Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: 1 Kings 22:1-14

1 Kings 22 tells the story of a prophet with an unchanging message to a changing world. After receiving counsel from 400 pandering prophets, King Ahab and Jehoshaphat hear from Micaiah, a true prophet of God. And rather than saying what they wanted to hear, Micaiah proclaims, “...As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak” (v. 14).

There are five things we can learn from Micaiah’s bold response.

1. It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error.
Devoted believer Jehoshaphat had made an unholy, political alliance with the wicked King Ahab. Unity is a wonderful thing; the Church is called to do everything we can to preserve unity. But it must only be unity in Christ, and Christ alone.
2. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals than to tell a lie that comforts and then kills.
The 400 prophets before Micaiah lied to please the king, but Micaiah refused to be bought or intimidated. Adrian Rogers says, “Rough truth is better than polished falsehood.”
3. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie.
Sometimes, we assume those who tell us the truth are our enemies. King Ahab hated Micaiah; prophets and disciples all throughout Scripture faced persecution, including Jesus Himself. People of God will not be loved by this world.
4. It is better to stand alone with the truth than to be wrong with a multitude.
The King’s Council tried to soften Micaiah, begging him to agree with the other prophets. But he stood by his conviction from God. The majority is almost always wrong; men and women of God have always stood alone.
5. It is better to ultimately succeed with the truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie.
Eventually, Ahab’s rejection of the truth cost him his life. Micaiah’s dedication to the truth brought him to power. This world is in desperate need of the truth; we cannot be intimidated by momentary threats of failure. The truth of Jesus Christ will outlast every lie this world could tell.

Apply it to your life
Are you sharing the unchanging message of the Gospel in this changing world? Remember the words of Micaiah: “As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak."

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Ephesians 5:14

If we’re not careful, we may spend the prime time of our lives chasing the wrong goals. This is why we have to learn how to use and maximize our time for God’s glory. Ephesians 5:14-16 says, “Therefore He says: 'Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.' See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

We must begin to see time as an incredible opportunity, so we may know how to live wisely in evil days. Time is a provided and present opportunity; it is a gift from God that we dare not let pass by. Adrian Rogers says, “There are two days that can steal the joy from today: one is yesterday and the other is tomorrow.”

In Philippians 3:13-14, the Apostle Paul said, "...but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” We must forget the guilt, glory, grief, and grudges of the past.

Time is a precious opportunity; the art of living is spending time wisely. Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

We can organize our days according to four principles:

Prayer: it is the key that unlocks the door of the morning. Begin every day with prayer.

Priority: understanding the difference between urgent and important, we must prioritize accordingly.

Promptness: procrastination is a sin. We must cultivate the habit of instant obedience.

Power: this means we do God’s will in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, time is a passing opportunity. Adrian Rogers says, “Time is such a strange commodity; all you can do is use it or lose it.”

We will give an account for every passing day. Knowing this, we must cut ourselves loose from yesterday’s heartaches and failures and strain toward what’s ahead.

Apply it to your life

What do you intend to do with your day? Will you be a good steward of the time God has given you?

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Romans 1:16-22

Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Therefore, we know God is righteous, and there is no other way to Heaven except through Jesus. Romans 1:16-22 offers four factors to help us better understand this truth.

The Revelation Factor: all men have some light.

God created us to serve and know Him. There are two witnesses all people have; one is the outward, objective witness called creation. The other is the inward, subjective witness called conscience.

The Refusal Factor: light refused increases darkness.

Adrian Rogers says, “The opposite of truth is not error; it is sin.” When creation and conscience speak to us, and we continue to refuse God, we regress. We lose even the little light we have; our foolish hearts are darkened. Romans 1:18 says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." In this context, the word "suppress" means to resist the truth; not in error, but in unrighteousness. Because belief in God leads to an entire life change, unbelief is the baggage that comes with disobedience.

The Reception Factor: light obeyed increases light.

Romans 1:16-17 says, “...for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.” The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. When we receive and believe the truth, we will be given more truth. When we surrender our will, God will speak to us; we can begin by obeying Scripture we understand.

The Reckoning Factor: God will judge us by the light we’ve rejected.

Many of us are fortunate to have immediate, easy access to the Bible. God will hold us accountable for this, more so than the person who’s never heard. This should encourage us to take advantage of the light we’ve been given, lest we lose it.

Apply it to your life

All men have some light; light refused increases darkness, and light obeyed increases light. Men are judged according to the light that they have. Knowing what you know, take advantage of the Scriptures available to you, and share it with others.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Isaiah 50:10-11

Sometimes, darkness falls upon even the most devout Christians. What can we do when the lights go out? What is the discipline of darkness? Isaiah 50:10 says, “Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God.”

First, those of greatest devotion may know the deepest darkness. There is a distorted idea that the Christian life is all joy and light. But Isaiah 50 speaks to those who revere God and respect His authority, yet face deep perplexity and anguish.

Second, faith that is born in the light is developed in the dark. In order to develop our faith in the darkness, we must look and lean on the Lord. Adrian Rogers says, “It is better to be in a valley, leaning on God, than on a peak without Him.”

Third, some things are seen in the dark that cannot be seen in the light. Adrian Rogers says, “You could not see the stars were it not for the darkness.”

Fourth, it is better to lean on God in the darkness than stand alone in man-made light.

One of the great dangers of darkness is the temptation to light our own fires. But if the darkness has been ordained of God, we cannot undo what God has done. Man-made fire is deceptive; we see this in the stories of Abraham, Moses, and Simon Peter. When these men of God took matters into their own hands, it resulted in bitter weeping and “lying down in sorrow.”

Finally, if our sun has set, we must remember it will rise again. Isaiah 50:4 says, “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned."

When we get to a better day, we will be equipped to teach the greatest treasure of the darkness: that in our deepest sorrow, our Heavenly Father’s eyes are upon us.

Apply it to your life
If you’re in darkness right now, don’t light your own fire; look and lean on God. Remember these words from Adrian Rogers: “God will turn every tear to a pearl, every hurt to a hallelujah, every Calvary to an Easter; your morning will come.”

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Matthew 19:1-6

Adrian Rogers says, “Real marriage did not come from the swamps of immorality or by evolution, but marriages are made by heaven.”

In Matthew 19, Jesus speaks of the sacredness of marriage.

“Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:4-6).

First, we must remember that marriage is made by God. Marriage is a priority; it is permanent and it serves a wonderful purpose. It is a divine institution made by God Himself to be a picture of His love for the church. When we commit to another in marriage, we leave mother and father and unite with spouse, becoming one flesh.

We are called to join together physically and multiply; we become one flesh psychologically, in spiritual union and communion.

But marriage has been marred by divorce; God has said in His Word He hates divorce. It is a tragedy and a vicious cycle: divorce produces broken children, and broken children produce broken homes.

Though God allows divorce in the case of fornication, He does not command it. When we are unfaithful in marriage, we are still encouraged by Scripture to forgive and restore that relationship.

We are commanded to love continually; a marriage rooted in conditional love produces fear, guilt, and anger. There is no fear in perfect, unconditional love—only peace, security, and joy.

Finally, marriage is always marked by hope; no matter our circumstances, there is always hope because the grace of God covers all of our sins.

God does not hold grudges; His forgiveness is always available for those who seek to honor Him in their relationships.

Apply it to your life

A godly home is the greatest testimony we have in this world. If you are married, make certain that Christ is the head of your home and continue to feed your love day by day. Adrian Rogers says, “We have to learn to love as Jesus loved, and that’s the reason it takes Christ to make a marriage.”

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Mark 10:13

In Mark 10, Jesus revealed His great love for children, and their tremendous importance to His kingdom. Our children are blessed gifts and bundles of potentiality from God, which we are responsible for teaching and training up. Though it is not by any means easy, it is simple; the Bible offers insight on the care and maintenance of our children.

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

We must communicate with our children, and we must begin early. Children have a God-given instinct to ask why—a beautiful curiosity that we must nurture. They believe our every word, and trust us until we give them reason not to. What an amazing opportunity to teach and train our children.

We must see our children as unique; they are like no other, and they must know they were specifically designed by God. When we see our children as unique before God, we learn to communicate with them creatively.

We must also be real with our children, letting them see our faults so that they learn, not only how to succeed, but how to fail.

Adrian Rogers says, “Your kids don’t demand perfection, but they do demand reality.”

There must also be correction; we discipline our children because we love them and because our human nature is foolish. Children need to understand morality and learn to fear God.

When we discipline our children, we spare ourselves heartache and disgrace in the long run, and we may save them from further judgment. We must begin disciplining when a child is old enough to knowingly and willfully disobey. We should rebuke before we chastise, disciplining with love and patience, letting it be over once it’s over, and never holding grudges.

Ultimately, we pray that there will be a conversion; our holy goal is to lead our children to Jesus. We should pray for their salvation and seek it out early. Our responsibility is not to block or shove our children into a relationship with Jesus, but rather, to guide them in wisdom.

Apply it to your life
Are you raising your children with communication, correction, and conversion in mind? Make these three things your goal today; aim to care for your children in a way that glorifies the Lord.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: 1 Peter 3:7-9

God’s plan for marriage is for husband and wife to become one flesh, totally together as one. In order to be this intimate, men and women must have constant, healthy communication. 1 Peter 3 offers four steps to total intimacy and total togetherness in marriage.

Husbands must dwell with their wives thoughtfully: “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel...” (1 Peter 3:7). Men and women are equal in worth before God, but they are quite different and do not serve the same function. Neither is better or worse—God put these differences in us to complement each other.

Men are designed to be initiators, while women are designed to be responders.

Men and women are also different in thought. Generally, men tend to think logically, while women tend to think emotionally. Men tend to be inward thinkers, while women tend to be outward talkers. Men tend to be more goal-oriented, while women are generally more relationship-oriented.

We must understand our differences and give thought to the other in our communication.

We must also dwell together thankfully; we should be in the habit of expressing appreciation for each other, to each other.

Adrian Rogers says, “Happy is the man who learns how to express thanksgiving. Nothing will do more to intimacy in a marriage than for you to recognize those character traits and achievements in your wife and give honor to her.”

Couples must also communicate their trust in each other, understanding they are “heirs together of the grace of life” (1 Peter 3:7).

Husbands must value their wives’ opinions and transparency, so that their wives may speak into their circumstances without fear of retaliation. One way we do this is by praying for each other, with each other.

Finally, we must express tenderness: “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous…” (1 Peter 3:8).

This passage calls wives the weaker vessel—this does not mean they are inferior, rather, that they are more delicate and should be handled with tenderness, physically and emotionally. We must love in the little things, dwell together as one flesh, and allow our homes to become colonies of Heaven.

Apply it to your life
God’s Word gives practical insight to reach total togetherness in marriage; if we communicate thoughtfulness, thanksgiving, trust, and tenderness, we can reach total intimacy.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: 1 John 1:3-10

As Christians, we can slip and fall into sin just like anyone else. What happens to our fellowship with God when we sin?

1 John 1:5-7 says: "This is the message which we have heard from Him, and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

The formula for fellowship is a cleansed life. Oftentimes, we would rather see our sins as mistakes that need to be fixed. In reality, we are sinners in need of forgiveness. Adrian Rogers says, “The problem with today's society is we all have a burden of guilt without a sense of sin.” If we are truly saved, our sin can no longer condemn us; but it can interrupt fellowship with God. Our “sonship” is fixed for eternity, but our fellowship is determined as to whether or not we obey our Father’s instructions.

If we want to stay in fellowship with God, we must first expose our sins to the light. Hiding our sins is very dangerous; if we want to know if we have any unconfessed sin in our hearts, we have to shed light on our imperfections. We must be bold to ask the Holy Spirit to convict us legitimately, specifically, and redemptively.

Second, our sin must be expressed to the Lord. A confession of sin is not just an admission; it is an agreement with God about it. To confess that sin means to name it and nail it; to agree with God immediately, specifically, and confidently. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Because Jesus Christ died for our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us. If we only confess, we can be totally cleansed from all unrighteousness, and our fellowship with God can be restored.

Apply it to your life
Do you have any unconfessed sin in your life? Bring it to the light and express it to the Lord.