Mama loved to see gifts joyfully received. In the same way, God delights in our gratitude for His grace. No story reveals this like the shepherds in Luke 2. These unlikely converts were first to hear of Jesus’ birth. No one gave them anything. But God gave them everything. Their joy is the joy of the hopeless finding hope. Do you have that joy? God offers a great gift. Will you receive it? Listen as we examine Luke 2 and hear of a “great joy will be for all the people.”
Category Archives: Sermons
12/12/2021 | “Who Are You?” | Isaiah 9:1-7
When someone mentions Jesus, what comes to mind? Religious revolutionary? Social justice warrior? Ethical teacher? Failed Zionist leader? Founder of a yet another world religion? Who is this Jesus? For many it is a caricature, influenced by pictures you have seen or by clichés which permeate our cultural ideas of “the historical Jesus.” Or perhaps you remember him from a collection of anecdotes or parables you heard as a child in some Sunday School.
Who is Jesus? Our nativity scenes portray only Jesus’ humanity. But in the OT Jesus is called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Think you know who Jesus is? Listen as we examine Isaiah 9:1-7 and uncover Jesus full identity as “the only Redeemer of God’s elect… who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continues to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever.”
12/05/2021 | “So Much More” | Isaiah 7:1-17
Christmas often leaves us looking for something more. Expectations are high, but our celebrations rarely deliver. And even when we take to heart Linus’ words that Christmas is about the birth of a Savior, we are left wondering what type of Savior He is. Is He a mere teacher, who increased the demands of the law from mere outward conformity, to the perfect obedience of heart, mind, soul and strength? Is He a mere example, come to demonstrate to us how to love and sacrifice for one another? Or should we look for something more?
In Matthew 1, Joseph wrestled with the revelation of Mary’s pregnancy. How should he respond? What was to become of her? And what about the child? In a dream, an angel of the Lord points him to Isaiah 7:14, the promise of Immanuel. And while Mary’s honor is vindicated, but this promise means much, much more. They are given to reveal to Joseph and to us, that this child is much more than a mere human. Or our catechism says, he is “one who is a true and sinless man, and yet more powerful than all creatures, that is, one who is at the same time true God.” This is the only type of savior we should seek. The doctrine of the Virgin Birth is not meant to tell us about Mary, but about Jesus. The grace that is ours in the gospel is much more than we imagine or expected. Listen as we examine God’s promise of Immanuel in Isaiah 7:1-17 and consider how God’s gracious promise points to something much more than we hope or imagine.
11/28/2021 | “The Everlasting King” | 2 Samuel 7:1-14
As a boy, the Sears and Roebuck Catalog opened up new worlds of Christmas possibilities and gave substance to my letters to Santa. While aware of its dangers, my parents also understood it power to guide expectations. Before the catalog arrived, they would talk up the ideas of what they planned to give. Then when it arrived, they used the catalog to reinforce their ideas either by confirmation or contrast. Our parents gave us what was best for us, but they also wanted us to rejoice in receiving it.
Our heavenly Father is like this. He wants us to rejoice in receiving His gifts. The history of redemption is the epic story of God giving His greatest gift to beloved children, but not before teaching us to expect and desire what He plans to give. From Genesis to Revelation, God trains our expectations and creates our desire for the Savior He offers. What type of Savior are you looking for? Someone to save you from your circumstances? Or your feelings? Or your past? Or you fear of the future? Or one who is much more – an everlasting and eternal King who gives everlasting life. Join us as we examine 2 Samuel 7:1-14 and consider how God’s promise to David reveals Jesus as our Everlasting King.
11/21/2021 | “Coal and Switches” | Genesis 3:1-15
My father had a flair for the dramatic. Every Christmas Eve, he would conduct his man-on-the-street interview with us, always wrapping up with the devastating question, “Have you been good this year?” Of course, I always tried to answer a confident, “Yes.” But in the quiet of my mind and the long night, conscience began to do its work. Had I been good? Had my merits exceeded my demerits? How good did I need to be? These days the darker side of Santa is rarely discussed – the vindictive, cold, works-based side of Santa Claus that delivers the punitive gifts of a lump of coal and a bundle of switches to bad children. On my bed, I pondered the question, “Had I been good?”
A man once came to Jesus and posed the same question, but concerning for a more serious outcome. “Good teacher, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus reply was devastating. “Why do you call me good, no one is good except God alone. You know the commandments!” How good do you have to be ‘good with God?’ Well if it is up to you, you have to be perfect. Who can make a claim to this kind of goodness? The Bible tells us that “no one is good, no not one.” But it is in that same context that we are told the good news that the judgment of God is not the last word. There is no hope for bad children with Santa, but with the eternal God, sinners have hope. For Jesus said, “the one who comes to me, I will never turn away.” Listen to “Coal and Switches” from Genesis 3:1-15 as we consider the judgment and grace of God in Christ.
11/14/2021 | “In-Between” | 2 Corinthians 5:1-9
Have you curated your funeral playlist yet? If not, let me encourage you take some time to look at what the scripture says about life after death – both for the believer and the unbeliever – so that every part of our funeral service can bear witness to the goodness of our God and the truth of the gospel. But what does the Bible say?
While the Bible speaks about life in the New Heavens and the New Earth, very little description is given to the time between death and the resurrection and return of Christ. Theologians refer to this time as the Intermediate State. Some hold this is a time of unconscious soul sleep, others that it is a dreary dream world of souls in limbo. Still others view this as a time of probation with a second chance for those that either did not hear the gospel or rejected it in this life. But the Bible soundly refutes all these ideas and gives us a much better picture of a life absent from the body, but present with the Lord. Listen to “In-Between” as we examine 2 Corinthians 5:1-9 and consider life after death.
11/07/2021 | “Fingertips and Noses” | Revelation 22:6-21
Where will Jesus find us when He comes again?
– Fingertips and Noses, NewSong
Will we be like little children waiting just for Him?
With our fingertips and noses pressed to the windowpanes
Longing eyes, expectant hearts for Him to come again.
The final instruction of the Bible is to live expectantly, longing for Christ’s return. Our mantra is to be maranatha, ‘Come, Lord Jesus.’ Is that your mantra? Can you say with the Spirit and the Bride, ‘Come!’ Or is your cry, “not yet!”
How eager are you for the return of Christ? How convinced are you that the day of His return will be the very best day, not a day of disaster? Join us this Lord’s Day, as we examine Revelation 22:6-21 and consider a how to live expectantly and cultivate a longing for the return of Christ, training our hearts to cry, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
10/31/2021 | “Always Reforming” | Revelation 21:9-22:5
Always Reforming. The church is always in need of correction, sanctification, renewal, discipleship, gospel preaching, the faithful and diligent use of the ordinary means of grace. The marks of the church imply as much — faithful preaching of the Word, faithful administration of the Sacraments, and church discipline. The Reformation of the Church is not an event, it is ‘laundry work.’ Ever doing and never done. That is, until the day when the church descends from heaven – holy, radiant, finally and fully prepared to be the bride and wife of the lamb. For now, the church must be ‘always reforming.’ But a day is coming when faith becomes sight and every promise, every ‘yes and amen’ in Christ, is fulfilled. Then the church will at last be all she has been created to be. All brokenness and blemish will be gone.
Her beauty, her perfect fellowship with her Beloved, and her indescribable life, so beautifully captured in Revelation 21:9-22:5, are the hope to which we press. Because a day is coming when the laundry work of reformation will reach its end, we press on with the work of always reforming. As the scripture commands us, “let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Join us this Reformation Lord’s Day, as we examine Revelation 21:9-22:5 and consider a day when the church will no longer be ‘always reforming.’
10/24/2021 | “In Conclusion” | 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
The conclusion of a book is as important as its introduction. We can all think of those introductions which have grabbed our attention. But the conclusions also get our attention because they remind us of what an author really considers to be important. This is certainly the case in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. He begins his letter calling to mind that the church of Thessalonica is God’s church. In the conclusion, he offers exhortations on how that church is to live in light of the fact that it belongs to God. We see in these exhortations principles for honoring church leaders, principles for peace among fellow Christians, and the importance of rejoicing and praying. But all of these commands are rooted in Paul’s benediction in verse 23. Paul writes in that verse, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
How can a Christian really live as one of God’s chosen people? How can a Christian have confidence that they will grow in grace? How can a Christian have the hope that they may endure to the end? It is because God is at work in the life of the believer and because He will keep them blameless. Paul has a settled confidence that “he will surely do it.” God has redeemed His own people from destruction, and He has promised to keep them to the end. Do you have the kind of settled confidence that Paul displays in this passage? Are you hopeful in the power of God to keep you and in the second coming of Jesus Christ? Listen to “In Conclusion” from 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28.
10/17/2021 | “Disclaimers” | Revelation 21:1-8
Everything comes with disclaimers. The fine print. The low-toned, rapid-fire voice at the end of the commercial that you somehow know is offering a hurried, but dire warning. Asterisks and double-daggers qualify every statement, so as to evade charges of false advertising. To disclaim is the opposite of claiming. The salesman claims, the legal department disclaims. Offers are made, then qualified, modified, mortified. The sales pitch promotes benefit without borders, then the disclaimer draws a very small map of possibilities.
Disclaimers makes us jaded toward every remarkable promise, suspicious of every offer. In Eden, Satan disclaimed God’s promises and man doubted. Ever since, man has doubted. God offers more than man can imagine. The offer requires only faith, yet man can only doubt. But God gives something else. He gives faith as a gift. God in his mercy, gives us the faith to trust that his offer comes without disclaimers. The great story of redemption draws to a close in Revelation 21 with a vision of all God’s promises kept. Nothing is withheld. There are no caveats, no conditions, no last-minute substitutions – no disclaimers. Join us as we consider Revelation 21:1-8 and consider the offer that seems too good to be true, but really is.
Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church 