Sermon Notes & Videos
2023-07-21 | Acts 15 | A Schism in the Making
Weekly Scriptures | Sermon Notes | Sermon Video
Try this on for size! Your whole life you’ve been told that in order to have any chance of eternal life, you have to obey very specific rules and regulations, and not just obey, but to do so with bulls-eye exactitude. And, doing your very best will only prove that you will never be good enough to accomplish this daunting task.
Now… introducing the Gospel of Jesus Christ! In the presentation of Y’shua to the masses, one could come to the saving grace of Yahweh by simply believing in this Rabbi, Y’shua. Believe He willingly died on a cross after being beaten, mocked, spat upon, and having a crown of thorns placed on His head. Believe that after all that, He was buried in a cave with a massive two-ton stone placed to seal the entrance. Why? There is no way for an ordinary person to pass in or out without some plan to move a huge rock, unless of course you have access to an angel whom can roll away the stone. And, to add a few additional incredible details to the story, this dead Rabbi resurrected from the dead, walked out of the grave and mingled with His disciples and many others for forty days, and then He floated away into the clouds, while His disciples simply stared in amazement!
In Acts 15, certain men were not buying into this simplistic message of Christ crucified! They perverted the message of salvation by adding some dependency on a system of religious acts necessary to perform in conjunction with the work of Christ, in order to be born-again. It’s likely they felt as if they got ripped off and had to previously work for something that now anyone could freely receive. They were not having it! And, they were making it known in no uncertain terms.
These, not so small dissensions, became a schism in the making. They marked the beginning of doctrinal differences that morphed themselves into all sorts of views throughout human history. These mutations have caused schisms, time and time again. Instead, why not just work harder at learning, believing, and trusting the simplistic message of the Gospel of Salvation, rather than, add to it or adjust it to our man-contorted ways, just because it sounds too good-to-be true?
2023-07-14 | Acts 13-14 | Christian Idolatry
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Maybe it’s happened to you before, both applause and persecution, celebration and suffering. Can you imagine the successive occurrence of these polar opposites? One moment you are being extolled, the next you are being stoned. And quite frankly, it is easy to understand that perseverance in the midst of persecution is an admirable quality. But, what may be even more difficult, and therefore more commendable, is when you don’t become a victim of your own fame. When the whole world wants to applaud you, how do you respond? When praise, acclamation, admiration, adulation, compliments, and tribute are forthcoming, do you accept the worship, draw attention to yourself, soak it up, or deflect it away?
Maybe you are the one offering worship. Do you turn leaders into idols? Do you bow in the wrong direction, worshiping the worship? Are you applauding the worship, the one who worships, or the One being worshiped? Are you involved in Christian idolatry or the Christian faith. Is Y’shua the Lord of your life or one of the many objects of your idolatry, your religion? That’s a scary thought. Are you addicted to the truth or are you addicted to the experience.
The journey never turns out the way you’ve planned. You can certainly be confident that you are called and you can certainly be sure of your destination, but the road you will travel has many questions strewn along the path, many roadblocks, a myriad of twists and turns. There will be victories and some losses along the way; there will be persecution and there will be many things to tempt you, maybe none worse than the temptation to become full of yourself, imagining, “I’m all that!” Or possibly you tempt another by fostering that idea about him, “He’s all that!” Don’t do either, but rather, bow your knees only to the Father of your Lord Y’shua the Messiah, from whom the whole family of mankind receives breath. And, if you are ever tempted to boast or to feed someone’s boasting, do this instead; boast in the Lord. For it is not someone who commends himself that is approved by God, but the one whom the Lord commends. That says it all!
2023-07-07 | Acts 10-12 | Prepared Beforehand
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No, Peter and Paul are not the only ones, but in Peter we have the perfect example, the quintessential case study. Even as a man who enjoyed walking in the inner circle of Christ, one who witnessed His persecution, torture, and then crucifixion at the hands of the religious elite with all their hypocrisy, and had himself faced persecution as their captive—Peter still had erroneous religious beliefs baked into his psyche. He was sure that he would have nothing to do with Gentiles because Yahweh wanted nothing to do with Gentiles. He definitely did not inherit that mindset from his Jewish Scriptures; they teach quite the opposite. Peter, however, is about to become the pioneer of the proper perspective; you will not avoid the Gentiles, rather you will go to the Gentiles with this message; “Yahweh is not prejudice; Y’shua is for everyone!”
Peter was holding on to his engrained thoughts, persistent religious tendencies and incessant behaviors. And he would have never ministered to the Gentiles if Yahweh did not intervene. God initiated Peter’s transformation by first exposing his enmeshed beliefs. That helped him break old habits and make better choices. And God used prophecy to soften his sclerotic mentality… ”Old men shall dream dreams; young men shall see visions.” Yahweh gave Peter a vision and this was its ultimate fruit. “I’m God’s work of art. I’ve been created by God and empowered in Christ to obey His Word and the specific calling on my life. This calling was prepared for me beforehand with the expressed purpose that I walk in it.” And so he did; he went to the gentiles and told them, “Yahweh is not prejudice; Y’shua is for everyone!” God has prepared dreams and visions for you as well—it is time for you to walk in them!
2023-06-30 | Acts 8-9 | Instant
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When is instant a good thing? “That’s the $64,000 question.” And ironically, the use of that colloquialism is the perfect object lesson to explain the nuances of “instant.” I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase…“That’s the $64,000 question.” It’s not formal or meant to be literal, but certainly typical and used often, recognizable by just about everyone in the conversation. But where did it come from? The expression originated in 1941 on the CBS quiz show, “Take It or Leave It.” A contestant could choose to take a small prize or bet everything on a bigger prize, the largest being $64,000. If he opts for the immediate smaller payout, he’d satisfy his desire for instant gratification. But hold out, and he can win the ultimate prize. Maybe 64K does not seem so ultimate in 2023, however, that amount in 1941 equates to a much larger pile of cash today. Hold out, get the answer right, and in 2023 you’d take home nearly $1.5 million!
I took one of my sons to dinner about twelve years ago when he was eleven years old. I slid a twenty dollar bill across the table and told him he could have it right away. His eyes were wide with excitement. Twenty bucks is a big deal for an eleven year old. But, before he could slip it out from under my fingers, which pressed it firmly against the table, I offered him this: you can take the twenty dollars now, or you can wait one year and I will give you one hundred dollars instead. For everyone listening, you know that any investment that can yield five-fold returns in twelve months is breathtaking. But, for an eleven year old, those calculations were not dominating his thoughts. What was alluring was the instant benefit of the twenty dollars. That evening, my son somehow figured it out and chose wisely; he held off for the hundred. But, more important was the lesson, especially in this instant-gratification-instant-satisfaction world in which we live. Instant or immediate gratification is simply the urge to satisfy a craving right now, without considering its long term effects or the bigger picture. Fast food; point of purchase sales; substances to change your mood; ordering out instead of cooking at home; procrastination instead of immediately doing what’s necessary; and hijacking the benefits of marriage without the commitment of marriage, like premarital sex and cohabitation, are all driven by desires for instant gratification.
The entirety of our culture has gone the way of…in an instant! Just add water; no assembly required. I want it, I want it now, and I want it easy. Do it to me or for me! It’s the microwave lifestyle. It’s instant coffee, oatmeal, yeast, rice, soup, mashed potatoes, and pudding. Remove from the freezer; remove from the package, and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Don’t let it thaw out first—place it directly from the freezer into the oven. And, get over it; it’s not the end of the world if you must preheat the oven first! Moreover, instant gratification and instant satisfaction do not end with food-stuffs. That’s just surface tension. Below “just add water” is: instant access, instant results, instant answers, and instant messenger. It’s an Instagram world. And when there’s a problem to solve, it’s instant cures, instant relief, and instant repair.
But, when is instant a good thing? “That’s the $64,000 question.” If we turn it around and see it from God’s perspective, God wants instant obedience; instant action; instant transformation; and an instant change in direction, worship, attitude, mindset, beliefs, and choices… Yes, you have instant access to God, so when you look for results, answers, cures, relief, and satisfaction, the only way to be truly gratified is by instant obedience to Him, as demonstrated by your actions. God speaks and you say, “Here am I! Send me. What do you want me to do?”
2023-06-23 | Acts 8-9 | Instant (Special Feature)
We had a special worship night this evening which was extended longer than expected, so we moved this week’s teaching until next week and shifted the rest of this year’s teaching schedule by one week. We had an open week planned in September, before the Fall Feasts begin that would have been used for whatever the Holy Spirit directed at that time. Well, we now know it was supposed be used for this reason. Please see the updated teaching schedule here: Reading Schedule 2022-2023 (Updated)
Andrew and Mary Kat Ehrenzeller. You can check out their gift from God here: https://andrewehrenzeller.com/.
Hear their worship on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/big-house-church/sets/2020-08-02-worship
2023-06-16 | Acts 6-7 | All Used Up for God
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One moment you’re being selected as one of the few men, hand-picked to serve. It’s a complete honor and you humbly accept. Your reputation is without blemish and your commitment to God is obvious. The next moment God is working great miracles through you. A tick later, they are lying about you and you’re being publicly accused of things that could never be true, but you are indicted anyway. Blink your eyes and you’re standing at trial, the charges levied are beyond the pale, outside the limits of acceptable behavior or the judgment of any civilized person. These accusations are only possible because they are being corroborated by false testimony, lying witnesses who have no conscience, and obviously no fear of the Lord. How did you go from being picked for a grand purpose to standing accused before this council so quickly?
Maybe this nightmare will end. The man in charge inquires, “Are these things true?” Ah, finally! Someone wants to know the truth. Does he? At this point, you don’t even need to speak on your own. God promised that when you get arrested and brought to trial because of Him, you need not worry beforehand about what to say; the Spirit will assemble your words. And it happens. For ten solid minutes you give the most lucid defense imaginable. You’re testimony is exculpatory; it’s clear that nothing they’ve said about you is true—you’re acquittal is imminent. You’ve presented everything the man in charge needs to hear to exonerate you. You could rest your defense in that instant, but you don’t. Rather, you seize the opportunity; you look at your accusers, and all the members of the should-be-honorable court; and you tell them without hesitation, “You are the guilty ones. You have committed the crimes I’ve been accused of here, and worse. You murdered the Just One who the prophets said would come. You missed the Messiah because you resist the very Spirit that has inspired my defense today. You are all guilty.”
That does not go over well. What started as a good day is about to end in tragedy. What began as a moment of honor is about to be terminated with an execution. You are dragged out of the court and you are executed in a brutal onslaught. You are smashed with stones until your skull is crushed, your bones are broken, and your blood has spattered over the surrounding dust. And even then, with your last dying words, you ask your dear Lord, the very Messiah these murderers rejected, to let it pass. “Don’t hold this against them; they are just ignorant religious people.” And then you breathe your last breath.
There are moments in life when you must come face-to-face with the purpose for which you were placed here on earth. You have an assignment and you can’t go back to what you were doing before. It’s true, even if in one moment you feel honored to have been selected for such a purpose, and in the next you are being stoned to death. You can’t control everything that happens between the bookends of your life, the dash on your gravestone, be it a few days or many years. But you can control this… Will you say yes!