Jonah cried out to God from the belly of the great fish. Then, God grants Jonah a change of heart whereby he agrees to obey. Another brilliant OT text full of application for today. Here is the sermon I preached Sunday, May 15 at the evening service at Bethel Baptist Church of Pataskala. Make sure to check back this week for chapters 3 & 4.
Grace
My First Sunday Morning Sermon
On March the 6th, 2016, I was honored to preach my first ever Sunday morning sermon at First Baptist Church of New Albany in Ohio.
To skip my comments and just listen to the sermon see below.
A few notable moments. Upon arrival I found out they were happy to allow me to lead the entire service. They had a bulletin already created which they could not get printed. As I was writing it out, I was so glad to see Heaven Came Down, How Great Thou Art and Victory in Jesus listed for singing. Then I noticed a song titled “Let Jesus Come into Your Heart” as the ‘invitation hymn.’
Not opposed to judging a song by its title, I asked if we could change it to “How Firm a Foundation” and they had no problem with that. The service flowed nicely with a skilled pianist and my friend Christopher offering prayer.
They had Scripture reading on their bulletin. I had not prepared for that. Since my sermon was about God’s Word, I thought it would be appropriate and helpful to read Proverbs 30:5-6. I then tested myself and tried to quote Psalm 1 from memory. I did it!! I thought Psalm 1 went nicely with my sermon, and it was the first time I had quoted an entire chapter of Scripture in public from memory (inside a church).
Then my daughter Bailey played perfect renditions of Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art on her flute for special music. You will notice if you listen to the sermon that I open by talking about the hymns. I then do what I am apt to do (and learned from my own pastor), and I spoke for 20 minutes off the cuff while ignoring my notes. So many things flood to my mind that I want to share.
I really enjoyed myself and was very grateful to my friends Mike Stockwell and Christopher Ledezma who attended along with my 3 oldest children. It was a time of service to God and to one of His local churches. I appreciate everyone who prayed for me and the service. As a hipster Christian might say “God showed up big time.” 😉
Feel free to listen here:
Movie Review of Risen
I enjoyed [Risen], generally speaking, and there were a few parts where the story on the screen and my thoughts of my own relationship with Christ brought me to tears of joy over my salvation and sadness over my sin.
Read the rest of my review here.
Here are a few other reviews I found helpful and informative:
Variety: Justin Chang, Chief Film Critic
Todd Friel wrote:
“The sum total of the movie’s message was, believe in Jesus because He is like, way nicer than anyone.”
Todd Friel’s review on Christian Post
I heartily agreed with Ann Hornaday (who I do not know to be Christian) who wrote
Viewers already well-versed in the greatest story ever told might find their interest piqued by the filmmakers’ unconventional take. It’s unlikely, however, that “Risen” will preach to anyone outside the choir.
Interview On Pillar of Truth
The good folks at the Pillar of Truth interviewed me about my work evangelizing and leading evangelism events.
In 2015 I was interviewed on the Pillar of Truth podcast:
As you can imagine, I wasn’t any less wordy with them than usual, so they had to cut the interview in parts. 🙂
I do appreciate if you listen and give me feedback.
Miracles to Convert the World
My wife just showed me a FB post where someone quoted Kris Vallotton saying that the church must demonstrate the miraculous works of Christ. It is at least implied that this is what allows nonbelievers to experience repentance.
Here is my response:
The only miracle the world needs to see is people repenting of their superstitions and repenting of their desires for God to perform for them and, instead, trusting in His Word alone.
How to Protect Yourself from Deception
I preached this sermon this week at church. Here are the images which are referred to therein:
