Serving the Greater Priest (Hebrews 7:1-10)

We might think that our Christian life has less meaning and less significance when we consider the visible religion. However, we forget the time of the patriarchs where they are looking to the promised Christ. They do not have the temple. So we might think that Israel has a greater experience. This is where Hebrews develops the argument showing that Melchizedek is superior to Levi because he is first, he is eternal, and Abraham paid a tithe from the spoils of war.

#hebrews #melchizedek #expositorypreaching

Redeemed to Life Everlasting (LD 22; Revelation 6:9-11)

We know that before we can enter into the full bliss of heaven we need to be raised from the dead or enter heaven with a glorified body. We might wonder about our passage from this life to the life to come. Our temptation is to think maybe we go to sleep and enter a coma like state. We don't want to say that our soul needs to be more purified and so we wait for that process to finish. We enter heaven because of Christ's redemptive work. This is why we speak of the intermediate state. This is the state where our souls begin to taste our everlasting state, but not in the fullness because we have to wait for glory. This is why the saints in heaven are asking for Christ to return to make everything right.

#intermediatestate #tastingheaven #martyredsouls #soulsinheaven #revelationsermon

God’s Glorious Oath (Hebrews 6:13-20)

When we take an oath we take the oath in the Lord's name. The reason for this is because we need a judge who can peer into the heart. The judge knows what is right and wrong and the judge will ultimately administer justice. Now, as Christians we know that we are to be people of our word as we live our lives before the face of God. However, Hebrews reminds us that the Lord swears by himself because there is no one greater to enforce the oath. So we consider the nature of the oath and the promise that God has made and fulfilled giving us an anchor for our souls.

#hebrews #melchizedek #hebrewsseries #hebrewssermon

Redeemed as a Community (LD 21; Revelation 5:1-10)

The Lord's gospel call is incredibly gracious. It is amazing that the Lord calls us to bow our knees before him, and to receive true everlasting life for the sake of Christ and his merits. It is easy to think that this call is only for the present time or maybe it is just for me. However, as we look at the book of Revelation we notice that the picture is much bigger than just my response to the Gospel. Our faith response to the Gospel not only unites us to the Trinitarian God, but also unites us to the Church universal. What a gracious God to give us such a taste our our beautiful redemption as we walk in the power of His Spirit.

#expositorypreaching #christisenough #revelation #gospel

Warning Against Apostasy (Hebrews 5:11-6:12)

Hebrews is a letter that encourages us to see the sufficiency of Christ. This is a letter that also exhorts us not to fall away from Christ. If we are not careful we might miss the context of the exhortation in Hebrews 5-6. We might doubt whether or not we really have Christ. There is certainly a call for self-examination, but there is also a rich conclusion we reach in this self-examination: Christ is sufficient.

#selfexamination #expositorypreaching #hebrews #apostasy

Do We Believe in the Holy Spirit? (LD 20; Galatians 3:14)

Christians can struggle with assurance. We can struggle with whether or not we really have the Holy Spirit. Some people say that we need to have an experience similar to pentecost to know that we have the Spirit. Others say that is a one time event. We look at the Spirit working in our salvation. We see that the Apostle Paul teaches us that the Spirit applies Christ's blessings. If we take hold of Christ by faith we have the Spirit.

#holyspirit #lifeinchrist

Is Christ Able to Relate? (Hebrews 5:1-10)

Christ is God and man. Christ took on human flesh, lived a perfect life, and now is in glory. We are earthlings from the dirt, we are fallen, and we are by no means perfect. We are works in progress suffering and struggling through this world. In fact, Hebrews communicates that we are in the wilderness time of testing. This is all true, and somehow Christ is a priest who really knows our struggle. He knows this struggle without sin. How can Christ really know us when he is God and man joined together in one person? How can Christ be a credible priest when he resides in heaven? Hebrews affirms these truths, but also assures us that Christ is a superior priest.

#hebrews #christisenough #melchizedek #christispriest

Jesus, the Christmas Confirmation (Luke 2:1-38)

Jesus lives up this his name. His name means Yahweh Saves. Jesus enters history to save his people from their sins. This is why Christ has to be born an infant in order to live a perfect life to be presented as the perfect sacrifice.

John’s Christmas Expectation (Luke 3:1-20)

John is the prophet who announces Christ's arrival. His privilege is that he sees the fulfillment of his word. He is a prophet of reformation to call Israel back to her king. John is frustrated because his mission does not bear the fruit that John hoped it would bear. John realizes that his prophecy is correct, but in order for Christ to bring glory he must first suffer. Christ's mission parameter in this age is Isaiah 61 rather than the full har maggeddon battle that John expected.

Christ’s Glorious Throne Room (Psalm 110; LD 19)

The apostles' creed teaches that Christ is sitting on the right hand of God. We might think that this makes Christ distant from the Lord. We might think that Christ being distant has no advantage for us today. However we can be assured that as Christ is in heaven we will overcome. We might experience discouragement in our current existence, but we know that we will prevail because Christ has overcome.

#expositorypreaching #righthandofGod #christinheaven #christaspriest #christisenough

(Preached 12.4.2022)

Our Compassionate Priest (Hebrews 4:14-17)

It is easy for us as Christians to see Christ as distant, detached for us, and seated in an unattainable place. This is probably part of the struggle for the church who originally receives this exhortation. We learn from Hebrews 4 is that our redemption is opposite of this perception. We have a savior who can understand our struggle, a priest who is watching over us, a priest who invites us to draw near, and a priest who can understand our struggle. The beauty of this is that our priest is our king. He rules us, but not in tyranny. He has sacrificed himself, has been raised from the dead, and now represents us in the most holy place. Let us draw near to him in boldness and confidence. It is not because we are worthy, but because we have been made worthy in Christ.

(Preached 12.4.2022)

Does Christ's Ascension Matter? (LD 18; Col. 2:8-15)

The Lord promises to walk with us and to be present with us until the end of the age. We would like this to mean that we have visible access to Christ. Our best scenario is that wego to his earthly residence, knock on his door, and personally bring our requests to him. However, this is not what Christ does. He goes to heaven, sits at the right hand of the father, and assures us that this is the best thing for us. Once again we are reminded that this is a problem with our perspective and not a problem with the Lord's provision. We need to see that Christ's ascension into heaven guarantees our place, he prays in the heavenly temple, he guarantees that our glorified flesh is fit for heaven, and he sends the Holy Spirit uniting us to him. These are just a few of the benefits of Christ's ascension that we consider in our sermon.

(Preached 11.27.2022)

#christascended #doctrinalpreaching #expositorypreaching #christisenough #christisrisen

Striving to Enter God's Sabbath Rest (Hebrews 4:1-13)

Hebrews assures us that Christ's work is enough for us to enter into heaven. There is a rich comfort that our priest-king has overcome. It is even more comforting that we overcome in him. This is assuring, but then we hear this exhortation that we are to strive to enter his rest. We can turn this into a discouraging burden, but when we look closer we are challenged to hold fast our confession. We are to confess that Christ is our priest king, he is our redeemer, and we proceed in the confidence of our Melchizedekian-priest-king securing our sabbath rest.

#melchizedek #christisenough #sabbathshalom #sabbathstriving #expositorypreaching

(Preached 11.27.2022)

Does Resurrection Matter? (LD 17, Colossians 3:1-4)

We normally think of the Resurrection of Christ as being a bit of an abstract concept. Sure, we believe that Christ is raised from the dead and we know that is important. We can think that his resurrection impacts our resurrection. This is true! However, the Apostle Paul sees the resurrection of Christ as being more than just the period or the end of history. The resurrection of Christ is essential for every day of our Christian life. It is in the resurrection of Christ that we move from to domain of death to the power of life even as our victory is currently hidden.

#resurrectionlife #unionwithChrist #expositorypreaching #christisenough

Our Wilderness Wandering (Hebrews 3:7-19)

The people of Israel set the pattern for God's redemptive program. We see that God redeems, leads through the wilderness, and then brings his people into their rest. This precedent shows us that the problem is never with God, but with his people. We are warned not to fall away in the wildness time of testing. The call is that we continually see the goodness of our God who has redeemed us.

#wildernesswandering #christiantesting #christisenough #christianexodus

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A Losing Servant? (LD 16; Isa. 52:13-53:12)

We might wonder why the disciples seemed to consistently miss Christ's message. We can read Luke 24 and desire to give a very harsh rebuke to the disciples who doubt Christ's resurrection. However, Christ tells these struggling disciples that the scriptures spoke of the Christ's suffering, and death. If we walk through the servant songs there are three servant songs that make us think we are on the winning side. We see a picture of the Lord's servant that we like. The fourth servant song is not an image of the servant that we fully comprehend. However, this final servant song communicates how the servant is going to be victorious. We cannot be ashamed of Christ's suffering, but we must embrace it. We must not end with Christ's suffering, because he lives to make intercession. We serve a Lord who has suffered in our place, but is also raised the Lord of life.

(Preached on November 13, 2022 in the evening)

#expositorypreaching #sufferingservant #christisenough #isaiah

Building God's House (Hebrews 3:1-6)

We learn that Jesus is the apostle and high priest of our faith. We understand that Christ is priest, but saying that Christ is an apostle is very unique. When I say unique, I mean this is the only place in the Bible where we find that Jesus is an apostle. We learn that Jesus is sent on his mission to secure us as an exodus people. Moses is a faithful servant, but Jesus is the faithful son who builds his temple. We are being built together as the Lord's temple and we long for the true heavenly temple.

#jesusasapostle #jesushighpriest #hebrews3 #hebrewssermon #expositorypreaching

(Preached on November 13, 2022 in the morning)

Where is our Priest? (Hebrews 2:5-18)

We wonder about our life today. There are many temptations, we struggle with sin, and we just feel the incomplete plan of God. We long for glory. We know that Christ has redeemed us, but we wait for glorification. Hebrews assures us that this is our perspective, but we need to see that Christ has subjected all things under his feet. The problem is that we do not see it, and we have a tendency to doubt it. We need to see the bauty and the assurance that our priest resides in heaven.

#expositorypreaching #redemptivehistoricalpreaching #oldtestamentfulfillment #christisenough #christspriesthood

(Preached November 6, 2022/11.6.2022)

Why Did Christ Come? (LD 14; Gal. 4:4)

The Apostle Paul tells us that in the fullness of time Christ is born of a woman. The fullness of time is when Christ enters history to establish the Lord's people in the freedom of Christian maturity. We are now released from the guardian and called to use our freedom to glorify Christ. Paul is teaching us that Christ is God and faithful Son from eternity who has come to secure our adoption. Praise be to God that our redemption and adoption is secure in God's faithful son.

#redeemed #lifeinchrist #galatians #heidelbergcatechism

(Preached in the evening on 10.30.2022)

Dangerous Drifters (Hebrews 2:1-4)

We receive an exhortation from Hebrews not to drift away. When we think of drifting we think of the soft and soothing current taking us away. This is like a ship that is slightly off course, but continues off course and eventually misses its port. We are told not to loose sight of Christ because we too might drift away. We are reminded to see the sufficiency and glory of Christ Jesus.

#christisenough #christissufficient #expositorypreaching #hebrewssermon #hebrews2

(Preached in the morning on 10.30.2022)