Category: Sermons

Published October 31, 2012

Elisha & the Widow Woman’s Oil

This morning we continue looking at the Exploits of Elisha. If you remember from last week, we learned that Elisha was just an ordinary guy – a farmer in fact, but he was used by God to do some extraordinary things. And the reason that God was able to use Him in such amazing ways was because Elisha was FAT. He was Faithful, Available, and Teachable. He was FAT. And I trust that over this past week you’ve been practicing being FAT. Because God uses FAT people (people who are faithful, available, and teachable) to do amazing things.

Now, this morning, we are going to fast forward a few years in time. The story that we are going to look at today happens roughly about 10 years after Elisha left the family farm to follow in the steps of Elijah. Since that time, Elisha has been training under Elijah. He has spent about 8 years with Elijah, learning and apprenticing under Him. And by the time of our story this morning, he has also spent about 2 years on his own, since Elijah was earlier taken up to Heaven in a chariot of fire. And that, by the way, is another great story that you should look up sometime. You can find that in 2 Kings chapter 2.

But our story today happens in 2 Kings chapter 4.

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Published October 22, 2012

God’s Looking for F.A.T. People

This morning I am excited to begin a new series. I don’t know if you’re like me, but I always enjoy the stories of some of these fantastic Old Testament Bible characters. Guys like Ehud – the left-handed man who saved his country by driving a dagger deep into the belly of the fat King Eglon. Or guys like Benaiah – one of David’s mighty men – who climbed down into a snowy pit to fight a lion. Or guys like Jehu who was known for driving his chariot like a madman.

These fascinating stories. I love ‘em! And so for the next few weeks we want to spend some time looking at another fascinating character of the Old Testament – We’re going to be looking at the Exploits of Elisha. Now Elisha is one of those guys whose name you probably recognize, but you might have a hard time named exactly what it was that he did. Probably part of the reason for that is that we often confused Elisha with Elijah. These are two different prophets who lived at the same time at the same place – and sometimes they’re in the same story – so it’s easy to get confused. God did some amazing things through both of them.

And while Elijah certainly had his share of amazing stories, (and I don’t know if you know this or not) but God used Elisha to perform more miracles than anyone else in the Bible – except for Jesus. Did you know that? The Bible records that Elisha was involved in 14 different miracles. And they include things like raising people from the dead, healing people from incurable diseases, feeding large groups of people with just a small bit of food… And of course, this is all God doing these things, but He used Elisha carry them out.

And sometimes I wonder, why did God choose Elisha to be used in such an fantastic way? Why not his neighbor Larry? Why does God choose the people He does to do His work?

I mean, think about Billy Graham, for example. Why did God choose to use Him in such a powerful way? He grew up on a dairy farmer in North Carolina. He didn’t come from a long line of evangelists or pastors. He didn’t have a doctorate in evangelism. But God chose Him to bring the Gospel to millions.

Or think about John Newton, the guy who wrote the song “Amazing Grace.” He was slave trader, He was the captain of a ship, buying and selling human cargo in the 1700s. Why on earth would God pick Him to write a song that has impacted the lives of millions of people all over the world. His song is probably the most well-known Christian song ever. What made God choose to use that slave trader in such a powerful way?

How does God choose people like that? And maybe more to the heart of the issue – is it possible that God could choose you or me to be used in fantastic way like that? To impact the lives of millions – or at least hundreds? What kind of people does God choose to use?

Well, that’s the question that I want us to think about as we begin looking at the Exploits of Elisha.

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Published October 2, 2012

The Role of Community in Your Spiritual Journey

This morning I want to begin with a very interesting discussion question. And I trust that you’ll be eager to participate with me. The question I have for you today is this: What is the role of donuts in your spiritual journey? You might not have thought about this before, but that’s what I want you to discuss for a few minutes this morning. What is the role of donuts in your spiritual journey?

Now, to help you in your discussion, you’ll notice that there is a pile of donuts over here on this table. I invite you to come and have a donut – or if you’re a little more healthy minded, there are some clusters of grapes as well. But here is the rule: You must share your donut (or your grapes) with someone else. You can’t eat a whole donut by yourself – you must find someone to share it with. And don’t just cut it in half and leave half on the table – you MUST share that donut with someone else. So please, come and help yourself, and then take a couples minutes to discuss: What is the role of donuts (or grapes) in your spiritual journey?

As strange as that question might seem, there is a Biblical point to be made – and we’re going to get into that in just a few minutes. But first, let me remind you what we’ve been talking about.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been going though this little booklet entitled “Your Spiritual Journey”. We’ve been asking the question: Where are you in your spiritual journey?

Some of us are just beginning. We’re still trying to figure out all this “God” stuff. It’s all pretty new to us.
Others have been at this for a little while, and we’re at the point where we’ve started to personally get to know the God of Heaven. It’s pretty cool.
Still others have been followers of Jesus Christ for years now. And little by little, we’re starting to become more like Christ – but of course, there’s still a long way to go.

But where ever you are in your journey – our goal has been to help you take the next steps forward. We don’t want to see you stalled out in your spiritual journey – we want to see you moving forward.

And that’s what brings us to our message today. And our topic isn’t really about donuts, but about fellowship. About Community. About experiencing life together. Coffee & donuts seem to be the Canadian symbol of community, so I thought that would be an appropriate way to start.

So I guess the real question today is: What is the role of community in your spiritual journey?

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Published September 26, 2012

What Does it Mean to be a Follower of Jesus Christ?

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ? This isn’t a test. You’re not going to be graded on your answers. But I want to get your minds thinking in that direction. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ?

For the past several weeks we’ve been looking at this thing called “Your Spiritual Journey”. And we’ve been trying to answer three basic questions:

#1. Where am I in my spiritual journey?
#2. Where do I want to be?
#3. What steps do I need to take to get there?

We’ve been using Your Spiritual Journey Handout as a guide, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, but there are two main headings in this booklet. There is “Searching” on the left and “Following” on the right.

And so that’s what has led me to the question you’ve just been discussing – what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ?

Because if the point of our spiritual journey is to move us from searching for God to following God, then its important for us to know exactly what it means to follow Him.

Is it simply that we’ve prayed a prayer and asked God to forgive our sins? Is that what this is all about? Does it mean we regularly attend church? Is that following Christ? Does it mean we’re trying to be more good and less bad? Is that following Christ? Or does following Christ mean something totally different?

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Published September 18, 2012

What Do I Still Lack?

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-14

Twice in this passage, Paul tells us that he is pressing on. He has not yet reached the end of his spiritual journey – He is not yet perfect. So if Paul, the guy who started multiple churches, the guy who wrote over half of the books of the New Testament, the guy who was thrown in prison on many occasions for preaching the Gospel – If he still had to press on in his spiritual journey – don’t you think, that perhaps you and I have further to go as well?

For the past couple of weeks we’ve been talking about this spiritual journey that each of us is one. All of us are on a journey. All of us are either moving closer to God or away from Him. There’s no standing still.

So today I want to encourage you to press on. To take the next step forward in your spiritual journey. We’ve been using this booklet as a bit of a road map help us along. And I trust that over these pass few weeks, you’ve been able to get a good sense of where you are in your spiritual journey. Are you not interested in a relationship with God? Are you curiously seeking? Are you “searching assertively, making a faith commitment, experiencing new life, growing in community, or making disciples.” And where ever you are, the more important question is: “Are you taking steps to move forward? Are you pressing on?”

Today I want to look at the story of the rich young man as found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, to see an important crossroads in his spiritual journey.

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Published September 10, 2012

What if the Bible is True?

What if the Bible is true? That might seem like an odd sort of question to ask a room full of people sitting in church on a Sunday morning, but that’s exactly the question that I want to ask today. What if the Bible is true?

Last Sunday we began a new fall focus entitled “Your Spiritual Journey.” And as we’ve noted in your bulletin, if you missed last Sunday, please go online to davetrenholm.com and you can either read the message from last week or download it and listen to it as an mp3.

But just to refresh your memory – we talked about how everyone of us is on a spiritual journey, no matter what our beliefs. We’re always headed in some direction – either towards God or away from Him. There is no standing still. We’re always moving in some direction. We’re on a spiritual journey.

And of course, as in any journey – it’s important to know where you, where you’re going, and how you’re going to get there.

So one of the first things we did last week, was to spend some time trying to figure out where each of us are in our own, personal spiritual journey. We used this little handout to help us. Your Spiritual Journey Handout Inside it has seven different phases of a typical spiritual journey. Of course, everyone’s journey is unique, but this booklet gives us some good general guidelines. And if you happened to have missed last week, I’d encourage you to grab one of these booklets from the back before you leave today.

But using this book, last Sunday everyone here tried to figure out where they were in their spiritual journey. Were they “not interested” in a relationship with God? Were they “curiously seeking? Were they “searching assertively, making a faith commitment, experiencing new life, growing in community, or making disciples.”

Well, we all tried our best to figure out were we fit in our own personal journey. Then I collected up everyone’s answers anonymously, and on Tuesday I read through them all, and do you know what I found? I found this a little surprising.

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