Sermons
Sermons from Bay Vista Baptist ChurchWe Shall Overcome
Today, brother Danny shares with us three elements that lead us to victory from 1 John 5. The first of those elements is our commitment to Christ. Without faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, there is no victory to be had. The second element that leads to victory is true love. This is love for our God and love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Without love, we have to question if we have faith. The final element that leads us to victory is a lifestyle of obedience. We don’t work ourselves to salvation, but our salvation works its way out in our lives. If we have that faith, love, and obedience, we shall overcome!
God's Requirement of Love
This morning, Brother Danny shares with us God’s requirement of love. As His children we are required to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, the way Jesus loved us. John tells us that by this, we will show the world what God is like. Additionally, our witness is effective when our love for others looks like the love that God has for his children. On the other hand, when we are always contentious and quarrelsome, the world begins to doubt that our God has anything to offer them.
God Is Love
This morning, Brother Danny shared with us one of the most basic aspects of God’s nature; God is love. Everything that he does is motivated by and filled with the Love that he has for his people. That love is 100% at God’s initiative, and not due to any lovliness on our part. More than that, God’s love came at a heavy price, in that it cost the life of His son, Jesus.
How to Not Be Gullible
This morning, Brother Danny shares with us how to keep from being gullible. To make sure we are following only those teachings that agree with the teachings of Jesus, we need to pay close attention to the words of those teachers. If they contradict God’s Word in regard to who Jesus is, If their worldview matches the world more than the Word, and if their teaching does not align with God’s word, they do not deserve the attention of God’s children.
Blessed Assurance
This morning, Brother Danny shared with us the importance of knowing the foundation of our faith, that is, Jesus Christ. We can that we are His through obedience to His command, through His faithfulness to us, and most importantly through the work of the Spirit in our lives.
What Is Love
This week, Brother Danny answers the ubiquitous question, “What is love?” In John’s letter, the answwer to that is clear. Love is laying down your life for the sake of someone else. To put it another way, love is seeking the absolute best for someone, no matter the personal cost. Jesus showed this for the church in the way he lived his life, and in that he died for the atonement of our sins. We, the church, need to keep our eyes open to the needs of people around us, and to sacrificially meet those needs, just like Jesus did.
Thin Line Between Love and Hate
This week, Brother Danny reminds us that there is no room for hatred in the life of the Christian. Hatred is a mark of evil, and it is not an acceptable reaction for a child of God. When hatred raises its head, we must turn from it. Love, on the other hand, is at the heart of the Gospel message. Loving God’s family, loving other people, is one way that we can have assurance of our own eternal life. Let us eagerly embrace the call to love one another.
A Life of Righteousness
In our message, Brother Danny shares with us what it means to live a life of righteousness. Living in righteousness requires us to understand the very serious nature of sin. If we treat sin in a casual manner, we will never react to it as seriously as we should. That reaction should be a rejection of sin’s hold on our lives. Though the Christian had eternal security, that cannot cause us to become comfortable with sin. Finally, the only way we can live a righteous life, is to fully surrender to God’s power in our lives. No amount of willpower will be suficient to bring us where we need to be. Only God can deliver us into that life of righteousness.
Eager Expectation
In this morning’s sermon, Brother Danny helps us to consider how critical it is to our Christian walk to remember who we are, in Christ. We also need to keep in mind that we should be in the process of growing in Christlikeness. While those things should be everpresent in the mind of the child of God, it is often very easy to get discouraged. And so, we need to keep in mind that our metamorphasis into the new creation is only possible by God’s grace, and not through our own work. Ultimately, this is a message of great hope.
Rejoice in God's Discipline
In today’s message, we look at Hebrews chapter 12, and how God’s discipline should be a source of security and joy in the life of a Christian. While it is hard to feel joyful while we are in the midst of a period of discipline, once we come through on the other side, it is easy to see how God has used it to correct and reprove his children, and to bring us into line with His desire for our lives.