Church and Ministry Sermons

October 3, 2024Pastor Dean Odle

Leadership #6 - Study & Sermon Preparation

In “Leadership #6 - Study & Sermon Preparation,” Pastor Dean Odle presents a Scripture-centered message about the authority of Scripture, God’s commandments, faith. Drawing especially from Proverbs 15:28, 2 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 3:15, Matthew 5, the teaching emphasizes that Scripture is presented as the standard for doctrine, discernment, and daily obedience. Odle connects that foundation with the conviction that God’s commands reveal His standard and direct the obedient life.

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September 17, 2024Dean Odle

Demonstrations of the Holy Ghost Power

Pastor Dean Odle calls the church to seek the genuine power and presence of the Holy Spirit while rejecting occult counterfeits and contemplative practices. He surveys biblical symbols of the Spirit, the meaning of divine power, Jesus’ miracles, the gifts described in Acts and 1 Corinthians, and the repeated manifestations that accompanied apostolic ministry. His thesis is that Christian faith should rest not merely in persuasive speech but in the demonstrated power of God.

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March 17, 2024Dean Odle

Hatching Snake Eggs

Dean Odle uses Isaiah 59’s imagery of cockatrice or viper eggs to warn that lies, slander, concealed sin, and false teaching eventually hatch destructive consequences. He applies the metaphor to doctrinal controversies, personal integrity, and church relationships, repeatedly urging believers to become valiant for truth rather than sheltering deception. Examples involving unsupported biblical claims and compromised leaders illustrate his contention that impressive language cannot compensate for a lack of Scripture or honest fruit. King Saul becomes a picture of someone who begins with a genuine calling but allows disobedience and deception to corrupt his course.

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March 10, 2024Pastor Dean Odle

Beware of Offense

In “Beware of Offense,” Pastor Dean Odle warns that wounded feelings can become a spiritual trap when they harden into division, unforgiveness, and bitterness. Beginning with Jesus’ own sharp rebukes of religious leaders, Odle argues that biblical love does not avoid difficult truth and that Christians must remain humble enough to receive correction without abandoning fellowship. He contrasts direct biblical preaching with a church culture that can prize emotional comfort over repentance.

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March 2, 2024Dean Odle

Knowing the Servants of God

Dean Odle asks how believers can recognize genuine servants of God amid false prophets and teachers. Using Matthew 7, the pastoral epistles, and other New Testament passages, he argues that a true minister must be evaluated by doctrine, character, manner of life, faithfulness to Christ, and the fruit produced over time—not by charisma, predictions, crowds, or spiritual vocabulary.

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February 29, 2024Dean Odle

Knowing the - Prophets -

Dean Odle examines how Christians can distinguish true prophetic ministry from manipulation, immorality, failed predictions, political fortune-telling, and sensational claims. He affirms that New Testament prophecy continues, but argues that gifting never removes the biblical requirements of repentance, holiness, doctrinal fidelity, and accountable fruit. Brief clips and public forecasts concerning elections, immediate events, wealth transfer, revival, sporting events, and national destiny are tested by their specificity and fulfillment rather than reinterpreted after they fail.

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January 14, 2024Dean Odle

Knowing the Holy Spirit

Dean Odle teaches that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a distinct work following conversion and that the New Testament gifts remain for the church. He identifies the Spirit as the Spirit of truth and grace, surveys Acts and 1 Corinthians, and argues that tongues, prophecy, healing, and other manifestations should be welcomed and tested rather than quenched.

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December 29, 2023Dean Odle

Ebionites, Rob Skiba & the Law

Pastor Dean Odle argues that requiring Christians to keep the Sinai covenant undermines justification by faith and revives ideas associated with the ancient Ebionites. Using Galatians, Acts 15, and Paul’s contrast between bondage and freedom, he responds to teachings associated with Rob Skiba and the modern Torah-observant movement. Odle’s principal concern is not voluntary cultural practice but making Mosaic observance a measure of righteousness, salvation, or spiritual legitimacy.

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December 28, 2023Pastor Dean Odle

Cerinthus, the Ebionites & Sophia Heresies

Pastor Dean Odle warns that ancient Christological and Gnostic errors are resurfacing in modern Christian movements. Beginning with Paul’s prediction that people would turn from sound doctrine to fables, he identifies teachings associated with Cerinthus, the Ebionites, and “Sophia” traditions: denying Christ’s full deity, separating the heavenly Christ from the man Jesus, treating the Holy Spirit as a feminine goddess, or requiring Mosaic-law observance for salvation and standing with God. He also criticizes celebrity loyalty that excuses serious doctrinal error.

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