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Tag Archives: Sermon
Advent and Christmas Sermons — 2022
As I’ve mentioned in the last couple of posts, I’ll no longer be sharing all my sermons in mp3 format on this site; the podcast feed will be dedicated to other talks and special presentations. Center Church’s YouTube channel will continue to broadcast services, and I’ll be the preacher at the majority of these services for the foreseeable future.
That said, I wanted to share links to our Advent and Christmas services, queued up to the sermons if you are interested. Continue reading
Sermon: “I Am the Bread of Life” (John 6:25–71)
This is the audio (49:10, 38.0 MB) of a sermon preached at Center Presbyterian Church (EPC) of Grove City, PA, on September 18, 2022. The main text is John 6:25–71. You can also watch the service on YouTube. Continue reading
Sermon: “I Stretched Out My Hands All Day Long” (Isaiah 65–66)
Have you ever had an experience with a toddler that you knelt down, held out your arms, and waited for the child to run to you to be hugged—and instead the child runs past you to someone else? (This can also happen with dogs!) No one really takes this personally when it happens, because—children are children! But if, let’s say, you’re an uncle or an aunt, and a child ignores you like this, multiple times in a row—maybe you feel a bit hurt. Well, God felt this way with Israel. He didn’t just want them to conform to some rule or standard; he wanted to be close to them. He made himself available to them, he held out his arms all day long to them (65:2) but most ignored him….
In the Gospels, we see that Jesus’s arms were open wide, to those who would answer his call and take hold of him in faith. At the cross, with his arms stretched out all day long, in excruciating pain, he looked out at a rebellious and disobedient people—Jews and Gentiles—and took upon himself the punishment for their sins, the sins of anyone who would repent. Continue reading
Sermon: “Oh, That You Would Rend the Heavens!” (Isaiah 63:7-64:12)
The prayer in Isaiah 63–64 is a great example because the faithful prophet knows what his people need: they need God to change their hearts, and they need God to be near to them. It is passionate, and thoughtful, and based on God’s promises to his people. It’s also beautiful for us to think about how God answered this prayer: including in ways that his people did not expect. Continue reading
Epiphany Sermon: “Nations Shall Come to Your Light” (Isaiah 60:1-14)
This was YHWH God’s purpose all along in calling Israel to be his people: that his glory would be shown in their midst, and the nations would see and be attracted to it. Very often, Israel failed to live up to God’s glory—as we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. None of us is worthy to carry forth God’s glory into the world. In Isaiah 60, despite all that Israel, Judah and Jerusalem had done to bring shame on God’s name: God still displayed his glory through them. In Matthew 2: despite all that the Jews, and all that humanity, had done to dishonor God: God still chose to be born a Jewish baby, a human baby, and to show his glory in the world through Jesus Christ. Continue reading
Advent Sermon: “He Will Stand and Shepherd His Flock” (Micah 4:9-5:6)
The fact that Micah mentions “the land of Nimrod” is not just trying to be more specific—“Oh, you mean that Assyria, the one founded by Nimrod.” It’s reminding us of the rebellion and evil that Nimrod spread throughout the world. But this king from Bethlehem who would bring peace and lead Israel, will not just defend his people from outside attacks, although that is part of it. In the first part of verse 6, we see that he will lead the people to the gates of Assyria, the land of Nimrod, the heart of the land where evil dwells. In other words, he is going to lead an attack, to take the fight to the evil land—and he will win! Continue reading
Sermon: “I Have Dealt With You for My Name’s Sake” (Ezekiel 20:30-44)
The elders in Ezekiel’s day were at a loss as to how to approach God. Their guilt was before them, and everything that YHWH said through Ezekiel was abundantly true. Continuing to the time of Jesus: How did God deal with his sinful people, still in exile, still oppressed by the Romans and their gods, and victims of their own sinfulness? There seemed to be no way out.
But God, who was rich in mercy, provided a solution for his people, in Christ. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days, as Israel was for 40 years. Jesus went into “exile,” the death of a cross, separation from his father. Not because he deserved it, but because he chose to take our sin upon himself. Jesus “passed under the rod of the Father’s anger” for us! Jesus did so, so that he could bring his people into the land, that we would be fit to bear the name of YHWH God! And, he gave us his body and blood, continuing offerings so that we can be in fellowship with God! Continue reading
Sermon: “Laws Through Which They Could Not Live” (Ezekiel 20:11-29)
If we don’t live by God’s law, the alternative is not “freedom”—it is slavery—either slavery to chaos and disorder, or to human-made law. If we will not say to God, “Let your will be done!” then God says to us, “OK, let your will be done.” We probably live in the time where at least people in the developed world have the most self-determination, but it seems to lead to depression and anxiety, rather than to liberation.
God wants us to be holy because it’s good for us, and because of his reputation. If were so consumed with God’s reputation, what would that mean for our personal discipleship—the choices we make on an hour to hour, day to day, year by year basis? For our worship? For our evangelism? We should be shouting it from the rooftops, and it should work into our lives like yeast and affect everything that we do. Continue reading
Sermon: “Shame Rolled Away” (Ezekiel 20:1-11)
Each of us here today still lives with the scars and the effects of sin in our life: the sins that we have committed, and the sins committed against us. That is a reality of life in this fallen world. But the good news is that because of Christ’s death and resurrection, for those who believe and turn to God in repentance, we are no longer defined by our past sins. Continue reading
Sermon: A Testimony to the Powers (Ephesians 3:1-13)
This is the audio (41:27, 37.9 MB) of a sermon preached at our Lithuania home church, Klaipėda Free Christian Church, on April 18. The main text is Ephesians 3:1-13. Enjoy hearing the sermon in both English and Lithuanian (back-and-forth)! You … Continue reading
think hard, think well 