Sermons from Sweet Home

The Truth about the ”tithe”

It has become a tradition in church circles to teach that we are to give 10% of our income to the church. God commands this. This lesson examines the claim and shows how the Bible gives a different picture.
The concept of giving 10% stems from the Law of Moses and entailed a number of different tithes and offerings that actually made up about 25% of one's earnings that were to be dedicated to God. 
But what does the New Testament teach on this matter? 

Acts 13:13-52 When Jesus Topples Religion

In Psidian Antioch a synagogue makes a mistake in letting the Apostle Paul preach. And boy did he preach! They invited him to come back the next week, and indeed they did. but this time the whole city had come to listen to him speak. As in the days of Jesus, the Jews became Jealous and stirred up the crowd against the Apostles which led to the Apostles leaving the town to go preach to the Gentiles. 

Acts 13:4-12 The Mission Begins

In this section of text we see how Paul and Barnabas takes of on their first missionary journey. They start off by ship and head for the island of Cyprus where they get to meet the proconsul of the island and get to preach the Gospel to him. In the process however, they also come face to face with a hybrid Jew/Gentile/sorcerer. Paul powerfully and abruptly put him in his place. 

The Israel/Hamas War

The terrorist events of 7 October has shocked the world. Israel has declared war, the nations of the world stand on edge, the UN is alert and the average Christian doesn't know what is going on or if it even matters.
This talk seeks to unpack broadly the origin of the tension between Israel and the Palestinians from a historical and biblical perspective. It deals with questions regarding God's view of Islam and of Israel. 

Acts 12:20-25 Heaven vs Herod (Part II)

In this interesting section of text we see how God handles a ruler who refuses to b humble and give credit where it is due. Tune in to hear how God killed Herod and why He did it. 

Acts 12:1-19 Heave vs Herod (Part I)

When Herod killed James, the brother of John, he saw the crowds loved it. He was interested in pleasing the crowds, like most politicians do. And because of that he arrested Peter, the most prominent leader of the early church in Jerusalem. He chained him and threw him in prison. But something powerful was going on in someone's house not too far away from the prison: simple people were praying. Could prayers by simple people cause Peter to escape from the great Herod?

We Are The Gods: Knowledge

Science has made us arrogant. We think we know exactly what happened in the past, what is possible and what is not. Often people think the Bible is nonsense, mythical, and anti-scientific and therefore not true. We think our knowledge trumps what the Bible says. Well, can we test that? Ofcourse we can. Select a story in the Bible that people think are a myth, and let's see if we can scientifically discover its truth.
In this lesson one such example is unpacked. For many years people have though the story of Sodom is a myth. But in the early 2000's a mound in the Jordan Valley, on the East side of the Jordan River in Jordan were discovered that has since thrown the whole myth theory into disrepute. It has now been scientifically proven that Sodom indeed was destroyed by fire from heaven, tune in to listen to the facts.
This truth is significant especially in a time when homosexual behavior is being normalized and celebrated. Perhaps God has a serious message for us.

We Are The Gods: Life

Modern science has managed to do incredible things with life. From invitro fertilization in humans to the cloning of mammals. But the one thing science cannot do is to create life. Science can take what is already and manipulate it or direct it, but science cannot create something out of nothing. That is something only God can do!
The Apostle Paul correctly called Jesus the "author of life" (Acts 3:15). Paul also said that everything was created by Him, through Him and for Him (Col. 1:16-17). Jesus is the author of physical life, but we must never forget that He is also the author of spiritual life. Without Him we could be physically alive, but spiritually dead. 

Jeremiah: Incredible Prophet

God gave Jeremiah the most difficult job imaginable. He was to preach to people who wouldn't listen. He was to prophecy the destruction of Godless people and see how God brings about this destruction. He preached for 40 years and nobody repented. He walked through the streets of Jerusalem and didn't find anyone who lives in righteousness and integrity.
He had no life, but he kept on preaching. Why? The word of God was burning inside his bones. He didn't know how to keep quiet. In many ways Christians live in a similar world that Jeremiah lived in. The Word goes out, but people don't want to listen. 

We Are The gods: Immortality

From the earliest times, throughout different cultures across the world, and right up to our present time people have believed in life after death. Even atheists who say they don't believe in life after death are often caught at the funerals of loved ones speaking about the deceased as if they are still in existence. 
We hate death. We want our loved ones to stay and never die. Some have tried to create a resurrection opportunity through technology: Cryogenics. Once again we see how humans are trying to play gods by exploring the option of freezing dead humans with the hope of resurrecting them someday when the technology allows. 
Why do we have this desire for immortality? Why don't animals have the same desire? There is a simple explanation in the words of the wisest king that has ever lived.