These are sermons delivered during the Sunday morning worship services of Keystone Church, an Evangelical Free Church in Paradise, PA, USA. Please visit www.keystonechurch.org for more information.
Kyle Kauffman | Oct 6 2024 Jonah 1:4 opens with one of the greatest phrases in the bible, “But the LORD.” Left to ourselves we would be completely lost and hopeless. We would remain estranged from God for all eternity. But the LORD shows his love in pursuing us. We see in the story of the sailors on the ship that salvation is a result of God’s intentional pursuit. And we see in the story of Jonah on the ship that our continued hope in the face of hearts that are prone to wander is God’s continual pursuit of us. Just as our love for another person is often displayed in our intentional pursuit of them, so also God’s love is displayed in his intentional pursuit of us. And our salvation, far from simply being a decision we made, is a display of the glory and sovereignty of God. Jonah 1:4-16
Joel Wood | Sept 29 2024 This sermon is meant to provide an introduction to the book of Jonah by helping us to understand who Jonah was and what was taking place in history at the time of Jonah’s life. This sermon is also meant to show how Jonah’s response to God’s call exposes our own sinful hearts. We all hear God’s call, whether it’s to believe in Him or change how we’re living for Him. However, left to ourselves we all disobey God’s word, seek to escape his presence, and reject his authority over our lives. We are all JONAH and in desperate need of God’s loving and relentless pursuit of us. And like JONAH, we have a message to take to an unbelieving world because God’s heart is for all nations.
Kyle Kauffman | Sept 22 2024 God saves us completely by grace. But he expects that His grace will lead us to be active participants in his Kingdom. God entrusts into our care all sorts of things: relationships, opportunities, and resources. And he expects us to steward what he has entrusted into our care for His glory. We are meant to look for the ways God has given us to love and serve others. And we are meant to see all the resources we have been given as resources that can be used to love and serve others. God promises that those who serve and steward well what he has given to them will be rewarded. And he warns that those who waste their lives will actually lose their lives for eternity. We must continually ask the question, “Is my life being lived to serve my King? Or is my life simply being lived to serve myself?”
Kyle Kauffman | Sept 15 2024 If you expect something big and important is going to happen, you naturally watch for it and wait eagerly for it. Those who belong to God’s Kingdom are expecting Jesus to return. We believe that He is coming back again to dwell forever with the church. It can be easy to forget this as Jesus delays his return. But if we truly believe Jesus is returning and that his return will be glorious, then we are meant to watch and wait eagerly for his return. Our watching and waiting shows itself as we prepare ourselves for Jesus’ return and carry out what he has called us to do in the present.
Kyle Kauffman | Sept 8 2024 In two short valuables we are told that God’s Kingdom is so valuable it is worth sacrificing everything else in this life for. Which might lead us to ask, “What is it that makes God’s Kingdom so valuable?” And the answer to that question comes in the form of a person. Jesus is the great treasure of God’s Kingdom. This means belonging to and living in God’s Kingdom involves both trusting Jesus as savior and treasuring Jesus above all else in this world. And those who see Jesus as their greatest treasure are then willing to gladly sacrifice and give up everything else for his sake. This means that one of the most important parts of living in God’s Kingdom is to have our hearts and minds happy and satisfied in Jesus. Those who know the worth of Jesus are those who joyfully give up their lives and the things of this life to follow Jesus and make him known.