Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church

Sunday, September 1, 2024

Sunday, September 1, 2024

The sermon is from Romans 11:1-6 – “Elijah – The One Man Left Standing”.  “… I alone am left, and they seek my life.” – Romans 11:3

After Elijah’s courageous witness for the God of Israel in 1 Kings 18, we find him in 1 Kings 19 fearful and running from Jezebel’s death threats. It is salutary for us to remember that they were death threats. Some Bible teachers have made sport of Elijah’s despair and depression. I wonder if such teachers have ever been threatened with death themselves. Nevertheless, Elijah’s flight in Chapter 19 stands in stark contrast to his fearlessness in Chapter 18. A wise person has stated, “The best of men are men at best.” The sins and weaknesses of Old Testament saints point us to One who was sinless and strong. He was called “the friend of sinners;” and his name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Elijah needed his forgiveness and so do we.

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

Sunday, August 25, 2024

Sunday, August 25, 2024

The sermon is from Matthew 19:16-26 – “Who Then Can Be Saved?”  “God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.” – Romans 11:2

Theologians call Romans 8:29-30 “The Golden Chain of Salvation.” Notice the great actions of God himself in the salvation of his people – foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. In Chapter 11 of Romans, Paul reminds his readers once again that God is accomplishing his purposes in human history, even when he saves only a “remnant” (Romans 11:5). If we are trusting Christ alone through faith alone and by grace alone, we are included in this remnant and have been loved by God before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-4). “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, ….”

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

Sunday, August18, 2024

Sunday, August18, 2024

The sermon is from Psalm 23 – “My Shepherd”.    “… to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge …” – Ephesians 3:19

Samuel Rutherford penned these famous lines, “O Christ, he is the fountain, the deep sweet well of love! The streams on earth I’ve tasted; more deep I’ll drink above: there to an ocean fulness his mercy doth expand, and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel’s land.” In heaven, God will lavish his mercy and love upon his people for all of eternity. But, even in this fallen world, Christians may taste “the streams.” As they read God’s Word and worship with God’s people, they may experience “the Spirit bearing witness with their spirit that they are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).

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

Sunday, August11, 2024

Sunday, August11, 2024

The sermon is from Romans 10:18-21 – “When God’s People Turn a Deaf Ear.”   “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” – Romans 10:21

In Romans 10:21, Paul quotes from Isaiah 65:2. This Old Testament verse teaches us about God’s mercy and patience to the nation Israel. To some, this grace of God toward his rebellious people comes as a surprise. Some go so far as to say erroneously that the God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath; then, they say that the New Testament God is a God of love. But the God of Scripture cannot change (Malachi 3:6). He is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable (Numbers 23:19). He is holy; he must punish sin. He is gracious; he forgave his ancient people when they turned to him in faith. He will forgive you if respond in faith to his outstretched hands.

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

Sunday, August 4, 2024

Sunday, August 4, 2024

The sermon is from Romans 10:14-17 – “The Message →The Messenger→The Means→Manumission”. “And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” – Romans 10:14

George Strait sings, “Preachers preach, farmers plow ….” And unknowingly, Mr. Strait highlights one of the most important means God uses for the salvation of his people. God, of course, also uses Christians as they share Christ with friends and family. But Christ and the Apostles place a special emphasis upon the importance of preachers in God’s saving purposes (Mark 1:38; Acts 5:42; 1 Corinthians 1:21-23; 2 Timothy 4:1-2). A famous catechism asks, “How is the Word made effectual to salvation?” And then, it gives the answer, “The Spirit of God makes the reading, but especially the preaching, of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation.” So, pray for preachers; support and encourage them; and heed the word of the Gospel as they faithfully declare it week after week.

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

Sunday, July 28, 2024

Sunday, July 28, 2024

The sermon is from Romans 10:5-13 – “The Romans Road”. “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart …”  – Romans 10:8

Where can a person find Christ in the 21st Century? He is no longer present on earth physically. The Bible teaches that presently he is seated at God’s right hand (Acts 2:32-33; 5:30-32; Ephesians 1:20-21; Hebrews 1:1-4; 10:12). The Bible also teaches that he speaks to his people by his Spirit when the Word of God is opened, read, and preached (Romans 10:14-17). So, on the Lord’s Day, when your pastor opens God’s Word, reads it, explains it, and applies it, Christ is present by his Spirit speaking to his church on earth. Little wonder we read such a passage as Hebrews 10:24-25 which admonishes us to attend church on the Lord’s Day. Here, we learn to believe even though we have not seen him (John 20:29); here, we learn to hear Christ’s word, do it (Luke 8:19-21), and know of a relationship within the family of God. Who knows what might happen when one is “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day?” (Rev. 1:10)

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

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Sunday, July 21, 2024

The sermon is from Romans 10:1-4 – “How to Stumble Over the Stumbling Stone”. “… they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” – Romans 10:2

Sincerity and zeal in religious matters is in some ways commendable, but in other ways, it can be tragic. One need only to think of the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11th, 2001 or Jim Jones, The Peoples Temple, Jonestown, Guyana, and November 18th, 1978 to see the devastating consequences of false religions. Proverbs 19:2 states, “Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.” Sincerity in religion that is not based upon the truth of God’s Word causes one to miss knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and knowing “the righteousness of God based on faith.” (Romans 10:6). One can be sincere in one’s religion and yet sincerely wrong. Paul’s Letter to the Romans explains the “gospel of God” (Romans 1:1). One is wise to understand its teachings and in view of God’s mercies offer oneself to him as a “living sacrifice.” (Romans 12:1)

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

Sunday, July 14, 2024

Sunday, July 14, 2024

The sermon is from Romans 9:30 -33 – “The Stone of Stumbling and the Rock of Offense”.  “They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ….” – Romans 9:32

Have you ever ‘stumbled’ over something before? Many of us have tripped over objects in a dark room – maybe a chair, an ottoman, a box, or a shoe. Often the object is small, so we avoid a fall and the stumbling is inconsequential. Other times, however, when we stumble, we fall to the floor and the consequences are significant. We may even end up in an emergency room with bruises, lacerations, and broken bones. Paul uses this metaphor in Romans 9:32-33. In the 1st Century, Christ was a ‘stone of stumbling and rock of offense’ for many. Many refused his Messianic claims and suffered the consequences (Hebrews 10:26-31). The same dynamics are at work in the 21st Century. Many, unfortunately, “stumble over the stumbling stone.” They ignore Christ’s Messianic claims and his calls for them to repent and believe. But, to others, the stone is ‘precious’ (1 Peter 2:6); for them, he is the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45). Is Christ ‘precious’ to you? Or is he a ‘stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense?’

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

Sunday, July 7, 2024

Sunday, July 7, 2024

The sermon is from Romans 9:25-29 -“Re-hitching” the Old and New Testaments. “… they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’” – Romans 9:26

The Old Testament prophets predicted a world-wide expansion of the kingdom God through Israel’s coming King and Messiah (Isaiah 54:1-3; Hosea 1:10-11; Joel 2:28-32). The book of Acts records the fulfillment of this prediction in the 1st Century A.D. Chapter one of Acts contains Christ’s memorable promise in verse 8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Christ has kept his promise; his kingdom currently extends to the ends of the earth; it includes both Jews and Gentiles. And amazingly, he calls citizens of his eternal kingdom “sons of the living God.” Are you a citizen of this kingdom? Are you a member of the family of God? Christ is a merciful king and receives all who come to him by faith.

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

Sunday, June 30, 2024

Sunday, June 30, 2024

The sermon is from Romans 9:19-24 – “God in the Dock?” “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?” – Romans 9:20

God in the Dock is a collection of essays and speeches by the 20th Century British Christian apologist, C. S. Lewis. Someone has said that Lewis’s premise in a number of these writings is “… that modern human beings, rather than seeing themselves as standing before God in judgment, prefer to place God on trial while acting as his judge.” Mr. Lewis also wrote about “Aslan” the lion in his children’s series The Chronicles of Narnia. He said, in one of these books that “Aslan is not a tame lion.” The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ, is not a “tame lion” either. Let us place ourselves in the dock (Romans 3:19) and from that position of humiliation, see our desperate need of this Lion’s forgiveness and mercy.

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