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If you are unable to attend in person please join us for worship via our YouTube livestream.

We are streaming via YouTube

If you are unable to attend in person please join us for worship via our YouTube livestream.

Patiently Vindicated (Romans 12:19-20)

It may seem like that Romans 12 is teaching us that Christian life is taking hit after smack in the face without any reprieve.  The thing to remember is that the Apostle Paul wants us to look at the big picture.  We need to be assured that servanthood is not just meaningless suffering, but that our king does notice injustice.  How can seeing the big picture encourage us in the midst of persecution and strife? 

Concluding the Woes (Matthew 23:34-39)

We need to remember that Christ's rebuke is not just an Israelite problem, but a human problem.  Humans are broken, humans need grace, humans need the regenerative power of the Spirit.  Christ is addressing a problem with people who do not think they need to be cleans from the inside out.  In their mind they are moral enough.  God wants us to obey his commandments and so why is Christ not complimenting people for taking his commandments seriously?  Is Christ being picky?  What is the Lord’s intention for his people? 

Optional or Authoritative Word? (Exodus 31:18; Revelation 1:11, 19)

The Lord is invisible, but he has not hidden himself.  The Lord shows himself by His self revelation.  The Lord leaves his signature in this creation, and the Lord gives us his word.  While we as humans can never know God exhaustively we can still know God, and more importantly God knows us.  So, if the Lord gives us his word how do we know that his word is certain?  How do we know that the Lord can use the gifts of the man without contaminating his word?

Long-Suffering Peacemakers (Romans 12:17-18)

It is challenging to live out the gospel in a world that is not sympathetic to the gospel message.  It is easy to cry out for justice now, but honestly where would we be without grace?   If we are redeemed by grace, called to be the Lord's servants, then how do we live before the world?

Serious Woes (Matthew 23:13-33)

The mission set before Christ in Matthew’s Gospel is to fulfill Israel’s history or to fulfill the goal of humanity: to honor the Lord.  Christ does this perfectly, but in order for Christ to fulfill his mission to save his people from their sins he has to go to the cross.  The leaders of Israel deny Christ’s messianic claims because Christ does not fit their mold.  Christ interacts with the leaders giving them complete and severe warnings about their spiritual destiny.  What is their problem?  Is this just an Israelite problem?  What do these woes teach us about our potential spiritual pitfalls? 

A Secret or Revealed God? (Romans 1:16-23)

I marvel at how the Lord works through various men in history. Consider the sermon preached by Jonathon Edwards titled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Jonathon Edwards supposedly preached that sermon in a monotone fashion, but it sparks the great awakening. John Owen is not someone known for a lot of contemporary rhetoric or contemporary oratory winsomeness, but yet the Gospel went out in power. Many today would say Owen is complicated, technical, and maybe even boring. You think of Calvin being sickly, technical at times, and yet the Gospel goes out. The Lord still uses these men despite contemporary advancements in our human wisdom. What is the power behind this message? Is it the man or is it the message? What about this message is so powerful?

Tough Empathy (Romans 12:15, 16)

We have a human tendency where we would rather rejoice when we see people suffer and weep when we see people get ahead of us. We might say that this is not our struggle, but then why does Paul exhort us to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice? The reason is because this is not natural, but something we do in the Spirit. How does this type of empathy become part of of who we are? How does this mindset cultivate a Christ like humility?

(I uploaded a poor quality audio file, and just fixed it)

Our One God (I Corinthians 8:6)

The Belgic confession begins with the truth that our God is one God.   Is this something that is just important for Guido De Bres, the writer of the confession, or is this important for us today? Is this an essential truth for us as Christians to embrace?  How can this truth truly impact our lives and orient us through this age?

Confronting Scoffers (Matthew 23:1-12)

Christ is no longer answering questions from the current leadership, and no he prosecutes his concerns regarding the current leadership.  Is Christ teaching against religion claiming that we embrace Christ, but deny Christianity?  Is Christ saying that religion is the problem?  Is Christ identifying the problem as something else?

Ironic Blessing (Romans 12:14)

It is easy to be nice to those who are nice to us.  It is easy to be encouraging to those who encourage us.  However, how do we interact with those that we deem unworthy of any compassion?  

Scoffers Silenced (Matthew 22:34-46)

The leaders continue to attack Christ rather than to learn from Christ.  The Saduccess and the Pharisees compete in a godless campaign to undermine Christ.  How does Christ put them on edge?  How does Christ silence their scoffing from the Psalms?

Our New Dwelling (Rev. 20:7-21:4)

John has a majestic vision of us entering into the Lord’s rest.  We might wonder how many casualties of war will there be? Are we going to be triumphant when we consider our current circumstances?  It seems that there are a lot of forces that come against the saints, but how do we know that we will enter into the holy city of God?

True Love (Romans 12:9-13)

One of my favorite moves is the princess bride that communicates a theme of true love. We can define true love as a commitment, or maybe even a human feeling, but the Apostle Paul grounds this true love in something that is certain. What is the true love and what is the basis for our hope in this true love? How does Christ’s love inform our love for one another?

Here is the playlist to Romans 12.

A Fool’s Errand (Matthew 22:15-33)

The leaders of Israel are trying as hard as they can to silence Christ. They perceive Christ to be a trouble maker rather than the Lord of life. They do not see the kingdom and all they want to do is undermine Christ. The pharisees send their disciples to do their dirty work only to further expose themselves as hypocrites. The Sadducees try to finish the job only to expose their ignorance. How does one view the mission and ministry of Christ? Where is the hope of the gospel?

Victorious Return (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

The Thessalonians wondered if they missed the second coming of Christ. They perceive that Christ will return soon, but as far as they can tell Christ is still in heaven. Did Christ already come? What about their loved ones who have died? Will those loved ones experience glory? How will we know when Christ returns? Is it going to be secret, public, and what happens when Christ returns?

The Serving Body (Romans 12:4-8)

The apostle Paul reminds us that we are in Christ, but this is not just an individual relationship.  We are those who as a body are joined to the same Christ and to each other.  This means that as a body we should seek opportunities to serve one another for the glory of our Lord as we walk in the Spirit.  If this is the case, then how do we view ourselves in light of our redemption in Christ? 

Here is the playlist to Romans 12.

Kingdom Entrance (3) (Matthew 22:1-14)

The ultimate destiny is for God’s people to dine in the Lord’s presence. I hope that when that glorious day comes we would be joyful and feel privileged to dine with the great king. However, we find that there are people who would rather not go to the king’s banquet. Why do they not want to go? Why is this such a problem?

Man of Lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:3)

The thought of the anti-Christ coming to power sounds pretty frightening.  This is a man who is doing the work of Satan to challenge the Lord, to challenge God, and to come as a rival to the Lord’s kingdom.  Is this something that should terrify us?  Why would God allow such a thing to happen?  Will the church be able to survive such a horrible assault?  How can we be sure that our Lord is sovereign enough to overcome this power?