In the message today, we will be considering ways to prepare yourselves spiritually for your Christmas celebrations. That message will be addressing those who earnestly want to be a blessing to others, and who are grieved when they stumble in various ways. So I thought that it would be good to address just a few …
Justice, Mercy and Humility
Because God is the author of sacraments, He is the one who governs and regulates them. In some matters, He doesn’t care how we set the Table—He doesn’t mandate a white tablecloth, for example, or silver trays for distribution. He requires that what we do in this regard is filled with reverence and godly awe, …
This Rebellious House
Our Father and God, You have established Your Church as a royal priesthood in this world, and so we intercede for the nations of men now, confessing on their behalf so that the grace of Your forgiveness will soon be extended to them all. Our Father and God, we pray to You now from the …
Getting Dressed for Christmas
INTRODUCTION: Holidays are frequently times when people get trapped by the expectations game. Because everyone around you assumes that the day is going to be “really good,” “special,” or “fantastic,” and is constantly telling you to have a “merry” one, it is easy to assume that having a merry Christmas is an actual possession of …
A Promise Only God Can Make
Every sacrament, by definition, contains and manifests a promise of salvation. That is what a sacrament is. The sacrament of baptism contains a promise of salvation at its inception, and the Supper contains a promise of salvation related to perseverance. What God began God will complete. These promises are apprehended with the heart, whenever someone …
Not Part of a Subset
As we prepare for our celebration of Christmas, keep in mind that we are not observing “just another religious holiday,” taking its place alongside all the others. If Jesus Christ was born into this world in order to remake all of humanity through His sinless life, loving sacrifice of Himself on the cross, and powerful …
Forgiveness With God
Our Father and God, You have established Your Church as a royal priesthood in this world, and so we intercede for the nations of men now, confessing on their behalf so that the grace of Your forgiveness will soon be extended to them all. Our Father and God, we know that if You were to …
Tidings of Comfort and Joy
INTRODUCTION: Last Lord’s Day, the message was brought to us from the conclusion of Isaiah 40, and we learned from that message that there are two kinds of waiting. There is a waiting that causes our strength to dissipate, and there is a waiting that gathers our strength for us. There is a waiting that …
Two Kinds of Black
As we celebrate the coming of the Christ, we must never forget the kind of world He was born into. The blackness that the star of Bethlehem shone brightly from was a creational blackness, the kind of blackness that was visible on the first day of our world—when it was evening and it was morning, …
More Than Last Time
The apostle Paul tells us that this bread represents the unity of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16-17). How so? Remember that the Lord’s way of unity is one, one divided, and two restored into one. That is what He did in the Garden. Adam was one, then he was divided into two, so …