What Makes Us Great?

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 29th of March, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service, also streamed live, due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

During our journey through this Lenten season, we have been walking alongside Jesus in what are His last days on this earth, His last days as a man among us.  The road ends at Calvary, and a cruel death upon the cross.

Of course, we know the story doesn’t end there, but those who followed Jesus during these times had quite a bit of trouble trying to come to terms with this, even though He told them what was going to happen.  For some, a level of understanding was starting to sink in, but the details were still quite fuzzy.

Our scripture reading comes shortly before the time of Jesus' arrest, as He and His disciples were walking along the road toward Jerusalem and His appointment with the cross.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Matthew recorded for us in chapter 20 of his Gospel account, verses 20 through 28, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?”

She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

They said to Him, “We are able.”

23 So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”

24 And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

--Matthew 20:20-28 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, too often we think ourselves so much better than others, more deserving of special treatment.  This was true for Your Son’s followers, too, even though He told them time after time that You look at us differently than does the world.  But we struggle to let go of the world, so we tend to think in the same terms as the world.  Thank You, Father, for saving Your word and the words spoken by Jesus for us to read, to study, and to live by.  Father, please help us understand what Jesus told us.  Help us be more concerned with serving than being served.  Help us see others as You see them, looking only into their hearts.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and thoroughly understand the message we so need in this age.  Speak to us of service so that we might serve.  Speak to us of love, so that we might love.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


Bits & Pieces magazine shared the following incident in its May 1992 issue:

When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.
"Excuse me," Governor Herter said, "do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?"
"Sorry," the woman told him. "I'm supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person."
"But I'm starved," the governor said.
"Sorry," the woman said again. "Only one to a customer."
Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around.
"Do you know who I am?" he said. "I am the governor of this state."
"Do you know who I am?" the woman said. "I'm the lady in charge of the chicken.  Move along, mister."


Have you ever noticed that just when we start thinking too much about how big and important we are, someone or something will put us in our place?  And very often, that someone or something is one we would usually think of as being somewhat insignificant.  Little children can be pretty good at setting us adults straight.  Dogs can be, too, especially if we try to order someone else’s dog around.  Or maybe it’s the lady serving chicken in the meal line.

When we start getting too uppity, God has a way of humbling us.  And you know, that’s a good thing.


So the mother of James and John came to Jesus with a request.  She wanted her boys to be able to sit on His right and left sides when He entered His kingdom in heaven.  In other words, she want them to have exalted places in heaven.  Like a good mother, she wanted the very best for her children.

This is least shows that she believed that Jesus was indeed the Son of God and would sit on a throne in heaven.  But what she didn’t quite grasp is that God doesn’t grant extra privilege or recognize special service like the world does.  We are all equal in God’s eyes, and He alone will decide who gets what when it’s our time to go home.

This little scenario brings up the sharp contrast in what God sees as greatness versus the world’s view.  Jesus reminds us that if we want to be first in heaven, we must be last here on earth.  To be treated well there, we must be among the least here.  And He showed us how, by His own example.  He came to serve, not to be served.  The God of all creation, who could demand anything of us, came to serve us instead.  He came to serve up His own life, just for us.


Greatness…  Glory… 

Think about Mother Teresa, how she attained true glory by serving the poorest, going into areas and among the sick and dying, where so-called great people feared to go.  Compare that to today, with the coronavirus spread and how the so-called great people are reacting.

Our true colors show through in our actions in times of trouble, not in our words.  Many people seek greatness these days.  Some are trying their best to help people, to protect them from the disease.  Some are trying to profit off it.  Some are simply seeking recognition by their fellow man for their efforts.  Some are abusing their authority in an attempt to look greater and more important.  Too many want to be served rather than serve.


Yes, Jesus came to serve, and His role of servant was foretold long before His birth.  The great prophet Isaiah spoke of the Messiah as the Good Servant.  In fact, there are some passages where the pre-incarnate Jesus spoke through Isaiah.  Listen to what Jesus said as recorded by Isaiah in chapter 61 of his prophecy, verses 1 through 3…

1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

--Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV)

In chapter 4 of his Gospel account, the Apostle Luke records an incident that happened early in Jesus’ ministry.  Jesus entered the synagogue in Nazareth and stood up to read.  He was handed the Book of Isaiah, and He turned to chapter 61 and read aloud the passage I just read.  Then He closed the book and calmly stated, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  Everything Isaiah spoke about the Good Servant had come to pass, and stood right before the people.

And indeed Jesus did preach good news to the poor and the poor in spirit, the best news possible, of salvation through belief.  He came to heal and comfort, but also to warn us about what our fate will be if we refuse to listen.


Right now, many are poor in spirit.  Many are brokenhearted.  The spirits of many are weakening, even failing.  We are being held captive to a pandemic viral disease that oppresses us.  Many who have been blind to the truth might now be willing to hear it as they seek reassurance in these troubling times.

Jesus is now home in heaven with our Father God, but He left us here on earth to carry on His work.  It is now all up to us.  If we want to be great in God’s eyes, we need to preach good tidings and testify to the weak in spirit.  We need to help heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to those held captive to sin, to comfort and console those who mourn.  And we need to warn people of their need to believe in Jesus and obey His commands, lest they perish not only in this life but also in the next.


What makes us great where it really matters?  Doing the will of Jesus, serving as He served, loving as He loves.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  Blessed be Jesus the Christ, the one true Son of God!  In the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You sent Jesus to earth to serve us.  You sent Him to heal the brokenness of our spirits, to free us from captivity to sin, to shine a light in the darkness of this world, to comfort us when we are heartbroken.  And He also served by warning us of what is in store for us if we refuse to accept Him and obey Your voice.  Thank You, Father, for loving us so much that You would send Your Son to us, knowing that He would be sacrificed, knowing that only His blood could wash us clean of our sin, knowing that only through can we be saved.  Father, please help us heed His warning and obey His commands.  Help us be more willing to serve and less demanding of service.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You showed us how to live a life that God would see as righteous by how You lived Your own life while walking this earth.  Even though You could have demanded anything, You can to serve, not to be served.  You came to serve us miserable sinners.  Thank You, Jesus, for bring light into this dark world.  Thank You for setting the example of how we should live.  Please help us to be better servants.  Help us to better understand what makes us great in the kingdom of God.  And help us live as You would have us live, as You Yourself lived.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

The Passover Fulfilled

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 22nd of March, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today is the 4th Sunday in Lent, the 4th week of our walk with Jesus, our reflection on what He did for us and of our self-examination of our own lives.  And we are nearing the destination of this walk, with our Lord’s sacrifice upon the cross.

For Jesus, this was a turbulent time.  Since past, present, and future were all the same to Him, He could see all the world-changing events whirling around Him.  In a way, it’s much like today, as the world is constantly changing in response to the coronavirus, with so much going on we can barely keep up.  But Jesus knew what was coming and what was about to happen, to Him and to the world.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was approaching, and being good Jews, Jesus and His followers prepared to share the meal of Passover.  But others were plotting and scheming, trying to arrange for a substitution of the lamb to be sacrificed.

Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Luke recorded for us of this time, from chapter 22 verses 1 through 16 of his Gospel account, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.

3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

7 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be sacrificed. 8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”

9 So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?”

10 And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. 11 Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ 12 Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.”

13 So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

--Luke 22:1-16 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You instituted the ritual observance of the Passover during the days of Moses.  And even then, long before You sent Your Son Jesus to earth, You knew that only He could fulfill and complete the Passover.  Only His blood, poured over the doorposts of our souls, can save us from the final death that will sweep across mankind.  Thank You, Father, for carrying out Your great plan for our salvation, even at the cost of sacrificing Your own Son.  Father, please help us understand the true meaning of the Passover and all its implications.  Help us remain true to Your Son even when others would betray Him.  Show us just what He fully means to us.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit in our hearts and thoroughly understand the message we so need in this age.  Speak to us of the sacrifice made so that we might have life everlasting.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


Evangelist D. L. Moody once said something very close to my heart:  "I never preach a sermon without thinking that possibly the Lord may come before I preach another."

Another evangelist and former president of the Moody Bible Institute, Dr. George Sweeting, estimated that "more than a fourth of the Bible is predictive prophecy...  Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ.  Over 1800 references appear in the O.T., and seventeen O.T. books give prominence to this theme.  Of the 260 chapters in the N.T., there are more than 300 references to the Lord's return - one out of every 30 verses.  Twenty-three of the 27 N.T. books refer to this great event...  For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are eight on His second coming."


During this period of Lent, we are leading up to that wonderful time when Jesus is resurrected from the dead and rises from the grave, having conquered death.  Those of us who believe in Him and follow His voice will share in that great victory.  This is the promise of the resurrection, that we too will be resurrected from the dead and given new life.

And that brings us to our Lord’s return to earth.  On His first visit here, He conquered death.  On His second trip, He will conquer evil.  This time, there will be no betrayal, no Passover, no sacrifice of the Spotless Lamb.  Death – final, everlasting death – will come to those who refuse to believe.

The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus were momentous, crucial events in our lives.  His return will be spectacular, with final ramifications for the unjust.


Judas betrayed Jesus for a reward of money.  We won’t get into whether Judas was fated to do this – prophesy said someone would.  For God’s plan to be carried out, It was necessary for Jesus to be handed over to the religious leaders of the day, so that they could have Him executed.  Otherwise there would be no blood shed in sacrifice for the redemption, the atonement of our sins.  There would be nothing to protects us, not even we who believe in Jesus and accept Him as Lord.  Nothing else could save us from eternal death when it passes across the land.  Satan didn’t realize, when he enticed Judas to do his dirty work, that he too was simply following God’s plan to fulfill the Passover.

The Passover is mentioned a lot in our scripture reading.  This is why Jesus and His followers made what would be His final visit to Jerusalem, to observe the ritual Feast of the Passover.  This is why He sent Peter and John ahead to make arrangements for the meal.

Before the coronavirus hit, we were scheduled to be shown a traditional Passover Seder, the ritual and meal similar to what Jesus would have held.  This observance, including the meal, was to honor God and obey His command to His people given to and implemented by Moses.  Listen to how this began, as recorded by Moses in his Book of the Exodus,  chapter 12, verses 1 through 13…

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire — its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.

12 ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.'"

--Exodus 12:1-13 (NKJV)

God was about to free His people from slavery in Egypt by encouraging the Egyptians to let them go.  The encouragement came in the form of plagues, crushing the will of the powers to be.  Of course, as we know, it took a lot of encouragement.  Even that, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, was all part of God’s plan, so that the Passover could occur.  God’s angel would cross the land of Egypt, bring death to the firstborn of every house, every creature.  Only those under the blood of the spotless lamb would be spared.

Family, Jesus was that Lamb, the Lam without blemish.  We stand under His blood and are spared eternal death.  God’s angel will return to bring death to all the world, and only those protected by the blood of the Spotless Lamb will be saved!


Now, you may be wondering why the little stories I used at the beginning spoke of the return of Jesus.  It’s because our scripture today speaks of His return.  I just mentioned one aspect of it, the coming of death to all the world as foretold in the Book of Revelation.  That is all part of the preparations for Jesus’ return.  In our scripture reading, Jesus said He will no longer eat of the meal of Passover until the Passover is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

That is the time when we will need to stand under the blood of the Lamb, so that the angel of death will pass over us.  That is the time when Jesus returns to bring death, everlasting death, to those who refuse to believe and obey.  When this will happen, no one knows.  So we must be ready, for He could come at any moment, even before I deliver my next sermon, as Rev. Moody noted.  This is why the children of Israel were told to eat their Passover meal quickly, watchfully, leaving nothing until morning.  We have to be prepared and ready.  Because Jesus will return, and He will fulfill and complete the Passover.  Only those washed in His blood will be spared.

Blessed be Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Master, the one true Son of God!  In the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You’ve had a plan since the creation of the universe for our salvation.  And it all depended on Your Son being sacrificed so that we could be atoned by the blood of the Spotless Lamb.  By Your Son’s sacrifice, we who believe in and obey Him are now seen by You as clean - our sins forgiven and forgotten.  By His blood, we are prepared for the ultimate fulfillment of Your Passover.  Thank You, Father, for offering us a path to salvation and protection from the final death.  Please help us to live our lives worthy of Your great love, to live as Jesus lived, to love as He loves.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…

Lord Jesus, Your sacrifice atoned for our sin, redeeming us, washing us clean in God’s eyes.  We are shielded, protected by Your blood.  The final death will pass us over.  Thank You, Jesus, for washing us clean with Your blood.  Thank You for giving us a way to escape eternal death but instead enjoy life everlasting with You in paradise.  Please help us stay strong in times of trouble.  Help us remain courageous in our faith.  And help us live as You would have us live.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

At Peace With God

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 15th of March, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

We find ourselves in what many feel to be unprecedented times.  The coronavirus has reached pandemic proportions.  Major events are being canceled everywhere.  You know that when basketball tournaments are canceled in North Carolina that something is seriously wrong!

But family, these are just the kind of times when we need to be strongest in our faith.  You could even say this is why God gave us faith: to see us through times like these.  Because our faith also gives us another gift.

Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome about what our faith can also provide, from chapter 5, verses 1 through 11, again reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

1 By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God. 2 Christ has also introduced us by faith to God’s undeserved kindness on which we take our stand. So we are happy, as we look forward to sharing in the glory of God. 3 But that’s not all! We gladly suffer, because we know that suffering helps us to endure. 4 And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope 5 that will never disappoint us. All of this happens because God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with His love.

6 Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. 7 No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. 8 But God showed how much He loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed His life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. 10 Even when we were God’s enemies, He made peace with us, because His Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by His Son’s life. 11 And in addition to everything else, we are happy because God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us.

--Romans 5:1-11 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You knew all along that we would face tough times, even terrible times, times when fear runs strongest.  So You promised us that if we would only believe in Jesus as Your Son and accept Him as our Lord and Master, that You would give us the wonderful gift of faith.  And our faith itself would allow us a calming peace in the turmoil of our lives.  Because of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us, because of our belief in Him, we can be at peace with You.  And through that peace, we can find inner peace, even as the storm rages around us.  Thank You Father for blessing us with such wonderful gifts of faith and peace.  Please help us to trust in You in all things.  Help us remain true to Your Son and to show Him to the world in how we ourselves live.  Give us the strength of our faith.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit in our hearts.   Write Your message there so it is always before us.  Speak to us of death to this world and our sin, and life everlasting.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


Author and inspirational speaker Tim Hansel, in his book, Holy Sweat, wrote the following:

In my late twenties, a bunch of my friends and I decided to sail around the world.  I have to admit, though, at the time I was a bit worried.  I hadn't even sailed before.  I was uneasy and anxious.  So I spent a lot of time reading the Bible and praying about it, until it dawned on me that God was whispering, "Tim, I'll give you peace if you read some books on sailing.  The reason you're anxious is not due to lack of prayer, but to your lack of sailing knowledge."

I wasn't unprayerful; I was unskilled.  So I took a step I needed to take to "let" God work his peace in my heart.  I began reading about sailing.

I’m reminded of the old joke about the woman who kept praying that God would let her win the lottery.  She’d pray the same thing, week after week, yet she never won a dime.  Finally, in utter desperation, she got down on her knees and poured her heart out, telling God how she needed the money to pay her bills and help her family, and promised to give some to the needy.  As the tears poured from her eyes, God responded.  “Help Me out a little, would you?  Go out and buy a lottery ticket!”

I’m sure you’ve heard the old expression, “God helps those who help themselves.”  Well, in a way, that’s very true.  We know that God provides for our needs, and gives us everything we have.  But we can’t just sit back and say, “OK, God…  take care of me.”, and not do anything ourselves.  If nothing else, we have to swallow food and drink water.  God fed Elijah by having the ravens bring him food, but Elijah had to first do as God commanded and go into the wilderness and hide, drinking from a stream.  We have to take some initiative, do something for ourselves.  God will see to the rest.

It’s just like what we’re going through right now.  We can pray to God for protection from this disease, but we can also avoid large crowds, eat right and get plenty of sleep, wash our hands.  We need to trust in God, but we also need to be wise in our living.


By faith we have been made acceptable to God and because of our Lord Jesus, we are at peace with God.  We can live in God’s peace.  Even with this disease swirling around us like a whirlwind, we can find a great measure of peace.

There once was a Samaritan woman who knew no peace.  Her life was such a mess, she even had to wait and go to the village well when none of the other women were around.  Otherwise, they would cruelly taunt and ridicule her.  But Jesus offered her peace, peace through the living water that springs forth into eternal life.  Listen to what Jesus told this woman, as recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel account,  chapter 4, verses 13 and 14…

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

--John 4:13-14 (NKJV)

Jesus said, “I am the living water.  Drink of Me and never thirst again.  What I give is everlasting life.”  It took a while for the woman to understand that Jesus wasn’t talking about physical water, nor was He saying she’d no longer have to go to the well and fear being tormented by the villagers.  But once she understood, and once she did accept Jesus as Lord, a peace settled over her.  For she knew that her eternal life was now secure.  She realized that no matter what happened in this life, in the next she would want for nothing and would enjoy paradise.  She was at peace with God.


Now, peace with God doesn't mean freedom from worldly turmoil.  Jesus tried to caution His disciples, and us, not to think that God’s peace provides a break from strife.  Listen to Jesus’ own words, again from the Apostle John’s Gospel account,  chapter 16, verses 32 and 33…

32 "Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

--John 16:32-33 (NKJV)

There are two beautiful offerings of assurance in those two short verses.  Even though we are faced with turmoil and tribulation while in this world, we can find peace through Jesus because He has overcome the world.  And we are not alone – we are never alone – because our Father God is always with us.  We can face those trials life throws at us by seeking an inner peace because we are at peace with God.  He is always with us and will give us peace.  And when this life is over we will know true and everlasting peace.  We just have to get through this life, and God will help us with that, if we seek Him and His peace.

Be at peace, family – God’s peace.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for Your gift of faith that also allows us to be at peace with You.  By Your Son’s sacrifice, we who believe in and obey Him are now acceptable in Your sight.  And because of Jesus, not only are we at peace with You, but we are assured of life eternal with You and Him in paradise.  No matter what this life throws at us, no matter what we have to face, we know You are always with us and that You give us Your peace, an inner peace that sees us through.  Thank You, Father, for such wonderful gifts of redemption, salvation, faith, and peace.  Please help us to live our lives as Jesus lived, loving as He loves.  Help us to be more worthy of His sacrifice and Your great love.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…

Lord Jesus, Your sacrifice atoned for our sin, redeeming us, washing us clean in God’s eyes.  Then, when we accept You as our only Lord and Master, our Father God bestows upon us the amazing gifts of salvation and faith.  And with these comes peace with God.  Our future is assured by our faith, so we can face the trials of this life through the help You give us and the peace that can come only from God.  Thank You, Jesus, for this calm assurance, even in times of greatest trouble.  Please help us stay strong in our faith, and in our trust in You and in God.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

It's All About Faith

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 8th of March, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

We talk a lot about faith, we Christians.  We speak of faith sustaining us during times of turmoil and troubles.  We sing of faith in our hymns.  We read about it in our Bible, even seeing where Jesus chastised His own disciples as having little faith.  Sometimes we treat faith as a catch-all for everything Christian.

But faith is a blessing meant for all who believe in Jesus and follow His life’s example.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome explaining faith, in chapter 4, verses 1 through 17, reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Well then, what can we say about our ancestor Abraham? 2 If he became acceptable to God because of what he did, then he would have something to brag about. But he would never be able to brag about it to God. 3 The Scriptures say, “God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him.”

4 Money paid to workers isn’t a gift. It is something they earn by working. 5 But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in him. 6 In the Scriptures David talks about the blessings that come to people who are acceptable to God, even though they don’t do anything to deserve these blessings. David says,

7 “God blesses people
whose sins are forgiven
and whose evil deeds
are forgotten.
8 The Lord blesses people
whose sins are erased
from his book.”

9 Are these blessings meant for circumcised people or for those who are not circumcised? Well, the Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him. 10 But when did this happen? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? Of course, it was before.

11 Abraham let himself be circumcised to show that he had been accepted because of his faith even before he was circumcised. This makes Abraham the father of all who are acceptable to God because of their faith, even though they are not circumcised. 12 This also makes Abraham the father of everyone who is circumcised and has faith in God, as Abraham did before he was circumcised.

13 God promised Abraham and his descendants that he would give them the world. This promise wasn’t made because Abraham had obeyed a law, but because his faith in God made him acceptable. 14 If Abraham and his descendants were given this promise because they had obeyed a law, then faith would mean nothing, and the promise would be worthless.

15 God becomes angry when his Law is broken. But where there isn’t a law, it cannot be broken. 16 Everything depends on having faith in God, so that God’s promise is assured by his great kindness. This promise isn’t only for Abraham’s descendants who have the Law. It is for all who are Abraham’s descendants because they have faith, just as he did. Abraham is the ancestor of us all. 17 The Scriptures say that Abraham would become the ancestor of many nations. This promise was made to Abraham because he had faith in God, who raises the dead to life and creates new things.

--Romans 4:1-17 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You chose the descendants of Abraham to be Your people.  Yet as the centuries rolled by, they failed to obey Your words.  They, and all of mankind, sinned.  The only way to save us was to send Your Son as a blood sacrifice to atone for our sin.  By doing this, You allow all people who believe in Jesus to be included in Your holy family, Jew and Gentile alike.  Thank You Father for accepting us blessing us with the wonderful gifts of salvation and faith.  Please help us remain true to Your Son and to show Him to the world in all we do.  Help us make great use of the faith You have given us.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit in our hearts.   Write Your message there so it is always before us.  Speak to us of death to this world and our sin, and life everlasting.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Saint Augustine once said:

"Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand so that you may believe, but believe so that you may understand."

Martin Luther may have had that in mind when he noted:

"God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing."

Understanding is our reward for having faith.  We shouldn’t try to understand God so that we might believe in Him and His Son.  Instead, we should believe, so that we will be given understanding.  For if we have faith, we have everything.

Because, family, it’s all about faith.  That’s why we’re here, isn’t it, because of faith?  We either have it and we want to exercise it in worship, we have it but it’s weak and we want to strengthen it, or we don’t have it, or don’t think we do, and we’re looking for it.  But just what it is we seek to exercise or strengthen or find?  What is faith?

We know that the author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us that faith is the substance, the realization, of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.  It’s our confidence in those things not seen and for which we have no physical proof.

So where does faith come from?  The Apostle Peter opens up his 2nd letter to the early church by addressing “those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ”.  The author of Hebrews tells us that we all should be “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”.

Faith comes from God, through Christ Jesus our Lord.  It is a gift and everyone has received some measure, some amount of it.  What we do with that gift is up to us.  If we do follow Jesus, we should indeed do something with this wonderful gift.  I’ve seen it written that faith is a tangible response to a spiritual reality.  If we believe in the spiritual reality of God, Christ Jesus His Son, and His Holy Spirit, then we should make a tangible response.

Abraham certainly did!  He packed up everything, left him lifelong home and everything he knew behind, and set off for parts unknown, simply as a tangible response to the spiritual reality of God.  Listen to his story from Genesis chapter 12, verses 1 through 5…

1 The Lord said to Abram:

Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.

4 Abram was seventy-five years old when the Lord told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and slaves they had gotten while in Haran.

--Genesis 12:1-5 (CEV)

God told Abraham, “Pack up everything and head out, I’ll tell you where you’re going later.  Trust Me.”  And the amazing thing is, Abraham did indeed trust God, because he did just what God told him to do, even at the ripe age of 75 years old.  God promised to make him a blessing to others, to make a great nation of his descendants.  We know that great nation to be the Jewish people, but did God’s blessing extend only to them?

Not according to Paul, who was given special insight into God’s ways by Jesus.  Our scripture reading began with Paul asking what can we say about Abraham, our ancestor.  Now Paul was a Jew and would have been a descendant of Abraham.  But he was writing to the church in Rome, a Gentile location if there ever was one, and most of the believers in the church would have been Gentiles.  Were these Gentiles direct descendants of Abraham?  No, of course not, so let’s dig a little further.

Paul quotes King David when he says that God blesses all people whose sins are forgiven.  Jesus died on the cross as a blood sacrifice in atonement for all our sin, for all of us!  When we accept Jesus as our Lord, God accepts us as His children, and we receive His blessing because our sins are forgiven.


Faith is a tangible response to a spiritual reality.  Paul notes that Abraham was circumcised after he had been accepted by God because of his faith.  He let himself be circumcised as a physical sign of his acceptance by God, as an outward expression of his inner faith.  When we choose to be baptized – and I don’t mean as an infant but when we make that decision on our own – this is an outward sign of our inner faith, a tangible response to a spiritual reality.

Of course, there are many other forms of tangible responses we can make.  The most visible is how we interact with others on a daily basis.  If we strive to follow the example of how Jesus lived, we are showing our faith to the world.  We are making a tangible, visible, physical response and showing of our firm belief in what cannot be proved, but only experienced by the gift of faith from God.


God promised much to Abraham’s descendants, and all because of Abraham’s faith.  By our faith, we are now descendants of Abraham and heirs of God, equal heirs with Jesus in all the eternal riches of God’s kingdom.  And it’s all because of faith: faith in God that comes from God.

It’s all about faith, family.  Let’s make a tangible response.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You sent Your Son to earth to save us from ourselves, to free us from our sin.  Only His blood, shed in sacrifice for us, could atone us of our sin so that we may be seen as righteous in Your eyes.  By His sacrifice, we are forgiven, we are blessed.  One of our greatest blessings is our faith, our faith in You as God and in Jesus as Your Son.  Our faith guides us, strengthens us, sustains us.  But Father, we must exercise and make use of our faith to keep it strong.  Thank You, Father, for this wonderful gift You have given us.  Please help us to use it in service to You.  Help us to make a tangible, positive response that the world can see and understand that our service is due to our faith in You, our obedience to Jesus.  Help us to live daily just as Jesus lived, loving as He loves.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…

Lord Jesus, You came to save us from eternal death by offering Yourself as a sacrifice to atone for our sin.  You shed Your blood to wash us clean.  But we must accept You as our only Lord and Master before our salvation is assured.  Our belief in You as the Son of God must compel us, lead us, to serve You by following Your commands and Your example.  By this we show our faith.  Thank You, Jesus, for giving so much just for us!  Thank You for taking on our sins that we might be seen by God as sinless.  Help us, please Lord, to be worthy of Your sacrifice.  Help us to better serve You in this life by serving those in need so we can enjoy eternal life with You in heaven.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

A Time for Prayer

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered during the joint Lenten service held at Emanuel Reformed Church on Sunday evening, the 1st of March, 2020.  Participating in the joint services are Beck's Reformed, Emanuel Reformed, Memorial Evangelical & Reformed, Paul's Chapel, and Pilgrim Reformed Churches.]

Good evening, Families!  Today is the first Sunday in Lent, that season in the Christian calendar when we reflect on all that Jesus did for us.  We look specifically at His sacrifice for us, as this time leads directly to the cross and our Easter celebration.

Our observance of Lent traditionally mirrors the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness, led there by God’s Holy Spirit to be tempted by Satan.  During that time, Jesus went without eating and endured the temptations of Satan – a trial that would have easily broken us.  The Gospel writers don’t mention it, but I am sure that Jesus prayed the whole time, too.  I say that because Jesus often spent time in prayer with His Father, seeking His strength, guidance, and even His help, mainly for us poor sinners.

Prayer was very important to Jesus.  He even gave us an example to model our own prayers after, what we call the Lord’s Prayer.  Yes, prayer was very important to Jesus, so we know it is very important to God.

Let me give you one example of Jesus not only speaking privately with His Father, but also encouraging His disciples to pray, too.  Knowing that His walk on earth would soon draw to a horrible, painful close, our Lord knew this was indeed a time for prayer.  Our text comes from the 22nd chapter of the Gospel account of the Apostle Luke, verses 39 through 46, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. 40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

--Luke 22:39-46 (NKJV)

Let us pray… Father God, Your Son Jesu walked this earth fully Human yet still fully Divine.  And He knew just how important it is to spend time with You in prayer.  By this we know how much You value our time together, our prayer time.  And Father, there are those moments when we come to You and ask, just as Jesus asked, that You take away this cup that is before us, whatever hardship it is we are facing.  We ask this out of our pain, even all the while knowing that Your will must be done.  It is only by Your will that we have hope of salvation.  Yet still we pray, seeking Your strength and courage to continue the road that lies ahead.  Help us, please Father, in these times of need.  Remind us to come to You first and foremost, in humble prayer.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might better understand the message You bring us this evening.  Speak to our hearts that we might better discern Your will for our lives.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen.


When Robert Louis Stevenson was a young boy he once remarked to his mother, "Momma, you can't be good without praying."  "How do you know, Robert?", she asked.  He quickly answered, "Because I've tried!"

This brings to mind a story about another little fellow, one who had been sent to his room because he had been misbehaving.  A short time later he came out and said to his mother, "I've been thinking about what I did and I said a prayer."  "That's fine," his mother replied.  "If you ask God to make you good, He will help you."  "Oh, I didn't ask Him to help me be good," replied the boy.  "I asked Him to help you put up with me."


Even children can understand the importance and power of a good prayer at the right time.  Of course, their angle might be just a bit different from ours, but God knows what is in their hearts.  And He loves to hear from them, just as He loves to hear from us.

What is prayer but simply our way of talking with God.  But we need to make sure we’re talking with Him, and not just to Him.  We need to pause every now and then, and listen for His quiet response.


As I said earlier, we are now in the season of Lent when we remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  It is a time of reflection, a time of self-examination, a time of confession, a time of repentance, a time of prayer.  We need to look closely at ourselves, at how we live our daily lives, at how we carry out Jesus’ commands.

And we need to reflect on exactly what Jesus did and how His sacrifice impacts us, on what His suffering really means to us.  We need to understand that His greatest suffering came not from the beatings or the humiliations or the nails or the cross.  His greatest suffering was not physical, but spiritual.  The Spotless Lamb, the One who was without sin, took on all the sins of all the world for all time.  Our sin is what separates us from God, beginning with Adam and Eve.  Jesus took our sin so we can be reunited with God, but in doing so, He Himself became separated from God for the first time ever!  That is torment!  That is suffering!  And that is what He did for us!


That is what Jesus did for us, what He means to us.  Without His act, without God’s mercy and grace, we would have no hope.  As we reflect on this, we need to determine if we are living our life the way Jesus wants us to live.  After all, I would think this is the least we can do to say, “Thank You”.

As we examine ourselves, looking into our hearts, taking note of our thoughts and actions even if just for one day, we will see areas where we come up short.  We’ll see problems we need to work on, broken parts we need to fix.  We’ll see sins, disobediences, we need to repent of.

And then, if we’re truly intent on becoming better in God’s eyes, if we really mean it when we say we follow Jesus, if we want to be true to the title of Christian, we will do as Jesus did so often and turn to our Father in prayer.  We will make time to pray, seeking God’s guidance, strength, encouragement, help, and forgiveness.  If ever there was a time to pray, it is now, during Lent.


Now, prayer can take many forms, but at its basics it is a means of communication with God.  A prayer can be as simple as, “Father, today is going great for me and I just want to say thank You!”  Or, “Father, the day is falling apart around me and I need Your help.”  It can be full of words spoken, or filled with time listening to our hearts for God’s reply.  It can be short, or we can be long winded.

The prayer Jesus raised in our scripture reading didn’t seem too long, though long enough for His disciples to have fallen asleep.  I imagine His prayers in the wilderness might have been some of each, both short and long, since He spent 40 days there.  Earlier in his Gospel account, in chapter 6 verse 12, Luke tells us of one instance when Jesus spent a lot of time talking with His Father…

12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

--Luke 6:12 (NKJV)

All night long Jesus prayed.  We don’t know what Jesus prayed, what He sought God’s help with, but we do know what happened the next morning.  Verse 13 tells us that Jesus called all His disciples together and chose from among them the twelve He would also name Apostles.

By this time in His ministry, many people had chosen to follow Jesus, to be His disciples.  He had already called Peter and Andrew and James and John and Matthew and the rest to be His disciples, but now He named them Apostles, knowing the roles they would each take in the salvation of man.  That was a pretty big decision, wasn’t it, one best made only after seeking God’s guidance.  And this should serve as our example to follow.


Twice in our scripture reading, Jesus told His disciples to pray for God’s help that they not fall prey to Satan and his temptations.  If Jesus thought it serious enough that His own followers pray for help in resisting temptation that He told them twice, don’t you think it’s something we should consider doing ourselves?  We should pray, lest we enter into temptation!  Jesus was able to resist everything Satan could throw at Him, but like I mentioned to my Pilgrim family, we humans aren’t even able to resist the temptation to talk bad about someone we dislike!

We need to pray for God’s help anytime we feel tempted to do something we know full well is wrong.  And family, if this means that we need to be in constant 24/7 prayer, then so be it.  The Apostle Paul, in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 16 through 18 tells us to…

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)

Pray without ceasing!  Can we be in prayer with God without ever speaking or thinking a single word?  Sure we can, when we pray from our hearts, through God’s own Holy Spirit within us.  And Paul doesn’t really mean we should do nothing but pray.  We wouldn’t last very long if we didn’t eat and sleep some of the time, not to mention other things that we really must do to maintain mortal life.  But we can be in prayer for all things, in all things, rejoicing for all that God does for us, giving thanks for the great sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.  Why should we pray?  Because it is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.


Family, this is a time to reflect on the full sacrifice our Lord Jesus gave.  This is a time to look deeply within ourselves, to see ourselves as God sees us.  This is a time to take note of our disobediences and turn from them, stop doing them, let go of those sins that keep us separated from our Father in heaven.  This is a time to pray.

Pray for God’s wisdom in understanding just what Jesus did for us, what it truly means to us.  Pray for God’s forgiveness when we find we just can’t completely let go of the world.  Pray for God’s help as we turn away from our favorite sin, that we are not tempted to turn back to it.  Pray for God’s protection from Satan’s traps.

And as we pray, let’s not forget to thank God and Jesus for all that they have done for us, just because they love us.  Just pray, family, for this is a time for prayer.  In the glorious name of the true Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You sent Your Son to earth to offer us salvation, so that we might be reunited with You if we only believe in Him and follow His voice.  And He lived as an example to us.  He prayed to You often, seeking Your help and guidance.  Being God Himself, Jesus would have no need to pray.  But also being Man, Jesus showed us our own need for prayer.  Father, thank You for the wonderful gift of Your Son.  Thank You for the offer of salvation He brings.  Forgive us when we try to get by without You, when we try to rely on our own resources rather than seek Your help and guidance.  Forgive us when we don’t stop long enough even to just say, “Thanks”.  Please help us, Father, to be more like Jesus in our daily walk.  Help us better understand Your will for our lives.  Help us grow closer to You in prayer.

And now, Father, please hear us as we come to you in the silence, repenting of our sin, seeking Your forgiveness and guidance, praying straight from our hearts…

Lord Jesus, throughout Your walk on earth, You set the example for how we should live our own lives.  And one of the things You did often, in both good times and bad, was to spend time in prayer with Your Father God.  As the time of Your greatest suffering approached, You prayed that You not have to go through with it.  You knew the anguish and pain You would feel when suddenly all the sin of the world would fall upon your shoulders and You would have to bear it all to the grave.  You knew that You would soon be separated from Your Father by that sin, for the first time ever, and You didn’t want to face such heartbreak.  Yet even then Lord, You knew what had to be done.  You knew that all that mattered was for God’s will, God’s plan, to be accomplished.  By Your actions, Lord, we know how important it is for us to pray.  Thank You, Jesus, for sacrificing so much just for us.  Thank You for taking all our sins and carrying them to the grave.  Forgive us, Jesus, when we just can’t let go of the world.  Forgive us when we fail to follow Your example by not going to our Father in prayer, by ignoring the needs of others, by judging them based on our own prejudices, by not loving as You love.  Help us, please Lord, to be better followers, better servants.  Help us to love sacrificially, unconditionally.  And help us to remember how important our prayer life is, to us and to God, and not just during Lent but every day of the year.  This we pray in Your righteous name, Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Of Death and Life

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 1st of March, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

A few weeks or so ago we talked about how it was necessary for Jesus to die so that our sins might be forgiven.  Only a blood sacrifice, of the Spotless Lamb, could atone mankind of all our sin.  That one act by Jesus, obeying His Father and accomplishing His will, was for us, giving us the chance of eternal life in paradise.  And I say a “chance”, because although Jesus died for all mankind, all the world, not everyone will believe in Him nor follow His commands - not everyone will be saved.

It was necessary for Jesus to do this, for God to offer His own Son in sacrifice, because of the act of one man, one of God’s most beloved creations, back when the world was new.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome explaining this, in chapter 5, verses 12 through 19, reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world.  Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died — from the time of Adam to the time of Moses — even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did.  Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift.  For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many.  But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other Man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin.  For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many.  But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ.

18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other Person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

--Romans 5:12-19 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, Your plan for the salvation of mankind required the sacrifice of Your own Son upon a cross of our making.  Yet His death opened the door for our eternal life.  All we have to do is believe in Jesus and follow His example, His voice, His commands.  Father, may our lives ever more reflect Jesus and the example He gave us.  Please help us be true to Your Son and to show Him to the world in all we do.  Help us be worthy of the sacrifice He made to save us from ourselves.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit in our hearts.   Write Your message there so it is always before us.  Speak to us of death to this world and our sin, and life everlasting.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


The December 1992 issue of “Progress Magazine” contained this little story:

When Billy Graham was driving through a small southern town, he was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding.  Graham admitted his quilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court.

The judge asked, "Guilty, or not guilty?"  When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, "That'll be ten dollars - a dollar for every mile you went over the limit."

Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister.  "You have violated the law," he said.  "The fine must be paid… but I am going to pay it for you."  He took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner!  "That," said Billy Graham, "is how God treats repentant sinners!"


John the Baptist called the people to, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”  Jesus echoed that proclamation as He began His ministry and throughout His walk on earth.  We are called to repentance for the kingdom of heaven is indeed at hand.  And if we truly do repent, what do you think God’s reaction will be?

Jesus died on the cross to pay our ticket, signing for us in His own blood.  When we repent, turn from our disobedience and turn to God, accepting Jesus as His Son and our Master, then not only will our ticket have been paid, but we’ll be treated to a steak dinner, or the heavenly equivalent which is far superior to anything on earth!  Jesus tells us, "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."  Lent is the perfect time for repentance.  Let the angels sing and the heavens rejoice!


Paul tells us that when Adam sinned, sin entered the world, and brought death with it.  Now this was well before the Law handed down through Moses, but this shows us that sin involves more than breaking some of the Ten Commandments.

What, then, is sin?  At its root, sin is disobedience to God.  When we disobey God, when we do something we know He does not want us to do, we sin.  And because sin brought along death into the world, and because we all sin, we all die.  This is true even for Jesus, the Son of God, Himself Divine, who came to the earth in human form, as one of us, sharing all our frailties.  Even though He Himself was without sin, death also claimed Jesus.  Not death of natural causes or accident or old age, but a cruel death at the hands of the very people He came to save!

But then an amazing thing happened.  Jesus did not stay dead.  God’s Holy Spirit raised Him to life once again.  Jesus conquered death, and those who believe in Him and follow His commands share in that victory!  Death will not be able to hold us!  We too shall be raised from the dead, to live forever with Jesus and our Father God in heaven!

Do we deserve this marvelous gift?  No, certainly not, nor could we ever deserve it, we who are sinners, not even we who believe.  This is a gift from God, His undeserved mercy and grace bestowed upon us because we do believe!  It is only through Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s grace that we are redeemed, forgiven, and saved from eternal death.  Only by God’s grace and forgiveness can we ever be seen as right in His eyes.

King David wrote a special song describing the joy of forgiveness that I’d like to read to you.  This is a little long, so you have a copy in your bulletin.  Listen and follow along to David’s Psalm 32…

1 Our God, You bless everyone
whose sins You forgive
and wipe away.
2 You bless them by saying,
“You told me your sins,
without trying to hide them,
and now I forgive you.”

3 Before I confessed my sins,
my bones felt limp,
and I groaned all day long.
4 Night and day Your hand
weighed heavily on me,
and my strength was gone
as in the summer heat.

5 So I confessed my sins
and told them all to You.
I said, “I’ll tell the Lord
each one of my sins.”
Then You forgave me
and took away my guilt.

6 We worship You, Lord,
and we should always pray
whenever we find out
that we have sinned.
Then we won’t be swept away
by a raging flood.
7 You are my hiding place!
You protect me from trouble,
and You put songs in my heart
because You have saved me.

8 You said to me,
“I will point out the road
that you should follow.
I will be your teacher
and watch over you.
9 Don’t be stupid
like horses and mules
that must be led with ropes
to make them obey.”

10 All kinds of troubles
will strike the wicked,
but Your kindness shields those
who trust You, Lord.
11 And so Your good people
should celebrate and shout.

--Psalm 32 (CEV)

There is a lot in that song that we need to keep close to our hearts.  That’s why I wanted it printed out for us, so we can save it and go over it again and again until we grasp its full significance in our lives.

We must confess our sins, not because God doesn’t already know what we did, but because we need to understand that what we did was wrong.  When we realize we’ve sinned we must go to God in prayer, promising to repent, seeking His forgiveness.  We should willingly obey God’s word and Jesus’ commands, and not be like stupid horses and mules that must be led by ropes.  And lastly, we should celebrate God’s great grace, and shout for joy for we are forgiven!


We are all dying, even that little baby we baptized this morning.  The day will come when we take our last breath on this earth, even as we pray that day will be a long, long ways off for little Samantha.

But here’s the thing…  We who believe in Jesus and follow His commands will not stay dead!  Just like Jesus, we will be raised to life anew by God’s Holy Spirit, and this time it will be life everlasting.  This is the promise Jesus spoke.  This is the promise God proved by raising Jesus from the dead.

Jesus is the Son of God.  He died to wash us clean of our sins by His blood.  And He rose from the dead to life eternal, ensuring the promise of our own resurrection and everlasting life in paradise.  Believe it and do as Jesus says, and death will turn to life.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You sent Your Son to earth as one of us.  He lived among us, just as we live.  And He died, just as we die.  But Father, You did not let death keep hold of Jesus!  You raised Him from the dead, and that assures us of the promise You made to raise us to new life, too!  Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son to save us.  Thank You for resurrecting Him back to life, ending death's hold.  Please help us to repent, to turn from our disobedient ways, to understand just how much Jesus did for us, so that we might mirror His life more closely in ours.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…

Lord Jesus, You gave up Your place in heaven to come to earth as one of us, to save us from ourselves.  You called us to repentance, and set the example of how we should live by how You lived.  And then You conquered death so that we might share in Your victory!  Thank You, Jesus, for giving up so much just for us!  Thank You for taking on our sins that we might be washed clean by Your blood and forgiven.  Help us, please Lord, to be worthy of Your sacrifice.  Help us to better serve You in this life by serving those in need so we can enjoy eternal life with You in paradise.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.