Sermons Elmira Christian Center

In this sermon, pastor Matt reminds us that we must wait for God's kingdom to come in his way and his time. It is our Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32), to make his saving rule known in our lives and in his world. And this means we can entrust our lives to him while doing what is good.

In this sermon, pastor shows us that the Lord meets his people with strength in their time of need. He is our helper, the upholder of our life, the one who will never leave us nor forsake us, and so we can trust in him for guidance, for assurance, and for deliverance whether in life or in death.

In this sermon, pastor Matt reminds us that we must choose whether we will stand with Christ or against him. We will give our allegiance to either the Son that will reign or the Dragon that will rage. Yet the gospel is that in Christ there is both refuge and comfort as we await his promised salvation

In the first half of Psalm 34 we learned to savor the goodness of our Savior. Now in the second of this psalm, pastor Keith reminds that we are to walk in the fear of the Lord once once we have tasted and seen the goodness of God. For it is only as the church walks in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit that church will multiply (cf. Acts 9:31).

In this sermon on Psalm 34, pastor Keith examines David's response to God's deliverance from Gath and encourage us to taste and see God's goodness by seeking God's help, looking to God in His promises, crying out to God in prayers and fearing God by living to please Him in Christ. He shows us how experiencing God leads us to exalting God. So, when we savor the goodness of our savior in Jesus, we can sing of His goodness and testify His gospel in gladness.

After hearing about David's flight to Gath in 1 Samuel 21, we now turn to the psalm David wrote during this time, Psalm 56. In this sermon, Jared Wilson reminds us of the good news that God is for us forever in Jesus Christ, and if God is for us, who can be against us?

In this sermon, pastor Matt shows us how 1 Samuel 21 ultimately reveals the truth of the gospel, that Jesus is the king whom God has chosen that we must follow. Like David, he was sustained in life and delivered from death so that all who come to him in believing loyalty might find rest under his saving rule.

In this sermon, pastor Matt reminds us that there only two responses to the Son of God: devoted love or foolish hate. It is only those who choose Christ above all else, who swear allegiance to him and live for his kingdom, who know the blessing of his grace and peace. It's only those who "kiss the Son," as the Psalmist says, who find refuge in him.

After reading about Saul’s plot in 1 Samuel 19—how he sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him—we are now going to look at the psalm David wrote in response, Psalm 59. In this sermon, pastor Matt reminds us that our God will keep us safe in the mighty fortress of his love. When we are threatened by the enemy, we must keep watch, believing that our God is both able and willing to deliver us; and we must sing loud, knowing that death’s dark night will soon be over.

In this sermon, pastor Matt reminds us that the kings of earth may plot and rage, but God’s anointed King will reign. No hostility or opposition can hinder the coming of his kingdom. Our God will thwart every intention of his enemies in order to preserve his king and all those who are loyal to him.

In this sermon, pastor Keith shows us from 1 Samuel 18 that the LORD prospers His King and that there are only two relationships to this king: one of love and the other of hatred. Love and loyalty to David was shown by Jonathan and the people of Israel as they saw David prospering in all his undertaking, because he was with the LORD. On the other hand, Saul only showed jealousy and hositility against David. But because David was with the LORD, Saul greatly feared David. Given the two opposite relationships to God's anointed King, pastor Keith asks whether you love God's prospering King Jesus or hate him.

In this sermon, pastor Mitch shows us that God’s faithful king leads us in victory over our enemies. Before we see how we need to be like David, we must see what this text reveals to us about the faithful king that God has provided for us in Jesus Christ, and how we can share in his victory over our greatest enemy: the power of sin, Satan, and death.

In this sermon, pastor Matt once again shows us that God has chosen for himself a king to shepherd his people. As David enters Saul’s service, he begins to prove that he is the man of God’s choosing, the son with the Spirit of Yahweh, the king-in-waiting who will one day wear the crown. But we’ll also see that this story, like all sacred Scripture, points us to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And just as he was anointed “king-in-waiting” at the outset of his ministry, so all those who have received his Spirit through faith now wait patiently for the day when we will reign with him

In this sermon, pastor Matt shows how Saul's responses reveal that insisting on our kingdom our way only invites God's judgment. Yet while the true King is grieved by our sin, he is never surprised. His purposes of grace remain, and all those who submit to God's kingdom God's way will know the blessing of his life-giving rule.

Having seen Saul's disregard for the word of Samuel and his rash vow, we now come to Saul's third and final "fall," where he is rejected by God as king over Israel. In this sermon, pastor Joel encourages us to not trust in religious behaviors but remain faithful and obedient to Jesus.

In this sermon about king Saul's foolish vow, pastor Matt shows us that apart from God’s life-giving word we are left to our own folly. To forget the Lord is to do what seems right in our eyes, to care more about our reputation, and ultimately to remain under the curse of sin. But it remains his gracious will to make kings out of clowns like us

In this sermon, pastor Matt reminds us of the simple gospel truth that God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the pioneer of our salvation, the leader who has made the way for faithless and fearful sinners like us to be raised to walk in newness of life and fight the good fight of faith as we follow him.

Our passage today marks the beginning of the end of the first king of Israel. In this sermon, pastor Matt shows us that a fearful people need a faithful king whose kingdom endures forever. What we need is a king who will pass the test of obedience which Adam failed on behalf of ruined sinners, a leader to bring us back under the blessing of God, a savior to deliver us from our fears and from ourselves.

At the end of chapter 11, Samuel summoned Israel to Gilgal to “renew the kingdom” (v. 14). Here, at the transition from the last of Israel’s judges to the first of their kings, Samuel will call them all to a renewed allegiance to Israel’s true and everlasting King. In this sermon, pastor Matt shows us that the God of glorious grace is a great God worth serving. For despite all our sin and the many ways we reject the one true King, it remains his intention to make his glory known through the redemption of a people who find life in his name.

After Saul is anointed and proclaimed as king, we have a story of God working salvation for Israel through him. When Jabesh-Gilead was surrounded by their enemy, the Ammonites, God grants them salvation through Saul. In this sermon, pastor Keith shows us that the LORD works salvation for His people. First, we see the enemy’s […]