Sermons

Our aversion to rule by kings is understandable given our nation’s past.   But we in the church refer to Jesus as king, and the Bible refers to Him as son of another king, King David.  How can kingly rule be good when the track record of kings in so much of history is dismal?  This text describes the qualifications of a good king from God’s point of view.  The aim of our Advent sermons this month is to see the significance of viewing Jesus as the Son of David and how that relates to our redemption.  

Jerry Croyt (November 20, 2022)

Psalm 34:  Even under duress, David the psalmist finds reason to bless the Lord.  In this text, he calls the listener to do the same and, even more, to savor the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord and to place one’s fear of the Lord over the inevitable competing fears that come from less worthy sources.

Genesis 1:20-25:  As we continue through the account of God’s preparation of the earth for humankind, we come to the fifth day when He blesses the earth with living things in air, sea, and land.  The world bursts forth with the evidence of His provision, drawn from His wealth of intrinsic authority, beauty, and power.   A rational response by us would be thanksgiving and worship, but instead we have sought our own wealth and way.  What then is His response to us?

Genesis 1:14–19

Our God, the God of the Bible,  provides for us through His creation.  But how?  And why?  The example in this day’s text is His creation of the lights in the heavens, especially the sun and the moon for their appointed purposes as instruments of our care.  And in this we see our utter dependence on Him for all that we have.

Genesis 1:6-13: Nothing that happens to us occurs by chance, but rather by God’s providence. In our continuing Genesis narrative of God’s acts of creation, we see Him creating earth and sky, land and sea, separating out parts for their intended purpose. These creative acts reveal how God cares for us, and why.

Genesis 1:1–5: God reigns and rules supreme over time: He is the Lord of Time, and therefore we should submit our works to Him humbly. In addition to considering what this means for our lives, Pastor Taylor also walks through the debate over the meaning of the word “day” in Genesis.

If we are to rest in God, we must rest in Him through His word. By His word God created light and gives us knowledge of Himself. Of even greater wonder, God reveals Himself to us by His Word, the True Light, Who is the Son. Through Jesus we come to know the Father and can rest in God.

Last week Pastor Taylor’s sermon helped us see the role of God the Father in Creation. Taylor reminded the congregation that Genesis does not explain “everything” about creation. There are some questions we have for which God chose not to provide detailed answers. Some of those questions we need faith to accept. Today we learned more about the God the Holy Spirit. Genesis 1:2 teaches that it was the Spirit of God hovering over the chaos.

In Genesis 1:1, Pastor Taylor considers the question, How big is your God? Because God is big, we should give Him our hearts, but there is a more mysterious and wonderful reason to give Him our hearts: the Father has created us for Himself.

Jerry Croyts, whom we are always privileged to have, was our guest preacher today. His text was the telling of the two men praying: one a Pharisee and the other a ‘tax collector’. Each of these two had an “I” problem; each had a heart problem. One was justified before God-the other was not. Listen.

In his final “Galatians” series of sermons, Pastor Taylor Summarizes with St Paul, that the key to the gospel is not our works (efforts) nor our lack of effort (faith) but whether in fact there is a new creation. That there is evidence that a person has changed; has become “new” in their motivations, they thoughts, their goals and their behaviors.

God has created His world to operate according to certain laws. And those laws have a relation to the spiritual world. One of those laws is the law of sowing and reaping. What we sow determines what we will reap. How do we know we are sowing true spirituality and not false spirituality?

In Chapter 6 of St Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he states three “commands” to which Christ followers should adhere: 1) restore, 2) take care, be humble, and 3) evaluate yourself. Pastor Taylor addresses these commands in Sunday’s sermon.

YIKES! Those are some big words! Theological words? These big words can scare some people off. Pastor Taylor’s sermon on Sunday attempted to explain these in “layman’s terms”.

God has told us how we know when we serving one another in love and are walking by the Spirit. Learn how God desires his people to be happy, sappy, and ever green.

If we are to serve one another in love and to walk by the Spirit, what are those things which are contrary to the Spirit? If we find ourselves producing the works of the flesh, what are we to do? What do the works of the flesh tell us about our salvation?