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.
Don’t you wish you had a sign from God about if you’re making the right decision in big moments in your life? The Israelites wanted confirmation (a sign) that the 70 elders were rightful authorities under Moses and God, so God made them prophesy. The disciples were waiting for the Holy Spirit, and the tongues of fire (along with speaking in tongues) was a sign to them. What’s our sign that Jesus is alive in us? Join Pastor Josh as he discusses this in his sermon.
Pastor Smith’s sermon this week is based on Revelation 21:1-8; 22-27 and the concept of the new heavens and new earth. We have a wonderful eternity in store for us. This keeps us going as we work our way through life in this broken, sinful world. This sermon uses the concept of a “vision board”--people have pictures of dream houses, vacations, promotions at work, children/grandchildren, etc. that they post and it helps keep them moving toward their goals when things get difficult. Similarly, Jesus keeps going toward the cross for the joy that was set before him. Like Paul in Romans 8, we consider the sufferings of this present time not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us eventually. This vision of new heavens and new earth at the end of Revelation is what the entire Scriptural story has been building toward, so this is a good way to wrap up Growing Through the Bible emphasis we have used this year at St. Paul!
This sermon focuses on Jesus’ conversation with his disciples. He asks “Who do people say that I am?” Several answers are given, all of them kinda sorta close, but definitely wrong. The most dangerous false versions of Jesus are the ones that are kinda sorta close…but definitely wrong. We will explore some of these false Christs, and look for the real Jesus as revealed in the Scriptures.
This week we take a look at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Again and again Jesus reveals the original intent of God’s Law. Over the centuries, it’s been weakened repeatedly by sinful human beings looking for loopholes. Today we also love a good loophole, especially when it allows us to avoid a difficult aspect of God’s Law. This love for loopholes reveals a heart condition. We may go through the motions of obedience, but is our heart into the act of truly following God’s will? We will examine our own heart condition, as well as rejoice in the fact that God Himself has a heart condition that leads Him to fulfill the Law Himself and save us.
Why did Jesus come? A lot of people think God is a vindictive God, looking for opportunities to zap people to hell. People who look at it this way look at God completely backwards. God did not come as a way to say, “Gotcha! I’ve caught you in sin, now I can condemn you.” But came to give life. And he came to give us freedom from the guilt of our sins.
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Some things that you experience in life are so strange and unrelatable to most people. Usually we try to seek other people out who have gone through similar life experiences. Mary and Elizabeth are both going through unique circumstances. Both have received outlandish news from an angel and both are now impossibly pregnant! This is unrelatable to the rest of humanity. Mary eventually sings a song of praise, known as the Magnificat. In this song, she describes how God reverses the world’s expectations in the way He brings salvation. What she sings about will be relatable to all people: the proud and arrogant and ungodly will fall from their seemingly secure positions, while the humble, lowly ones who trust in God will be raised up and graciously blessed. All people will be able to relate to these experiences.
The prophet Micah was sent to give a similar message that Isaiah gave to God’s people. Judgment and destruction are coming justly in response to your sin. But grace and mercy are also coming close behind! Micah speaks to a people who have little security and peace because of their sin, and also because of the sinful, oppressive rulers and priests who are over them. These beaten down people need some good news! And they receive good news about the coming Savior, the one who will make them dwell secure and who will be their peace. In this sermon, Pastor Smith especially focuses on how trusting in Christ brings you true, lasting security. He saves you. In Him, you are safe right now.
God’s people felt hopelessness in exile. But God had prophesied that they would be in exile, but also that he would bring an end to their exile. We too experience some level of hopelessness living as exiles in the world we live in, but God has promised us that he would act in power and bring an end to our exile as well.
In Isaiah’s vision, he rightfully is terrified to be before God’s presence. He is sinful, God is perfect. That is not a situation that goes well for sinful people. But God takes away his sin and guilt, allowing him to be in his presence. Join Pastor Josh as he talks about how we are brought into the presence of God, but don’t have to fear.
Our readings this week focus on God’s people in exile in the land of Babylon. In reality, God’s people have always been in exile. From the time of exile from the Garden of Eden, up to our current day, we are exiles in a strange land. We long to go home! As we live in exile, we have several different choices for how to live. We could compromise. Or we could revolt! Or, we could choose a third way, which is the way Daniel and his friends live in exile–they are loyal as far as they can be, but they are also subversive. This is also the way of Jesus in the Gospels. This is the way we are called to live today. And as we struggle as strangers in a strange world, Christ is with us. He is with us in the fire and in the lions’ den. And eventually He will lead us to our home in His eternal kingdom.
Throughout Israel’s history, most of the kings- even the good kings- failed to do one thing: completely remove idolatry from the nation. King Josiah was the one to do this. To live a God-pleasing life, not only must we recognize the idols in our hearts, but we also must do something to remove them. Join Pastor Josh as he discusses this important teaching for Christians.
The more you read about Israel in the books of 1 & 2 Kings, the more troubled and disturbed you become. All around is corruption, conflict, and sin. The kings are supposed to be godly leaders, yet they give up the one true God for false gods. They give up truth for foolishness. They give up worshipping the Creator to worship created things. It seems to be hopeless. In this text, King Ahaziah is a troubled leader of a troubled nation. Yet, the prophet Elijah is still around, remaining faithful to the Lord. There are many similarities between ancient Israel and our modern world. Join Pastor Smith for this sermon as we see how dangerous it is to give up God. You may want to give up all hope when you see the extent of our troubled world. But there still is a God–keep holding onto Him in hope, and He will save you!
As we continue to read about David’s life and reign as king over Israel, we start to see sin and failure, even from the man who is “after God’s own heart.” God warned Israel about how an earthly king would be far worse than Himself as their king. This was obvious when it came to King Saul, and now King David falls into some of the same sinful pitfalls. When you are successful and powerful, it is easy to hear people say “You are the man!” and agree, and think you are entitled to whatever you want. But sooner or later, God will reveal that “You are the man!”--a sinful, guilty man. When we, like David, realize we need someone else to really be “The Man” for us, then we behold The Man–our Lord Jesus. In this sermon, Pastor Smith directs us to The Man Jesus, who comes to save us from our sin.
No one likes being told “no.” We want to get the things we ask for, and it’s not fun to be told no. But as a parent tells their child no to things that will cause harm, God does that to his children. Join Pastor Josh as he discusses 1 Samuel 8 and how, when God tells us no, it’s often for our own benefit.
