Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church

The sermon is from Luke 12:13-21 – “The Deceitfulness of Riches”.  “But God said to him, ‘Fool!’ ….” – Luke 12:20

Christ exercises his prophetic office from his throne of glory at the right hand of God. He did it in the 1st Century; he does it now in the 21st Century. Those who say that Christ’s message is irrelevant in a “post-modern” culture have not read Luke 12:13-21. People squabbled over inheritances in the 1st Century; people still do today. People in the 1st Century needed a severe warning about the danger of covetousness; we need the same warning today. He warns us in these verses, but he also points us to a richness “… toward God.” We discover this in union with Christ alone, by faith alone; in him, says Paul, “… are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3)

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

The sermon is from Luke 10:38-42 – “The Woman who Served; The Woman who Sat”. “But the Lord said to her, ‘Martha, Martha …’” – Luke 10:41

Martha has gotten a bad rap over the years from Christian authors and commentators. She was slow, it seems, to recognize the untold wonders of this moment in human history. Thousands of generations had lived before this time who would never witness the Incarnate Son of God on earth. Thousands of generations would live after this time who would never be granted the privilege to sit at the feet of the Incarnate Son and receive instruction from his very lips. And this unique privilege took place in only three of his 33-years on earth. So, Martha, in a way, missed out on the significance of the moment. And, she persisted in her focus on serving rather than sitting to learn (John 12:2). But Martha was loved by Christ (John 11:5). And really in the end, that is all that matters. Jesus loves his people despite all their faults and foibles.

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

The sermon is from Luke 10: 25-37 – “Is the Good Samaritan Your Role Model?”.  “… do this, and you will live.” – Luke 10:28

How would you answer the question, “What is the gospel?” I once heard of a man who answered this question using Luke 10:27 – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Is that really the gospel? Is that really “good news?” Are we not all miserable failures when it comes to loving God with all our souls, strength, and minds? Do we love our neighbor as ourselves 100% of the time? Of course not! The man’s answer consisted in a focus on obedience to God’s moral law; the gospel fixes our attention on Christ alone and what he has done for us in his perfect life, sacrificial death, and his victorious resurrection over sin and the grave. That is the gospel! (See 1 Corinthians 15:1-9)

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

The sermon is from Matthew 10:5-15 – “Come On-a My House”. ““And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” – Matthew 10:7

Jesus Christ preached with urgency. You may ask, why? The answer is rather simple – “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” To preach with urgency means to proclaim a message of importance that requires swift action. Do we truly realize that the kingdom of God is in our midst and this reality requires swift action (See Luke 17:20-21)? Jesus currently rules and reigns over his eternal kingdom. He is raised from the dead and seated at God’s right hand on the promised Davidic throne (See 2 Samuel 7:12-13, 16; Acts 2:24-36). It is little wonder, then, that we find in the Bible the following proclamation (2 Corinthians 6:2) – “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” And, it is little wonder we find the following summons (Hebrews 3:15) – “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts ….”

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

The sermon is from Luke 9:57-62– “Following Jesus Wherever, Whenever”. “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:62

Have you ever plowed farmland on a tractor or behind a mule? Most of us are unfamiliar with this agricultural practice and therefore clueless as to what it means to plow a straight furrow. Plowing requires focus and attention and singleness of purpose. It requires one to look ahead, pick a landmark at the end of the field, and plow without deviation. If the farmer looks back, he will veer off his straight course, and plow a crooked furrow. Likewise, Christ teaches that Christian discipleship is very similar. It requires focus and singleness of purpose. The Apostle Paul understood this. He states in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

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

The sermon is from Luke 9:23-27– “Count the Cost; Take Up the Cross; Follow Christ”.  “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” – Luke 9:25

All three synoptic gospels contain this question (See – Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36). The Spirit of God intends for us to answer it. Suppose you opened a small business that became a large business. And suppose further that the large business grew and grew. It became a large corporate empire. Then, you were able over time to purchase other businesses like Amazon and Federal Express and others until you ran a world-wide monopoly. Then, you began to purchase land until you owned every square inch of the earth – even the depths of the sea. You, as Christ states, “… gained the whole world ….” What good would all your riches be if you lost your soul and perished eternally? Jesus probes and he probes us deeply with this question.

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

The sermon is from Luke 8:26-39 – “The Plight of Man; the Power of God”.  “… they … found the man … sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind …” – Luke 8:35

The Bible records several dramatic conversion experiences. One may think of Manasseh in the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 33:1-13) or Saul of Tarsus in the New (Acts 9:1-22). Now, the deliverance and transformation of the demon-possessed man in Luke 8 should certainly capture our attention and cause us to include him in a list of dramatic conversions in the Bible. The story begins with a description of his plight (8:27-30); the story ends with the man totally transformed and in his right mind (8:34-39). The story begins with the plight of man; the story ends with the power of God.

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

The sermon is from Luke 8:22-25 – “Power for the Perishing”.  “And they went and woke him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’” – Luke 8:24

“They went and woke who?!,” you may ask. The One they awoke was God Incarnate. “For in him,” according to Paul, “all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell.” Paul goes on to state, “God was manifest in the flesh …” (1 Timothy 3:16 KJV). How could God take a nap? Afterall, Psalm 121:4 announces, “Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” To understand this, one must remember that Christ is one person with two natures. He possesses a divine nature, but He also possesses a human nature. Therefore, He slept in the back of the disciple’s boat. In Mark (4:38), we discover that He even had a cushion! So, He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. In every respect, He has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:14-16).

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

The sermon is from Luke 7:36-50 – “Do You See this Woman?”.  “… he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman?’ …” – Luke 7:44

Simon the Pharisee certainly “saw” the woman kneeling behind Christ. In fact, she would be hard to miss. She was weeping at the feet of Jesus; She was wiping the tears away from His feet with her hair; She was kissing His feet and anointing them with costly perfume. But Simon kept his distance from her. He knew all about her “history.” Likely, she was one of the town prostitutes and Simon was not about to let her forget it. Thus, it took courage for her to enter Simon’s home. No one needed to remind her of her past. She knew it all too well. She had been used and abused. Her sins like Gibraltar towered over her. But somehow, she had learned of the claims of Christ and her sense of need forced her through Simon’s door. Here, she found forgiveness but she also found One who is “the friend of sinners.” (Luke 7:34; 15:1-2)

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

The sermon is from Luke 7:18-25 – “Dungeons and Doubts”.  “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard …” – Luke 7:22

John the Baptist was languishing in prison. Death by beheading awaited him (See Mark 6:14-29). Satan possibly introduced doubts into his mind with these questions – “Was my ministry a waste? What if my message to the people was untrue? What if my declaration, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,’ was a false hope?” So, he sent messengers to inquire of Christ, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” In a tender and yet powerful way, Christ demonstrated His deep affection for John. Instead of sending the messengers back to John with a cold, verbal message, “Yes, I am the Messiah,” Christ heals the sick and infirm, and He preaches good news to the poor. Then, He sends them back as eye-witnesses to His fulfillment of the Messianic promises (Isaiah 35:1-10). John died experiencing the peace of God that passes all understanding guarding his heart and mind.

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