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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Christ is invited to dine with the leader of the Pharisees. It seems that Christ’s ministry is moving in a positive direction where he is making inroads with the movers and shakers of the society. This seems to be underscored when we notice Luke tells us that the Phariesses were watching Him carefully. This has to mean that Christ is being accepted by significant people. Or is this banquet hosted for more nefarious reasons?
The parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable that certainly teaches us to be concerned for our neighbor, it teaches us to care for the physical needs as well as the spiritual, but is there a deeper meaning to this parable? In other words what other information can this parable be teaching us about the kingdom?
Prior to Job 32 there have been a lot of words, speeches, and exchanges about suffering. The speeches are frustrating because there is no resolution on the horizon. The counselors and Job are finally finished with their bantering, but the book is not resolved. Job is the last one to speak, but his words are not all that God glorifying. Is there another man who can step up and offer some wisdom, offer some insight, or maybe a different perspective? We meet Elihu. Who is this man, and why has he been silent for so long?
We all know that the great commission is the call for the church to go out and to make disciples. This is something that Christ explicitly states, but is this really the Great Commission? What are we missing when we only talk about the call for the church to go out?
The resurrection of Christ is a difficult doctrine for us to defend. I mean the absurdity of this is when recognize that we are coming together on April Fools day to talk about the resurrection of some guy who clearly died on the cross. How can this be possible? More importantly is it really that important to talk about the Resurrection of Christ?
Christ assures us that the folly of Christ’s cross is salvation manifested by the power of God. How can this be? This sounds impossible because the cross is a method of execution. Why would we want this symbol? The tragedy is that we are tempted to sanitize this symbol, but why is that so tragic? What could be the possible benefit of this cross?
Job is one who has suffered, but he is not someone that we would say is a champion. He is a man who continually rests in his righteousness while wondering how God can make such a righteous man suffer. We can chuckle and Job, judge Job, and point out Job’s problems. However, we still have not asked the deeper question: why is this book in our canon? What can Job’s suffering and self righteous speech teach us about our Christian walk, our bent, and our failure to see the gospel?
We conclude Christ’s sermon on the mount. Christ is laying out an ethic that we are called to follow as a people set apart unto the Lord. Do we just say that these laws are difficult so we can ignore them? Do we more purposefully set out to obey these laws in our strength? What are we to do with this challenging sermon that is set before us?
It is easy for fallen man to be judgmental. If we are honest we would much rather fix someone else’s problem than our own because overall we are doing pretty well right? This is not what Christ says, and Christ speaks in a parabolic way showing the absurdity of such a judgmental spirit. So, what is the problem of being judgmental and what is the solution?
Job is not happy with how the Lord has treated him. You would think that Job would be rather content considering that the Lord has blessed him, and allowed him to enjoy a great life. However, now we hear why Job is so upset as he even uses the counselors own words to describe his suffering. Why would Job be so upset if he is merely using the counselors own words to describe his suffering?
The potential temptation we can have as Christians is to think that this kingdom is only spiritual and that there is nothing physical that our Lord provides. However, Christ makes this strange promise that as we pursue the kingdom of God there is the assurance that the Lord will provide for us. How does this work? Why not worry about the physical things when the the Kingdom is Spiritual?
The book of Job is moving to a conclusion. Job has silences the counselors to the point where they will no longer argue or speak against him. Job is now entering into his legal proceedings with the Lord. Job wants all the understand why Job is shocked and appalled that such a thing has happened to him. Why is Job so shocked? What right does Job have to claim that the Lord should not bring such suffering and hardship against this man?
The Lord has called us to honor Him and to live a life exclusively for our God. Christ makes this life a challenge when Christ is very explicit that the law is something that cuts to the heart rather than just being an outward superficial conforming. It is impossible for us to conform to the Lord from our heart, and so how do we conform to the Lord? How do we come before the Lord in light of such impossible exhortations?
We can interview numerous people, we can comb the Scriptures, we can dig into the earth, but where is wisdom? This is a rather profound question that Job seeks to answer. The answer to the question may not be as simple as just reading some Scriptures, or interviewing some people. So, what is the answer? Is Job ready to embrace the answer as he feels it being pressed upon him?
Christ tells us not to take an oath, we are not to get vengeance, and we are called to a radical love. If those things are not hard enough we hear that we are supposed to be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect. How can we measure up to this standard? Do we just ignore these commands because they are impossible? Do we strive to keep them in the hopes that God will still accept us? What do we do with these difficult commands?
Job is not done speaking and now he is one who affirms that God carries out His justice. Job knows that God will judge the world, but Job carries a deep frustration within himself. On the one hand Job knows the fate of the wicked, he knows that God judges the wicked, but Job’s punishment parallels the wicked’s life. Job does not see how this can be reconciled. So, how do we reconcile Job’s life with the Lord judging the wicked?
Job is getting his case ready before the Lord and he will not back down no matter what the counselors say to him. Job is one who feels the weight of this age, the pursuit of the Lord, and majesty of God. He knows that God is majestic and Job breaks forth in a wonderful declaration of the Lord’s majesty. So, why is Job so frustrated?
Christ goes through the law and lays out the challenge of the seventh commandment. This is another commandment that one might think is rather easy to keep, but is this really such an easy command to keep? Is this one of the least commands or do we make it one of the least commands? What are some of the implications regarding this commandment?
Christ continues to instruct the disciples on the mountain regarding life in this kingdom. His presentation now is that the law of God has more meaning than just a few external commands that are easy to follow. Christ goes through the command to murder which we might think is pretty easy to obey. I mean there are a lot of people who have gone through this life without taking another human life. Our temptation might be to skip over this command and to move onto a commandment that is probably a little more challenging. So, what is the real challenge for us not to murder someone?
This is a very short speech in the book of Job. The counselors are those who are very wordy, but now we find that they are starting to fade away. Why are the counselors no longer talking? Have the counselors run out of words or is something else happening?
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.
