Restoration is a network of house churches.
We make disciples, gather together, and
equip people to minister.
Marriage is not merely a blessing from God, it is a picture of Christ’s relationship with His Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). Understanding this helps us see the eternal significance of marriage and encourages us to delight in God’s gift of marriage. Romance, sex, and the roles of husband and wife are not mere functions, they teach eternal realities.
Voting is a significant topic in our present era. Notably, there is tension among Christians as political candidates seldom perfectly reflect biblical values. The Democrat Party platform explicitly supports that which God calls hates (homosexuality, transgenderism, abortion, entitlement programs, etc.). However, the Republican Party regularly puts forth candidates with questionable morals and has recently removed the pro-life plank from its platform. How should Christians vote? Should Christians vote? This sermon addresses several critical passages of Scripture related to Christ’s Kingship over all the nations, the call to not ally ourselves with wicked rulers, and the command to rescue the innocent being led away to death. While voting was not a part of biblical cultures, the command to rescue the innocent is clear. The choice is between a party/candidate that actively wishes to increase abortions and a party/candidate that does not. Faithful Christians must vote to stop abortion.
Deus Vult is Latin for "God Wills It." It was a battle cry for the Crusades, but it is here appropriated for application to Christ's Kingdom. In a time when wicked rulers seem to go from bad to worse and the effects of sin bring new crises in our culture, it behooves us to remember that God has willed and will accomplish victory over all nations. Christ is King. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 15, Pastor Samms addresses the Old Testament prophecies related to the Kingdom of God (Daniel 7, Psalm 2, Psalm 10, and Zechariah 14:9) as well as the New Testament teaching that Christ's Kingdom has indeed come, and of its increase, there will be no end!
The doctrine of Creation is the foundation of God’s redemptive Self-revelation. There are a multitude of theological implications from Genesis 1. In this sermon, Pastor Daniel teaches through Genesis 1:1-27 while addressing various inaccurate views as well as the biblical view of divine fiat creation. Join us at Paper Moon Vineyards (2008 State Road Vermillion, OH) at 10:30am on Sunday for this important sermon.
Christians are commanded to be unified in Christ, but how do we know who is a Christian to be unified with and who is a false believer to be evangelized or avoided (false teachers)? What about denominations? How do I know who is a faithful brother or sister? More than that, what do we need to do to build unity in the Church that Jesus has bought with His own blood? Sometimes it seems that those calling for unity are the ones pressing false doctrine, but if we are not careful, those with good doctrine will cut off faithful Christians who simply aren’t mature in the faith enough to be grounded doctrinally. This sermon addresses all this and more from Ephesians 4:1-16.
As we approach June, faithful Christians brace themselves for an avalanche of propaganda affirming that which God condemns. For the last few decades, mainstream evangelicals have attempted to be nice in hopes of winning hearts. If you can't tell, nice doesn't work against attacking wolves. Kindness is a Christian virtue, but niceness is not. Loving your neighbor means crushing his idols and living in faithful defiance against the false gods of the age, all while joyfully preaching the gospel of Jesus' atoning death and resurrection. The history of the Christian faith is a history of building churches and destroying pagan idols. We don't win by being nice to abomination. We win with a gospel that offends. We win with taunts against the enemies of God. We win with axes set against pagan trees as the Odinists, Ba'al worshippers, and Sodomists bend the knee to the one true King of Kings. Join us as we preach the game plan for crushing the enemies of God with the Gospel of Christ.
The topic of Church Discipline often makes people uncomfortable at first. Most Americans have grown up in a version of Evangelicalism that sees “niceness” as an essential of the faith. Subsequently, few Christians have seen faithful church discipline applied. Either they have been a part of a body of believers that was functionally antinomian (anti-law), allowing even the most egregious sins to continue without confrontation. Here is the thing: Every Church disciplines; it is a matter of who they discipline. When a man leaves his family, refuses to repent, but is allowed to continue in fellowship with impunity, the church is effectively disciplining his wife and children out of the church. When an abuser continues to harm and the church leaders claim that it is better that he be in the church than not in the church, his victims are left unprotected. So it is with false teaching, gossip, sexual immorality, and the like. Faithful discipline is critical for the protection of the saints.
However, it is not just individuals that are at risk. 1 John gives us a detailed overview of the deep fellowship (koinonia) that is to be at the center of the Body of Christ. It is this love for one another that is to be the mark of Jesus’ disciples (John 13:35). We tend to think of church discipline in negative terms, but it is helpful to remember that Church discipline is not merely about punishment, it is about cultivating and protecting fellowship. The fellowship we share is not just with one another, it is with God (1 John 1:1-9). In this sermon, Pastor Daniel will talk about biblical fellowship from 1 John 1 before addressing the critical issue of church discipline.
The ordinances of the Church are baptism and the Lord’s supper, and both are topics of much debate. We discussed baptism in a previous sermon. This week, Pastor Daniel addresses the command to remember the Lord’s death through communion. We learn what it does and why it is important to build faith in the believers and break down the defenses of Hell through the proclamation of the Gospel. In the process, we address the various views of communion to affirm a biblical stance.
Every Resurrection Sunday we pause to celebrate Christ’s triumph over death. This year, in addition to providing significant evidence for the resurrection of Christ, Pastor Dan teaches from 1 Peter 1:3-9 as the Resurrection relates to our living hope. The fact that Christ has conquered sin and death has direct effects on our daily living. Download the sermon notes below! He is Risen!
Jesus commands His disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This command is critical to the great commission, but baptism is an oft-debated topic among Christians. What is baptism? How important is it? What is the proper mode of baptism? Pastor Daniel Samms teaches from several key passages on baptism and addresses key quotes from church history and the London Baptist Confession as we clarify the importance and function of baptism in Christianity.
Every year, usually on the First Sunday in January, we do a State of the Church sermon. In it, our pastor preaches through key passages related to the great commission and to God’s other commands for the Church. Then, we review what can be known about the state of the Church globally, and in our own body of believers. The goal is to renew our focus on what God has commanded while taking an honest assessment of our health as a church.
Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Christ, but this event has far greater implications than many understand. This sermon gives a brief overview of how the Bible fits together in one, comprehensive metanarrative in which the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central, paradigmatic event.
The Bible is understood best in four movements that together explain what we call the Gospel (Good news), the message that Jesus Christ has died to pay for our sins, rose from the dead to give us new life, and is currently making all things new. The four movements are Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. We have hope of eternal glory because of His saving work.
The headship of Christ is a neglected topic in evangelical circles. We so often forget that He is King over all (Matthew 28:18, Col 1:1-11). We see in Ephesians that Christ is the Head of the Church. The term “Head” was used to refer to Kingly authority as the king wears his crown on his head and the head controls the body. As it applies to Christ and His Church, it means that He has absolute authority. He has subsequently given us His Word (the Bible) which is authoritative and sufficient for all matters (2 Tim. 3:16-17). While God has placed pastors/elders to shepherd the Church, they do so as under shepherds submitted to Christ, Scripture being the authority for their office. This headship that Christ has is reflected in the home with husbands serving as head over the wife, loving her and sacrificing for her. In this sermon, Pastor Daniel addresses this critical doctrine of Christ’s headship answering theological questions about authority in the Church and admonishing us to submit to Christ as Head.
Continuing our First Sunday series on the study of the Church (Ecclesiology). In this sermon, Pastor Samms focuses on the assembly of believers as the temple of God and a royal priesthood. This metaphor for the church is used in both Ephesians 2:19-22 and 1 Peter 2:1-12 as the church is described as a collective group of stones that comes together to form the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The church must gather to fulfill this critical role (Hebrews 10:23-25). Last time we talked about the church’s role to put the truth of the gospel on display (1 Timothy 3:14-16. This week we talk more about the role of Christians as a “royal priesthood” that serves one another for the gospel.
The evangelical church in America is suffering from a lack of doctrine, a lack of discipleship, and now a lack of attendance. The less faithful the Church becomes, the more troubled the society grows. One of the problems at hand is the lack of understanding of the Church. People don’t seem to know what the Church is or what it is made to do. Even prominent leaders such as Andy Stanley fail to recognize the essential nature of the church, assuming live streams are enough to keep people connected. But, the commands of God for the church go deep and wide. We are called to display the truth of the Gospel, to gather together, and to partake in physical signs connected to spiritual realities. In this series, Pastor Daniel Samms takes us through what the Church is, what it does, and why it is essential. This sermon focuses on the Church’s role as the displayer of Truth (1 Timothy 3). Future sermons will address the essential job of Christians to assemble as a Church, the role of serving and giving, the nature of ordinances (baptism and communion), and more.
It is common for church people to go around saying “God Told Me” without clearly understanding the implications of such a phrase. The language of “Thus saith the Lord” or “The Word of the Lord” bears the weight of biblical canon. In this sermon, Pastor Daniel Samms addresses two related topics: First, he teaches on the nature of Scripture and how we got the Bible, building our confidence in the authority and clarity of the Bible. Additionally, we discuss the role of the Holy Spirit to convict, direct, and otherwise work in a time when the biblical canon is closed. We answer questions such as “How can I know that the Bible is God’s Word"?” and “How can I know that we aren’t missing books of the Bible?” Additionally, we will address the question: “How do I know if God is directing/leading me?”
There is a common misconception that Biblical commands in the Old Testament were entirely limited to the nation of Israel, but the truth is that in both the Old and New Testaments, both Jews and Gentiles were held to God’s moral and civil laws. As Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:8-11, the law is useful if one uses is usefully.
Christians have been far too timid about bringing biblical commands into the civil arena. God designed governments to be ruled by laws (His laws), not by the whims of the populace or the pride of tyrants. The founding fathers of the United States understood the role of God’s Law as the foundation for a just society. This is why they cited Deuteronomy more than any other book and why they regularly prayed in the meetings.
This sermon addresses the issue of the lawful use of God’s law in the civil realm.
The book of Judges traces the history of God’s people between Joshua’s death and the ministry of Samuel. It is. an account of Israel’s repeated disobedience, suffering, repentance, and restoration as Israel shows itself in need of a King. As we will see in 1 Samuel, not just any king will do. Ultimately, the account of Judges points to the need for the King of Kings. Join us in this study of Judges 1-2 that addresses not only the nation of Israel in the bronze era but also has implications for how we are to live in our current culture which has adopted a paganism akin to that of the Canaanites.
2 Timothy 3:10-17 reminds us that Christians who seek to live faithfully will likely face persecution. Notably, the faithless are not expected to suffer as the faithful do. In this sermon, we discuss key principles about persecution and how to remain faithful when tyrants and adversity are in the path. Notably, the power of the Word of God remains central.
There is a lack of exegetical teaching in many “evangelical” churches that leaves Christians ill-prepared to discern truth from error. Further, there is a lack of understanding related to the value of theology and Church history. Faithful Christians have been responding to error for millennia, and their shoulders are worth standing on insomuch as they stand on the Word of God. In this sermon, we outline biblical parameters related to the essentials of the faith and discerning truth from error. Additionally, we take a brief look at creeds, confessions, and statements of faith as they pertain to Christian doctrine.
