Peace

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 10th of December, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Last week we looked at some of the prophesy written about the Messiah, and how Jesus fulfilled that when He came to earth, and how He will fulfill even more when He returns.  The greatest prophet was Isaiah, who clearly and accurately foretold of our Lord’s birth and His life on earth.  And we said he also foretold of what will happen when Jesus returns.  I read part of a very familiar text to you from Isaiah, and today I’d like to look at that scripture again, and include a second verse that looks to the future for us.

Listen and follow along as I read from the book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 9, verses 6 and 7, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

--Isaiah 9:6-7 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You looked down and had pity on mankind, so You sent us Your own Son, that we might be redeemed of our sins and disobedience if we would only believe in Him and follow His voice.  Forgive us, please Father, when we reject Your Son with our doubts and our refusal to give Him of our time and resources.  Help us to be more faithful and true to both You and Jesus.  Speak to us now, Father, that we might better hear Your voice and discern Your will for our lives.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace.  Many tried, and the king looked at all the pictures, but only two really caught his attention.

One pictured a calm lake, a perfect mirror for the peaceful towering mountains all around it.  Fluffy white clouds filled a clear blue sky.  All who saw it thought that it was indeed the perfect picture of peace.

The second picture had mountains too, but these were rugged and bare.  Above them lightening played across an angry sky from which rain fell in torrents.  Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall.  This did not look peaceful at all.  But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock.  In the bush a mother bird had built her nest.  There, in the midst of the rush of angry water and with lightening splitting the sky, sat the mother bird on her nest… in perfect peace.

The king chose the second picture, explaining, "Peace does not mean being in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.  Peace means being in the midst of all those things and yet still being calm in your heart.  That is the real meaning of peace.”


I think that little story sums up pretty well how personal peace has little or nothing to do with the circumstances around us.  Rather, it has everything to do with what is in our hearts.

So many people search for peace and never find it.  We look for peace from our enemies, from our strife.  When we are at war, we crave peace and petition our leaders to seek it at any cost.  When we do find peace, it is transient, fleeting – here today, gone tomorrow.  But Isaiah tells us true, lasting peace comes only from Jesus, the Prince of Peace.  When Jesus returns, He will establish His government with judgment and justice, and of His peace there will be no end, from that time forward, even forever.


As I told the kids a little earlier, I believe there was one night when all the world knew peace – a true, quiet, humble peace.  In chapter 2, verses 13 and 14 of his Gospel account, the Apostle Luke relates…

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

--Luke 2:13-14 (NKJV)

Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.  We have a hymn based on a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that starts out, “I heard the bells on Christmas day their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on earth, good will to men.”  But then Longfellow is drawn back to reality of the war raging in his day:  “And in despair I bowed my head:  ‘There is no peace on earth’, I said, ‘for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.’”  Finally, our good poet remembers what peace is all about:  “Then peeled the bells more loud and deep: ‘God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.’”

Longfellow understood what Isaiah was talking about.  If the world did know peace that one night when our Christ entered this world, it sure didn’t last.  Nor, seemingly, was it supposed to.  A little further on in Luke’s account, chapter 12 verses 49 through 53, Jesus warns us…

49 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! 51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

--Luke 12:49-53 (NKJV)

The first time He came, Jesus did not bring peace – He brought division.  Why?  Why would the Prince of Peace come to bring division among mankind?  Maybe it was so we could find true peace, like the mother bird on her nest in the midst of all the chaos around her.  But so many people fail to understand, refuse to look in the right place.

In his letter to the Romans, chapter 3 verses 10 through 18, the Apostle Paul borrows scripture from the Book of Psalms and others as he warns us…

10 As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;

11 There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

12 They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.”

13 “Their throat is an open tomb;

With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;

“The poison of asps is under their lips”;

14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;

17 And the way of peace they have not known.”

18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

--Romans 3:10-18 (NKJV)

We don’t know peace because we aren’t righteous, we don’t understand, we don’t seek God nor fear Him.  We don’t know peace because we don’t know Jesus.

Our Lord Himself felt great sorry over our ignorance.  The Apostle Luke tells us of His reaction upon entering Jerusalem, in chapter 19, verses 41 and 42…

41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”

--Luke 19:41-42 (NKJV)

True personal peace is as close to us as is Jesus, but too many of us, even among His followers, fail to understand.  That which can give us lasting peace is too often hidden from our eyes.  Hidden, because we refuse to see.

Jesus tried to explain it.  The Apostle John recorded Jesus telling us this, in chapter 14, verses 27 through 29 of his Gospel account…

27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.

29 “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.”

--John 14:27-29 (NKJV)

The peace that Jesus gives is not like the peace the world knows.  His peace doesn’t just come and go, it isn’t conditional, based on each group or person doing their part to uphold it.  His peace doesn’t depend on everything around us being quiet and calm and at peace.  No, His peace brings quiet and calm amid all the chaos and conflict.  His peace is eternal, unending, everlasting.  His peace is conditional only upon our belief in Him as the true Son of God, our faith in Him as Lord and Savior.

Indeed, our faith provides the means of peace.  Again looking to his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us in chapter 5 verses 1 and 2 that…

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

--Romans 5:1-2 (NKJV)

Because of our faith in Him, Jesus justifies us to our Father God, the ultimate Judge.  Through Jesus, we have peace with God.  And we receive peace within ourselves - inner peace, personal peace.  We just have to trust Him, have faith in Him.


This morning we lit the candle of peace and lifted a prayer for peace, peace in the world, knowing full well that division and hatred and war still rock the earth.  This is as it must be until Jesus returns to set things right.  But in the midst of all the turmoil, while the storm rages around us, we can find the peace of God that Jesus beings.  Just have faith and trust in the Word of God.

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


Let us pray…  Father God, Your peace surpasses all understanding.  Thank You, Father, for sending us Your Son who brings us Your peace through salvation if we accept Him as Lord and Master.  Help us, please Father, to receive Your gift of peace and carry it in our hearts this Christmas season and throughout our lives.  Forgive us when we let the busyness of life intrude upon that peace, when we let the world shatter that peace.  Help us to remain calm and at rest in You.

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

Lord Jesus, You came to earth not to bring peace to all mankind, but to offer us Your peace, a special peace unlike what the world gives.  What the world calls peace is shallow and does not last.  Help us, Lord, to remain in the calm of Your peace even as the storm of the world rages all about us.  Help us to share Your love and Your peace with others so that they too might be saved, and might find rest in You.

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.

When He Comes

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 26th of November, 2017.  Our annual Congregational meeting followed the service.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Next Sunday is actually the first Sunday in Advent, but since we will be enjoying our Hanging of the Greens service that morning, I thought I would recognize the advent of Advent today.

In its basic terms, advent means the arrival or coming of a notable person, event, or thing.  The Christian season of Advent recognizes the coming of our Savior Jesus into this world, anticipating the celebration of His birth at Christmas.  But there is also a second coming of Jesus we anxiously await.

Listen and follow along as I read first from the Gospel account of the Apostle Luke, chapter 2, verses 1 through 7, and then from the Revelation of Jesus as given to His Apostle John, chapter 19, verses 11 through 16, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

2:1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.


19:11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND

LORD OF LORDS.

--Luke 2:1-7; Revelation 19:11-16 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, for so long You promised the world a Savior, a Messiah to deliver us from our sinful ways.  But then, when You sent Your own Son to be with us as one of us, we did not believe.  Even though He fulfilled every prophesy spoken of the Messiah, we rejected Him.  Forgive us, please Father, for not seeing the truth, for not receiving the gift You gave us all at Christmas time.  Help us who now believe in Jesus to share His Gospel story every chance we get.  Speak to us now, Father, and guide us that we might better serve You in this task.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


If you enjoyed your Thanksgiving feast a little too much, then perhaps you can appreciate these tell-tale signs that you ate too much for Thanksgiving:

• The doctor tells you your weight would be perfect for a person 17 feet tall.
• You are responsible for a slight but measurable shift in the earth's axis.
• Paramedics bring in the Jaws of Life to pry you out of the Lazy-Boy recliner.
• The potatoes you used set off another famine in Ireland.
• You receive a Sumo Wrestler application in your e-mail.
• You set off 3 earthquake seismographs on your morning jog Friday.
• Pricking your finger for cholesterol screening only yielded gravy.
• You consider gluttony your patriotic duty.
• Representatives from the Butterball Hall of Fame called twice.

Ah, but the holidays are made for overeating, right?  Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts are famous for overindulgence.  We gather together with family and friends and food – the 3 F’s.  And we often regret eating so much the next day.  Sometimes even later that afternoon, as we nap in front of the TV set with the football game blaring away.  Yes, that’s what the holidays seem made for, according to the world.

But those of us who follow Jesus as our Master should pause in the midst of all the celebrations to give thanks to our God for His many blessings over our lives.  And we should look ahead with excited anticipation toward what is to come.  For what is coming is Jesus, God’s own Son.


We will all too soon be celebrating the first coming of Jesus with our annual observance of Christmas.  That’s what the season of Advent is all about.  As the Apostle Luke noted, the Son of God came to mankind as one of us.  He entered this world just like us – as a helpless baby born of woman.  His birth and the circumstances surrounding it were foretold over 400 years before the event, most notably by the prophet Isaiah.  In chapter 7 verse 14 of his book of prophesy, Isaiah tells us…

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

--Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV)

Isaiah also spoke for God in foretelling the rest of the story of Jesus, what would happen to Him later in life, and after His return to the Father.  He spoke to us of the Good Servant, and how He would be treated, ultimately taking our punishment upon Himself so that we could be washed clean of our sin and able to stand once again before God.  Isaiah accurately described Jesus and the many roles He would fill, such as found in chapter 9 verse 6 of his prophesy…

6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

--Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

Unto us a Son is given of God, and the government will be upon His shoulder.  Pay close attention to the tenses of those verbs: “is given” and “will be”.  Jesus came once, as a baby, a Child, born to woman as the one true Son of God.  But the gift of God, made flesh in Jesus, continues to be given, to as many as who will accept Him!  Every time some lost soul accepts Jesus as the Son of God and their personal Savior and Master, He is given to them, the gift of salvation is given to them!

But did Jesus govern the world when He came that first time?  Does He govern it now, even with each new giving of Himself?  No, not really.  Satan has been given temporary rule over this world.  But Isaiah tells us the government will be upon His shoulders!  Someday, when He returns, Jesus will rule this world and all this is in it!

And that brings us to the second time that Jesus will physically come to this earth, and the second half of our scripture reading this morning.  Luke beautifully recorded the first time Jesus came to this world.  John tells us vividly of the second, in the Book of Revelation which Jesus instructed him to write after revealing to him the things that must happen.  Jesus will come to fulfill the rest of Isaiah’s prophesy.

On His person and on His robe will be emblazoned the titles “King of kings” and “Lord of lords”.  And this time He will come looking like the Messiah the Jewish people expected all along.  This time He will come to conquer, and to judge.  He will bring along the armies of heaven, but they will be mostly for show.  Because Jesus will dispatch all the foes of God simply by speaking the word of God.

The world will be judged, and all within it.  All will be judged, including we who believe.  But we will be saved, and spared a horrible fate, for we have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus, the spotless Lamb, slain as a sacrifice once for all time in propitiation for our sins.  Those who rejected Jesus will suffer greatly.  The wicked will be crushed under the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of our Almighty God!

Believers will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Non-believers will be forever separated from God, and from His mercy.  This is the second advent of Jesus, which we await.


So let’s enjoy this Advent season as we prepare to celebrate Christmas and all the gifts and meals and yes, even the football games.  But let’s not forget the true meaning, both of Advent and of Christmas.  Jesus came once, to offer the world salvation.  He is coming again, to judge the world.

Prepare for the observed anniversary of His first coming by decorating our homes and trees.  Prepare for His second coming by cleaning our hearts of sinful ways.  For He is coming again, and it may be soon.

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


Let us pray…  Father God, You sent Your own Son to live among us, to teach us Your Truth, to take our punishment and to die on our behalf so that we might not suffer eternal death.  Thank You, Father, for so beautiful a gift.  Thank You for Your great love and mercy.  Help us, please Father, to prepare our hearts for the second coming of Jesus, even as we celebrate His first coming at His birth.  Forgive us when we get all wrapped up with worldly commercialism and forget the true meaning of the season.  Help us remember Your promise to the world.

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

Lord Jesus, You came to us just as the prophets foretold, sharing God’s love with a weary world.  And some sweet day You will come again, this time to judge the world You tried to save.  Help us, Lord Jesus, to look past the bright decorations and see the truth.  Help us to prepare for Your second coming even as we celebrate the first.

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.

In the Presence of the Lord

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 19th of November, 2017.  This is our Thanksgiving service.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Last week for my short devotional, I read to you from the New King James Version of Psalm 100, because it spoke of singing and praising God and that’s what we do in our 5th Sunday services.  But that short psalm also speaks so beautifully of giving thanks to God, and of how we should approach Him.  Listen and follow along as I once again read Psalm 100, this time from the English Standard Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into His presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, He is God!
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
and His courts with praise!
Give thanks to Him; bless His name!
5 For the Lord is good;
His steadfast love endures forever,
and His faithfulness to all generations.

--Psalm 100 (ESV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You give us a voice to sing and joy in our hearts.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to let that joy out for all to hear, and in hearing to know that we love You.  Help us to sing Your praises every chance we get.  Speak to us now, Father, that we might better understand and obey Your word this morning.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


A man had a habit of grumbling at the food his wife placed before him at family meals. Then he would ask the blessing. One day after his usual combination complaint-prayer, his little girl asked, “Daddy, does God hear us when we pray?”

“Why, of course,” he replied. “He hears us every time we pray.”

She paused a moment, and asked, “Does He hear everything we say the rest of the time?”

“Yes, dear, every word,” her father replied, encouraged that he had inspired his daughter to be curious about spiritual matters. However, his pride was quickly turned to humility at her next question.

“Then, which does God believe?”


We can understand the little girl’s confusion, can’t we?  First her father grumbles and complains about the meal her mother placed before him on the table.  But then he prays and thanks God for it, asking His blessing over the food.  So which is it, which part does God believe – the grumbling, or the thanksgiving?

Maybe the better questions is, who many times do we go before our Father God in prayer grumbling and complaining, then thank Him for whatever it is we feel obligated to thank Him for?  Which do you think really expresses what we feel in our hearts – the complaints, or the thanks?


Think for a moment about the poor atheist.  What happens when he has a moment of feeling intensely grateful for something, and has no one to thank?  Neither King David nor our unknown psalmist had any problem knowing just Who to thank.

And neither did the Apostle Paul.  Listen to what he tells us to do, in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 16 through 18…

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)

Rejoice always!  Not just when things are going our way, but always!  In everything give thanks!  Paul doesn’t say to give thanks for everything, but in everything.  In other words, no matter what circumstance we may find ourselves us, there is still something we can give thanks to God for.  For instance we might not think paying taxes is all that good a thing, not something we would be thankful for.  But if we’re paying taxes, it means we have an income to be taxed on, and for that we can indeed give thanks to God.

So no matter what load of horse manure life just dumped on your head, look for something to thank God for.  You won’t have to look far.  This is God’s will for us, because when we stop to be thankful, it puts us in a much better, more positive frame of mind.  And all that fertilizer we’re trying to dig ourselves out from under won’t smell quite so bad.


Did you notice in our scripture reading that our psalmist used a lot of action words?  Make a joyful noise.  Serve the Lord.  Come into His presence.  Enter His gates.  These are all things we must intentionally do, on purpose.

Pleasing the Lord requires some action on our part.  And not just any action.  He doesn’t want us making noise just to be making noise.  Paul gives us a little additional insight into this in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 5, verses 15 through 21, when he instructs us…

15 See then that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise men, 16 making the most of the time because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 Do not be drunk with wine, for that is reckless living. But be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. 20 Give thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 being submissive to one another in the fear of God.

--Ephesians 5:15-21 (MEV)

Walk carefully, as wise people.  Understand what the will of the Lord is.  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks – that’s a big chunk of God’s will for us, according to Paul.  Give thanks always.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.  Come into His presence with singing.

Is that how we approach God?  When are we in His presence?  Well, technically, always – ever single second of every minute or every day – because God Himself is within us, in the person of His Holy Spirit.  Jesus died on the cross to make God available to us all the time, from anywhere.

Many of us, though, think about entering into His presence when we walk through those doors into this sanctuary – when we come into “God’s house”.  But I think we are truly most aware of being in His presence when we approach Him in prayer.  That is our time to talk with God, to speak to Him and to listen for a reply.  We feel Him near when we pray.

And that is why we should start every prayer with thanksgiving.  Every prayer, not just those during the Thanksgiving holiday.  But let that Thanksgiving feast serve as a reminder.  Thank God for the food, that we have enough to eat.  Thank Him for the house we eat in, that we have a roof over our head.  Thank Him for those we love who He has placed in our lives, even if we are alone and maybe lonely.

In all things give thanks to God, and bless His holy name.  Make a joyful noise, for we are in the presence of the Lord.  In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You are the Creator of all things.  Anything and everything we have comes from You, out of Your love and generosity.  Thank You, Father, for all Your many blessings!  And thank You especially for sending Your Son Jesus to offer us salvation, and for allowing us to come into Your presence at any time we wish.  Help us, please Father, to come to You joyfully, with a song in our hearts and on our lips.  Help us to remember to enter into your gates with thanksgiving.  Forgive us when we get so wrapped up with our many needs that we forget to give You our thanks.  Please know that we are grateful for all You do and all You give.

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

Lord Jesus, Your Apostle Paul knew Your heart and spoke for You, telling us how we should live as Your followers, as Christians.  And he told us to rejoice always, to pray without stopping, and to give thanks to our Father God in all situations.  Help us, Lord, to do as Paul instructed.  Help us to not only be a grateful people, but to show God our gratitude.

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.

Shout!

[The following is a manuscript of my brief devotional delivered on Sunday morning, the 12th of November, 2017.  This Sunday we welcomed the Good News Trio of High Point, NC, who shared with us their ministry of beautiful music.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Before we bring The Good News Trio back up, I’d like to read a beautiful song from our Holy Bible that is most fitting for today’s service, and for the upcoming holiday.  The author’s name has long since been lost to us, but it’s message still rings out loud and clear.  Listen and follow along to the words of the unknown psalmist in Psalm 100, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

--Psalm 100 (NKJV)

Isn’t that beautiful, and so true?  It speaks so well of why we should praise and give all glory to God and Jesus.  For our Lord is God!  He made us – we didn’t make ourselves, even if we could!  We are His people, His sheep, living in His pasture by His good graces.  So let us make a joy-filled shout unto the Lord!  Let us come before His presence with singing.  Let us serve Him with gladness.
This psalm also reminds us of the day we set aside called Thanksgiving, when we do stop from the busyness of our lives long enough to give God thanks for His many blessings, for all that He has done for us.  So let’s enter in through His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.  For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures forever.

Shout!  Sing praises!  Give thanks!  All in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

Be a Bondservant

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 5th of November, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Have you ever given any thought as to what might have been going on in Jesus’ mind during his short time on earth?  I mean, He was God, right?  But at the same time, He was fully human.  He suffered through the same aches and pains as we do, got hungry at times, and thirsty.

And I bet He struggled not to get completely fed up with this stubborn, thick-headed group of people that we too often are.  I can’t help but wonder if at some point He didn’t think, “OK, Dad, I’ve had enough of this foolishness - I’m coming home.”  Well, if He ever thought it, He never acted on it.

And fortunately for us, we don’t really have to guess what He might have been thinking - our Bible tells us.  Listen and follow along to verses 5 through 11 of the 2nd chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  Earlier, in our Congregational Reading, we read this passage the New King James Version of our Holy Bible.  This time I’m reading from the New Life Version…

5 Think as Christ Jesus thought. 6 Jesus has always been as God is. But He did not hold to His rights as God. 7 He put aside everything that belonged to Him and made Himself the same as a servant who is owned by someone. He became human by being born as a man. 8 After He became a man, He gave up His important place and obeyed by dying on a cross. 9 Because of this, God lifted Jesus high above everything else. He gave Him a name that is greater than any other name. 10 So when the name of Jesus is spoken, everyone in heaven and on earth and under the earth will bow down before Him. 11 And every tongue will say Jesus Christ is Lord. Everyone will give honor to God the Father.

--Philippians 2:5-11 (NLV)

Let us pray…  Father God, Your great plan to save mankind required that Your Son Jesus suffer and die on the cross.  Forgive us, please Father, when we complain about little things, forgetting just what Jesus went through on our behalf.  Help us to be more like Him in our dedication to You and Your will.  Speak to us this morning, Father, that we might better hear, understand, and obey Your word.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


During the American Revolution, a man in civilian clothes rode up on a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier.  Their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help with the work.  Asked why by the rider, he retorted with great dignity, "Sir, I am a corporal!"  The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers.  Their job done, the stranger turned to the corporal and said, "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again."  It was none other than George Washington who pitched in to help his tired men.


George Washington clearly understood the full meaning of service.  He was a servant of God even while serving our fledgling country, both as general and as president.  To him, “service” was not just a word, but a way of life.  It requires a deep commitment to responsibility: of feeling and acting responsible for the welfare of others.  And Washington knew that by serving others we serve God.

Are we as dedicated a servant as George Washington?


In our scripture reading, Paul notes that even though Jesus was God, He put aside all His divine privileges and made a servant of Himself.  He served us, mankind, and He served God, His and our Father in heaven.  He served faithfully, carrying out God’s plan of salvation to the letter, even dying on the cross for us.  And God rewarded Him for His service.

Paul also considered himself to be a servant.  Listen to how he opens his letter to the Romans, chapter 1, verse 1…

1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God...

--Romans 1:1 (NKJV)

Paul describes himself as a bondservant of Jesus, serving as an apostle, set aside by God to proclaim the Good News of salvation through Jesus.  We’re familiar with the word “servant”, being one who serves another, but “bondservant” is a term we don’t hear as often.  A bondservant is closer to what we would call a slave rather than a servant.  In Jesus’ day it was fairly common to be or to own a bondservant.  In some cases a bondservant would serve voluntarily, but most times it was an involuntary, forced position of servitude.

A bondservant could not leave their service until whatever caused them to be placed there was fulfilled or completed, if ever.  A frequent reason for becoming a bondservant was to work off a debt that could not otherwise be repaid.  Do you remember Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, when Jesus blinded Saul and showed him what he was doing wrong, then gave him not only another chance to make amends, but also special insight into the Gospel?  Paul recognized how great a debt he owed Jesus – a debt he could never repay.  So he placed himself into lifelong servitude to Jesus, a service he would not leave or try to get out of.  He willingly, voluntarily, made of himself a bondservant to Jesus.


Another point Paul clearly understood is that we all serve, in one way or another.  We may not be indentured bondservants or slaves, but we still serve other folks, and if we are believers, we also serve our Lord Jesus.  So the big question is…  Do we serve as Paul did, or even as George Washington did, with the commitment of a voluntary bondservant?  Listen to what Paul told the Ephesians in chapter 6 of his letter, verses 5 through 7…

5 Servants, obey those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of your heart, as to Christ, 6 not serving when eyes are on you, but as pleasing men as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men...

--Ephesians 6:5-7 (MEV)

Even if we are just serving our fellow man, in any fashion, we should do just as good a job of it as if we were serving God face to face!  Because when we serve others, we serve God!  This is exactly what Jesus did!  He served others in His service to God!

Everyone who will be helping this Saturday with our bazaar and dinner should try to remember this.  Pretend that everyone we are helping in one way or another is actually Jesus.  Superimpose His face over theirs.  Treat them like we would treat Jesus.  Because we are doing just that, according to Paul.

And while we’re helping others, let’s keep another point Paul makes in mind.  This one comes from his letter to the Galatians, chapter 1, verse 10…

10 For am I now seeking the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? For if I were still trying to please men, I would not be the servant of Christ.

--Galatians 1:10 (MEV)

Don’t do things for the sole purpose of pleasing others or to gain their approval.  Do them to please Jesus, for His approval.  Remember that we gave ourselves over to His service when we accepted Him as our Lord.  That’s what it means when we call Him Master: that we will serve Him, just as Paul did.  Do we really think and act that way?  Do we truly make ourselves bondservants to Christ?


There is one more aspect of servitude I’d like to examine, and this one comes from the Apostle Peter.  In his 1st letter to the far-flung church, chapter 2, verses 15 through 17, Peter admonishes us…

15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

--1 Peter 2:15-17 (NKJV)

It is the will of God that we voluntarily make ourselves to be His bondservants.  Now God is, after all, God, and He could make us dance at the end of a string like a puppet if He wanted.  But what He wants is for us to love Him enough to willingly put ourselves into servitude to Him.

By our belief in Jesus, we are freed from death and sin.  Peter instructs us not to use that freedom to do whatever we want, to delve back into a sinful life, but instead to do good for others, to serve God as His bondservant, and in doing so, to silence the blatant ignorance of foolish people!  And family, there are a lot of foolish people in this world today who need to see the kind of role model Peter is asking us to be.


Jesus set the example.  Paul followed it.  Peter exhorts us all to accept the role also.  To give ourselves into selfless servitude to Jesus and to God.  To commit ourselves, dedicate ourselves fully to serving others and in that way to serving our Lord.

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


Let us pray…  Father God, You knew what had to be done if mankind was to have any hope of salvation.  So You worked out a plan that required a very dedicated Servant.  Your own Son Jesus accepted that role, obeying Your will even to His death on the cross.  Help us, please Father, to understand and follow our own role in Your great plan.  Help us to give of ourselves fully into Your service.  Forgive us when we fail to act as true bondservants, thinking we can get out of our servitude.  Forgive us for doing good only to seek the approval of man, rather than helping others simply because it pleases You.  Forgive us when we stray from Your will.

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

Lord Jesus, You showed us what a true servant should look like.  You came to offer us salvation, and gave every last ounce of Yourself to us in service to our Father God.  Help us, Lord, to follow Your example.  Help us to willingly give of ourselves completely into Your service.  Help us be Your bondservants.

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.

What Will Be Will Be

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 29th of October, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

King David truly was a remarkable man.  Even though he sometimes strayed from God’s law, God still loved him and watched over him.  And David knew this love, he felt this love.  So many times he seemed completely out of control.  Enemies pursued him, even those from within his own family, his sons.  Yet he never lost faith, he never gave up on God, he fully trusted in the Lord to see him through.  He didn’t worry about events surrounding him, and he tells us that we don’t have to worry either, if we just trust God.

Listen and follow along as I read from King David’s Psalm number 37, verses 1 through 18, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

12 The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
15 Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.

16 A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.

18 The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.

--Psalm 37:1-18 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, just as You loved David even when he sinned, You love us.  You love us and don’t want us to worry about things going on around us.  Forgive us, please Father, when our faith is shaken, when we doubt that You truly are still in control, when we wonder about all that is going on and worry about how it will affect us and our loved ones.  Speak to us this morning, Father, and help us better understand Your message and Your sovereignty.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


A very nervous airline passenger began pacing the terminal when bad weather delayed his flight.  During his walk, he came across a life insurance machine.  It offered $100,000 in the event of an untimely death aboard his flight, and the policy was only $3.  He looked out the window at the threatening clouds and thought of his family at home.  For that price it seemed foolish not to buy, so he took out the coverage.

He then looked for a place to grab dinner.  Airports now carry a good variety of eateries so he settled on his favorite: Chinese.  He enjoyed a relaxing meal… until he opened his fortune cookie.  It read, “Your recent investment will pay big dividends.”


I can't be certain of the author, but someone once wrote:

Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster, and belief in defeat.  Worry is wasting today's time to clutter up tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles.   A dense fog that covers a seven-city-block area one hundred feet deep is composed of less than one glass of water divided into sixty thousand million drops.   Not much is there but it can cripple an entire city.


Que sera, sera.  What will be will be.  The future’s not ours to see.  Do you remember that old Doris Day song?  Such a simple little tune, but the message rings so true with what God provides us in scripture.  It really all comes down to faith, to trusting in the Lord and in what He tells us.

Today is Reformation Sunday and this year we mark the 500th anniversary of the movement that gave birth to Pilgrim church, among so many others.  500 years, and it all really began when Martin Luther read and pondered over a passage of scripture.  He was reading the 1st chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, when verse 17 stopped him in his tracks.  Let me read verses 16 and 17 to you from the 1st chapter of Romans…

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

--Romans 1:16-17 (NKJV)

The power and righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, from faith to faith.  And the clincher for Luther came from Paul’s quote of the prophet Habakkuk: the just shall live by faith.  The righteous person trusts in God, and through that faith lives.

King David trusted in God, lived by faith, and so was able to live without overly worrying about everything that seemed to be going against him.  Martin Luther lived by faith and did not worry about standing up to the religious authorities of his day, almost as Jesus did in His day.  Do you think Jesus worried about it?  Of course not!  He had special insight into how the story ends.  And He knew what all would happen as that story, as God’s plan, nears completion.

Listen to a short discussion between our Lord and His disciples, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in chapter 24 of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 8…

1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

--Matthew 24:1-8 (NKJV)

Jesus doesn’t paint a very pretty picture there, does He?  First He tells us not to be deceived when false prophets and antichrists make claims that sound realistic and plausible, for this will happen – they will indeed come forward and try to fool us.

Other things will happen, too, and not necessarily good things.  There will be wars, and threats of wars.  We are at war right now with Islamic extremism, and North Korea all but threatens war nearly daily.  Nation will rise against nation, family against family, brother against brother.  Famines and droughts will occur more frequently.  Disease will spread across the land.  Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and other disasters - natural and man-made - will sweep across the globe.

And Jesus warns this is only the beginning.  But He tells us all this for a reason!  He tells us ahead of time so we won’t worry so much when it happens, when His word comes to pass!

Yes, we may get caught up in some of all this nastiness.  Yes, we or our loved ones may lose everything, may even lose our mortal lives.  But if we truly trust in God’s word, we know that our future, in the kingdom of heaven, is assured and we will be richly rewarded for our faith!  The Apostle Peter bears this out in his first letter to the scattered church, chapter 3, verses 13 and 14, when he says…

13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”

--1 Peter 3:13-14 (NKJV)

If we are followers of the good, of Jesus, then who can really harm us?  Sure, we may have to suffer, maybe just because we get caught up in some cataclysm or maybe because of our faith, our belief.  But even then, we are still blessed simply because of our faith!

So don’t be afraid of the threats of the wicked.  Don’t let all the mess going on around us trouble us.  This is what Jesus wants us to remember.  He warns us about all that will happen so we’ll be prepared for it and not have to worry.  In the Gospel account of the Apostle John, chapter 14 verse 27, Jesus reassures us with these words…

27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

--John 14:27 (NKJV)

Don’t let all this trouble you, don’t be afraid.  Don’t worry, be happy.  Happiness comes from our confidence in God’s word.  For God says these things will happen!  They will happen because they must happen!  And they must happen because God said they would.  What will be will be, and no amount of worry will ever change that.  Worry only doubles our trouble.

Trust in God, have faith in His word.  And don’t worry.  In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You are firmly in control of Your creation.  And You are working out Your great plan to save mankind.  Help us, please Father, to remember You are sovereign.  Help us to understand that everything that happens must happen, that it all happens for a reason even when we cannot grasp what that reason might be.  Forgive us when we have our doubts, when we question You because we just don’t see all You can see, when we fear what is going on around us and let the world trouble us so.

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

Lord Jesus, You warned us about what the future holds and what must happen, just so we would be prepared and not worry when the bad stuff comes.  You comfort us, telling us not to let our hearts be troubled or afraid because You give us Your peace, a peace that transcends this world, a peace that lasts.  Help us, Lord, to trust in You and our Father God.  Help us to have faith sufficient for the times in which we live.  Help us to not be so worried because what is happening must indeed happen as our Father continues His great plan toward its fruition.  Grant us Your peace.

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.

God Gives Much, Asks Little

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 22nd of October, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

I am always amazed at the special insight the Apostle Paul had into who Jesus is and what He wants of us.  Even though Paul did not walk with Jesus during His ministry, and indeed worked against our Lord at first, the Apostle had an incredible grasp of just what it means to be a Christian.  And through Christ, Paul was also given a clearer understanding of our Father God and the mysteries of heaven.  Paul constantly proclaimed his thanks to God, and with good reason.

Listen and follow along as I read from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, beginning with chapter 1 verses 3 through 10, then skipping over to end with chapter 3 verse 20 through chapter 4 verse 3, from the New King James Version of our Bible…

1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

3:20  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

4:1  I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

--Ephesians 1:3-10; 3:20-4:3 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You give us so very much.  Everything we have, in fact, comes from You.  And your greatest gifts are Your forgiveness and our salvation.  Forgive us, please Father, when we take all this for granted.  Please share another gift with us this morning, Father.  Speak into our hearts through Your Holy Spirit and help us better understand Your message and Your will for our lives.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


A story is told of a man who loved old books.  He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations.  "I couldn't read it," the friend explained.  "Somebody named Guten-something had printed it."  "Not Gutenberg!" the book lover exclaimed in horror.  "That Bible was one of the first books ever printed!  Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!"  His friend was unimpressed.  "Mine wouldn't have brought a dollar.  Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German."


It would seem we know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.  Why else would we pay movie and sports stars millions of dollars a year to entertain us, yet pay barely a livable wage to our educators who teach us and our children what we need to get along in the world?  We need to be more cognizant of the true value and worth of people, things, even our beliefs.

I started our service this morning, as I usually do, with a call to come together and worship our Father God.  The word “wordship” evolved from the concept of worthiness, or of being worthy.  To worship God is to recognize His worth, His worthiness.  It is to look God-ward, toward the Father, and to acknowledge in all ways the true value of what we see.


So, family, what do we see when we look God-ward?  The Apostle Paul saw only goodness and blessings.  He saw how very much God gives us, while basically asking for, and expecting, so little in return.  And filled with that special insight Jesus gave him, Paul devoted the first three chapters of Ephesians – fully half of his letter - just to tell us how good God is.

Because of God’s wonderful grace and the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, we are blameless, redeemed, forgiven.  We are His child, His heir, His chosen.  We are holy, partakers in the promises, sealed by His Holy Spirit.

And we are also created for good works.  Think about that a moment…  A hammer was created to drive nails.  It can be used for other purposes – I’ve even used the claws to work out some stubborn large screws.  But it works best when used as intended, for the job it was created to do.  Since we are created for good works, that is the job we can do best, if we would just apply ourselves to it.


While Paul enjoyed such a beautiful gift from Jesus, he never considered himself all that special.  Just the opposite – he thought himself unworthy.  In his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, the 15th chapter, verse 9, he described himself like this…

9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

--1 Corinthians 15:9 (NKJV)

Which probably made him even more thankful for what he had been given.  And might explain why he wanted us to understand God’s goodness, too.

Look again at the ending verses of our scripture reading this morning.  God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or even think!  Not just abundantly, but exceedingly abundantly!  So we should be sure to give God all the glory.  And more than that, we should walk worthy of God’s call to us, be worthy of His love and goodness.


What does that mean, to walk worthy of His calling?  Paul gives us a very good hint.  We should walk through this life with lowliness, or humbleness, being gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, trying our very best to remain as one with God’s Holy Spirit living within us.  We should try to be worthy of God’s goodness, and of the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

The Apostle Matthew saved pointers our Lord gave us regarding unworthy behavior, in chapter 10 verses 37 and 38 of his Gospel account…

37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

--Matthew 10:37-38 (NKJV)

To be worthy, we must put Jesus and God first above all others, and we must follow Him and His commands no matter the personal cost.  And the Apostle Luke records Jesus saying this in his Gospel Account, chapter 21, verses 34 through 36…

34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

--Luke 21:34-36 (NKJV)

We shouldn’t let ourselves get too complacent, avoiding getting carried away with partying and drunkenness or even the daily cares of life.  For the Day of Judgement is coming and we must be ready, lest it catch us off-guard and we not be ready for our Master’s return.  Instead, we should remain in prayer, being watchful of our actions, and our thoughts, staying true and faithful to Jesus and what He would have us do.

Paul understood all this.  So he offered counsel and instruction to the church, to us, because he wanted us to understand as well.  The second half of his letter to the Ephesians pretty much detailed how we, as Christians, should live.  He emphasized our role in being worthy in many of his writings.  Here is what he shared in his letter to the Colossians, chapter 1 verses 9 through 14…

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

--Colossians 1:9-14 (NKJV)

If we want to walk worthy of the Lord, we will do what fully pleases Him.  We will not only do good works, but we’ll be fruitful in them, successful in them.  We will increase our knowledge of God, studying our Bible and praying at every opportunity.  We will let God’s Holy Spirit strengthen us for the patience we will need, and we will suffer with joy knowing that our reward is coming.  For we share in the inheritance of the saints, promised through Jesus, our Deliverer from the ultimate darkness, who redeemed us through His own blood.  This is how we walk worthy of our calling, worthy of God’s love, worthy of Jesus’ sacrifice.


God gives us so very much, yet asks so little of us in return.  Let’s do all we can to be worthy of His love.  In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, there is nothing You cannot do.  Since You created everything, You can give it all away if You want to.  And You give so very much to us.  Help us, please Father, to always see how You exceedingly abundantly provide for our needs.  Help us to never take Your love and generosity for granted.  Help us to be worthy of Your calling.  Forgive us, please Father, when we act in a manner unworthy of Your love.

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

Lord Jesus, You cautioned us not to be unworthy, and Your servant Paul showed us how we should live so that our Father God might see us as worthy of His love.  Help us, Lord, to do the right things.  Help us to be fruitful in our good works.  Help us be worthy. 

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.

Where Is Our Faith?

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 8th of October, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

What does it mean to believe in Jesus?  That’s the very foundation of our Christian faith, isn’t it, believing in Jesus as the Son of God.  It’s all about John 3:16, right?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

But what does it mean to believe in Jesus, really believe?  Let’s see if our Bible can help answer that.  Listen and follow along as I read from the Gospel account of the Apostle Mark, chapter 11 verses 12 through 14 and 20 through 24, from the New Living Translation of our Bible…

12 The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so He went over to see if He could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. 14 Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard Him say it.

20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree He had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree You cursed has withered and died!”

22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours." 

--Mark 11:12-14; 20-24 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, we say we trust in You, but too often we look to ourselves and our own abilities and inabilities to decide on a course of action.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to truly trust that You have our best interests at heart, that You can do anything and will see us through our difficulties.  Speak into our hearts through Your Holy Spirit this morning and help us understand Your message.  Show us Your will for our lives.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.

Where is our faith?  Do we believe miracles still occur?  A little girl in a Confirmation class once defined a miracle as, "Something we cannot do, but God can."  Orator and politician William Jennings Bryan once mused:

I was eating a piece of watermelon some months ago and was struck with its beauty.  I took some of the seeds and weighed them and found that it would require some 5,000 seeds to weigh a pound.  And then I applied mathematics to a forty-pound melon.  One of these seeds, put into the ground, when warmed by the sun and moistened by the rain goes to work; it gathers from somewhere two hundred thousand times its own weight and, forcing this raw material through a tiny stem, constructs a watermelon.  It covers the outside with a coating of green; inside of the green it puts a layer of white, and within the white a core of red, and all through the red it scatters seeds, each one capable of continuing the work of reproduction.  I cannot explain the watermelon, but I eat it and enjoy it.  Everything that grows tells a like story of infinite power.  Why should I deny that a divine hand fed a multitude with a few loaves and fishes when I see hundreds of millions fed every year by a hand which converts the seeds scattered over the field into an abundant harvest?  We know that food can be multiplied in a few months' time.  Shall we deny the power of the Creator to eliminate the element of time, when we have gone so far in eliminating the element of space?


Have you ever thought about a watermelon quite like that?  It really is mind-boggling how one tiny little seed can produce multiple large fruits, each with more seeds in it than I’d want to count!  Can you even imagine a machine or device that could do that, reproducing itself in such a dramatic fashion with little or no human help?  A watermelon can, and so can a tomato, a squash, a cucumber – all because God made them that way.

God can do anything, anytime.  I think we do understand and accept that, deep down.  But what we too often fail to accept is that He will do anything for us!  Anything.

Where is our faith?  Do we believe that what Jesus tells us is the truth?  Then we should believe God will do anything for us, because Jesus told us exactly that, in verses 23 and 24 of our scripture reading.  We just need to have real faith in God and believe that we have already received what we are asking for!

And the big one, the one that holds us back, is the condition that we must have no doubt.  We cannot doubt God’s ability, nor His willingness to do what we ask of Him.  Unfortunately, our head tells us that, yes, God can move a mountain if He wants to, but He’s not going to do it for me.  Why should He?  What have I done to deserve Him doing something so great just for me?  That little seed of doubt, planted in our brains, soon reproduces itself, multiplied in our hearts.  And we don’t get what we ask for because we don’t really believe we’ll get it.


There is another factor that can hold us back as well, something besides those seeds of doubt.  James, the brother of Jesus, warns us about it in chapter 4 of his book, verses 2 and 3…

2 You want what you don’t have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others have, and can’t afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you do ask you don’t get it because your whole aim is wrong — you want only what will give you pleasure.

--James 4:2-3 (TLB)

Wow!  James pretty well just described a fairly large segment of our society today, didn’t he?  We don’t have what we want, so we take it from someone else who does have it.  If necessary, we’ll start a fight to get it from them.  And if we have to kill them to get it… well, that’s tough for them.  We do anything and everything but ask God, because we think – we reason – that we can only get things by our own strength, ability, skill, and effort.  That, or because we just don’t think we’re worthy of God doing anything for us.

But then James points out that even if we do get desperate enough for what we want that we finally ask God for His help, we still won’t get it because we’re asking for all the wrong reasons!  We only want what will give us pleasure.

Isn’t that one of Satan’s most enticing lures, the pleasures of this life?  There’s all these things we want because they bring us pleasure, they make us feel good, at least for a time.  The devil doesn’t mind making them available to us.  But will God grant our request for something that simply gives us pleasure?

Well, God can do anything He wants to do for any reason He wants, but James says if our sole motivation is for pleasure, our heavenly Father will likely deny the request.  Our prayers to God must be for worthwhile needs, must be asked for without any doubt of those prayers being answered, and asked as if we have already received them.


We started out this message talking about miracles.  A miracle is simply God at work.  Think of a watermelon seed.  God can do and still does miracles.

When Jesus walked the earth among us, He performed miracles as signs of who and what He was.  He turned water into wine, healed people of diseases and infirmities, cast out evil spirits, even raised the dead back to life.  To Him, performing a miracle was a simple task, because He was, after all, God.

The little girl said that a miracle is something we can’t do but that God can.  Well, Jesus might disagree with that.  Listen to what He tells us in the Gospel account of the Apostle John, chapter 14, verses 12 and 13…

12-13 “In solemn truth I tell you, anyone believing in Me shall do the same miracles I have done, and even greater ones, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask Him for anything, using My name, and I will do it, for this will bring praise to the Father because of what I, the Son, will do for you.”

--John 14:12-13 (TLB)

Where is our faith?  Anyone – any one – who truly believes in and trusts Jesus can do the same miracles as He did, and even greater ones than those!  All we have to do is ask God in Jesus’ name and Jesus will make it happen because of all the glory it will bring to God.

But we have to really believe.  We must have complete and utter faith in God our Father and Jesus His Son.  We can have no doubts whatsoever – none!  We must not be selfish in our request.  And our expectation of receiving what we ask for must be complete, so that we know we have already received what we are asking for even as we ask!

That is faith!  That is trust!  Trusting so much that God will grant our request that we thank Him for what we are asking for even as we pray for it!


Family, where is our faith?  Is it fully in God, or do we think we have to do it on our own?  I’m reminded of the pastor of a small church that needed a new roof and it would cost a bundle.  The pastor stands in the pulpit one Sunday and says, “Folks, our new roof is going to cost over $50,000.  The good news is that we have all the funds we need!  The bad news is, the money is still in your pockets.”

Family, we’ve got to stop looking only to ourselves and our own resources.  We’ve got to put our faith in God and ask for His help.  We’ve got to really believe, and to act just like He has already given us what we need.

Ask in the name of Jesus so that the Father can be glorified by the work of His Son.  Have faith in God.  He still works miracles.

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


Let us pray…  Father God, there is nothing You cannot do.  Help us, please Father, to truly believe in You and Your power.  Help us understand that You will exercise that great power on our behalf if we only have faith that You will.  Help us to ask as if we have already received.  Help us to rid ourselves of those nagging doubts that prevent You from working miracles through us.  Forgive us, please God, when our faith is less than complete.

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

Lord Jesus, You want to glorify our heavenly Father by doing miraculous works through us.  Help us, Lord, to stop thinking we have to do everything on our own power and ability.  Rid us of those thoughts in our minds that affect our hearts and fill us with doubts.  Forgive us for not fully trusting in You and our Father God. 

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.

Are We Good?

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 1st of October, 2017.   Observance of Holy Communion followed the message.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

When Jesus walked this earth, the message He tried to teach us was so radical from our normal ways of thinking that He had to come up with a means of getting His point across in a form we could understand.  So He used parables a great deal.

A parable is basically a word picture.  It uses common, everyday language and familiar events and activities to explain a complex idea.  We simply cannot understand all the mysteries of God and His heaven.  We can’t even understand why He would love us the way He does!  So Jesus painted word pictures for us, and at times even explained those because we can be so dense.

Listen and follow along as I read of one well known parable, contained in verses 1 through 9 and 13 through 20 of chapter 4 of the Apostle Mark’s Gospel account…

1 And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:

3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

--Mark 4:1-9; 13-20 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, Your thinking and Your ways are so much higher above ours that we cannot grasp all the wonders and mysteries of Your heaven.  Forgive us, please Father, those times when we have doubts because we simply don’t comprehend what Jesus tried to tell us.  Help us to understand Your message.  Speak to us now through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts.  Give us greater insight into Your will for our lives.  Help us be better soil for Your word.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


Author David Rhodes once said: "Pride is the dandelion of the soul.  Its root goes deep; only a little left behind sprouts again.  Its seeds lodge in the tiniest encouraging cracks.  And it flourishes in good soil:  The danger of pride is that it feeds on goodness."


Human pride is another of Satan’s greatest tools.  When we are filled with pride, we can more easily be angered, we tend to ignore the needs of others, we focus too much on ourselves and our personal accomplishments rather than giving Gog the glory.  Pride digs itself firmly into our very being, to where only a little praise or a small compliment can make it spring forth and blossom once again.  Even the best of us, the righteous of us, can fall sway to pride’s power, as it feeds on goodness, flourishing in good soil.  But are we good if we still let pride creep into our hearts?

Are we good?  We have to be a little careful with that question, with how we talk about being good.  Jesus warned us about that, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in chapter 19 of his Gospel account, verses 16 and 17…

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

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

--Matthew 19:16-17 (NKJV)

I find it amazing that Jesus did not consider even Himself to be good.  No one is good except God.  And with God’s goodness as a measuring stick, we certainly fall way down the scale.  But there are ways we can be good, in how we live.  And we can keep God’s goodness close to our hearts and use it and Him as our model.

In our scripture reading, Jesus tells us that God’s word falling on good soil will bear fruit thirty, sixty, even a hundred-fold.  In the Gospel account of the Apostle Luke, chapter 6 verse 43, Jesus also says…

43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.”

--Luke 6:43 (NKJV)

So if we are like a good tree in that good soil, then we will only bear good fruit.  But we need to stay good, we need to remain as good soil.

Anyone who has ever planted a garden of any size knows that for soil to become good, it must be prepared first.  The ground must be broken, over and over again, until it becomes fine and loose.  Nutrients must be added until it becomes rich and fertile, not only at first but also over time as the soil yields harvest after harvest.  For soil, even good soil, can lose its vitality.  Jesus also warns us about this, a little later on in Mark’s Gospel account, in chapter 9 verse 50, when He says…

50 “Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”

--Mark 9:50 (NKJV)

What good are we to God if we lose our flavor, our vitality, our fertility as soil?  Will His word prosper if it falls on us after we have let ourselves become nothing more that rocky, thorn-filled ground?  Will we still be good?


James G. Arcus once wrote in the magazine Moody Monthly…

A Sower one day went forth to sow;
His seed was the word of life,
The field that He sowed was the world of men
Where the briars of sin grow rife.
What seed by the wayside chanced to fall
The birds of the air devoured,
And that which fell in the barren soil
In the heat of the day expired.
'Mid thorns and tares some grew for a time,
Tho' weakened, and warped, and lean,
But harvest time found them withered and dead
For fruitless their growing had been.
But the seed that fell in the fertile soil
Bore fruit, some an hundred fold;
And the heart of the Master sang for joy
As He garnered His sheaves of gold.
In your heart, my friend, the seed is sown;
Oh, what will the harvest be,
A blackened field at the harvest time,
Or the joys of eternity?
Oh, think, dear friend, of the harvest time—
It may be tonight for you—
Will you yield your heart to the Master's call?
The Saviour is speaking to you!


Our Savior is speaking to us.  He is calling us to be good soil, to receive God’s word and let it grow and spread.  In a moment, He will be calling us to His table to Commune with Him in His broken body and shed blood.  The Apostle Paul warns us to be right with God before approaching the table, or we will be as guilty of Jesus’ death as those who pounded the nails into His hands and feet.  Take the time of prayer to repent and seek God’s forgiveness.

Are we good?  I hope so.  We may not be as good as our heavenly Father, or as Jesus, but we can be good soil for God’s word.  We can be good harvesters in His fields.

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


Let us pray…  Father God, You gave us Your word to instruct us, to help us live a good life.  You want us to return to You and live for all eternity in Your presence, so You told us how to live.  Help us to remain faithful and true to Your word, please Father.  Help us to be good soil so that Your word can grow and spread from us to others.  Forgive us, please God, when we let the sins of the world choke out the seedlings of Your word, when we let our busyness block out the sun, Your Son.

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

Lord Jesus, You knew that in our sinful state we can never be good as is our Father God.  But You also knew we could still lead a good life, and You told us how to do so.  Help us, Lord, to be good soil.  Help us to bear only good fruit.  Help us to not lose our flavor, our vitality for serving You.

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.