Sermons

The Greatest Christmas Gift

Probably the first verse memorized by every Christian is For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son… –John 3:16. God gave a gift beyond all gifts, a gift we could never earn or repay: life, forgiveness, joy, peace, and hope. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of this gift from […]

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What it Means to be Salt & Light

Jesus used salt and light several times as metaphors referring to His followers. Salt was used for two things in the 1st Century Middle East. First, salt preserved food, especially quick-spoiling meat. Similarly, believers preserve the lives of those in the world from inherent evil working within a society of unredeemed, ungodly men whose natures

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Show me Your Way

Just as the ways of God are far above the ways of man, so are His paths vastly superior. Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 remind us the ways that seem right to mankind lead only to death. This was evidently an important enough concept that the author was inspired to include it not once but twice.

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Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

When we read the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:5-13, the only seemingly material request we are instructed to pray is for is God to give us our daily bread. But should this be taken as literal bread to eat?   10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

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The Shower of Repentance

I shower daily. Most days twice. And although I may have occasionally missed a day now and then, I’ve balanced it out by some days even showering thrice. Though it’s never been mentioned, people around me probably appreciate my effort, since without daily showers the accumulated sweat and grime tends to make me more than

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Rallying for Peace

Last night I was given the honor of being asked to speak at the Porterville Peace Rally. These were my comments. Good evening. My name is Rick Groves. Most of you don’t know me, and all of us are far too complex to nail down in a few words. So, by way of personal introduction,

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Would You Buy a Used Toothbrush?

When I asked my lovely wife whether she would buy a used toothbrush, I got the totally expected response, “Eeew! Gross…” And I’ll bet most folks would chime in with a similar opinion. We certainly wouldn’t want a stranger’s dirty past making its way into our mouths. But I ask you, isn’t that sometimes what

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