Tabernacle Church Sermon Podcast

In our new sermon series, “Carols,” we’ll take a look at some of our favorite Christmas songs and examine the profound truths contained in the lyrics of these much-loved carols. I think you’ll find that these familiar tunes will take on new meaning as we move through the series, and more importantly, you’ll grow in your understanding and appreciation of our Savior, who was born in Bethlehem.

In this message, we are pleased to welcome Nigel “Legin” Anderson as our guest speaker. A lifelong Hampton Roads resident, Nigel lives in Norfolk, Virginia, with his wife Tia and two children. Nigel’s teaching will bless and encourage you. Join us as he opens God’s Word.

The Bible is clear. As Christ Followers, we are called to demonstrate incredible hospitality to the world around us. This week we are pleased to have Tab’s Elder Board Chairman John Close as our guest speaker. John will be discussing this very topic and what it means in our lives and our church.

Americans worry more about money than work issues, personal relationships, and even the threat of terrorism. What’s worse is research shows that if you have poor financial health, you are more likely also to have poor physical health. And if overwhelming stress and poor health aren’t bad enough, we have all seen instances where the pursuit of material wealth has driven people to do some despicable things. Is it any wonder that many people consider money to be “the root of all evil?” Surprisingly, Jesus never says that money is the root of all evil, but he does have a lot to say about how we should think about money and possessions. So, join us for this message as we look at what the Bible has to say about how we should think about money, possessions, and eternity.

Most of us think we should get what we deserve. We put in a hard day at work, and we look forward to receiving a paycheck at the end of the week. But Jesus never said that we get what we deserve. And his actions often demonstrated just the opposite. So, join us for this message as we continue our series, “Things Jesus Never Said.”

As we continue our series, “Things Jesus Never Said,” we are going to address the question of how to be happy. Now, it’s fascinating to hear some of the conventional wisdom about how to be happy. Mindset, circumstances, and alcohol, these are all things that traditional wisdom claims can make our lives happy. Not surprisingly, Jesus has a very different prescription for being happy. And this week, we’re going to examine the unconventional wisdom of Jesus to find out how we can be truly happy.

This week, we are beginning a four-week series called “Things Jesus Never Said.” You see, to truly understand the truth of what Jesus said, it sometimes helps to look at what he didn’t say. Looking at what He didn’t say, can help us understand the truth of what he did say. In this message, we’ll focus on the topic of forgiveness. We’ll look at Jesus didn’t say about the issue of forgiveness to help us focus on what He did say about forgiving the people in our lives.

We are excited to welcome John Gray, Executive Director of The Union Mission Ministries, as our guest speaker. Join us for this message as John discusses what God can accomplish when we rely, not on our ability, but on the strength and ability of our Savior, Jesus.

What do you do when the answer to your prayer isn’t the answer you are looking for; when God’s response to your request is “no?” Such a response can be hard to receive, and sometimes it can be heartbreaking. We remember all that the Bible says about God hearing our prayers, and ask, “Why is God saying no to me?” In this week’s message, we’ll learn some of the reasons God says, “No” to our requests. Moreover, we’ll learn how we can trust everything God does, even when what he does is to tell us “No.”

In the busyness of life, it is often challenging even to find time to pray. It’s easy to come to the end of the day and realize that we haven’t taken a moment to talk with our heavenly father. Our Heavenly Father wants us to talk with him. And in this week’s message, we’re going to discuss ways to make prayer more than a task that we try to work into our day. We are going to learn some practical strategies to transform the moments of our day into moments with God.

When I became a Christian in high school, Chris, my youth pastor was the first guy to pour his life into mine and disciple me. We went through a lot of things together. Through dealing with uncomfortable breakups with girls and a lot of school issues, I learned that I could trust Chris. Even when he said things that seemed hurtful, I could trust him because I knew that he cared for me and he wanted the best for me. In this week’s message, we’re going to explore the question, “How can we trust God when we pray?”

Some people pray, and they shake the world with their prayers. They change things with their prayers. How is that some people pray in a way that makes such a difference? I believe that there are keys to powerful prayer. So, in this message, I want to explore what it means to have a powerful prayer life and how you can have a powerful prayer life.

You know that when we talk with someone, we need to know a little bit about that person to know how to speak to them. We need to know what they’re about and what they’re thinking to have a good conversation. This is true of God, as well. We have to understand who God is if we’re going to have a conversation with Him if we are going to pray effectively. The more we know about who our heavenly father is, the better we can understand how we should pray. In this message, we’ll explore who God is and how that relates to prayer.

God wants to talk with you. He is never too busy, and your concerns are never too small. God desires to speak with us because he desires a relationship with us. He wants to be close to you, to hear your concerns and the desires of your heart. Join us for this message as we begin our series, “40 Days of Prayer.”

Psalm 51 is about David’s journey back to God. David had a tremendous fall, but his fall is not the end of the story. David was able to restore his relationship with God. Psalm 51 warns of the consequences of sin, but the good news is that it also shows how God forgives those who have fallen and describes for each of us, the path back to God. So, join us for this message as we consider Psalm 51 and the Journey Back to God.

In this message, we’re going to be looking at a parable about inner purity. When you have guests visiting, you probably make an effort to clean your house. But imagine if you only cleaned up the outside of your home. You wash the windows. Maybe you even put on a new coat of paint. However, upon entering, your guest sees that inside of your house is a mess. There is trash everywhere, and everything is just disgusting. This is what Jesus talks about in the parable we’re looking at this week. People often work on the exterior things to make themselves presentable, but they miss the inside entirely.

Some consider the Parable of Sheep and the Goats the “crown” of the parables. Jesus teaches about the end of time, judgment, and the things God has in mind. As Jesus approaches Calvary and the cross, he takes time to share what believers should be doing based on who we are, our being in Christ. So, join us as we look at the Parable of Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25.

This parable follows the account of the persistent widow who keeps bugging the judge until he gives her what she wants. It’s about our attitude in prayer and what our hearts yearn for. We’re going to be talking about two men, two prayers, two attitudes, and two results.

Ever start a project that you couldn’t finish? Maybe you didn’t estimate the commitment of time and resources it would take to see it to completion. This week we are going to look at two parables in Luke 14 where Jesus details for us precisely what we are called to so that we can make a well-informed choice to follow him. Last Sunday, we looked at the value of following Christ. This week, we’ll look at the Cost of the Commitment to follow him.

We all make decisions about worth. When purchasing a car, we determine whether it is worth the asking price. In this message, we look at two of Jesus’ life stories, the parables of the Treasure Hidden in the Field, and the Pearl of Great Value. The question we’ll be answering is, “Is Jesus worth giving up everything to follow Jesus?”