Sermons on Aram Bakshian Jr:

A Broader Vision

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 7, 2022

Our lives can get so cluttered with good things that we miss the best.

Our text for this morning is Luke 4:38-44. “After leaving the synagogue Jesus entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:38-44

Jesus And The Crowds

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 16, 2022

Are we content to just see the same people in church week after week or do we really want to welcome many more?

We are working our way through the life and ministry of Jesus, as told in the Gospel of Luke. We’re still very early in his ministry. And in today’s text a problem starts to emerge that will come to be a difficulty for Jesus on many days. It’s the problem of too many people wanting to come and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:1-3

Now You Do It

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 16, 2022

What will you do when Jesus calls you to take a step of faith that is outside of your comfort zone?

We all have memories that are indelibly impressed upon our minds. Do you remember where you were when you first heard the news of Pearl Harbor, or the assassination of President Kennedy? Can you remember the scene of a certain wedding or a funeral, or any number of things? For me, one of those ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:1-11

Followers Of Jesus

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 18, 2022

It's nice to stand on the fringes of what Jesus is doing and watch good things. But remember that he just might call you to jump in to some form of service.

For the last several weeks we’ve followed the course of just 24 hours in Jesus’ life. It was an amazing time. It started on the Sabbath day. He preached in the synagogue at Capernaum, cast a demon out of a heckler there, went home to Peter’s house and healed Peter’s mother-in-law in the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:1-11

Jesus Touched A Leper

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 18, 2022

Nobody touched lepers in Jesus' day. Their disease was disgusting. People were afraid to catch it. Lepers were totally ostracized. When Jesus touched a leper, heads would turn. That just wasn't done. Who are the 'lepers' of our culture who need a loving touch from us?

A few weeks ago I heard a report on National Public Radio about a medical team that went to Kenya to meet the medical needs of those who had the least receive medical care available to them. They started out with a survey to see where the people were and where the doctors were. And in that survey ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:12-16, Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45

Jesus Heals The Whole Person

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 18, 2022

Jesus is here for us to heal the invisible, deepest pains in our hearts.

Our text for this morning is a really nice story about Jesus, a story that shows a number of things. It shows some beautiful things about his character. It starts to explain to us why such an amazing man was persecuted and even put to death. It shows some deep insight into us human beings. I ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:17-26, Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12

Bringing People To Jesus

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 18, 2022

There are people who need Jesus, but just aren't going to come to church on their own. Here's how you can help them come to Jesus.

Our text for this morning is another one of those stories of an amazing day that stuck vividly in the memories of his disciples. When you follow Jesus you never know what is going to happen. . Our text for this morning is Luke 5:17-26. 17 One day, while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:17-26, Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12

Follow Me

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 19, 2022

Jesus calls all of us to follow him. And if he could use a hated tax collector named Levi, he can use us.

Where do you turn to find wisdom today? We now have access to incredible amounts of information, but how do you sort out what is important? We have the technology to do so many things, but how do we decide which of those things are worth doing? We can travel very fast, but as we race through ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:27-32, Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17

Showcase For Saints Or Hospital For Sinners?

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 19, 2022

There is a temptation for us to put on our best front in church, a false front, and to especially welcome those who looked really good. But Jesus saw the church as especially for those who don't have it together and we will be wise to follow him.

When I was a boy, my mother used to tell us to be careful about the friends we picked. If you pick a study partner at school who doesn’t want to do school work, you won’t get much done. If you start going out at night and roving the town with kids who like to make trouble, it won’t be long before ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:27-32, Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17

Hidden Gold

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 19, 2022

This sermon follows a short skit describing the reality TV show, American Pickers. They scanned junk and found value in it. Jesus did the same when he found Matthew, the hated tax collector.

Jesus was a picker. He travelled the back roads of Israel looking for rusty gold. He saw amazing things buried in people's hearts. What most people saw as junk, he saw as disciples who could change the world. Each person had a history all his or her own. There was no such thing as a nobody ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:27-31, Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17

They Left Everything

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 19, 2022

We may have strong attachments to the normal routines of life, but God may call us to break out of the mold and give us a life of excitement and purpose that we had never dreamed of.

You may have heard news reports recently about a young man with the name of Douglas McAuthur McCain. He was the first American that we know of who died in Syria fighting for ISIS, the Islamic State. And you wonder, “How in the world did an American end up dying as a jihadi in Syria?” The ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:1-11

Ruth: Refugee With A Human Face

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Jun 21, 2021

The Book of Ruth doesn't get much attention, but it can remind us that God sees refugees and can use them in his purposes.

I imagine we probably all have a favorite book of the Bible. The gospels should be high on everyone’s list because they tell us the story of Jesus. And when the church’s heart and mind are fixed on Jesus, everything comes together. When we lose sight of Jesus things go wrong. Luke is my ...read more

The Battle Within

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Apr 11, 2021

If we want to be useful for God, we will need to learn to say "no" when our body calls for food or rest in ways that hold us back. When the devil tried to deter Jesus from his mission by tempting him to turn stones to bread when he was supposed to fast, Jesus stood strong.

Perhaps once or twice in a century a truly titanic battle occurs in which the history of earth hangs in the balance. The D-Day invasion might be one. Both armies had invested many thousands of their men, millions of dollars worth of equipment and their very best modern strategies. It was a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13

On Putting God To The Test Series

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Apr 11, 2021

If we want to be useful for God, it is essential to learn that God is God. God determines the conditions of our service and we are to obey. It is too easy to descend into a pit of one demand upon another for God to serve us before we step out in obedience

If you read newspaper advice columns, like Dear Abbey, very often, you will recognize a scenario that comes up again and again. It is usually a woman who writes in about the man she loves. She insists they really love each other, but there’s this problem. She just can’t keep him happy. She ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13

Temptations Of The Flesh Series

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Apr 11, 2021

Every day we are-forming our brain by the decisions we make. Jesus was solid in choosing the way of obedience and we need to practice the spiritual disciplines to train ourselves as well.

Last week we started looking at an episode in the life of Jesus, one of many episodes that sound really strange it you stop and look at what is really happening. Jesus presented himself to John to be baptized, as his public statement that he was standing up and accepting God’s calling on his life ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13, Galatians 5:13-26