Tag: Val Watkins

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Sermon Audio: What Made Jesus Cry
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 19:41-44
Duration: 21:45
Size: 9.95 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
What Made Jesus Cry
Luke 19:41-44

There are two instances recorded for us in the Scripture where Jesus cried.

What makes you cry? What sorts of things get to you and cause you to well up with tears?

1. JESUS CRIED… BECAUSE WHEN HIS PEOPLE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY THEY REJECTED IT.

Jesus was making his way to Jerusalem because that’s where the cross was.

The people of Jerusalem were visited by God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ but chose not to accept Him.

Whenever Christians have the opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus’ death, burial and Resurrection with someone who needs to hear it, but they don’t take it, it saddens Jesus.

2. JESUS CRIED… BECAUSE WHEN HIS PEOPLE REJECTED HIM, THEY SUFFERED FOR IT!

They could have had peace, but they missed it. And because they didn’t have peace, they suffered from unhappiness in the present.

People who reject Jesus Christ not only suffer from unhappiness, but also from hopelessness.

Maybe you’re suffering from grief, loneliness, depression, anxiety you need to know this morning that Jesus knows what you’re feeling.

So many of us are caught up in our own knowledge of Jesus Christ, that we can’t seem to stop and see that people all around us don’t know him.

“Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:09 — 9.7MB)

Sermon Audio: The Triumphal Entry
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 19:28-40
Duration: 21:09
Size: 9.68 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
The Triumphal Entry
Luke 19:28-40

Luke organized his entire Gospel to show who Jesus is and what he had come to do to seek and to save he lost.

He knew well enough what lay ahead, and had set his face to go and meet it head on.

He was coming to be the Passover Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). But, before he gave his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), he entered the city as the King of kings.

I. Jesus Plans His Deliberate Entrance

Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem was an act of glorious defiance and of great courage.

So Jesus by this action came as a king of love and peace, and not as the conquering military hero that the crowds expected and awaited.

II. Jesus Affirms His Sovereign Kingship

As Jesus rode from Bethphage and Bethany down the Mount of Olives, which was directly opposite Jerusalem, he was affirming his sovereign kingship.

Jesus rides the same way into our lives today. He comes in humility to be our Savior.

III. Jesus Receives His Rightful Praise

The crowds gave Jesus his rightful praise as the coming Messiah and king for all the mighty works that they had seen.

Is it your joy and delight to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that Jesus has done and is doing?

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Sermon Audio: Finding Your Sweet Spot
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 19:11-27
Duration: 23:11
Size: 10.6 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Finding Your Sweet Spot
Luke 19:11-27

When it comes to living out our commitment to God, you and I have our own sweet spots, a place of service, in our lives that allows us to live like we were created to live.

They are called spiritual gifts and if we have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ then we have been given, by God, spiritual gifts to be used to serve God and help fulfill His mission and purpose.

Every one of us here this morning has a sweet spot; every one of us here this morning has at least one talent that we need to use as part of God’s team.

I think we need to ask ourselves when it comes to the issue of not just stewardship of our time, our treasures, or our talents, but of our entire life.

Giving and serving are also important parts of our faith and life in God.

God gave people, you and me, the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

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

Sermon Audio: To Seek and To Save
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 19:1-10
Duration: 20:20
Size: 9.30 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
To Seek and To Save
Luke 19:1-10

We make judgments about people without really knowing much about them.

In Luke we learn of a man who wished for that same thing.

Zacchaeus was a man who was not well liked or accepted in Jericho.

Just prior to Jesus entering Jericho He had told his disciples how difficult it was for a rich man to enter heaven.

But he was not going to let people keep him away from finding a new life

A man who was rejected by all, found acceptance in Christ.

Jesus is not on a search and destroy mission – His mission is to seek and to save the lost.

God loves you, more than we can comprehend or ever understand.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:09 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: Blind No More
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 18:35-43
Duration: 20:09
Size: 9.23 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Blind No More
Luke 18:35-43

One man broke the rules of polite society and created a scene.

Even today, what you believe about the person of Jesus is the single most important thing in your life.

1. Reason will offer You Many Excuses For Why You Can Wait On Getting Right With God.

It may be that you have sat in the church in service after service when you have felt the tug of the Holy Spirit at your heart but you didn’t do anything about it.

2. Religion will try to silence your cry for a personal relationship with God.

What or who are you allowing to silence your request to be saved?

The sad truth is that many people want a church that comforts their challenges instead of challenging their comforts.

3. Reality of Faith Is Seen In the Life That Is Lived.

I believe that the reality of this man faith is seen not so much in his healing as in his willingness to follow Jesus and glorify God.

With the privilege of Choice, goes the terrible responsibility of living with the results or consequences of our choices.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:15 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: Jesus Foretells His Death…A Third Time
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 18:31-34
Duration: 23:15
Size: 10.6 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Jesus Foretells His Death…A Third Time
Luke 18:31-34

While on his final journey to Jerusalem Jesus made yet one more prediction about his upcoming passion.

Understood in this sense, the word passion refers particularly to the suffering of Jesus Christ.

I. The Prediction of Jesus

At that time Jesus was in Galilee and he began his journey to Jerusalem to face his death by crucifixion.

The heart of the Christian faith is the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus predicted seven things that would happen to him in due course.

Jesus’ passion was no accident. Jesus knew what lay before him, and he willingly and voluntarily went to the cross.

II. The Perplexity of the Apostles

It was not until after Jesus’ resurrection that they understood fully and clearly what Jesus was telling them in all of his predictions.

The only way to grow in a correct understanding of Jesus and his work is to study the Word of God diligently and carefully, personally and together, and then in humility apply it to our lives daily.

On the cross he offered a king’s ransom: his life for the life of his people.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:15 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: The Rich Ruler
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 18:18-30
Duration: 24:15
Size: 11.1 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
The Rich Ruler
Luke 18:18-30

The theme of Luke 18, which we have been studying for several weeks, has to do with entrance into the kingdom of God.

It was at this point that a rich ruler asked Jesus one of the greatest questions ever asked in the entire Bible. He asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.

I. The Question of the Ruler

Far too often people go to the wrong religion, the wrong church, or the wrong teacher to find an answer to their question.

II. The Response of Jesus

However, the ultimate comparison is not to one another but rather to God, who is the only one who is truly good.

III. The Claim of the Ruler

He did not realize that getting angry with one’s brother was murder, or that lust was adultery, according to Jesus (Matthew 5:21-30).

IV. The Command of Jesus

Are you willing to get rid of any and every thing that you love more than Jesus in order to follow Jesus?

V. The Sorrow of the Ruler

VI. The Comment of Jesus

According to Jesus, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.

VII. The Question of the Listeners

VIII. The Answer of Jesus

Here we must understand that salvation is clearly a work of God and not of man. God saves sinners!

IX. The Statement of Peter

X. The Promise of Jesus

You see, Peter and the other disciples, received eternal life because they let nothing stand between them and following Jesus.

Similarly, Jesus promises something infinitely better on the other side to those who are willing to sacrifice everything they currently have.

If Christ is really God, then all the conditions are gone.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:41 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: Let The Little Children Come To Me
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 18:15-17
Duration: 17:41
Size: 8.10 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Let The Little Children Come To Me
Luke 18:15-17

Jesus wanted people to understand how to enter into heaven.

And so the right approach is to believe that we can gain access into heaven only by the merits, the good works, and the righteousness of Jesus.

I. The Disciples Rebuke the Parents

Jesus thoroughly enjoyed his interaction with the children and he loved to bless them.

It is one of the loveliest things in all the gospel story that Jesus had time for the children even when he was on the way to Jerusalem to die.

II. The Savior Receives the Children

A. Jesus Allows the Children to Come to Him.

Children are able to enter into the kingdom of God, and we should never them from entering the kingdom of God.

Every born-again child of God is completely and totally helpless and dependent.

B. Jesus Compares the Reception of the Kingdom to a Child’s Attitude.

1. Unmitigated Trust
They believe in Jesus, but it is more than a mind-belief – they trust Jesus for everything to do with salvation and life.

2. Untutored Humility
Because children have not developed the pride of adulthood, they readily repent.

3. Untarnished Receptivity
The soul that receives the kingdom is grace-oriented. It is open to the unmerited favor of God.

4. Unabashed Love
Unabashed love is the province of those who receive the kingdom as little children.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:36 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: Thank God I’m Not Like…
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 18:9-14
Duration: 14:36
Size: 6.69 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Thank God I’m Not Like…
Luke 18:9-14

“In the eyes of Christ a person confessing sin is nearer to true goodness than a person boasting of his goodness.” (F.F. Bruce, Theologian)

Specifically, the parable of The Pharisee And The Tax Collector deals with the attitude with which we offer up our prayers:

Two Men

A Pharisee was a member of the Jewish faith set apart to maintain and further the divine cause.

A tax collector was at the other end of the spectrum. He would have been perceived by the community as the worst of the worst of Jewish citizenry, perhaps even lower.

Two Prayers

Yes God, thank you that I am not like these other people.”

He wouldn’t even lift his eyes to heaven as was common among those who came to pray but rather, he pounded his chest over and over again crying, “God have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Two Outcomes

Pharisee
Measured himself to others rather than to God who is absolute in holiness; he built his self-worth on the moral failings of others.

Tax Collector
He recognized the sin in his life; he didn’t hide it or deny it. He recognized his need for God’s grace and pleaded for it.

Pray with a spirit of humility recognizing that we are sinners saved by grace.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:03 — 1.0MB)

Sermon Audio: Persistent Prayer
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 18:1-8
Duration: 23:03
Size: 10.5 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Persistent Prayer
Luke 18:1-8

Probably more than just a few of us actually have given up and stopped praying, maybe not altogether, but at least quit praying for certain things.

1. Don’t Give Up There Is Too Much At Stake.

Who among us has not felt like since our prayers are not being effective, we might as well just quit?

We are told up front that this judge does not care about God or about men.

2. Don’t Give Up When Circumstances Seem to Be Against You.

As hopeless as her situation must have seemed, she was persistent.

3. Don’t Give Up the Answer May Be Just Around the Corner.

The judge is finally moved to help her not out of sense of justice or compassion but one of self-preservation.

4. Don’t Give Up God is Working Out the Answer.

Unless we see that Jesus is pointing out contrasts, we will get the idea that God must be argued or bribed into answering our prayers.

5. Don’t Give Up Jesus Always Keeps His Promises.

Without faith, prayer becomes little more than a ritual that we perform and then stand in wonder “Does it really work?”

What we need to concern ourselves in not the Lord’s faithfulness, but rather our own!

We are really faced with a choice between:

Praying or losing heart,
Going on with God or Giving up on God.