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 know that our God is a gracious God and a merciful Lord. He is a God who forgives, and so we wonder why does Christ have to die? It would seem logical that God would just forgive Adam and let him return to Eden. However, God does not do this at all, but he sends Christ to die. So, what is the purpose of Christ's death?
Paul gives us the assurance that where we are faithless God remains faithful. Does this mean that we do not seek and desire to live a Christian life? Are we indifferent or neutral to the plan of God? Paul does exhort Timothy and he exhorts us not to fall away as Paul also says, "If we deny him he will deny us." Do we seek to conform to the Lord our of fear? Do we seek to live for the honor and glory of our king just for our own benefit? What is Paul fundamentally teaching us about the Christian life?
Our Lord commands us not to commit adultery. We might think that in the most literal sense we have done very well. However, how does this command challenge us to live a deeper and more committed life to the Lord? What is the solution to our problem? It is important as we wrestle with these questions that we find our affirmation in our Lord.
Paul is detained by Rome because of Christ's gospel. The good news of Christ seems to be halted because Paul is in prison. In fact, there are some who have turned against Paul because of his current circumstances. It would seem that this would deter Paul. He would see his imprisonment as a negative thing. However, he does not see himself as Rome's prisoner, but as Christ's prisoner. How is it a blessing to be Christ's prisoner? How does being Christ's prisoner shift his perspective from being Rome's prisoner?
Christ' work will be applied to his people. We certainly have seen this in John 17. We know that individuals will come to faith, but what about the church? Is the church going to be sustained until the end? Will the Lord preserve his church through thick and thin?
Paul confers a greeting to Timothy that sounds consistent. However, Paul adds “mercy” to his greeting to Timothy. This is language the echos the Old Testament concept of steadfast love. Paul is in prison writing a friend who has grieved the loss of Paul, a friend who wonders if he will see Paul again, and so how is the Lord still showing his steadfast mercy? Is God’s steadfast mercy able to be conferred beyond Paul's current circumstances? How does this assure us that Paul's greeting applies even to us today?
It is very easy not to murder someone. We can tell that we are doing well because we have not literally killed a human being out of vengeance. However, Christ humbles us by telling us we have all murdered. How have we murdered an individual? Why is it important to know the right standard of holiness rather than our own holy standard?
John captures Christ's prayer before Christ goes to the cross. This prayer reveals to us that Christ is very aware of his mission and his purpose of entering history. Christ prays not only for himself, but also his disciples. His disciples are not the immediate 11, but also for us who will come to believe through his word. What does this prayer teach us about Christ's atonement? What assurance does this give us that Christ will not give up on those who has come to redeem?
Joseph considers his legal recourse regarding his pregnant fiancé. He thinks that she loves another man because Joseph knows that she is not carrying his child, and so Joseph desires to quietly break off their relationship by appealing to Deuteronomy 24. An angel appears to him and reveals that Deuteronomy 24 is not going to be used, but rather Deuteronomy 25. Joseph will be the levirate redeemer establishing the legality of Christ's line. Why is it so important that Joseph takes Mary to be his wife?
Christ invites his audience who hears his word to come to him. We are promised blessing if we are not offended by Christ. This sounds strange because why would we be offended by Christ? Nevertheless we are promised that as we respond to the gospel in faith we will take the yoke of Christ upon us. His teaching will progressively become more and more of who we are. Clearly, Christ is assuring us that as we take hold of Christ by faith, as we come under his control more and more we will enjoy his blessings. How can Christ give such a call without contradicting what we heard regarding God’s election before the foundations of the world?
When the Lord declares that he will be victorious over the serpent there is no doubt that the Lord will be victorious over the serpent. God does not overpromise what he is capable of accomplishing. Our expectation of this victory is that Christ is going to send an action hero, a special forces unit, or have a military strategy that would set this world on end. The Lord is going to conduct his battle according to our values rather than showing his strength through humility.
Luke tells us that the Lord does reveals some of the heavenly army, but the angels only sing praises regarding Christ. The Lord recruits the shepherds, but they lack integrity. They do not come to fight, but only bear witness to the angels in heaven praising God. This seems like a flop, but in reality this is exactly how God intends to manifest his victory. The Lord will be exalted through humiliation.
Christ tells us that he has come to fulfill. This means that Christ has come to put the law and the prophets in their place. In our culture putting someone in their place means we put them down or we knock them down a few pegs. This is not at all what Christ means. Christ has entered history, he has taken on the flesh, and he has done enter history as the God/man so that we can have life in him. Redemption is only found in our incarnate savior. As we are found in Christ we live as living sacrifices to Christ. It is very important that we understand Matthew 5:17-20 in its proper context so that we do not strive to keep the rigors of the law in our flesh, but as we walk by faith saying amen to the Lord’s promises.
John writes to the church with the assurance that Christ's payment satisfies the sins of the world. This sounds like the whole world is saved. This cannot be the case because right in Genesis 3:15 God promises that there are going to be two lines of people in the human race. There are those who are identified with Christ and those who are not identified with Christ. Christ's payment for the whole world must mean that Christ came to secure an international people.
Peter tells us, "Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you." This is a pretty strong statement as it sounds like this baptism actually gives us the blessings of Christ. However, Peter says after this, "not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." We are those who make a pledge to God and then we are baptized. This sounds like we first profess, and then we receive baptism. However, we notice the precedent is actually quite different. Scripture actually teaches us that first someone professes, and then the household if baptized. How does Noah's flood teach us this very promise?
The Lord told Adam that the day he eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he will surely die. The Lord cannot just overlook his justice in order to show his mercy. Christ has to die on the cross for the Lord's justice to be satisfied. It is in Christ's death on the cross that his mercy is manifested. How does Paul use the Mosaic arrangement to give us a deeper understanding of Christ's cross?
The book of Daniel is a book that has many ups and downs in terms of the prophet's mission. He advances almost to the top while exiled in Babylon. However, he also has some setbacks. At the end of the book we might wonder what to make of all this? What is the purpose to press forward I Christ? We learn in this final chapter that God's providence and care for this creation are not haphazard. The Lord is moving this creation to his goal while working within the confines of a fallen world. The ultimately spoiler of history is that God wins so it is better to bow one's knee before Christ rather than at the end of the age.
Human beings can go in two different directions. On the one hand we can think that there is something about us that is appealing to God. So, we think that God is going to love us because we are a little more worthy of God's affection than say another person.
The other side of this is that we can think that we are so bad that we are beyond redemption. We can think that God's mercy and grace cannot bring us back from being lost so we avoid the Lord. This too is wrong as we fail to understand the Lord's grace.
How is it encouraging to know that God loves the unlovable? If we are not adorable why would we be encouraged and want to live for God? if we think we are adorable how can God's grace humble us? How does the humbling of God's grace ultimately lift us up?
Sometimes we can read the news or we can survey our current life and wonder if there is a point to this age. We might wonder if God is still in control or if God has abandoned his rule. We might think that Satan has won and the powers or darkness have defeated our God.
This is our perspective, but Daniel assures us that our perspective is wrong. We must remember that God has written history in his book of truth. How does God's book of truth assure our that our victory is sure in Christ? Why is it so comforting that man cannot change God's book of truth? If we understand this Daniel's prophecy we can proceed throughout our life confident that we will prevail because Christ has prevailed.
Our Lord says that you are the light of the world. This almost implies that we are call attention to our good works and the good things that we do. This would mean that Christ is commanding us to be self righteous and to engage in a piety competition. Are we really supposed to parade around our good works? Why would Christ warn us about the outward pious acts of the pharisees? How does being the light of the world humble us and exalt our God?
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.
