Tabernacle Church Sermon Podcast

This week we’re going to continue to examine the parables of the Lord Jesus by looking at a story that Jesus told the Pharisees about a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. Jesus is telling this story to help us think about what happens to a person after they die. This is a question you have probably thought considered. What happened to my grandparents when they died? What happened to those eleven people whose lives were so recently taken tragically in Virginia Beach? Join us as we look into the Bible to explore this important subject together.

In this message, we’ll be looking at a parable about a bad investment. In Luke 12:13-14, Jesus uses a dramatic story to let us know that our net worth is not an accurate measure of our success. Jesus wants to show us how to have a life worth living and how to become a channel of His grace.

Rob Esperat, the pastor of Tab’s sister church, the Virginia Beach Community Chapel, speaks on one of the most peculiar parables in the gospel of Luke, The Parable of the Persistent Widow. Why on earth would Jesus compare God to a wicked judge? Join us for Robb’s message as we find out the answer to this question and what it has to do with prayer.

Join us as guest speaker Travis Simone, Pastor of the Williamsburg Community Chapel, discusses the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. In this message, Pastor Simone unpacks this parable to help us reflect on the nature of our work with God and to consider the nature of the owner of the vineyard as well.

Have you ever wondered what is the Kingdom of Heaven is like? As we continue our series, Parables: Life Stories from Jesus, we are going to consider a story that Jesus told to answer this very question. In the story, Jesus describes a wealthy employer who entrusts three key employees with some of his money. Now, for the employees, this is the opportunity of a lifetime – it was a defining moment for them. And as we are going to see, they are indeed defined by how they handled the resources given to them. Join us for this message as we consider this amazing life story from Jesus, The Parable of the Talents.

Jesus was a master storyteller. He could spin a tale that would capture the attention of any audience. But his stories were more than entertainment. Jesus’ stories had meaning and significance. His stories were memorable, but more than that, they were stories that profoundly communicated the heart of God. Our parable for this week is no exception. This dramatic tale, “The Good Samaritan,” is well known. So much so that it has become part of our culture. We often call people who demonstrate great sacrifice or exceptional kindness “good samaritans.” To call someone, a good Samaritan is quite a compliment. For most people, this is a story about helping someone in need, but it is much more than that. Join us as we explore the parable of the Good Samaritan.

This week we begin our new series, “Parables, Life Stories from Jesus. Jesus, the master teacher, understood used stories, called parables, to teach us how to live and to give us life. The first of Jesus’ stories we will consider is the parable entitled, “The Prodigal Son.” This story is about lostness, about awayness. But, it is also the story of a loving father. Join us for this message as we consider what it teaches us about the heart of God and His love toward those far from Him.

We have a great God; He’s an awesome and majestic God. He’s more magnificent and more beautiful than anyone could imagine This God is worthy of being known and enjoyed and pursued and loved and served, not out of a sense of obligation, but rather because He has touched our hearts through His grace in Christ. And, if God is worthy of being pursued by us, he was worthy of being pursued and enjoyed by others, both in Hampton Roads and in the nations of the world. We find these two streams of thought in 1 Chronicles 16. So, join us Tab Missionary, Mike Latsko, as he helps us think about the centrality of worship in the church and missions.

We conclude our series, “How Sweet the Sound,” by looking at a song entitled, “It Is Well With My Soul.” “It is Well with My Soul” was written by Horatio Spafford, a man who suffered unbelievable personal loss in his life. Amazingly, in the midst of his grief, he pens the lyrics to this great hymn, “It is Well with My Soul.” This week’s message is for those of us, well, perhaps all of us, who have had to deal with loss, with suffering, with injustice, with pain, or with discouragement. Is it possible to experience God’s peace in the midst of difficult circumstances? Can it be “well with our soul” when life seems to be working against us? Join us for this message as we consider what the Bible tells us about how we can experience the reality of God’s peace during life’s most difficult circumstances.

We’re looking at the story behind famous hymns and worship songs and the truths of the Bible that they communicate. This week we are considering the song, “I’ll Fly Away.” The lyrics of this great hymn consider the prospect of dwelling with God in heaven. Jesus told his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for us in heaven, and that will come back and take us to be with Him. So join us as we turn our attention to Jesus’ return, the rapture of believers, and our reunion in heaven.

We are continuing our series, “How Sweet the Sound” by focusing on the famous hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” The very first verse of this song says, “What a friend we have in Jesus all our sins and grieves to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!” How do you feel about prayer? Do you find it to be difficult? Do you sometimes find it a chore? Perhaps you feel inadequate or ineffective when you pray. Many people have very real misconceptions about what prayer is and what prayer accomplishes. But, prayer is an important topic. Consider this, the Bible says we can experience God’s peace, a peace that exceeds anything that we can understand, as a result of prayer. So, join us as we look at the backstory behind the hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and together, dig into the topic of prayer.

Do you have a favorite hymn or worship song, perhaps one that you could even recite from memory? If so, you’ll probably be as excited as I am about our new message series called, “How Sweet the Sound.” Over the next few weeks, we’re not just going to worship using some hymns and worship songs; we’re also going to learn their backstory and talk about the theology contained within the lyrics of these great songs. This week we are going to begin by focusing on the famous hymn, “Amazing Grace.” Surprisingly, the author of this great hymn, John Newton, was known as “the great blasphemer” and had a reputation of being a violent raging drunk. How could a man like this come to pen the hymn that we now know as “Amazing Grace?” Come this Sunday and hear the story of how God’s amazing grace transformed John Newton’s life, and what God’s powerful, unfathomable, amazing grace means for you and me. I hope you will join us for this new series , “How Sweet the Sound.”

In this message, we celebrate how the risen Lord Jesus Christ is mighty in battle. We saw on the news this week how dangerous it could be to occupy the same space as a wild tiger. The Bible teaches us that Satan is like a roaring lion. He’s invaded our spaces and is seeking out who he could kill and destroy. But we’re going to celebrate how the Lord Jesus is victorious over the evil one. We’ll take a look in the Book of Judges, chapters 4 and 5, and see how God is fighting for us, that the battle is his battle, and that he delights in fighting with us against the evil one. Join us for this message, to be encouraged, to find courage, and to see how our love for Him can make us fierce warriors as we serve the risen Christ.

Jesus made seven statements during the final hours of His time on earth. As he hung dying, Jesus revealed seven truths, each of which shows more about Jesus, His character, and His love for us. In this message, we’ll spend some time reflecting on these last sayings that Jesus spoke from the cross and what they mean for our lives today.

In this message, we’ll take a look at Luke Chapter 16 and the parable of Lazarus. Lazarus is a poor man who sits at the gates and table of the rich man. Eventually, both of them go into eternity with the rich man going to hell and Lazarus going to heaven. This story teaches the reality of hell. While this is a subject that we tend to shy away from these days, we’ll be discussing the issue of hell and the reason why it’s essential for us to share our faith with those we love and want to see in heaven.

Jesus encounters a man destroyed by demons. After his encounter with Jesus, the man is delivered from demon possession and at the direction of Jesus, becomes a missionary to the gentiles of the Decapolis. People followed Jesus because of his testimony. Join us for this message as we discuss Luke 8 and how sharing our faith can impact the entire community.

Imagine if you had the cure for cancer. What would it mean to the hundreds of thousands, millions of people dying of cancer? You have something far better than the cure for cancer. You have the cure for death. You have the secret in a lot of life that the world is looking for. Join us for this message and learn how you can share the good news of Christ with other people, and how you can see your family, your friends, and other people come to Christ and follow Him.

In John 1 we see that when Phillip decided to follow Jesus, he became so excited that he went and found his friend Nathaniel. He told his friend to come and meet the Messiah who Moses talked about in the Law. Philip was so excited about Jesus that he wanted his friend Nathaniel to know Jesus too. Who’s your one? Who is the one who you would tell about the most important person that we can know? Join us for this new series, “Who’s Your One?”

We’re going to conclude our study of Nehemiah this week by taking a look at chapter 8. In a dramatic scene, Ezra stands on a platform before the people and opens the Book of the Law. The people stand up to show great reverence for the Word of God. Not only do we see great respect for the Word of God, we see that there was also an explanation of the meaning of what was being read, helping the people to understand each passage. I believe that it’s crucial for us to realize that God has given us gifted teachers to help us understand God’s Word and equip us for every good work. In this message we’re going to talk about the importance of God’s Word, why we must reverence it, and why we must sit at the feet of gifted teachers to be equipped to do the ministry to which God has called us.

Studying the word of God is fascinating. Looking at Nehemiah 6 it is a blessing and instructive to see how Nehemiah handled the difficult situation before him. The conventional wisdom is that Nehemiah was a great administrator, and so we tend to focus on those aspects of his work. But I believe that the most important principles that we can get from Nehemiah have to do how Nehemiah was able to handle the intense intimidation put forth by those who opposed his work. Nehemiah was not afraid, even though he had every reason to be frightened. Join us for this message as we focus in on how to overcome the fear of formidable foes.