Go To Him

Psalm 22  Good Friday is approaching.  The day Jesus is beaten beyond human recognition and nailed to the cross.  Despite the apparent triumph of evil and the end of God’s redemptive plan, Jesus teaches us as the Psalm does, God is not absent.  He has not abandoned us.  He is there.  His silence is not the silence of a jilted lover or an angry and vindictive being.  His silence is part of His perfect will and perfect redemptive plan.  No matter our feelings we can live in the assurance that our God is working all things for our good and His Glory.  Our God sees, our God Hears, our God answers.

Psalm 32: 6-7, 10-11 Life, as a child of God, should be lived in joy, gratitude, and obedience.  We are truly free, eternally secure, and infinitely loved by the God that brought us out of slavery and into the freedom of His presence.  Living redeemed means inhabiting this reality daily—acknowledging our freedom, embracing our new identity as God’s own, and allowing that transformation to reshape our choices, relationships, and hope for the future.

Psalm 32:1-2  What does it mean to be redeemed?  Today we will see many examples of redemption both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  There will be a plethora (a bunch) of theological terms I will define and explain.  (Each one could be one sermon if not a series in themselves.)  At the end, this is what I want us to remember -  Redemption is an act of God that restores us into relationship with God, brings us joyfully into His grace and mercy, and frees us from the guilt of our sin.

Psalm 32:5 Our topic today - repentance. It has far more reaching consequences than just being sorry we did something wrong or, as more often happens, we are sorry that we got caught. It means a total change of life, a total change of direction, a total reorienting of our lives according to God’s will not our own. Until that happens we will never experience true freedom because we will always be enslaved to our sin. For those that repent it means freedom and reconciliation with the God that loves them and desires reconciliation and relationship.Only through repentance can we be freed from enslavement to sin and brought into true freedom with God.

Psalm 32: 3-4   With Psalm 32 as the background, we will focus on verses 3-4 today. We will ask the questions “What is sin?” and “How can I recognize sin in my life?” Though these are questions that apply to believers, it is THE question that must first be answered by an unbeliever before they can become a child of God. Unless they can recognize the sin in their life they will never get to the point of needing or desiring to be reconciled to God. Acknowledging the weight of our sin is vital for our spiritual journey; embracing it allows us to experience God's grace and restoration through repentance.

Matthew 18:1-5  What we see today is unless we completely and totally trust in God and depend on him, we cannot even enter His kingdom.  This is not a case of “You do your best and God will do the rest.”  No, this is a case of God is our only hope in every situation of life and we must depend on Him for everything.  We must humble ourselves and trust Him as his child in order to enter the Kingdom.

Matthew 17:24-27  As children of God, we are called to live in a manner that honors Him, using our freedom not to indulge our desires, but to serve Him and serve others for His glory.

Matthew 17:24-23  As we will learn today it is not the amount of our faith or the strength of our ability to generate faith.  Not quantity, but quality.  Who is the object of our faith and on whom do we depend for that faith? Even the smallest faith can move mountains when it is placed in the hands of Jesus.

Matthew 17:1-13  Today we get a glimpse of Jesus in His glory and what we will become after His return. It’s a familiar story, one we have heard or read many times. While I do not have anything earth shattering to add, I think we need the reminder of who it is we believe in and worship and what this frail body of dust will become. That hope can carry us through our dark days of wanting to be so different than we are. We need to remember that 1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” 

1 Peter 1:3-9 Heaven will come down one, last time.  God, the Father, has set a day when everything infected with sin is either renewed, saved to eternal joy, or sent to eternal punishment.  After that, Heaven and Earth will once more be open to each other and we will either live eternally with or without God.  That day begins with the return of Jesus from Heaven.

Matthew 16:21-28  Memento Mori - remember you must die.  It is not intended to be a morbid practice but one that forces us to confront our mortality and the type of life we live.  To live for ourselves is to die for eternity, to live for Jesus is to find life in God.

Luke 2:1-20 We can spend a lifetime finding all that the birth of Jesus, and his subsequent life, death, and resurrection, means to us and to the world.  We all know it means far more than trees and presents and food and fellowship and Christmas carols and “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  Today we focus on two meanings of God coming to Earth in Jesus.  One is of paramount importance - we now have forgiveness of our sin and we can be justified, declared righteous, before a Holy and Perfect God.  The second fills us with hope and reassurance because we are adopted into God’s family to enjoy all that God has to offer us as children.

Matthew 16:13-20 The living building of Jesus’s church, made up of those who have believed and proclaimed faith in Christ, and who now proclaim the Good News to the world have only done so through the foundational truths God has provided - the evidence of who Jesus is and the revelation of what He has done.

Matthew 16:1-12  People today are no different than the Pharisees, Sadducees, and disciples.  There are those, so many of those, that refuse to see and believe the evidence of Jesus as Savior.  They don’t want to admit they are a sinner justly condemned before a Holy God so they pretend there isn’t a God.  Or if there is one, we can’t know anything about him.  They don’t want to hear the only way to salvation and a redeemed relationship with God is through the  atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  That through his life, death, burial, and resurrection we can be forgiven of our sins and can be adopted as children of God into God’s family.  They refuse to admit there is more to this life than just this life on Earth.  There is an eternity waiting with eternal joy in the presence of God or torment in the eternal wrath of God with no hope of mercy or grace.

Matthew 15:29-39 Jesus's compassion knows no bounds - no borders, no boundaries, no ethnic divisions, no social divisions, no wealth divisions, no medical divisions - there is no beyond the compassion of Jesus.  That compassion leads not only to healing and preaching the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand but will eventually lead to salvation being made available to all people.  God is calling his children to a compassion that reaches past all man-made divisions and boundaries to reach people with the Gospel and provide them that which they cannot provide for themselves.

Matthew 15:21-28  True faith, small or large, is a persistent faith that perseveres through trials and tribulations.  While divine favor and breakthroughs don’t always come, or come when we expect, that kind of faith can only grow as we continually find ourselves in the presence of the one who loves us and sent his Son to save us.  Persistent and persevering faith keeps us in the presence of our God.

Matthew 15:10-20 Traditions can be good and useful if they point us to the God that loves us. Traditions can be harmful if they take our eyes away from God. Tradition, for the sake of tradition, only indicates the extent of the idol worshipping sin in our heart. Take the time to take stock of the traditions in your life. If they are leading you to God, then continue to use them. If they are a hindrance to your walk with God either change them or eliminate them. God wants our hearts, not our traditions.

Matthew 15:1-9  Are all traditions bad?  No.  Not even within the church.  Where they become stumbling blocks is when our man-made traditions take precedence over the word of God.  Are we hypocritically expecting others to live by man-made rules that we don't follow or are we following the commands of the God that saved us?

Matthew 14:22-33  It is not the strength of our faith that sustains in the times of fear - it is the object of our faith that sustains us in times of fear.  We can have faith in the face of fear because our God is trustworthy and faithful.

Matthew 14:22-36  Who is Jesus in your life?  He will either be Lord and Savior or King and conqueror - there is no other option.

Matthew 14:13-21  The well known passage about the feeding of the five thousand.  In this we learn there is no scarcity in God's economy.  He provides for those who are still His enemies.  He over-abundantly provides for those who belong to him.  

Matthew 14:1-12The death and legacy of John the Baptist as told by Jesus.  We, like John, must speak the truth boldly no matter the personal cost.

Acts 1:12-14; Matthew 6:9-15; Luke 11:1-4Our church is actively involved in the Regenesis program for revitalizing churches.  One of the most important pieces of that process is prayer - specifically the entire church body praying for renewal.  It is a long term process that requires prayer at every step.  We need to come together as the church family we are and pray for God's providence in this process.

Matthew 13:53-58  It is one thing to know about Jesus or to assume you know him.  It is entirely another to know him personally as Lord and Savior.

Matthew 13:51-58Part 1 of a two part series.  Today's sermon is based on verses 51-53.  Understanding comes in various levels and if all you know are the words of the Bible without knowing the Word of the Bible then you know next to nothing.

Matthew 13:44-46  The Kingdom of Heaven compared to a treasure found in a field or a pearl of great value.  Whatever the case, it is worth everything you have and you are to gain the Kingdom.

Matthew 13:31-35  The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of the Leaven.  In God's economy there is no such thing as too small.  Kingdom of Heaven in Jesus's day and the church in ours has spread throughout the world despite starting with one person.  It's affect has touched every nation and area of life even though it had a seemingly insignificant beginning.  No act, no word, nothing is ever too small for God because His power can make it great.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50Parables of the Weeds and the Wheat and the Dragnet.  Both parables deal with the eternal end of two different types of people.  Those that belong in the Kingdom of Heaven through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and those who are excluded from the Kingdom because of their lack of faith.

Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23  The Parable of the Sower, the Seed, and the Soil.  Jesus teaches a parable about the different responses to the message of the Kingdom of Heaven having come.  The majority of the responses are negative which correlates with other passages such as the narrow gate and broad path or "many are called but few are chosen." 

Matthew 13:10-17 We are starting Matthew 13 which is comprised mostly of parables.  These verses explain why Jesus is teaching in parables.  He has used a parable or two before in Matthew's Gospel but there are seven (or eight depending on how you count them) in this chapter alone.A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning and, according to Jesus, their use is two-fold.  For those that have rejected the message of the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, any further truth will be veiled in parables.  For those that have accepted the message, the parables illustrate and reveal further truths about the Kingdom.

Matthew 12:46-50  Jesus tells us that our earthly family is worthwhile and important but being part of the family of God and doing God's will is more important.  Our earthly families will pass away but the family of God is eternal.

Matthew 12:43-45  As Jesus completes his discussion with the scribes and Pharisees he tells a parable about a demon possessed man whose demon leaves for a while, wanders around, and returns.  In the meantime, the demon's "house" has been swept, cleaned, and put in order.  He is so thankful he goes and brings 7 worse demons with him.This is not a story about all people are demon possessed, or the ineffectiveness of exorcism, or any such thing.  It is a graphic depiction of sin and the effects of sin on people that refuse to replace the sin in their life with the Spirit.

Matthew 12:38-42  The scribes and Pharisees demand a sign from Jesus, the one they just accused of being of league with Satan, in order to prove he is who he says he is.  They are looking for something immediate and direct from Heaven - miracles, healings, and exorcisms are too mundane.  They are told the only sign they will receive is the sign of Jonah which is yet to come in the life of Christ.

Matthew 12:33-37  Jesus continues his discourse with the Pharisees who attributed his healing power to Satan.  He uses two metaphors, treasure and fruit, to highlight it is what is in the heart of a person and how that affects their behavior and action.  He then says that we will give an accounting for every careless word we speak.  "Careless" may be better translated as barren or unproductive.It comes down to this - we cannot change what is in our hearts and thus change our behavior, action, and words.  Only the Holy Spirit can make that change and only if He indwells us because we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Only heavenly treasure produces heavenly actions and leads to heavenly words.

Matthew 12:22-32  Jesus heals a demon possessed deaf mute which leaves the crowds wondering if he is the Messiah.  The religious leaders attribute his powers to Satan.  Jesus response shows how foolish and futile that would be and goes on to say that anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven.  There is a tie-in to Hebrews and 1 John with those who appear to be Christian but eventually turn their back on the truth to embrace a lie.  Whether or not there are any who can never be forgiven it is evident that you either embrace and live for Jesus as Savior or you are his enemy.  There is no other option.

 Hebrews 3:18-4:11  Final sermon in three part examination of types and foreshadowing of the Exodus from Egypt and the Christian experience of salvation.  The children of Israel entering the earthly promised land versus Christians entering the true Promised Land.

Hebrew 3:7-19  We examine the similarities and the massively major differences between the Children of Israel in the wilderness after they leave Egypt and our pilgrimage in this world after we are saved from slavery to sin.  In both cases - perseverance in our faith in God (The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) and his Son Jesus is critical.

Hebrews 3:5-6.  As Lent 2025 comes to an end we will spend the next three Sundays exploring the Old Testament foreshadowing of New Testament realities.  Today we see how the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt foreshadows our Exodus from slavery to sin because of Jesus's sacrifice on the cross.

Matthew 12:15-21.  Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 42:1-4.  Matthew has shown us in his Gospel that Jesus is the fulfillment of all Messianic prophecies to this point in Jesus's ministry.

Matthew 12:9-14.  Another conflict with the Pharisees about doing good and healing on the Sabbath.  Where the Pharisees, and too often ourselves, will tell someone to "come back tomorrow" there is no "come back tomorrow" for God's grace and mercy.  It is available NOW!

Matthew 12:1-8.  Jesus's confrontation with the Pharisees over the disciples "harvesting" and "processing" grain on the Sabbath.  A conflict of legalism and morality versus repentance and grace.

Matthew 11:25-30.  Jesus invites us into what is seemingly a contradictory relationship.  We are to take his yoke - which to most implies some type of heavy and wearisome burden.  The truth is the yoke we wear in the world is far heavier and more wearisome than the light and unburdened life in Jesus.

Matthew 11:7-19  A passage that contains so much.  Today we look at the wisdom of three different people/groups based on the final sentence, "Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds!" or in some translations, "But wisdom is justified by her children."We look at John's wisdom, Jesus's wisdom, and the people's wisdom(or lack thereof).  What does it take to be truly wise?

Matthew 11:1-6  John the Baptist, while in prison, sends some of his followers to Jesus with the following question.  "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?  We explore the reason behind the question and the true import of Jesus's response.

Matthew 10:40–42 NASB95“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. “He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”At the end of his instructions and warnings to the disciples before their first preaching trip in Matthew 9 and 10, Jesus give the disciples hope.  Despite all the ills, trials, and tribulations he enumerates he tells the disciples that there are still those who will listen to the message of "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."  That same hope applies to Christians today.

Jesus teaching in Matthew 10:24-39 explaining how the world will react to the disciples and their message and why they are not to fear the world's reaction.

Matthew 10:16-23  The disciples are warned that persecution is coming and will be a way of life for those who have faith in Jesus.  Not every Christian will be persecuted every day of their life but we should be aware of the possibility and ready for it.

Matthew 10:1-16  Jesus sends the Twelve Apostles out to preach the message of the Kingdom of God and to authenticate that message with miracles of healing and exorcism.  We are the spiritual descendants of the Apostle who are now entrusted with the proclamation of the Gospel.

Matthew 9:18-34 Jesus proves who he is in four stories of healing.  In each, he makes the point that it is faith that leads to healing.

Matthew 9:14-17.  Jesus brings new to the foundation of old forms of worship and forgiveness of sin.  The old ways were pointers to the arrival of the true way to forgiveness of sin - through the death, burial, and resurrection of God's Son Jesus.  What does that mean to your life?  What has changed in you because of Jesus?  What's new with you?