Sermon Notes & Videos
2022-04-15 | KEM Passover Haggadah | Passover — Question Everything
Sermon Notes | Passover Seder Video - Part 1 | Passover Seder Video - Part 2
The Haggadah—the Telling
When your children ask, what will you tell them? What happens when an entire generation separates from its roots, forgets their heritage, and has no recollection from where they came? Yahweh built reminders into the culture of His people to deter that from happening, but unfortunately it has. God’s people disconnected from the original roots of their faith, surrendered to common culture, and adopted the traditions of the world around them. In other words, they detached themselves from their true roots and attached themselves to the fake roots of this world.
Do not love the world or the things of the world, John the disciple warned. Are you guilty of committing the same crimes Y’shua accused the religious hypocrites of, in His day, “making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down?” I fear, if asked, like those religious hypocrites, too many Christians could offer no defense!
“How so?” you might be thinking. Look around, especially during the holiday seasons, and you will see the majority of Christians flocking to celebrate manmade holidays, steeped in pagan traditions. But when their children ask, “What do you mean by this service?” Or, “What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?” Or, “What do these stones mean to you?” They will have no biblical answer because they have been carried away in “making the word of God of no effect through their tradition which they have now handed down to their children.”
It’s sad that if Y’shua was walking the earth today, He’d be asking the same question of religious leaders that He did two thousand years ago. “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” John warned us about loving the things of the world, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life…” May we, as the Body of Christ, run from such things. And the next time your children ask, this is what you will answer; “It’s the Passover; we were slaves and now we are free; let your children tell their children, and their children the next generation. It is a memorial forever.”
Or, you can say, “Go find your painted eggs and chocolate Easter bunnies. Fill your baskets; this is now how we remember the death, burial and resurrection of our blessed Savior.” It’s sad we have fallen so far. I don’t know about you, “But as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh!”
2022-04-08 | Exodus 10-13 | Preparation Day (Passover – Question Everything)
Over the years, I have learned that asking questions is a powerful way to engage with people on a deeper level. When I was younger, and much more impetuous, I thought arguing with people was an effective way to convince them they were missing something. I was very wrong and it was a tough lesson. But, as I’ve grown older, and my hair has become filled with silver, I’ve come to realize there’s a much better way.
Paul used the Hebraic technique of asking questions quite often, and he has stirred the imagination of Christians for two thousand years. Check out a few of his many in I Corinthians 9:
- Who ever goes to war at his own expense?
- Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit?
- Do I say these things as a mere man?
- Does not the law say the same also? A quick review of Paul’s greatest “Theological Treatise” in Romans, and you will discover that he asks at least 75 different questions! Here are a mouthful to chew on:
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- “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way!
- “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”
- “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
- “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!”
- “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not!”
- “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Y’shua also used questions quite effectively. “Who do men say that I am?” challenged Peter to come to a Spirit-inspired conclusion; it was a provocative question for sure. “The Son of God…the Messiah,” he was forced to confess.
However, what might be the most provocative question of all, is one that Y’shua leaves the conclusion for you to discover. “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?” I want you to draw your attention to this question, but not before contemplating His remarkable declaration earlier in the same sermon. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Before we go, I would like to ask you a few provocative questions of my own, about Y’shua’s remarkable statement: “What is the Gospel of the Kingdom?” and “What is the end?” Please don’t be too hasty to offer an answer. Give it some serious thought. Consider that I’d not likely ask if the answer was simple. I’ll give you one hint however; think about the title of this sermon.
2022-04-01 | Leviticus 12-15 | The Reason
Everything happens for a reason. You may not see it right away and you may be up against a decision that seems contrary to the crowds all around you. But, that is when knowing the heart of God is most important. What do you do when all hope is lost and all that is left is to surrender your understanding to one last desperate attempt? You cannot stay hidden any longer and every effort to find relief from man has been rebuffed. Reason and reasonableness have failed.
But isn’t that just like God? When the reason is because there seems to be no reason. Yes, that’s it! In my brain, and with every logical option I’ve exercised, there should have been a solution. But there simply wasn’t. That is when your reason must give way to THE REASON.
There it is; there He is! But He seems so far away and there are so many things between us, so many people. What should I do? I have nothing to lose. I’ll knock everyone out of the way, remove everything standing between Him and me. I’ll push through the crowd and I’ll reach out, stretch toward Him, ligament, muscle, and sinew straining to the point of avulsion. I must touch Him, my last hope, my only hope. And then…
“Who touched Me?” “I did Lord, and this is why. I had nowhere else to turn; I should have come sooner; I should have ignored the crowd; I should have known all along that You would look beyond my filth, my issues, my past, my unworthiness, and my failed attempts to seek solutions from men! I should have known you would look beyond the letter that commands my isolation and demands I keep my hands to myself. I should have known You would have said, ‘Reach out, touch Me.’ And so I finally left my reason behind, and in exchange I now offer You Your reason.” “And how I was healed immediately.” How about you?
2022-03-25 | Leviticus 9-11 | The Food Channel Meets the History Channel
There is so much diversity in Christianity across the globe and other than agreement on the cross, there seems to be no particular doctrine that is universally held as true in all denominations. Of course, the cross of Christ unites us; it’s simple, if you don’t believe in the cross, then you are not even a Christian. Beyond that, everything appears to goes haywire.
There is one other commonly held belief that has gained almost universal traction in Christianity, however. It’s not one that threatens your eternity of course, but adherence to it seems to be as dogmatic as the cross itself. No, it will not threaten your eternity, but getting it wrong might make you arrive there a whole lot sooner. Interview your Christian family, friends, and neighbors. Find a diversity of denominations to survey, so you can obtain a good cross section of tightly held Christian beliefs. And do you know what you will discover? “Don’t mess with my food!”
It’s true; Christians will choose common culture over biblical truth almost 100% of the time when it comes to their food choices. In other words, they will choose their taste buds and addictions over biblically kosher every time. Now, we can spend an eternity (pun intended) talking about the myriads of unnatural man-made junk foods you should not eat (what I call common sense kosher), but we won’t go there for now. Instead, I want to make it simple. I just want to explore what the Bible says you are permitted to eat (what I call biblically kosher) and how Christians worldwide, and across nearly all denominations, believe that the cross of Christ annulled God’s laws on food, and how that is simply not true.
Yes, Christians universally agree on two things; the cross has set them free for eternity, and has also freed them to eat whatever they wish. The first will save your life; the latter will kill you!
2022-03-18 | Leviticus 6-8 | Folded Handkerchiefs
Everything was so precise, so deliberate. Many of the details are easy to overlook, especially when they are meant to be mysterious. Don’t let that scare you; you were designed to be a spiritual detective. It may not come easy, and it may not seem natural, but I assure you, the longer you stare at them, the more they come into focus.
They often look like those squiggly, blurry, and obscure pictures that initially appear to be something born from an accident of spilled paint cans. But, if you stare long enough, and you adjust your vision against what seems natural, all of a sudden the once meaningless painting comes into focus. And what’s even more exciting is that it’s not even limited to two dimensions, but has images with multiple dimensions that change when viewed from multiple angles.
And that is exactly how it feels when you stare intently at God’s Word, and maybe in a way that seems a bit against what feels natural. It’s like trying to piece together the details of an incident by compiling the testimony of many witnesses, all standing in different locations. Imagine a circle of bystanders watching the same complex event. Then, interview everyone and compose a separate narrative using each individual testimony. As you study each viewpoint, you will realize that the further apart the angle of observation, the more varying the account. The secret to a full, multidimensional account of reality would be to piece them all together, in an overlapping series of statements. It may seem very squiggly, blurry, and obscure at first, but take your time, adjust your vision, and when it all comes into focus, you will see a glorious reality you never thought possible.
This is the deliberate style in which we are presented God’s Word. Of course, it is not meant to make you doubt or leave you confused—quite the contrary. It should inspire you to search deeper, to strain your vision until the glorious multidimensional multi-angle picture becomes clear. Yes, it’s precise and deliberate, and it’s exactly why, when Y’shua resurrected, He left His face covering in the tomb, “folded together in a place all by itself.”
2022-03-11 | Leviticus 1-6 | Mary Has Chosen What is Better
When your life is enmeshed with God, it is common to have encounters that make you think, “You can’t make this stuff up!” He cares about everything, even the subtle things. In fact, you should make a habit of accentuating all those subtle experiences, as it is oftentimes in the “still small voice” from which the greatest revelations come.
When His Word is hidden in your heart, and animates your mind “without ceasing”, unrelated ideas become wired together, seemingly out of nowhere. But we know better, or at least we should know that these impressions are not unrelated. Yahweh is not in the business of idle thoughts. Every inspiration from the Lord means something, if you are willing to receive it; His Word will never return void. I promise; if you would make the commitment to pay attention, to block out the distractions, this testimony will be part of your everyday life in the faith. “You can’t make this stuff up!”
For example, shortly before this introduction was written (and this very encounter is what inspired it), I was studying Leviticus, and making sermon notes in the early morning hours. I paused my studies to go wake my bride, as I do every morning. Then, in the silence between those two activities, and what seemed so random, I heard the still small voice. “Mary has chosen what is better.” My initial thought was, “How could this possibly relate to Leviticus and this current collection of notes on various sacrifices?” My quiet laugh broke the silence, as I sat alone. I’d been here before countless times. Moments later I was sharing this encounter with my wife, adding this one assurance. “I don’t know what it means, but I’m certain I will.”
It only took a few hours of pressing into God before the “wires touched” and the connection was made that became this message, even the title; “Mary Has Chosen What is Better!” Isn’t it worth it, the time you spend at the Lord’s feet? When you choose to do so, He always has something to say; “You have chosen what is better!” It’s the testimony every time you sit at His feet and listen to the still small voice, and it always ends the same way. In utter amazement I think, “You can’t make this stuff up!”
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