Missio Dei Fellowship

In this psalm, David is faced with enemies on every side and his heart is moved to great fear. In spite of his fears, he looks to God and His Word and resolves to trust in Him. The reasons for this are simple: God is the Sovereign One, yet this Sovereign One cares for David intimately, and therefore, he need not be afraid. As we look to this psalm today, the same truth rings through for Christians, where we see His tender mercies on display in every step. Thus, we can conclude with David that God is for us, and if He is for us, no mere man can stand against us.

Acts 8 describes the fleeing Church out of Jerusalem. And as the people fled they kept the gospel upon their lips. Luke now focuses on two recipients of the gospel, Simon the Magician and the Ethiopian Eunuch. And it doing so he shows the two way the gospel impacts individual lives. One is only almost a Christian and the other is a genuine Christian. Today we look at the almost one.

At the age of 14, Joseph Smith claimed to be visited by God and Jesus Christ, who urged him not to join any of the existing sects of Christianity. The reason? From the time of the death of the apostles, all forms of the Christian faith were apostate. From this point forward, he claimed to have received several visions, where the true form of the Christian faith was revealed to him, and from this, he founded the Mormon Church. The natural question then is if Mormonism is the true Christian religion recaptured, or if it is merely one of many gospels that damn. In the end, this sermon is designed to show the "good news" of Mormonism is nothing more than a soul-crushing gospel that damns.

In this brief series we consider key religions that claim to give a true way of salvation and forgiveness of sin, but actually are false gospels and false hopes. When considering a false gospel, one must consider Islam, as it is one of the fastest growing religions in the world today. From the problem, to the solution, the commands, and even the blessings, it is built off of a false understanding of the nature of god (Allah). What stands as his preeminent attribute is his transcendence, thus everything is seen through the lens of submission. Yet even in this, Allah can overrule everything at his own whims. He is not a personal god who has revealed himself to mankind that they might know him, but a capricious deity who stands supreme above it all to do as he pleases. Thus we see how utterly hopeless Islam is in the end to give an answer.

Since the late 1800's the Jehovah Witnesses, originally known as theRussellites, have sought to preach and spread their version of a gospel. Their claim is that they alone are the people through which God works. Many people have experienced having them arrive on their doorstep seeking to share their message and many have walked away from those conversations confused. What is their message? Or to put it a different way, what gospel do they preach? Does it conform to the gospel the Scriptures set forth as the gospel that saves or is it one of many false gospels that damn a soul to eternity? This message is designed to show how the Jehovah Witnesses go wrong, badly wrong, with the gospel.

In this brief series we consider key religions that claim to give a true way of salvation and forgiveness of sin, but actually are false gospels and false hopes. When considering a false gospel one must put at the very top of the list the Roman Catholic Church. A massive religion, it is built upon a false understanding of sin which leads to a false understanding of the solution to that sin and a false command in response to their solution. In this first of two sermons we focus on the problem of mankind, which is sin. And we see how the Roman Catholic Church gives an utterly hopeless, Christ-less answer to that problem.

In this brief series we consider key religions that claim to give a true way of salvation and forgiveness of sin, but actually are false gospels and false hopes. When considering a false gospel one must put at the very top of the list the Roman Catholic Church. A massive religion, it is built upon a false understanding of sin which leads to a false understanding of the solution to that sin and a false command in response to their solution. In this first of two sermons we focus on the problem of mankind, which is sin. And we see how the Roman Catholic Church gives an utterly hopeless, Christ-less answer to that problem.

In this brief series we consider key religions that claim to give a true way of salvation and forgiveness of sin, but actually are false gospels and false hopes. When considering a false gospel one must put at the very top of the list the Roman Catholic Church. A massive religion, it is built upon a false understanding of sin which leads to a false understanding of the solution to that sin and a false command in response to their solution. In this first of two sermons we focus on the problem of mankind, which is sin. And we see how the Roman Catholic Church gives an utterly hopeless, Christ-less answer to that problem.

To be a person who is in a right relationship toward his or her Creator is the most critical issue anyone faces. The common way this is described is whether a person is "saved" or not. Unfortunately this concept, though a central theme of the bible, is misunderstood by many, even within the church. What does it mean? What does it entail? Why is it so important? And how does one know if they are saved? These are the sort of questions this small series will seek to explain. This is a basic explanation of why we need salvation and what that means. In the fourth sermon we will see the blessings that God grants to us through faith in the gospel.

To be a person who is in a right relationship toward his or her Creator is the most critical issue anyone faces. The common way this is described is whether a person is "saved" or not. Unfortunately this concept, though a central theme of the bible, is misunderstood by many, even within the church. What does it mean? What does it entail? Why is it so important? And how does one know if they are saved? These are the sort of questions this small series will seek to explain. We have seen that the problem is sin and that the solution is in and through Jesus Christ. Now, in this third sermon we will see the commands: repent and believe the gospel.

To be a person who is in a right relationship toward his or her Creator is the most critical issue anyone faces. The common way this is described is whether a person is "saved" or not. Unfortunately this concept, though a central theme of the bible, is misunderstood by many, even within the church. What does it mean? What does it entail? Why is it so important? And how does one know if they are saved? These are the sort of questions this small series will seek to explain. This is a basic explanation of why we need salvation and what that means. In the second sermon we will see the solution that God provides for the problem of sin: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

To be a person who is in a right relationship toward his or her Creator is the most critical issue anyone faces. The common way this is described is whether a person is "saved" or not. Unfortunately this concept, though a central theme of the bible, is misunderstood by many, even within the church. What does it mean? What does it entail? Why is it so important? And how does one know if they are saved? These are the sort of questions this small series will seek to explain. This is a basic explanation of why we need salvation and what that means. In the first sermon we will see the problem we all face, sin.

In this psalm, David faces betrayal from a man he counted as his dearest friend. Through the depths of agony and the threat of death, you see a man who pours out his heart to God. In the midst of his affliction, David learns five key lessons, but most of all, he learns that God is a refuge and strength to him even in the midst of betrayal of the worst sort.

Philip goes out with the fleeing church and finds himself in Samaria. It is there that he begins to preach the gospel and in doing so we see the power of the gospel in bringing life, joy and deliverance to a people who lived in great darkness. But what we really see is how the gospel is for the world, every tongue, tribe and people.

In this psalm, David's own life is being threatened as Saul pursues him, and his own countrymen betray him. Yet rather than wallow in despair, David recollects who God has revealed Himself to be in His Word, and forms his prayer in light of this. What this psalm portrays for us is a rich portrait of who God is in His attributes. God is our Advocate who saves us; God is our Helper, who sustains us; and God is the righteous Judge, who delivers us. It is in light of who God is then that we are called to trust in the name of the Lord all the days of our life.

Persecution at times is isolated but often it begins with a flashpoint andthen spreads through mob rule. This is what our passage before us describes. The death ofStephen is the beginning of intense persecution for the Church in Jerusalem. But that is not thereal story. The real story is that as the people fled this persecution, they fled with the gospel ontheir lips. This passage shows us that the way the gospel truly advances is not through gimmicksor power-events but through faithful men and women who believe that the gospel is the onlymeans of salvation and life and they therefore say that to those they evangelize.

In a man's own eyes, he may be considered a fairly decent person. He can look among his peers, and comparatively, even be considered "good." However, this is not how God sees humanity in their natural condition. At best, they are wayward fools, bound under the power and dominion of sin, haters of God and His people, and mockers of God's promises. Yet despite how bleak the human condition naturally is, God has made a way of salvation - even for fools.

In this sermon we are exhorted as we enter into the unknown of the newyear to be found faithful as believers. The world is actively at war against the Church after manyyears of relative peace in America. But that has changed and with it comes many temptations onhow to respond. This is a pastoral plea to the people of Missio Dei to be found faithful in boththe big and little things, especially the Gospel.

In Psalm 53, David begins with a proclamation: the fool in his heart says, "There is no God." His point is a relatively simple one: one's rejection of God is the wellspring from which all else flows. But this rejection of God is not merely an intellectual rejection of God's existence; it involves the practical atheist, who lives without reference to their Creator. No matter what "flavor" of unbelief someone subscribes to, the reality is the same: biblically, they are a fool. As we explore the Scriptures in search of why, the answer becomes abundantly clear. God has revealed Himself plainly to all, so that all are without excuse on the coming Day of Judgment.