The New Thing in Sermons

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Clark Bunch

May 15, 2016     |     text: Acts 2:1-38

Our society is all about the latest thing. Retailers, whether fast food, entertainment or fashion, try to predict what the next trend is going to be. I would advise caution if listening to a preacher that always has “a new word from the Lord.” While I will not deny there is sometimes special revelation, or that people are called to the ministry or to the mission field, any leader that gets up every Sunday week after week and claims to have divine revelation that is between him and God… Always make sure the claims of your Bible teacher are founded in the Word that God has given to all of us.

On the day of Pentecost, however, everything did change. The Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and Peter did indeed bring a new word from the Lord. If not a new word at least one they had never heard proclaimed before. He preached the very first Christian sermon, one that proclaimed faith in the resurrected savior. He was the first to preach salvation in the name of Jesus!  Continue reading →

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Update: Load the Truck

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Clark Bunch

The Gordon Memorial Association is collecting items for Georgia Baptist Children’s Homes. All of us working together can really make a difference. If each church in the association, 41 in total, collected just this amount the cumulative results would be impressive.

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Jochebed, A Mother’s Day Sermon

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Clark Bunch

May 8, 2016     |     text: Exodus 1:15 – 2:10

A lot of wild things happen in the Book of Exodus as God displays his power and makes his wrath known. The dramatic elements of the story have attracted filmmakers but led many to believe in a false god of the Old Testament. Many people, Christians among them, see a power-hungry god giving laws on stone tables and raining fire down from heaven amid thunder and earthquakes but fail to see the God of mercy and grace. As the Exodus story begins in chapters 1 and 2, we find a God at work in the lives of his people. He hears their cries, knows their needs and sends them a savior. Moses is in many ways an Old Testament type of Christ. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one of the most well-known names in all of history. But what do you know of Jochebed? Continue reading →

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“Load the Truck”

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Clark Bunch

Reminder: Don’t forget to bring these items tonight or Sunday as we load the truck for Georgia Baptist Children’s Homes. 

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Understanding Scripture

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Clark Bunch

May 1, 2016     |     text: Luke 24:44-49

Luke’s account of the resurrection is at the beginning of chp. 24 and only Luke describes in detail the conversation Jesus had with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. As soon as he reveals himself to them, they return quickly to Jerusalem to tell the others. They were doing just that in v. 36 when Jesus himself appeared in their midst. Many rejoiced, some doubted, and Jesus had to reassure them he was real and that it was really him. He showed the scars in his hands and feet and touched them to show he was not a spirit. As a final proof he asked for food and ate a piece of fish. We pick up our sermon text in v. 44.

The Old Testament is about Jesus. I’ve said it before and will probably say again “The Bible, from one end to the other, tells one story. It’s about how a holy God relates to a sinful, fallen and broken people. At the center of that story is Jesus.” Jesus quoted from the Psalms more often than any other book, secondly from Isaiah. After reading from the Isaiah scroll in the Nazareth synagogue he plainly said “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus is the incarnate Word of God, it is a gross understatement to say that he knows a thing or two about the written Word of God. The Old Testament has a certain amount of face value but it has even greater value in light of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. The literal embodiment of the fulfillment of the prophesies is explaining that they have been fulfilled! Continue reading →

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Prayer Request

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Clark Bunch

UPDATE: Mom is out of surgery and in recovery now, will move into a room shortly. Everything went well and actually much quicker than expected! Thank you everyone for your prayers. If all continues to go well, she will spend one night in the hospital and go home tomorrow.

I would like to make a special request of our website guests. My mother, Ellen Bunch, is having surgery to clear one of the carotid arteries in her neck. The surgery will be next Monday, May 2nd. There is a risk that doing the surgery will cause her to have a heart attack or stroke. Complications include the risk of damaging the nerves that affect speech. Despite these risks her doctors recommend going ahead with the procedure. She’s worried about all the things that could happen. She had a major heart attack and quadruple bypass back in 2003, and they have been monitoring this situation since then.

Please pray for physical healing and for emotional well-being. God is good all the time. Thank you for your prayers,

Clark J Bunch

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God Knows

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Clark Bunch

April 24, 2016     |     text: Psalm 22

We read the full text of Psalm 22 at our Wednesday night Bible study. Jesus words from the cross – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? – have been interpreted by many as a prayer directed toward God the Father. Based on the idea that God cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13) some reason that God turned his face away from Jesus as the sins of the world were placed upon him. Read Psalm 22 and consider the historic fact that first century Jews would have understood Jesus quote of v. 1 to be a reference to the whole thing. What if Jesus was offering words of encouragement when things looked to be at their worst? Let’s continue our study of David’s Psalm with this idea in mind.  Continue reading →

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Chosen

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Clark Bunch

Part 3 in the God’s People series

April 17, 2016     |     text: 1 Peter 2:1-12

Therefore… you can’t begin with therefore. Peter is about to draw a conclusion based on every piece of evidence he has presented so far. Look again at chapter 1 and recall everything we said about being called to holiness; we must be prepared, be holy and love with a pure heart because the Word of God endures forever. Once we have “And this word is the good news that was preached to you” fresh in our minds, we can go on to 1 Peter 2.

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8 Continue reading →

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Holy

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Clark Bunch

Part 2 in the God’s People series

April 10, 2016     |     text: 1 Peter 1:13-25

Be prepared. Gird up your loins (v. 13) is rendered preparing your minds for action in the ESV. What is the motto of the Boy Scouts? Always be prepared. One of my favorite quotes is “People don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan.” The Christian life is an action that must be taken. Remember what we have said about faith? Faith is belief in action. If we believe that Jesus is who he says he is, and will do what he is promised to do, we will respond. That response will involve repenting of former sins but also actively being conformed to the image and likeness of Christ. We do not work for Jesus; we are doing the work of Jesus. The Golden Rule is not kept by simply not doing bad things; we must actively do those things unto others that we would like to see done to us. To be active we must be prepared for action. Continue reading →

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Sent

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Clark Bunch

Part 1 of the “God’s People” series

April 3, 2016     |     text: Matthew 10:5-8, 28:16-20

Throughout scripture there are people called by God and sent on various missions. Some like Isaiah stood up and said “Here I am, send me.” Moses had the opposite response. After making several objections at the burning bush he finally said “Please send someone else.” We all know what happened to Jonah when he went the other way as fast as he could go. He eventually ended up where God sent him in the first place.

The Christian believer, individually, and the church as the body of Christ, collectively, is part of an interesting line of succession. We are not distantly removed from the narrative of the Bible. The Old Testament prophets who spoke for God and the priests that drew near to him on behalf of the people were symbols and pictures of what God would do in the New Testament, through Christ and those that received him. Their story is part of our story.  Continue reading →

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