“Lessons From the Prayer of Hannah” (I Samuel 1:1-20) – Audio recording of my Wednesday evening sermon at Bellevue Church of Christ in Nashville, TN on July 27, 2007.
Three characteristics of Hannah’s prayer that anyone can apply to their own prayer life.
“Reverence for the Presence of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7) – Audio recording of my Sunday evening sermon at Maple Hill Church of Christ in Lebanon, TN on July 8, 2012.
Looking at the seriousness of approaching God, and how we will do it if we truly have the proper reverence for Him.
Copy of the Handout referenced in the sermon
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 (ESV)
1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.
4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.
“Recognizing the Power of God” (Isaiah 40:27-31) – Audio recording of my Sunday morning sermon at Maple Hill Church of Christ in Lebanon, TN on July 1, 2012.
Looking at Isaiah’s prophetic instructions regarding the power of God and how we can tap into that power for dealing with day to day life.
Isaiah 40:27–31 (ESV)
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
This Sunday I will be preaching the morning service at Maple Hill Church of Christ in Lebanon, TN. As I’ve said before, being at Maple Hill is always a thrill, because it is my home congregation, and my parents still attend there. Here is a brief overview of my planned lesson…
If you are in the Middle Tennessee area, we would love to have you join us this Sunday for worship!
This Sunday I will be preaching the morning and evening services at Maple Hill Church of Christ in Lebanon, TN. Being at Maple Hill is always a thrill, because it is my home congregation, and my parents still attend there. Since this Sunday is Father’s Day, my lessons will revolve around this theme…
If you are in the Middle Tennessee area, we would love to have you join us this Sunday for worship!
Wow, are you scared? I can’t imagine what it must be like to be behind the pulpit!
Not at all….I usually end up preaching a dozen or so times a year at various congregations in the area. Something that I love to do. Starting next week I will be helping another church as a “fill-in” until their new pulpit minister starts in August.
The irony about this is that I was originally scheduled to preach for another church on Sun PM, which is also in Wilson County. That ended up getting cancelled last week, but today my good friend Andy, who is the preacher at Center Chapel, called and asked if I could be a last minute fill-in for him. Funny how things work out sometimes 🙂
Anyway, I’m excited to visit with this congregation on Sun, and plan to preach from one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, Ecclesiastes 5. If you’re in the area please come and join us.
Great video from @missionlazarus and my friend @sethdaggett on the making of their San Lazaro Estate Coffee. This really is fantastic coffee, and it helps support the amazing work being doing in Southern Honduras by Mission Lazarus.
Do you drink coffee? Are you drinking coffee right now? Check out this new video on the coffee process–from start to finish.
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Music by the fine folks of Seryn – Make sure you check them out at serynsound.com
Learn more or try some of our coffee for yourself – sanlazaroestatecoffee.com
I spent a good bit of time in Honduras doing mission work… such a neat country! And I think Rosetta Stone is great if you don’t know much of the language to begin with. If you already know a good bit, it might feel remedial for a while. Good luck!
Love working in Honduras, and especially getting to teach and study with the people there. Do you know Spanish? If so, how did you learn? I know very, very little so remedial level will be perfect! Thanks!
Well….I took the plunge. Ever since I started making annual mission trips to Honduras four years ago, I have been thinking about purchasing Rosetta Stone to help with learning Spanish. Today I finally pulled the trigger. They were offerring $100 off of the Level 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 Spanish (Latin America) Set today, and this pushed me over the edge.
Since a single installation will support up to five users I am hoping that Olivia and I, along with our oldest daughter Kate, will find it beneficial. Kate is already having weekly Spanish classes in school. Olivia is a trained sign-language (ASL) interpreter and has expressed interest in also learning Spanish.
It should arrive on Monday and I’m very excited to get started.
Hasta Luego!
Our group landed safely in Nashville, and now I’m home with my girls! It was a great week, but always good to be back. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support.
The Maple Hill Church of Christ missions group has landed safely in Atlanta. Hope that getting through customs will be smooth. We have about a 2-hour layover before our flight to Nashville. Can’t wait to see my girls!!!
Today we started our journey back home…
The day began with a sunrise devotional on “Prayer Rock” on the Mission Lazarus ranch, which is one of my favorite places on earth. We sang songs, and I delivered a message about God’s power from Isaiah 40.
After breakfast we headed north on a 4-hour drive to the capital city of Tegucigalpa. We stopped briefly at the hotel, and then most of us headed a little bit further north to Valle de Ángeles. This is a tourist area that ended up being a big disappointment for me. I was thinking it would be a place to find all kinds of things which were handcrafted in Honduras. Instead, it was not much more than a bunch of worthless souvenirs mass produced in other countries, and every shop seemed to have exactly the same things.
We came back to the hotel and then went our separate ways for dinner before returning back for our nightly devotional. Wayne presented a message about the things that show us the greatness of God. After the devotional, my dad and I got to spend some time talking with some of the missionaries in Honduras that Maple Hill Church of Christ supports. They visited our group at the hotel, and it is always great to meet with those who have dedicated their lives to the Gospel of Christ.
From left to right…My Dad, Juan Santamaria, Samuel Diaz, Ricardo Guerra (his son, Andres), and me
Tomorrow after breakfast we will have a worship service by the pool, and then head out to the airport for our flight to Atlanta and then Nashville. Please pray for our continued safe travel.
