This week, I have a couple of messages for you. The first was delievered on Dec. 24th, at our morning advent service. John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare the people for the coming of the Savior. And in the same way, believers today have been called by God to prepare the people for his return. How have we been called to do this? How is this accomplished? You can hear this message at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryPreparingtheWay If for some reason that link doesn't work, go to http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryPreparingtheWay

The second message is from our Christmas services. During the Christmas season, everyone talks about being in the Christmas spirit. What do they mean by this? And what does it truly mean to be in the Christmas spirit? These questions are answered in this message based on Matthew 1:18-25 and can be heard or downloaded at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryTheTrueSpiritofChristmas An alternate link for that message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryTheTrueSpiritofChristmas

Most of us know what the Bible and the church teach about Jesus, that he's the Savior of the world. But how can we know for sure? This question is examined in a message based on Matthew 11:2-10 and can be heard at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryIsHeReallytheSavior If you have a problem with that link, you can also hear it at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryIsHeReallytheSavior

Jesus has promised to return soon. But many people, even believers, are not looking forward to this day. They don't look forward to it because, when they read about it in Scripture, it sounds terrifying. Do we, as believers, have reason to fear the end? You can hear this message at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryNothingtoFear An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryNothingtoFear

Well, hopefully next week, we'll be back to our better sounding recordings. Our sound man has been gone for a couple of weeks, and we've struggled to run the system like him.

But yesterday's message focused on the return of Christ. According to Scripture, his return is near. So how are we to prepare for his coming and for the end of this age? You can hear this message, based on Romans 13:11-14, at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryTimeIsShort An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryTimeIsShort

As we look at history and our world today, we see that rulers and nations quickly rise and fall. This can leave us feeling very insecure and vulnerable. But the kingdom of Christ is different. It's eternal; it will never fall or come to an end. And this knowledge can fill us with peace. You can hear this message at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryTheEternalKingdomofChrist

This host has, on occasion, went down for a period of time. So I'll also list an alternate link for the message. You can also hear it at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryTheEternalKingdomofChrist

Quite often, when we come into hard times, we get angry at God, curse him, or even lose faith in him. In this message, based on Job 1:21, we see how Job responded to adversity and why we can be thankful even during difficult circumstances. This was our Thanksgiving message at Grace. You can hear it at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryNoMattertheCircumstances

An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryNoMattertheCircumstances

Considering the fact that we just had an election, and considering how the people of this country, even Christians, act toward our government leaders, I felt that last Sunday's message was too important to just let it go. So I took a little time and re-recorded it. In the second recording, where no one was listening to me, I did talk a bit faster. Hopefully that's not a problem. But the bright side is that it won't take as long to listen to! You can hear this message at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryEstablishedByGod

An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryEstablishedByGod

I can't believe it! Today, not only did the church sound system, which produces good quality recordings, fail. So too did my little portable recorder (I put in new batteries only to find out they were dead). So today's message is lost, unless I can find some way to recover it.

To give you something new to listen to, I've uploaded a sermon from December 26, 2004. Death is something that's feared by most people, even by believers in Jesus. So is it possible for us to depart in peace? We find out how in this message based on Luke 2:25-32. It can be heard at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryDepartinginPeace An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryDepartinginPeace

Our message this week was based on Jeremiah 2:1-13. In our society today, so many people reject God or turn away from him. Has he given us reason for this? According to our text, God's done everything necessary to provide for us. We also find that, if we turn from him, if we reject him, we reject life. It can be heard at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryTheForsakingofGod_6 An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryTheForsakingofGod_6

This week at Grace we had a guest speaker from FaithSearch Ministries. His name is Pastor Denny McKeever. His presentation was great, however it was requested that we not record or distribute his teaching. But I would encourage you to check out their website at www.faithsearch.org.

I preached at Redeemer and delivered a message about prayer. We all know how important prayer is in the believer's life. But we sometimes get discouraged when it seems that our prayers are not being answered and we lose heart. What does Jesus teach about such circumstances? You can hear the message at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryPersistentPrayer An alternate link to this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryPersistentPrayer

Since Redeemer doesn't have a sound system, I had to use a portable recorder, so, once again, the sound quality isn't as good as my other messages. But I hope the message itself will encourage you.

Our message this week talked about the importance of the Word of God in our lives and its role in salvation. It can be heard at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryNecessaryforLife An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryNecessaryforLife

This week, our sound system failed me by cutting off half way through my sermon. As a back up, I did record it on a portable recorder. So I apologize that the sound quality this week isn't nearly as good. But you can still hear the message, and that's the important part.

The sermon this week concluded our short series in the book of Jude. Because those who pervert God's grace into sensuality and who deny Jesus Christ are in the church, what are we to do? And what is our attitude to be toward these people? You can hear this message at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryRespondingtotheUngodly An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryRespondingtotheUngodly

Yesterday, we continued our short series in the book of Jude. In this message we heard a warning given to the church, that those who rebel against God or who use his grace as an excuse or a license for sin, will receive God's judgment. In order to receive God's grace we must repent. You can hear this message at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryAWarningfortheChurch An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryAWarningfortheChurch

Our message yesterday was the beginning of a short series on the book of Jude. We look in this message at a problem that crept into the church during the days of the apostles and that is also present in the church today, where people pervert the grace of God into a license for sin. What are we to do in a world like this? What are we to do in a church like this? We find the answer to this in Jude 1-4. You can hear this message at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryContendfortheFaith An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryContendfortheFaith

This week at Grace and Redeemer, our message was based on Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It reflects on the fact that we're called to love, worship, and serve God alone and also on the other gods we sometimes worship. It can be heard at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryUndividedInterests An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryUndividedInterests

Our message this week at Grace and Redeemer reflected on the source of life, both life in this world and eternal life. It's based on John 11:17-45 and can be heard at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryTheSourceofLife An alternate link is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryTheSourceofLife

Our message for this past Sunday, September 17th, was based on Leviticus 18:1-5. As Christians, many of us like to fit in with the world around us. But in this message we see that this isn't possible. According to the Bible, we're called to be distinct; we're called to be holy. You can hear it at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryAPeculiarPeople_1 An alternate link is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryAPeculiarPeople_1

Please forgive me if I've been confusing with how to download a message. I'm learning as I go. The easiest way to do it is to click, first of all on the link to the message you want. When the sermon comes up, you'll see a link that says, "This media's url file: Link" Click where it says "Link" and the sermon will download onto your computer. You can then play it on demand, or transfer it to your portable listening device.

If anyone knows of an even easier way to do this, please send me an e-mail.

This week at Grace and Redeemer, I was back preaching again. This week's message focuses on the fact that God has given us all gifts to use in service of him and others. However, simply having gifts isn't enough; simply using our gifts isn't enough. What's also very important is the attitude with which we serve. This message is based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 and can be heard at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryServinginLove

An alternate link for this message is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryServinginLove

This week at Grace and Redeemer, we had a missionary with us talking about his ministry. Because of this, we had no regular message. Next week, we'll begin having new messages up for you to hear. But, for this week, I've uploaded a message I preached in January of 2005. In this message we examine the importance of the Word of God in guiding our faith and our decisions in life. You can hear it at http://ourmedia.org/ia/details/KentSperryTheLightoftheWord An alternate link is http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryTheLightoftheWord