Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church

The sermon on April 13, 2025, will be from Zephaniah 2- “The End of Pride and the Hope of the Gospel”. “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” – Matthew 21:9

Jesus was born “in the fulness of time” according to the Apostle Paul (Gal. 4:4). His birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and second coming were all predicted in the Old Testament. Some of the predictions are very specific as we see in Matthew 21:1-11. Jesus was descended from David and the heir of an eternal kingdom. But he came to his enthronement in humility riding on a donkey’s back and “… becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil. 2:8).

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The sermon on April 6, 2025, will be from Romans 15:8-13- Tying Up Loose Ends: Living in Gospel Hope. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, …” – Romans 15:13

Most modern Americans hear the word ‘hope’ and they believe that it means ‘I hope so.’ That is, “I am not entirely convinced such-and-such will happen.” However, the Greek word in the New Testament for ‘hope’ means ‘confident expectation.’ The Second Coming or the return of Christ at the end of human history is called “… our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ….” So, may I pray for you the prayer Paul prayed for these 1st Century Roman Christians? “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

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The sermon on March 23, 2025, will be from Romans 14:20-23 – The Guiding Principles of Christian Liberty.  “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God.” – Romans 14:20

How can food destroy the work of God? What is Paul talking about? Well, Christians in 1st Century Rome were at odds with one another over dietary practices. Note, they were quarreling (14:1); they were despising each other (14:3); and, they were harshly judging one another (14:4). So, disputes over “food” were disrupting the peace of the church at Rome and fracturing the fellowship. Don’t we do the same in the 21st Century? How many of your disputes with other Christians were due to essential Christian doctrines or behaviors addressed in the 10 Commandments? How many were due to trivial matters? May God help us to “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” (14:19)

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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?”

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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.”

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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