“This Is My Story: The Philippian Jailer” (Acts 16:25-34 sermon)

Posted on 2015/09/14 by Shawn Thomas

“And the prisoners were listening.” That phrase from the testimony story we just read in Acts 16 always sticks out to me. When Paul and Silas were unjustly thrown into the prison in Philippi, they didn’t bemoan their fate. The Bible says they were up at midnight in the prison, singing and praising God. And the prisoners were listening. That is a great reminder for us, by the way: the “prisoners” are always listening. People around us are always listening! We need to make sure that they hear something good from us when we speak – a witness for the Lord. “The prisoners were listening.”

But it was not only the prisoners who were listening – Acts 16 tells us that the jailer was listening also — and it led him to Christ. This morning we are going to look at the story of how the Philippian Jailer came to know Jesus as his Lord & Savior. As we do, make sure that YOU TOO are listening, to how you can know that you have a story of salvation as well. Continue reading →

Posted in "This Is My Story" sermon series, Sermons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Does God Not Care?

Posted on 2015/09/14 by Shawn Thomas

“Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?'”  (Mark 4:38)

The verse previous (:37) indicates that a “fierce gale of wind” had arisen and the boat that Jesus and His disciples were in was filling up with water, and appeared about to sink. It is in that context that :38 indicates that His disciples awoke Him and asked the question: “Do You not care that we are perishing?”
Unfortunately that may be typical of our responses to the Lord in times of difficulty. We are often quick to ask, “Don’t You care?”; so ready to accuse Him of not being concerned about us.  Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“NOT In Cleverness of Speech”

Posted on 2015/09/10 by Shawn Thomas

“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.” (I COrinthians 1:17)

It is definitely interesting in this day when “creativity” and “excellence” are elevated to almost canonical status, to read that that Paul purposefully did NOT preach in “cleverness” of speech, so that the message of the cross of Christ would not be obscured. (The word “cleverness” here is the Greek word “sophia” — we get our word “sophisticated” from it.) Paul did not try to be clever, sophisticated, or impressive in his language and presentation, because he wanted the simple message of the cross of Christ to be the focus. Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Sovereignty & Responsibility (Isaiah 10)

Posted on 2015/09/09 by Shawn Thomas

God’s ways are higher than ours, Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us, and there is much we do not understand about them.  But some scriptures “pull back the curtain” just a bit and give us some insight into how God works. Isaiah 10 is one of those passages. In it we find two important, and balancing, Biblical doctrines: the Sovereignty of God, and the Responsibility of Man. Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Take Refuge in Him

Posted on 2015/09/08 by Shawn Thomas

“The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.” (Psalm 34:22)

God had made it clear in Psalm 34:21 that the wicked would be punished. The word there means “pay, suffer for one’s guilt, be held guilty, bear punishment.” But it is significant that this SAME Hebrew word is used in this next verse, :22, of what will NOT happen to the one who takes refuge in Him!   Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Wicked Will Be Punished

Posted on 2015/09/07 by Shawn Thomas

“Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.” (Psalm 34:21)

God makes clear in this verse what the end of the wicked will be. Their punishment is inescapable: “Those who hate the righteous will be condemned.”  This is a basic characteristic of the nature of God. He must punish evil. Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Small Beginnings

Posted on 2015/09/03 by Shawn Thomas

“And He said, ‘How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.'” (Mark 4:30-32)

Jesus teaches us here that the Kingdom of God often advances on small beginnings. We see this in a number of instances in scripture.   Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“Some People Are Saying”?

Posted on 2015/09/02 by Shawn Thomas

“For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.”  (I Corinthians 1:11)

How interesting here that Paul does not report to the church at Corinth that “SOMEONE told me” or “a number of people are saying” and so on.  Rather, he NAMED the people who informed him about the divisions that were present in the Corinthian church. THESE are the ones who said this to him: “Chloe’s people.”
Why is this important? Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Importance of Unity

Posted on 2015/09/01 by Shawn Thomas

“Now I urge you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”  (I Corinthians 1:10)

It is notable that the unity of the members of the church at Corinth was so important that the Lord led the Apostle Paul to mention, and re-word it, at least three times in verse 10: Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Called Into Fellowship

Posted on 2015/08/31 by Shawn Thomas

What is the point of the Christian life? What is it all about? Paul reminds here in I Corinthians 1:9: “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord”.

He says here that we are called INTO FELLOWSHIP. Not just that we are called to “heaven”, or into “prosperity” or to a “state of blessing”; he says we are called into FELLOWSHIP with Him. Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment