COG Sermons
Ron Dart 2005 Sermons
| 0502 Where Do We Go From Here? We have all been confronted with the question "Where do we go from here", whether concerning the church or not. And, we will be confronted with it again. The apostle Paul had just such a momentous decision, but didn't get a clear answer, so he did what he did best. "God is not going to tell you the end from the beginning." The holy spirit will lead, but you need to be flexible – Dart gives examples. Do the right thing and prepared to go where the divine wind leads. |
| 0504 Abide With Me |
| 0510 God and Man Is anything too hard for God? Or has He created us with limitations for a reason? Given the great differences between man and God, how can man and God get really close to each other? Dart answers – Jesus Christ came to reveal the Father. Jesus was God. C. S. Lewis quote that Jesus either was who He said He was or He was a madman or worse. Dart recommends a David Antion talk on Jesus as man and God. God became man that man might become God. |
| 0511 The World We Want How could a good God allow so much evil, accidents, and disasters in the world? Dart discusses this issue called theodicy in the context of the southeast Asian tsunami. Includes an extensive discussion on the safety of the Garden of Eden vs the dangers and inherent properties of the world. |
| 0514 The Next Pope |
| 0516 Character of the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit in the Old Testament -- David, Saul, Balaam. External vs an abiding presence. A list of attributes of the the spirit in the Old Testament vs the New Testament, but it is the same spirit. No difference between "spirit of God", "Spirit of the Lord", and "Holy Spirit". Trinity belief discussed. Jesus' talk of the how the spirit will come after His departure. It's role as a counselor and agent, called alongside, which is a new function for the spirit in the New Testament Christian. |
| 0518 The Gentile Festival |
| 0520 Worthy is the Lamb A message glorifying Jesus Christ as our Lamb that was slain. Verses concerning the Lamb are all throughout the book of Revelation. "The Little Lamb"; Ethiopian Eunuch; The implied resurrection in Isaiah 53; John the Baptist and the Lamb of God. A man as atonement was a new concept. Atonement for the whole world was a new concept. |
| 0523 No More to Roam What is the gospel? The pride of life, and the stories of Job losing it and Solomon losing it. Hebrews 11 people rejecting this pride of life for the promise. In times of trial and loss, invest in the next world. |
| 0526 The Whole Man God called Joseph at age 17 - not for the ministry, but for God's purpose as yet unknown. Joseph never complained; he knew God was with him. Others knew God was with him not because he preached or by argument, but by how he applied God's law to all he did, even in the worst of circumstances and the strongest of temptations. God was with him through everything. God did not call Joseph and Daniel to do a work of ministry, but to do what God gave them a gift for, to govern/administer. They were men of God, called by God, gifted by God, and their work had zero to do with ministry. God may gift us and place us anywhere and our obligation is to live his way always. |
| 0528 Foundation of Freedom |
| 0530 Add to Your Faith |
| 0532 The Real Drug War A very dramatic opening story. |
| 0534 A Perspective On Names Names in the Bible are the names at the time of the writing, not the event. Discussion of the name “I Am” and YHWH and their relationship. Masoretic text and other ancient texts and their differences. In Hebrew, the meaning of the name identifies the person. In English it is the sound. Abram did not speak Hebrew. The use of LORD for YHWH. How Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not know God by YHWH, yet YHWH is all through the book of Genesis. The entire New Testament was written in Greek, with the possible exception of Matthew. How the text could not have become corrupted and the consequences if it was. Sacred name discussion and the “One God” doctrine. |
| 0536 The Battle of New Orleans The lesson of the ant how, considering the flood in New Orleans, many people did the right thing without being told. Despite the ills of this country, the faith of Jesus Christ still exerts a strong influence on this country, more than any other. Christian decency – they did it because it was the right thing to do and the had the opportunity and the means. Give with joy, not with guilt. Give according to your gift. God may call a man to be a computer programmer, not only to shine a light, but to be positioned to help. Whatever gift God has given you, use it to the full. |
| 0538 The Dignity of Man We know little about the man left for dead in the Good Samaritan parable. We don't know his age, his race, his religion, or his nationality. Yet, he was deserving of help because is was a man. Why? What is man? Why has God placed him here? To do what? The case for the morality of capital punishment. The responsibility and consequences of free choice. Why God has a continual war against Amalek. Dart makes the case for men of war treating each other with dignity and suggests why God was so certain in His condemnation of Saul. |
| 0541 Being There A self-examination, pre-Atonement message. What kind of person would think they don't need to be at the Atonement service? The hot-tempered person. The judgmental person. The person who justifies himself. He is filled with an excess of himself. Would the early Job have been there? The late Job certainly would have been there. What is fasting's purpose? Why is it needed? "I'm sorry. I was wrong." goes a long way toward reconciliation, both with God and with others. Salvation is always preceded by repentance which is always preceded by a conviction of wrong. Be reconciled to God. |
| 0544 True Spirituality A motivating and self-examinating look at Romans 8. |
| 0546 An Invitation to God |
| 0548 The Regulating Law |
| 0550 Meditation |
| 05F1 We Didn't Know |
| 05F2 Not Home Yet |
| 05F6 A Man Alone An FOT sermon. A look at individualism and assembling together. Philosopher Jean-Jacque Rousseau teaches radical individualism, which conflicts with the Bible command to assemble together. Dart explains how radical individualism makes one more susceptible to the state and that assembling in private groups is a way to thwart that governmental control. God created us to be united in marriage, assemble in the church, and to have relationships with the brethren. Dart even goes so far as to suggest that it is better to attend with a less-than-ideal church than to be alone. |
| 05GTD When God Takes Down His House Jeremiah warned Judah, but they would not listen, instead taking solace in the temple. Lessons from Daniel and Nehemiah concerning the temple. The fall of the 2nd temple compared to the fall of the first. What do we do when God takes down all that we know? Dart gives several answers, including “You do not try to rebuild what God is in the process of tearing down.” |
| 05UNS Unshaken A distraught Ron Dart talks of evil things that happen, specifically in this case, the Wisconsin shootings in the Living Church of God. He explains how these things can happen, given that it was a church of God. Dart explains theodicy, how a good God allows evil to happen, and shows how these things have happened, do happen and will happen to the church, and how it could be done by someone in the church. Are the evil hard-wired to be so? Evil among us and what to do about it. |
