made worthy by God through faith in His word. We do not elevate her to a status of divinity or even some sort of mediator role. But we call her blessed and imitate her faith. The idea of the worthy wife arises from the poem ending Proverbs and from Ruth 3:11. Mary, like Ruth and the Worthy Wife of Proverbs, is characterized by the fear of God (we call faith).

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Pro-Life Eternal (Luke 1:26-45)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:44:00 +0000

The account of the unborn children in Luke 1:26-45 was the starting point for this reflection on the coming of the Christ, the Son of God, who became man at His conception in the virgin Mary. The application of this truth is anything that promotes life and life everlasting.

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Armor Worth Wearing (Eph 6:10-24)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:06:00 +0000

Ephesians 6:10-24 tells us to put on the whole armor of God. Some of us may be parts of the leg, arm, etc. but we have the put on the armor together as one body of Christ. We are not just trying the armor on, like trying on snow boots or a Santa suit, to see how comfortable they feel but we are putting them on to stand against the schemes of the devil and to be able to stand when Jesus returns. Having this whole armor available, the power of prayer, and the encouragement of one another should motivate us to stand firm in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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The Spirit-Filled Home (Eph 5:15-6:9)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:12:00 +0000

Ephesians 5:15-6:9 is a third installment of lessons in the school of Christ. We see what the Spirit-filled household looks (or better yet, sounds) like. In one, the people are (1) addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all their heart, (2) giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and (3) submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Thus we get to hear what submitting to one another in our music sounds like and how we should give thanks for one another rather than complain about our preferences not being met.

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Keeping Christ in Thanksgiving (Colossians 3:12-17)

revmarple@hotmail.com (revmarple) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:31:00 +0000

Colossians 3:12-17 shows us to keep Christ in all our thanksgiving. On this Thanksgiving Day, we gathered to give thanks to God in Christ. It is appropriate that we do this no matter what our circumstances might be.

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