In Sermons: showing 1-15 of 15

The Christmas War Series

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Nov 8, 2019

There is one face you will never see in a Nativity set. This face was not smiling, not praising, not kneeling, not wondering...it was hating! Around that manger scene, lurking in the shadows was the face of the Dragon, the deceiver, the devil!

Faces around the manger - Mary and Joseph - Shepherds - Angels - Wisemen But there is one face you will never see in a Nativity set This face was not smiling, not praising, not kneeling, not wondering...it was hating! You see Jesus' birth excited more than wonder - it excited evil as ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

You Must Remember This

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Jan 18, 2019

This little prayer in Psalm 25 might be entitled a Prayer of Remembrance. In these words David speaks of the memory of God. In these three great "Remembers," I think we too can find a place to anchor our faith in God's memory just as did David.

As we turn to the Word of God this evening I want us to briefly consider just two verses from Psalm 25. Listen again to verses six and seven: "Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 25:6-7

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Blind Bartimaeus

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Jan 18, 2019

Do you think it would take a miracle to get your life back on track again? So did Bartimaeus. But one day he took a chance and all of his dreams came true. The same can happen to you. Let's consider his story.

Have you ever felt as if your life has come to a standstill? As if you have been relegated to the side of the road as the rest of the world passes by? Do you think it would take a miracle to get your life back on track again? So did Bartimaeus. But one day he took a chance and all of his dreams ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:46-52

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

How To Look At The Lord's Supper

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Jan 18, 2019

Paul, in I Corinthians 10:23-34, reminds us that if we would eat and drink this Supper to our benefit, we must be looking in four directions. In communion, we must be looking back, looking ahead, looking within and looking around.

Something special is about to happen this morning. Something miraculous. Paul in chapter 10 of this same letter calls it a "participation in the body and blood of Jesus Christ." We know it as communion. As we take a piece of bread and cup of juice, we will be participating in a mystery. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:23-34

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Will You Be Ready?

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Jan 18, 2019

What if in the next moment - even as my words fall upon your ears - Christ returned with the shout of the archangel and the trumpet blast? "Faithful and true would He find us here, if He should come today?" Would you be ready?

The hymn we have just sung asks a pointed question. A question that I fear too often we dismiss in our daily lives. With all the concerns of living in the present moment - with all of the accompanying joys or frustrations - we fail to give much thought to the final moment. That moment when time, as ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Something Beautiful For Jesus

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Mar 25, 2017

This message looks at the actions of Mary as she breaks open the bottle of perfume and anoints Jesus during Holy Week. It challenges us to ask the question what can we do for Jesus that is beautiful?

She hesitates in the doorway separating the two rooms. Through the opening she sees her sister Martha hard at work helping Simon’s wife prepare the evening meal in the kitchen. She listens to the laughter and conversation as it drifts through the house. She hears Simon make a joke at Peter’s ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:1-16

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Psalms, Palms And The Patriarch

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Jul 18, 2014

What do Psalm 118, the patriarch Abraham and palm branches have to do with God's plan to provide His Passover Lamb - Jesus? This message looks at how God brings it all together on Palm Sunday.

Hear the word of God from Psalm 118. "Open for me the gates of righteousness. I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteousness may enter. I will give you thanks for you answered me. You have become my salvation. The stone the builders has ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 118:1-29

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Your Easter Story

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Jul 18, 2014

The original ending of Mark's Gospel a first glance seems to inspire little hope; but a closer look reveals how the Risen Lord meets us in the ordinary circumstances of life and invites us to finish the story of His resurrection.

The little boy was not exactly happy about going to church on Easter Sunday morning. His new shoes were to tight, his tie pinched his neck and the weather outside was just too beautiful to be cooped up inside...so as he sulked in the pew his parents heard him mutter to no one in particular. "I ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:1-8

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Nativity Set:: The Shepherds Series

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Dec 13, 2011

The story of the Shepherds reminds us that to find the heart of Christmas we must look beneath the wrapping paper.

The last few embers of the fire are dying out. The air hangs heavy with a silence broken only by the occasional bleat of a lamb. Huddled together for warmth, the shepherds are alone with their thoughts. Each one scanning the horizon. Looking. Perhaps casting a longing eye to the distant lights of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-21

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Nativity Set:: Joseph And Mary Series

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Dec 5, 2011

Is has always been hard to get to Bethlehem for Christmas.

A Charlie Brown Christmas opens with Charlie Brown talking to his best friend Linus. "I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel. I just don't understand Christmas. I guess I like getting presents, sending ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Return To Gilgal

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Feb 27, 2011

In Joshua, the children of Israel set up 12 stones at Gilgal to remind them of what God had done. How do we remember the blessings of God?

It is a time of transition. Of uncertainty. Moses is dead. Joshua has stepped into the leadership void; just as a new generation of Israelites are ready to cross over the Jordan to take possession of the land promised to Abraham. God understands the feelings of his people. The anticipation, the ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 4:1-24

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Advent Gospels: Luke Series

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Feb 27, 2011

This message looks at what it means to "carry Christ into Christmas" by looking at the oft-neglected story of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth in Luke’s Gospel.

“Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” So cries an exasperated Charlie Brown in the classic A Charlie Brown Christmas. Amid the commercialism, the materialism and the general confusion of the holiday, Charlie Brown seeks merely to understand. Understanding has been our goal ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:39-56

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Oil In Your Lamp?

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Feb 27, 2011

In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus tells the Parable of the Ten Virgins, this message from the text asks the crucial question are we ready for Christ's return?

The hymn we have just sung asks a pointed question. A question that I fear too often we dismiss in our daily lives. With all the concerns of living in the present moment - with all of the accompanying joys or frustrations - we fail to give much thought to the final moment. That moment when time, as ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

"What Did You Expect?"

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Feb 19, 2011

The story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 is a powerful reminder that God is not limited by our expectations.

Naaman was past upset; past mad; past even furious - he was working on a complete emotional meltdown. Like a cartoon character - the steam seems to literally be pouring out of his ears. He stomps - he stammers - he shouts: "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-19

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Rumor Of Hope

Contributed by Scott Nichols on Apr 17, 2009

The original and abrupt ending of the Gospel of Mark allows us to finish the story of Christ’s resurrection in our own lives. What will it mean to us to meet Jesus in our own "Galilees?"

The little boy was not exactly happy about going to church on Easter Sunday morning. His new shoes were to tight, his tie pinched his neck and the weather outside was just too beautiful to be cooped up inside...so as he sulked in the pew his parents heard him mutter to no one in particular. "I ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:1-8

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed