Luke 4-5:13; 6:24-30 “The Sin Offering”

February 16, 2020
People make mistakes. It’s part of what it means to be human. We have been moving into the age of artificial intelligence. Super computers, smart phones, smart homes, and smart cars. They are working on cars that drive themselves! Why? Because human drivers make mistakes. We make bad choices. People drive under the influence, drive too fast, drive too aggressive, drive too sleepy. You get the idea. Peple make mistakes and so if we can make computers that remember everything, can evaluate and make the best decision, well then the thinking goes that we can save humanity from ourselves. And yet for all the promise of technology, we still figure out a way to make a mess of our lives with technology too. Why? Because we are human, and we are fallen, and we live in a fallen world. Now I’m not anti-technology, I like my iPhone thank you very much. But we can’t put our hope, our faith in technology. Well if we did, we’d be making another mistake. When we make mistakes, something has to be done about it. There is someone we can turn to. And that is what we will find in our text this morning.
Preacher :
Passage: Luke 4-5:13; 6:24-30
Service Type:

Leviticus 2, 6:14-23 “The Grain Offering”

January 26, 2020
Celebrating Thanksgiving in one of my favorite holidays. We have so much to be grateful to God. That we as a nation would mark out that date to celebrate is a good thing, a healthy thing. As we continue studying in Leviticus, looking at these Jewish offerings, I want you to be thinking, “what can I glean from God’s word that I can apply to my life.” Of course we don’t offer these gifts in exactly the same manner, but the principles undergirding these offerings are directly applicable in the New Covenant Christian life. And as you know, we Christians are to be thankful year round! So when we present our offerings that is certainly what motivates our giving. We give thankfully and cheerfully. We give because we love.
Preacher :
Passage: Leviticus 2, 6:14-23
Service Type:

Leviticus 1:2-17; 6:8-13 “The Burnt Offering”

January 19, 2020
When I mention the word offerings, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Maybe you get a mental picture of your billfold, your purse, or checkbook. Maybe the image of an offering plate circulating around comes to mind. But I wonder if a different image comes to mind when I add the word “sacrifice.” A sacrificial offering. Maybe now the idea of animal sacrifice surfaces. We are, after all, undertaking the study of the Old Testament, and much is said on the topic of sacrifice. As we think about sacrificial offering the concepts of value and cost begin to emerge. There is a cost associated with offering and sacrifice. Ultimately sacrificial offering finds its fulfillment in the greatest and most perfect offering and sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the life of Jesus Christ. And as glorious as his sacrifice is, are we done with topics of offerings and sacrifice? Is there anything more for us to think about for the New Testament church, living under the New Covenant? When we take the Lord’s Supper together we are proclaiming the death of the Lord Jesus and He has charged us to do it in remembrance of Him. So I think the biblical understanding of sacrifice and offerings continue to be important. It is relevant for our lives today, and it is especially relevant for our worship. We do not want to worship in ignorance. As Jesus explained to the woman at the well. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:22–24) It is absolutely necessary that we get both aspects of this right for us to worship God. And recall that it didn’t take the new nation of Israel very long to mess up in worshiping a false god, going so far in fact to create the golden calf. Someone might think, “Yeah that was a pretty stupid idea.” But yet, how easily do we become distracted, giving other things in our lives more priority in our hearts, essentially worshiping some other thing, or idol, in our lives? We were created to worship. More accurately, we were created to worship our Creator! We will worship someone or something. We will adore the world, ourselves, or we can worship God and do so rightly, as He has prescribed. God chose the Levites to help his people worship properly. God created us, and He created us to worship him. He gets to say how that worship is to be conducted. And the key we must remember, is that worship does not begin with us. It is not about our felt needs, or otherwise. Worship begins with God. Once we understand our place, (He is God, we are not, He is the Creator, we are the creatures) then we will understand that we are fallen creatures and we are of unclean lips as Isaiah said. He is Holy, Holy, Holy and we are not. Worship is to be focused on God, not on man. If you come away from worship thinking what a great time you had, how funny the sermon was, how entertaining it was, then you’ve got it wrong. If you come away from worship service, with a greater appreciation for how glorious, how magnificent, how wonderful our God is, how Holy He is, then your worship has its proper focus. And if you are a child of God, then you need to pay attention to lest you worship in ignorance, and not in spirit and truth.
Preacher :
Passage: Leviticus 1:2-17; 6:8-13
Service Type:

Leviticus 1:1-2 “Introduction: Why Study Leviticus?”

January 12, 2020
Why Leviticus? Did pastor spin the dial and Leviticus popped out? Well there are many reasons to think about for why we should undertake the study of the book of Leviticus. There are deep theological truths to be mined here, but not just so that we gain knowledge for our heads. There are truths here that will impact you, that will speak to how you are living, how you are conducting your lives as a child of God. And the book of Leviticus is also properly foundational to the understanding of the book of Hebrews which, Lord willing, is where in the not too terrible distant future we will be headed. So I hope that this is a book that you will not find to be boring, but instead will find to be enlightening to your heart and mind as you come to know your God more intimately through his Word.
Preacher :
Passage: Leviticus 1:1-2
Service Type:

Matthew 1:18-25 “Uncomfortable News? Best News Ever!”

December 22, 2019
Christmas time! The spirit of giving, singing, making joyful melody in the heart. Warm and fuzzy commercials on TV. Like I remember the Folgers commercial where the young man comes home from college and sneaks in the house and wakes everybody up with the aroma of fresh coffee. The trouble with all the sentimentality and commercialism is we lose sight of the real reason for Christmas. We run the risk of making the holiday, the holy day, an unholy day, without the true focus being on God. We the church, must never forget the real story of Christmas. It is amazing to think that God would become man so that he would die as a man in order to save the lives of man. There are two birth narratives in the gospels, one is Luke’s account, but this morning we consider Matthew’s account. This amazing news of Jesus’ birth is at first unsettling, especially to Joseph. But as God reveals his plan, Joseph not only comes to accept the news, but it becomes the best news ever, because his salvation is evidenced by his obedience.
Preacher :
Passage: Matthew 1:18-25
Service Type:

Luke 2:8-20 “The Heralded Advent and Worship of Jesus”

December 15, 2019
Advent season. We are right in the middle of the advent season. Christians, this is the time of the year when we look forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus, the incarnation. But it's also a time when we remember the promise of his return, the second coming, the second advent. In a text this morning we will consider his birth and how God had fulfilled his promise to send the Messiah, his chosen one who would save his people. So as we dig into our text this morning we will find the characters of the shepherd's, the angels, and the amazing plan of God in sovereignly orchestrating the giving of the good news. I pray that as you hear this message this morning you find yourself relating to the shepherds and see that God speaks to you wherever you are.
Preacher :
Passage: Luke 2:8-20
Service Type:

Nehemiah 8:1-12 “Eat, Drink and Make Great Rejoicing!”

December 8, 2019
Thanksgiving holiday is upon us. Maybe when you hear of Thanksgiving you think of a big feast, huge turkey and all the yummy sides that go with it. Maybe the Norman Rockwell painting comes to mind with everyone gathered at the table with grandma placing the big bird down as grandpa oversees with approval. Or maybe it’s the football games, sitting around the big screen, cheering on your favorite team. Or maybe it’s just enjoying the family time, getting to catch up with your relatives. Maybe someone will have the opportunity to hear a history lesson of how the observance of the holiday came to be. Maybe, and I would hope that many of us here in this room, would take the opportunity of remembrance and giving thanks to our God. And that’s why I selected this text in Nehemiah this morning. In it we will find the occasion to praise God and to celebrate.
Preacher :
Passage: Nehemiah 8:1-12
Service Type: