As Saul’s house grows weaker, and David’s house grows stronger, Abner decides to “switch sides,” giving his loyalty to Israel’s true king, David. In this sermon, pastor Joel reminds us that our king Jesus offers peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation to all the rebels and rivals to his kingdom.
To close Paul’s letter to Philemon, Paul demonstrates the love of Christ by asking Philemon to put Onesimus’ wrongs on his own account. In this sermon, Pastor Keith walks through the text from verses 17-25, showing us the Apostle Paul’s gospel-shaped steps of reconciliation: paying for the other, assuming the best of the other, and […]
In the introduction of Paul’s letter to Philemon, Paul began by acknowledging Philemon’s character and affirmed the demonstration of his faith in his love toward all the saints. He drew a picture of the family of God. And now in the main body of his letter, he shows us how to conduct ourselves in the […]
Paul’s letter to Philemon deals with the theme of reconciliation and depicts God’s people in Christ as a family that can receive and restore even a runaway slave and a thief. We will see how Paul appeals to Philemon to demonstrate the power of the gospel by welcoming Onesimus back, no longer as a slave, […]
In this sermon, pastor Joel sums up the glorious benefits of justification we have seen over the last eight verses, reminding us that our rejoicing and reconciliation comes only through our Jesus Christ.
In a world darkened by division and hostility, and while our nation is proving to be anything but “indivisible,” the church of the risen Lord Jesus is to be a radiant light of reconciliation, unity, and love. This is because Christians are a people united by saving grace (see Ephesians 2). However, it is all […]
In this Resurrection Sunday message, Pastor Matt shows that for the one who trusts in Jesus, hope is not wishful thinking; it is confident expectation. And what is our hope? It is that that one day, what God did for Jesus on Easter morning, he will do for those united to Christ by faith and […]
As history has shown, there is nothing mankind can do to bring about world peace. Why? Because this world is full of proud and selfish people with sinful hearts! As the Apostle Paul writes: “In their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of […]
Under the old covenant, the ceremonial laws communicated the truth that God is holy, and that he is totally separate from all that is not holy. This is why people with diseases or deformities were considered unclean and separated from the assembly of Israel. It wasn’t that these things made people evil; they symbolized the […]
After two years through the gospel of Luke we come to the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. But this is far from the end of his story. The exaltation of the risen Lord Jesus to the right hand of the Father, and the sending of the promised Holy Spirit, was the catalyst that sparked the […]
In Psalm 2:6, God declares that he has set his King on Mt. Zion despite the raging of the nations, and the Scriptures are clear that this anointed King is his only-begotten Son, Jesus. Therefore, whether our response to him is one of indifference like Pilate, contempt like Herod, or hatred like the Jews, we […]
The puritan preacher, John Flavel, once remarked: “Every man loves the mercies of God, but a saint loves the God of mercies.” In times of trial, suffering, and need, anyone will gladly receive blessings from God; it doesn’t take the new birth to appreciate his mercies. In fact, anyone can perform religious duties and portray […]
The good news, which we marveled at in Ephesians 2:1-10, profoundly alters the way we understand who the people of God truly are. The Ephesians were uncircumcised Gentiles, not circumcised Jews. They were not the physical descendants of Abraham. In fact, they were “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, […]
Exodus 25:8 “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” The Tabernacle was constructed to be the dwelling place of God among his people. But more than just an ornate, intricately designed structure, the Tabernacle finds its true fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. […]
