Rev. Dr. Stacey M. Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "Walking in Eternity Today"
Heaven is real. It's not a puzzle to be solved but a promise to look forward to; we saw as much last Sunday. But, do we live as if it matters? Scripture calls us to "fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18). Does that mean we are to live with our heads in the clouds, quit our jobs, find a nice hill to perch on, and wait for death? This Sunday, we are going to look at several ways heaven-focused thinking ought to impact how we live right now. Join us for "Walking in Eternity Today."
"Heaven Today"
Rev. Dr. Stacey M. Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "Heaven Today"
A little girl was taking an evening walk with her father. Wonderingly, she looked up at the stars and exclaimed: "Oh, Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what must the right side be!" What must it be! What is heaven like? Paul described it as 'great gain.' What will we look like? Well, the One who created everything is going to give us a grand makeover, so there's that! This Sunday we will consider the wonder of what awaits those who love the Lord. Join us for "Heaven Today!"
"Death: Facing the Inevitable"
Rev. Dr. Stacey M. Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "Death: Facing the Inevitable"
Frederick "Uncle Fed" Messer of Haywood County, NC was born in 1792 and died in 1907. Think about that; he lived through three centuries: 18th, 19th, and died in the 20th. Uncle Fed remembered when George Washington died (1799), and he voted for James Monroe as President in 1817. What a long life. Fascinating! Yet, in the end, he died like the 150,000 people who will die today in the world. We live in a fallen world where death is inevitable. Sunday, we are going to examine what the Bible has to say about death, all that we need to know for our comfort and instruction. Join us!
"Eagerly Awaiting the Savior"
Rev. Dr. Stacey M. Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "Eagerly Awaiting the Savior"
How often do you think of Christ's Second Coming? Do you sincerely look forward to it? I'm not asking whether or not you enjoy engaging in speculative debates about the identity of the Antichrist or which millennial view is correct. I'm asking: Is your heart oriented in glad expectation of seeing Jesus Christ face to face? Are you watchful, hopeful, that today might be THE day of His return? Sunday, we begin a new series with a study of the End Times. We're calling it, "He's Coming." Join us this week for the first message in the series: "Eagerly Awaiting the Savior"!
"To Flourish or Flounder"
Rev. Charlie Phillips
Sunday's Sermon: "To Flourish or Flounder?"
No one knows for sure how long this pandemic and all its ramifications will last. What we do know is that our call as Christians isn't based on our circumstances. Our call to holiness and flourishing remains steadfast despite our situation. But how do we grow in suffering? How do we flourish when we feel like we're living in exile? How do we live when the future feels uncertain? Join us this Sunday as we dig into Jeremiah 29, mining for principles to help us thrive in suffering and exile.
"Resurrection Nearness"
Rev. Dr. Stacey M. Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "Resurrection Nearness"
Calamity often works like a giant eraser, cleaning out our mental tapes and wiping away all that we thought we understood. Luke tells of two men walking hurriedly away from Jerusalem, hoping to hit Emmaus by nightfall. Their journey was fueled by the adrenaline that one possesses when life crumbles and survival is the order of the day. They are together, yet alone - or so they thought. A stranger draws near, to whom they quickly vent their troubles. "We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel," they say. He doesn't give homey advice or allow them to indulge their self-pity. Instead he draws them back to what they know, the Scriptures, and teaches them again the things that drew them to follow him in the first place. Join us Easter morning for "Resurrection Nearness"!
"A Righteous Reorientation"
In these incredible times It's natural to feel disoriented. The world has been shaken and there's no indication that things will be set right in the immediate future. We are living in what feels like the unknown and without a quantifiable end in sight. How do we reorient ourselves in our day to day lives when our routines have been wrecked, when our finances have been shaken, when our ability to connect with each other has been severed? Join us online this Sunday as we seek ultimate orientation in and through the only one who is truly able and willing. Join us online at 11:00 am!
"The Only Hero We Need"
Rev. Dr. Stacey M. Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "The Only Hero We Need"
Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem to accomplish His reason for coming to earth - to suffer and die, to be the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. It all was less than ten days out. The crowds pressed while He made his way through Jericho. Above the clamor, a voice cries out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' What would you have done? A case could be made that Jesus was too busy for this blind beggar. He was on a 'mission'! And, yet, He stopped. And things radically changed for the man. Sunday, we turn our eyes towards Easter and 'The Only Hero We Need.' Join us online at 11:00am!
"Building Our Babels"
Rev. Dr. Stacey M. Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "Building our Babels"
Years have rolled forward, and Noah and his family have settled into their 'new earth' after the flood. They begin to repopulate the earth as God commanded. Everyone speaks the same language. So much has changed, but one thing: The human heart. It was the same. Instead of filling the earth, man was full of himself. He was still intent on making a name for himself. The story of the Babel Tower isn't relegated to the ancient past. It has a way of showing up in our stories as well. Join us Sunday for "Building our Babels."
"God of the Covenant"
Rev. Dr. Stacey M. Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "God of the Covenant"
Mark Twain and a friend once stepped out of a church just as a violent rainstorm began. The friend remarked, "I wonder if it will stop," to which Twain replied, "It always has." He was right; it always has! Because God made a covenant and He always keeps His word. Sunday, we examine the nature and sign of the Noahic Covenant and why it matters to us today. Join us!
"Confidence in Life's Storms"
Rev. Dr. Stacey M. Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "Confidence in Life's Storms"
One year in a floating zoo. Certainly, there was much to do: animals to feed, stalls to clean out, there were new births and deaths. All the while, the ark floated aimlessly along. God had closed the door behind them and time marched on. What was He up to? What did the future hold? Noah likely wondered, 'How much longer?' What was the source of Noah's peace? What's the Christian's confidence when the world around you comes undone? Sunday, we continue our Genesis series with "Confidence in Life's Storms." Join us!
"When God Runs Out of Patience"
Rev. Dr. Stacey M. Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "When God Runs Out of Patience"
Noah hammered away and the people laughed away: 'Unbelievable!' he heard a neighbor say. 'Noah, you've lost your mind!' laughed another. 'What an idiot!' How gracious God had been with them. Time and again they had an opportunity to repent, but time was running out. Noah preached and prepared - day after day, week after week, year after year. Finally, the day of grace came to an end. 'That's enough,' God said. The ark was sealed, the rains came, the water rose. Sunday, we continue in Genesis. Join us for "When God Runs Out of Patience"!
"Prevailing Grace"
Rev. Charlie Phillips
Sunday's Sermon: "Prevailing Grace"
One of the great tragedies of American Christianity is our propensity to think of the Gospel as normal or commonplace. After all, we've heard it thousands of times and dedicated our lives to faith communities by which we are immersed in it over decades. We have to fight to come to the Gospel with fresh eyes and ears in order to remember the shocking nature of its claims. Thankfully, God gave us texts like Genesis 6:1-8, which don't allow us to view the Gospel as normal or stayed. It is shocking because the grace of Christ is shocking. Join us this Sunday as we explore the depth of man's depravity and the height of God's grace.
"Enoch: A Walk to Remember"
Rev. Dr. Stacey Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "Enoch: A Walk to Remember"
At first glance, Genesis 5 reads like the records kept down at the county courthouse. Name, age at death, survivors. But in this brief list, we are suddenly confronted with a man who stands out from everyone else. "Enoch walked with God ..." (v.22). Enoch's life stands out like a brilliant star God set against the dark sky of our dying world. His life was so marked by intimate communion with God that Moses writes, "God took him" (v.24). Fascinating! Join us Sunday for "Enoch: A Walk to Remember."
" A Mirror to the World"
Rev. Dr. Stacey Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "A Mirror to the World"
In our study of the first half of Genesis 4 last week, we began to see the effects of the fall in human history. Cain killed his brother, Abel. Instead of inflicting capital punishment upon him, God banished Cain further east of Eden, where he takes up a new occupation: City planner. The once farmer sets out to build a city, and we are introduced to the development of culture and the dehumanizing effects of sin. Join us Sunday for "A Mirror to the World."
"What Abel Speaks to Us"
Rev. Dr. Stacey Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "What Abel Speaks to Us"
His was the earliest of all graves. A life taken by a jealous crazed brother. Genesis 4 tells us more about Cain than Abel, but the author of Hebrews says Abel "still speaks" to us (Heb. 11:4). So, what is Abel telling us? What is he saying to us right now through his faith? Quite a lot! Join us Sunday for "What Abel Speaks to Us"!
"Looking for Life East of Eden"
Rev. Dr. Stacey Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "Looking for Life East of Eden"
In the center of God's creation there was a garden: Eden. No one since Adam and Eve has seen it, yet it remains in human memory, and so we search for it. We search for the peace and happiness that our first parents lost. Can you imagine being thrown out of a place where you simply had to pick fruit and eat it into a barren wilderness? Sounds like a recipe for confusion. And thus, the quest began: Looking for life east of Eden. Sunday, we begin part two in our Genesis study. We're calling it, "The Story of Grace." Join us!
"Godly Leadership"
Rev. Dr. Stacey Cox
Sunday's Sermon: "Godly Leadership"
A new year is upon us and with it new opportunities. One such opportunity at Westminster is the nomination of new leadership. Godly leadership is a great gift to any church. It's a key to congregational health and missional effectiveness. Who may lead the church? What are the biblical qualifications for elders and deacons? What's to be the response of a congregation to church leadership? This Sunday we'll see that the Lord Jesus desired his church to be governed in a certain way. Join us for "Godly Leadership"!
Orderly Worship
Rev. Lane Stephenson
"Orderly Worship"
"What then?" Paul asks, as he concludes a lengthy section on public worship by giving very practical instructions that will bring order into the disorder that existed in the church at Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 we see three key truths that are to shape and regulate our corporate worship of God. We will also note the two themes of edification and of self-control that run throughout Paul's words to a church whose worship did not edify those who worshiped or honor the God who was worshiped.
"I Want to Know What Love Is"
Rev. Dr. Stacey Cox
"I Want to Know What Love Is"
There are times in 1 Corinthians when the reader is tempted to engage in a good ol' fashioned head-scratching. Head coverings, meat sacrificed to idols, folks getting drunk at church - just to name a few issues. Sunday's passage is different. It's often read at weddings and even non-religious weddings. Paul's concern over unity in the church led him to focus on Christian love. What is it? Join us this week!