These posts contain sermon audio/video from sermons starting in 2014.
On Sunday, January 14, 2018 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Acts 17:16-34. This message was part 1 of the “For” series. Below you will find the sermon audio to listen to online or share.
To listen offline, click the link to download:
To listen online, use the media player below:
On Sunday, January 14, 2018 at Wildwood Community Church I preached a sermon based on Acts 17:16-34. This message was part one of the “For” sermon series. Below you will find a set of questions related to this message for personal reflection or group discussion.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions in pdf format, click here.
All too often, Christians are known by what they are against. I have heard it described as the “fun police.” In other words, if there is something that looks fun, Christians are probably against it. This (of course) is a caricature. The true followers of Jesus I know do not define themselves by what they are against, but primarily by what they are FOR . . . based on who is ultimately FOR them.
Think about it:
“FOR God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“‘FOR I know the plans I have FOR you, declares the Lord, plans FOR welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
“And we know that FOR those who love God all things work together for good, FOR those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
“FOR I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life FOR the sheep.” (John 10:10-11)
If God is FOR us (something that is dramatically and factually proven by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection FOR us), then (as His followers), we are invited to join Him in being FOR others.
Being FOR someone, obviously involves steering them clear of destructive behaviors and patterns (as any parent could attest to), but this kind of correction is constructive, not destructive. It’s desire is not just to make a stand, but to make a difference.
As followers of Jesus, we exist to be FOR Him . . . FOR His glory . . . FOR His direction. Following Him wherever He goes. As we follow Him, we find that Jesus invites us to join Him in serving those around us by helping them follow Jesus as well. As we walk into 2018 at Wildwood Community Church, we are reminded of “Four FORs.” These represent four spheres of people that we can be FOR as a church in 2018 – four groups we can help follow Jesus. These four groups include:
Over the next four weeks at Wildwood in our Sunday morning worship services (8:30, 9:45, and 11:00), we will be looking at these four spheres, remembering our mission, and what we are here FOR. Join us this Sunday, January 14 as we look at part of what it means to be FOR OUR NEIGHBORS (using Acts 17:22-33 as our guide.) Hope to see you Sunday!
On Sunday, January 7, 2018, at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a message titled “Wrestling in Prayer.” It was based on Ephesians 6:10-20. Below you will find the sermon audio from this message to listen to or share.
To listen offline, click the link to download:
To listen online, use the media player below:
On Sunday, January 7, 2018, I preached a sermon at Wildwood Community Church based on Ephesians 6:10-20. Below you will find a set of questions related to this message for personal reflection or group interaction.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions in pdf format, click here.
Well, it is January 4. Three days ago, at halftime of the Rose Bowl, it looked like my beloved Sooners would be playing four days from now in the national championship game. My how much changed in just a couple of hours! Georgia played a near perfect second half of football, and earned their ticket back to Atlanta to play in Monday’s title tilt. As an alumnus of the University of Oklahoma I was proud of our team, coaches, and school. As I told my son after the game, “We are fortunate enough to be affiliated with just one of four schools that played a truly meaningful football game today. We should never take participation in these types of games for granted.” I meant that.
What is interesting to watch, however, is the reaction of fans (including myself) in the days following the game. Many conversations have been held around water coolers this week second guessing play calls and game time decisions.
“Why the squib kick?”
“Why didn’t we throw a pass in the first overtime?”
“Why didn’t we run for the first down on third and two with just under a minute left?”
These questions have been asked over and over. And they have been asked with the kind of clarity only a “Monday Morning Quarterback” can have. If the OU staff and players had known that the squib kick was going to hit a Georgia player, they would have certainly kicked it deep. If they had known that we were not going to get the first down with a run, they would have passed it . . . and vice versa! Seeing the reality of what actually happened, educates us on what SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE. Of course, the coaching staff did not have the luxury of seeing the play’s results before they called them, so they had to simply make a call and hope for the best.
I was thinking about this today as I prepare for my sermon on Sunday. I was thinking about all the myriad of decisions you and I have to make this year. We have to make a bunch of calls on a variety of issues . . . and we hope they are the right ones!
Seeing the reality of what is actually happening around us educates us on what we SHOULD BE DOING this year. Now, when I say this, I am not indicating that there is a crystal ball out there that will tell us the future on each and every issue. What I am saying, though, is that the Bible tells us of a reality that most of us don’t see.
What is that reality? It is the reality of things that are happening in the spiritual realm.
The Apostle Paul goes so far as to say that in this life we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against a spiritual enemy and his demonic connections. Satan wants nothing more than to destroy our relationships, minimize our faith in God, wound our physical and spiritual well-being, and tear apart the reputation of Christ-followers. This is the enemy we face . . . and his influence impacts most of the areas of our life that we hold most dear.
So, as we start a new year together, we can begin with the clarity that only a “Monday Morning Christian” can have. We know that there is an enemy that seeks to destroy and divide. Knowing that, what play are you going to call?
Paul tells us what play we are to call. We are to remember the armor God has offered us in Christ, and we are to pray – asking God to work on our behalf. This is what we will be talking about this Sunday in our message, “Wrestling in Prayer” from Ephesians 6:10-20.
Make plans to join us this week as we return to three Sunday services at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00. Also know that our children’s ministry, student ministry, and adult classes resume this Sunday. Make plans to join us at Wildwood this weekend.
On Sunday, December 31, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I facilitated a sharing time when a number of people were able to share how God had worked in their lives over the past year. Below you will find the audio from that message to listen to or share.
To listen offline, click the link to download:
To listen online, use the media player below:
“Where are the nine?”
One day Jesus healed 10 lepers from their horrible disease (Luke 17:11-19). In a moment, the lepers went from being defined by their illness to being defined by their healing . . . from brokenness to wholeness. After experiencing this miracle, nine of the ten former lepers went their own way. Only one came back to say thanks to Jesus for His mercy and grace. Only one. Prompting Jesus to ask:
“Where are the nine?”
This Sunday, December 31, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church in our 9:45 and 11:00 worship services, we will be sharing stories of some of the ways we have seen God work in our midst this past year. As we do so, we will be saying “thank you to the Lord.” We want to follow the example of the one thankful man, not the 9 who went their own independent way. Looking forward to seeing you Sunday in one of our “All In” worship services this weekend. See you then!
On December 24, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Luke 2:8-20. This message was part 4 in the “Mary’s Christmas” sermon series. The audio from this message is available below to listen to online or download.
To listen offline, click the link to download:
To listen online, use the media player below:
To access the free 25 day Christmas devotional book, click here.
I still remember the morning our son was born. Though the event occurred over a decade ago, I still have great clarity of that day – it is a time my wife and I treasure.
It was the “spring forward” day of Daylight savings time, and our doc had attended a rock concert the night before – forgetting to “spring forward” her clock. So, even though the birth day was planned several days in advance, Josh entered the world one hour later than expected!
Josh was born at 31 weeks, and would need to spend the first month and half of his life in the NICU at Children’s Hospital in OKC. Because of this, we had to play a “road game” . . . out of town and away from family and friends. Any visitors had to be invited and planned out. This meant that our birth experience looked a bit different than some . . . but it was still special to us.
This Sunday is Christmas Eve. On Sunday morning at Wildwood this weekend, we will be wrapping up our “Mary’s Christmas” series by looking at Luke 2:8-20. In these verses we are reminded that Mary and Joseph were playing a “road game” when Jesus was born. They lived in Nazareth, but Jesus was born in Bethlehem (a week’s journey away). Though Bethlehem was Joseph’s ancestral home, there were far from what was “normal” for them.
Even though they were miles from home, the Lord still planned some special visitors to see the new born baby. By special invite, shepherds came. By divine plan, angels attended. And through it all – Mary treasured all these experiences in her heart.
As we gather for worship this Sunday morning at 9:45 or 11:00 at Wildwood, we will treasure the birth story of Jesus and see how we are also invited to worship Jesus this Christmas season. Make plans to join us!
P.S. In addition to the 2 morning worship services we have this December 24, we will also have 2 evening candlelight Christmas Eve services with a living nativity (5:00 and 7:00 PM). Hope to see you both morning and evening this weekend!
Download all 25 days of our Christmas devotional in pdf or ebook format (for free) by clicking here.
