Episodes
Sunday Feb 21, 2021
WIDSOM CRIES OUT TO YOU (Proverbs 1:23-33)
Sunday Feb 21, 2021
Sunday Feb 21, 2021
In our message today, Solomon discusses wisdom. The interesting thing is that while we think of wisdom as something we obtain or achieve, Solomon describes wisdom as a person. A person who cares for you and wants to teach you and guide you. But most of all, the image that we are given is that of someone issuing a warning to those who are headed down a path that will lead to their destruction.
It is like the lighthouse that shines its light out to the ships to warn them of dangerous reefs or shoals. It reminds me of the old-time railroad switchmen who would signal trains with a green or yellow light to signal that all was well on the tracks, or a red light when there was danger ahead, like a bridge being out. I think of wisdom as that switchman standing by the tracks with his red signal light, just to watch the train speed on by ignoring his signal. I think of the tragedy of the people on board that train who will die because the train engineers disdained the warning from the switchman in their arrogance and pride.
This is what our lesson is about today, God has given us His wisdom, in the form of His living Word, and it cries out to us to stop heading down a path to our certain destruction. People ignore the cries of God, they disdain those who share His word, and they will lead themselves, and their families, friends, and loved ones to tragedy because of their own pride and arrogance.
Wisdom looks at the simple, the scornful, and the foolish. She cries out to them, but these people cannot be bothered with wisdom. They are so wrapped up in the world around them, that they do not have time to stop, look, and listen to her words of life. Having money is more important than listening. Succeeding at their job is more important than listening. Going to school is more important. Life in this world is demanding, keeping up with the Jones’ is hard, keeping the family fed, the clothes washed, the car running, and the dogs walked and fed, is hard. There is no time to stop to look at some person standing by the road shining her red warning light, and listen to their words of life. So, they go on in their self-centered, pride, and arrogance.
The days of our lives are short and hurried. During these days, we search for the answers to many of life’s most important questions. If we are wise, then we discover that, apart from divine wisdom, we have no satisfying answers to any of these questions of life: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? What is life all about? Why is evil so prevalent and triumphant? Is there life beyond death? Is there a God? How can God be known?
Only the wisdom contained in the Bible can answer these questions with the wisdom of the Creator of all things. Foolish answers to these questions are plentiful, but they are all wrong to a greater or lesser degree. Wisdom stands, calls, and is disregarded, so she reproves us of our foolishness for listening to the answers of man.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how wisdom stands by the roadway at the intersection of the broad way and the narrow way. She is holding her warning light out to those who will heed her words. Each of us have a choice, to follow God’s Wisdom or reject it. The consequences of that choice have eternal implications.
Amen.
Sunday Feb 07, 2021
TO BE A FATHER-PART II (Proverbs 1:20-22)
Sunday Feb 07, 2021
Sunday Feb 07, 2021
This is the second message in a two-part series on the role of a father in the direction that a child will go as they get older, and our message today will be about the way parents can raise a child who is wise and loves God.
Certainly, we would like to think that every parent, every father, loves their child and wants what is best for them. And as believers, we want to believe that the deepest desire of every parent, every father, is that their children will love God with all of their hearts.
But unfortunately, not all children have the benefit of loving parents. Sometimes children are caught up in the mistakes and the pride and the arrogance of their parents, and more often than not it is the pride and arrogance of the father. Sometimes it is the mother, or even both, but more often than not it is the father.
So, what happens to that child who was not taught by their parents to love God? There is an evolution of that child into becoming someone who does not know the love that God has for them. They become someone who lives their life without God. The really sad thing is that they never learn what it means to have eternal life with God in Heaven.
But that is not the way that child starts out. It doesn’t have to be that way. That is where a godly father, and a godly mother, come into the picture. It is their responsibility to teach that child what it means to love God with all of their heart. Now, the fact is that, ultimately, it is the child who must choose to accept or reject Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Even with the best of parents, that child still has to make their own choice, and some don’t choose Christ. But as parents, we can have tremendous impact on the path that child will take.
Click on the link below to hear a message on what it takes to raise a child who loves God with all of their hearts.
Sunday Jan 31, 2021
TO BE A FATHER (Part I)(Proverbs 1:20-22)
Sunday Jan 31, 2021
Sunday Jan 31, 2021
One of the greatest blessings that God has bestowed on me is that I am the father of two godly sons. The fact that they both love God and serve Him is not a testament to anything that I have done, but to the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They were also blessed with the love of a truly wonderful mother. That undying love that she has for them has shaped them in many ways. Now, it is true that I have loved them both with all of my heart since I held them in my arms on the day they were born. It is also true that our deepest desire for our children was that they loved God with all of their hearts.
Unfortunately, not all children have the benefit of loving parents. Sometimes children are caught up in the mistakes and the pride and the arrogance of their parents, and more often than not it is the pride and arrogance of the father. Sometimes it is the mother, or even both, but more often than not it is the father.
There are many children who are going to be shipwrecked because of the pride and the arrogance of their fathers, who willingly choose not to guide those children into a safe and secure haven. Those fathers will shipwreck their own lives, and then the lives of their children who will suffer in their own ignorance because their father did not teach them the ways of God.
You might ask, “Well what about the mother, isn’t she just as responsible?” Yes, but the Bible is clear that the father is to be the major teacher of the family. But, when the father doesn’t perform that role, whether it is because he is lost and does not know God, or he is too proud and arrogant to do so, or he just isn’t there anymore, then the mother has to step in. But, God gives the role of the spiritual leader of the home to the father.
Our message today is on how To Be a Father, and it is part I of a two-part series. In this first part I am going to describe what happens when a father fails to teach his child. We are going to talk about what happens to that child as a result of that father’s failure.
Click on the link below to hear a message on what happens when we do not teach our children. When a father, who is so wrapped up in his own life, who is so proud and arrogant that he does not love God, and does not wish to teach his children to love God. I hope you hear my words today, and I pray that you will not let this happen to your children.
Amen.