February 15 Sermon Notes Humility in Practice James 4:7-10 Pastor John Sloan Introduction: Bracketed off by calls to humility (verse 6 and verse 10), the section we’re in this morning issues two commands accompanied by one powerful promise: God draws near to the humble. To the broken, contrite and soft-hearted, God pours out His grace.… Continue Reading
2.8.2015 Sermon Notes Fight Club James 4:1-6 Pastor John Sloan Introduction: Nothing tests our understanding of, and commitment to the gospel more than living with broken and sinful people (like us) on a broken and sin-cursed world (like ours). It’s fair to say that it’s in our relationships, perhaps, more than any other area, that… Continue Reading
Click here for PDF. Sermon Notes Two Kinds of Wisdom James 3:13-18 Pastor John Sloan Introduction: Behind every decision we make there is a driving force or guiding principle, moving us to act the way that we act. There are two of these controlling influences, James says, and they’re starkly different. Complete opposites, really. And… Continue Reading
Click here for PDF Faith That Works James 2:20-26 Pastor John Sloan Introduction: People love stories. This is why teachers use illustrations in the classroom, preachers use personal examples in sermons, and parents pause active children by alerting them to an arresting anecdote. There is no better way to drive home a point than with… Continue Reading
Click here for PDF Sermon Notes The Evidence of Saving Faith James 2:14-19 Pastor John Sloan Introduction: Did James, the brother of Jesus, and Paul, the self-professed “apostle to the Gentiles” contradict one another in their writings? Did these two devoted followers of Christ disagree on the very basics of salvation? Paul repeatedly and passionately… Continue Reading
Click here for PDF Sermon Notes New Year, Renewed Focus Select passages Pastor John Sloan Introduction: Introduction: There’s something about the beginning of the New Year that brings with it a sense of hope. Perhaps this is the year when some of those perpetually frustrating habits can finally be broken. And new (healthier) ones established.… Continue Reading
Click here for PDF 8.17.2014 Sermon Notes No Place for a Dead Body Genesis 23 Pastor John Sloan Introduction: More than one hundred years of marriage together. Six decades of wandering around Canaan with each other, never securing a permanent home. Abraham has experienced more with Sarah, his wife, than he ever thought possible. Good… Continue Reading
Click here for PDF 8.10.2014 Sermon Notes Caught in a Thicket (The Glory of God’s Provision) Genesis 22 Pastor John Sloan Introduction: Some commands of God are mystifying. For example, how could God tell Abraham to slaughter his only son? This atrocity was also committed in ancient Egypt, where the Pharaoh ordered that all Israelite… Continue Reading
Click here for PDF 7.6.2104 Sermon Notes Friend of God Genesis 18:1-19 Pastor John Sloan Introduction: What would it be like to have dinner with God? Would the tone be strictly serious (no joking permitted)? What kind of hors d’oeuvres do you serve to the One who made the world? Would God send His meal… Continue Reading
Click Here for a PDF 6.29.2014 Sermon Notes A Never Changing Promise Genesis 17 Pastor John Sloan Introduction: Throughout time and history, God has spoken. And He still speaks. It is by the power of His word that God upholds the universe (Hebrews 1:3), and it’s by God’s commands that rain pelts the earth and… Continue Reading