The Song of the Cross
Sermons

The Song of the Cross

Psalm 40 is a plea of someone who is trapped, sinking in quicksand, and is miraculously delivered from doom and given a sure foundation and a new song. The speaker in this Psalm proclaims that he has come to do the Lord’s will and replace the temporary sacrifices of the law with a life of perfect obedience to God’s will. This person is, as the author of Hebrews later reveals, none other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because Jesus knows what it is to reach the depth of our fallenness and despair, we can trust that no matter what this life may bring, we will never experience anything that goes beyond his capacity to understand and empathize. Also, because Jesus has overcome our brokenness and lived a life of perfect obedience on our behalf, he offers a new song and a fresh start to those who come to him and are willing to trade the darkness of their sins for the new life of his resurrection.

Faithful to the End (Palm Sunday)
Sermons

Faithful to the End (Palm Sunday)

In his final remarks, Peter sums up his epistle with a final exhortation to stay faithful until the end growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. After all, those who are faithful in little are faithful in more. God knows we are not perfect yet and that is ok, the Lord is perfecting us. On this side of heaven, God is looking for faithfulness, not perfection. As long as he finds us clinging to him, it will all be well.

Faithful to the End: Are We There Yet?
Sermons

Faithful to the End: Are We There Yet?

When I was a kid, I hated long trips. Anything that lasted more than 20 minutes seemed to last an eternity. I am sure my parents were not fond of the trips either, especially because I would ask the same question time and time again. Are we there yet? The Lord promised his disciples he would be with them to carry their mission even until the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20. Almost 2000 years have passed since he gave his promise and every generation of Christians has at some point or another wondered if we are there (or almost there) yet. In the third chapter of his second epistle, Peter helps the second generation of believers in the first century see that our job is to trust God with the details of his plan and occupy ourselves with our mission with the assurance that when the kingdom comes it will be worth our waiting. We may not be there yet but we are definitively closer today than we have ever been!

Faithful to the End: Careful With the Unfinished Bridges!
Sermons

Faithful to the End: Careful With the Unfinished Bridges!

Living in a place where we are free to share our faith gives us incredible privileges. We have plenty of printed literature on every topic relevant to our faith, we have powerful bible study software and libraries of videos, radio stations, Christian music, and television networks dedicated to spiritual teaching. With this plethora of information, however, come significant challenges. Not everything in the “Christian market” is actually sound in doctrine. In the second chapter of this letter, Peter challenges us to discern the content of spiritual teachings around us and examine the lives of those who profess to be followers of Jesus. Unfortunately, there will be heretical teachings in the churches seeking to take Christ’s disciple on a journey that does not take us where Christ wants us to go. Some of these prophets are bridge builders that lead others to a cliff of self-destructive error and indulgence. As Andy Stanley says in his book “The Principle of the Path” direction, not intention is what determines our destination.

Faithful to the End: Everything You Need You Already Have
Sermons

Faithful to the End: Everything You Need You Already Have

Every day we are bombarded by a relentless campaign of advertising and marketing trying to convince us of our need for an endless array of items and services. More than ever, our lives are filled with an incessant hunger for materialistic and consumeristic products and yet we seem to be never satisfied with all we possess. The reason we are not satisfied is that we have been looking for satisfaction in the wrong places. According to Peter, everything that we truly need has been already given to us! (1 Peter 1:3). Why is it, then, that even though we have been given everything we need, we are sometimes not able to live it out? Peter gives us the answer to this question in chapter one reminding us that Christ’s calling is a life-long, life-changing, and life-giving journey in which we must continue to grow! Essential to this growth is our dependence on God’s word until we arrive at the finish line and the darkness of this world gives way to the light of God’s new day.

How Well are We Preparing for Our Next Triathlon?
Sermons

How Well are We Preparing for Our Next Triathlon?

We will explore how well we are training for our next triathlon - the next known or unknown challenge coming our way. In Philippians 3, we will explore the concept of joy in the midst of suffering as the gospel of Jesus Christ is prioritized above all else - and explore the struggle that occurs when we get distracted. God is at work at DFBC and is calling us to grow in holiness! Are you ready to follow him in your next step of obedience?

The Desires of the Eyes: Impressing Others to Prove Our Worth
Sermons

The Desires of the Eyes: Impressing Others to Prove Our Worth

In his last temptation, Satan reveals his true intentions and shows his full hand. What he really wants is to be worshiped as God. The problem is that he is a false god! Jesus shows in this passage that the whole world is not worth having without God. Worship is the most valuable expression of love and commitment in the universe. Worship is worth living and dying for. As Jesus will demonstrate, when all is said and done, Jesus will surrender his very life to show that his Father is the only one worth living and dying for. In the third temptation, fasting is the process that God uses to empower us to follow Jesus to the end knowing that after the cross comes the crown. To follow him is the only way to gain the world without losing our soul.

The Desires of the Flesh: Misusing Our God-Given Powers for Selfish Gain (Part II)
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The Desires of the Flesh: Misusing Our God-Given Powers for Selfish Gain (Part II)

Ever since the fall, human beings live to prove their worth. Everything in this world seems to demand that we earn our place in the cosmos. Satan promised Eve that if she took from the fruit, she would be like God but ironically, she already was! In this temptation, Jesus overcame Satan by showing that he does not have to put God to the test to prove who he or God is. Faith in God’s word not in circumstances or public displays to satisfy people’s curiosity is what God is looking for! In an age were influencers are measured by fame and people’s recognition, Jesus reminds us that God’s way is not the way of relevance or prominence but the way of faithfulness and authenticity when we are fully surrendered to God regardless of what we see. In the second temptation, fasting is the process God uses for us to carry the cross renouncing the world’s recognition to live for God’s approval alone.

The Desires of the Flesh: Misusing Our God-Given Powers for Selfish Gain
Sermons

The Desires of the Flesh: Misusing Our God-Given Powers for Selfish Gain

Satan’s first temptation challenges Jesus’ identity introducing doubt. As in the garden, his first temptation opens a world of possibilities apart from God’s will. He said, “if you are the Son of God.” Temptation navigates a fine line between inflated egos or depressed ones. Whether we think more or less of ourselves the outcome of our flesh is to satisfy our God-given needs in ways that are contrary to his will. The flesh seeks selfish satisfaction of our wants in our ways apart from God. Jesus defeats this temptation showing that our deepest hunger is satisfied not by doing our will but by surrendering in obedience to God’s word. God made us to be satisfied with his word not with the world. It is obedience to God’s word not a selfish miraculous display of our selfish prowess that truly demonstrates what being a child of God is all about. In the first temptation, fasting is the process God uses to learn to deny ourselves. To say yes to God we must say no to our flesh.

Fasting: Test or Temptation?
Sermons

Fasting: Test or Temptation?

Fasting is all about making room for growth. When we have been feasting on God’s goodness, and grow deeper and wider in our identity, security, and significance in the Son, we can be assured that there will be push back to our growth. Spiritual warfare is fought on two fronts. On the one hand, God allows challenges in our walk to test our faith and refine our character in hope. On the other hand, Satan uses the same challenges to tempt us to sin and disqualify us from God’s best. In this second part of our series, we will see Jesus in his fast in the wilderness as the One who overcomes Satan’s worldly temptations through the desires of the flesh, the eyes, and the pride of life.