First Baptist New Orleans | Sermons

As we continue in 2 Peter this morning, I am reminded of my father who today is celebrating his 60th birthday. We will be joining him along with the rest of my family later on this evening to celebrate his 60 years of life. So even though many of you...

Confirm Who You Are: “Make every effort to confirm your calling and election” (2 Peter 1:10).  The Apostles were forever startled by their new identity in Christ. They were ordinary men, and now look at them! The amazement never left them. Peter...

Pastor Peter was instructed by the Lord Jesus to “feed my sheep.” He does so in his First Letter by addressing the pressures from outside culture. He does so in the 2nd Letter by addressing false teachings and evildoers who actually come into the...

Today we begin our new sermon series focusing on the epistle of 2 Peter. We will spend the entire summer in this 3-chapter epistle. So this morning I want to set a foundation for what we will be discussing all summer, and we will begin with Peter’s...

The greatest runner of all time may have been Emil Zatopek. He won gold medals in the 5,000 meter, 10,000 meter, and the marathon in the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. All three were Olympic records. That trifecta has never been matched. When comparing...

Food to Eat: “I have food to eat that you know nothing about” - John 4:32 The boys were hungry, you recall, and they all left Jesus to go to town and get something to eat. Nothing is more important to the human body than food. Without eating, we...

My father was witnessing to a couple of men who said they were Jehovah’s witnesses. I remember sidling up to the conversation and listening in as a boy. And I remember my father’s final word to these men as they were about to leave. He said to them...

Take Questions Seriously We have two non sequiturs in a row—Jesus’ comment, “Go, get your husband,” and the woman’s comment, “Our ancestors worshiped.” The woman’s comments seem not to follow from Jesus’ comments. He changes the subject to her...

The woman says, “Give me this water.”         You would think Jesus would immediately lead her to pray a prayer of repentance and receiving him as Lord. But instead Jesus replies, “Go, call your husband and come back.” He actually sends her away...

You have an inner life. Everyone does. Your inner life is the world of thoughts and ideas and feelings and intentions and dreams that you live with every day. Jesus said you are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul...

Jesus Has a Better Question Jesus’ response to the woman is creative and intriguing. He has a better question for her. She asked, “How can you…?” His better question is, “May I have living water?” This question would not have occurred to her. She...

People say so much with their questions. You do this. Jesus did this. Questions are a superior way both of telling, learning, and teaching.  Brady asked 50 questions in the two miles from my house to his school. They were in staccato, one after the...

Be Wiling to Be Alone: “His disciples had gone into the town to buy food” (v8).  The disciples were focused on something else entirely. They all decided to go to McDonald’s as a group—all Twelve of them. This group activity is a lot of fun. It...

Jesus’ life and ministry ping-pongs between Judea and Galilee, Jerusalem and Capernaum. The two cities are about 100 miles apart, but it is a walking world, and that’s a four or five-day journey on foot. So Jesus is in perpetual motion as we see him...

Observe the Prayer of Jesus: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).   The physical setting.   The cross. See this public prayer in its full context. Jesus is suspended above the ground, having been...

I have walked through a spot in the valley outside of the city walls of old Jerusalem that some people think is this garden where Jesus prayed. It still features large stone slabs and old olive trees. The slope of the Mount of Olives rises to the east...

The feeding of the 5,000 is a significant miracle in Jesus’ ministry. We know this because all four Gospel accounts recall this miracle. In fact, this is the only miracles that is mentioned in all 4 Gospel accounts. Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, and...

This is a daily prayer. “Give us this day our daily bread” is something you should pray every day along with “forgive us our trespasses.” This is a realistic prayer. It acknowledges the difficulties in the world, that God’s will is not always done...

Two weeks ago we visited this verse, “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail, and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). Jesus prayed for Simon Peter then, in the last hours of his life on this earth...