Tag: Sermon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:55 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: The Parable of the Wedding Feast
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 14:7-11
Duration: 20:55
Size: 10.4 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
Luke 14:1-6

They believed that they were pretty good people and that they were doing a good job following the rules that would make them citizens of the kingdom of God.

I. The Prelude to the Parable

So, when Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor.

II. The Protocol in the Parable

Jesus’ parable is about a wedding feast, and he teaches people not to go and take the seat of honor, because a more distinguished person may have been invited to the wedding.

Do not claim your own honor or take the best seat in the house.

III. The Point of the Parable

If I hold on to this it helps prevent me from putting myself at the canter, and instead allows me to put God and other people at the center.

Jesus’ point is that people who exalt themselves – who think that they are good enough to stand before God based on their own merits – the Final Judgment will be a total humiliation.

Only those who come to God in humility, bowing before him, and who therefore put their complete faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ and repent of their sins, will discover that they are assigned seats at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.

“Why should I let you into my heaven?”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:08 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: The Healing of a Man on the Sabbath
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 14:1-6
Duration: 23:08
Size: 10.5 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
The Healing of a Man on the Sabbath
Luke 14:1-6

Jesus encountered a problem because he did not heal on just six days of the week; he healed on all seven days of the week.

I. Jesus Accepted Every Invitation of Hospitality

Nevertheless, Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees on that particular Sabbath day.

He wanted to develop a relationship so that he could communicate the gospel with them.

II. Jesus Was Watched By His Enemies

A few, such as Herod and the scribes and Pharisees, wanted to get rid of him.

They want to see whether your conduct matches your profession of faith. And if they see an inconsistency, they will call you on it.

III. Jesus Asserted the Lawfulness of Doing Works of Mercy on the Sabbath

Jesus, as he always did, posed an excellent question.

So, Jesus asserted the lawfulness of doing works of mercy on the Sabbath.

But how should Christians keep the Lord’s Day holy?

First, Christians should worship on the Lord’s Day.

Second, Christians should rest on the Lord’s Day.

Third, Christians should do works of mercy on the Lord’s Day.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:48 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: Forsaking Fear
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 13:31-35
Duration: 19:48
Size: 9.06 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Forsaking Fear
Luke 13:31-35

Jesus demonstrated Four Crucial Truths Concerning Giving In To Fear.

1. Fear Will Be Victorious If We Allow Ourselves To Be Frightened Into Silence.
2. Fear Will Be Diminished If We Realize That Our Lives Are In God’s Hands.
3. Fear Will Be Banished If We Learn To Live Life From the Vantage Point Of Certain Victory.
4. The Most Fearful Thing of All Is to Make a Decision To Leave Jesus Out Of Our Lives.

This chapter ends with a heartbreaking expression of grief. Jesus must accept, though with sadness, the fact that there are those who will not accept Him.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:14 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: The Narrow Door
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 13:22-30
Duration: 19:14
Size: 8.80 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
The Narrow Door
Luke 13:22-30

This message is for those of you who have read and sung and listened to people talk about Jesus for years without meeting him personally.

But then Jesus came along and taught over and over that God the Father offered salvation by grace through faith in him as the promised Savior.

1. No One Gets To Heaven Accidentally

If heaven is a free gift, then what are you striving for?

2. The Road to Heaven Is Narrow

The narrow door as I understand it in this text is Jesus Christ, who is the only means of eternal salvation, the only way of entering the kingdom of God.

Many people think they are going to heaven but they have not admitted that they are sinners, they have not turned in repentance and trusted in Jesus alone for salvation.

Some will miss out because they have a false view of the nature of God.

3. Not Everyone Is Going to Heaven

There is coming a day when the wonderful invitation of salvation will be over.

4. Missing Heaven Will Be An Eternal Torment

Contrary to the popular belief there will be no sinful party in hell with all your other rowdy friends.

God saves people who have entered into a personal relationship with him through faith and repentance.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:37 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: Do You Have a Mustard Seed or Yeast?
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 13:18-21
Duration: 24:37
Size: 11.2 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Do You Have a Mustard Seed or Yeast?
Luke 13:18-21

We remember the big achievements, but give very little consideration to the small things that are done.

The ways we could express this type of rebuke are endless, but the meaning is the same – What you are doing for God is not acceptable.

The first picture he presents is that of a mustard seed which is planted and grows into a tree.

Success in God’s hand does not depend on the initial starting size but on whether it is done for God.

The second picture that Jesus gives to his audience in the picture of yeast.

Your actions, though they be small and insignificant or not valued by others, if they are done for God and his kingdom, can have an impact that is wide spread.

God doesn’t care about the size of the offering you make, but he does care that you are seeking to make a difference in other’s lives.

Whatever you do whether big or small, do it in his name and for his glory and allow God to bring something great from it.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:30 — 9.4MB)

Sermon Audio: Feeling the Weight of the World
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 13:10-17
Duration: 20:30
Size: 9.38 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Feeling the Weight of the World
Luke 13:10-17

Our Scripture Passage for this morning is a story of restoration and health, in the face of a system that seems bound and determined to keep oppressed people where they are.

Have you ever felt so low about yourself that all you could muster-up the strength to do was to look at your feet on the ground?

It’s interesting. Jesus always notices those on the margins. Jesus always notices the castaways.

When she could finally straighten up her back, what she saw must have been clear: the religious institution was bent over and suffering under the weight of its own laws.

So Jesus says to the religious folk, who are angry at Jesus for breaking the Sabbath Law, that love and taking care of other people trumps the Law every time.

But the religious leaders’ insistence on rigid laws and following them to a tee—no matter who they hurt along the way—keeps them from being healed.

They look wise with this self-made religion and their self-denial by the harsh treatment of the body, but they are no help

As is so often the case, when we legalistically insist on the letter of the Law, the needs of others are overlooked. By holding to standard operating procedures, the “royal law of love” gets pinned to the mat.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:32 — 7.1MB)

Sermon Audio: A Race For All Generations
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 13:6-9
Duration: 15:32
Size: 7.11 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
A Race For All Generations
Luke 13:6-9

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:37 — 9.0MB)

Sermon Audio: A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 13:1-5
Duration: 19:37
Size: 8.98 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action
Luke 13:1-5

Life is full of questions.

But what really annoys others is the simple pat answers.

I don’t believe that the Asian tsunami or the 9/11 attacks had easy answers.

Quite honestly, I think it insults God’s intelligence when we come up with definite one-line answers for hard things in our world.

Instead of cursing the darkness, light a lamp.

I’m wondering if God is more concerned that we live to please him in everything, than He is in letting us know who’s saved and who isn’t.

Next time you want to complain about the church, ask if you’re actually contributing, if you’re part of the solution.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:58 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: The Signs of the Times
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 12:54-59
Duration: 19:58
Size: 9.14 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
The Signs of the Times
Luke 12:54-59

Jesus now continues his teaching by warning his disciples and anyone else who would listen that there is great wisdom in reading the signs of the times.

First, You Need to Recognize That Judgement Is Real.

Yet the people of today pay far more attention to tomorrow’s weather forecast than they do to their eternal destiny.

The signs are there for those who are willing to observe them, and they warn of an inferno of judgment against an ungodly world, a fact which most people prefer to ignore or deny.

Secondly, You Need to Prepare Because Judgement Is Coming.

Having issued the warning, Jesus next in verses 57-59, gives the crowd (and us) some advice on how to prepare for judgment.

You had better settle with him before it is too late.

1. This Preparation Begins with a Sense of Our Sin.

People who have allowed God’s grace to work in their lives mourn their sin, the lost do not acknowledge their guilt.

2. This Preparation Involves Real Change.

“Recognizing your faults and actually changing your ways are two different things, Charlie Brown.”

3. This Preparation Involves Accepting Christ as Your Personal Savior.