Calvary Chapel Redeeming Grace

The Gold Lampstand and Two Olive Trees

Introduction - Burnout and Dependence Stress and burnout plague many and many are on the look out to prevent or avoid stress and burnout. It doesnt only plague job, home and relationships but also ministry. Many when called by God into ministry — yes this includes pastors, missionaries and the like but…

Campaign

Vision of the High Priest and The Branch

Introduction If I were to ask you what the greatest problem facing the world today what would you say? Maybe poverty, dictators, threat of world war or nuclear war, globalism, food scarcity, politics, racial tensions? Actually the greatest problem facing the world today and all men alike is the problem…

Life in the Pits

Introduction A year ago in May my family and I went on a trip to Freeport/Surfside beach just outside Galveston. The area we were at was literally beach side, the houses were on stilts in order to accommodate the occasional floods and what not. One of the days we were there especially after a couple…

Vision Of The Surveyor

Introduction Last time we looked at the first two of Zechariah’s strange night visions as we concluded chapter 1. The major focus of both those visions is the message from God to His people of comfort and assurance. The Lord would restore His presence among them and He would judge their enemies and deliver…

Our Anchor In Sorrow

Introduction The purpose of an anchor is to keep a ship safe and secure at a desired location, or to help control a ship during bad weather. We all need anchors as well. Adversity and deep sorrow can come as a great storm to blow us off course and threaten to cast us against rocks, drag us out to open…

Crosshairs

Pain of Our Sin

Introduction Many times the full extent of the damage of sin is never fully contemplated. Only the immediate fulfillment of our flesh. It has been said by more than a few of sin - that sin sin always takes you further than you expected to go, costs more than you wanted to pay, and keeps you longer than…

Rich Man Poor Man

Comfort and Assurance of God

Introduction Its easy to feel overwhelmed in this life. We live in a fallen world and things are not for certain and with all the uncertainty we can get discouraged and begin to wonder where God is. Especially if we had recently failed, or been corrected or under the discipline of the LORD. During these…

Salvation Is Of The LORD

Introduction We have spent several weeks looking at Psalm 37 . This Psalm is a rather lengthy Psalm written in the form of not only an acrostic poem but also in the form of many proverbs strung together. The Psalm has a distinct contrasting form between wickedness and righteousness. The context is that…

Zechariah’s Call

Background Zechariah is the longest of the Minor Prophets or one could say the least minor. Genesis, Psalms, and Isaiah are the most quoted books in the New Testament, and when you consider their lengths and contents it is really not that shocking. Maybe what would shock you is that 14 chapters of Zechariah…

Continue Walking Rightly

Introduction Water ALWAYS takes the path of least resistance. It is easy to walk down the road when there are no troubles and there is no danger. There is also little growth on that path and there is little life. Any dead fish can float down stream, but only the live ones can turn around and swim against…

Hope of Faith

Introduction For such a small book Haggai has really caused us to need to “think carefully about our ways”. In the first message from Haggai challenged to examine our priorities. Next we were instructed on how to properly shape our expectations. Last week we were reminded about the principles and effects…

Allegiant

Contamination

Introduction Contamination is an event that can occur and has the potential to cause catastrophe up to and including physical harm and even death. We do much to prevent contamination - we have tamper proof lids, plastic seals, etc. We have process by which we test products to check for contamination.…

Be Content In the LORD

Introduction It is tough when you look around and see people doing wicked things and getting ahead. It amplified when we ourselves are striving to live righteously and we are afflicted and needy. The truth is that though we may face difficult times and circumstances we must learn to be content in the…

Shaping Expectations

Introduction Have you ever noticed when you recall stories or memories from the past we always tend to exaggerate it, and romanticize it? This is where the joke about the fish that was caught comes from, because it was always bigger in our memory. So when we recall the past or we desire to do something…

Eyes of Faith

Introduction Psalm 37 is another Psalm that is “of David”. This Psalm is written by David and is a different kind of Psalm. It is an acrostic which that in itself does not make this Psalm unique but this Psalm is a wisdom Psalm and because of this some doubt David wrote it. This wisdom Psalm is an acrostic…

Haggai - Think Carefully About Your Ways

Background In 538 B.C. Cyrus King of Persia allowed the exile Jews to return to Jerusalem after 70 years in captivity. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel about 50,000 Jews left Babylon and went back to Israel and two years later 536 B.C. construction on the temple began. After two years and much opposition…

Fountain of Life

Introduction The myth of a spring that restores the youth of one who drinks it has captivated imagination of many. It is the fountain of youth and I first learned about this myth when studying the Age of Exploration in history. Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon the first governor of Puerto Rico. He…

From Hurting To Healing

Introduction To have wounds and hurt inflicted by others purposefully is traumatic to say the least. To have those same wounds inflicted by a trusted friend is a greater trauma - possibly the greatest trauma. Rumors going viral that have their starting place of your best friend. A co-worker sabotaging…

Restoration Promised

Introduction - Promises How many of us keep every single promise we have made? No one?! How many of us have made promises off the cuff without thinking them through? Everyone?! Our promises are usually made with the best of intentions - we make promises to do something or to not do something, to be somewhere…

Escaping Your Cave of Fear

Introduction This Psalm is an acrostic Psalm written by David. This Psalm is concerning David when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech (king of the Philistines) who drove him out and he departed to the cave of Adullum. 10 David fled that day from Saul’s presence and went to King Achish…

Judgment For All Nations

Introduction Ignoring warnings comes with consequences. Warnings are meant to do just that - warn - to ignore them is to disregard their entire purpose. Maybe you can think of times where you ignored a warning, and later had regrets about it. Other times you have listened to a warning and steered clear…

The Glory of God in Creation and His Word

Seek The Lord

Background Zephaniah is the most likely author for the book. Believed to have been written around the 7th century B.C. during the reign of king Josiah. Zephaniah is the least known of all the twelve minor prophets. He was the one who broke the long period of silence following the famous 8th century prophets…

Primer on Praise

Introduction The Psalm before us tonight is untitled and no author is attributed, but this Psalm is nonetheless just as powerful as those with titles and identified authorship. In fact this Psalm teaches us about praise - why we praise, how we praise and what praise does for us. The verbs in this Psalm…

Persevering Perspective

Introduction At the start of Habakkuk we found the prophet in what we might call “down in the valley” perplexed in his faith with questions while wrestling with the will of God. Last week Habakkuk went to get alone in a quiet place with a quiet heart waiting and expecting to hear from God - while living…

Living By Faith

Introduction Perplexed Faith - last week we looked at perplexing problems. When you look around and take in what you see. It is bewildering and perplexing to consider God’s providential working in the world around us. We are in the company of Habakkuk and the Psalmist Asaph when we are perplexed that…

Joy of Forgiveness

Introduction Tonight we come to Psalm 32 . The second of the so-called penitential psalms. This psalm is also the first of 12 psalms that bear the title of Maskil, which has been interpreted several ways i.e. “a skillful song, a song of instruction, a contemplative poem.” It is an instructional psalm…

Perplexing Problems

Background Information Habakkuk is a late seventh century prophet, which places him pre-exilic time period and post Northern Kingdom. Right between Nahum and Zephaniah and a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah. It is likely that he knew a young Daniel and Ezekiel. The prophet does not state his age…

Wake Up Throw Off and Put On

Rebellion

God is Just

Introduction As we open to Nahum chapter three, we are going to close out the book with this final chapter. We turn from the fact of the judgment to the reasons for it. More precisely to the justification of it. God in declaring judgment against Nineveh (and Assyria) is just. God is just in declaring…

Into Thy Hand

Introduction One of the strongest ailments affecting us today - pressure, stress, or anxiety. A symptom of living in a world wrought with much difficulty. Nothing in which we have control but we desire to and we strive to. The more we try to be in control the higher the pressure, our stress and our anxiety.…

God Judges

Introduction Last week as we opened the book of Nahum we were confronted with some of the characteristics of God that we had to deal with and could not ignore. We looked at the jealousy of God, and His vengeance as well as His wrath; and through those attributes Gods care and comfort for His people comes…

Joy Comes in the Morning

Introduction A song of enduring hope. As painful as a season may be, it is only a season. Life has twists, turns, ups, and downs, and, although we may suffer through dark nights, morning will come. We are to sing to God and worship and praise Him. When we are silent and our hearts turn away from worship,…

God Avenges

Background Information The book of Nahum contains the prophecies given by Nahum the prophet. These prophecies were given to both warn Nineveh and also to encourage Judah. The name Nahum is a shortened version of Nehemiah (Comfort of Yahweh) - and the shortened versions means “comfort” and this coupled…

Patience From Worship

Introduction A topic we have talked about before and will talk about again as it pertains to the heart and to the Psalms is the problem of patience and persevering in prayer in our trouble. Tonight we are going to look at two Psalms and while they were not specifically written together; through their…

The Imminent Return of Jesus

Withstand

Introduction Tragedy struck this week in Uvalde Texas, and unfortunately this side of heaven it wont be the last time either. Hurricanes, Terrorist attacks, active shootings, drive-bys, murders, kidnappings, car-accidents, sicknesses, abandonment, etc - the list goes on. Whether it happens to us individually…

From Darkness Of Idictment To Light Of Salvation

Introduction Sometimes when our situation has a bleak outlook we cannot see it changing and we feel trapped in it without any sense of hope. Even more so when that situation perhaps is one which we have made for ourselves. We are powerless to change it - sometimes those in judgment over are powerless…

Sure-Footed

Introduction Hiking like any other outdoor sport comes with some inherent risk. It is not the flat and easy paths that bring the most danger and require the most caution. It is the path wrought with twists and turns, steep inclines, loose rocks, and other terrain that create instability as one traverses…

Unjust Rulers to Ruling in Justice

Introduction Corrupt leadership over the people leads to governing and ruling in injustice. In our country and in our government we see corruption and we cry out at the injustice around us. Our culture and way of life is permeated through and through with injustice. Evil seems to prevail and justice…

Wounded

From Retribution To Redemption

Background 1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Moreshite—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The book of Micah and Micah’s message was declared to come from the word of the LORD. Now there are about 18 Micah’s in the scripture,…

What Am I To Do?

Introduction We all have to make decisions in life. Some sources suggest that the average person will make 35,000 choices per day. Assuming a 7 hour sleep schedule that means 2,000 decisions per hour or even more finely refined one decision every two seconds. You and I have been given free-will and a…

Resenting Grace - A Heart At Odds With God’s

Introduction Resentment is bitter indignation or anger that someone feels about something - usually in regards to unfair treatment (insult, injury or wrong). Essentially resentment is born from undealt with anger creating bitterness and when bitterness has taken root it becomes full blown resentment.…

Worshiping the King of Glory

Introduction This Psalm is simply titled a Psalm of David. Most would put the writing of this Psalm around the time when the Ark of the Covenant entered into Jerusalem from Obed-edom, during the reign of David recorded in 2 Samuel 6 . Yet Spurgeon aptly commented “The eye of the Psalmist looked, however,…