Do Not Take an Oath at All? (Matthew 23:16-22; LD 37)

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.

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.

God’s Exclusive Relationship (LD 34; Eph. 5:5)

We might think that idolatry is something that only other people do. If we are honest, we will see that we are blinded to our own affections and self righteousness. We do not see that there are things in this age, not necessarily sinful things, but things that can distract us from our God. This is why it is so important that we understand we are children of God, and it is because we are redeemed in Christ that we have an exclusive relationship with our God. So, when we are exhorted to discern what is pleasing to the Lord then we are invited to see what things do distract us and to be tender to the things that may distract us from Christ. However, we must always remember that we are beloved children of God and we persevere by His grace and power.

Free in Christ (LD 33; Ephesians 5:10)

Billy Joel says, "I would rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints." This is a line in "Only the Good Die Young" that has always intrigued me. This would mean that living for God is a life fully of mourning, sorrow, and pure misery. The Apostle Paul does not command us to weep, but to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. In fact, as a Christian we would say that living for God is the source of our joy. In this sermon we consider what it means to live for God and discerning what pleases him.

Why Obey if Saved By Grace? (LD 32; Matt. 7:17-18)

We are those who are created to do good works. We also know that faith is a gift that is given to us by God. Christ in the Sermon of the Mount gives us very strong exhortations to obey God from our heart. Where does grace fit into all this? Is grace something that enables us to be faithful?

#sermononthemount #lifeinchrist #gospeliving

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 Eat True Nourishment (Luke 22:14-23; LD 28)

Our Lord hosts the passover with his disciples on the night that he is betrayed. He applies the signs of the bread and wine to himself. He says that this is my body and this is my blood. This is sacramental metonymy. Christ is using the bread and the wine in the place of his body.

#sacraments #lordssupper #communion

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Baptism: A Communal Sign (Isaiah 44:1-3; LD 27)

Isaiah, the prophet, speaks of the washing that will go forth. This washing is not just for the adults in the community, but their offspring. The wilderness normally is associated with death, but our Lord will overturn it with life.

#waterbaptism #Infantbaptism #baptism

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Redeemed for Discipleship (LD 25; Matt. 28:16-20)

Christ is raised from the dead, he interacts with his disciples on the last mountain, and he goes to heaven. This would appear to be Christ leaving us and forsaking us. However, Christ assures us that he will be with us until the end of the age.

#greatcomission #matthewgospel #christianmotivation

Redeemed to Conscious Living (Isaiah 63:7-64:12; LD 24)

The prophet Isaiah recounts the Lord's gracious work, and intercedes on behalf of God's people. We ultimate rest in God’s steadfast mercy. We are unfaithful, but He is faithful. We desire the potter to mold us as his redeemed.

Raised for our Justification (Romans 4; LD 23)

We know that the resurrection of Christ is essential for our resurrection. Our temptation as humans is to think that this is a future blessing. However, the Apostle Paul assures us that Christ's resurrection is for us right now. If Christ is not raised from the dead then we are still in our sins. Paul's point is that Abraham did not just look for a son, but he looked to the resurrection.

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

Christ’s Glorious Throne Room (Psalm 110; LD 19)

The apostles' creed teaches that Christ is sitting on the right hand of God. We might think that this makes Christ distant from the Lord. We might think that Christ being distant has no advantage for us today. However we can be assured that as Christ is in heaven we will overcome. We might experience discouragement in our current existence, but we know that we will prevail because Christ has overcome.

#expositorypreaching #righthandofGod #christinheaven #christaspriest #christisenough

(Preached 12.4.2022)

Does Christ's Ascension Matter? (LD 18; Col. 2:8-15)

The Lord promises to walk with us and to be present with us until the end of the age. We would like this to mean that we have visible access to Christ. Our best scenario is that wego to his earthly residence, knock on his door, and personally bring our requests to him. However, this is not what Christ does. He goes to heaven, sits at the right hand of the father, and assures us that this is the best thing for us. Once again we are reminded that this is a problem with our perspective and not a problem with the Lord's provision. We need to see that Christ's ascension into heaven guarantees our place, he prays in the heavenly temple, he guarantees that our glorified flesh is fit for heaven, and he sends the Holy Spirit uniting us to him. These are just a few of the benefits of Christ's ascension that we consider in our sermon.

(Preached 11.27.2022)

#christascended #doctrinalpreaching #expositorypreaching #christisenough #christisrisen

Does Resurrection Matter? (LD 17, Colossians 3:1-4)

We normally think of the Resurrection of Christ as being a bit of an abstract concept. Sure, we believe that Christ is raised from the dead and we know that is important. We can think that his resurrection impacts our resurrection. This is true! However, the Apostle Paul sees the resurrection of Christ as being more than just the period or the end of history. The resurrection of Christ is essential for every day of our Christian life. It is in the resurrection of Christ that we move from to domain of death to the power of life even as our victory is currently hidden.

#resurrectionlife #unionwithChrist #expositorypreaching #christisenough

A Losing Servant? (LD 16; Isa. 52:13-53:12)

We might wonder why the disciples seemed to consistently miss Christ's message. We can read Luke 24 and desire to give a very harsh rebuke to the disciples who doubt Christ's resurrection. However, Christ tells these struggling disciples that the scriptures spoke of the Christ's suffering, and death. If we walk through the servant songs there are three servant songs that make us think we are on the winning side. We see a picture of the Lord's servant that we like. The fourth servant song is not an image of the servant that we fully comprehend. However, this final servant song communicates how the servant is going to be victorious. We cannot be ashamed of Christ's suffering, but we must embrace it. We must not end with Christ's suffering, because he lives to make intercession. We serve a Lord who has suffered in our place, but is also raised the Lord of life.

(Preached on November 13, 2022 in the evening)

#expositorypreaching #sufferingservant #christisenough #isaiah

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

Why Did Christ Come? (LD 14; Gal. 4:4)

The Apostle Paul tells us that in the fullness of time Christ is born of a woman. The fullness of time is when Christ enters history to establish the Lord's people in the freedom of Christian maturity. We are now released from the guardian and called to use our freedom to glorify Christ. Paul is teaching us that Christ is God and faithful Son from eternity who has come to secure our adoption. Praise be to God that our redemption and adoption is secure in God's faithful son.

#redeemed #lifeinchrist #galatians #heidelbergcatechism

(Preached in the evening on 10.30.2022)

Our Glorious Adoption (LD 13, Ephesians 1:3-14)

We believe that Christ is Son of God. He is son from all eternity. Christ is begotten in eternity. Yes, this is something that is difficult for us to understand, but nevertheless Christ was not created. However, we are also called sons of God. This means that we are adopted as children of God to share in Christ's inheritance. We are not deserving of this blessing, but by the grace of God we receive his inheritance by grace and mercy.

(Preached 10.23.2022 in the evening)

#graciousredemption #godsadoption #adoptedsonsofgod #expositorypreaching #ephesians1