It's Not About Me

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It's Not About Me

June 11, 2023 • Dr. James Merritt • 1 Corinthians 10:23–31, 1 Corinthians 11:1

An unknown person once said, “There are two great moments in a person’s life. The first is when you were born; the second is when you discover why you were born.” That leads me to make one of the most arrogant statements any pastor could ever make to anybody. If there is a God and if that God has revealed himself in the Bible, and if the Bible is God’s word and true, then I can confidently, though it may sound arrogantly say, “I know the purpose for which every person was born.” Now we may not carry that purpose out the same way throughout our lives, but nevertheless we were all born for the same purpose. Paul in one simple sentence gives us the one purpose for which we were created. It is the purpose of the church. In fact, in the grand scheme of things it is the purpose of everything. The reason we exist individually, why do we exist as a church, why did God create anything or anyone? Here is the purpose, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) Now here is the kicker. We will never understand our purpose, or accept our purpose, or practice our purpose unless we understand one thing about our lives – it is not about me.

Thank You Very Much

December 1, 2024 • Dr. James Merritt • 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Being thankful is so important to God that He actually commands us to be thankful. A man in the New Testament by the name of Paul went through a tremendous amount of suffering and heartache that would cause anybody to be bitter and ungrateful and maybe even mad at God. He wrote these words, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thessalonians 5:18) You may not feel very thankful right now because of where you are in your life. Even though you may not feel thankful you can be thankful. This great man tells us how to be thankful and why to be thankful.

Do The Right Thing

November 24, 2024 • Dr. James Merritt • 2 Kings 7:3–16

When it comes to the gospel, silence is sinful. When we've experienced the love of God, surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ, been fed the bread of life, and tasted the living water, we can’t keep what we’ve experienced to ourselves. It's time for us to say something for the sake of growing God’s Kingdom. In today’s message, we're going to learn today how to make sure we speak up and don’t shy away from sharing our faith.

He's Alive

March 31, 2024 • Dr. James Merritt • 1 Corinthians 15:12–20

Today, we are going to deal with the doubt people have about Jesus being raised from the dead. Either like every other person who has lived and died, Jesus is still dead or he is physically still alive. A man named Paul went through unbelievable torture, hardship, and finally a beheading because he preached and believed and would not deny that Jesus Christ was alive. In a letter he wrote to a church in Corinth, he laid out what would be true if Jesus was not alive and if everything he said was either an intentional lie or a bad mistake. If Jesus is not alive it has a tremendous impact on whether you are a believer or not. If Jesus is dead nothing else matters, but if He is alive it is the only thing that matters. Knowing that either He was raised or He wasn’t, I want us to answer two questions in this message. When we are finished, I can assure you that your doubt will be destroyed and your faith will be fortified.