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Psalm 23 may be the most quoted passage in all of Scripture. Its beauty is matched by its depth as David describes the good Shepherd leading His sheep in the way of the cross.
More than all others, this is the psalm of the cross, the clearest description of the agony and glory of our redemption. Like Isaiah 53, this text reveals the horror of Golgotha and Jesus’ trust in the Father that carried Him to victory.
Psalm 21 celebrates the coronation and reign of the king and has been called David’s triumphant song. Like many psalms, it’s fulfilled in the Son of David, the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Solomon comes to the end of his book talking about the end of life. How do we live this life knowing it won’t last forever? By the grace of God, our approaching death is no impediment to joy, but a reason to enjoy and thank Him.
Solomon delivers pointed advice for working in this inscrutable world. Though life is hevel, out of our control, this does not mean that wisdom and hard work are pointless. Despite our inability to figure it all out or guarantee results, we are to work smart and hard. Plow, plant, and leave the increase to the Lord.
In the fourth and final section of Ecclesiastes, the Preacher reinforces what he has already set out and pushes wisdom into the corners. Or to change the metaphor, he builds new stories upon the foundation he has already laid. These are not castles in the sky, but God’s gift to the forgiven today.
We have to look beyond appearances to understand prosperity, poverty, people, and now power. Rulers are a subset of mysterious mankind so king Solomon provides wisdom for dealing with those who have power.
NOTE - We have a new sound system and discovered a setting that will improve the recording for next week.
All is vapor and out of our control, and what is more mysterious than the wildest creature on earth—mankind? In this section Solomon has shown that outward appearances aren’t always what they seem. Just because someone appears prosperous doesn’t mean they can enjoy their wealth. Adversity for the faithful is a means to glory. Now he talks about people: how to understand them with wisdom, how to avoid faux wisdom, and the gift the God that makes your face shine.
At Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church so that we would believe the gospel and live walk its power. The Spirit does the will of the Father and applies the work of Christ to the believer, revealing to us the deep things of God.
NOTE - There was an incident with the sound equipment and recording quality for this sermon was poor.
God is the giver every good and perfect gift, as James says, but just because someone has received a lot does not mean he can enjoy it. Qoheleth addresses the inequalities obvious in a vaporous world. Rather than thwart or contradict the plan of God, these are established by Him. God gives us wisdom lit to teach the simple and to increase the learning of the wise. These verses won’t make it onto any inspirational posters, but they will deepen your knowledge and love for your creator.
God is sovereign over all things, and even though life is vapor and impossible for man to control, Solomon does not tell us to despair. Just because you are not in control of everything, does not mean you can’t control anything. Wisdom matters. Solomon addressed ethical and philosophical objections to God’s sovereignty in, now he through practical problems, building to the conclusion. It’s the gift of God to enjoy the good of your labor, and not just at the end of the day, but in all the ways you conduct yourself. In His kindness God gives prudence and wisdom, and this affects every minute of life.
The Lord will make everything beautiful in its time, but in the snapshot, it sure doesn’t look like it. The sovereignty of God is controversial because we have a hard time dealing with who God is in light of what we’ve done to this world. The Preacher paints a picture of the good life without ignoring all the dark and difficult things under the sun. Without God, there is no problem of evil. With Him, there are answers.
The world and everything in it is completely out of our control, vapor of vapors. We experience endless cycles of repetition such that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Cliches are repeated because they are true, and you’ll hear them again. Satisfaction out of man’s reach, but this does not mean it’s out of God’s reach; those who trust and rest in Him receive this gift and rejoice in their labor under the sun. Solomon turns now to consider the inscrutable march of time. We cannot make the crooked straight, but He makes everything beautiful in its time.
Solomon begins Ecclesiastes saying that human toil delivers no lasting gain on the earth. Now he describes how he came to that conclusion. He touched, tasted, felt, heard, sung, built, acquired and excelled more than all who were in Jerusalem before him (and since). Even wisdom, apart from the gift of God, will not avail in the search for satisfaction.
While everything in the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit, not everything is equally important. Paul tells the Corinthians that the gospel—the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead—is of first importance, and without it their faith is empty. The resurrection is not an important thing with no connection to anything else. It’s important because it relates to everything else.
Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey headed for victory, but only He knows what sort of victory it will be. John shows different crowds converging to see Lazarus and the one who raised him from the dead. Jesus marks this as the hour that has arrived not to show Himself as the one who brought one man out of the grave, but as one who will go to the grave Himself and bring everyone out.
We’ve considered why we worship the way we do, how the Lord renews us in His covenant through the ministry of word and sacrament on the Lord’s Day. Worship is an end, if not the end, in itself: “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (Ps. 27:4). But we are sent out from this service to transform all of life, so we consider what we are sent to do and some specific impacts of worship.
Worship culminates at the Lord’s Supper when we sit down to commune with Him. We move from confession to consecration to communion, following the order of worship given to us. We’re invited by the call, cleansed from our sins, transformed by the word, fed at the table, and then sent out blessed and equipped for the work of ministry.
After God forgives our sins, He teaches and transforms us in through the power of His word. It’s not just that we read, hear, sing, and consider and believe Scripture, as living and powerful it pierces, discerns, and exposes us. This occurred through the ascension offering in the old covenant, and now we through Christ.
Worship is dialogical: a conversation between God and His people. He speaks and we respond, and one of the most weighted and wonderful words we use is amen. It’s not a space-filler or simply an emotional expression, but a word taken in covenant oath to agree, believe, uphold, and abide by thing spoken. The Lord’s people have amened for millennia, looking to Jesus who is our amen
The church of Jesus Christ is the company of the forgiven. We enjoy the forgiveness of sins as we confess our sins to God, and in the worship service it happens near the beginning. Understanding and practicing this trains us for a life of consistent joy and strength.
Through Christ we come to the heavenly Zion, the new Jerusalem where we worship the Lord with all His people on the Lord’s Day. What are doing when we do this? We offer ourselves to Him as living sacrifices, and He receives and transforms us, renewing covenant with us. Understanding covenant renewal worship explains what we do and the great blessing the Lord has for us through it.
In worship we meet with the living God to honor and glorify His name. When we do this faithfully, the kingdom of God advances not just in our individual lives but in the world. This is not a magic trick or arbitrary mechanism for spreading the gospel, but the way God designed it. When we worship Him through Christ in heaven, doing His will there, His will is naturally done through us on the earth.
Christmas unfolds for 12 days and then the church celebrates Epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles which occurred when the Magi came to Bethlehem. This celebration emphasizes the immediate and ongoing impact of Jesus among the nations. The wise men teach us to worship and honor the king
The job of the Christian church is to be salt and light in the world by believing, preaching, and living out the uncompromised gospel that Jesus Christ is Lord over all. As the Seattle Symphony sang, “He shall reign forever and ever.” That this sounds too extreme to most pastors (!) today accounts for a recent meme that says, “If Paul were around today, the church would be getting a letter.” These texts from Revelation and Hebrews contain a letter of sorts, reminding us that the church has been overtaken by sin before and called to repentance, just as we need to be today. This message focuses on the state of the church in our country but includes exhortations for us locally
The miracle of the incarnation upended everything. The Greeks were fine with gods gallivanting around the world just so long as they and their followers supported the state. The Jews wanted a messiah, but he couldn’t come from a jerkwater town, and he certainly couldn’t claim to be God and go around acting like Him—forgiving sins, raising the dead, and claiming authority over the temple. Jesus did all of these things as true man and true God, the human and divine natures existing in the single person born in Bethlehem, born to the virgin Mary, born to set His people free.
In Psalm 20 Israel needs help in the upcoming day of the trouble. We don’t know which specific events provoked this psalm, but we know God gave it to us for all our days of trouble. Israel prays for their king and teaches us to pray for ours. And like all Scripture, this psalm points to Christ and was fulfilled by Him.
We live in a world where God speaks. Creation bursts with His beauty and splendor. The inspired Scriptures preach the gospel and the whole counsel of God. And the Spirit applies these words to our hearts and minds. Psalm 19 has been called the greatest poem in the Psalter, a fitting psalm to describe the Lord’s revelation.
David sings a nearly identical song in 2 Samuel 22 celebrating God’s deliverance from the hand of Saul and all his enemies throughout his life. This psalm of thanksgiving bears the heart of the who man who was after God’s own heart. Here we see a blazing faith and renewed mind on display as David reflects on what God has done and what He will do.
The psalms teach us how to pray and live, and the theme of justice occurs frequently in them. David’s enemies plot wickedly against him, and he wants God to hear a just cause and stop them. The Lord would have us pray in the same way, calling on Him to act in the world on the basis of His covenant love and righteousness.
This psalm is a desperate cry for deliverance made from steadfast faith in the deliverer. David’s expectation goes far beyond the present trouble, declaring the Lord will ultimately deliver him, body and soul, from the grave. The New Testament reveals the fulfillment of this promise to the Lord Jesus Christ who was raised up by the Father and seated at His right hand.
How are we to live in the house of God? We see in this psalm the efficacious grace of our God that not only brings us into His tabernacle but transforms us within it. He brings us into His presence and transforms us to live in covenant union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Sin begins in the heart where the fool tells himself there is no God. Though he doesn’t confess this outwardly, his actions reveal a practical atheism that would devour the people of God. Thankfully, the Lord has other plans and teaches us so sing them in grateful praise to our King.
In this Psalm David calls on God from the brink of death and despair, and yet finishes his song full of faith. His prayer consists of petitions, statements of faith, and arguments for why God should do what he asks.
Psalm 12 is a desperate cry for help, one that we need to study and apply in our times when spin doctors abound.
The book of Psalms runs the gamut of human emotion and experience while always directing us to trust God. This is no glib or easy faith, but one that looks to the Lord and remains steadfast when everything seems to be crumbling.
God establishes new households, families that receive and fulfill His promises to bless us to a thousand generations. We pass on the testimonies and praises of Yahweh so that coming generations would tell their children and set their hope on God.
The word of God is sufficient to equip us for every good work, including parenting teenagers. Like every age, kids during these years have particular temptations which ought to cause parents to seek the Lord and His wisdom during these delightful years.
For many Christians today the topic of education doesn’t belong in a sermon about the family. What does this have to do with the Christian household? In a biblical understanding of sphere sovereignty, God assigns parents, and fathers in particular, the responsibility to educate their children. Formal education from kindergarten through twelfth grade consists of about 16,000 hours, easily the largest investment of time and resources in a child’s life.
God is a faithful Father who disciplines us in love because He delights in us. Parents must imitate Him as they discipline their children, resting in His promises and delighting in their children.
God brought Adam and Eve together in perfect union, and out of that unity people are made: “But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring”. Solomon says a man is blessed with children not because they are cute or fun, though they are, but because they will speak with enemies in the gate.
We’ve seen God establishing His covenant of grace not just with individuals but with households, promising to bless to a thousand generations. These blessed generations are made in the covenant of marriage, the wonderful union of man and woman.
What is a Christian household? We live in a time when God wants us to relearn the basics, not because He is pedantic but because we have forgotten. What is a man, what is a woman, what is a marriage, what is a family—these foundational questions are answered by the Lord so that we can know who we are (identity) and what we are doing (mission). All of the Bible is applicable to all of God’s people because we are united in Christ as brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and sons and daughters. Therefore whether you are young or old, married or single, parents or not, this entire series on the Christian Household is yours.
Matthew concludes his gospel with the great commission, Jesus command to make disciples of the all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to do everything He commanded. This is the mission of the church and therefore of every Christian.
Sermon from guest preacher Joshua Edgren, ministerial student at Greyfriars Hall in Moscow, Idaho.
In order for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on the Church, Jesus had to leave. This was a hard pill for the apostles to swallow because they didn’t have the Spirit post-Pentecost yet. But He has been given so that we would understand His work over the past 2000 years and carry it on.
How did an ancient instrument of execution become the most powerful symbol of salvation in world? We must never forget how the cross became what it is. Matthew reveals the pain, mockery, and God-forsakenness that Jesus endured for the salvation of the world.
The wise men lauded Jesus as a King at His birth, and when He rode into Jerusalem on donkey the crowds hailed Him as the Son of David. But now the King is on trial. According to custom, someone will be released at the feast, either Jesus or Barabbas. It should be Jesus, but it isn’t. Instead, He dies in Barabbas’ place. The cross is like a diamond that you can look at from many angles, and here Matthew shows Christ as our royal substitute.
Because we are a sinful people made in the image of a righteous God, we have an inescapable need for atonement—to be right with Him. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins, and if men will not receive Christ’s atonement which is offered by grace, they will try to find a substitute to deal with their guilt. But only His blood can cover our sins and restore us to fellowship with the living God.
Before Jesus goes to the cross, He takes the stand in front of the Sanhedrin who falsely accuse in order to execute Him. The whole setup violates the standards of justice in Israel, reveals the depths of our enmity with God, and displays the unconquerable love of our Savior.
Throughout the Gospel of Matthew Jesus has been boldly proclaiming and living out the kingdom of God. Lies, slander, and the attacks of enemies have had little effect on His ministry, and the disciples, though often mistaken and immature, have stuck with Him. This is about to change; all will be made to stumble this night. We see that Jesus is a stumbling stone not just to His enemies, but to those who love Him. And as He nears the cross and feels death bearing down, He falls on His face, asking God to let this cup pass. But it can’t and so He trusts the Father to restore Him.
Passover commemorates the freedom of the Jews from slavery and death in Egypt. The angel passed over the houses marked with blood, sparing the death of the firstborn. Israel celebrated this foundational feast in the first month, Nisan 14, and then kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread until the 21st. Jesus observes Passover with His disciples, but it becomes clear that He will not be passed over. Judas will betray and hand Him over, but the apostles will forsake Him. Knowing this, Jesus loves them anyway and establishes the new foundational feast of the people of God, the Lord’s Supper.
Christians generally understand that Jesus died on the cross and made atonement for our sins. But what happened when He rose from the dead? What does it matter that Jesus came out of the grave with the same body He had before? It’s true as far as it goes that Jesus died so we would go to heaven when we die, but this leaves out the full impact of His resurrection. The enmity that ruled the world since the fall of Adam died on the cross with Jesus. His resurrection declared His victory sine and death, and the reconciliation of all things in heaven and earth to God the Father.
Jesus finished all these sayings. He completed the five discourses including the Sermon on the Mount, Sermon on Mission, Parables of the Kingdom, Sermon on the Church, and the Olivet Discourse. He delivered the whole counsel of God and up to this point He has constantly confounded His enemies, speaking with authority and not as the scribes. But from here He will say very little, but instead will be “betrayed” and “handed over” repeatedly. In this passage, two groups gather at very different houses to consider the price of Christ’s blood.
In this final sermon in Matthew, Jesus describes the great judgment that will come upon all nations and individuals within them. So far in the Olivet Discourse Jesus has been predicting the destruction of the temple, which would take place within one generation, and warning His people to be ready for it. With the end of His life in sight, He tells the disciples what to focus on for the rest of theirs. When He comes in glory and they stand before Him, what will matter?
For most of history Christians have been persecuted for their faith. Jesus’ life and message was so threatening to the leadership of Israel that they had Him executed, hoping to be done with Him. But then the Father raised Him up and poured the Holy Spirit out on the church. The disciples proclaimed the same world-transforming gospel and eleven of them died as martyrs (John finished his days in exile), expanding the kingdom even further. In the Olivet Discourse Jesus prepares His people for the tribulation and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by teaching them how to be fruitful in the meantime while the master is away. They did not bury their talents but invested them to great profit and entered into joy of their Lord. We ought to be fruitful in hard times because we’ve been faithful in easy times.
Jesus has been delivering a lot of specific information and instruction. He said within one generation not one stone of the temple would be left upon another, that His disciples would encounter false Christs, hear rumors of wars, know of earthquakes and famines, and then be delivered up death. When they would see the abomination that causes desolation—false worship in the temple like Daniel saw—then they should leave the city. But now He says no one knows the exact day or hour and therefor they must watch and be ready. Instead of telling believers to hightail it immediately to a serene country, He wants them to stick around and be faithful disciples in Jerusalem. Decades will pass and it will feel like nothing is happening, so He warns them to be vigilant. They must be ready to go when it’s time, but not before.
So far in the Olivet Discourse Jesus has mostly described what will precede the destruction of the temple when “not one stone will be left here upon another”. He says not to be troubled when they would hear about false Christs, wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes: these are just the beginning of sorrows. This instruction prepared the church to be ready at the right time for the worst, knowing it would be ultimately for the best. This whole passage is fulfilled in 70 AD, but Jesus tells His disciples not to be frightened by all the things that frighten those who are worried about the end times—wars, rumors of war, etc. Instead, He shapes the church to thrive and be more faithful and fruitful in hard times.
The Olivet Discourse, Jesus’ last and longest, occurs in Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus is the new Israel who is called out of Egypt, baptized in the Jordan River, tempted in the wilderness, ascends the mountain like Moses to teach the law, sends disciples like Joshua to take the land, establishes the kingdom as David did, teaches wisdom like Solomon, and now like Jeremiah He warns Israel of the temple’s destruction and judgment. He makes it clear these things will take place within a generation, which makes this text no less relevant to our time. We live in God’s world where there are wars and rumors of wars, nations rise and fall, churches thrive and perish, and God’s kingdom comes from heaven to earth anyway.
In His eighth and final woe, Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees for building the tombs of the prophets while being just like their fathers who murdered them. His imminent death will prove Him right, but He makes an even bigger point. We live in a broken world where innocent blood is often shed. Just days ago Russia attacked Ukraine, including civilian targets, and thousands have already died. Jesus reveals that God isn’t far away, ignorant, indifferent, or unwilling to do something about it. He confronts violent and murderous peoples and gives His life to transform the world.
In the Sermon on Mount Jesus gave eight beatitudes, the blessings of God upon His people. For three years He proclaimed the kingdom of God, touching lepers, healing the sick, restoring the broken, and forgiving the sins of all who came to Him. The scribes, priests, and Pharisees want none of it and would like it to stop. So now He pronounces eight woes which reveal why God’s judgement is upon them. We know Christ was angry when Pharisees resisted Him healing the man on the Sabbath with the withered hand, and He probably was also angry when cleansing the temple. But these woes stunningly reveal with blunt force the righteous anger of the Savior who would weep over the city headed to judgment. He fights because He loves, and those who will not fight for something don’t really love it.
One of the most common reasons people cite for leaving the church or the faith altogether is hypocrisy. What pretends to be genuine faith in God turns out to have hidden, ulterior motives. Jesus fights against this corruption His entire ministry and brings it to a head in eight “Woes” against the scribes and Pharisees. Christians are called to imitate the Lord Jesus in every way, including His fight against sin and injustice. He doesn’t lose self-control or attack the Pharisees for the fun of it but in order to protect the sheep, equip the church, the build His kingdom. A city with no walls will not stand and a church with no defense against hypocrisy cannot endure. Faithful leaders and believers must strive to imitate Jesus.
When we read the story of Matthew’s Gospel as it’s written, we feel the tension mounting here in the temple. In the first verse of the book Jesus is called “the Son of David”; on the way into Jerusalem the multitudes cry out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”; now He ends the debates by asking questions about the Son of David. The crowds are listening. Who is charge here? How will Jesus and His kingdom fulfill God’s law and justice? And how can we be part of it?
Sermon from guest preacher Eric Letsche, Elder at Trinity Church and Elder Pro Tem at Emmanuel Church.