Today’s Sermon

Here is the sermon of July 1st 2012:

Sermon Title: You are a Child of God.

Text: Galatians 3:26-4:7: “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. (27) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (29) And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (4:1) I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, (2) but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. (3) In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. (4) But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, (5) to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (6) And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (7) So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

The Pastor spoke from Galatians, telling us that all believers have been made children of God through the death and resurrection. And how, being a child of God, we are given many things such as an inheritance, and intimacy with God.

Here are the points to the sermon:

1. We have unity with God and each other.

• We wear the same Savior (and because of that, we have unity).
• Boundaries are torn down.

2. We have full rights (as children of God).

• The guardian (The Law) has been removed.
• We have been adopted by God.
• We have intimacy with God because Jesus died in our place on the cross.

3. We have an inheritance because we (believers) are children of God.

• God has blessed us.
• We are looking forward to a Heavenly dwelling.

 

Jesus and Moses

Hebrews 3:3-6: “For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses–as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”

The writer of Hebrews is showing us how Jesus is worthy of greater honor than Moses. Remember, Moses lead the whole Israelite nation in the desert for more than 40 years. He delivered the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, how is Jesus greater than Moses?

Well, Moses was a servant in God’s house, but Jesus is the Son. Moses spoke about what would come, and Jesus is the fulfillment of those words. That is why Jesus is greater than Moses. But the writer of Hebrews gives us something to consider: “And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” If we hold on to our confidence and our boasting in our hope (The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord.) we are apart of God’s house. Like Paul, we should boast, only in Christ:”Galatians 6:14: “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

All those that are in Christ, are apart of His house. And all those that have placed their hope and life in Him have received forgiveness, freedom, and peace. But if you are not in Christ, you are unsure, hard-hearted, you don’t have a firm ground to stand on. But if you call out to the Lord today, you will be given peace, forgiveness, and brought into the house of God, please; call out today.

My brothers, and sisters in Christ reading this post; remember the gospel everyday; we are apart of God’s house, because Jesus opened the doors for us through His death on the cross and resurrection three days later. Hold fast to our confidence and our boasting in our hope, that is in Christ Jesus.

God is good, and forgiving: 1st John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God displayed this love for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Remember His love.

Heavenly Father, I thank You, for the forgiveness that You have given to us, in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Your Son. Jesus, I thank You, for making us apart of Your house, by making us pure and holy in Your death and resurrection. And Holy Spirit, please keep us from forgetting Jesus Christ, and all the things that He has done for us on the cross. In Jesus name, amen.

Quarreling

2^nd Timothy 2:14: “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.”

And,

2^nd Timothy 2:23, 24: “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,

Paul is warning Timothy against quarreling; because, it ruins the hearers, it is foolish, ignorant, and the Lord’s servant must not do it. Even though Paul is writing to Timothy, we too should avoid quarreling. Let’s take a monument to look at the definition of quarreling: Quarreling is described as: “Have an angry argument or disagreement.” But why is quarreling bad? Well, children of God should be united, and if we quarrel we show that we are not. Also, we are called to build each other up. But when we quarrel, we are tearing down.

Remember, believers need to be fixed on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and when we aren’t, we fall. That is another reason why Christians shouldn’t quarrel: we need to be fixed on the cross, not quarreling other something. If we get our eyes off Christ, we will fall, and it will hurt. Let’s take a look at: Galatians 3:1: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.”

The Galatians took their eyes from the gospel, and started looking at other things. And as a result, they forgot the gospel, and became full of the Old covenant. This, or something like it, will happen to us, if we take our eyes from Jesus on the cross. “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies.” And fix your eyes on Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for giving us firm ground (spiritually) in the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. And Jesus, I thank You for the forgiveness of sins, that we have received through Your bloodshed for us on the cross. And Holy Spirit, I ask, that You would help us to keep our eyes on Jesus, and keep us from quarreling. In Jesus’ name, amen.

A Trustworthy Saying

2^nd Timothy 2:11-13: “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful– for he cannot deny himself.”

Paul shares with us a trustworthy saying; and of course, it contains the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection (understand that Paul is talking spiritually, we did not physically die in Christ, but we did spiritually.): Paul tells us; that if we died in Christ, we will also rise with Him. But what does this really mean? It means that all believers have died in Jesus, and when He rose, so did we, and so we have died to this world, and then rose to a new life in Jesus Christ, Consider:  Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Paul then continues on to say: “if we endure, we will also reign with him,” If we endure in our faith, and hold firmly to the gospel, then we will be rewarded in Heaven. Jesus might give us places in the new Heaven and Earth to rule over; I don’t know for sure, but if we accept it for what it says, then we will reign with Christ in Heaven if we keep the faith. Revelation 20:6 says something very similarly: Revelation 20:6: “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”

Let’s continue; “if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful– for he cannot deny himself.” Paul warns us, that if we deny Christ (like Peter), He also will deny us before the Father. But what if you, like Peter, have denied Christ, are you done for? Well, Peter was forgiven; so I think that if we repent (like Peter), then we too will be forgiven. Paul then tells us: “are faithless, he remains faithful– for he cannot deny himself.” Even when we fall away, Jesus will not leave us. If we are believers in Him, then He lives in us, and so, He cannot leave us. And after all, Jesus bought us at the price of His blood. He loves us, and He wouldn’t let us go.

Thank You, Heaven Father, for not leaving us in our sin, but for sending Your Son to die in our place… Jesus, I thank You for remaining faithful when we are faithless, and for shedding Your blood to give us a new life, and forgiveness… And Holy Spirit, I thank You, for showing us the gospel in this passage today, please continue to show us the gospel in every passage we read. In Jesus name, amen.

Sunday’s Sermon

Galatians 3:26-29; “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

And,

Galatians 4:1-7; “I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

Pastor Chris of Penfield Community Church preached his sermon from the verses above; he brought out three outcomes of the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

1. There is unity in Christ (is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.).
2. Redemption through His bloodshed on the cross (But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.).
3. And we have an inheritance in Christ (And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”).

I will briefly explain these points a little bit, just in case you don’t understand them:

1. There is unity in Christ: If you are in Christ; then you have many “brothers and sisters” in Him. It shouldn’t matter where they come from, or who they are. If you are in Him, then are united.
2. Redemption through His bloodshed on the cross: When Jesus died on the cross, He bought as back with His very blood. He redeemed us from Satan and darkness.
3. And we have an inheritance in Christ: After we were redeemed, we were adopted by God. We could not have been adopted if we were unclean; but through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross, we were made pure in the sight of God.

And there you have it: my short review of Sunday’s Sermon.

Sunday’s Sermon

The text for the sermon today was: Galatians 3:15-25; “To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

Pastor Chris Reutepohler of Penfield Community Church told us “When God gives us a promise, he will keep it, but He may do it in a way that we didn’t expect.” He showed us Abraham promise: “God promised Abraham a son, but it was twenty years later when that promise was fulfilled.”

Pastor Chris also showed us the promise of Jesus Christ the Messiah that would come through Abraham in: “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.”

If you remember the story of Abraham, then you will remember that Abraham tried to “help” God with His promise by sleeping with his wife’s maidservant Hagar. Pastor Chris commented on this saying, “Over time, God’s promises, can seem to get dim; we can lose sight of it like Abraham.”   Over four hundred years after the promise of the Messiah to Abraham, the Israelites lost sight of the promise, and so God introduced the Law. The law’s purpose is to point to Christ, as stated here: “Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made…For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”

God will always keep His promises, but He might fulfill them in ways you might not expect and at a time when you do not expect.

Sunday’s Sermon

The sermon text for today was Galatians 3:6-14; “just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us–for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”– so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”

Pastor Chris of Penfield Community Church gave us a little background on this section: Paul is writing to the Galatians about the way that we receive salvation.  They had been told by some false teachers that obeying the law was necessary for salvation, but Paul is writing to say that the truth is that salvation comes by believing and trusting in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord, and Savior.  To make his point, Paul asks them to consider Abraham.  Pastor Chris gave us a brief history of the life of Abraham who was called by God into a life of faith.  God said move to a place I will show you, and Abraham moved. God said that He would make Abraham’s children as numerous as the dust of the Earth, and Abraham trusted God. And later when God said that He would make Abraham’s descendants as numerous of the stars in the sky, Abraham believed Him, and it was counted to Him as righteousness. Paul’s point was that Abraham didn’t have the law, but He had faith in God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Abraham didn’t receive righteousness by obeying the law, but by believing and trusting in God for and in everything.  So it is with us, God came to Earth in the person of Jesus; He lived and kept the Law perfectly and then died and rose again giving us His righteousness.  We are saved by putting our faith in the death and resurrection of Christ alone.  We are not saved by keeping the Law.  Hallelujah!