Fellowship Bible Church Sermons

Cornelius!

January 03, 2024, Acts 10:1-8.We learn about a devout Gentile named Cornelius. God instructed him to call for Peter and hear the gospel from the apostle to the Jews. Chapter 10-11 mark off a kind of official welcome to Gentiles to be saved by faith in Christ.

Blessings and Woes

December 31, 2023 PM, Luke 6:12-26.Our Scripture reading was Esther 8:1ff
Obviously, the Lord is highlighting the blessedness of the humble. His preaching, though it does not explicitly demand this kind of conduct, obviously is calling for us to be that way. We should pray to God to help us recognize our spiritual poverty, ask Him to give us an insatiable appetite for righteousness and to fill it, ask him to sustain us as we weep over things that grieve Him until the time of joy comes, and seek to persevere in persecution knowing that if it is for the Son of Man’s sake, it is eternally worthwhile.

Israel Submits to Righteous Counsel and Responds Righteously Part 1

December 31, 2023 AM, Ezra 10:1ff.In Ezra 10:1-44, Ezra advises the Israelites to put away their pagan wives. Israel responded appropriately to this counsel.

Peace and Progress in the Church Part 2

December 27, 2023 PM, Acts 9:31-43.The church continues to expand during the time of peace after God stopped Paul's persecution of the church. Peter raised Dorcas (Tabitha) as yet another authenticating miracle.

Oratorio - Handel’s Messiah

December 24, 2023 PM, Various.Our Scripture reading was Matthew 2:12ff

The Angels’ Perspective on the Birth of Jesus

December 24, 2023 AM, Various.Our Scripture reading was Matthew 1:18ff
Over the years, I have done a series of 'perspectives' messages on Christmas — Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, now the angels. This has helped us to have a wholistic and Biblical perspective on the birth of Jesus.

The Incarnation and the Trinity

December 24, 2023 SS, Various.We cannot come to a doctrine like this and expect to 'bend' it into something that we can easily understand without effort. Just because it is difficult does not mean it is untrue. And furthermore, how is it that we expect the singular God of the Universe, and the unique God-man, to be something just like us? We are complex beings comprised of body and spirit; emotion and will; affections and desires; heart and mind. Our body alone is a machine of unparalleled complexity—a marvel of design mechanically and chemically. God is so much more than we are, so much higher, so infinite, so marvelous, that we cannot but expect His constitution to reach way beyond the limit of our understanding. Yet the blessed thing is that we can know Him through Jesus, and that knowing is eternal life (John 17:3)!

Peace and Progress in the Church Part 1

December 20, 2023 PM, Acts 9:31-43.Paul's persecution was finally over and the church experienced a blessed time of growth. Miracles continued to be done through the hand of Peter.

Ezra’s Prayer of Confession

December 17, 2023 PM, Ezra 9:1-15.Ezra confesses to God Israel's guilt and reflects upon God's upon past mercies despite the nation's sins.
Our Scripture reading was Psalms 25-26.

Sabbath Controversies

December 17, 2023 AM, Luke 6:1-11.Once again, the Lord Jesus was criticized for doing good on the Sabbath. We try in this message to make sure that our understanding of the Sabbath is Biblical, not based on the traditions of people or religious denominations. By extension, we need to evaluate our thinking on religious matters as a whole and make sure we are not living merely by tradition, but in fact we are honoring the word of God by obeying it.
Our Scripture reading was Esther 7:1ff