Sermons on Isaac Kappy:

The Nike Factor

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Apr 28, 2015

In all his obedience Jesus was standing in for us, doing for us what we could never do for ourselves.

“Just do it.” That’s the way Nike hopes to motivate us to “get back to sport,” as they put it, to get back in the game. “Just do it,” they tell us, and, of course, they also tell us: the best way to “do it” is to use their shoes and their gear. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:9-21

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Never Forgotten

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on May 11, 2015

As a mother never forgets her child, so our Father never forgets His children.

WHEN I WAS A KID – I mean, a really little kid – my mother had to ride a bus to work every day. But first, she had to drop me off at the sitter’s, which means that I rode on the bus part of the way with her. It was always early in the morning. Ordinarily, the sun wasn’t ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 49:13-18

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

A Winsome Church

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on May 28, 2015

A winsome church does God's work God's way for the sake of God's world.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL recently published a report indicating that “the U.S. now has a bigger share of people who don’t identify with any religion than those who do. In the last seven years, the number of people unaffiliated with either Roman Catholic or mainline Protestant churches ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-42

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Gift

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 1, 2015

What God gives in love, we receive by faith, so that we may live in hope.

ONE OF THE PROBLEMS with religion is: You can believe all the right things – that is, you can be orthodox in your faith – but it can be a dead orthodoxy. You know what I mean? It can appear lifeless, certainly not vital and contagious. Same thing with our conduct. We may behave ...read more

Scripture: John 3:1-16

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Word On The Street

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 2, 2015

Our true vocation in life is to bear witness to the light, to reflect the glory of God, to mirror His majesty, to glorify Him.

Jesus is called many things in Scripture. In the Gospel of John alone, he is called the Lamb of God, the light of the world, the bread of life, the gate of the sheep. He is even called a Vine. But here in chapter 1 he is called “the Word.” And there’s a reason for that. In Jesus, ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-18

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Soil Samples

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 2, 2015

There’s a condition of the heart that is necessary if the Word of God is to have a lasting effect on any of us.

This little parable of Jesus got me thinking about taking soil samples. You know, with all its talk about different kinds of soil. So, what I did is: I logged on to YouTube and did a search. And, sure enough, there was a video on how to do it, how to take a soil sample. As you might guess, as ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-9

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Beyond Our Strength Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 16, 2015

When you undergo afflictions, go over your convictions.

JOSEPH BAYLY ONCE SAID, “Never doubt in the dark what you learned in the light.” But we do, don’t we? When we go through times of trial, we lose sight of what we believe. We have a tendency to see only the bad our afflictions. For example, when the heat’s on, we may assume ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

A Mother's Legacy

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on May 11, 2018

God placed your mom in your life to guide you to Him.

I was probably about thirteen or fourteen when I began work on my cooking merit badge. I was in Scouts, and one of the ways you advance is by earning merit badges. So, I set out to get my cooking merit badge. Now, when I worked on my hiking merit badge or my camping skills—that sort of thing—it ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:3-7, Proverbs 23:22-25

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Sun, The Moon, And The Stars

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on May 11, 2018

We are to be a light shining in a dark place.

WHEN OUR DAUGHTER was in Junior High, she became friends with some girls who lived in a little town about an hour’s drive from here. On occasion, these girls would invite her to an activity at their church or their school or even ask her to come to their house. So, I would drive her there, come ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Jealous For The Name

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on May 29, 2018

Jesus teaches to long for the name of God to be held in esteem.

I THINK I MUST HAVE BEEN in the fourth or fifth grade, and I’d come into the proud ownership of a brand new baseball. I mean, it was the real deal. The core was firm, the skin was tight, the threads were prominent and taut. It even had the word “Official” on it. It was a gem. So I got up a game ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:13-16

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Thy Will Be Done Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 9, 2018

When we pray, "Thy will be done," we are committing ourselves to desire, discover, and do the will of God with grateful hearts.

Warren Wiersbe says that, from time to time, he has counseled with people who were actually afraid of the will of God. They were terrified at the thought of surrendering themselves completely to him. The idea disturbed them because they had concluded that the will of God was something painful and ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:9-14

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Whose Story Is It?

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 9, 2018

Are the star of your own story with God playing a supporting role, or are you in a story that’s bigger than you, with God in the lead and you in the supporting role?

Bill Clem opens his book, Disciple, with two scenarios. One has to do with a couple of guys who are theater majors in college, and they grow impatient with all the hoops they have to jump through to finish their degree. They just want to be producing plays and directing and acting in them. So, one ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

God's Covenant With Abraham

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 9, 2018

God's promises don’t rest on your faith. They rest on his faithfulness. But how can you not have faith in One so faithful?

TODAY I WANT TO TALK WITH YOU about faithfulness—not yours, but God’s God is a promise-making God, but he is also a promise-keeping God. He is faithful in keeping his Word. Now, admittedly, it is sometimes hard to believe that. Our faith falters when it looks like God has forgotten what he ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 15:1-18

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Christmas Interruptions: Joseph Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Dec 8, 2014

Christmas interrupts the unraveling of your life. Your fears, like Joseph’s, are unfounded, and for the same reason: The child in Mary’s womb!

You’ve got to see this first Christmas from Joseph’s point of view. I mean, his heart was full of anticipation over his recent engagement to Mary. His head was no doubt filled with images of what his life was going to be like, and he saw nothing but blue skies and smooth seas ahead. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Christmas News: The Angels Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Dec 8, 2014

We need to be seized once more by heavenly realities – just as Zechariah was. We need to experience something like a shock to our smug certainties that whittle God down to a manageable size and leave us underwhelmed by the mysteries of eternity.

Angels have fallen on hard times these days. Hardly anyone thinks about them anymore…except at Christmas, of course. But even at that, people don’t much believe in them. Although…I knew a woman – a member of this church at one time: She told me that she had actually seen an ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:5-20

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed