Archive for the ‘Sermon Manuscripts’ Category

May 13, 2012 “Passing the Faith to Your Child”

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012
Open your Bibles with me to II Timothy 1.  One of the most inspiring men in the NT is a guy by the name of Timothy.  Two letters from the great Apostle Paul to Timothy are found in our NT.  In addition to that Timothy is mentioned numerous times in Acts, as well as in ten other books in the NT.  He’s one of Paul’s missionary teammates and later the pastor of the important church in Ephesus.  On this Mother’s Day you wouldn’t be surprised to know that Timothy’s illustrious life of faith began with the influence of his mother and grandmother.  Timothy’s name meant “honoring God” and we learn in these verses how to pass the faith along to children who will grow up honoring God. (more…)

May 6, 2012, “Standing in the Gap”

Sunday, May 6th, 2012

It was the darkest of the darkest hours for the Jews and the city of Jerusalem when God called a young man by the name of Ezekiel to the ministry of the prophet.  Open your Bibles to the book that contains his message … Ezekiel 22.  We’re making our way through the books of the OT that contain the messages of the Major and Minor Prophets.  Ezekiel, one of the Major Prophets, came from a family of priests and so he was well acquainted with the deplorable condition of the spiritual life of his people. (more…)

April 29, 2012, “The Plans of the Lord”

Monday, April 30th, 2012
Now we’re studying the prophetic books of the OT, and we come today to one of the better known prophets … Jeremiah. And if I were to ask you to stand and tell us your favorite Scripture passage, many of you would say it was Jeremiah 29:11, a verse I will get to a little later:
Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (more…)

April 22, 2012, “What to Do with Your Doubts”

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Do you ever pick up the newspaper or your favorite online news source and look at it and wonder “Lord, where are You in all of this?  Why do You let these kinds of things go on? What are You going to do about this?  What am I supposed to do about this?”  If you have ever struggled like this you have an advantage as you begin to read prophets like Habakkuk.  Habakkuk didn’t have a newspaper; but he knew enough to know that things were in a mess all around him. (more…)

April 15, 2012, “When God Disciplines His People”

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

In our study of the prophets (a study I’ve entitled “Profiting from the Prophets”) our special historical helicopter has been hovering over a period of biblical history that is not that familiar to many believers.

•  Some of the prophets had their ministries in the time when the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah) existed alongside each other. They spoke to one or the other or both of the kingdoms, as well as to the surrounding nations.

•  Some of the prophets had their ministry after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722BC to the Assyrians. So their messages were targeted at the Southern Kingdom (Judah), as well as to the surrounding nations. (more…)

April 8, 2012, “All Yours in Christ”

Sunday, April 8th, 2012

William Randolph Hearst was a great newspaper tycoon in the early 1900s. He was one of the most prolific art collectors in the world. One day he read about an extremely valuable piece of art, which he decided he must add to his extensive collection. He instructed his agent to scour the galleries of the world to find the masterpiece he was determined to have at any price. After many months of diligent searching, the agent reported something surprising to Mr. Hearst. The valuable piece of art that Hearst wanted so badly actually already belonged to him. For years it had been stored in one of his warehouses. He had no idea what he possessed.

And the same thing is true for followers of Jesus Christ. We really don’t comprehend all that is ours in Christ. The Apostle Paul knew this and it moved him to pray a powerful prayer that is recorded in Ephesians 1. Open your Bibles to Ephesians 1:17. (more…)

April 1, 2012 “When All Hope is Lost”

Sunday, April 1st, 2012

I want us to press into this account from Gospels. We have the benefit of looking back through this, seeing it in the light of the Cross and the resurrection. If Jesus can do nothing about death, then whatever else He may do or say would amount to nothing … if death still has the final word.

1 Corinthians 15:19,26 – If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men … The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (more…)

March 25, 2012 “God is Good and Angry”

Sunday, March 25th, 2012
We’ve been exploring in a part of our Bibles that many don’t typically read, much less study.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking that these books were written to people long ago, and we have nothing to learn from them.  In fact, we have everything to learn from them.  In many ways it’s like we’re reading right off the front page of the newspaper or your favorite news website.  I want to begin by reading Nahum 1:7-8.  These two verses are really a good summary of the entire book of Nahum. (more…)

March 11, 2012 “What Does the Lord Require of You?”

Monday, March 12th, 2012
I’m preaching a message each week from a different one of the 17 books of the Prophets in the order that they appear in biblical history.  Just to show you where this happens in history, we’re talking about a period after the age of the kings David and Solomon.  At this time the faith of the Israelites had grown cold and complacent.  They were chasing after pagan gods and violating the covenant that God made with them.  Israel split into two kingdoms, and in both the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom there were a series of kings.  Some were good and godly but most were evil and godless.  It is into this period God sends the Prophets. (more…)

March 4, 2012, “Come to the Waters”

Sunday, March 4th, 2012
I’m preaching a series of messages entitled “Profiting from the Prophets.” There are 17 books in the Bible (about the last one-third of the OT) that contain the messages of the prophets. Five of those books are designated Major Prophets, and the first of those books is Isaiah. Now hold your place in Isaiah 55 and turn back to Isaiah 1:1 where we are introduced to Isaiah. Read 1:1.   Notice that the life and ministry of Isaiah is played out in Judah and Jerusalem. So we’re going to take our special Osprey helicopter on the short ride from the Northern Kingdom where the prophet Jonah was from, and where the prophets Amos and Hosea preached, down to the Southern Kingdom where Isaiah and other prophets will be speaking God’s message at the same time. (more…)
  • Bio & Introduction

    Dr. Michael Dean has been the senior pastor at Travis Avenue Baptist Church since 1991, having also served churches elsewhere in Texas and New Mexico. He and his wife Nan are blessed with two married children and two grandchildren. With a keen sense of calling to shepherd the flock of God entrusted to his care, Michael longs to see people become passionate followers of Jesus Christ. His hobbies include long-distance running, golf and hunting.

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