God’s Almighty Word (BC 5, 10; John 1:1-18)

We wrap up our series on the means of Grace. We hear now that Christ is the action of God. He is not merely the word, but the one who confirms the Lord's word. He is the one who brought in the first creation, and he establishes us as a new creation. This means that word is more basic and prior to the sacraments. The preached word is not divorced from the true word. The sacraments are no divorced from the word. They all call our attention to the one true Christ.

Removing Our Reproach (Luke 1:26-38)

Our Lord enters history through a very unlikely person. This is Mary, a person who is easily discarded. She has no genealogy, she is from a no nothing town, and she is a young peasant. However, she is the vessel that the Lord uses to bring about his redemptive purpose. She demonstrates the true essence of Christ's mission that we have to humble ourselves for our reproach to be taken away.

Discerning the Lord's Banquet (BC 35; 1 Cor. 11:23-31)

When we come to the Lord's table we are reminded that we are coming into the Lord's presence. There is something frightening about Paul exhorting the Corinthians church and telling them that some have died because of their sin. Paul correlates the eating of communion to this death. This can make us terrified to come before our Lord and we can think that the elements have a magical power. However, what Paul is calling us and exhorting us to see is that we partake of Christ, we dine at his table, and we eat his supper. We are called to discern that we do not come to this meal because we are worthy, but because we are made worthy in Christ. It is the call to come to the heavenly banquet table in humility.

Elijah is Coming (Luke 1:1-25)

Luke desires to present to us an orderly account of Christ, and why Christ is the messiah. We begin our Christmas series with Luke's account of John. We are going to cover Luke's gospel for Christmas, and then we will head back to Luke's gospel after we finish Hosea.

Tasting the Lord’s Banquet (BC 35; Luke 14:12-24)

Luke presents Christ as one who is moving through this world, through Jerusalem, and eventually to heaven. Feasting communicates who has table fellowship in Luke's writings. The Lord's Supper is a taste of that heavenly feast as we gather together in the Lord's presence.

And His Entire Household (Acts 16:25-40)

Paul and Silas are put in prison for casting out a spirit of divination. While they are in prison the Lord sends an earthquake. This event opens the doors and knocks the shackles off their limbs. They are free to escape, but they do not leave. Instead, we have record of a jailer being converted. He is converted, baptized, and his entire household. This is very significant in terms of the covenant sign of Baptism.

Why the New Covenant in my Blood? (BC 35; Luke 22:20)

Christ celebrates passover with his disciples. We would think that this is just a passover meal, but Christ provides a twist. He is the passover lamb, the sacrifice, the one who confirms the covenant, and the one who feasts with his people. Certainly, passover is part of the Lord's Supper, but passover is part of the Lord's Supper.

Out of Egypt I called My Son (Hosea 11:1-11)

Hosea makes explicit that the Lord is upset with his people pursuing other gods. Israel tries to baptize their immorality as "worship." However, the Lord knows the substance of their worship. One would think that the Lord's purpose has failed. One would think that his promise to Abraham has failed. However, the Lord is not a man. The Lord is able to establish and create new life.

Consumed by Addiction (Hosea 7:3-16)

Hosea continues to prove and prosecute the sins of Israel. There is a lot of immorality in the midst of Israel. They are a people who claim to return to God, but they are not really willing to repent of their sin. Hosea reminds us that as Christians we continually seek to pursue the Lord as we die to self.

Does God Tempt Us? (LD 52; 1 Peter 5:6-11)

James assures us that God does not tempt us. Christ commands us to pray that our Father would not lead us into temptation. Does this show that James contradicts Christ? We know that he does not because temptation also means testing. So, we are praying that the Father would not test us beyond what we can bear.

God Doesn't Want Sacrifice (Hosea 6:4-7:2)

We hear the apostle Paul exhort us to live as living sacrifices before the Lord. David confesses that the Lord does not want burnt offerings and Hosea echoes David's confession. So, how do we live as living sacrifices and honor our God? We will see that our God calls us to live before him with a sincere heart tuned into his purpose.

Listening to the Lowly (LD 45; James 1:5-7)

James reminds us that our view of God is our problem. If we think that God is distant or we do not think that God is near us then we need to change our focus. You see God is with us and is literally a prayer away from our conscious pursuit. If we doubt our strength or our ability to find our way through this age we are to ask God for wisdom. We might not even know that our problem is lacking wisdom until we learn what scripture teaches us regarding wisdom.

#expositorypreaching #hoseaseries #lifeinchrist

Warning to Wooing (Hosea 2:2-15)

Hosea speaks the word of the Lord to God's people. The Lord calls God's people to one last time of repentance and reformation. They are facing another time in the wilderness. We might think that all is lost as Israel wanders through the dry and dusty land because the Lord's purpose has failed. This is not the case because the Lord will walk with his people in the midst of their testing.

#expositorypreaching #hoseaseries #lifeinchrist

Why the Law of God? (LD 44; Phil. 3:12-16)

We are a people who will always struggle in sin on this side of glory. One would think that we would never want to hear about the Lord's holiness. This is something that would potentially discourage us from pressing forward in the Christian life. However, we are exhorted in Paul's writings to keep pushing forward. The law of God is a good, it is the Lord's righteous standard, and so we lay out why the Lord's law is something that we should continually hear and be exhorted to conform to the Lord as we walk in Christ.

#expositorypreaching #lawofGod #christianstruggle #sanctification

God's Faithful Promise (Hosea 1:10-2:1)

It seems that the Lord's purpose has failed. His people that he has promised to redeem he calls not his people. They are no longer the Lord's special people where the Lord communes in their midst as the Lord promises to send them into exile. If the prophet Hosea ended at verse 9 we would have a hopeless story of redemption. However, the Lord remembers his promise. The Lord teaches that his people need to be born from the heavenly reality. The Lord needs to bring in a new creation so that his people have life. The Lord vows to rename Hosea's children assuring us that the Lord's purpose is not complete.

#hosea #hoseaseries #expositorypreaching #oldtestamentsermon #oldtestamentstudy

Father of Lies (John 8:31-47; LD 43)

Christ makes clear that the leaders in Israel need to be careful. They claim to love the truth of the gospel, but they miss truth as they deny Christ. Christ tells them that they are illegitimate children. They might be descendants of Abraham, but they are not children of Abraham. This is a reminder for us to be truth speaking people.

#slander #gossip #lovingtruth #catechismpreaching #expositorypreaching

Hosea’s Contradictory Calling (Hosea 1:1-9)

The prophet Hosea is called to take a woman that is unfaithful. He is to take a wife who will undermine the institution of marriage. This seems to be a contradiction to the Lord's purpose. However, we know that the Lord is communicating to us the truth of the gospel. How can this prophet communicate to us the truth of the gospel when these words seem so hopeless?

#hosea #hoseasermons #expositorypreaching #redemptivehistoricalpreaching #preachingchrist

Do I Steal? (LD 42; Luke 16:1-13)

We an always redefine the Lord's law to be very easy. We will find that in our definition of the law we are doing pretty well at keeping it out of gratitude. The truth is that we struggle, we fail, and we are called to continually grow in our conformity to God's standard. There are also things that we are called to do in light of God's standard.

#stealing #obeyingGod #godsstandard #livingingrace

Go with God’s Blessing! (Hebrews 13:20-25)

We leave worship with God's blessing. Hebrews gives us a very rich blessing. We go in the confidence of the Lord's preserving mercy in Christ. This is a benediction that assures us of God's redemption, his grace, and his power. We conclude the letter to the Hebrews and show how the benediction wins us over to God's favor.

#hebrews #hebrewsseries #hebrewssermon #hebrews13

God's Exclusive Temple (LD 41; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20)

We can think that God is absent from us or that what we do in the flesh is rather inconsequential. However, we are reminded that we walk in Christ as his redeemed saints. Christ is in us by his spirit and we walk through this age as the Lord's redeemed. We are temples of the Holy Spirit. This means that we are called to live exclusively to the Lord in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We are reminded to live this out as God's temple people.

#temple #livinginchrist #gospelpower