What is Your Comfort? (Titus 2:11-15; LD 1)

Paul writes this letter to Titus in Crete. Paul encourages Titus to teach believers to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. Believers are encouraged to see themselves stationed between two epiphanies, that is two events where God has manifested himself. On the one hand God redeems an international people by confirming his promises in Christ which is the first epiphany. We are called to look forward to the blessed hope of Jesus Christ’s return, second epiphany, who gave Himself to redeem and purify a people for His own possession, eager to do good works. We live between these two Christ events knowing that our Lord continues to purify and work in his people.

The Eagle Has Turned (Hosea 8:1-14)

The Lord protected his people as an eagle hovering over its young. The Lord saw to it that he continued to protect his people so that they survived their wilderness time. The Lord is the great protecting Eagle. However, the Lord now uses the nations to come against Israel. They are the eagle poised to attack God's people. We might think that God has given up his purpose for his people. However, Hosea gives a subtle reminder that the Lord will use Egypt again to reshape and mould his people.

The Untamed Lion (Hosea 5:8-6:3)

Jacob declares that Christ is going to be the lion of Judah. This is a lion who is going to fight on behalf of his people. However, what happens when his people lose the sight of God? Is he merely vindictive seeking to destroy? We will see that God is not vindictive, but seeks to shepherd his people even in the midst of discipline.

Sin Is Unfulfilling (Hosea 4:10-19)

When Satan stood before Adam and Eve in the garden of eden he gave them the seduction and the allure of freedom. They could be like God and God would have to bow to their will. Adam and Eve discovered that Satan is a liar in that moment. We also discover that sin's appetite is never exhausted and it can never be quenched. Hosea gives the examples of this from Israel's depravity, but also teaches us that God's redeeming mercy can reach deeper than our depravity and sin.

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

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.

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#romans12 #expositorypreaching #catechismsermon

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

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

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

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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Our Cursed Redeemer (LD 15; Galatians 3:10-13)

We believe that Jesus is God who has taken on the flesh. He has taken on the flesh to redeem his people. We might want to minimize the need to have Christ die on the cross, but if Christ does not die on the cross then we are still in our sins. Christ had to become a curse for us so that we could be released from the curse of death.

(Preached November 6, 2022/11.6.2022)

#expositorypreaching #galatians #whychristdied

Christian Metamorphosis (LD 12; Romans 12:1,2)

Christ presents our discipleship and conforming to his purpose as cross bearing. Peter speaks of sanctification as a refining fire. Paul uses the language of sanctification as a living sacrifice. These terms can discourage us from seeing the bigger picture. You see Paul speaks of us not merely being transformed as a heavenly people, but undergoing a process of metamorphosis. This is communicates the beauty and the bigger picture of sanctification. We are not just denying ourselves something, but we are becoming something by God's grace.

#sanctification #expositorypreaching #romans12 #livingsacrifice

Prophecy of Doom and Deliverance (Zechariah 9:1-8)

Zechariah receives word regarding some cities that we barely know. However, these cities better pay attention because the Lord's judgment is coming against them. This is not just a prophecy that declares death, but there is assurance that the Lord will establish his heavenly city as symbolized in Jerusalem.

(Sunday August 7, 2022)

Cross Ethics (4) (Matthew 18:21-35)

Our Lord concludes the second sermon on the mount with a parable that answer’s Peter’s question: how many times do we forgive?  Christ speaks of us bearing our cross before the Lord by showing this forgiveness.  What is the standard of forgiveness and how does this depth of forgiveness assure us of Christ’s mercy?