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

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

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