Come Sojourn with Us
This is where you will find sermons and updates for our church. Our mission is to preach expository sermons focusing on the gospel of Christ. We are a church that is tied to the reformed tradition and seeks to submit to the scriptures so we walk in the Lord’s wisdom rather than our own.
We would love to have you join us on our Christian sojourn if you are in the Belgrade, MT area. If you are not in area then join us by listening to our bi weekly free sermon podcast.
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We might think that blasphemy is not that big of a deal because it is just speaking a word that is careless. So, if someone just says something that is careless then why does the Lord command the Israelite child to be executed when he blasphemes the Name? Is the Lord just being petty? What does this teach us today in the church? How do we present the Lord as being a gracious God? What is the real issue of blasphemy?
There seems to be tension between Paul and Timothy. The root of this tension is that Timothy has most likely requested to go to Macedonia to meet with Paul, but Paul wants him to stay in Ephesus. We can see that one reason for Paul to write this letter is for Timothy to stay in Ephesus. Why is Paul telling Timothy to stay? Is this just a church that Paul does not want to put in order? Is Paul merely making Timothy do something that Paul does not want to do? Is Paul reminding Timothy that Timothy does not have enough clout because he is merely a preacher and not an apostle?
So often we can think that the law of God is something that is old or not that helpful. Sometimes we can be tempted to look at the regulations that the Lord lays out and think that as we follow them we will climb our way into heaven. We are not going to get into heaven apart from Christ. So, if our redemption is based on Christ and His merits then why do we care about the law of the Lord?
As Christians we can think that idolatry is only conducting baal worship or something that is forbidden in the Old Testament. We can think that we do not worship baal or the golden calf so we are free from this sin. The reality is that we are tempted to trust in many things to sustain us apart from the Lord. Why is it so absurd to trust in something other than the Lord?
Love has become something that is rather subjective in our culture. It seems that many today have reduced love down to a feeling or something that is sentimental. How does Paul define love? How does Scripture define love and how is this love not subjective or sentimental?
The Reformation really hangs on how one defines grace. Salvation by grace alone is wonderful, but what do we do when Paul exhorts us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling? How do we encounter such a God that causes us to be fearful and to tremble? How is it that we are saved by grace, but yet we have to work out our salvation? Do we rely on the Lord for our justification, but then really work hard to make sure that we conform to our justification? Or does Paul mean something else by this exhortation that shows we are just taking this verse out of context?
It is a good thing to desire the Lord’s sanctifictifying power. We should want such a thing if we take hold of Christ by faith. It is honorable, but do we think about what we are asking? We are people who are stained with sin. We are people who honor strength and not suffering. How does the Lord conform us to Him? Do we always enjoy this conforming power of the Lord? When is the Lord working us the most when it seems he has abandoned us?
The Lord is a God who is serious about his justice. He will deal with the foreign people who make a mockery of His name and He will drive out His people who also make a mockery of His name. This is something that we expect a sovereign God to do. This expectation is not what makes God necessarily unique from all the other gods. What is the ultimate thing that makes God unique for the other gods? How do we have a relationship with this God? How do we know that he really is the Lord of lords and the King of kings?
The Lord is sovereign and mighty even during the exile that Israel faces. We affirm that no matter where we walk in life that the Lord will save us and secure us. Why did the Lord send Israel into exile? What does exile do for us that is good? Where are the Israelites to put their faith? Can they be saved even as they march into exile and it seems as if all is finished? What is the assurance even at the time of facing exile?
How do we know a true church from a false church? The Belgic Confession gives us there marks of the church to distinguish a true church from a false church. One of these marks is the preaching of the gospel. Why is this gospel continually peached? What does Paul say that is so important about this preaching and working this out?
The Apostle Paul gives some strong words regarding the call for members in the church to examine themselves. It is rather frightening to hear Paul talk about people actually dying in the midst of the congregation. Why would we as sinners desire to partake of such a meal? Who is worthy to eat at the Lord’s table? Who can claim a worthiness to be a partaker of this food? So, how can one come to the Lord’s Supper without knowing that one is not going to be struck dead? What does Paul mean when he exhorts us to examine ourselves?
Knowing that the Lord is sovereign over all things is something that should give us comfort. The challenge in finding comfort in knowing the the Lord is sovereign over all things is that we cannot control this God. We have to wait upon our God. How do we know that waiting on the Lord is good? How do we know that the Lord is going to be faithful? What is the basis of the promise where we can ground our hope and peace in the Lord? Why wait upon the God of my salvation?
We might be tempted to think that there is not a whole lot we can learn from Israel or the history of Israel. They are a people who lived under the Old Covenant and they were people who did bad things while we are the people who are going to do good things because we are more informed right? The apostle Paul wants the church to learn things from Israel’s history. How does Paul use their history to show that we can fall into similar things? What does the history of Israel have to do with us, our sacraments, and even the Lord’s Supper?
Micah has warned the people of God that they are sinning against the Lord, and there is a serious consequence that is coming their way. They have worshiped false gods and they find their comforts in the gifts of the Lord rather than the Lord Himself. In other words, they enjoy their elite blessings, but they have missed the Lord who gives them the blessings that they enjoy. So, what is the ultimate consequence of their action? Is the Lord being cruel in promising or bringing about such punishment? What do we as a people learn from their experience and what exhortations come to bear upon us?
We follow the structure of the Heidelberg Catechism which progresses as the preaching of the gospel, then baptism, and now the Lord’s Supper. We have argued from the previous Lord’s Day that infants are baptized because they are part of the covenant of grace so the sign of circumcision and baptism have a correlation to one another pointing to the same covenant of grace. If this is true, then we do we not allow infants to come to the Lord’s table if Christ is celebrating the passover? Or is the passover merely the opportunity to lay out the Lord’s Supper? So, what is the Lord’s Supper?
The Lord offers Israel a series of options regarding sacrifices that might relieve them of the coming exile. You would think that Israel, with a sacrificial system, could offer the Lord enough sacrifices to turn away the foreign army. You can almost imagine the people thinking about going to the temple, pooling resources, and making the priests work overtime to gather together enough to avoid impending doom. This is possible until the Lord asks them about child sacrifice. Does the Lord really want them to sacrifice their children? If there is not enough then what can appease this Holy God? How can we please such a sovereign, mighty, and holy God as mere fallen creatures?
Our confession uses strong language that we are to be baptized once. This means that we do not agree with other traditions that will baptize someone a second time because they do not see infant baptism as being a valid baptism. Why do we believe in one baptism? What is the bigger picture of this baptism? How do we as Reformed people see baptism as something for children and adults? Why are we not Roman Catholic even though we baptize infants?
Many times people will say that the sacraments are a sign of our faith. We might not think that it is important to see that sacrament is a sign of God’s faithfulness verses the sign being a sign of my faith. Ultimately we need to look discussion in light of the covenant of grace. Did Abraham receive the sign because of his faith or because of the Lord’s faithfulness? In other words does the sign point to Abraham’s faith or does it point to the promises of God and His faithfulness? What does Paul say in Romans 4:11 regarding the sign that was given to Abraham?
So often I hear that the sacrament of baptism is administered only after someone makes a profession of faith while circumcision is something that is applied to children in the Old Testament. The reason that is given is that the Old Testament was a physical promise tied to a land while the New Testament is about the Spirit working in the lives of God’s people. The appeal is by looking to the book of Acts where we see someone profess their faith and then they receive baptism. If this case is so cut and dry then why is Christ circumcised and baptized? How can these signs encourage a church that is flat scared of what will happen tomorrow?
I believe that God has chosen His people before the foundations of the world. This is something that is rather risky for a preacher to believe because if God chooses His people then what is the point of preaching? I mean really, if God just does what God desires then why preach? Why care about the people who do not know the Lord? So, why do we preach if God chooses HIs people anyway?
We are a bible believing church in the Belgrade, MT. We are a Reformed Protestant church who desire to build one another up in love as we sojourn under the sun.
