A Song of Praise

[The following is a manuscript of my brief devotion delivered on Sunday morning, the 30th of July, 2017.  This was our Fifth Sunday service, with The Dix Family of Lexington bringing their ministry of music.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Before we bring The Dix Family back up, I’d like to read a beautiful chapter from our Holy Bible that is most fitting for today’s service.  There is some debate over the actual author of this song, but it seems very close to that which King David wrote and presented to Asaph, as recorded in chapter 16 of the 1st Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.  And we know how David loved to sing and play music.  Listen and follow along to the words of the psalmist in Psalm 96, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
3 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
4 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Give to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come into His courts.
9 Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved;
He shall judge the peoples righteously.”
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.
13 For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth.

--Psalm 96 (NKJV)

Isn’t that a beautiful passage?  And it speaks so well of why we should praise God and Jesus.  The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised!  He made the heavens, and firmly established the world and all therein.

So sing to Him a new song!  Proclaim the Gospel of salvation each and every day!  Declare His glory among all people!  Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad!  Let the sea roar and all within it!  Let the fields be joyful and even the trees will rejoice!

For the Lord is coming to judge the earth.  He is coming to judge the world with righteousness.  He is coming to judge all the people with truth.  He shall judge the people righteously.

So give to the Lord the glory and strength due His name!  Bring an offering into His courts.  Worship our Lord in the beauty of His holiness!  Let us lift our offering of music unto our Father God and let us give of ourselves to Him, because He reigns, forever and ever.

All in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Amen

Follow and Lead

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 23rd of July, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Last week we looked at a discussion between Jesus and a rich young ruler who sought eternal life.  Jesus told the young man that to be perfect in God’s eyes, he needed to sell everything he owned, give the money to the poor, and then follow Him.  But the young man was very rich, and refused to part with his possessions.  His material wealth held him back from following Jesus.  And we looked at what might be holding us back as well.

Today I’d like to pick up right where we left off last Sunday, because Jesus turns to His disciples and continues the discussion after the young man ran away from Him.  What our Lord tells His followers of that age bears great impact on His followers still today.  Listen and follow along to the Gospel account of the Apostle Matthew, continuing in chapter 19 with verses 23 through 29, and I’ll again be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life."

--Matthew 19:23-29 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You want nothing more than for all mankind to be reunited with You in heaven.  Speak to us now through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts, show us how to best follow Your Son so that we might appear more perfect in Your sight.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


A first-grade boy was told by his mother to come home directly after school was dismissed, but he arrived home late almost every day.  He was sometimes as much as 20 minutes late!  His mother asked him, "You get out of school at the same time every day.  Why can't you get home at the same time?"  The lad replied, "It depends on the cars."  "Cars?", his mother questioned.  "What do cars have to do with it?"  The youngster explained, "The patrol boy who takes us across the street makes us wait until some cars come along so he can stop them."


That crosswalk patrol guard was a born leader, wasn’t he? And I guess the young students had no choice but to follow his lead and wait until he told them to cross.  Our first-grader certainly followed obediently.  Wouldn’t it be nice if all who call themselves Christians followed Jesus so obediently?


Suppose a new project were planned and it needed a leader.  What are some of the qualities you’d look for?  Probably someone with leadership and organizational skills, someone with fresh new ideas, someone who could inspire others.  What if the project involved the creation of a new nation?  How would that change our desired leader qualifications?  Maybe we’d add perseverance to the list, and a dedication to the long haul because the project could take a lot of time to complete.  Now what if this new nation was to be populated solely by the descendants of this leader and his wife or her husband?  What does our leader profile now look like?  In addition to all the foregoing, wouldn’t we want a relatively young couple that is strong of will and physically fit?

Well, this is exactly the project God set before Abram and Sarai, later to be known as Abraham and Sarah.  He told them to pack up their belongings and leave their home and head for a place He would tell them about later, promising only that from them and their offspring a new nation would be formed, a nation that would be a blessing to all the earth.  And oh, by the way, did I mention that Abraham was 75 and Sarah 66, and childless, when God assigned them this project?  That certainly doesn’t fit the profile we just worked up for this nation-building project leader, does it?  Yet Abraham and Sarah did not hesitate to follow God and do as He willed.  And just look at what resulted from their willingness to follow, and to lead their people.


When Jesus reached adulthood, He went down to the River Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist and by the Holy Spirit.  Shortly thereafter, He began His ministry on earth, and He started by choosing some men to help Him in His work.  Listen as Matthew, in chapter 4 verses 18 through 22 of his Gospel account, describes Jesus’ encounter with the first four men He chose as disciples…

18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

--Matthew 4:18-22 (NKJV)

“Up until now, you have been fishers of fish.  Follow Me and I will make  of you fishers of men.”

“Follow Me” – such a simple invitation.  And one our Lord issued often.  Listen to another such encounter Matthew recorded, this one much more personal, in chapter 9 verse 9…

9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

--Matthew 9:9 (NKJV)

In each case, the men stopped what they were doing, left everything behind, and followed Jesus.  They walked with Him while He still drew breath, and they followed Him in the spirit until they too passed from this earthly plane.

“Follow Me”.  Jesus didn’t say, “Follow Me a few hours each week” or “Follow Me whenever it is convenient for you” or “Follow Me as long as it doesn’t cause you any problems or hardship or loss”.  No, He wanted full commitment from those who would be His disciples.

Here’s what Jesus told His followers, as recorded by Matthew in chapter 16 verses 24 and 25, from the Contemporary English Version…

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples: "If any of you want to be My followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow Me. 25 If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find it."

--Matthew 16:24-25 (CEV)

“If you really want to be one of My followers, one of My disciples, you must forget about yourself, your past life, all your possessions, everything that is near and dear to you.  Leave all of that behind, and prepare for any burdens or hardships that might come as a result of your commitment to Me.  Because if you insist on keeping hold of the world and all its things and pleasures, you will destroy your chances for eternal life in heaven.  But if you are willing to give all that up – your current way of life, your love of the world – then everlasting life with God will be yours to enjoy.”


“Follow Me”.  A lot of people are very comfortable following a leader.  They would much rather follow than lead.  Some are just the opposite – they desire nothing more than to lead others.  The crosswalk guard in our little beginning story certainly fit this category of leader, didn’t he?

You may have wondered about my choice of message titles this morning, “Follow and Lead”.  It should be one or the other, right?  Have you ever heard the old army saying, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way!”?  It’s like we’re supposed to choose a role, either as a leader or a follower, otherwise step aside and let the crowd go on through.

Considering our message text, following Jesus should be our number one priority.  And indeed it is, because He invites us all to follow Him.  Every word of the scripture we’ve heard this morning was directed to all of us, not just the twelve that Jesus hand-picked!  He chose us to follow Him!

But He also commissioned us to go and make disciples, to go and show other people how to follow Him, to go and lead others to their own salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Even as we follow – perhaps because we follow - we can also lead.

So as you follow Jesus, take someone else by the hand and lead them to Him as well.  In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You chose Abraham and Sarah - an elderly, childless couple – to serve as the beginning of a new nation, a new people.  You blessed them and all that sprang forth from them because they were faithful and trusted in You.  Forgive us, Father, when we doubt You, or when You ask us to do something and we doubt ourselves.  You’ve shown us so many times that what may be impossible for us is entirely possible for You.  Help us, please Father, to understand that and to fully place all our trust in You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You from our hearts, repenting of our sinful ways and seeking Your forgiveness, giving ourselves once again to You and Your Son Jesus…

Lord Jesus, You quietly, simply ask us to follow You.  Thank You, Jesus, for choosing us to be Your disciples.  But to follow You, we must be willing to fully commit to You and let go of the world, leave it behind, fully trust in You and our heavenly Father to provide for our needs.  Forgive us for not fully releasing our grasp of the world and all its temptations.  Help us, Lord, to leave it all behind and follow You.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith.  Amen.

Holding Back

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 16th of July, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Our Gospel writers – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – recorded many conversations between Jesus and others in their accounts of His life.  Our Lord spent a good bit of His time on earth trying to reach people, in masses and often in one-on-one discussions.  The disciples themselves were frequent recipients of these talks, as we read last week.  The Pharisees and Sadducees and scribes quite often received individual and group lectures, as it were.

But many times someone would come up to Jesus, maybe out of simple curiosity or out of a true desire to learn more, and He would take the time to try to explain to them what is truly important in this life on earth.  This often led to the individual coming to believe in Jesus as Lord, and even leading others to believe, such as the case when He spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well and she and the whole town found salvation.  Other times, it didn’t work out quite so well.

Listen and follow along to one such conversation between Jesus and a man usually described as a “rich young ruler”, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in his Gospel account, chapter 19 verses 16 through 22, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 

17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 

18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” 

Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?” 

21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

--Matthew 19:16-22 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You are indeed good, just as Jesus said.  You are always concerned with our physical and spiritual well-being.  Speak to us now through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts, show us the path we each must follow to be more perfect in Your sight.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


A local charity had never received a donation from the town’s banker, so the director made a phone call.  “Our records show you make $500,000 a year, yet you haven’t given a penny to charity,” the director began.  “Wouldn’t you like to help the community?”

The banker replied, “Did your research show that my mother is ill, with extremely expensive medical bills?”  “Um, no,” mumbled the director.  “Or that my brother is blind and unemployed?”, continued the banker.  “Or that my sister’s husband died, leaving her broke with four kids?”  “I… I… I had no idea”, stammered the director, crestfallen.

“So,” finished the banker, “if I don’t give them any money, why on earth would I give any to you?”


That banker kind of sounds like Ebenezer Scrooge prior to his Christmas Eve visitations, doesn’t he?  Why give anything away when you can keep it all to yourself?  After all, he who dies with the most toys wins, right?  I don’t think Jesus would exactly agree with that.


So this young man from a wealthy family walks up to Jesus and says, “Good Teacher, what do I have to do to gain everlasting life?”  We’ve often seen where Jesus doesn’t always answer the question that is asked, or at least not in the way the questioner is expecting.  Jesus picks up on that first word and responds, “Why are you calling Me ‘good’?  Only God is good.  Don’t you know that when you call Me good you are calling Me God?”  But He lets that slide and answers the actual question in somewhat of a terse manner: “If you want to get to heaven, just keep God’s commandments.”

The young man persists, as young men often do: “Which commandments?”  Jesus goes through the list, maybe feeling a little impatient, and the young man responds that he’s already doing those things.  Obviously he is not yet immortal, so what else must he do?

Then Jesus lays a bomb on him:  “Sell everything you own, give the money to the poor, and come, follow Me.”  But the young man was very rich, and did not want to part with his possessions, so he went away downcast and sad.  The Greek of verse 22 actually more closely reads “he ran away”, like he couldn’t get away from Jesus fast enough.  Maybe he was afraid Jesus would take all his possessions right on the spot.

But you see, the young man was not willing to give up his worldly possessions, his material way of life, and follow Jesus.  He wanted eternal life, he wanted heaven, but he wasn’t willing to give up his personal riches.  He was holding back.

The Apostle John, in his 1st letter to the far-flung early church, chapter 2 verses 15 through 17 wrote…

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

--1 John 2:15-17 (NKJV)

Family, if we love the world and the things of the world more than we love our Father God and His Son Jesus, then the love of our heavenly Father is not really in us.  We may call ourselves Christians and come to church on Sundays but if our heart is anchored in the world, our loyalty is divided and we cannot fully serve and follow Jesus.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, chapter 12 verses 1 and 2, begs us let go of the world and entrust ourselves fully to God  when he writes…

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

--Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)

Do not be shaped and molded and formed by the world.  Do not give in to its charms and pleasures and temporary riches.  Instead, Paul tells us to let God’s Holy Spirit do His job and take hold of us and reshape us according to God’s will for us.  John says everything in the world will pass away – only God and those who do His will last forever.


Family, what are we holding back?  What is keeping us from fully following Jesus?  The rich young ruler didn’t even give Jesus’ offer a moment’s consideration.  His possessions, his great wealth held him back.

I fear too many Christians today have one foot in heaven and one still in the world.  There is just something we refuse to let go of, something we can’t bring ourselves to give up.  It’s like we’re reaching out and desperately grasping hold of Jesus with one hand, while still hanging on to something in this world with the other.  We want to follow Jesus with all our heart, yet some part of it is still tethered to the world, to our worldly things and ways.

For the young man in our scripture, it was money and all his possessions – material things.  For some, it might indeed be some material thing, something we’ve invested way too much personal value in that we just can’t let go of.  For most, though, I think it might be our own favorite sin that we cling to.

Are any of us still trapped in the world by personal pride?  Do we get jealous of other folks who seem to have more than we have and we covet what they have?  Do we envy them, even to the point of wishing them harm because they’re so much better, richer, smarter, healthier, stronger, prettier than us?  Are we trapped by lust, anger, gluttony, or just plain laziness?  Do we find we are unable to love others as Jesus would have us love them, as He loves us?  Whatever it is we’re holding back, we need to let it go.

Now I don’t think Jesus really wants us to sell all our possessions and give the money to the poor, because then we ourselves would become poor and needy and dependent on the charity of others.  I don’t think He expected the rich young ruler to truly give up all his wealth – that isn’t the point.

What He wants is for us to let go of our love of the world and its material things, its sins that give us satisfaction or pleasure!  He wants us to stop putting our trust in the world and put it instead in our merciful and generous Father God.  Jesus wants us to let go of whatever we’re withholding from Him, whatever we’re holding back, because it’s holding us back to where we can’t truly, fully, completely follow Him.  We need to rid our heart of any last dark splotches, cleanse it, and give it to Jesus.


Release the world.  Just give it up… let it go.  There’s no more holding back.  In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You bless us so richly in so many ways.  You provide for our needs and give in abundance so that we might bless others in their need.  Forgive us, Father, when we take Your gifts and keep them all to ourselves.  Forgive us when we become greedy, holding fast to what You give us rather than sharing it with others.  Help us, please Father, to rid our lives of unnecessary, temporary things.  Help us to place all our trust in You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You from our hearts, repenting of our sinful ways and seeking Your forgiveness, giving ourselves once again to Your Son Jesus…

Lord Jesus, You ask us to look deep within and see what we are holding back, to understand what is keeping us from following You.  Thank You, Jesus, for the instructions You give us through God’s holy word.  Forgive us for not fully releasing our grasp of the world and all it offers – the material possessions and the pleasures of the flesh.  Help us, please Lord, to let go of the world, to let go of whatever is holding us back from fully dedicating ourselves to Your service.  Help us follow You.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith.  Amen.

What Is Jesus to Us?

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 9th of July, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

As we read the Gospel accounts in our Bible, we can easily get the idea that maybe Jesus got a little frustrated with His disciples every now and then.  They seemed more than willing to follow Him and help with His ministry all they could.  But more than once they were a little thick-headed.  Too many times they just didn’t get it.  And then Jesus would say something like, “O you of little faith!”, or “Don’t you understand yet?!?”.

Peter very often bore the brunt of remarks like these.  But there is one noted time when Peter did indeed “get it”, one time when he exhibited an astounding clarity, one time when God fully revealed the truth to him.  Listen and follow along to a brief conversation between Jesus and His disciples, and mostly the Apostle Peter, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in his Gospel account, chapter 16 verses 13 through 19, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

--Matthew 16:13-19 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You revealed to Peter just who Jesus truly is: Your Son, our Christ.  Speak to us now through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts, reveal to each of us just what Jesus is and means on a personal level.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


Since our scripture reading centers on the Apostle Peter and has Jesus entrusting him with the keys to heaven, I thought you might enjoy a little story about a preacher, a taxi driver, and St. Peter...

A preacher and a taxi driver both died and went to heaven.  St. Peter was at the Pearly gates waiting for them.  "Come with me," said Peter to the taxi driver.  The taxi driver did as he was told and followed Peter to a mansion.  It had everything you could imagine, from a bowling alley to an Olympic size pool.  "Oh my word, thank you!" said the taxi driver.

Next, St. Peter led the preacher to a rough old shack with a bunk bed and a little old television set.  "Wait, I think you are a little mixed up," said the preacher.  "Shouldn't I be the one who gets the mansion?  After all I was a preacher, I went to church every day, and I preached God's word every week."

"Yes, that's true.", Peter rejoined.  "But during your sermons, people slept.  When the taxi driver drove, everyone prayed."


Hmmm…  So it might be up to you, family, whether I get a mansion in heaven, or a shack.  No more sleeping during my sermons!


To get a little better feel for today’s scripture reading, let’s look at the location where Jesus and His disciples held this discussion.  During Jesus’ day, Caesarea Philippi was a Roman city along the base of Mount Hermon.  It served as the Roman cultural center for the region, which means it celebrated the Roman way of life, including shrines and temples to all the Roman gods.

So idolatry was common, as were all the rituals and immorality that goes along with worshiping false gods.  The people of the area were self-centered, looking out for themselves and caring little about others.  Everything pretty much stood in sharp contrast to what we now view as Christianity and Christian character.

This is where Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?”.  And God revealed to Peter exactly who, and what, Jesus is – the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of the living God.  Then Jesus starting laying the foundation and framework for His church.  The part about binding and loosing has to do with what is accepted or rejected by the church will be duly noted in heaven by God.

But this morning I am more interested in Jesus’ question and Peter’s response.  For to me, this little interchange raises the question of do we get it, as Peter did?  Who do we say Jesus is?  What is Jesus to us?

We call Jesus “Lord”, but do we really understand the implications of that title?  We have no problem understanding the Christ aspect of Jesus, the part about Him being the Messiah, our Savior.  We definitely believe that we will be rewarded for our belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and that our reward will be salvation from eternal death and torment.  Our Savior will save us.

But we often have more trouble with the Lord part, the aspect of Jesus being the actual Son of God.  God created everything there is by little more than simply saying a few words and waving His hand.  He could destroy everything just as easily.  Wouldn’t it behoove us to keep on His good side?  Wouldn’t it be in our best interest to do what He tells us to do?  And if that goes for God, doesn’t it apply to His Son Jesus as well?!?

Throughout most of human history, there were certain individuals, usually men, who held the power of life and death over others.  When they gave a command, it was obeyed or the offender was executed, usually quite brutally.  These people were called “lords”, or in the case of slaves, “masters”, and their subjects ignored or disobeyed them at their own risk.

When we acknowledge and confess Jesus as the true Son of the living God, we accept Him as our Lord and Master as well as our Savior.  Yet I don’t know how many times I have heard someone say words to the effect: “I know it isn’t what Jesus would want, but I just can’t…”, followed by one of the few things Jesus asks us to do, like “love those people”, or “talk to others about Him”, or “treat those people like they’re equal to the rest of us”.  In other words, we claim Jesus is our Lord, yet we outright refuse to do what He tells us to do.

So is our profession of Jesus as the Son of God nothing more than lip-service?  Not following His commandments is in effect an act of rebellion, even if only temporary rebellion.  The author of the Book of Hebrews reminds us of what happened to the rebellious children of Israel, in chapter 3 verses 16 through 18 of his letter…

16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?

--Hebrews 3:16-18 (NKJV)

Have you ever wondered why the ancient Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years when they never strayed too far, geographically, from the Promised Land?  Not long after He freed them from slavery in Egypt, the people rebelled against God, refusing to obey His commands, cursing Him and returning to their idol worshiping ways.  So He forbade them entry into His rest, into the land He promised them.  Instead, they were forced to wander almost aimlessly in the desert until every last one of that rebellious generation, including Moses himself, had perished.

Now, God’s rest is heaven, His home.  The author of Hebrews warns that we will not be allowed to enter heaven if we continue to rebel against God, or by implication, against His Son.  The Apostle Paul affirms this warning, but also provides hope for obedient believers, in his 2nd letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 1, verses 7 through 10…

7 And so I would say to you who are suffering, God will give you rest along with us when the Lord Jesus appears suddenly from heaven in flaming fire with His mighty angels, 8 bringing judgment on those who do not wish to know God and who refuse to accept His plan to save them through our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 They will be punished in everlasting hell, forever separated from the Lord, never to see the glory of His power 10 when He comes to receive praise and admiration because of all He has done for His people, His saints. And you will be among those praising Him because you have believed what we told you about Him.

--2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 (TLB)

The price for refusing to accept God’s plan over our lives is everlasting torment in hell, separated for all eternity from the Lord, never to see His glory and power.  And what is God’s plan except the salvation of mankind through the blood sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus.  Refusing to accept Jesus is disobedience to God’s command, and rebellion against His rule.

But those who do accept Jesus, who do obey His and God’s commands, they will see the Lord come in all His glory and will sing and shout His praises for all He has done for mankind!  To receive salvation from our Savior, we must obey His commands as our Lord!


What is Jesus to us?  He is the true Son of God.  He is the Christ, the promised Messiah, sent by God to save us from our sin.  Jesus is both our Savior and our Master, the Lord of lords and King of kings.

And this is all Good News, because it is only through Jesus that we can be saved!  Praise Him, and obey Him.  Love others and share this Gospel with them at every opportunity, as He commands.  And help save the world.

In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You know we are a stiff-necked and rebellious people.  You know we cannot fully follow and adhere to Your law as handed down by Moses.  So You had pity on us and showed Your great mercy by sending Your only Son to provide us with a means of salvation.  Jesus took all our sins upon Himself and offers to stand at our side when we face You, to intercede on our behalf so that You will allow us entry into Your rest.  Forgive us, Father, for our times of rebellion, when we fail to follow Your commands, when we even momentarily refuse Your Son Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You from our hearts, repenting of our sin and seeking Your forgiveness, confessing once again that Jesus is Lord…

Lord Jesus, You offered Yourself – Your own body and blood – that we might be saved if we only believe, and in believing, follow.  Thank You, Jesus, for being our Savior.  Forgive us when we forget You are also our Master, and that without You and God’s mercy, we are lost and doomed for all eternity.  Help us, please Lord Jesus, to obey You and our Father God.  Help us to remember just what You truly are to us.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith.  Amen.

A Free People

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 2nd of July, 2017.  Today’s service included observance of Holy Communion.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

This coming Tuesday is the 4th of July, the day we celebrate our nation’s independence.  Many good men and women died in the long war that followed that eventful July 4th in 1776 and the signing of our Declaration of Independence.  They gave their lives to break the power of England over us, that we could be free to determine our own destiny and govern ourselves.  They did not fight and die just so we could go back to a dictatorship or tyrannical rule.

This is a concept the Apostle Paul knew about, too.  Listen and follow along to the wise counsel Paul offers, from his letter to the Romans, chapter 5 verse 20 through chapter 6 verse 14, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Bible…

5:20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

6:1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined Him in His death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

5 Since we have been united with Him in His death, we will also be raised to life as He was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with Him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and He will never die again. Death no longer has any power over Him. 10 When He died, He died once to break the power of sin. But now that He lives, He lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

--Romans 5:20-6:14 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, You sent Your only begotten Son into the world so that we might be set free from our bondage to sin and death.  You certainly did not want us to return to our sinful ways once You freed us.  Speak to us now, Father, through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts, that we might receive, understand, and obey Your message this morning.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


The kindly old pastor often visited the various classrooms in the church school during the week.  One day he entered the 4th grade class where the children were studying the states.  The pastor asked the class how many states they could name.  After much thought and discussion, they finally came up with the names of 40 states.  The pastor jokingly told the class that in his day, students knew the names of all of the states.  One young boy sheepishly raised his hand and said, "Yes sir, but in those days, there were only 13 of them to remember!"


I bet the pastor wasn’t quite that old, but to kids, anyone over 30 is ancient!


241 years ago, some very brave people took a stand against what they saw as tyranny and foreign rule.  Basing their position on God’s holy word, using scripture from our Bible, they declared their independence from England and fought a long, harsh war to win the freedom to rule themselves.  Many lost everything they owned to gain liberty; many lost even their lives.  Over the ensuing decades, thousands fought and died to keep and secure America as a free nation.  They did not want to see us slip backwards and lose the right to govern ourselves, to fall back under any type of dictatorship.

The Apostle Paul would well have understood this mindset.  For he knew the struggle Jesus fought to free us all from a life of sin and an eternity of death and torment.  Jesus gave of Himself to break us free from the chains of sin that held so much power over our lives.  And He certainly did not sacrifice Himself just so we could revert yet again to our sinful life or fall back into slavery to sin.

Now Paul is speaking to believers here, to those who truly believe Jesus is the Son of God and accept Him as our Lord and Master.  By this we are saved from eternal damnation.  But does that mean we are no longer capable of sinning?  No, of course not!  We are indeed physically still able to sin, and we too often do so.  And therein lies the rub.

We have been freed from the effects sin can have on our eternal lives, yet we too often return to sin as our free will allows us to.  The Apostle Peter warned that with freedom comes responsibility.  Listen to what he wrote in his 1st letter, chapter 2, verses 15 and 16…

15 It is God’s will that your good lives should silence those who foolishly condemn the Gospel without knowing what it can do for them, having never experienced its power. 16 You are free from the law, but that doesn’t mean you are free to do wrong. Live as those who are free to do only God’s will at all times.

--1 Peter 2:15-16 (TLB)

We are free from having to try to follow every aspect of the Law of Moses, but that doesn’t mean we are at liberty to go out and do wrong.

Think about today’s court system for a moment.  How many people are arrested for some crime, are tired and convicted, are given parole or serve their sentence to be released back into society, only to commit another crime and start the cycle over again?  Just because they have been freed from their first crime doesn’t mean they can go out and commit more crimes and expect not to be punished.  They need to live a law-abiding life to avoid further prosecutions.  Once we are freed from and forgiven of our sins, we need to live a God-abiding life, doing only God’s will.

In chapter 8 verses 1 and 2 of his letter to the Romans, Paul agrees with Peter that we must follow God’s ways to avoid further judgments…

8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

--Romans 8:1-2 (NKJV)

There is no more condemnation for those believers who do not walk according to the flesh, or in the ways of the world.  The unspoken flip side of that coin is that there will be condemnation for those who continue to live a worldly life, who return to their slavery of sin, who put their own agenda or pleasure ahead of God.  No, we must walk according to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to lead us along the narrow path of righteousness.  We must not allow ourselves to fall back into bondage to sin and the worldly ways that caused our condemnation in the first place.

I’ve heard it said that the price of freedom is vigilance.  Well, we must be ever vigilant to spot and avoid all the traps and snares Satan will throw along our path.  Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, chapter 5 verse 1, put it like this…

1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

We who believe in Jesus as Lord must not allow ourselves to ever become entangled once again in the net of wickedness that Satan tries to throw over us.

--Galatians 5:1 (NKJV)

We must avoid the yoke of bondage to sin at all costs.  Jesus died to free us, now it is up to us to preserve our freedom.

In a few minutes we will remember that sacrifice as we observe the last meal Jesus shared with His followers.  Paul tells us to not even come to the table if we are not right with God in our hearts.  Take this time to speak quietly to God, to repent of our sins, to seek His forgiveness.  Remember that Jesus gave His body to take the beating we deserve, and that He shed His blood to wash us clean of our sins.

Be vigilant, be strong, and stand fast in the liberty He gave us.  We are a free people.  Let us remain free.  In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, George Washington frequently gave credit to You for the very foundation of these United States.  He readily acknowledged that a ragtag group of farmers and shopkeepers could never have defeated the mightiest army on earth without Your divine intervention on their behalf.  We thank You, Father, for helping us gain liberty from foreign rule and the freedom to govern ourselves.  We pray that You will now heal this land, that we might turn once again to You and be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You from our hearts, repenting of our sin and seeking Your forgiveness…

Lord Jesus, long before America became a nation, You broke the chains that bound mankind in slavery to Satan.  You sacrificed Your body and Your blood so that those who would believe in You as God’s Son and accept You as Lord might never again be held in bondage to sin.  Thank You, Jesus, for that great sacrifice, for that great love.  Forgive us when we fail to remain free, returning to the sinful ways of the world.  Forgive us when we use the liberty You died for to do wrong in God’s eyes.  Help us, please Lord Jesus, to remain free and to do only God’s will.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith.  Amen.