Tag Archives: Prayer

Sermons

Salt and Light

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Most of my life, I’ve been interested in nautical things. I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe it’s because I grew up on the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline. Maybe it’s because I received a gift from my Aunt Shay of a carved captain figure that I always liked. Maybe it’s because my mom used to read me the classic story of Scuppers the Sailor Dog.

Some of the nautical stuff I’ve collected includes ships, sailors, and lighthouses. And of all the lighthouses, one of the most spectacular is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina.

First constructed in 1802, Cape Hatteras now stands 198 feet tall with its distinctive black and white spiral design. It is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States.

Dawson Carr in his book on the Cape Hatteras lighthouse poetically describes why this building was necessary. He says the Diamond Shoals of the Atlantic seaboard “waited there like a spider whose web ensnares the unwary who dare to pass too closely.” Only a lighthouse could help ships “stay safely away from this ship cemetery” (p. 32).

There’s no telling how many lives have been saved by the Cape Hatteras lighthouse over the last two hundred years.

I think of that lighthouse when I hear Jesus’ words in Matthew 5. “You are the light of the world…A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others.”

Just as a lighthouse prevents ships from coming too close to shore and running aground on dangerous shoals, so we are called to be salt and light, living distinctively from the world around us. That’s what Paul has in mind as he comes to the final chapter of his letter to the Colossians.

Several months ago, I preached on this passage at Calvary Church. Together, we learned…

  • How to develop the habit and mindset of prayer
  • How we can pray for one another
  • Trusting God when he closes a door
  • What to do when you’re surrounded by darkness
  • A challenge not to waste the precious time God has given us

The message has now been uploaded to my podcast and you can listen using this link:

Thanks for listening. For a complete list of sermons, please visit my sermon hub page.

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Prayer

Grit and Gratitude

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In his book Revival, Baptist historian Michael Haykin traces some of the contours of the Great Awakening in the early 18th century and the British and Irish revival of the late 18th century.

One London pastor gave this exciting report in 1754, “more of our meeting houses have been [expanded] within the last five years, and built within the last fifteen, than had been built and enlarged for thirty years before.”

Another pastor described the divine phenomena this way: “Meeting-houses which had been deserted were crowded. Meeting houses which had been more than large enough for their congregations for two or three generations had to be made larger. New meeting-houses in great numbers were erected. Cottages were rented in villages; farm-house kitchens were lent; old barns were turned into chapels; and young men who had been hard at work all through the week at the smithy, at the carpenter’s bench, or behind the counter in drapers’ shops, went out in companies from the towns on Sunday mornings to conduct the services” (p. 143).

Imagine that! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see God do this again? Revival is a work of the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to predict or manufacture — just like the wind — and yet we can see its powerful effects (John 3:8).

You cannot predict when revival will break out. But certain conditions have characterized every revival throughout history. There has been an increased hunger for the Word, and there has been a renewed commitment to prayer. Anytime you see a revival in history, you see a return to these two things – the Word of God and prayer. If there is any hope of seeing a revival in our day, we must return to these things as well.

In Colossians 1, Paul models for us what it looks like to be a people of prayer. He prays that we will have both steadfastness and gratitude. I preached on this message a few months ago, and you can now listen online:

Other links:
Calvary Church Youtube channel
Calvary Church sermon podcast
Calvary Church website
Feed My Sheep podcast

Christian Living

Praying with Power

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Wouldn’t it be great to know the will of God? Maybe you’ve got a big decision coming up and you’re wondering what God’s will is. What if you accidentally make the wrong decision?

Now imagine that you could have an overflowing sense of God’s plan for you. That’s precisely what the Apostle Paul prays in Colossians 1:9, “that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will” (v. 9). We could translate the word, to be “filled full.” It sounds redundant, but that’s how much Paul wants and prays for God’s people to be filled with the will of God. Paul doesn’t just want us to be slightly acquainted with God’s will. He prays that we would be overflowing with this knowledge.

Many gas pumps today have a little sensor so you can’t “top off” your tank even if you wanted to. To avoid spillage and protect the environment, they require you to keep a little air space at the top. But Paul prays that Christians will be filled up and spilling over with the knowledge of God’s will. Like it says in Psalm 23, “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” The image is one of bounty, blessing, and surplus. Your cup is not big enough to contain all the blessings God has in store! He wants to fill it up, and overflow you with a knowledge of his will.

Back in May, I preached on Colossians 1:9 and tried to demystify this idea of the will of God by sharing three lessons…

  1. God’s will is infinitely greater than our ability to understand.
  2. Anything God wants us to know is revealed in his word.
  3. God gives clear boundaries, then gives you freedom to choose.

Too many people turn decision-making into a coin toss or putting a finger in the wind. In reality, you simply need to know your Bible, live according to it, and then feel a generous amount of freedom to pursue your passions and chase your dreams, following God’s call and listening to wise counsel along the way. Ask the Lord for wisdom and then go out there and glorify God in everything you do!

If you’d like to listen or watch the sermon, here’s the link…

Audio – visit my podcast page or listen here:

Video – visit our church Youtube channel or watch below: