Sermon Notes

Who do you say Jesus is? There is no more important question, because what we think about him will inevitably impact every area of our lives. If we struggle to trust God, love good, and pursue righteousness, it is ultimately related to how we think about Christ.Sunday, February 9, as we really entered into the substance of John's Gospel, we saw that John the Baptist was Go...

The Wedding at Cana in John chapter 2 is a wonderful story. But is it simply a nice story where Jesus demonstrates His ability to perform a miracle and provide a nice gift for newlyweds, or is it more? At this wedding, Jesus "manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him." Does reading this story inspire you to see Jesus in all His glory? Does it strengthen your ...

Lamb of God. Rabbi. Son of God. King of Israel. Messiah. House of God. Son of Man.These are just some of the names we encounter in John 1:3551. And Sunday, February 16, we saw what John the Baptist, John's disciples, and Jesus all say about the Christ. As in all of John's gospel, seeing Jesus truly is the way of believing and the way of eternal life. So let's pray that God...

You may believe in Jesus, or refuse to believe in Jesus. But it is impossible tomaintaina neutral position about him. As the Lord of the universe, Jesus continually presses into our hearts and into the places and things we go to worship. He exposes what we really believe and purifies our belief or unbelief. This is sobering, but also goodas it presses us to live in reality...

This Sunday we began a new series in the Gospel of John with a look at the first 18 verses. These verses are known as John's Prologue, and they serve as an introduction to the whole book. In this sermon, I showed the shape and substance of John's Prologue. The shape of John's introduction centers on verse 12 and leads us to consider who can believe in Christ. This is the ...

As we enter a new year, we finish our study in Joshua.On Sunday we will look at Joshua 24, and the covenant renewal that concludes the book. As Joshua anticipates his own death, he leads the people of Israel to renew their covenant with God. But instead of laying a heavy burden on them, he focuses on what Yahweh has already done for them.On Sunday we will do the same, as w...

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called his followers a city on a hill (Matthew 5:1416). This title has often been used to speak of America, as well as other institutions of moral influence. Yet, it is most appropriately applied to the church. This is seen throughout the New Testament (cf. 1 Peter 2), but we also find this idea in the Old Testament. In this week's sermon...

As the famed Puritan, Matthew Henry, begins his commentary on Joshua 13:1, he writes, "We are not to skip over these chapters of hard names as useless and not to be regarded."Why? Because"where God has a mouth to speak and a hand to write we should find an ear to hear and an eye to read." This is a good reminder as we venture into seven chapters composed of lists, boundar...

Standing on the shores of the Red Sea, with Pharaoh's army buried under the water, Moses leads Israel to praise God for his powerful victory. And in Exodus 15:13, he sings, 1Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to theLord, saying, "I will sing to theLord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.2TheLordis my streng...

Lies and liars. Our world is filled with them, and we often struggle to know what to do with them. This is true when are deceived, but it is also true when we are the deceiver. On Sunday we saw another deception story in Joshua. And to play on wordsJoshua 9 teaches us again that (first) looks can be deceiving. For instead of seeing how the lies of Gibeon are met with swif...