Text Resources

Sermons

Our Father in Heaven | Matthew 6:9

November 1, 2024
By H.B. Charles Jr.
The disciples asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” In Matthew 18:3-4, Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom.”  Childlikeness is the way to kingdom greatness. It is also the way to kingdom citizenship. You must become like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven. To be accepted into the kingdom is to be adopted by the King. Citizens of the kingdom are children of the King. Jesus affirms this in the invocation of The Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father in heaven.” The...
Sermons

Steadfast Confidence in God’s Word | Psalm 119:169-176

October 17, 2024
By H.B. Charles Jr.
Psalm 119 is a long, complex, and beautiful poem that celebrates the sufficiency of Scripture to meet every need of the human soul. It begins with a declaration of blessing for those who live according to God’s word. Psalm 119:1-3 declares, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!” The one who lives with confidence in God’s word is blessed. However, this blessing must be defined as divine approval...
Sermons

Standing in Awe of God’s Word | Psalm 119:161-168

October 4, 2024
By H.B. Charles Jr.
In the opening verse of this section, the psalmist feels the rain and sees the sunshine. Verse 161 says, “Princes persecute me without cause.” The psalmist had enemies in high places. Verse 23 says, “Princes sit plotting against me.” Princes have now gone from plotting to persecuting. This statement suggests the psalmist was royalty. But he could have been any believer whose devotion to God’s word threatened the powers that be. And they persecuted him without cause.  John 15:25 says, “But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled, ‘They hated me without a cause.’” Jesus suffered persecution without a cause. Many other faithful men have experienced unjust persecution through the centuries, including the...
Sermons

When Your Life Is On the Line | Psalm 119:153-160

September 19, 2024
By H.B. Charles Jr.
As Psalm 119 draws to a close, the psalmist prays with increasingly greater urgency. Throughout this psalm, he maintains his confidence in God’s word to meet. Yet, as the psalm draws to a close, the writer’s difficult circumstances have not changed. In the opening of this stanza, he is still suffering affliction. And his experience both issues us a warning to heed and gives us an example to follow. Devotion to the Lord will not solve all your problems. It may produce new, big, and long problems. The psalmist experienced great affliction. But he did not allow his chronic suffering to become an excuse for forsaking...
Sermons

Praying with Assurance | Psalm 119:145-152

September 13, 2024
By H.B. Charles Jr.
This section of Psalm 119 is a prayer with five requests. Supplication is the theme and tone of the text. In this regard, the section is no different than the previous section. Psalm 119 is an ode to the sufficiency of scripture expressed in prayer and praise. This section is different in that the emphasis is not on what the psalmist prayed. It is on the manner the psalmist prayed. He prayed with assurance. As the psalmist prays with earnestness, fervor, and urgency, he prays with confident assurance that God will hear and answer. Answered prayer is a great encouragement...
Sermons

You Can Trust The Bible | Psalm 119:137-144

September 6, 2024
By H.B. Charles Jr.
Psalm 119:137-144 continues the theme of the previous stanza, in which the psalmist magnifies the trustworthiness of God’s word and vows his determination to live by its truth. In verses 131-136, the psalmist focuses on the wonderful nature of God’s word.  In verses 137-144, the psalmist focuses on the righteous character of God’s word.  This section of Psalm 119 is under the heading Tsadhe, the eighteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Every line of this stanza starts with a word that begins with the letter Tsadhe. The first word of this stanza is the most obvious word that would have come to the psalmist that starts with Tsadhe. It is the word tsadek,...
Articles

Why Prayer Meetings?

August 30, 2024
By H.B. Charles Jr.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. - James 5:16 Over the years, it was said that if you wanted to know how popular a church is, visit it on Sunday morning. If you want to know how popular the preacher is, visit on Sunday nights. But if you want to know how popular Jesus is, visit the church’s prayer meeting.   As time has passed, most churches have abandoned both Sunday night services and prayer meetings. Could...
Sermons

Embracing God’s Wonderful Word | Psalm 119:129-136

August 29, 2024
By H.B. Charles Jr.
On one occasion, a man told Mark Twain, “I wish I had never read Huckleberry Finn.” Twain, the author of the famous novel, frowned and asked the reason for such a remark. “So that I could have the pleasure again of reading it for the first time,” came the reply. This compliment to Twain’s American classic reminds us why the Bible is better and greater than any other book. Every time you read scripture, it is like reading it for the first time. The word of God is pregnant with truth to be discovered. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged...
Sermons

A Traitor in The Midst | Mark 14:17-21

August 26, 2024
By H.B. Charles Jr.
On the Ides of March 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was assassinated at a meeting of the Roman senate. Sensing a bad omen, his wife urged him to stay home. Yet he pressed his way to the meeting. Within minutes of his arrival, Caesar was stabbed twenty-three times by senators. The final wounds were inflicted by Marcus Julian Brutus, whom Caesar considered a son. His final words were to Brutus, “You too, child?”   The assassination of Julius Caesar is considered the greatest act of betrayal in history. What Judas did to Jesus is infinitely worse than what Brutus did to Caesar.  Brutus betrayed a tyrant in the making.  Judas betrayed the incarnate Son of...
Sermons

Praying Your Way Through Mistreatment | Psalm 119:121-128

August 22, 2024
By H.B. Charles Jr.
In A Turtle on a Fencepost, Allan Emery tells of accompanying Ken Hansen to visit an employee who was recovering from an eight-hour surgery. Hansen whispered, “You know, I have had several serious operations. I know the pain of trying to talk. I think I know what questions you’re asking. There are two verses I want to give you – Genesis 43:26 and Romans 8:28. We have the options of these two attitudes. We need the perspective of the latter.” He read the passages, prayed, and left.  Every day, we choose one of two attitudes. To say with Jacob in Genesis 42:36: “All these things are against me.”...
Sermons

Choosing Right and Rejecting Wrong | Psalm 119:113-120

August 15, 2024
By H.B. Charles Jr.
This fifteenth stanza of Psalm 119 continues the train of thought from the previous section. In verses 105-112, the psalmist expresses his determination to live for God. That is what we find in this section. But there is a slight yet important difference.  The previous section declares his determination to live for God because of.  This present section declares his determination to live for God in spite of.  The writer was threatened, pursued, and harassed. Yet he maintained a steadfast determination to choose the right and to reject the wrong.  The story is told of a man who stood in the streets of Sodom and Gomorra, calling...
Sermons

Big Lessons from Small Things | Proverbs 30:24-28

August 11, 2024
A family went out to dinner. The waitress greeted them and offered them something to drink to start. The couple’s son blurted out, “I’ll have a cheeseburger and French fries!” His mother leaned over and unsuccessfully whispered that she would order for him and he would not be having a hamburger. When she finished her lecture, the waitress asked him, “Would you like anything else with your hamburger?” “Extra ketchup, please!” he answered. The mother looked at her son and saw his wide eyes and big smile. Then she looked at the waitress and nodded her approval.  Let me qualify. This...