July 25: Dead People Go to a Better Place
What's the first thing we hear people say when someone has died? “Oh, she’s in a better place.” The problem is, in many cases, it's simply not true. Dead people don’t always go to a better place. That might be what we'd like to believe, but that still doesn't make it true. The scripture clearly teaches that there is a hell. And it also teaches that many people are going to end up there. As uncomfortable a topic as this is, we need to give a clear witness to the world. Once we lose the concept of hell, the natural consequence is more than just putting us at odds with Scripture. This denial eventually devalues the cross, redefines salvation, and turns our life of faith into an extra-credit spiritual add-on. And it keeps us from sharing the truth all the people who are going to hell need to hear.
Sermon Text: Galatians 5:19-21; Matthew 7:13-14

July 18: Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide
How often have we heard these words, “Let your conscience be your guide.” No doubt, the acceptance of this concept is part of the reason so many people's lives and messed up and broken. The problem is that a lot of us imagine our conscience to be a spiritual thermometer. We assume it can be placed into any situation and it will tell us the moral temperature—too hot, too cold, or just right. But that's not how our conscience works. It's more like the thermostat in our living room. It reflects our definition of hot and cold. We set it to the standards we choose. We determine when it kicks in and when it stays idle. Our conscience doesn't tell us if we're violating God's standards. It tells us when we violating our standards. Our conscience can't be our guide because it needs to be guided itself—by God's Word.
Sermon Text: Jeremiah 17:9; 1 Corinthians 4:4-5

July 4: God Loves the USA so We Can't Lose
Because our nation was originally founded on scriptural principles, there's an idea out there the USA is a Christian nation. God therefore looks at us with special favor and we're guaranteed his blessing. It's certainly true that many came to this country seeking religious freedom. But it's a far stretch to claim that the USA had ever been a truly Christian nation. The truth of the scripture is that God does not favor any nation of people, but blesses his people wherever they are found around the world with the promise that he will work all things, good and bad, out for their spiritual wellbeing.
Scriptures: John 8:31-41
Sermon Text: Psalm 33:12-22

June 27: God Has a Blueprint for My Life
Many Christians believe that God has a highly detailed blueprint for their life that includes a specific, preordained job, career, house, spouse, car—and everything in between. This idea causes many people to go crazy trying to figure out what God’s specific will for them is. Some get so caught up in it that they don’t want to make any decision because they are paralyzed with fear that they will make the wrong decision. This belief confuses God’s omniscience with his divine will. There’s no question, God knows everything, down to the number of hairs on our head. But that doesn’t mean he has a plan for how many we have or that we’re in rebellion if we try to replace some of the ones that go missing. God doesn’t have a blueprint for our life. He does, however, have a game plan for our life.
Sermon Text: Romans 12:2; Ephesians 5:17-18