PACC Messages
by LewisThis page contains a synopsis of and a link to recent messages delivered at Palo Alto Church of Christ. The speaker’s name appears in the synopsis, along with the date and the title of the message.
May these be a blessing to you!
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Samson: strong — and weak — September 20, 2009, Lewis Greer, Judges 13-16
Even many Christians don’t think of Samson as part of the honor roll of the faithful that appears in Hebrews 11, but he is. What can we learn from this amazingly strong (in several ways) man? A great deal, as it turns out.
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David, a man after God’s own heart — September 13, 2009, Lewis Greer, Acts 13.22
Perhaps the greatest compliment ever given to any human was given to David by God, and that was repeated by Paul in his first gospel sermon. God called David, “a man after my own heart.” We love that phrase, but are hard pressed to explain exactly what it means. Even more challenging, perhaps, is to be such a person. Can you be that?
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Who Is Peleg? – September 6, 2009, Bill Belew, 1 Peter 3.15
Peleg had a famous great-grandfather (Noah), and a well known grandfather (Shem), but other than that, what do we know of him? We know that in his lifetime “the land was divided.” His name, in fact, means division. How does that apply to us, and how does it fit with Peter’s admonition to “always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you?” Bill Belew explains it all in this message.
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Who Is Driving Your Life — August 30, 2009, Kevin Osborn
Kevin Osborn likes to go fast. He has been to race-car driving school, he has parachuted, and he has searched for speed even in his golf swing. When he drives his life, his tendency is to want to go fast there, too. But Kevin has learned this truth: even though he is an excellent driver, he is not the best driver for his own life. “Who is driving your life,” he asks, and then makes a Biblical basis for having that not be you.
recording not yet available
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Moses: The most humble of men — August 16, 2009, Lewis Greer, Hebrews 11, Acts 7, Exodus 2ff
When people hear “Moses” they think “Charlton Heston.” Some think “Prince of Egypt.” Not many think “humble.” Yet the Bible says Moses was “the most humble of men.” What is that all about, and who was this incredible servant of God? We discover that by looking at three different uses of “I am” in Moses’ life.
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Living With Jesus — August 8, 2009, Lewis Greer, John 15 (Camp Sunday)
On PACC’s Camp Sunday (the Sunday following the week of church camp for the summer), we considered the topic that was the theme for camp, living with Jesus. Many of us want to know Jesus, and want him to be around when we call, but do we know what it means to live with him?
(because of technical problems, this message was not recorded)
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Improving Your Serve — July 26, 2009, Lewis Greer
As a former tennis professional, Lewis knows what it means to improve your serve in tennis. But until recently it hadn’t occurred to him that we could also improve our worship of God. That’s right, we can actually worship God better than we do, and this lesson teaches us how. (Note: Lewis carried a tennis ball with him throughout this message, and spent part of the time tossing it up in the air. Fortunately, he never did hit it with a tennis racket.)
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The Post Game Report: a look back at Romans — July 19, 2009, Lewis Greer and Bill Belew, Romans 9 - 16
Bill and Lewis reprise their role as “Bible sportscasters” while doing a post-game report on Paul’s letter to the Romans. Intentionally humorous, but with real lessons, the intent is to help us all remember Paul’s greatest letter, especially the second half. (Note that many slides were used in this presentation, which unfortunately cannot be seen in the audio recording. But you can hear us talking about them…!)
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What To Give People, Problems and God — July 12, 2009, Lewis Greer, Romans 16
Some people think Romans 16 is unimportant — just a lot of names of people, most of whom we’ve never heard of other than here. But this chapter holds a lot of strong practical advice for us, if we’ll only look just below the surface.
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The Myth of Independence — July 5, 2009, Lewis Greer, Jeremiah 2.13
Many people in the world, but perhaps especially Americans, want to be independent. Many of us think we are. But independence is a myth, says Lewis, for countries, for churches, and especially for individuals.
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The Preacher and Special Ed — June 28, 2009, Lewis Greer, Romans 15
Paul is the preacher, but so are we. (”Every member ministry” is one of the fundamental principles of the church.) But what about “special ed?” In this case it is not special education, it is special edification. We need to be in the business of edifying (building up) one another, and we are encouraged to do so in this excellent, but often overlooked, penultimate chapter in Romans.
(because of technical problems, this message was not recorded)
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A Difference of Opinion (and the difference it makes) — June 21, 2009, Lewis Greer, Romans 14
Every church everywhere for all time has had differences of opinion. Some of those differences happen naturally, but others happen because some in the church are “weaker in the faith.” What difference does that make, and what differences could it make?
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Wake Up Call — June 14, 2009, Lewis Greer, Romans 13.8-14
Were the Christians in Rome asleep? Were they lazy? Why did Paul need to send them a wake up call? Do we need one? If you have to ask, the answer may well be “yes.”
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A Rope Across Niagara — May 31, 2009, Lewis Greer, Psalm 42.1
Psychologists tell us there are only two internal motivating forces: fear and desire. The Bible says a lot about both of those, specifically in our relationship with God. Which is stronger in you, your fear of him or your desire for him? Maybe, though, there is another question to be asked.
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An Attitude About Authority — May 24, 2009, Lewis Greer, Romans 13.1-7
When Paul wrote about being in subjection to the governing authorities, he surely didn’t mean our governing authorities, did he? And could people like Hitler really have had their authority “established by God?” Tough questions, but there are purposes and principles at work here, and they do apply to us.