Category: Weekly Thoughts

The sermon on Sunday, March 8, 2026, will be Revelation 8:1-13, Seven Angels and Seven Trumpets (Part 1). “… there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” – Revelation 8:1

When is the last time you experienced true silence? Are you comfortable with those moments in conversations when neither you nor the one in front of you is speaking? Do you always need noise in the background – a radio or TV turned on? An old song counseled, “Make friends with silence, stop and draw near.” Why is silence not our friend? Imagine you are at the theatre, the play stops, the actors disappear, and all is quiet for 30 minutes. Would you be able to endure those 1,800 seconds? Such a pause occurred in John’s vision. The angelic choir ceased singing and John sat before God in silence. Let me encourage everyone reading this to seek our quiet places regularly and listen to God’s Word, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

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The sermon on Sunday, March 1, 2026, will be Revelation 7:9-17, Preparing for Heaven. “… a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation …” – Revelation 7:9

Our Triune God is a “missionary God. His plan of salvation includes men and women from every nation of the world. We see this in the first book of the Bible. Genesis 12:3 states that through Abraham “… all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God’s heart for the nations is also seen in the last book of the Bible. The Apostle John is given a vision of “… a great multitude that no one could number from all tribes and peoples and languages ….” So, this great reality is found in the Bible from beginning to end. Jesus Christ through his shed blood has purchased men and women from every nation of the world. God the Father is a “missionary God!” May this motivating reality stir our hearts and let us join with Paul in proclaiming to the nations “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:8). In doing so, we co-labor with our Triune God in the greatest enterprise of human history.

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

The sermon on Sunday, February 22, 2026, will be Revelation 7:1-8, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.”  ‘And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.’ – Revelation 7:4

A seal on a document is proof of its authenticity. This was true in ancient times, and it is still true today. God picks up on this ancient practice and applies it over to the way he authenticates his people in all ages. The seal or mark of membership in the visible church under the Old Testament was circumcision (Rom. 4:11); now, under the New Testament, it is baptism (Col. 2:11-12). But Scripture also speaks of ‘the sealing of the Holy Spirit’ (2 Cor. 1:21-22; Eph. 1:13-14); this sealing is the inward witness of the 3rd Person of the Trinity that indeed, we are the children of God (Rom. 8:16-17). The Spirit also grants us the assurance that we are members of the invisible church.

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

The sermon on Sunday, February 15, 2026, will be Revelation 6:12-17, Falling Rocks and Fleeing Sinners. “Fall on us and hide us from … the wrath of the Lamb, …” – Revelation 6:16

The Revelation of Jesus Christ contains many uplifting themes for our consideration. Human history is not spinning out of control. God has a plan for history, and the Lord Jesus is executing that plan (5:1-5). God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of his people (7:17; 21:4). The Triune God pours out grace, comfort, and strength to those who suffer for their testimony of faith in Christ. He promises them great reward in the life to come. Yet, for those that do not know Christ, the Revelation of Jesus Christ contains frightening portraits of the doom of unbelievers. Kings and great ones will prefer mountains to fall upon them than to face God the Father and God the Son in judgment. On that day, who can stand?

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

The sermon on Sunday, February 8, 2026, will be Revelation 6:1-11, A World in Chaos; Christ in Control. “… the Lamb opened one of the seven seals …” – Revelation 6:1

According to Revelation 5:1, God the Father holds in his right hand a scroll and it is sealed with seven seals. The scroll contains God’s plan for world history. No created being is found who can open the scroll (5:3-4). There is only one person who is worthy of opening the scroll, breaking its seals, and revealing God’s plan (5:5-7). This person is the Lord Jesus Christ; he is the “… Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, …”. In Revelation 6:1, Christ begins to open the 7 seals one-by-one (6:1-8:1) and those who read Revelation begin to understand world history from the Triune God’s perspective.

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

• The sermon on Sunday, February 1, 2026, will be Revelation 5:1-14 – Worthy is the Lamb. .. “And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; …’” – Revelation 5:5

  The Apostle John’s vision into God’s throne-room continues with God the Father holding a sealed scroll in his right hand. The scroll contained God’s plan for human history and the redemption of his chosen people. A strong angel queried, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” John, who was caught up in the drama of the vision, began to weep because there was no one worthy in the created order to break the seals, and thus, set in motion God’s plan of redemption. Yet, one of the 24 elders declared to John, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” Christ has conquered; he is seated now at God’s right hand; he is building his church and accomplishing God’s plans for history.

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

The sermon on Sunday, January 25, 2026, will be Revelation 5:5 – Christ the Conqueror. “And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; …’” – Revelation 5:5

The Apostle John’s vision into God’s throne-room continues with God the Father holding a sealed scroll in his right hand. The scroll contained God’s plan for human history and the redemption of his chosen people. A strong angel queried, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” John, who was caught up in the drama of the vision, began to weep because there was no one worthy in the created order to break the seals, and thus, set in motion God’s plan of redemption. Yet, one of the 24 elders declared to John, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” Christ has conquered; he is seated now at God’s right hand; he is building his church and accomplishing God’s plans for history.

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

The sermon on Sunday, January 18, 2026, will be Revelation 4:1-11- Looking Through Heaven’s Door. “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” – Revelation 4:8

Have you ever desired to gaze into heaven? We can gaze into the ‘heavens’ which contain the sun, moon, stars, comets, and galaxies. We cannot gaze into the unseen heaven, the heaven in which God dwells. But we can read the testimony of a man who did gaze into heaven, God’s throne-room. This man was the Apostle John – a man chosen by Jesus Christ to be an Apostle, a special messenger of divine revelation to us. For him, “… a door standing open in heaven …” appeared to him in a vision. And he writes to us about a throne he saw, who was seated on it, and the song the angels sing, “Holy, holy, holy, ….”

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

The sermon on Sunday, January 11, 2026, will be Revelation 3:14-22 – Laodicea: A Church to Revive. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”  – Revelation 3:20

I struggle crafting good sermon titles. My congregation knows this and has unlimited patience with me due to my deficiency. I am not imaginative. But I ‘think’ I have a good one for my sermon about the church in Laodicea – ‘When Jesus Stands Outside the Church Doors and Knocks.’ I am certainly not trying to be flippant about a most troubling reality. Some churches hold the Lord Jesus at arm’s length. They may have a pastor who does not faithfully expound the Bible through whom Christ speaks. Or, they may have a faithful pastor, and yet, they turn a deaf ear to his clear exposition of the Word of God. No matter the reason for Jesus’s exclusion from one of his congregations, he still mercifully stands outside and knocks.

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

The sermon on Sunday, January 4, 2026, will be Revelation 3:7-13 – Philadelphia: A Church to Emulate.. “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write …” – Revelation 3:7

How does one rank the names for cities? How does one choose which city in the world has the best name? I, for one, would vote for our city in America named ‘Philadelphia.’ As most have heard, the name means ‘the city of brotherly love.’ Well, one of the churches in Revelation is located in a city in Asia Minor called ‘Philadelphia.’ This church, like the church at Smyrna, is not criticized at all by the exalted Lord Jesus Christ. She must have lived up to her name. Her members had tasted the love of Jesus Christ, and therefore, they demonstrated that love to others (1 John 4:19). What a simple, and yet, community transforming goal for us in 2026!

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