Psalm 16 - The Resurrection Psalm

David says he has no good apart from God. That's a powerful statement. What does it mean? How is it significant for you and me? And what does God demand of us? Will he take anything he can get? And what is our most valuable possession? All of these questions are answered and more, and that's before we even get to the meat of the psalm which is the last three verses.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

In what does David hope? To what does he look forward? Does any of this have anything to do with Christ? And why preach this on Easter Sunday? I hope you will take the time to listen to this sermon preached at the Winnsboro Reformed Church on Easter Sunday 2016. Does the Old Testament, specifically the book of Psalms, have anything to say about Jesus' resurrection? Click the link below and see.

Click here: Psalm 16 - The Resurrection Psalm

God Has Shown Himself (Psalm 19:1-6)

If God wants to be known, then why doesn't he show himself? Why does he make himself so hard to find? Have you ever heard these questions before? Or, perhaps, thought them yourself?

The first part of Psalm 19 takes on those questions and more. In this poem David praises God for his great Creation and points out that all of Creation is day by day, even moment by moment, speaking to us about God. The question then becomes, why are you ignoring this message? The truth is, God has not hidden himself, we have just averted our eyes.

This is the sermon I preached last Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church of Winnsboro, Texas. Just click the link and it will take you to a page where the sermon can be streamed or downloaded as an MP3. God bless.

God Has Shown Himself - Psalm 19:1-6

So how does the Christian respond to this truth? How will you respond?

1 Chronicles

The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah in two volumes. Pretty self-explanatory, right? Well, not exactly, but, sort of.

1 Chronicles begins with one of the longest stretches of genealogy in all the Bible. (To understand why it does this, you'll need to watch the video.) Then it picks up at the death of King Saul and begins re-telling the story of David. Why the redundancy? Why are we covering the same material again? Is it exactly the same? What's going on? And what does it have to do with me as a Christian?

There's also a great segment toward the end of the first video where John asks me about contradictions in the Bible. Isn't the Bible full of them? And what does a Bible believer say about that? Well, I have quite a bit to say about that it turns out, though I had forgotten I said it until I re-watched the video.

The first video is about fifteen minutes long. The second one only seven. There is much more to 2 Chronicles than you might think and I hope you will take the time to watch and perhaps learn a little more about this great book.

Psalm 11 - A Psalm of Trust in God

How should a Christian respond to an increasingly hostile culture? And how should a Christian respond to adversity in his life? Why does God bring us trials? Hasn't he promised us something better than that? If we are to engage the culture around us, how are we to do it? What should our attitude be?

Psalm 11 deals with these questions. The sermon is short and I think will be worth your time. To listen, just click here: Psalm 11 - A Psalm of Trust in God

2 Kings

The second book of the Kings in the Old Testament is an action-packed narrative detailing the history of the divided kingdom. Entitled "Kings" it is more about prophets than it is about kings. Major characters include Elijah, Elisha, Jezebel, Jehu, Isaiah, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. As with any book of the Bible, the main character is actually God. What is he doing? Why did he give us this book? What are we to learn from it? And where is Jesus in all of this?

In these two videos John and I ask and answer several questions about the book of 2 Kings. The session is lively and informative and very poignant toward the end. The total length of the two videos is about twenty-five minutes and it is well worth your time. If you are reading, or plan to read this book in the Old Testament, give this question and answer session a viewing and see if it helps you to understand what the book is about. God bless.

Psalm 19 - A Psalm About Words

Psalm 19 is a beautiful poem written by David in which he extols the virtue of God's words and then goes on to take a hard look at his own. In doing so, he takes us from the point of discovery, through worship, and on to practical application. God speaks, and we his creatures need to listen.

But how does God speak? Psalm 19 addresses that question. In section one, the first six verses, God speaks through creation. In section two God speaks through Scripture. The third section is David's response. The sermon below covers Psalm 19 as a whole. In the near future I will be doing individual sermons to cover each of the three sections of the Psalm. I trust the sermon will be a blessing to you, inspiring worship in your mind and heart and service in your life. To listen to it, just click the link below.

Click here: Psalm 19 - A Psalm About Words