Dove Creek Bible Church's Podcast

Is fasting a proper spiritual discipline? What does the New Testament say about fasting? Will fasting help a person to become more spiritual? Is fasting and praying better than simply praying? These and other questions are addressed in this sermon.

In today's text, all's well that ends well...but not as far as Jonah is concerned.

In today's text, the people of Nineveh repent and the Lord relents.

In Chapter 2, Jonah has been swallowed by the fish and what do you know? Suddenly he is all motivated to obey because the Lord has given him an attitude adjustment.

God calls Jonah a rebellious prophet to be a prophet to the wicked city of Nineveh, but Jonah rebels and flees across the sea in the opposite direction. When God sends a storm to stop Jonah, the prophet is thrown overboard where he is swallowed up whole by a large fish.

Are you ever confused about the finality of forgiveness? When you became a Christian did Christ forgive you of all of your sins meaning all the sins you would ever commit? Or did He only forgive you of all the sins you had committed up to the point when you became a Christian? When I was a kid it seemed like on some occasions I heard sermons about how all my sins were forgiven in Jesus Christ and on other occasions I was taught I was still in need of God’s forgiveness in some way. I found this confusing (we’re all my sins forgiven or not) and it sometimes resulted in insecurity about my standing before God and worries about God punishing me for unforgiven sins. Such insecurity cannot help but create an emotional distance from God.

The passage we get into today is commonly referred to as the Lord’s Prayer; however, this is not a prayer Jesus would have prayed. Why not? Well for one thing He would never need to ask to be forgiven His debts. This prayer is more accurately called a model prayer or a sample prayer. Jesus had just finished saying how not to pray and now He says, “Instead, pray in this way.” Again I want you to note the prayer is short and to the point and yet it touches upon the main things we are to address in our prayers. It begins with worship and adoration then transitions to petition and supplication. Note how the petitions begin with God’s concerns and will and not our own concerns and will. There are six separate petitions in this prayer and the first three of them address God’s concerns. The idea is His interests trump our interests.

In this Father's Day Sermon Pastor Jeff explains the indelible marks left on his own father's heart caused by his father abandoning him at the age of 10. From there he explores the biblical qualities of a good father.

Some say that it is not true that "God loves the sinner, but hates the sin". They argue Psalm 5 and Psalm 11 make it clear God hates sinners. Is that true? And if it is, does that mean we can hate sinners as well? How would we reconcile such a position with this exhortation in the Sermon on the Mount to love our enemies?

Are we people of our word? Do we really feel we must fulfill the vows and oaths that we make? It’s easy to swear oaths that you don’t really expect you will have to fulfill or truly intend to keep in the first place. And this is what Jesus addresses, this tendency to make vows that when push comes to shove we really don’t think of as binding.

If you divorce your spouse are you forcing them to commit adultery? If you marry someone who is divorced have you committed adultery? Jesus seems to say so in this text. Divorce has always been a controversial subject in the Christian community. How do we navigate through what Jesus says here and what He says elsewhere about divorce? Is adultery the only biblical reason for divorce? These questions and others are addressed in this sermon.

We like the temptation of lust…there is a sense in which we say to this temptation, “Go ahead, torture me all you like.” Because we like this particular kind of torture. Most of us like to think we keep and have kept at the very least two of the Ten Commandments. We may reluctantly admit that we have lied, stolen in some form or fashion, or coveted someone else’s possessions, but we have never murdered or committed adultery…at least we have been able to keep those two. And now here comes Jesus saying. “Au contraire…turns out you haven’t even kept these two really.”

Have you ever wondered if you are capable of murder? Have you ever really thought about that? Under what circumstances you might possibly take a life? We would all probably be surprised at what we are actually capable of if we get angry enough if we get frustrated enough, or if we get overwhelmed and confused enough…we are all very capable of murder whether we admit it or not. Today Jesus points out…not only are we all capable of murder…we have in truth…as far as God is concerned already committed it.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law thought Jesus should just keep His mouth shut on the law as He was, in their view, untrained in the law and He had no rabbinical pedigree they recognized. Nevertheless, Jesus introduces the next section of the Sermon on the Mount where He beings to instruct them as to where they misunderstood and misapplied the law.

We glory in the cross, but should the cross get all the glory? Why does the empty tomb appear to play second fiddle to the cross?

Daniel predicted when Jesus, the Anointed ruler who would come, would arrive and he predicted it to the exact day it happened.

How are Christians to operate as salt and light in a culture such as ours? In our culture holding to traditional Christian values translates into being a “bigot” and a “hater”. How do we operate as salt and light in a culture that is in the process of deconstructing and many people are deconverting?

This is the last beatitude and it has several unique features. It is the longest beatitude given. It is the only beatitude with commentary. It’s the only beatitude Jesus repeats. It is the only beatitude with an expected response. It is the only beatitude directed personally to the hearer. Note how the beatitude begins with “Blessed are those” and then changes to “Blessed are you”. This beatitude seems an abrupt change in direction from the last one, “Blessed are the peacemakers”. How do we go from peacemaking to persecution? It seems counterintuitive. If we are peacemakers, why are we persecuted? Why would the world want to persecute peacemakers?