Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/ZVDa3xPFXlw

Summary: “Be Careful How You Treat Them”

Introduction: The Power of Simple Kindness

• The sermon opens with a true story of Ruth Reed, a woman in New Jersey who made a resolution to bless others.
• One day she paid for a man’s food at Wawa—who turned out to be country singer Keith Urban.
• The story illustrates that the world is starving for kindness, and small acts of compassion can shine light into darkness.
• Jesus calls His followers to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13–16 ESV).
• The preacher asks, “How will they taste and see without kindness?” Kindness is how the world experiences God’s love through us.

Personal Story: A Stranger Named George

• The preacher recalls meeting a man named George Rolls, a traveling drifter who claimed the Holy Spirit brought him to church.
• George was warmly welcomed by the congregation, stayed a few days, and deeply appreciated the kindness shown to him.
• Later, the preacher saw George walking down the road pulling a cart that said “Jesus loves you” and “John 3:16.”
• This encounter led to reflection: What if this man was more than he appeared?—prompting the message “Be Careful How You Treat Them.”

1. They Might Be Angels

• Scripture: Hebrews 13:1–2 ESV — “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
• The focus is not just on angels, but also on love and hospitality—meeting others with generous enthusiasm.
• The preacher compares this to “mystery shoppers”: What if God sends “mystery visitors” to test our compassion?
• The lesson: Be kind to all, because we may never know who God has sent across our path.

2. They Might Be God (or His Concern)

• Scripture: Luke 2:41–47 ESV — Jesus as a 12-year-old in the temple.
• For three days, people in Jerusalem likely fed or sheltered the Son of God without realizing it.
• The preacher emphasizes God’s love for children, quoting passages about protecting “little ones.”
• Lesson: Be careful how you treat the young and vulnerable—God cares deeply for them.

3. They Might Be “Nobodies”

• Scripture: Matthew 25:31–40 ESV — “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
• Those considered “nobodies” by society are precious to God.
• Showing compassion to the overlooked reveals a heart aligned with God’s love.
• True kindness isn’t natural—it’s spiritual, learned from God, not the world.

4. They Might Give You a Chance to Serve

• Scripture: Luke 10:25–37 ESV — The Good Samaritan.
• Serving others rarely happens at a convenient time.
• The Samaritan was busy, yet stopped to show mercy—just as Jesus gave His time on the cross when it wasn’t “convenient.”
• Every act of kindness may be a God-given opportunity to serve Him and to grow in faith.

5. They Might Become the Next Christian

• Scripture: John 4:1–42 ESV — Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.
• Jesus reached across social barriers, offering living water and transforming her life.
• She became a witness, leading many others to believe.
• Lesson: We never know who might respond to kindness and become a follower of Christ through our compassion.

Conclusion: Kindness as a Vessel for the Gospel

• Kindness opens the door for people to see Jesus through us.
• It is how we reflect His love, break through bitterness, and invite others into the family of faith.
• The closing appeal: “Be careful how you treat them.”
  Every person—angel, child, stranger, or “nobody”—could be part of God’s plan.

Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/HN2l70OPbsE

Summary: “How to Be Thankful”

Introduction: Gratitude in Worship

• The speaker begins by thanking the congregation for investing effort into worship, particularly in making communion meaningful.
• He notes that even the communion bread was homemade, showing love and devotion to God through service.

Story of Corrie ten Boom

• Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch watchmaker and author, and her family helped hide Jewish people during World War II.
• They were eventually caught and sent to a concentration camp where living conditions were horrific—especially because their hut was infested with fleas.
• Corrie’s sister Betsy reminded her of 1 Thessalonians 5:14–18, emphasizing:
• “Rejoice always… give thanks in all circumstances” (ESV).
• Betsy insisted they should be thankful even for the fleas, though Corrie initially couldn’t.
• Later, they discovered that the guards avoided entering their hut because of the fleas—allowing them to hold daily Bible studies freely.
• Corrie realized God had used even the fleas for good, teaching true thankfulness.

Transition: Thanksgiving as a Way of Life

• The speaker points out that Thanksgiving should not be a single day, but a lifestyle.
• True gratitude is shown through action, not just thought or feeling.

Psalm 100 – “A Psalm for Giving Thanks”

• Psalm 100 is unique because its title is part of the original text, not a later addition—it was literally written for giving thanks.
• In only five verses, there are seven action verbs—showing that thankfulness involves doing, not just thinking.

1. Make a Joyful Noise (v. 1)

• The Hebrew word means “to shout a proclamation,” like a herald announcing news from the king.
• Gratitude cannot be hidden—it should be expressed outwardly.
• The speaker gives an example of writing “Praise the Lord” on a car part, simply to express thankfulness.

2. Serve the Lord with Gladness (v. 2a)

• Gratitude naturally leads to service.
• Service must be done with gladness, not out of obligation.
• Examples:
  • Job—served God faithfully even through suffering.
  • Paul and Silas—sang and prayed while imprisoned (Acts 16:25).
• Choosing joy and focusing on blessings helps maintain thankfulness even in hardship (“We got fleas… but the guards won’t come”).

3. Come into His Presence with Singing (v. 2b)

• Coming before God is intentional, not accidental—it requires preparation and a right heart.
• Worship should be approached joyfully, not out of duty (“I get to worship,” not “I have to”).
• The congregation participates in a song to demonstrate heartfelt worship.

4. Know that the Lord Is God (v. 3)

• Thankfulness begins with knowing who God is:
  • He is Creator (Ephesians 2:10).
  • We belong to Him—“we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
  • Recognizing we are sheep keeps us humble and prevents self-righteousness (Luke 18:9-14).

5. Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving (v. 4)

• Thankfulness must be expressed directly to God—say “thank You.”
• Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one returned to give thanks (Luke 17:11-19).
• Everyday blessings—warm homes, food, safety—should inspire daily gratitude.
• Remember that every good thing comes from God (Psalm 50:10).

6. The Reason for Gratitude (v. 5)

• Even when life is difficult, God’s goodness and faithfulness remain constant.
• Life’s valleys are temporary—“I walk through the valley…” (Psalm 23:4).
• This hope is reason enough to be thankful.

Conclusion: Living Thankfully

• Thankfulness isn’t a reaction to comfort—it’s a deliberate act of faith.
• Like Corrie ten Boom, we can find gratitude even in “the fleas.”
• The invitation is extended for anyone who needs prayer, encouragement, or help to find that thankful heart again.

Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/BO3_KxrRVBs

“And the People Had a Mind to Work” — Summary

Hook: A Modern “Mega-Build” vs. God’s Work

• Illustration: Saudi Arabia’s NEOM “Line”—an enormous, glass-walled, car-less city—shows we have the tech and tools for massive projects.
• Point: Whether NEOM succeeds or fails will hinge on politics and money—not tools. Likewise, God’s work doesn’t fail for lack of divine resources; it stalls when God’s people won’t work.

Text & Big Idea (Nehemiah)

• Setting: Nehemiah in exile hears Jerusalem’s walls are ruined, prays, and is sent to rebuild.
• Big Idea: God restores His people when they set their hearts and hands to the work.
• Key verse: Nehemiah 4:6 (ESV) — “So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.”

What Nehemiah Heard & Felt

• Nehemiah 1:3–4 (ESV): “…The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire. As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”

How God Opened the Door

• Nehemiah, the trusted cupbearer, appears sad; the king asks what he wants.
• Nehemiah 2:4 (ESV): “Then the king said to me, ‘What are you requesting?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven.”
• Nehemiah “shoots the moon”: asks for time off, timber, letters—and God grants it.

Common Reasons We Don’t Work—and Nehemiah’s Answers

• “The problem is too big.”
  • Jerusalem’s wall ~2.5 miles around, up to ~40 ft tall, ~8 ft thick—no machinery—yet God supplied what they needed.
• “It’s been this way too long.”
  • The ruins had sat ~13–14 years; the right time to act was now.
• “It’s too dangerous.”
  • Enemies threatened attack mid-build. Nehemiah armed workers and posted guards.
  • Nehemiah 4:14 (ESV): “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
• “I’m not skilled enough.”
  • Chapter 3 lists perfumer, goldsmith, merchants, priests, rulers—not masons. God used ordinary people to do extraordinary work.
• “I’m above that work.”
  • Nehemiah 3:5 (ESV): “…the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.”
  • Jesus washed feet—no one is “too good” for kingdom work.
• “My part is too small to matter.”
  • Nehemiah 3:23 (ESV): “After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house…”
  • Small sections add up; every “drop in the bucket” counts.

What Church Life Is For

• Leaders exist to equip everyone for ministry, not to do it all themselves.
  • Ephesians 4:11–12 (ESV): “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,”
• When each part works, the body grows in love and maturity (Eph 4:13–16).

Applications for Us

• Adopt Nehemiah’s reflex: pray → plan → ask boldly → get to work.
• Own your section of the wall: start “opposite your house”—serve where you are.
• Refuse fear and pride: serve humbly; trust God amid risk.
• Work together: like draft horses that pull more together than alone—our combined effort multiplies.

Call to Action

• Ask: What is my section of the wall this week?
• Pray Nehemiah’s prayer, take the next faithful step, and join the work—because “the people had a mind to work” (Neh 4:6, ESV).

Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/ktSe75OVvuk

“Sanctify Christ in Your Hearts” — Summary

Opening & Pastoral Encouragement

• Rejoices at the sound of children in worship—future leaders of the church.
• Brief travel note: worshiped with the South Walton Church of Christ; gratitude for the universal fellowship of believers.
• Funeral visitation reflection: comfort anchored in a Christian’s hope.

Main Text & Big Idea

• Text: 1 Peter 3:15 ESV — “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”
• Big Idea: When Christ is set apart in our hearts, we’re ready to explain our hope with courage and Christlike character.

Why Hope Matters (Funeral Reflection)

• We can’t “preach someone into heaven,” but a faithful life evidences real hope.
• Christian hope (eternal life with Jesus) sustains the grieving and strengthens witness.

Defense Requires a Good Offense

• In a spiritual war, a strong “offense” is daily discipleship: Scripture, prayer, fellowship, loving conversation.
• Gentle, informed communication defends the faith without attacking people.

Example 1 — Courage Under Pressure (2 Samuel 10:9–12)

• Joab and Abishai split Israel’s forces when surrounded by Syrians and Ammonites.
• Mutual support plan: “If they are too strong for me… you help me; if too strong for you… I’ll help you.”
• Call: “Be of good courage… for our people and for the cities of our God.”
  • Courage serves God’s people, our families, and our communities.
  • Application: Stand for truth with teamwork and bravery when culture presses on every side.

Example 2 — Compromise Creates Scandal (2 Samuel 11–12)

• David’s lapse with Bathsheba snowballs: lust → adultery → deception → murder → deep family pain.
• Nathan’s rebuke leads to confession and forgiveness, yet consequences remain.
• Key Warning: 2 Samuel 12:13–14 emphasizes that sin gives “occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme.”
  • Application: When we lose focus on God, our failures harm our witness and embolden opponents.

Daily Practices that Keep Christ “Set Apart”

• Word & Prayer: “Read your Bible, pray every day” — consistent habits grow resilience.
• Fellowship & Service: Encourage one another; model faith for children who will lead tomorrow.
• Spiritual Armor: Ephesians 6:16 ESV — “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”

Tone & Method of Our Defense

• Prepared, gentle, respectful (1 Peter 3:15).
• Not attacking persons; presenting God’s truth with clarity and love.

Hymn Tie-In

• “Anywhere with Jesus” — a sung confession of the safety and courage that flow from Christ’s presence.

Invitation

• To the lost: Believe, repent, confess Christ, and be baptized (begin the lifelong walk).
• To the struggling: Seek prayers and help; re-set Christ as holy in your heart and resume the daily practices of hope.

Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/GOyO1MfDg04

“No Choice but to Choose” — Summary

Opening Illustration: Fukushima & Costly Courage

• Nuclear plants run continuously; when support systems fail, they’re like a “temperamental 2-year-old”—they’ll meltdown if not supplied.
• 2011 Fukushima: Plant manager Yoshida faced failed cooling and chose a controversial lifesaving action—pump seawater (which would ruin reactors) to prevent a total meltdown.
• Principle: Sometimes the right choice is costly and unpopular, but it protects lives. Our spiritual choices carry eternal stakes.

Life as a Road: Two Paths

• Life is a journey; you’re moving whether you notice or not.
• There are two ways: the broad, easy road to destruction and the narrow, hard road to life.
  • Matthew 7:13–14 (ESV): “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction… For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

The Narrow Way Must Be “Built”

• The narrow path isn’t just “there”; we build it with God’s plan—cutting down obstacles, filling valleys, straightening what’s crooked (repentance lived out).
  • Luke 3:2–6 (ESV) (selected): “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight… every valley shall be filled… the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways…”

The Real Decision Point: Whose Voice Will You Hear?

• Our world is noisy; two voices call constantly:
  • Wisdom (God) cries out in the streets.
    • Proverbs 1:20–23 (ESV) (selected): “Wisdom cries aloud in the street… ‘If you turn at my reproof… I will make my words known to you.’”
  • Satan roars, seeking someone to devour; we must resist, sober-minded and watchful.
    • 1 Peter 5:6–10 (ESV) (selected): “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion… Resist him, firm in your faith…”
• To hear God, we must be still amid the noise.
  • Psalm 46:10 (ESV): “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Testing Wisdom: Earthly vs. Heavenly

• Earthly wisdom breeds jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder.
• Heavenly wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruit.
  • James 3:13–18 (ESV) (selected): “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above… But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason…”

Expect Resistance While You Build

• Doing good often meets nearby evil; the work is hard but holy.
  • Romans 7:21 (ESV): “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.”
• Yet God cares for and sustains the righteous.
  • Psalm 37:25 (ESV): “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”

On the Same Road: Help Fellow Travelers

• Like the Good Samaritan, those in a strong position lift the wounded. A rising tide lifts all boats; Jesus repeatedly stopped to help.

The Non-Optional Choice: Slaves of Sin or of Righteousness

• You will serve something—sin leading to death, or obedience leading to righteousness. Neutrality is a decision.
  • Romans 6:16–18 (ESV) (selected): “You are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness… having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”

Takeaway

• Like Yoshida, you may face choices that cost you—but save lives (including your own).
• Build the narrow road daily by repentance and obedience.
• Choose whose voice you’ll heed. If you “don’t decide,” you’ve already decided.
• Invitation: Be set free from sin and walk the narrow way with Christ.

Watch the video Version here: https://youtu.be/jW0wCJtNPzI

Summary: 1 Corinthians 13 and the “More Excellent Way”

Big Idea

Paul’s “love chapter” isn’t a sentimental poem—it’s the solution to a divided, chaotic church: “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13, ESV)

Text Overview (1 Corinthians 13)

• Without love, gifts and sacrifices are empty (vv. 1–3).
• What love is/does: patient, kind, not envious/boastful/arrogant/rude; not self-seeking or resentful; rejoices with truth; bears, believes, hopes, endures (vv. 4–7).
• What will last: miraculous gifts are temporary; love never ends (vv. 8–12).
• What must remain: faith, hope, love—and love is greatest (v. 13).
  Full text: “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor 13:13, ESV)

Context in Corinth (Why Paul wrote this)

• The church was fractured by division and comparison (cf. 1 Cor 1:10–13).
• Even spiritual gifts became a contest (cf. 1 Cor 12:29–31).
  Paul offers a “more excellent way”—love—as the cure for chaos (1 Cor 12:31).

What “Abide” Means

• Abide = persist, remain. Prophecies, tongues, and partial knowledge will pass away; faith, hope, and love remain as the church’s bedrock (1 Cor 13:8–12).

Where Do Faith, Hope, and Love Abide?

• They certainly reside with God (Heaven), but Paul’s burden is that they abide in us—become lived realities, not just ink on a page.
  • Faith in us: “I am reminded of your sincere faith … now … dwells in you.” (2 Timothy 1:5, ESV)
  • Hope in us: “… we have our hope set on the living God …” (1 Timothy 4:10, ESV)
  • Love in us: “… God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit …” (Romans 5:5, ESV).
    Full text: “… and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom 5:5, ESV)

Why Is Love the Greatest?

• When faith feels weak and hope runs thin, love still acts—and often rekindles faith and hope. Love moves us toward others in concrete service, pulling us back from discouragement.

Illustration (Modern Echo)

• A homeowner sheltered students during a school crisis—opening the door, organizing contacts, feeding, calming, and ensuring each child got home. That embodied love restored steadiness in the midst of fear—exactly what Paul envisions love doing in chaos.

Practical Takeaways

• For a divided world/church: Practice the more excellent way. Let love govern gifts, opinions, and platform.
• When your soul is low: Do a specific act of love for someone else—visit, feed, call, serve. Love often re-sparks hope and strengthens faith.
• Make it personal: Ask, Do faith, hope, and love abide in me? Where, this week, will I let them live out loud?

Key Verses to Carry

• 1 Corinthians 13:13 (ESV): “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
• Romans 5:5 (ESV): “… hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit …”
• John 15:9–10 (ESV) [for abiding in love]: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love …”

Bottom line: In a world (and church) prone to noise, rivalry, and despair, love is the enduring way—and the way back when faith and hope waver.