You’ve heard the phrase “Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.” It means you better make sure you have what you need, what is appropriate. Jesus declares that He has come not to bring peace, but rather a sword. This may be confusing because elsewhere the angels say that Jesus did come to bring peace on earth! What Jesus means is that there is a time to bring peace, and there is also a time to bring a sword. Jesus does not come to speak peace to a world ruled by sin. This would only serve to solidify their sinfulness and condemn all people! Jesus comes to bring a sword–His ministry will cause division between those who believe Him and those who don’t. His ministry will be painful for sinners. But ultimately Jesus is the one who will face the “sword”--He will go to the cross to divide people from their sins, and to actually establish lasting peace on earth. Jesus does not bring a fake peace that reinforces a sinful worldview. He brings the appropriate weapon to the fight to free us from sin, death, and the devil.
In Romans, Paul sets up a scenario: serving an old master or a new one, sin or Jesus. While the choice might seem obvious to us all, we struggle to follow through on living that out. Join Pastor Josh as he dives into Romans 6 and discusses this problem, and what hope there is for us.
Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew chapter 9 to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest. Jesus says this after seeing lost sheep, harassed and helpless, and having compassion on them. There are plenty of people who are lost and in need of a Savior. There are relatively few people actively laboring to bring them to Jesus. Just a couple of verses later, at the start of chapter 10, Jesus answers the disciples’ prayer…by sending THEM! Isn’t that just the way things are sometimes? We pray for something, and God uses US to answer the prayer! In this sermon we will take seriously the reality Jesus describes about the need for His people to participate in His mission to seek and save the lost. We will look at how there is a need for people to answer the call by going into full-time church work ministry. But that is NOT the only way to serve the kingdom. We will explore the other ways too, and we will discover together how every single person in the kingdom of God has a role to play to bring the lost to Jesus.
Is the church a hospital for the sick or a hotel for the holy? Are sinners welcomed into the doors of the church building, or do you need to be “this holy” to enter? How we show either judgement or love to those viewed as “sinners and tax collectors” today makes an impact on if someone ever comes into the building. Join Pastor Josh as he dives deep into the Matthew 9 text and how it applies to us today.
On this Holy Trinity Sunday, Pastor Smith explores how we can know the Triune God. This does not necessarily mean understanding all the inner workings and the mysteries of the Trinity. The best way we can know God is seeing what He does, all the saving actions He takes for us throughout history. We know the various roles the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have, but there are many aspects that are beyond our comprehension of how the Trinity fits together and functions. If you ever feel like it’s hard to know God, just remember that everything we need to know about God has been revealed in Jesus Christ. This sermon explores Matthew 28:16-20 and the Great Commission that Jesus gives to the Church to make disciples by baptizing people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What does it mean to be baptized into the Triune Name? It means to receive all the blessings of the saving work of God, which we know through Jesus Christ.
Faithful saints have gone before us and serve as examples of faith. While marred by sin just like us, through the Gospel, they were redeemed and accomplished great things in Christ. Better, Christ in the saints has done great things! Pastor Pastor Buegler takes us on a study of Acts 6:1-6 and John 10:27-30 as we see the faithfulness of those who have gone before us in Christ.
