For evil to rise as it has over the last decade, either the Word of God is not the truth it claims to be, or the Word of God is not being preached the way it should be, for the Bible says, to know the truth is to be set free from that which robs us of all God designed us to be. However, according to the latest surveys, there is little difference in the basic morality between those involved in a church and those not involved, which is why we are failing in our witness to the lost.

Every church faces a relentless battle to stay true to the gospel, for the moment a church compromises the gospel, it becomes just another dead religion devoid of the power of God. In his book, “No Place for Truth,” David F. Wells said it more academically, “Unless the evangelical church can recover the truth about what it means to live before a holy God, unless it can rediscover that moral purpose in the world that agrees with the holiness of God, orthodox theology will have no place in our lives. However, if the evangelical church can find a place for theology by focusing on the centrality of God and recover its moral fiber, it will have something to say to a world drowning in modernity.”

This week, we start a new sermon series entitled “The Church: The Pillar and Ground of Truth.” This week’s sermon is entitled “The Recovery of Truth.” 

THANK YOU for forwarding these study guides to those you think might be interested in receiving them. We also appreciate your comments!! PW

In Genesis 6:3, God said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever.” Not long after that we know He cleansed the earth through a worldwide flood, and began again with Noah and his family. Later, God completely destroyed the seven nations who were occupying the land He had promised Abraham – the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, and primarily because of their idolatry and sexual perversion. Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, were strong militarily, but weak morally, and like Sodom and Gomorrah, they imploded under the weight of the sins spawned by their acceptance of that sin which God called an abomination.

The point being, there comes a time when God abandons a man, and even a nation of men, women, and children. God comes to a point where He lets a people suffer the consequences of their own sinful choices. If they will not accept His counsel, then let them eat the fruit of their own choices, and be destroyed by their disobedience.

Has the Western Civilization reached that point? When will we know that God is done with America? How can we know when God is about to abandon a nation?

Our sermon for Sunday morning is entitled: “Mary: The Woman of Obedience.” Even though she was no more than 12-14 years of age when the Angel Gabriel informed her of God’s calling upon her life, after she finally realized the historical and prophetic truth of it all, she cried out unto God, “Let be unto me according to Thy word!”

Some have exalted Mary beyond what the Scriptures teach. Some of what has been taught about Mary is more about religious tradition than biblical truth. Some have given Mary attributes that belong only to God, making her the object of worship, or the channel through which one worships God.

Mary was an extraordinary young girl, but she was born a sinner in need of a Savior, just like every other girl. In Luke 1:47-52, even Mary acknowledged her need for a Savior, and she rejoiced that God was providing a Savior for her and for the whole world.

There are many things in this life about which we can be indifferent, and well we should, for as Ignatius said, “Christians should detach themselves from all things that do not help us to praise, reverence, and serve God.” In other words, we need to let go of anything that doesn’t help us to love God or others, so we can stay engaged with what does.
However, there are a few things in life about which we must not be indifferent, beginning with the voice of the Holy Spirit, whether He is appealing for us to draw closer to the Lord, convicting us of our sins, or calling us to that specific ministry for which He equipped us. At first, those calls get louder and louder, but seeing that we are too focused on our own interests to hear Him, the calls get weaker and weaker. In fact, we can become so insensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we cannot hear His voice at all. What a dangerous situation to live in!!
Unless that is corrected through confession and repentance, we can become indifferent to the pain and suffering around us. In fact, we deliberately avoid it because we don’t want the cries of those who are suffering to rob us of the joys of our personal happiness. Not that we don’t “care,” but we are just too busy with our own needs that we cannot take time to help others in their time of need.
Beloved, while Christians are not required to celebrate the birth of Christ, much less “observe” the Christmas traditions, this does seem to be one of those times when WE can become so focused on our own plans and agendas that we don’t hear the cries of the needy. Please ask the Holy Spirit to give you sensitive ears, so you can hear what the Spirit is saying.
In our text for this next sermon from Zechariah, God referred to that as spiritual indifference, for rather than helping the Israelites with their task of repairing their homes, restoring the walls around the City of Jerusalem, and rebuilding the Temple, Israel’s neighboring nations were doing all they could to keep them from succeeding. In a very dramatic way, God assured His people of their victory, and their insensitive neighbors of their defeat.

In Zechariah 12:3, the prophet wrote, “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” Certainly, today could be that day as most of the nations of the world are lining up against Israel.

However, in Zechariah 12:9, the prophet wrote, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” Since the main focus of that verse applies to the future Battle of Armageddon, perhaps that future is not so far away. The people of Israel have made it clear – they will not be moved from their land again.
In our next sermon from the prophecy of Zechariah, God gave His prophet eight visions for the future of Israel. This first one describes the Lord Jesus ready to destroy the nations that have come against Israel.

With the rise of antisemitism today, I would encourage parents to read this brief introduction to Sunday’s sermon to their children and make sure they understand it.

Four hundred and twelve years after the flood, God called Abraham to be the father of what was to become the nation of Israel. In Genesis 12:1-3 God told Abrahm, “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).

Nowhere in the Bible does God revoke that promise. In fact, in Jeremiah 31:35-37, God said, “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 31:35-37).

Yes, as a nation, the Jews must go through the tribulation period. However, at the very moment when it appears that the nation of Israel is about to be destroyed by the Antichrist, God will lift the veil from their eyes, and they will recognize Jesus as their Messiah; their Savior, and their King, and the remaining remnant of the Jews will be saved. (Zechariah 12:9-10; 13:1; 14:9, 11; Romans 11:25-26).

In our next sermon from the prophecy of Zechariah, we look at God’s call to His people to repent from their sins and to return to Him.

Please prepare your hearts and minds for a very different format for our Solemn Assembly Worship Service on Sunday. Please enter quietly, reverently, and prayerfully.

In her book, “A Royal Waste of Time,” Marva Dawn dared to expose the absolute worthlessness of today’s postmodern, media-saturated, man-centric worship services. While the doctrinally-light churches focus more on the emotional elements of worship to inspire one’s feelings about God, the doctrinally-sound, theologically-conservative churches focus on the intellectual aspects of worship to challenge the worshippers to learn more about God. The problem is that both models are focused on the people rather than upon worshipping God, and in John 4: 24, Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
So, as Marva Dawn asked in her book, “Are our worship services really designed to fit the royalty of our King?” In our preparation for worship, are we visualizing our divine appointment with the Creator and Sustainer of the universe?
A true worship service is a time to put God back in His place through our adoration and praise and ourselves back in our place through confession, repentance, and thanksgiving. Worship, then, or “worth-ship,” is an act of affirming God’s worth–not using the name of God to boost our self-esteem. When believers assemble on the Lord’s Day, fundamentally, we are declaring that God alone is worthy of all glory, all honor, and all praise.
Therefore, the goal of our worship service on Sunday is to keep God at the center of our worship, for only that act of worship, which is filled with the splendor of God, will lead to genuine adoration of God. And, beloved, if we are to make God attractive to those who are lost, they need to see our reverence and respect for the God we say we love.

Rather than abandoning us, as many have wrongly concluded, God is USING the judgments He has released upon our nation to call His people to repent of our sins and return to Him. Like a loving father to a rebellious child, God’s heart breaks when He sees His children turning away from His protection, His provision, and His promises.

Through the voice and pen of the prophet Zechariah, God told His people, if you return to Me, I will return to you. However, God didn’t call His people to return to their routine religious rules and rituals, but rather to their personal, intimate relationship and fellowship with Him.

In our next sermon from the prophecy of Zechariah, we look at God’s call to repentance, in view of the soon coming “Day of the Lord!”

As antisemitism continues to increase across the world, our understanding of two passages from the prophecy of Zechariah becomes clearer.

· Zechariah 12:3 – “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” Zechariah 12:9 – “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”

Hence, I changed my preaching calendar to insert a new series of sermons from the Book of Zechariah on “The Future Salvation of Israel.” The first sermon will define Israel’s prevailing enemies and how the Lord Jesus will destroy them on that day when He returns to this earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.