Though there isn’t a consensus about what each of the weeks of Advent represent, many hold that this, the second week, focuses either upon the prophecies of Christ’s birth and hence it’s about Bethlehem or the Manger or the way of the prophets, which is our focus this morning. As …
To read Old Testament prophetic books is to be reminded of how hard it would be to be a prophet of God. On the one hand, what an amazing privilege it must have been to receive communications from God and present them to his people; on the other hand, we …
As we are entering Thanksgiving week, I thought it might be appropriate and helpful to consider one of many passages given to us in Scripture about thanksgiving. A few weeks ago I ended a sermon using part of this morning’s passage in 2 Corinthians and as I was perusing which …
This morning we are turning to the final “sola” of the Reformation. Having considered the first four foundational “solas”of our lives as followers of Christ—Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone—we will now turn to the fifth and natural outcome of the first four, Soli Deo Gloria or to …
This morning we are considering the 4th “sola” of the Reformation, “Solus Christus” or “Christ alone.” In our passage this morning, Jesus is addressing eleven of his twelve disciples. In the previous chapter in John 13 we have three important incidents recorded that provide us with some background: First, Jesus …
As we continue to consider the “5 Solas” of the Reformation, we see a logical progression. We began with “Sola Scriptura”—Scripture alone—for Scripture is God’s revelation, his communication, to us about who he is, who we are, and what he desires of us. We cannot know any of these things …
As I mentioned last week, today—the last Sunday in October—is Reformation Sunday, a day celebrated by many Protestants in honor of Martin Luther’s bold action in posting 95 Theses against the church of the day on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31st of 1517. In …
This morning we’re going to begin a 5-week series on what are known as the “5 Solas” of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura—or Scripture alone; Sola Fide—or faith alone; Sola Gratia—or grace alone; Solus Christus—or Christ alone; and Soli Deo Gloria—or to the glory of God alone. The timing for this …
This morning we’re going to consider some things Jesus had to say about prayer. This portion of Matthew is a section of Jesus’ broader Sermon on the Mount presented in chapters 5–7 of this Gospel. And, as was the case with Paul when addressing the church in Colossae, Jesus has …
I want to begin this morning by taking some matters off the table and noting some things that this passage does not mean. This passage does not teach that being poor and suffering will get us into heaven whereas being rich will land us in hell. As we’re going to …
