Albert Cisneros
Philippians 1:18b-26, Christ Exalted

For to Christians, every moment God grants us to live is aimed toward “fruitful labor.” As riveting as it is to stimulate one another to live for Christ, being with Christ is ultimately better. We aim to exalt Christ in life and death.

Dan Lee
John 20:1-31, The Grace of the Risen Savior

John testifies of Jesus’ resurrection with three evidences of the empty tomb, His graveclothes, and His post-resurrection appearances. Jesus rose from the dead. The witnesses sealed their testimony with their own lives. What did Jesus convey to His people upon His resurrection? Not disappointment, displeasure, or condemnation for those who failed Him, but grace, pure, undeserved grace. He did this because He paid for their sins and He earned their peace with God through the cross. What’s more? He shares life with those who are one with Him. He invites them into a vital connection with their heavenly Father that they, too, might taste of the kindness of the Lord and their souls be satisfied with God.

Dan Lee
Revelation 19:6-21, The Two Suppers

Jesus’ return is marked by two suppers, one a celebration of the marriage of the Lamb and the other the aftermath of the Armageddon. The bride of Christ prepares herself for her groom while the rest of the world prepares to war with Him. May the Lord grant us to grace to be at peace with God, not at war with Him. In the end, there are only two ends, the wedding feast or the judgment feast. May the grace of God lead us all to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.

Albert Cisneros
Philippians 1:12-18a, Christ Proclaimed

The driving theme of the passage is the progress of the Gospel through the proclamation of Christ. Many terms are used in the text to describe proclaiming Christ and none of them requires an official position of leadership. Instead, a trust in the Lord will lead us to be courageous and to speak the word of God without fear.

Dan Lee
Revelation 17:1-19:5, Come out of Babylon

The call to depart from Babylon is the culmination of the multitudinous and resounding call of Scripture that God’s people be separate, be set apart from this world, and in some cases, actually leave the place of contaminants. In this study, we examine what Babylon is and what it represents and why our need for separation is reflected in the final call of God for the tribulation saints to leave Babylon. The implications of this call for us are these: 1) See the world for what it is, a harlot; 2) See the Devil’s ploy behind the harlot; 3) Delight yourself in the Lord; 4) Run from Babylon and run toward Jerusalem.

Matthew

Matthew 11:28-30, 28:18-20, Hear and Follow (Part 3)

Christ is not only the way to God as God, He is the provider/giver and He is the authority over all. In this third installment of studies in discipleship, we examine these two additional passages. Christ provides man with the knowledge of God, rest for the soul and a better yoke/burden. Furthermore, Christ’s authority is universal and its aim on earth is obedience. May the Lord help us to daily walk with Him and be an infectious influence to those around us.

Matthew 11:28-30, Hear and Follow

Christ wants disciples from among all the nations. How can we participate in advancing this purpose of Christ? In this series, we explore how we can be better equipped to help others to hear and follow Christ. For anyone who is willing to learn, whether they are a new believer, professing believer, or even someone who may be undecided, everyone must hear in order for them to follow the Lord. May the Lord enable us to be a church full of faithful disciples who know how to lead others to a pattern of life that hears and follows Christ.

Matthew 2:1-12, The Challenge of Christmas

In this familiar Christmas story of the magi and king Herod, we see two diametrically opposed responses to the Messiah. They both had a knowledge of the Messiah by the providence of God, but one responded with worship and the other with suspicion and an attempt to exterminate the Messiah. Matthew presents to us the Messiah as the Savior and King whom people either humbly worship (as the magi did) or repudiate Him (as Herod did). How will you respond to the Lord this Christmas season, as you are also bombarded with the knowledge of the Son of God who has come to save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21)? This is the challenge of Christmas.

Matthew 28:16-20, What the Risen Lord wants for His world [Part 3]

The Lord has risen from the dead in glory and power. What comes next? From the Lord’s own mouth, we hear the Lord’s post-resurrection desire for the world: discipleship of all of His world. In this third installment we examine the four part definition of discipleship that the Lord gives us: baptism, trinity, obedience and His presence.

Matthew 28:1-20, What the Risen Lord wants for His world [Part 2]

The Lord has risen from the dead in glory and power. What comes next? From the Lord’s own mouth, we hear the Lord’s post-resurrection desire for the world: discipleship of all of His world. In this first installment we examine the first 15 verses of this final chapter of Matthew and see the three part confirmation of Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead: via the angelic announcement, the Lord’s appearance, and the Jewish leaders’ cover-up which ends up only confirming the empty tomb.

Matthew 28:1-20, What the Risen Lord wants for His world [Part 1]

The Lord has risen from the dead in glory and power. What comes next? From the Lord’s own mouth, we hear the Lord’s post-resurrection desire for the world: discipleship of all of His world. In this first installment we examine the first 15 verses of this final chapter of Matthew and see the three part confirmation of Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead: via the angelic announcement, the Lord’s appearance, and the Jewish leaders’ cover-up which ends up only confirming the empty tomb.

Matthew 6:5-13a, Pray to your Father [Part 3]

The Lord’s way of prayer includes praying knowledgeably (knowing God’s fatherliness and His heavenliness) and worshipfully (seeking His glory in all things), and dependently. In this third installment on prayer, we examine the third aspect of the Lord’s way of prayer. We depend on God for all things as children dependent on their parents. We seek God’s provision, help and protection whether our needs are physical, spiritual or circumstantial.

Matthew 6:5-13a, Pray to your Father [Part 2]

The Lord taught us how we ought not to pray - hypocritical prayer and meaningless repetition. People of God do not pray like the hypocritical religious leaders of Jesus’ day, seeking to be seen by men, but keep our motives pure, as we go to God in prayer, treasuring the personal time we have with our Father. Neither do we engage in praying with meaningless repetition as pagans do, thinking to impress or obligate their deity. This is out of place for one who communes with the one and only true God. He has no interest in repeated words, but those who approach him with a sweet, quiet confidence, as one that approaches Him as their Father. How then shall we pray? The Lord shows us the way we ought to pray through His model prayer. In this sermon, we observe two facets of the Lord’s way of praying : knowledge and worship. We approach God knowing who He is and we approach God with an attitude of worship.