Why Should I Come For The Sermons at OBF?

A Messenger of God For You - Sometimes people take pride in the idea they need no one except God to develop their faith; yet the Bible says "He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service," (Eph. 4:11-12) meaning that God has chosen to use human vessels to teach and train the body of Christ. If we could just grow by ourselves He would not have said this. In other words God has chosen to speak through the Pastor and other ministries to teach, instruct and bless. It is not enough to just try to grow by ourselves.

So, if you want to hear what God is fully saying and doing, you can not receive it all apart from being in the church! God has chosen to use the body of Christ and His appointed members to speak to one another, so that we may be humbled and dependant upon one another. To say we only need to hear from God is like people refusing to hear Paul or Peter saying, I can hear from God directly myself. No, God has chosen to speak through His people to His people. To be apart from the church is to be apart from hearing what God is saying and doing.

For My Time and Situation - As the Pastor prepares for each Sermon it is with the serious prayer and intent to listen to the Holy Spirit and speak to what is needed for us in our time and situation here in Open Bible Fellowship. God will, through the Pastor's message, speak to the church and uniquely to you by His Spirit for what He wants you to know. So there is not just general knowledge needed, but God also intends to speak to you each week for what you need to know and hear for that week!

Encouragement - Our Christian lives are only held and maintained by our faith. It is easy with the cares and circumstances of our lives to have our faith weaken; therefore we need to regularly be hear the teaching of the Gospel and be encouraged to believe and have a strong faith. Romans 10:17 says, " So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."

Learning The Ways Of God - It is a very exciting thing to learn how God can work in our lives. The world's ways are very different from God's ways. If we can learn the ways of God, our lives and the consequences of our lives are greatly blessed. Psalm 25:4-5 "Make me know Thy ways, O LORD; Teach me Thy paths. Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, For Thou art the God of my salvation..." The sermons in Open Bible Fellowship search out and give revelation into the ways of God that are new and different from what we know in the world.

Pre-Counseling - The sermons often look at life's situations and teach on how to best handle them. These things are better understood up-front, before we come into turmoil, rather than afterwards trying to repair hurts and injuries that could have been avoided. It is in wisdom the wise will learn without having to experience every bad situation for themselves. With a degree in Psychology, the Pastor understands that so many of the Christian principles applied in our lives resolve many of the struggles Psychologists have to deal with. At the rate of $100 an hour, which some counselors charge, sermons may prove “Cost effective”?

Building Resources - Pastor’s sermons are accompanied with sermons notes you may use, if you wish. All sermons focus on a particular topic and try to be very focused and practical. The sermon notes are intended to become a reference of scriptures and ideas you can keep to develop as a reference library. They are categorized with subject listings to help in searches. All sermons are also taped for your use, reference or sharing with others.

Zeal For The Truth - At Open Bible Fellowship we hold the scriptures, as Jesus does, in the highest regard as being the Word of God! Too many churches have neutralized the Word by saying God no longer works in the same way or that we can not trust it's reliability in what it specifically says. God warns us, In 2 Timothy 3: "Men will be… holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these."

We delight in knowing God's word is true. "For you (God) have exalted above all things your name and your word" Psalm 183:2 NIV. John 8:31-31, "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

The Word of God is forth-right and true; it is specific and direct and we can come to know what God wants us to know: Psalm 119:130 declares " The unfolding of Thy words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

A Promise - The Pastor has promised himself and God that He will never preach a message targeting an individual, knowing we truly can not know what is really going on within a person. Rather each message is delivered giving what general principles apply for everyone and what He feels God wants specifically said.

            All scriptures included here are from the NASV unless otherwise noted.