Sermons

Whoever believes in Him

The Triune God called us into existence. We are so very precious to God that He refused to permit us to be separated from Him forever. And so at tremendous sacrifice, God gave His only Son that we might live again. Truly, whoever believes in Jesus Christ will not perish, but will have everlasting life.

It is written.

The Spirit led Christ into the wilderness to be tested. This trial by temptation was necessary if he was to perservere through all he would face on the way to the cross. The Son’s strength came from his complete identification with the Father. They were One. The devil sought to separate Him from God, as he had done to Adam & Eve in the garden. The temptations Christ faced over his 40 days of suffering made this a real possiblity. But the WORD of God took up the two-edged sword and cut down each lie with “It is written!”

Let us look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame
and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself,
so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. – Hebrews 12:2-3

Jesus Is Truly God

The events and persons of Exodus 24 were nothing less than divinely placed pointers to the climactic reality of the future transfiguration of our Lord.

– Six days a cloud rested on Mt. Sinai before the Lord summoned Moses upward — “After six days” Jesus led Peter, James & John up a high mountain.
– Moses took with him a select group from among Israel’s leaders — Jesus took with him his three closest disciples.
– God called to Moses from out of the cloud — God called to Peter, James and John from out from the cloud saying “This is my beloved Son…”

The message couldn’t be more clear, or more thrilling: the One who gave his life for us is God Himself.

This is the Wisdom of God.

This is the wisdom of God, decreed before the ages for our glory:

It is the power of God that accomplishes his will in us. It is the Spirit of God working in us that enables us to do that which he requires. It is out of love and gratitude that we seek to obey his will. We obey, not to appear holy before others, but because of the holiness Christ has imparted to us. We obey, not in order to become righteous, but because Christ has covered us in his righteousness. We obey, not in an attempt to earn salvation, but because we have been saved through Christ Jesus.

Blessed Are You

Chai-re-te! Rejoice! For we who follow Christ receive all the blessings of eternal life.
Blessed are you, for you have been made an inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven. You will be comforted and shown mercy. You shall receive righteousness and shall see God, because you are a child of God.
Abundantly blessed are you, because you are a disciple of Christ …and you bear His name to Life Everlasting.

The Great Adventure

Peter, Andrew, James and John were individuals that Jesus already knew. He had already spent time with them. He now sought them out by the sea to formally call them on the greatest of adventures – to follow him.

We too have been called on this adventure – to be fishers of men.

The adventure is not without its challenges, and we can feel quite inadequate to them. The one essential question is where do we put our hope and trust? If that hope and trust are in Christ, then when we are weak, we will be strong, for we will then led by and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do his will, and carry his word to others.

Behold the Lamb

The lamb that now stands on our chancel is made of paper-mache. As such it has suffered consequences, having been repaired and remade three times.

In times long past, a one-year-old lamb without blemish might easily suffer severe consequences – those associated with being singled out for sacrifice.

The Lamb of God Himself, knew that he faced ultimate consequences – suffering and death, even death on a cross. This Lamb, called the Christ, had indeed been “anointed” to that end. Through Isaiah God the Father had foretold that the Christ would be numbered with the transgressors, pouring out his soul to death; and that his oppression and affliction would be borne in silence. And it all came to pass.

As a glorious consequence of giving Himself up to suffering and death, Jesus Christ destroyed death, defeated the devil, and because he was sinless, made us pure in the Father’s sight.

Behold the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world!

Where God is Found

Having received from God a wise and discerning mind, (never would another mortal possess such understanding), Solomon left off sacrificing at Gibeon and went to the temple in Jerusalem where he knew God would be found. There he stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. There he made sacrifices.

Nearly 1000 years later, after attending the Passover Celebration in Jerusalem, young Jesus remained in the temple three days following his family’s departure. As he sat among the teachers, he asked and answered questions with astonishing wisdom; (truly, one greater than Solomon had arrived). It was here, the place where God could be found, that the Son of God was found by his worried parents, whom he astonished with the question: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Today, God can be found in his people the Church and through His Word. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ. This is the revelation of the mystery of his will: to unite all things in Christ, according to his purpose and plan for the fullness of time.

Arise, shine, and give God the glory.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

The Light Shines in the Darkness

Sin and death are awful.
Though God is in control, the dark consequences of sin still surround us.
Thank God that he sent the Light to conquer darkness, sent the Life to conquer death.
God’s will for our salvation is greater than the awful consequences of our sin. We have a sure and certain hope in the One who was born to fulfill the Father’s will – Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior!