“Sacrifice of Praise” (Testimony Service)
For years, we have sung a familiar song here at GBC. It begins with these words: “We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord, we bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. And we offer up to You, the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and we offer up to You the sacrifices of joy.” During this time, we took time specifically to gives testimonies of praise to God for what He has done. Our prayer…
“The Great God Behind a Great Man”
We draw to a close in the series on the life of David. We have spent these past months looking over his life and what we can learn from his life: both what to do and what not to do. In this sermon, we decided to look back over the entirety of the series and pull out and highlight certain principles that were key along the way. This two part sermon focuses first on the character of David himself and…
Guest Speaker: Zhenya Yazvinskiy – Missionary
We are excited to have one of our missionaries with us. Zhenya Yazvinskiy works with CRU (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) in Ukraine. He is a native Ukrainian and has been working with college students alongside CRU for many years now. This week, he is giving us an update about his ministry in Ukraine and how God has been using him and his team to impact the lives of young people and draw them closer to Christ through daily discipleship…
“Mother’s Day: Good, Bad, & Ugly”
The title perhaps sounds bad to begin with. You’ll need to listen to the sermon to fully understand why Pastor Paul entitled it as such this week. We are continuing to look at the life of David though and specifically this week, Bathsheba as David’s wife and mother of Solomon. Take some time to listen and continue on in this journey with us through the life of David and what we can learn from his example (and from those in…
“God’s Revelation to Mankind”
Year upon year, people have strayed further and further away from God. Nations make laws to prohibit Christian influence in school and on society. David says that creation speaks out though and always will. It reveals the fact that it has been created by God Himself and reflects His glory. David says that God has revealed Himself further through the law. Knowing that creation speaks day after day and night after night and that we have the Scripture, what response…
“The Blessedness of Forgiveness”
Over the past couple of weeks we have been looking at David’s sin when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. 2 Samuel 10-11 lead us up to the incident and relayed the details of it. 2 Samuel 12 showed us David’s confrontation by Nathan about this sin. Psalm 51 we read David’s lament really, his prayer, his acknowledgement that is was sin, sin against God alone. Psalm 32, we see the blessing of the forgiveness God has granted David. David shares…
“The Music Tells the Story”
Over the last couple of weeks, we have been talking about this particular account–David’s adultery with Bathsheba. We looked it initially in 2 Samuel 11 when he committed the act and how his compounded. In 2 Samuel 12, we saw the prophet Nathan confront him on his sin and David’s repentant heart. Psalm 51 was written by David as an account, a story set to music of his confession to the Lord concerning what he had done. Spend a few…
“Moving Away from the River Denial”
I heard the phrase many years ago in a counseling class that da’ Nile is not just a river in Egypt. While we often associate it with one of the stages of grief, it appears more often in relation to sin. Besides placing the blame on another, a close second retreat it to deny that we did the action all together or that it was even sin as we try to rationalize our actions. As we continue on in the…
“How Did I End Up Here?”
Ever ask yourself that question. You get to a particular stage or place in life and you sit down and ask yourself – “How did I end up here?”. It could be asked in a positive light and as you look back your are reminded about what God has done for you. Most often, the question is asked after going through a bout of trouble and trials. David, while he didn’t ask this question, did end up answer it and his…
“The Most Important Question”
What is it? We have all heard that phrase before. Perhaps it was in a classroom setting where a teacher was explaining a piece of history or a math problem or something of the like and they asked you what the most important question was? In other words what should you be asking. In this sermon on Romans 1:1-4, Pastor Paul answers that and discusses what the most important truly is. Discover it by taking the time to listen to…
“A Prayer for Those Yet to Come”
On Palm Sunday, often the focus is on Jesus entry into Jerusalem and the people shouting out “Hosanna!” This year, we went further on in John’s record of what took place. We went past even Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and the Lord’s Supper to just before He and the disciples depart for the orchard. As He speaks a few remaining words to His disciples, He takes some time to praye for them and for those who are yet to come,…
“David & His Wives – Family Train Wreck”
The news over the past year has reported on several train wrecks. Many of them resulted in huge pile ups of cars due to faulty track or taking a curve to sharply or caused for unknown reasons. Despite the cause, a train wreck is always a huge mess and takes days and more often than not weeks to clean up. We have been studying the life of David these past months. We now come to his family and what we…
“Enthusiastic Worshipper: Does It Describe You?
There is much that has been written on the subject of worship. We talk often about worship music, worship choruses, places of worship. We have worship styles that have become hotly debated topics and the center for some very sad divisions among Christians. Looking back to the life of David though, we see a glimpse of how he worshipped God. We can learn much form his example and the practical applications we draw from 1 Chronicles 15-17. Spend some time…
“The Lord Is My Shepherd”
Psalm 23 is a favorite among many people. We hear it read at funerals often. The Psalm is not for the dead though. It is for the living and it reveals much to us about the character of our God. The Lord, the Creator of the Universe, the Almighty God is our Shepherd. That simple statement in and of itself should leave us on our knees before God praising Him, because that word, shepherd, communicates in wonderful picture of care, protection,…
“Who Is Like Our God?”
Ever had one of those moments when you stand back in total amazement at what God has just done? David had more than one of those moments in his life I am sure, but we see one specifically in 2 Samuel 6. David wants to build a house for God. God’s answer and we find David sitting before the Lord in total amazement essentially asking this question–who is like our God?
“Doing Right Things in Wrong Ways”
Ever quote the old saying – “well at least they had good intentions”. I don’t recall its origins, but we don’t see that phrase quote in Scripture by God. David in 2 Samuel 6 moved the Ark of the Covenant in the wrong manner though he had good motives. God had prescribed a very detailed manner in which the Ark of the Covenant was to be moved and even though David had good intentions, he disobeyed God. Take a few…
“Between a Rock & a Hard Place”
Crisis. We know the word. We see it all around us. Often we equate it to finances and the state of a nation. But crisis affects us all and takes many different forms. Shortly after time began, there was a spiritual crisis. Man thought he knew better than God and thus the downward spiral began and the continual increasing distance of the relationship between God and man. We face crisis in our families with the death of a loved one,…
“When You Are at the End of Your Rope, God Is Still There”
Have you ever had that kind of moment in your life? I think in some respects it is a silly question because everyone has. We all have had moments in our lives when we are at the end of our strength. We are at our wits end about what do do next. We feel as if there is no where else to turn and all hope is lost. But we have an amazing promise, comforting words from Scripture, peace for…
“Even Our Heroes Mess Up”
The title itself may recall to your mind the shortcomings of any number of heroes. Perhaps you are thinking of the superheroes from movies and how they have failed. Heroes aren’t just those with superpowers though as we see depicted by Hollywood. Heroes more often than not are everyday people who do extraordinary deeds. They are people who we look up to. Due to sin though, none of us are perfect and we all (even heroes) mess up from time…
“Extreme Contrasts: Foolishness & Wisdom”
We live in world of great contrasts. In the realm of colors: black & white. In the realm of geography: mountains & plains. In the realm of temperature and climate: fridgid cold/snow & sweltering heart/sun. In 1 Samuel 25, we find an extreme contrast as well: foolishness & wisdom. We see how the foolish response of one man leads to the foolish reaction of another and the outcome from these foolish decisions is dim. But wisdom finds its ways into…