Our Sojourning Community (Hebrews 13:7-19)

Hebrews is concluding the exhortation for us to continue our sojourn under the sun. We are the Lord's people, called to honor the Lord, and a people oriented to heaven. The Lord uses the preaching of the gospel as the primary means to keep us on the way. We are also reminded about the significance of prayer being the means that we earthlings can use to reach the inner recesses of the heavenly tabernacle.

#hebrews #expositorypreaching #lifeinChrist #hebrews13

Murder’s Deeper Meaning (LD 40; Romans 12:14-21)

The Apostle Paul wants us to understand that murder is more than just taking a human life. It is not just a physical act, but also is tied to our desires. We can desire to destroy someone, we can have hate in our hearts, and we can belittle others to make ourselves look better. The Apostle reminds us to wait upon the Lord and to consciously do good to all as much as it depends on us.

(You can find our more about our church by visiting our webpage: https://www.urcbelgrade.com where you can subscribe to our podcast and access our sermon archive. We would love to see you worshipping and communing with us each Sunday.)

#romans12 #expositorypreaching #catechismsermon

Living for God (Hebrews 13:1-6)

We are exhorted to let brotherly love continue and to live out the gospel. We are told to trust that the Lord is our shield and defender. The assurance we have is that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us.

(You can find our more about our church by visiting our webpage: https://www.urcbelgrade.com where you can subscribe to our podcast. We would love to see you worshipping and communing with us.)

#urcbelgrade #hebrews #expositorypreaching #expositorysermon

Obey Your Leaders (Ephesians 6:1-9; LD 39)

God has a redeemed a people who are called to bring glory to his name. We are to be lights in the darkness. We might think that this is only for adults, but the Apostle Paul reminds us that this is for children as well as they are members of the Christian household. So, we hear about how we bring glory to God as the Lord's redeemed saints.

Living in the Better Word (Hebrews 12:25-29)

We are called to embrace rather than refuse the Lord who is speaking. Our God speaks to us in His word. Hebrews tells us, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the hear" (Hebrews 4:12). This is the exhortation for us to see the power of God's word that is at work in us. So, we are told in Hebrews 12 not to refuse the Lord who is speaking. The reason is that through the power of God's word we have received a kingdom that transcends this age.

#God'sword #hebrews #expositorysermon #expositorypreaching

Living by the Better Word (Hebrews 12:14-24)

The Lord assembles us before Mount Zion. We press forward in the confidence of Christ. We are warned not to allow the root of bitterness to spring up in us. The place and anchor point is Mount Zion.

Repent and Receive the Spirit! (Acts 2:36-39)

Peter uses strong language after his Pentecost sermon. Peter says, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). This sounds as if we repent, then we receive baptism, and then the Spirit is free to work. We say that the Spirit normally works through the preaching of the Gospel. We listen to Peter's exhortation and consider the deeper implications for the sign of Baptism and profession of faith.

Do Not Take an Oath at All? (Matthew 23:16-22; LD 37)

Loved through Discipline (Hebrews 12:1-13)

When we face difficult times in life we are tempted to think that God is not present in the midst it. We think that when things do not go our way that God is not blessing us. Our problem is we want God to do our will rather than being trained to do his will. Hebrews reminds us how we can have our priorities reversed.

Bearing God's Name (Colossians 3:12-17; LD 36)

The Apostle Paul exhorts us to put on Christ. We are exhorted to be consciously set apart in Christ Jesus. The hidden mystery, that is God's plan of redemption, has been manifested and shown in Christ. As we are joined to Christ by the Spirit and Faith we are called to walk in a manner that honors Christ. We are not doing this to become God's holy people, but because we are God's holy people. We clearly bring glory to Christ's name because of His redemptive work. We seek to discern what is pleasing to him out of gratitude.

What About the Others? (Hebrews 11:32-40)

We conclude the catalogue of saints who have gone before us. Hebrews concludes the catalogue of saints with some who had to wait upon the Lord in extreme circumstance, and others who experienced the Lord's exceptional blessing. As we wrap up this catalogue of saints we marvel at the Lord's sustaining power throughout covenant history.

God’s Exclusive Worship (LD 35; 2 Kings 18:4, 5)

The Lord calls us to worship him exclusively. We can be creative in our worship. We struggle to follow the Lord and to follow him exclusively. We see this in Judah and also note Hezkiah reforming worship.

Moses’ Precedent (Hebrews 11:23-31

The author of Hebrews continues to lay out the significance of the Old Testament saints looking to the one Christ. We are tempted to elevate these heroes rather than seeing the power that is behind their actions.

Preached: Morning April 30, 2023

God’s Exclusive Relationship (LD 34; Eph. 5:5)

We might think that idolatry is something that only other people do. If we are honest, we will see that we are blinded to our own affections and self righteousness. We do not see that there are things in this age, not necessarily sinful things, but things that can distract us from our God. This is why it is so important that we understand we are children of God, and it is because we are redeemed in Christ that we have an exclusive relationship with our God. So, when we are exhorted to discern what is pleasing to the Lord then we are invited to see what things do distract us and to be tender to the things that may distract us from Christ. However, we must always remember that we are beloved children of God and we persevere by His grace and power.

Abraham Saw My Day (Genesis 22)

Abraham presents the picture of the Gospel when he sacrifices Isaac. This is Abraham demonstrating Good Friday and the Lord’s intention.

Free in Christ (LD 33; Ephesians 5:10)

Billy Joel says, "I would rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints." This is a line in "Only the Good Die Young" that has always intrigued me. This would mean that living for God is a life fully of mourning, sorrow, and pure misery. The Apostle Paul does not command us to weep, but to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. In fact, as a Christian we would say that living for God is the source of our joy. In this sermon we consider what it means to live for God and discerning what pleases him.

The Disciples' Christ (Luke 24:18-27)

The unnamed centurion carries out murder. This is not to say that everyone who has died by his hand has been murdered, but his carrying out an order to kill an innocent man is murder. We noted on Friday that the centurion praised God for Christ’s innocence. He saw this with his Roman bias and in darkness.

This is contrasted with the disciples who are familiar with Christ’s ministry. They are perplexed because they thought Christ was the messiah, but Christ died. Christ’s death does not fit into their system. The disciples never thought that Christ’s death has to take away death and definitively destroyed by Christ’s resurrection. So often we think about Christ’s death, but we do not see the significance of his resurrection. This is a reminder that we need to discern who God is rather than define him by our cultural expectations.

Why Obey if Saved By Grace? (LD 32; Matt. 7:17-18)

We are those who are created to do good works. We also know that faith is a gift that is given to us by God. Christ in the Sermon of the Mount gives us very strong exhortations to obey God from our heart. Where does grace fit into all this? Is grace something that enables us to be faithful?

#sermononthemount #lifeinchrist #gospeliving

Preached out of Heaven (Isaiah 6:4-13; LD 31)

Isaiah receives his commission from the Lord to go and bring the word to God's people. This is not a commission that is really positive as the people will not hear or see the message that Isaiah delivers. They will be deaf and blind to the substance of the message. This seems to be a hopeless mission until we read the holy seed is its stump.

#Isaiah #expositorypreaching #catechismsermon #heidelbergcatechism

Discerning Our Redemption (1 Cor. 10:14-22; 11:23-24; LD 30)

We are called to examine ourselves when we come to the Lord's Table. There is a frightening reminder that there are some who have died in the midst of the Corinthian congregation. Can we come to the table with confidence? How much examination should we do?

#expositorypreaching #lordssupper #communion