Jesus, the Light of the World

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 25th of February, 2018.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

This morning we will continue looking at how Jesus described Himself so we can perhaps understand how to become more Christ-like.  So far we have seen that Jesus was willing to help any and all others, and that He provided for their needs both physical and spiritual.  This is evident in the statements Jesus made when He said, “I am willing”, when asked to heal a leper, and “I am the bread of life”, spoken not long after feeding over five thousand people from only five loaves of bread and two small fish.  In these Jesus showed Himself to be a helper and a provider.

Today I’d like to continue the “I am” series by studying His statement, “I am the light of the world.”  So please listen and follow along as I read from the Apostle John’s Gospel account, chapter 8, verses 2 through 18, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”

14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

--John 8:2-18 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we really do want to be more like Your Son Jesus.  He showed us how we should live by how He lived.  Thank You for sending Your Son to light up our world, to shed light throughout the darkness.  Speak to us now, Father, that we may hear and understand how to be more like Jesus so we can be more righteous in Your eyes.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


We Christians, we who try to follow Jesus and obey His voice, we probably think we understand God’s truth at least fairly well.  We might even feel firmly grounded in the truths of the Bible.  I wonder, though…

In his book, What Americans Believe, George Barna reports some telling statistics that came out of a national survey on religious beliefs.  Mr. Barna looked specifically at that segment of responders who identified themselves as Born Again Christians.  I'd like to look at two of those stats for a moment.

In the survey, the following statement was posited: "The Devil, or Satan, is not a living being but is a symbol of evil." The respondents were then asked, "Do you agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, or disagree strongly with that statement?"

The Born Again population replied with 32 percent agreeing strongly, 11 percent agreeing somewhat and 5 percent did not know. So 48 percent of those responding either agreed that Satan is only symbolic or did not know!

The second statistic I'd like to share began with the statement, "Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and others all pray to the same God, even though they use different names for that God." Again, the respondents were asked if they agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat or disagree strongly.

Of that population surveyed who identified themselves as Born Again Christians, 30 percent agreed strongly, 18 percent agreed somewhat and 12 percent did not know!  A total of 60 percent of Born Again Christians responding to the survey either thought everyone worships the same god, or didn't know what to think!


I hope you find those numbers a little troubling.  48% of born-again Christians think Satan is simply symbolic or aren’t sure, and 60% think that all religions worship the same god, or again aren’t sure.

Just so we’re all on the same page here, Satan is real – he is a fallen angel, also known as Lucifer.  And he is the embodiment of evil.  And there is but one true God, who has three persons in One – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  If you do not believe in Jesus, you cannot worship the one true God, which leaves out all religions other than Christian.

Too many people don’t understand this.  And that is why Jesus came – to give us vision and show us the truth.  Jesus Himself said so.  In chapter 9 of his Gospel account, John tells us of Jesus healing a man that was born blind, that never had sight.  In verse 39, Jesus spoke to the man…

39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

--John 9:39 (NKJV)

Now that might seem like one of Jesus’ word puzzles, and in a way it is.  But what He is saying here is that He came to bring vision to the world, vision into the truth of God, so that those who did not know God before might now know Him and understand His truth.  He also came to show those who only thought they knew God, how wrong they were.

And that last directly pointed to the Pharisees and the Jewish religious leadership who clearly did not understand the truth of God, who could not see His plan of salvation for mankind at work in Jesus.  They failed to see their own Messiah standing right there in front of them.  They were blind.

John certainly saw the truth revealed in Jesus.  I know you’re familiar with how he opened his Gospel account in chapter 1 verses 1 through 5…

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

--John 1:1-5 (NKJV)

Jesus came to shine the light of God’s truth into this world of darkness.  And neither the world nor the darkness nor the ruler of darkness, Satan, can overcome that light that is Jesus.


You remember how Saul, the persecutor of Christians, came to be one of our Lord’s most faithful servants.  He was on the way to Damascus to arrest some known Christians there, when the risen Jesus struck him blind.  His traveling companions led him on into the city where Jesus arranged for a man named Ananias to assist in bringing him to the Lord.  But Ananias was a little hesitant.

Listen to what the Apostle Luke wrote about this in his Book of Acts, chapter 9, verses 13 through 18…

13 Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.

--Acts 9:13-18 (NKJV)

Jesus had to show Saul how much His soon-to-be Apostle would have to suffer in his service to our Lord.  Ananias even told Saul that Jesus sent him so that Paul, as he would soon be renamed, could receive his sight.  And that carries two meanings.

Saul was physically blinded and Ananias, as an agent of Jesus, helped him see again.  And Saul was spiritually blind before, thinking he was doing the work of God when in actuality he was working against God, as did pretty much all the Pharisees.  But now he had been filled with the Holy Spirit and could see the truth, the truth that Jesus showed him.


Family, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”  If we want to be more like Him, do you think maybe we could try shedding a little light into the darkness ourselves?  Paul definitely put his new sight to work doing just that, as he shared the truth of the Gospel everywhere he went with everyone he encountered.  Usually at great risk to his own mortal life, he shed the light of Jesus without hesitation, trying to save the eternal lives of others.

And family, this is what Jesus wants us to do as well.  The Apostle Matthew saved for us an urging Jesus made, in chapter 5 of his Gospel account, verses 14 through 16…

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

--Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV)

Jesus described Himself by saying, “I am the light of the world”, and then He described us in the same way: “You are the light of the world”.  Just as a city built upon a hill can be seen from many angles for miles around, so should we be seen by a world still trapped in darkness.  The light of Jesus should be seen shining through us, from us, casting that beautiful light upon all we encounter.

Let the light that is Jesus so shine that all may see our good works on their behalf, that the Father might be glorified.  Be willing to help all others, loving unconditionally, sacrificially, expecting nothing in return, just like Jesus did.  Help provide for the physical needs of others so that their spiritual needs might also be met.  And shine the light of truth so that all might see.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You sent Your own Son into the world to shine as a beacon cutting through the darkness.  You sent Him to show us the truth and the way to safety.  Thank You, Father, for loving us so much.  Forgive us, please Father, for those times when we still stumble around in the darkness ourselves.  Forgive us when we fail to shine Your light so that others may see and avoid Satan’s hidden traps.  Help us to be more like Jesus, shedding Your light of truth all around us, so that others may find their way back to Your kingdom.

Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, repenting of our wrongful ways, seeking Your mercy and forgiveness…

Lord Jesus, You came to bring sight to those who could not see, and to blind those who thought they could see, but what they saw were only the lies and deceits of the evil one.  You were the light unto the world, but now that You have returned to heaven, it is up to us to take up Your beacon and shine out so that all might have a chance to see.  Help us, please Lord, to shine Your light into the darkness, so that fewer might stumble.  Help us light the path and show others the true way.

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.

Jesus, the Bread of Life

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 18th of February, 2018.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Last week I kind of laid down a challenge, that if we truly want to be more Christ-like, we need to follow the example of Christ.  Thinking that one way to see the example that Jesus set for us is to look at how He described Himself, I kicked off a little series based on statements He made that began simply with, “I am”.  We took a look at an incident where Jesus said, “I am willing”, when asked to heal a leper.  And we asked ourselves if we are willing to help others as freely as Jesus did while on this earth.

Today I’d like to really dig into the “I am” series by studying His statement, “I am the bread of life.”  So please listen and follow along as I read from the Apostle John’s Gospel account, chapter 6, verses 26 through 40, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

--John 6:26-40 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You love us so much that You sent us Your own Son to carry out Your plan of salvation for mankind.  Jesus came to show us the way back to Your kingdom, to give us a way back into Your good graces.  Thank You for sending Your Son who is our bread of life, who provides for our spiritual need as You provide for our physical need.  Speak to us now, Father, that we may hear and understand how to be more like Jesus.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


The citizens of Feldkirch, Austria, didn't know what to do. Napoleon's massive army was preparing to attack. Soldiers had been spotted on the heights above the little town, which was situated on the Austrian border. A council of citizens was hastily summoned to decide whether they should try to defend themselves or display the white flag of surrender. It happened to be Easter Sunday, and the people had gathered in the local church.

The pastor rose and said, "Friends, we have been counting on our own strength, and apparently that has failed. As this is the day of our Lord's resurrection, let us just ring the bells, have our services as usual, and leave the matter in His hands. We know only our weakness, and not the power of God to defend us." The council accepted his plan and the church bells rang out. Napoleon's army, hearing the sudden peal, concluded that the Austrian army had arrived during the night to defend the town. Before the service ended, the enemy broke camp and left.


I believe this illustration is one of provision and trust.  The people struggled with how to respond to a seemingly hopeless situation.  But rather than react under their own power, they finally decided to exercise their faith in God.  They put their trust in Him, and He provided for their safety with no one on either side being hurt that day.

Family, God is good… when we let Him be.


In the opening of our scripture reading, Jesus tells the people, “you seek Me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled”.  In my mind I hear an unspoken question…  What do we seek?  I’m sure His statement was quite correct for the vast majority of the people who flocked around Him.  They sought after Jesus to see to their physical needs, whether it be hunger or thirst or illness or disability or just to rid them of some bad spirit in their life.

Where we picked up in John’s account is right after what we call the feeding of the five thousand.  You know the story…  Five thousand men, and some untold number of women and children, had followed Jesus into a remote area where He healed them of diseases and cast out evil spirits and taught them the truth of God.  As the day grew late, His disciples urged Jesus to send the people on their way so they could find food to eat.  But Jesus said, “You feed them.”

Listen to how the Apostle Matthew recorded the rest, in his Gospel account, chapter 14 verses 17 through 21…

17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

--Matthew 14:17-21 (NKJV)

In this sense, we can say that Jesus’ statement, “I am the bread of life”, can mean that He is a provider.  Just as He did for all those people who followed Him and sought after Him, He provided for their needs.  And indeed, He directed us to ask our Father God for His provision in our lives as well.  I’m sure you’re familiar with Matthew’s chapter 6 verse 11, when Jesus taught us to say…

11 “Give us this day our daily bread.”

--Matthew 6:11 (NKJV)

Yes, that comes right from our Lord’s model prayer, spoken to us from His Sermon on the Mount.  A little later on in that sermon, still in chapter 6 of Matthew’s account, verses 26, 31, and 33, Jesus further instructs us…

26 "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

--Matthew 6:26, 31, 33 (NKJV)

Birds don’t run farms, they don’t plant seed and harvest grain and store it in warehouses to eat later.  They don’t maintain massive worm ranches.  Yet our Father God sees to their needs daily, just as He did for the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness for forty years and He fed them daily with manna from heaven.

“Give us this day our daily bread”, Jesus tells us to ask.  But He also says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all these things will be added to you”, will be given to you.  And again, the unspoken question…  What do we seek?  God’s kingdom and His righteousness is personified and made manifest in His Son Jesus!  Trust fully in God and in Jesus and our needs will be met!


But was Jesus only concerned with our daily physical needs when He told us all these things?  When He healed all those who were diseased, when He cured their infirmities, when He brought the dead back to mortal life, when He fed the thousands… did He truly only care about their physical needs of that moment?

When He said, “I am the bread of life”, Jesus added, “He who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”  “Never” is an awfully long time.

I’m pretty sure we’ve all had those moments when we thought, “Will this day never end!??!”  Well, there will come a time when “this day” will never end - the time when eternity begins.  That is the time when we had better have already come to Jesus, when we need to have believed in Him.  That is the time when His true provision will begin.  And we who believe will hunger and thirst no more.


While that time has not yet arrived, it could come at any moment.  We don’t know when eternity will begin.  And that is one reason we are looking at some of Jesus’ “I am” statements, to try to become more like Him and prepare ourselves for eternity’s approach.

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”, and we just looked at how that relates more to our eternal life than our mortal, everyday life.  But when He walked this earth, Jesus was indeed concerned about the everyday life of all people.  He was a provider, seeing to their needs.  Matthew tells us how Jesus sent His disciples into the towns and villages throughout Judea, to help do His work, effectively multiplying His effort.  In chapter 10, verse 8, Matthew recorded Jesus telling His followers to…

8 “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”

--Matthew 10:8 (NKJV)

“Freely you have received, freely give.”  Jesus cared deeply about the physical well-being of the people as well as their spiritual health.  He knew if their physical needs were met, they would be more likely to accept His spiritual help as well.

We may or may not be able to heal the sick or cleanse lepers, raise the dead or cast out demons.  But we are able to provide food, clothing, shelter, understanding and love to those in need.  We have freely received of the provisions - the blessings - of our Father God.  We have freely received of redemption, forgiveness, and salvation through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, the bread of life.  Let us freely give in return.

Love unconditionally, sacrificially, expecting nothing in return, just like Jesus did.  Help provide for the physical needs of others so that their spiritual needs might also be met.  Be the bread of life to all you encounter.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You give to us so freely, providing for our needs and blessing us to abundance.  Thank You, Father, for being so good to us.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to share from our abundance, when we forget that all we have first came from You.  Help us to be more like Jesus, seeing to the needs of those around us, so that they may be able to better focus on You and seek Your kingdom.

Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your great provision, repenting of our wrongful ways, seeking Your mercy and forgiveness…

Lord Jesus, You cared so much for the people.  Not only were You willing to give Your life for us all, but You saw to the daily needs, the physical needs of all You encountered, so that their spiritual needs might also be met.  Help us, Lord, to be more like You.  Show us how to meet the physical and spiritual needs of those less fortunate.  Help us to always love as You love, and to be the bread of life to others.

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.

Pray and Confess

[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered during our Ash Wednesday evening service, the 14th of February, 2018.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Wikipedia describes the Book of Daniel as “a biblical apocalypse, combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology (the study of last things) which is both cosmic in scope and political in its focus”.  That mouthful means that Daniel tried to warn his people of what is to come by using information he gained not only from God but also from his study of the prophet Jeremiah’s writings.  His predictions of the end times strongly support what the Apostle John was shown by Jesus and as recorded in his Book of Revelation.  One could say that the general message Daniel tried to leave us with is that just as God saved him and his friends from their trials, so will He deliver Israel from their and us from our times of trouble.

As we read through Daniel’s book, Israel is in exile in Babylon, but through his studies of Jeremiah and by what he is shown from God, Daniel realizes that the end of their captivity is close at hand.  So he prays to God, a powerful prayer, confessing their sins and seeking forgiveness for himself and his people.  I would like to look at a part of this prayer this evening.  Listen to the words of Daniel from chapter 9, verses 1 through 7, of his book of prophecy…

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans — 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. 6 Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

--Daniel 9:1-7 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, Daniel was a righteous man, yet he understood the need to come before You in prayer, confessing not only his own sins but those of his people, seeking forgiveness for them all  that they might be delivered from their current trials.  Forgive us, Father, when we fail to confess our own sins to You until the guilt becomes unbearable.  Forgive us our disobediences, our transgressions, our sins.  Help us pray, please Father, to more fully understand our need to pray and confess, and to share Your wonderful message of salvation.  In the name of Your Son Jesus we pray.  Amen.


Daniel was indeed a very righteous man.  You may remember that he completely disregarded the orders of the most powerful man on earth so that he not disobey God.  King Darius, although he respected Daniel, had no choice but to punish him for his disobedience of the king’s direct decree.  So the prophet was thrown into the lion’s den.  But God shut the mouths of those hungry lions and the life of His righteous servant and prophet was spared.

So why would this man, obviously favored by God, feel the need to “set [his] face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes” and “make confession”, as he states in verses 3 and 4?  Because he knew he and his people had sinned.  He knew that is a definite link between confession and forgiveness.  He knew that God will forgive, but only if we ourselves are fully aware of what we have done wrong and are humbly willing to admit it!

It’s one thing to know that we are sinners.  And we know that Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins, so that our sins might be forgiven if we would only believe in and follow Him.  It’s fairly easy to say the words, “Father, I have sinned.  Please forgive me.”  It’s not quite so easy to say them and mean them, to say those words with conviction.  It’s far more difficult still to add, “and here are all the ways I have disobeyed You:”, and then start listing them off, one by one.

“Father, I felt great anger against a fellow believer this morning, and I harbored thoughts against him I should not have.  I had no love in my heart.”  “Lord God, I saw one of Your children without a warm coat, without a protective place to lay his head and sleep, and I looked the other way, ignoring his plight.”  “Father, today I remember how much my loved one suffered, and I began to doubt Your love.”

Daniel did not confess to God because God needed to know what was going on.  Nor do we – that’s not the point.  God knows everything!  He knows what we are about to do before we ever do it!

He wants us to confess when we do something wrong so that we will know!  We need to fully understand that what we did was wrong and why it was wrong!  That’s what confession is all about: to convict us of our wrong doing!  And then, by God’s great mercy and through the sacrifice of Jesus our Lord, a beautiful thing happens: we are forgiven.

This is why the righteous man named Daniel prayed.  This is why he confessed.  So that he and his people would be forgiven and God would again smile upon them.  So let’s pray for ourselves and for all people across the globe.  We must acknowledge our sins as individuals and as a people.  Then we can seek and receive God’s forgiveness.


Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of our time of Lent, when we, at least symbolically, put on sackcloth and cover ourselves in ashes as a sign of repentance and a reflection on our own mortality.  In a way, it is an acknowledgment and confession of our sins and disobedience.  Many will leave their churches tonight with the sign of the cross marked in ashes upon their foreheads or the backs of their hands.  And then they’ll go home and wash them off with only a few, if any, having seen them.

But there should be more to Lent than wearing ashes for a few minutes on a Wednesday night.  This is a time when we should seek to grow closer to our Lord Jesus by trying to experience some small measure of what He went through while He walked this earth.  Ash Wednesday kicks off our observance of the journey Jesus made starting with His 40 days of temptation by Satan in the wilderness and ending at the cross on Good Friday.

The ashes are useful, though, as a sign of our own mortality.  In our Invocation earlier, I read to you from chapter 3 verse 19 of the Book of Genesis where God reminds Adam and Eve that they were created and formed from dust and to dust they will return.  Ashes are a form of dust.  They remind us that it is only through God that we even have life.  He gave us life.  And He can take it away at any moment.

A piece of paper, a chunk of wood, a frond from last year’s Palm Sunday service… when anything is completely burned and consumed by fire, it undergoes a total metamorphosis, a full change.  It becomes something new, something we call ashes.  In his 2nd letter to the church in Corinth, chapter 5 verse 17, the Apostle Paul tells us…

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

--2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

Ashes are the new thing something burned has become once it passes away in fire.  The ashes speak of our restoration in righteousness, of our new life in Christ Jesus.  But I think the most important point the ashes make is as an external sign of our internal confession and repentance.

As an example of what I mean, when I chose to be baptized as an adult, it was an outward sign of my inward acceptance of Jesus as my Lord and Master as well as my personal Savior.  You can’t see into my soul, but you could have seen me getting sprinkled one time or dunked in the water the second time, and many people did.

The ashes of Ash Wednesday are kind of like my baptisms.  We can’t peer into a person’s heart to see if they are truly repenting of their sins.  If they are wearing the ashes, it is an outward expression of their internal turning from sin.  This is strongly evidenced in our Bible, where ashes are often associated with mourning and grief.  If I sin and I know I have sinned and I truly regret my sin, don’t I feel a measure of grief?  Don’t I mourn that loss of righteousness my sin caused me?  In many Biblical passages, most frequently in the Old Testament, people would express their repentance by sprinkling ashes over their heads, by sitting in ashes or rolling around in them, even sometimes by mixing ashes in with their food or drink.

In our scripture reading this evening, Daniel notes that he prayed with “fasting, sackcloth, and ashes”.  Daniel understood the need to outwardly and inwardly recognize and confess our wickedness and disobedience.  Had we read further in his book, we would have seen that Daniel and the children of Israel were indeed forgiven and eventually freed from captivity and allowed to return to their land.

Our Lord Himself encourages us to do as Daniel and others did and repent in ashes.  By following Daniel’s example, externally but especially internally, we too will be forgiven.  Our need is not to don sackcloth robes and sit in ashes, but to confess and repent of our sin.  Sackcloth and ashes are merely an outward sign of what we must feel inside our hearts.

But what good is a sign if no one sees it?  How helpful would it be for others, especially non-believers, if only a few, if any, take note of the sign and understand what it is trying to say?  How useful are ashes worn on the forehead or hand when they are washed off shortly after being applied?  Worse yet, what if the ashes are only being worn because everyone else is wearing them?  What if the outward sign is really only a mask, hiding the true spirit of an unrepentant heart?

The people of the Old and New Testament times understood what the ashes represented.  And some do today.  But many more have no clue.  They probably wonder why some people are going around with dirt on their foreheads.  What is applied in the form of the cross quickly becomes an oily smudge.

We could take the time to explain it to them, if they asked.  We could tell them what the ashes mean to us, what Jesus means to us, what repenting means to us.  If they asked, and if we shared with them our witness, it just might put them on the road that leads to salvation by accepting Jesus as their Lord.  But they’ll never have the chance, if they don’t see the ashes.


Give something up for Lent, something meaningful, in remembrance of Jesus giving everything up for us.  Take the sackcloth and ashes you’ll receive tonight and display them for others to see, but more importantly, confess your disobedience to God and repent of your sin, so that the ashes and sackcloth have meaning.

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

Follow the Example of Christ

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 11th of February, 2018.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Recently we’ve looked at new beginnings, being a new creation, and at our own origins.  We talked about how the first church began and how it interacted within its own body and in the community.  And from the comments I’ve heard, I believe most of us would like to see this family become more and more like the Acts 2 church.

We should keep in mind that Jesus actually set the stage for the church, by pulling a small group of men together as one and then building on that body by sharing the Gospel, the Good News of salvation.  So to be more like the Acts 2 church, we can start by being more like Jesus.

The Apostle John can explain this much better than I.  Please listen and follow along as I read the opening of John’s first letter to the far-flung Christian church, from chapter 1 verse 1 through chapter 2 verse 6, and I’ll read from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible to show how this speaks to us today…

1:1 The Word that gives life
was from the beginning,
and this is the One
our message is about.

Our ears have heard,
our own eyes have seen,
and our hands touched
this Word.

2 The One who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us. 3 We are telling you what we have seen and heard, so that you may share in this life with us. And we share in it with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing to tell you these things, because this makes us truly happy.

5 Jesus told us that God is light and doesn’t have any darkness in Him. Now we are telling you.

6 If we say that we share in life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the truth. 7 But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of His Son Jesus washes all our sins away. 8 If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn’t in our hearts. 9 But if we confess our sins to God, He can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, because we have not accepted His message.

2:1 My children, I am writing this so that you won’t sin. But if you do sin, Jesus Christ always does the right thing, and He will speak to the Father for us. 2 Christ is the sacrifice that takes away our sins and the sins of all the world’s people.

3 When we obey God, we are sure that we know Him. 4 But if we claim to know Him and don’t obey Him, we are lying and the truth isn’t in our hearts. 5 We truly love God only when we obey Him as we should, and then we know that we belong to Him. 6 If we say we are His, we must follow the example of Christ.

--1 John 1:1-2:6 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we’re only fooling ourselves if we think we haven’t sinned.  Father, You know those times when we step out of Your light and hide in the darkness, even if only for a moment.  Thank You for sending Your Son to us who never sinned, who always does the right thing.  Thank You for taking away our sins.  Speak to us now, Father, that we may hear Your voice and feel You moving in our lives.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


I have to ask:  What kind of example do we set?...


The boy's mother was furious!  "Young man, where did you learn such language?  Who taught you to talk like that?!!?"

The boy hesitated, turned and looked toward his father and asked, "Well, Dad?  Should I tell her?"


A different father was teaching his young son what a Christian should be like.  Once the lesson was over, the father received a reality check when the little boy asked, "Dad?  Have I ever met one of these Christians?"


Would any of us find it sobering if someone didn't realize we were a Christian?  If Christianity suddenly became illegal in this country, would there be enough evidence against us to convict us in a court of law?  Would there even be sufficient grounds to arrest us?


I don’t think there’s any question that we have all sinned.  If we think otherwise, we’re just fooling ourselves, or as John puts it, God’s truth isn’t in our hearts.  John goes so far as to say that if we claim we’re not sinners, then we’re making God out to be a liar, because we have not accepted His message.  His message is that of salvation, of forgiveness of our sins, through the sacrifice made on our behalf by His Son Jesus.  If we haven’t sinned, we don’t need His forgiveness or His saving grace – we don’t need God or Jesus.  But if we love God, we will obey Him, and in obeying, know that we belong to Him, that we are His.

And then John delivers the clincher:  if we say we are His, then we must follow the example of Christ.  The Apostle Paul says basically the same thing, in his 1st letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11 verse 1…

1 You must follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

--1 Corinthians 11:1 (CEV)

Follow Paul’s example, because he follows the example of Christ.

Family, what do we call ourselves - what name do we go by?  We are the Pilgrim member of the universal body of Jesus and we call ourselves… Christians - followers of Christ.  Shouldn’t we then be more Christ-like?  If we claim we follow Him, shouldn’t we try to follow His example?

Paul says we should, and for very good reason.  Read what he wrote to the Ephesians in chapter 5, verses 1 through 5…

1 Do as God does. After all, you are His dear children. 2 Let love be your guide. Christ loved us and offered His life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.

3 You are God’s people, so don’t let it be said that any of you are immoral or indecent or greedy. 4 Don’t use dirty or foolish or filthy words. Instead, say how thankful you are. 5 Being greedy, indecent, or immoral is just another way of worshiping idols. You can be sure that people who behave in this way will never be part of the kingdom that belongs to Christ and to God.

--Ephesians 5:1-5 (CEV)

We are God’s adopted children, His people, so we should not ever let it be said that we are in any way immoral, indecent, or greedy.  Jesus loved us and offered up His own life for us.  So we should do as He did, and does still, and let love be our guide.

Now there are many ways we can show our love to others, but I think the one that may count highly in God’s eyes is to help them gain salvation.  Introduce them to Jesus and let the Holy Spirit do His work so they can be saved.  This is exactly what Jesus would have us do, what He ordered us to do.  Listen to what the Apostle Matthew recorded, in the 28th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 18 through 20…

18 Jesus came to them and said:

"I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! 19 Go to the people of all nations and make them My disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world."

--Matthew 28:18-20 (CEV)

We all know this, that we are to go into the world spreading the Gospel and making disciples.  This Pilgrim family is doing more and more in this area, stepping outside these walls more and more into the greater community, showing the love of Jesus to any and all who might see.

But I want to make sure we all caught one specific point Jesus made regarding the people we encounter.  In verse 20 He says, “teach them to do everything I have told you”.  If we are to teach others to do the things Jesus told us, shouldn’t we be doing them too?  Shouldn’t we be following the example of Christ?


To follow someone’s example, it really helps to see them in action.  Since Jesus went home to be with our Father God, we can only “see” Him through the words of those who did actually see and walk alongside Him.  I think one very good way we can accomplish this is by looking at how He described Himself.  If we know more closely how He is, then we can know better how we should be.

To that effect, I intend to spend the next few weeks looking at Jesus through statements He made that all began with the words, “I am”.  I’ll be pulling all these from the Gospel account of the Apostle John, with one exception.  And I’ll be starting the series today with that one exception, and it will be brief, I promise.

Listen to a short exchange between Jesus and a man He healed, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in chapter 8 of his Gospel account, verses 2 and 3…

2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

--Matthew 8:2-3 (NKJV)

Jesus said, “I am willing”.  I don’t know of any instance recorded in our Bible when someone came to Jesus asking to be healed, to be freed of an evil spirit, to be made whole, when Jesus was not willing to help.

There is no question that Jesus had the ability.  The leper certainly had no doubts, otherwise he would have asked, “Lord, if You can, would You make me clean?”.  No, instead he stated unequivocally, “if You are willing, I know You can make me clean”.  Are we willing?  We’re all able to do something to help Jesus, to more closely follow His example.  We’re able, but are we willing?

If we truly know Jesus and have committed ourselves to Him and His service, then let us follow His example.  And if we are to follow His example, let us be willing to help others, as He was always willing.  Find it in your heart to say, “I am willing”, and follow the example of Christ.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, we are Yours.  Thank You for adopting us into Your family.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail You, when we disobey You.  Help us to do as You and Jesus do, to love as You love, to be more like Your Son.

Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, repenting of our wrongful ways, seeking Your mercy and forgiveness…

Lord Jesus, we really do want to be more like You.  Help us, Lord, to more closely follow the example You set when You walked upon this earth.  Show us how to love as You love.  Help us to always be open in our love and always willing to help those in need.

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.

We Are One

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 4th of February, 2018.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

The Apostle Paul’s letter to the churches in Rome is his longest and many feel his most important work.  It was very likely written while Paul lived in Corinth, in anticipation of a longed for visit to Rome.  So part of the letter’s purpose was to introduce himself to the folks he hoped to be with soon.

But of far greater significance to those faithful Romans and especially to us today is the main topic the letter deals with: the Gospel, the Good News of the justification and salvation of Jews and Gentiles alike, by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ.  In this letter, Paul not only reveals the righteousness and love of our Father God, he also teaches us how we should live as Christians, as believers in and followers of Christ Jesus.

Please listen and follow along as I read all of chapter 12 of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

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.

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

--Romans 12 (NKVJ)

Let us pray…  Father God, love is so important to You.  You want us to live in harmony with one another, to share Your love with others by giving our love.  Thank You, Father, for showing Your love by sending Your Son Jesus to offer us justification and salvation.  Speak to us now, Father, that we might better hear Your voice and know Your will for our lives.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


The middle school principal encountered a ninth-grade boy walking out of math class with a dour, downtrodden look on his face.  The concerned principal asked the student, "And how are we today?"

The boy replied. "Awful!  I don't understand all that stuff the math teacher wants us to learn - all those logarithms and postulates and stuff."

The principal tried to comfort the boy saying, "Well, I'm sure we can't find it all that bad, can we?"

The boy huffed back, "Well sure, we can say that!  Because the you half of we doesn't have to learn that stuff all over again with the me half of we!"


Sometimes we can get a little carried away with the use of first person plural pronouns, can’t we?  I’m sure that young student felt himself to be all alone when it came to learning all his math assignments, regardless of whether that principal or anyone else in his class were present or not.

“We”, “us”, “our”…  those are inclusive words, often used to show we have something in common, to convey a sense of community, or shared goals or concerns or needs.  Like all of us here this morning, gathered together, sharing our love and worshiping our heavenly Father.  We are many individuals, each with his or her own unique skills, qualities, gifts, talents…  quirks.  But though we are many, we come together as one family, one church.  For we are one, in Christ Jesus our Lord.


You may remember that last week we talked about the first church, the Acts 2 church, and how the believers all came together with one purpose, looking after one another, helping one another.  Let me just remind you of one aspect of that early church, that comes from chapter 4 of the Apostle Luke’s Book of Acts, the very beginning of verse 32…

32 All the believers were united in heart and mind.

--Acts 4:32a (NLT)

They were all united in heart and mind.  And what does united mean?  Working together as one, for one goal, with one heart and one mind.  The early church was as one, they were one, and we should be too.

In his 1st letter to the Corinthians, Paul emphasizes this unity using the example of our most sacred observance: Holy Communion.  In chapter 10, verses 16 and 17, Paul says…

16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

--1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (NKJV)

The bread we eat at our Lord’s table comes from one loaf, the juice from one container.  And as we consume them they come from one body, that of our Lord and Savior Jesus.  We are many, yet we are united as one in that moment, united in Jesus.


Jesus certainly understood the importance, and the significance, of us being united as one.  After all, He Himself is One with God and the Holy Spirit – the Holy Trinity, Three in One.  The Apostle John recorded for us the most beautiful prayer in our Bible, when Jesus prayed to His Father God.  Listen to parts of this prayer, from chapter 17 of John’s Gospel account, verses 9 through 11 and 20 through 23…

9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."

--John 17:9-11, 20-23 (NKJV)

In the first part of what I just read, Jesus is praying for His disciples, His closest followers, those that He brought together as one.  And He asks God to keep them as one after He departs from them.  In the second part, Jesus prays for us – all who will believe in Him through the words of His disciples, the words in our Bible.  He asks not only that we be kept together as one, but that we be made perfect as one, so that all the world might see the love of God.

How can the world see that love but through us, through our service, through our love.  The only way the world will ever have a chance of seeing Jesus is by seeing us, by seeing Jesus in our actions, our acts of love.  Yes, others may be able to see Jesus in us as individuals, and I sincerely pray they do.  But if we are not acting as one, if we are too often seen bickering or nit-picking among ourselves, then others may be distracted enough that they miss the love we’re trying to show.

That’s why the early church acted as one.  That’s why Paul encourages us toward unity, like in his letter to the Philippians, chapter 2 verses 1 through 4…

1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

--Philippians 2:1-4 (NKJV)

We can turn the first part of that around and see that if we are like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and one mind, then we will enjoy consolation in Christ during our times of trial, the comfort of His and God’s love, the affection of one another, and the mercy only God can give.  So let’s not just pretend we love others but really love them.  Let us do nothing out of some selfish ambition or conceit, but out of lowliness, out of humility, remembering the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  Let us put others first, even to the point of looking at them as being better than ourselves, seeing to their needs and interests ahead of our own.  And let us do this, if for no other reason than because Jesus told us to.  In chapter 13 of John’s Gospel account, verses 34 and 35, Jesus says…

34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

--John 13:34-35 (NKJV)

We are to love others just as Jesus has loved us.  How did Jesus love us, how did He show His love?  By giving everything, even His own life, just for us.  This isn’t a request – it’s a command from our Master.  Why?  So that others can see that we truly are disciples of Christ Jesus.  So that we can be united in heart and mind.  So that we can be one with Jesus and with God.  Though many, in Christ, we are one.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, Your Son Jesus prayed to You that we be kept together as one after He had to leave us.  Thank You, Father, for sending Your Holy Spirit to live within us, to be a common bond between us, so that together we may be one.  Forgive us when we splinter off from the unity You make available to us.  Forgive us when we let our personal agendas interfere with our sincere service.  Help us to share all the blessings You have bestowed upon us, taking advantage of our health, giving of our time and resources from our abundance You provide.

Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, repenting of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness…

Lord Jesus, You asked our Father God to keep us together as one, this family of believers You left on earth to carry out Your commands.  Help us, Lord, to love others as You loved us, to see to their needs as You saw to ours, to show the world Your love through the love we share with them.  Help us to love as You loved: sacrificially, unconditionally, humbly.  Let the world see You in us.  Help us be one, so the world will know that we are Christians by our love.

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.