All posts by JT

Christian. Husband. Dad. Preacher. Baseball fan. Music nerd. Bookworm.

Sermon Outlines

Stephen: Uncompromising Devotion (Acts 6-7)

March 14, 2021 JT Leave a comment

Stephen Uncompromising Devotion Acts 6 Acts 7

Acts 6-7

I. Full of faith

II. Full of power

III. Full of Scripture

IV. Full of light

V. Full of wisdom

VI. Full of courage

VII. Full of love

Sermon Outlines

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

March 14, 2021 JT Leave a comment

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility sermon

I. The power to learn

II. The power to teach

III. The power to live the Christian life

Daily Devotional

Monday through Friday with People of Faith: Day 50/260: Joshua

March 12, 2021 JT Leave a comment

Read Joshua 3-4

Crossing the Jordan

God often used extraordinary events to demonstrate His approval of an individual. In the case of Moses, He worked many signs in the presence of Pharaoh and later in the presence of the children of Israel. In Joshua’s case, the Lord again demonstrated that He was with Joshua as the leader of Israel. “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you” (Joshua 3:7). Perhaps there was some trepidation among the people after the passing of the man who led them out of Egypt; God wanted to set their minds at ease and show that He was still their protector and guide, and that He was now working through Joshua the son of Nun.

Just as the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea on dry ground, on this occasion they passed through the Jordan in the same manner. “About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho” (Joshua 4:13). Finally, they were preparing to fully obey the Lord and take what He had given them.

As a memorial of this event, Joshua commanded twelve men to each take a stone from the Jordan. These twelve stones were set up in Gilgal as a reminder of what God had done for them and as a teaching opportunity for future generations.

What extraordinary events has God done to show that He is with you? Did you read your Bible today? That book is the product of miraculous inspiration! Have you reflected recently upon Jesus’ crucifixion? That demonstrated the powerful love of God for you! How long has it been since you read about the resurrection of Jesus? That act proved His power over death!

What in your life resembles the memorial stones? Did you partake in the Lord’s Supper this past Sunday? There you have the weekly reminder of that love that drove Jesus to the cross.

How do we know that God is with us today? When we live according to the words that He revealed in the Scriptures, when we remember His Son’s death each first day of the week, and when we look forward with hopeful anticipation to the resurrection, we can know that God is with us. “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection” (Romans 6:5).

Daily Devotional

Monday through Friday with People of Faith: Day 49/260: Rahab

March 11, 2021 JT Leave a comment

Read Joshua 2:1-24; 6:15-25; Hebrews 11:31

The Faith of a Harlot

There are certain occupations that carry with them a social stigma. Perhaps no career is seen in a poorer light than that of a prostitute. And yet the Scriptures show how powerful the one, true God of heaven is, saving even those that many times we would shun and from whom we would divert our eyes.

It is not Rahab’s occupation that makes her faithful, nor her lies to the men sent by the king of Jericho, but her belief that God really is God, and that He really is blessing Israel. She had no reason to believe such things except by word-of-mouth. Yet, forty years after the Red Sea crossing, the truth of God’s power persisted, so potent that even a harlot believed the fantastic stories.

When she spoke to the spies, she said, “I know that the Lord has given you the land” (Joshua 2:9). There was no doubt in this woman’s mind that Jericho was doomed. Why? Because of what God had already done for them. “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed” (Joshua 2:10). Her entire family was convinced that Israel would overtake Jericho, as Rahab said, “And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted” (Joshua 2:11). The power of the Lord was real and the destruction of Jericho was inevitable.

However, Rahab did not resign herself to her own destruction. She begged for mercy from the spies, helping them and hiding them. Could they be trusted? If they lied to her, she would be destroyed. Yet, if she had not helped them, she knew that she would be destroyed when Israel came to take the land. She had nothing to lose.

In her faith, Rahab overcame sin. There is no record of her continuing her former occupation after her salvation. In fact, she became the great-great-grandmother of the future king of Israel, David, and a part of the lineage of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. God doesn’t hold our past against us when we repent; instead, despite our past, He uses us to accomplish His will.

Daily Devotional

Monday through Friday with People of Faith: Day 48/260: Joshua

March 10, 2021 JT Leave a comment

Read Joshua 1

Be Strong and of Good Courage

Three times in the first chapter of the book of Joshua, the Lord told Joshua to “be strong and of good courage” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9). Moses, the brave leader of the Israelites had just died, and now this man Joshua, who had helped Moses and trusted in the Lord, was chosen to lead God’s people.

Can you imagine yourself in such a situation? Taking the place of the man who has led the nation for forty years, who stood up to Pharaoh, who patiently guided the stiffnecked people through the wilderness. Are you ready for such a challenge?

Many great men and women of God, whose faith and whose courage were above average, have passed on. Who will fill their shoes and keep preaching the gospel and encouraging the church as faithfully as they did?

We must encourage our young people now to think about their future in the church. We need boys who want to grow up to be elders, deacons, preachers, and Bible class teachers. We need girls who want to marry those future leaders and who want to raise their children in the Lord and who wants to teach other women and children how to follow Jesus.

Parents and grandparents have such a tremendous influence on young minds. We must be intentional about this! Just as the young evangelist developed a “genuine faith” by watching and emulating his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5), we must be setting a proper example for the young people around us to follow. And as we set that example, remember the words God had for Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage!”

Joshua needed that encouragement, but notice that he received it from more than just God. The children of Israel encouraged their new leader as well, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go….Only be strong and of good courage” (Joshua 1:16, 18).

When is the last time you encouraged the elders where you serve? Or the deacons who are working hard to see that their areas of work are effective? Or the preacher who has faithfully delivered the gospel message week in and week out? Make it a point this week to tell them, “Be strong and of good courage!”

Daily Devotional

Monday through Friday with People of Faith: Day 47/260: Caleb and Joshua

March 9, 2021 JT Leave a comment

Read Numbers 13:1-14:10

Confidence in the Promises of God

God promised the children of Israel that He would give them the land of Canaan. He commanded Moses to send out twelve men, one from each tribe, to “spy out the land” (Numbers 13:1). They were instructed to observe the people, the cities, and the agriculture. They were commanded, “Be of good courage” (Numbers 13:20).

The spies returned after forty days and raved about the good things in the land, a land that “truly flows with milk and honey” (Numbers 13:27). Then ten of the spies said, “Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large” (Numbers 13:28). These spies lacked confidence in the promises of God.

Caleb was different, though. He stood up for the truth and “quieted the people,” trusting in God, urging his brethren, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30). He knew what God had said, and He trusted what God had said.

Sadly, the majority ruled. “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we…we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:31, 33). But what about in God’s sight? Isn’t His sight what really matters?

Joshua and Caleb both acknowledged the power of God. “If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them” (Numbers 14:7-9). What was the result of the faith of these men? Their brethren wanted to stone them to death!

When we stand for the truth and walk in the Spirit, we may be opposed by those who are closest to us in this life. However, those people have no power over eternity. Only God can save a person from his sins; only God can rescue one from the clutches of Satan. Yet it is a decision we must make to follow Him and to trust His promises. Only by submitting to Him in humility will He lift us up (James 4:7).

Do you have confidence in the promises of God?

Daily Devotional

Monday through Friday with People of Faith: Day 46/260: Aaron

March 8, 2021 JT Leave a comment

Read Numbers 6:22-27

The Priestly Blessing

In 1900, Peter Lutkin rearranged the words of Numbers 6:24-26 and put them to music, concluding the piece with the now-famous sevenfold “Amen.” It is a beautiful and moving work of art.

Aaron and his sons were charged with imparting the Lord’s blessing upon the children of Israel. There are three blessings, perhaps alluding to the three Persons of the Godhead.

“The Lord bless you and keep you” (Numbers 6:24). Throughout the Scriptures we are reminded that blessings come from God. The psalmists in particular were apt to remind us of this fact. James writes, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). Without question, God is the best gift-giver (Matthew 7:9-11).

“The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you” (Numbers 6:25). It is truly astounding that the Lord bothers Himself with the affairs of men. “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:3-4). In the grand scheme of things, we may feel so insignificant, but in the mind of God, we are His beloved children. What grace He shows to us!

“The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Numbers 6:26). How much does God care for us? Consider the words of the apostle Peter: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). He wants to take care of us, to take our burdens away from us, to give us peace!

Are you experiencing the blessings of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? If you are not actively engaged in worship and service to Him, you cannot answer that question affirmatively. We must humble ourselves to be exalted; we must submit to Him to be blessed. That takes effort.

The Scriptures are clear: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Are you seeking God today?

Sermon Outlines

Solving Problems and Growing as a Result (Acts 6:1-7)

March 7, 2021 JT Leave a comment

Solving Problems Acts 6

Acts 6:1-7

I. The problem

II. The solution

III. The result

Sermon Outlines

God is Holy (and We Should Be Holy, Too!)

March 7, 2021 JT Leave a comment

God Is Holy

I. The adjective “Holy” describes all three Persons of the Godhead

II. “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:13-16)

E. “Take time to be holy”

Daily Devotional

Monday through Friday with People of Faith: Day 45/260: Moses

March 5, 2021 JT Leave a comment

Read Exodus 39-40

As The Lord Had Commanded Moses

Fourteen times in the final two chapters of Exodus, this exact phrase appears: “As the Lord had commanded Moses.” There are at least two other times that a similar phrase is used. It is a testimony to the Lord’s ability to relay understandable commands, to Moses’ ability to relay those commands to the people, and the people’s willingness to follow the leader God had chosen for them.

Moses writes, “According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work” (Exodus 39:42). How much was neglected by Moses and the children of Israel in what God had commanded? Nothing was ignored. They did “all that the Lord had commanded Moses”! Brother Tom L. Bright used to tell his students in preaching school, “You can’t get ‘aller’ than all!” They either did it all, or they didn’t, and Moses said they did!

The final verse of the chapter reads, “Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them” (Exodus 39:43). A couple of very important things are revealed here.

First, Moses inspected the work. He examined it closely to be sure that it was “as the Lord had commanded.” He understood the command, and he had relayed it faithfully to the workers, and they followed the instructions to the letter. That’s important.

Second, notice what Moses did after finding that the children of Israel had faithfully obeyed: “And Moses blessed them.” He took the time to examine it, and he took the time to encourage them! It is important to recognize the efforts of those who are hard workers in the church and to thank them for their labors. They are not working for praise, but it never hurts to show appreciation for a job well done.

Paul thanked God for the church in Thessalonica for their “work of faith,” among other things (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3). Moses likewise blessed those who had put so much effort into the tabernacle and priestly garments because of their diligence and precision to the Lord’s command.

But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. (Acts 8:12)