Yahweh's Promise to Zion

 The sermon from December 25, 2021. The text is Isaiah 52:7-10:

How beautiful upon the mountains

    are the feet of him who brings good news,

who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,

    who publishes salvation,

    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

8 The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;

    together they sing for joy;

for eye to eye they see

    the return of the Lord to Zion.

9 Break forth together into singing,

    you waste places of Jerusalem,

for the Lord has comforted his people;

    he has redeemed Jerusalem.

10 The Lord has bared his holy arm

    before the eyes of all the nations,

and all the ends of the earth shall see

    the salvation of our God.

Yahweh's Promise to Bethlehem

 The sermon from December 19, 2021. The text is Micah 5:2-5:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

    one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old,

    from ancient days.

3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time

    when she who is in labor has given birth;

then the rest of his brothers shall return

    to the people of Israel.

4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,

    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great

    to the ends of the earth.

5 And he shall be their peace.

Yahweh's Promise to Jerusalem

 The sermon from December 12, 2021. The text is Zephaniah 3:14-20:

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

    shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

    O daughter of Jerusalem!

15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

    he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

    you shall never again fear evil.

16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

“Fear not, O Zion;

    let not your hands grow weak.

17 The Lord your God is in your midst,

    a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

    he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

18 I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,

    so that you will no longer suffer reproach.

19 Behold, at that time I will deal

    with all your oppressors.

And I will save the lame

    and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

    and renown in all the earth.

20 At that time I will bring you in,

    at the time when I gather you together;

for I will make you renowned and praised

    among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

    before your eyes,” says the Lord.

Yahweh Promises Justice

 The sermon from December 5, 2021. The text is Malachi 3:1-7:

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.

Yahweh is a God of Promises

 The sermon from November 28, 2021. The text is Jeremiah 33:14-16:

 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

Stay Awake

 The sermon from November 21, 2021. The text is Mark 13:24-37:

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

A People of Destiny

 The sermon from November 14, 2021. The text is Daniel 12:1-3:

“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Who Are They?

 The sermon from November 7, 2021. The text is Revelation 7:9-17:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

What Did You Come Out to See?

 The sermon from October 31, 2021. The text is from Matthew 11:12-19:

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

17 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

    we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

Lord, Have Mercy!

 The sermon from October 24, 2021. Due to technical challenges the sermon is printed below:

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

He was blind. This already gives Bartimaeus a leg up on pretty much everyone else in the Gospel of Mark. Those who get to know Jesus through their eyes never really quite get it. They don’t totally see Jesus, if at all. But Bartimaeus can’t use his eyes. He must use his ears. He must hear about Jesus. What He says. What He does. And faith comes by hearing.

While begging on side of the road, Bartimaeus hears that Jesus of Nazareth is drawing near, so he cries, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 47) That title says a lot about what Bartimaeus believes, about who he believes Jesus of Nazareth is: the son promised to David, the king who would sit on the throne forever. The chosen one. The Messiah. The Saviour. And Bartimaeus knows that Jesus is the king who has mercy.

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 47) And the crowds walking with Jesus rebuke him. They try to silence him. We’re not told why they try to silence this beggar, nor should we try to fill in what the Bible leaves blank. That’s a dangerous game. Instead, it is better to ask: what is it that silences your cries?

The world can convince us that dependence on the Lord is weak, embarrassing, fruitless. They come alongside us as we cry to the Lord and they tell us to stop. It’s embarrassing. “You keep crying,” they say, “but we don’t see anything happening, nothing changes.” “Lord, have mercy” makes us stick out from the crowd. It makes us different from everyone else. It keeps us from fitting into that multicultural message that says such cries & faith are old-fashioned, worthy of ridicule, not trendy & hip. “Lord have mercy” won’t always let you fit in with friends or even parts of your family. Thus there’s the pressure when they visit, or when we visit them, it’s not the best to take the time to go to church to pray for the Lord’s mercy, it’s not the best time to say our prayers. We wouldn’t want to stick out, be disruptive, or be rude. That’s just one way the world silences our cries.

The devil is a crafty demon. He can make rebuke sound pious, so right. He can take what God speaks in the law and use it against us and God’s will. His will is that law be used to chase us into the arms of Jesus. The devil’s will is that the law be used to chase us into the arms of despair—hopelessness. The devil uses our sins to deceive us that God could never save us, that there’s a chance that He might not even want us. He puts a question mark where God puts a period. “Did God really say… Have you seen how you treat other people? Have you seen how much black death is in your heart? Have you seen the vile thoughts that run through your heart in anger & passion? There’s no way God could have mercy on you,” So our cries are silenced in guilt and shame.

Or perhaps we think that since we’re baptized, that since the curtain’s been ripped in two at Jesus’ and we can go directly to the throne of grace, we no longer need to pray to God for mercy. Or, perhaps we look at the Christians around us & find all the specks in their eyes & convince selves don’t need mercy because we don’t have those same specks that we find in everyone else. Both are the same error. Pride. Failing to see the log firmly wedged in our own eyes. The log that ought to bar us from the throne of grace, the log that deserves only the wrath of the Lord. And our cries are silenced because we don’t need the mercy of the Lord. The Old Adam, that sinner that lives in all of us hates mercy, despises charity, rejects pity. Which is exactly what Jesus is—the mercy, charity, pity of God for fallen humanity. So then, when we silence our cries for mercy in pride is to also speak a despising word on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus.

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 47) Look at the power that little prayer has with Jesus. He hears & stops. Literally, He takes His stand. At the sound of that prayer, everything stops. Though the crowd had tried to silence him, though they deemed this beggar to be the last among the crowd, Jesus takes His stand with Bartimaeus.

Why He came. To take His stand with sinners. To stand firm with sinners in need of mercy. To take His stand with those who call out to Him for mercy. That’s what the Son of David does. He comes to be the king who has mercy. The Messiah who stands with those in need, who cry out to Him & give Himself so that they might be healed. And the Son of David who has mercy with nothing but a word. Bartimaeus received his sight. He’s made well. But so much more. That word for made well means so much more. It means “saved.” It’s the same word that the Bible uses to declare that we are saved. Saved from the world, the devil, and our own sinful flesh.

Now Jesus comes to you who cry to Him every Lord’s day in Kyrie: “Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!” Now Jesus comes to you who cry out to Him each & every day: “Lord, have mercy!” He takes His stand with you who’re last, who’re least in your wayward hearts. He stands firm with you by virtue of the cross that He endured for you. He’s the Messiah who has mercy by giving Himself to death. The Son of David come to die that you might live. The King who stands on the path to cross to give Himself to answer for your greatest need. He’ll give His blood for your sin, offer His body on the cross to bring healing to your broken conscience. To give life to your dying heart and body.

“Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well.’” (v. 52) Healing and salvation are a packaged deal with the Lord. The faith that healed Bartimaeus is the faith that saved him. It wasn’t like Bartimaeus was healed and saved because his faith was so strong. He was healed & saved because his faith was in Jesus. And faith knew that Jesus was strong.

We always want to quantify faith, but we run into so many problems when we talk about needing a strong faith, or ensuring that our faith is always strong. Faith is something you either have or you don’t. Even if that faith is weak, riddled with questions and doubts and hanging by thread either you have it or you don’t. And faith saves because Jesus is strong. Jesus is special. Jesus is the Son of David who came to have mercy, to heal your flesh broken by sin.

His healing starts when He opens the eyes of faith through your ears. With his eyes opened, “Immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.” (v. 52) The way of Bartimaeus is now with Jesus, and the way of Jesus is to go to Jerusalem. To the way to cross. To Good Friday and Easter. To the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

Such is the way of Jesus. It is the road to death, not only for Jesus but for all who cry to Him for mercy & walk with Him. It is the way for all who are baptized onto this road with Jesus.

It is a road that goes through the grave. Through the watery grave of Baptism and daily repentance. The road that goes among the feeble and frail, the weak-hearted and slow to believe, the prideful and despairing. It is the road that rises from the watery grave to life in Christ, to life in the mercy of Christ to receive the sight of the merciful Saviour who promises healing to all who call on Him, whether in this or in next.

This road leads straight into this congregation, up this very aisle this very morning to the altar. Here He calls you. Inviting you to walk with Him and Bartimaeus and all the company of stragglers who’ve cried out for mercy and found salvation in the words of Jesus. But this road doesn’t stop here. It goes back out again into your homes, your neighbourhoods, your families, and all those video chats across our county, province, nation, and the world that we’ve all become so familiar with nowadays to stand firm in Lord’s mercy with those who need mercy. You travel along this road with your Jesus who’s given you sight & salvation. You travel with Him who has given you the eyes to see Him as your Lord and Redeemer. The eyes to see all who are troubled around you.

He was blind. Yet he saw Jesus clearer than anyone. Faith spoke its humble prayer. The only prayer that could put this blind beggar and His Lord and Saviour into the same sentence: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What Must I Do to Inherit Eternal Life?

 The sermon from October 10, 2021. The text is Mark 10:17-22:

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Jesus is For Kids

 The sermon from October 3, 2021. The text is Mark 10:13-16:

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

He is With You When Faith is Hanging By a Thread

 The sermon from September 12, 2021. The text is Mark 9:14-29:

  And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

The Dying Plans of Man

 The sermon from September 5, 2021. The text is Psalm 146:

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Put not your trust in princes,

    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;

    on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

    whose hope is in the Lord his God,

6 who made heaven and earth,

    the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

7     who executes justice for the oppressed,

    who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

8     the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

    the Lord loves the righteous.

9 The Lord watches over the sojourners;

    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The Lord will reign forever,

    your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

What Pollutes You?

The sermon preached on August 29, 2021. The text is Mark 7:14-23:

And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”(Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Hard Words of Spirit & Life

 The sermon from August 15, 2021. The text is John 6:51-69:

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

The Exodus and the Bread of Life

The sermon from August 8, 2021. The text is John 6:35-51:

 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

 

The Food the Son of Man Gives

 The sermon from August 1, 2021. The text is John 6:22-35:

On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

God's Sign in Dark Clouds

 The sermon from July 25, 2021. The text is Genesis 9:8-17:

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

One in Christ

 The sermon preached on July 18, 2021. The text is Ephesians 2:11-22:

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Thus Says the Lord Yahweh

 The sermon from July 4, 2021. The text is Ezekiel 2:1-5:

And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5 And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Your Jesus Has Saved You

 The sermon preached on June 27, 2021 on Mark 5:24-34:

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Do You Wish You Were There?

 The sermon from May 30, 2021. The text is Isaiah 6:1-8:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Who Are You?

The sermon preached on May 9, 2021. The text is 1 John 5:1-8:

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.