Sermons

Pray for your pastor

1 Thessalonians

Thank God for Faith

When we see a pastor and church members being arrested for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is an example of faith that is truly alive and active. This was the kind of faith that was being lived out by the Thessalonians – in action, and not just intellectually – even though the world was trying to shut it down; and Paul was thankful to see this living faith in them, which was enduring persecution. They believed that Jesus died for the forgiveness of their sins, and they lived their lives imitating that love in their relationships with one another. Thy had joy, even in the midst of their afflictions; and their faith was a great example to the people in the surrounding countryside. The example of the Thessalonians raises some good questions that we would do well to ask ourselves. Do we spend time praying for our fellow-Christians, like they did? Are we longing to hear from the Lord and His Word, as they were? Does God's Word produce joy in us, as it did in them? Or is there some idol that we are holding on to in our lives, which is keeping us from finding this joy? And last but not least, as the world continually tries to crush God's people, are we ready to face times of testing and trial for the sake of our Lord Jesus?

Grace & Peace

How do you view God? Are you afraid to go to Him, or do you know that you need to go to Him with all your problems? In this letter of Paul, his message to the believer begins and ends with grace – "Grace to you," he says. But he also makes a declaration of peace – which is something that is sorely needed in the constant battle that has been kept up between God and man since the Fall. Ever since that dreadful day, we have been shaking our fist at the Lord and asserting that we can fix ourselves without any of His help. Even though He has already provided a way whereby our hearts can be made right with Him again, we still tend to think that we need to as much as we can on our own before peace can exist between us. But we are like a broken plate – yes, you may be able to put the pieces back together again; but nevertheless, the plate is still cracked. Only God can completely fix us, and Christ opened the way for this to become possible by giving His own life for us. And now, when – like the prodigal son in the parable – we return to our Father; we can expect Him to show us His love, mercy, and grace! We don't earn His love by our service; rather, we begin to serve Him because He loves us. Are you asking yourself today, "Am I good enough?" Or are you trusting in the fact that Jesus is already good enough, and that we have been wrapped in the spotless robe of His perfect righteousness?

Darkness to Light

The story of God's redemption of mankind begins in the Book of Genesis; God created all things, and declared His work "very good." Everything was perfect until Adam sinned against the Lord's one command, and thereby death and destruction came into the world. The hearts of all mankind, from that point on, became continually wicked. Throughout the Old Testament, God gave His people multiple opportunities to repent and return to Him; but they would repeatedly go right back to their own wicked ways. The painful fact is that we are not and never will be good enough to change ourselves. Even the heroes of the Bible are still portrayed as sinful human beings who were plagued by serious character flaws. But Jesus is the true Hero of the story! He came into this world and became one of us. He was tempted in all the same ways that we are, and yet He never sinned. Throughout His earthly ministry, He knew the ultimate purpose for why He had come to earth – and that was to redeem fallen humanity by His death and resurrection. It seemed as though death and the devil were going to have the final word – until He rose from the dead, bringing light and life that forever drives out darkness! This is indeed a historical fact – even though many have denied it, and many others still don't believe it today. And why is it important? While we were still sinners, Christ's death and resurrection made it possible for us to now be declared legally righteous in Him! Because of His payment for our sins, we are legally free from the bondage that sin had held us in; and we are now righteous in God's sight. Truly, the fact of His glorious and victorious Resurrection brings us joy and hope!

Communication and Conflict (Colossians 3:12–4:1) - Part 2

When dealing with the topic of communication and conflict, we must first seek out the example of Christ, so that we may follow the pattern that He has laid out for us. When we "put on Christ," we will show true love for others; we do not have to be at odds with those around us, because God is not at odds with us! This kind of Christ-like love is the one defining attribute of His Church, which is to be one body. But there is more. Another way to combat conflict is to cultivate a spirit of thankfulness, for ungratefulness is often a big source of conflict. Thankfully, God's Word gives us guiding principles to be exercised in our family relationships as well – whether we are in the role of husband, wife, parents, or children – so that our homes will not be battlegrounds of conflict, either. All that we do should be done for God! If we want to do whatever we want in our families and our relationships, instead of what God wants; then we will most certainly have conflict. However, when conflict does occur, the Lord has given us a certain process for handling those conflicts and restoring peace among ourselves.

Resolving Conflict - Part 1

A sad consequence of sin is the utter brokenness of relationships. Sin caused a chasm between God and humans. It has also caused constant problems in our earthly relationships. How can we have a right relationship with God? How can we mend broken relationships with others? How do we communicate with grace and kindness? How should people talk with each other? Colossians 3 gives us explicit commands to direct us in how we are to relate to God and each other.

Gloom to Gladness

Here at the conclusion of the Book of Esther, we see the Lord transforming gloom to gladness -- just as He continually does throughout history. The Jews successfully turned the tables on their enemies and overcame them. Haman's sons were executed, and thousands upon thousands of those who wished to destroy God's people were destroyed themselves. Afterwards, there was a time of rest and a proclamation of a celebration, which became known as Purim. The reason for the gladness was that God had delivered His people -- He had not forgotten them! Just as the Jews of old celebrated the defeat of their enemies, we Christians should know how to celebrate as well. Like Mordecai and Esther's countrymen, we were doomed to a certain death sentence because of our sinful nature. But now our gloom and sadness and sorrow has been taken away, because Jesus Christ has defeated death and lives again! We should be celebrating His glorious Resurrection -- every Sunday! Let's pray for grace so that our focus may be upon Him and His accomplished work, and not on the circumstances around us; for we know that our God has not forgotten us, and He is working all things for our good!

The King's Protection

King Ahasuerus has now promoted Mordecai to fill the office formerly held by Haman, and Haman's estates are given to Esther. But the death sentence against the Jews still stands, and it can't be revoked. In response to Esther's pleadings, the king tells her and Mordecai to write a new decree in his own name -- giving the Jews the right to gather together and defend themselves against their enemies. This, of course, resulted in great rejoicing among Esther's people; and many others also became Jews, because the fear of the Jews fell upon them. Our enemy today is not the people around us. Yes, there will be persecution that is raised against us; but we don't use this narrative as a justification to go out and destroy the enemies of the Church. Rather, we need to realize that the real enemy is sin and death -- which have already been defeated by Christ! This means that we are free to go and spread the good news of the Gospel, as we go about our daily spiritual battle against the devil, under the protection of our Savior. And one day, at the end of this world, there will be a great and final battle -- in which Christ will clearly be seen as the ultimate Conqueror and King!

Darkness to Light

Haman is now brought in to the presence of the king and queen for the second banquet. It was here and now that the king asked Esther what her great petition was. What a difficult place for the queen to be in! Would the king really listen to her? What would Haman do next? But she does make her request known, and begs the king for her life and the lives of her people. And in answer to the king's astonished question, she reveals the name of the would-be assassin: "this wicked Haman!" And he met his just reward -- on the very same gallows that he had hoped to hang Mordecai on. Everything has been turned around! Very often, the Lord does not work in the way that we expect Him to. Here we see how Esther -- who had the death sentence upon her, just as much as every other Jew -- was saved by God and employed by Him to also save the lives of His chosen people. God has a plan for us, too! The Hamans and Ahasueruses of this world cannot thwart His Gospel-Kingdom. His plan for sinful humanity, which was under the death sentence, was for Jesus to come and take our place -- facing God's wrath upon the cross. He works in such a way that He turns darkness into light!

Nothing can separate us from the love of God

The extraordinary of the ordinary

Now we come to the part of the narrative in Esther where the king cannot sleep, the night before the second banquet that Esther had proposed. So he orders the record-book of the kingdom to be brought and read in his presence, in which he discovers that Mordecai had never been honored for exposing the assassination plot against him. In the midst of all this, Haman walks in and is asked how the king should honor a man who is in his favor; and, to his shock, he is tasked with the duty of publicly honoring Mordecai. Then Haman goes home in shame, where his wife and friends predict his doom and tell him that he is already done for. God's Providence often does not work in the way that we would expect it to. Usually He does not work in miracles; but very frequently, He uses common and ordinary things to bring about extraordinary results -- just as He was doing here, behind the scenes, in the narrative of Esther. Throughout the different twists and turns that we experience in life, we may rest assured that He has orchestrated them in such a way that they are indeed bringing us closer to Christ and heaven. He is sovereign, and He is in total control of all things; and He will not allow anything in the mountains, valleys, and deserts of life to separate us from Him, His love, and our heavenly home!

Approaching the Throne

When Esther boldly entered King Ahasuerus' court, he mercifully held out the golden scepter to her as a token of his favor. She invites the king and Haman to a banquet; but when they come, she does not proceed to ask the king concerning the great matter that weighed heavily upon her mind. Perhaps she was afraid. At any rate, Haman leaves the banquet full of pride, but he becomes angry again when he sees Mordecai in the king's gate. When Haman gets home, he and his wife and friends concoct a plan to ask the king to hang Mordecai. Apparently this evil man felt confident enough now to deal with his hated enemy individually, instead of waiting for the destruction of all the Jews. And now, even more than before, it seemed as if God was not going to answer the Jews' prayers for deliverance! When we draw near to the throne of grace, our God holds out a scepter to us that is in the shape of a cross! Through Christ, we may freely draw near to Him and present our petitions; for we are clothed in our Savior's robe of righteousness. Without that spotless robe, we would have worse than a gallows awaiting us; but we may approach the throne in confidence, because of Jesus's perfect fulfillment of the covenant that was made between Him and His Father!

Ready to Die - Esther 4

Esther is now facing a position where she must make a decision: she must identify as either a pagan queen or a member of God's people. As the Jews are mourning and weeping over Haman's evil plans to destroy them, Mordecai tells Esther that she must go in and intercede on their behalf before the king. To go into the king's presence without an invitation was a dangerous venture that could very possibly cost her her life. After Mordecai reasons with Esther that the Lord has brought her to her high position for such a desperate time as this, she agrees to risk everything to plead for the lives of her people -- but only after Mordecai and the local Jews spend three days fasting. Just as the Jews were under the threat of destruction, we also have a death sentence hanging over our heads. And just as Esther stepped up to intercede on her people's behalf, Jesus stepped up to die in our place. Let's pray for grace to step out in faith, like Esther did; and to risk everything in order to publicly acknowledge our identity in Christ! Why would we not be willing to identify ourselves with our Savior, in light of the great love that He has for us?

Has God Forgotten Us?

In this passage of the Book of Esther, we find Haman being promoted by the king. Nevertheless, Mordecai refuses to bow down in reverence to him, because he was an Amalekite -- a descendant of one of the Jews' ancient enemies. In revenge, Haman formulates a plan to destroy all the Jews. Haman made his wicked plans in the Hebrew month of Nisan -- the month when the Feast of Passover was celebrated by God's people. As the Jews observed this Divinely-appointed feast after hearing the bad news of Haman's scheme, perhaps they wondered if God had forsaken them. Jesus also received His death notice on the eve of Passover. His disciples likely felt abandoned also. We, too, were under the threat of death because of our sin. But even though there are trials and troubles in this life, our God is still in control. He has set His eye upon us, and we rejoice that the Passover Lamb has already come to redeem us from the death sentence that we were under!

A New Queen - God is still in control

Esther

Defying the King

The Book of Esther opens with a grand, elaborate feast that King Ahasuerus is putting on to show off his wealth and his power. In the midst of the festivities, he ordered his queen to come in also and show off before the drunken crowd; but she refused. At the recommendation of his princes, he divorces Queen Vashti. No aspect of this picture has been given to Christians to imitate. But it is the first of many dilemmas that present themselves throughout this Book. Even though the Lord did not approve of what was going on here, He did use Ahasuerus' deeds to start a chain reaction of events that He was sovereignly orchestrating to preserve His people. The grand takeaway from this opening chapter of Esther is to see the contrast between Ahasuerus and the Lord Jesus. The former demanded respect and acted as a dictator over his wife; but the latter serves and loves His Bride, and thereby earns her respect without commanding it. And while Ahasuerus' grand monarchy is gone and buried in dust; the Kingdom of Christ still exists today, and He still rules in love!

God's Word and Your Family - The Blessing of Family Worship

The Word of God is not just something that we take out and use on Sundays; it's to be an integral part of our lives. Hence the responsibility that is enjoined upon God's people in this passage: we are to teach our children diligently from the Bible. Everything we do with our children on a daily basis can and should be tied back, in some way, to a core teaching of the Scriptures. Husbands and fathers, if a visitor was to walk into your house right now and take a look at your life, what would your home and family life say about who your God is? You are to wash your wives daily in the Word, and you are also to train your children in the ways of the Lord. Wives and mothers, please encourage and support your husbands in their endeavors to lead family worship! This responsibility is primarily for fathers, but it is not exclusively limited to them. The Lord still desires you to do the right thing, even if your husband neglects his duty. Children, when your parents instruct you in the Scriptures, it may not be easy to merely sit still; but God wants you to try. When you pay attention and participate in family worship, you are a blessing to your parents and a glory to God! Parents, let's pray for grace to train up our children "in the way they should go!" (Proverbs 22:6) Lead your families in Bible study, prayer, singing, catechism, and memorization. If we do not learn to walk in God's ways ourselves, and we don't teach our children to do the same; then why are we surprised when we see our church and our nation descend into chaos? Cry out to God for grace to learn His Word, to walk in it, to love it, and to lead our families in the study of it!

God's Word

In some places of persecution around the globe, the people of God who live there have to read their Bibles in secrecy, in danger of their very lives. Yet they are willing to take that risk. Why? Because they value and treasure the Word of God! We are called to love and value God's Word. The words in this portion of Scripture give us an insight into how the Psalmist looked at his Bible. It is a gift to His people. It has been tried and tested throughout the centuries by His children, and it has never once been found false. His words are a guide to keep us in the right way, even when others try to twist and turn them. His commandments are perfect and pure, and every word is important – even the grammatical parts! We can collect many physical copies of the Scriptures; but if we do not personally value the Word, the Bible will just be another book on our shelves. Just how much do we value the Word of God? In the days of the Psalmist, gold and honey were very precious – even more so than they are today. And yet he esteemed the Scriptures as much more valuable than those prized luxuries. Do we store up God's Word in our hearts, as David did? Are we so eager to dig into its unsearchable depths, that we fill our souls with the words of life before we even fill our stomachs with breakfast every morning? What does God's Word do for us? Well, it brings joy and gladness to our hearts when we need encouragement, and it warns us when we are in danger of slipping into the paths of sin. There are blessings in life that come as a result of knowing, memorizing, and keeping God's Word (Joshua 1:8). But we may also value the Bible for what it shows us. The Psalmist teaches us that it help

The Gospel Defined and Defended (Galatians 1:1-10)

The King Has Come - Isaiah 9:6

Invitation to Repentance (Hosea 6:1-3)

Five Departing Blessings (Ephesians 6:21-24)

The Book of Ephesians both begins and ends with peace and grace, and we also find it interwoven throughout the entire Book. Here in these concluding verses, Paul gives five blessings. First, he says, be blessed by brotherly encouragement -- that is, by friendship with individuals within the congregation; and by the wonderful news of God's workings in other places, as it is presented in congregational reports from other churches. Then Paul pronounces several more blessings upon the people of God: peace, love, faith, and grace. We have peace with God and God's children, for we have been purchased by Jesus' blood. This calls us to be forgiving of each other -- just as the Father has forgiven us. As for love, the Lord Jesus is the demonstration of God's love for us. He loves us with an everlasting love, so that we may enjoy everlasting life. And just as His love for us never ends, we are called to imitate this love by serving our brothers and sisters in the church. Faith is another blessing from God, by which we believe in Jesus Christ. When days are dark, faith in Him will give us hope. And last but not least, God blesses us with grace, even when we do not deserve it. Let's pray that the Lord would enable us to show grace to all around us, just as grace has been shown to us!

Persistent and Persuasive Prayer (Ephesians 6:18-20)

Our life's problems all lie within ourselves. Even if we became a monk or a hermit, we might be able to escape the corruption in the world around us; but we would still not be able to get away from the pollution within our hearts. This is one reason why the Apostle Paul tells us that we must have persistent and persuasive prayer-lives! He tells us to "pray without ceasing." That does not mean that we must never do anything but pray; but rather, we must pray in every kind of circumstance that we find ourselves in -- and not just in times of problems, either! Even when things are going well, we ought to pray and give thanks. Our hearts are to be overflowing with prayer. Jesus Himself is a great example of this. Why do we need to pray? Because there is an enemy lurking around us! But sometimes it is difficult to pray. We must avoid distractions as much as possible, and make prayer a priority. And even though we have no lack of things to be thankful for, prayer is not just thanking God for our temporal blessings. The Psalms are the prayer-book of the Old Testament, and they furnish wonderful thoughts to boost our own prayer-lives. Prayer-life requires diligence, watchfulness, and attentiveness. Jesus tells us to "watch and pray." Don't give up! Persevering through hard things is good. God is indeed listening to our prayers. So let's not hold back! Let's fall on our knees and lift up our hearts and voices in prayer! Let's intercede for our brothers and sisters in Christ. As soldiers in the great spiritual battle, our prayers are an attack on hell and the devil; and they do much good for the Body of Christ, as His people are lifted up by each other's prayers!

Standing Firm in the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20)

Paul is writing these words while he is in prison -- very likely chained to a soldier who was wearing armor. As Christians, there is a different kind of armor than that with which ancient soldiers used to protect themselves. This is the armor of God; and in it, we are to stand firm! And even though we may often feel like we can't stand, he reminds us that we are not standing in our own strength. Our eyes are not to be on ourselves; but rather, on the strength of Christ Jesus. Since this is God's armor, it is He Who puts it on us. First, He gives us the belt of truth, so that we may not be tripped up by the lies of the devil. Then there is the breastplate of Christ's righteousness; for without that, our heart and vital organs are exposed to Satan's darts. Third, our feet wear the shoes of the Gospel of peace, with which we are enabled to always be ready to give out the good news of salvation. Moreover, we are handed the shield of faith, which keep us from being attacked by the fiery darts of the devil. Then there is the helmet of salvation, which protects our head on all sides. And last but not least, we wield the sword of the Spirit -- that is, God's Word! The devil knows the Scriptures well, and he twists them in order to deceive us; therefore, the stated goal of the Church must be to know God's Word! We have the armor of God, but we also need to pray for one another; for without prayer, this armor is of no use. Throughout Church history, all great revivals and movements of the Gospel have been in conjunction with an increase in prayer among the people of God. Since God thus arms us, what do we need to be afraid of? Since He is on our side, who can be against us?