Sermons on Dependence
Building Your Life Upon the Rock (Matthew 7:13-29)
Jesus Christ is the only sure foundation for life. And those who enter by the narrow gate build their life upon that rock. And building one’s life upon Jesus Christ means nothing less than acting in obedience to his word. Matthew 7:24-25 Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them…
Clinging to the LORD (Genesis 32:22-32)
We are nearing the end of Jacob’s exile narrative, that occurred over the period of 20 years, and began back in chapter 28. On that day, Jacob, a greedy, deceitful, conniving man, fled empty-handed and alone from the promised land to the pagan land of Haran. On his way out, the LORD appeared to him at Beth-el with a promise to return him to the land. Upon receiving this…
The Perfectly Normal Experience of the Christian Life as Seen Through the Faith of Abraham (Genesis 15:1-21)
In the perfectly normal experience of the Christian life… 1. The Lord assuages our fears with himself and affirms a promise of reward2. Even for the steadfast, doubt often comingles with belief3. God always brings…
The Faithfulness of God in the Foolishness of Man (Genesis 12:10-13:1)
There will be moments and seasons in your life, following a period of fruitfulness, where the appearance of your circumstances matches the curse, rather than the blessing. When you look out upon the land (figuratively speaking) God has given you, and you see famine rather than promise. You see the…
Sustained by the Intecession of Jesus (Luke 22:31-38)
In a show of tremendous knowledge aforethought by Jesus, he exposes the weakness, fragility, and feebleness in the heart of Peter. Peter will deny that he knows Jesus. Now, this is not a rejection of the heart, to betray Jesus as did Judas, but Peter is exposed, weakness laid bare. Jesus brings…
Salvation is for the Righteous (Luke 18:15-30)
To live in the place where the living God dwells requires righteousness. Such righteousness is only present in God and therefore requires absolute dependence on God for his righteousness. But the human heart is so full of self-worshiping idolatry that we cannot do righteously nor bring ourselves to…
Hope for Weary Hearts (Luke 18:1-8)
In this passage, Jesus gives his disciples the “secret” to living the Christian life without “losing heart”…persevering prayer. The disciples are commanded to pray at all times. They are to understand that the Christian life can only be lived and succeeded in by relying on the power of God moment by moment. Amazingly, the Apostle Paul who…
The Blessedness of Obedience
As we continue through Luke, we see that those who hear the words of Jesus and obey them are those who have a firm foundation for life. Those who hear but do not obey Jesus as Lord are living on a foundation on the verge of collapse.
Living in Dependence on the Father through Prayer (Luke 6:12-16)
We are each utterly dependent on God for all things. Even each breath we take is held within the hand of the Father. We ought to live as though we are dependent on God by living in communion with God through active, ongoing, present prayer. Our life of mission and obedience is dependent on our…
