Category: Weekly Thoughts

The sermon on March 16, 2025, will be from Romans 14:13-19 – “The Kingdom of God is …”. “For the kingdom of God is ….”  -Romans 14:17

In Christian circles, debate swirls around the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God. Has it already arrived? Or, is it yet to come? Is it an earthly kingdom? Or, is it a spiritual kingdom? Isn’t it nice to have a verse that clarifies these questions? One Christian writer asserted that “the kingdom of God is a party.” It seems like Paul agrees in Romans 14:17. The kingdom of God has arrived; it is matter “of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Are you a citizen of this kingdom? Are you living “the kingdom life in a fallen world?”

Sunday Service Streamed Live at 11:00 AM – YouTube.com – Hickory Withe PCA

The sermon on March 9, 2025, will be from Romans 14:10-12– “Standing Before the Judgment Seat”.    “So, then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” – Romans 14:12

If seriously considered, nothing is more humbling than to realize that we will stand before God one day to be judged. Christ and the Apostles affirmed this truth throughout their ministries. When that day arrives, we will either stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Christ, or clothed in our own perceived righteousness which will not meet the standard of God’s perfect holiness and justice. Edward Mote wrote of our only hope for deliverance, “When he [Jesus Christ] shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in him be found; dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.”

Sunday Service Streamed Live at 11:00 AM – YouTube.com – Hickory Withe PCA

The sermon on March 2, 2025, will be from Romans 14:5-9– “Follow Christ; Avoid Quarrels”.  “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.” – Romans 14:8

The Apostle Paul possessed a great intellect. One only needs to reflect upon his deliberation with the philosophers on Mars Hill (Acts 17:16-31) and upon the first eleven chapters of his Letter to the Romans to see my point proved. But Paul often uttered short sentences or phrases which were chockfull of truth and which summed up great Biblical themes (Here are just a few – Romans 1:16-17; 3:28; 4:5; 5:1; 8:1, 28, 31). Such snippets are too numerous to count in his letters. Romans 14:8 beautifully asserts the motivating principle for the Christian (by the way, the “principle” is actually a person). He briefly echoes the same truth in Philippians 1:21 – “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Sunday Service Streamed Live at 11:00 AM – YouTube.com – Hickory Withe PCA

The sermon on February 23, 2025, will be from Psalm 107:1-3 – “Discovering the Evangelist Within You”.  “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.” – Romans 14:8

The Apostle Paul possessed a great intellect. One only needs to reflect upon his deliberation with the philosophers on Mars Hill (Acts 17:16-31) and upon the first eleven chapters of his Letter to the Romans to see my point proved. But Paul often uttered short sentences or phrases which were chockfull of truth and which summed up great Biblical themes (Here are just a few – Romans 1:16-17; 3:28; 4:5; 5:1; 8:1, 28, 31). Such snippets are too numerous to count in his letters. Romans 14:8 beautifully asserts the motivating principle for the Christian (by the way, the “principle” is actually a person). He briefly echoes the same truth in Philippians 1:21 – “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Sunday Service Streamed Live at 11:00 AM – YouTube.com – Hickory Withe PCA

The sermon on February 16, 2025, will be from Romans 14:1-4 – Welcoming the Weak. “Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?” – Romans 14:4

Jesus, in a funny, but riveting way, admonishes us about the danger of a judgmental spirit – “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matt. 7:3). Now, Jesus never discourages proper discernment (See Matt. 7:6), neither does Paul (1 Thess. 5:21), and neither does John (1 John 4:1, 6). But a censorious spirit leads to hypocrisy and a surprise on the day of judgment (Matt. 7:2, 5). Paul, in Romans 14 verse three, reminds Christian disciples in every age – “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Such sobering truth should silence judgmental tongues (Ro. 3:19) – “It is before his own master that he stands or falls.” (Ro. 14:4).

Sunday Service Streamed Live at 11:00 AM – YouTube.com – Hickory Withe PCA

The sermon on February 9, 2025, will be from Romans 13:11-14 – A Sanctification Wake-Up Call  “The night is far gone; the day is at hand.” – Romans 13:12
Since the 1st Century, critics and scoffers have lampooned the New Testament teaching on the imminent return of the Lord Jesus. The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John the Apostle closes with this promise from Christ himself, “Surely I am coming soon.” (Rev. 22:20). The critic guffaws, “Jesus is a promise breaker, not a promise keeper!” But he fails to realize the eternal nature of the Triune God. He does not measure time as we measure time. According to Peter, to the Lord, “… one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Therefore, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise …” (2 Peter 3:8-9). We see 2,000 years; the Lord sees 2 days. An old gospel song used to say, “Soon, and very soon, we are going to see the King!”

Sunday Service Streamed Live at 11:00 AM – YouTube.com – Hickory Withe PCA

The sermon on February 2, 2025, will be from Romans 13:8-10- The Debt of Love We Owe.  “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, …” – Romans 13:8

Isaac Watts penned those memorable words, “But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe; ….” Christians owe a “debt of love” to Jesus Christ because of his sacrificial love for them. But we also, as you see, owe a debt of love to our neighbor. Jesus pours out mercy, grace, and kindness upon us; how can we not love him? But our neighbor may disappoint, hurt, and betray us. Loving him will challenge and stretch us. Nevertheless, our obligation is clear and the “2nd Table of the Law” (Commandments 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10) direct us how. This requires God’s grace strengthening us by the Holy Spirit’s presence in us as believers (See Romans 8:1-4).

Sunday Service Streamed Live at 11:00 AM – YouTube.com – Hickory Withe PCA

The sermon on January 26, 2025, will be from Matthew 18:15-17 – Pursuing Spiritual Health in 2025: In Our Church – A Forgiving Community.   “If your brother offends you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.” – Matthew 18:15

Let us begin with a question, “What if Christians would follow our Lord’s counsel in Matthew 18:15 one hundred percent of the time?” Misunderstandings would vanish; true offenses would be identified, confessed and forgiven; families would grow in love for one another; relationships would flourish; and churches would thrive. And, yet, … something else too often occurs – Christians disobey the one they call ‘Lord.’ They take their grievance to a third party and a cascade of events follows – misunderstandings soar; unforgiveness between brothers and sisters grows; relationships fracture; and churches may split. As a result, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter.” (Isaiah 59:14). Brothers and sisters, these things should not be – LET US FOLLOW OUR LORD’S COUNSEL IN 2025!

Sunday Service Streamed Live at 11:00 AM – YouTube.com – Hickory Withe PCA

The sermon will be from Hebrews 10:24-25 – Consistent Attendance on the Lord’s Day.  “And let us consider how to stir up one another … not neglecting to meet together, …” – Hebrews 10:24-25

Reformation Confessions of Faith of the 17th Century clearly teach a “high-view” of the Christian Sabbath or the Lord’s Day (“Google” – Westminster Confession of Faith, Chap. 21; and 2nd London Baptist Confession of 1689, Chapter 22). The decline of this emphasis is multi-faceted, but is clearly detrimental to individuals, churches, and our nation. The writer to the Hebrews knows that there is a direct connection between Sabbath-breaking and apostasy (i.e. drifting away from the Christian faith to the point of denying one’s faith). A frank admonition is called for – OBEY THE 4TH COMMANDMENT AND HEBREWS 10:24-25 IN 2025!

Sunday Service Live-Streamed at 11:00 AM – YouTube.com – Hickory Withe PCA

The sermon will be from Ephesians 5:22-6:4 – Pursuing Spiritual Health in 2025: In Our Families.  “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, …”  – Ephesians 6:4

21st Century American culture is “egalitarian.” This is an involved and controversial discussion and would require much more space than I have in this short article to explain. But one negative of this cultural reality is that we’ve jettisoned the Scriptural teaching that the husband and father is the head of his household. He is to protect and to provide for his family physically and spiritually. Notice, the importance of the father is mentioned twice in the Ten Commandments (2nd and 5th Commandments – Exodus 20:4-6, 12) and it is inferred in two more of the commandments (4th and 10th – Exodus 20:8-11, 17). So, gentlemen, if you are the head of your household, STEP UP TO THE PLATE IN 2025! STOP MAKING EXCUSES AND START LEADING YOUR FAMILY SPIRITUALLY IN 2025!

Sunday Service Streamed Live at 11:00 AM – YouTube.com – Hickory With PCA