October 20, 2021 PM, Matthew 10:23-42.In this message Pastor Matt leads our continued study in the book of Matthew, chapter ten, where we read about the dangers the twelve disciples were to face as well as the blessings God would give to each disciple for their work on proclaiming His gospel. The gospel work is a never ending task. Christians will face many enemies of God, but the enemies of the gospel will be sorry they did not listen to His message, and will face great judgement for not listening and for turning others away from Christ. The Lord reminds us to not fear man who can only kill the body, but fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Those who are more concerned with the things of their family than the things of God are not worthy of Him. The Lord makes it very clear that we are to follow Him and put Him before all things.

Fellowship Bible Church Sermons

Commissioning of the 12, Part 4

October 17, 2021 PM, Matthew 10:12-23.In this message Pastor Matt leads our continued study in the book of Matthew, focused on chapter 10, where we see whoever rejected the message of the apostles were considered pagan and to share the gospel with those who would here. The apostles were sent as sheep among wolves and were told by God to be as harmless as doves but wise as serpents. The apostles were to mirror Christ in their efforts in sharing His message. With Jesus fulfilling the old law, Christians today must solely trust in the Holy Spirit when they must defend their faith or during persecution. Those who fear God do not have to fear anyone else. Our Scripture reading was found in 1 Chronicles 14:1-17.

Commissioning of the 12, Part 3

October 17, 2021 AM, Matthew 10:.In this message Pastor Matt leads our continued study in the book of Matthew, focused on chapter 10, where we see the kingdom commission of the 12 disciples is not the same as the Great Commission. This will become clear as we carefully read the text. Even so, there are similarities in the missions and surrounding conditions from which we can learn much. Jesus gave his disciples spiritual power akin to what He himself exercised: 1. To cast out demons, 2. To heal all kinds of sickness and disease, and 3. To raise people from the dead. It is hard to imagine how this looked, and how it felt to the disciples. How could they suddenly have the authority to fix people’s illnesses, and call back spirits from the afterlife, and cast out demons? It became part of their spiritual existence. It did not change their physical constitution but it must have “felt” strange. II. Disciples Named, 10:2-4. There were twelve men selected by Jesus for special ministry. They are named elsewhere in Scripture as well.The target audience v. 5-6. They are told to go only to Israel. This is where it becomes clear that the kingdom commission of the 12 disciples is not the same as the Great Commission recorded in Matthew 28:18-20 and parallel passages. There, the disciples are told to go to all nations. Here, they are specifically commanded not to go to all nations! This is important for those who attempt to take from this passage a mandate to heal and cast out demons and so forth. That was for that time and those disciples in that place. It is not the “all nations” Great Commission that simply told the disciples to focus on making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey the Lord’s instructions. The message, v. 7. They were to preach, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The kingdom has come near to the nation in the person of their Messiah King, and they must respond with…what? This summary statement does not say, but we know exactly what it is from earlier in Matthew’s gospel. The called-for response is exactly what the Lord and John the Baptist before Him said: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2, 4:17). This was at once a joyful message, because God was offering to establish His kingdom on earth; and it was a convicting message, because the subjects of the kingdom had to deal with their sin which separated them from their King. The authentication, v. 8a. To back up their message, they were commanded to heal the sick, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons. They were to use the power that Jesus gave to them to the full. The message with the main course. The miracles were the proof that the meal was real. The free ministry, v. 8b. They were told to give it everything they could They had received freely, and they were now to distribute it freely. They would take the Lord’s delegated authority and multiply its benefits throughout the nation of Israel. They were not to charge for their “services.” You can imagine someone who could heal others might charge exorbitant fees if they were greedy. Our Scripture reading was found in Ezekiel 14:1-23.

Commissioning of the 12, Part 2

October 17, 2021 SS, Obadiah 1:1-6.In this message speaker James Widgeon leads our study in the first six verses in the book of Obadiah. The Lord speaks through the prophet that judgement has come to Edom and her ruin has been brought through the nations sins and would be utterly destroyed.

The Coming Judgement on Edom, Part 2

October 13, 2021 PM, Matthew 10:1-8.In this message Pastor Matt leads our continued study in the book of Matthew, focused on chapter 10, where we see the kingdom commission of the 12 disciples is not the same as the Great Commission. This will become clear as we carefully read the text. Even so, there are similarities in the missions and surrounding conditions from which we can learn much. Jesus gave his disciples spiritual power akin to what He himself exercised: 1. To cast out demons, 2. To heal all kinds of sickness and disease, and 3. To raise people from the dead. It is hard to imagine how this looked, and how it felt to the disciples. How could they suddenly have the authority to fix people’s illnesses, and call back spirits from the afterlife, and cast out demons? It became part of their spiritual existence. It did not change their physical constitution but it must have “felt” strange. II. Disciples Named, 10:2-4. There were twelve men selected by Jesus for special ministry. They are named elsewhere in Scripture as well.The target audience v. 5-6. They are told to go only to Israel. This is where it becomes clear that the kingdom commission of the 12 disciples is not the same as the Great Commission recorded in Matthew 28:18-20 and parallel passages. There, the disciples are told to go to all nations. Here, they are specifically commanded not to go to all nations! This is important for those who attempt to take from this passage a mandate to heal and cast out demons and so forth. That was for that time and those disciples in that place. It is not the “all nations” Great Commission that simply told the disciples to focus on making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey the Lord’s instructions. The message, v. 7. They were to preach, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The kingdom has come near to the nation in the person of their Messiah King, and they must respond with…what? This summary statement does not say, but we know exactly what it is from earlier in Matthew’s gospel. The called-for response is exactly what the Lord and John the Baptist before Him said: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2, 4:17). This was at once a joyful message, because God was offering to establish His kingdom on earth; and it was a convicting message, because the subjects of the kingdom had to deal with their sin which separated them from their King. The authentication, v. 8a. To back up their message, they were commanded to heal the sick, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons. They were to use the power that Jesus gave to them to the full. The message with the main course. The miracles were the proof that the meal was real. The free ministry, v. 8b. They were told to give it everything they could They had received freely, and they were now to distribute it freely. They would take the Lord’s delegated authority and multiply its benefits throughout the nation of Israel. They were not to charge for their “services.” You can imagine someone who could heal others might charge exorbitant fees if they were greedy. 

Commissioning of the 12, Part 1

October 10, 2021 PM, Matthew 9:14-26.In this message Pastor Matt leads our continued study in the book of Matthew. The pharisees questioned Jesus why His disciples did not fast. Jesus replied that there is a time for fasting and a time for celebration. While the Lord was with the disciples, he told them that it was not the time to fast but to celebrate. When the Lord ascended to heaven this provided means for the disciples to fast, in private. We see Jesus' miracle of raising a girl from the dead and healing a woman of her severe hemorrhage. The ruler of the daughter who died as well as the woman with the severe hemorrhage had faith that Jesus Christ could heal both. Jesus replied to both people that their faith was strong as recorded in the book of Matthew. Our Scripture reading was found in 1 Chronicles 13:1-14.

Fasting, A Girl Restored to Life, Woman Healed, Part 2

October 10, 2021 AM, Various.Put to death the sins of the flesh (Col. 3:5). Deal with transgressions very sternly (Matt. 5:29- 30). Think of on this and let me know what you come up with! For non-Christians, there is only one remedy, and that is to call on the Lord Jesus Christ. Seek His pardon; turn from your sin—all of it— and turn to Jesus. This is what the Book means when it says, “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Decide to follow Him instead of your own wicked cravings. He receives sinners such as you and will forgive and cleanse you and put you on the path of victory in the battle against sin. You will then be engaged in the fight. Until then, you have no effective resource in your battle. Our Scripture reading was found in Ezekiel 13:1-23.

Your Fight Against Sin

October 10, 2021 SS, Obadiah 1:1-4.In this message speaker James Widgeon leads our study in the first four verses in the book of Obadiah. The Lord speaks through the prophet that judgement has come to Edom and her ruin has been brought through the nations sins and would be utterly destroyed.

The Coming Judgement on Edom

October 6, 2021 PM, Matthew 9:14-26.In this message Pastor Matt leads our continued study in the book of Matthew. The pharisees questioned Jesus why His disciples did not fast. Jesus replied that there is a time for fasting and a time for celebration. While the Lord was with the disciples, he told them that it was not the time to fast but to celebrate. When the Lord ascended to heaven this provided means for the disciples to fast, in private. We see Jesus' miracle of raising a girl from the dead and healing a woman of her severe hemorrhage. The ruler of the daughter who died as well as the woman with the severe hemorrhage had faith that Jesus Christ could heal both. Jesus replied to both people that their faith was strong as recorded in the book of Matthew.

Fasting, A Girl Restored to Life, Woman Healed

October 3, 2021 PM, Matthew 9:1-13.In this message Pastor Matt leads our continued study in the book of Matthew. Jesus Christ heals a paralytic who was lowered down through a roof into the room where He was. Jesus saw the faith in the hearts of the four men who helped the paralytic down through the roof. Jesus saw the sin in the heart of the paralytic and forgave him. Jesus also saw the unbelief in the hearts of the scribes. The multitude of peoples marveled and glorified God, but they missed the significance of the miracle. Jesus did it not to demonstrate that God has given such power to men, but to demonstrate that God's presence was among them in Him. Additionally, Jesus passed a man named Matthew, a tax collector for the Roman government, and told him to follow Him. The Jews deemed Matthew a traitor because of his occupation and service to the Romans. Jesus called Matthew to be one of His disciples demonstrates that Jesus came to call sinners to repentance. Jesus then sits with many tax collectors and sinners and is questioned by the Pharisees why He is eating with such sinful men. Jesus responds with mercy and love by stating "For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Our Scripture reading was found in 1 Chronicles 12:1-40.

Jesus Forgives Sin, Matthew the Tax Collector

October 3, 2021 AM, 2 Samuel 12, Romans 6.In this message Pastor Matt leads our study where we see that God’s grace enables us to live for Him, we are no longer ruled by sin. This leads Paul to write the well-known verse found in Romans 6:23. We do not continue in sin that grace may abound, because grace abounds by removing us from the realm of sin and death. Grace puts us in an entirely new sphere of existence so we can serve God. You may feel sometimes that sin abounds. Grace abounds much more. Ponder Romans 5:20-21 in this connection. Our Scripture reading was found in Ezekiel 12:1-28.

Grace Abounding

October 3, 2021 SS, 1 Corinthians 11:26, Matthew 26:29, Luke 22:18.We’ve thought about the future in this message. But we are not there yet. We are in the present, and in the present, we are told to continue observing the Lord’s Table to proclaim the Lord’s death for us. We do that with bread and grape juice as tangible reminders of the tremendous work He did on our behalf.

The End of the Lord’s Table

September 29, 2021 PM, Matthew 9:35-38.In this message Pastor Matt leads our continued study in the book of Matthew, where we study how Jesus saw the people as being sheep without a Shepherd. The religious leaders of Israel were not leading the people as God had commanded. Instead, the religious leaders were trying to lead them away from the one true Shepherd.

The Compassion of Jesus

September 26, 2021 PM, Matthew 8:1-34.When Pastor Matt reads passages like this, he sometimes reflect on the truth that with this kind of power, the Lord can help us in any circumstances in which we find ourselves. In fact, He may help us IN the circumstances, or OUT of them. The former may be in fact harder than the latter! But He can do that. For instance, 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that God will now permit us to be tempted beyond what we are able to endure, and will provide a way of escape. He is sympathetic to us, having been tempted Himself (Heb. 2:18, 4:15). Jesus has the kind of power need to help you and He is ready to use it in your behalf. He arose from the dead. He will raise up all the dead. He is at the right hand of God. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is the sovereign potentate of the Universe, and He rules over everything. Why do we not believe in Him in the stormy seas that we experience? Often our troubles are very gentle waves and small difficulties, and we still do not have peace! Are we also of little faith? Our Scripture reading was found in 1 Chronicles 11:1-47.

Divine Power Manifested

September 26, 2021 AM, Psalm 32.Psalm 32 explains the results of confession and cleansing that are experienced by a sinner who repents—the first time or the thousandth. God’s mercy and grace continue ever. Romans 6 asks the question that will come to some minds: if God’s grace is so rich, why not sin more so that grace can do even more of its wonderful work? That seems reasonable, no, if we can do more of what we want to do and God can do more of what He does? The short answer is this: no, because that is ridiculous. The longer answer is this: because God’s grace is so rich that it can train you to not sin in the first place. It can make you pure, and make you to see the abundant riches of a holy life--and that is what God’s intention with it is! And that brings us full circle back to Titus which taught us that the grace of God that brings salvation has taught us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly and righteously and godly in this evil age. Our Scripture reading was found in Ezekiel 11:1-25.

What God’s Grace Does for You, Part 2

Sermon audio from the pulpit of Fellowship Bible Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Fellowship Bible Church Sermons

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