Christ Church of Mt Airy Sermons: Recent Episodes
Christ Church of Mt Airy: Mt Airy, MD
Christ Church exists to glorify God by building a community of Spirit-filled disciples living on gospel mission.
Jesus knew His time had come to suffer and die to atone for the sin of all nations. His sacrifice revealed God’s glory, love, justice and power. Without the cross there is no salvation, no mission, and no hope for the world.
Truth is who God is and love is acting in obedience to His truth. The more truth is in you, the more you will love God and love one another in the way Jesus commands.
In light of what God has done for us, He wants and motivates us to grow in our relationships with one another. We may love freely because He loves and forgives us.
Trouble can bring us closer to God and help us remember Him. When we cry out to Him, He delivers us, deepening our relationship and renewing our gratitude for His steadfast love.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, our hearts are transformed to image Christ and we are freed from the bondage of sin. As we grow in faith and trust, apply God's Word to our lives daily, meet with fellow believers to speak what is true about Jesus, and invite others to seek Him, we behold the glory of God.
Celebrate with a whole heart the wonderful things God has done this year. Remember, He gives you the ability to produce good things. Plan intentionally to seek and follow Him this year.
Jesus does not remove our every worldly tribulation, but offers us a peace that cannot be taken away. He makes peace by reconciling us to God. For peace to rule our hearts, we need Jesus to rule our hearts.
What robs us of our peace - conspiracies and endless information? The coming of Christ is like a great light, replacing gloom with joyful gladness, peace, and healing.
Shamelessly direct your cries and praise to God when facing trouble. True help comes from remembering Him--God's power, righteousness, and control are beyond our knowledge.
God provided life giving manna from heaven to sustain His people and Jesus came from heaven to be the better manna— the bread of life all believers come to for eternal life.
God hears our grumbling and complaining which is always ultimately against Him and His sovereign plan for our lives. He responds with goodness and grace, reminding us of His glory and of our close relationship to Him.
God sees our struggles and powerlessness. Through a parable, Jesus encouraged us to pray persistently, and God who made us His children, will answer in His perfect timing with justice and wisdom.
Exodus 15:22-28 shows how God leads His people from singing to testing, from grumbling to trust. God provides, heals, and makes bitter waters sweet. In bitter places, will we complain or cry out?
Though we’ve turned from God, and rightly deserve His wrath, Jesus’ substitutionary death completed God’s plan to bring us back. Look to Jesus—He’s all we need.
God calls the church to pray, trust His judgment over leaders, rejoice in trials, and use freedom to proclaim the gospel, all while hoping in His unshakable kingdom.
God’s people are finally free! Moses and the people burst into song, singing about who God is, His saving work, and where He will lead them. When God rescues, we respond with praise. We sing of His power, love, and how He saves us to bring us closer to Him.
In Exodus 14, we see God's unmatched glory and supreme uniqueness. He saves His people, controls every detail, and defeats evil. His power is limitless, leading hearts to trust in Him and His Mediator. Nothing is greater than God.
God desires to be known by us as an impartial, promise-keeping God. He is transcendent, He is near, and He promises to rescue His own so we will proclaim His name.
In Exodus, God leads His people with visible signs showing He is with them. He hardened Pharaoh’s heart to display His power. When trials and life’s challenges distract us, God commands us to fear not, stand firm, and be silent. Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We can’t see everything He sees. Our journey is one of faith. Trust Him!
Since Jesus' resurrection, we've been given the Holy Spirit to share the gospel. Don’t give up when people don’t listen, or when life is hard. Suffering brings us closer to Jesus, who will raise you up, and it’s God’s work to save, ours to share.
God redeems, gathers, and sends us for His glory. Through Jesus, we’re freed from guilt and share His righteousness. As a community, we encourage, confess, and grow in faith, spreading the good news of the Gospel and living for Him.
From generation to generation God wants us to remember that by His strong hand we are a redeemed people rescued from slavery to sin and death. Only through His Grace, and the substitutionary blood of Jesus, God’s perfect lamb, are we set free.
Blessings and trials in our lives serve to remind us of our dependence on God. Our role is to stay focused on and inspired by the example of Jesus, who made the ultimate sacrifice to unite us with God.
The 10th plague brought the Destroyer, God’s wrath for sin to the first born of that house. Only those who obeyed His Word and placed the blood of the lamb on their door were spared from death. Then and today, all who call upon the LORD, and trust in the blood of Jesus Christ to cover our sins and protect us will be saved. Be ready!
In Exodus 12:14-20, the Feast of Unleavened Bread shows the importance of removing the old leaven, just as God delivered Israel from Egypt. Today, it's a memorial of His saving grace, urging us to examine our hearts, mourn our sin, and support each other in repentance.
Even as God's last plague strikes, His actions in freeing the Israelites are meant to display His character and justice. These events happen so we’ll know Him, draw near to Him and proclaim His name.
In the last phase of God's plagues, He shows His power and purpose, while Pharaoh's hard heart resists. Instead of quick destruction, God wanted to reveal Himself so we would know and proclaim Him. Trust that God is revealing Himself in your life.
In Exodus, God strikes Egypt with plagues, and we explore how an encounter with God can change us forever. Embrace who God is and let your heart grow in love towards Him. Hard times can harden hearts but also show our need for God.
Pharaoh’s hard heart looked to the waters of the Nile for life. God showed His power by turning it to blood and death. When we, like Pharaoh, seek life elsewhere, we harden our hearts towards God. Peace and life come from God alone. Jesus is our living water and only hope and security.
God gives grace to those whose hearts are bent toward Him. His words, signs, wonders, purpose and plan transform our hearts through the power of His Spirit in us. Everything unfolds just as He wills, showing the world that He is God.
When we want things too much, they can replace God in our priorities. Not being content with what God has given us is like living as if He doesn’t exist. We guard against covetousness and idolatry when we give back to God and give to others.
God chooses flawed Moses to represent His people. God works through Moses and Aaron's imperfect priestly lineage to accomplish His perfect plan. He displays His power, keeps His promises, and leads His people to freedom.
Jesus has made reconciliation with God possible for believers. Baptism, a symbol of our union with Christ, is for those drawn by God to faith and repentance, calling on Jesus' name. The Lord's Supper commemorates and proclaims Jesus' death.
We hear seven glorious promises from the LORD directing us where to go in times when things go from bad to worse. They soothe our souls and speak to what our hearts crave. Jesus tells us to bring our burdens to Him and He will deliver and bless us in our trials.
Psalm 51 shows us how to process our emotions and bring our burden of guilt to God. By acknowledging and confessing our wrongdoing, we are brought to repentance and restoration. Only God can transform our sinful hearts and make us righteous through the cross of Jesus.
God does great things for His people, and over the last ten years, specifically for this church, we celebrate the blessings we have received through God’s grace. We are unified by Him to glorify Him and His endless love and perfection in the cross of Jesus.
Knowing God is key to believing in Him when life goes from bad to worse. Seeking the truth about God will guard you from believing the lies of the enemy. Bring your “why?” questions to God, and He will help you.
Like Moses, we cling to a God unlike any we can image, made possible through a covenant of His grace. God's priority for you is does not conform to our idea of ease, rather it is for your knowledge of God's sovereignty over all and His fathomless concern for you.
God made you, knows you and perfects His strength through your weaknesses. He calls you to be His ambassador and through the power of Christ, the ability to accomplish whatever He leads you to do. Believe Him.
God is showing us how He works! He accomplishes His plans using His people, power, and perfect process. We can trust that God’s plans always succeed at maximizing His glory and our good.
God explains His name to Moses in steps. (1) "I Am" the eternal and absolute sovereign of the universe (2) "I Am" transcendent AND near to people. (3) "I Am" the LORD forever. Remember and proclaim it.
God reveals Himself to Moses in the form of a burning bush and gives him a mission and the promise needed to accomplish it. Through this encounter we learn about God’s perfect timing, supreme holiness, mercy, and presence—always with us. We also learn how the same promise that enabled Moses’ mission, also enables ours today.
What does it mean to be a Christian? Is it about behavior, political stances or moral status? Paul’s letter to the Philippians makes it clear that being a Christian means you have had an authentic encounter with the risen Christ, that your heart has been changed by the resurrected Jesus. A Christian Counts every Good Work As Loss, Counts Knowing Christ as Everything, Received Righteousness By Faith, Needs Jesus’ Resurrection Power and Is Aiming For Resurrection From the Dead.
Moses foreshadows the rejection of Jesus' salvation offer. God wants to deliver us, and yet without God's own intervention we will reject Him. God is the hero at work in our lives to rescue us!
God shows His love through His plan to save us at the right time by the substitutionary death of Jesus. The more the gift cost the giver and the less the recipient deserves it, the greater the love is seen to be. God poured out His wrath on His only Son so that you and I could be saved.
God is with you and is active in your world. God prepares you today, as he did in the past, for the trials ahead by promising He will be with you. Even as God works in your waiting, He hears you, remembers you, sees you, and knows you.
Is our relationship with God transactional? Is God's blessing dependent on our obedience? Yes, God has always required perfect obedience for blessing. Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us by hanging on the tree. The blessings of God come to all His people through the perfect obedience of Jesus.
Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all newborn Israelite boys. But they feared God more than Pharaoh and spared the babies lives. Their fear honored God because He is the most powerful and most worthy; He is most able to protect and satisfy our souls.
God takes the Israelites as His chosen people. God sees His people in their affliction. For you, too, God strengthens your faith and is faithful to make His blessing abound in hardship and suffering.
God's salvation is marked with justice, forgiveness, mercy, generosity, love, and freedom! The Church is sent by God to share His message with the world. Jesus models for us how to spread the good news by sharing a meal, spending time with, and having concern for others.
Live for Jesus so that His NAME will be glorified in you. In scripture we see the uses of God's name presented under three main categories: (1) God empowers His people (authority given by the Lord of creation) (2) God is infinite (praiseworthy in everything) (3) God shall be glorified (the awe of his reputation and attributes)
God defines who you are so you can battle the lies of the world and be encouraged in your soul. Your TRUE identity is that of a new creation through Jesus Christ, and it is defined in scripture by God based on who HE is and for His glory.
Look back to recount and give thanks for the wonderful deeds of God this year. Praise is rejuvenating! Ask God to enlarge our hearts for the future.
When the Holy Spirit comes to Christmas, He brings: prophecy, excited joy to show Jesus to people, the impossible, God with us, and praise to God. Today, may the Holy Spirit's presence bring you joy and refreshment through the Christmas story.
Putting the Christmas Story in the context of redemptive history, we look back over the Old Testament to see how God has given little glimpse of Himself--justice, mercy, sacrifice, and silence while working behind the scenes. Jesus coming to the Earth was the moment all were waiting for---breaking the silence, the fulfillment of all redemptive history--God made manifest for your sake!
Paul's letter ends with instructions for the nurturing of relationships within the church. We are to pray for one another and the community of believers; to greet other believers with a kiss of affection to show our deepening love; to spend time reading, reviewing, and sharing the Word together; and to foster an atmosphere of grace in all our interactions. These will protect and guide our relationships in the ways God wants us to grow.
God destined his people for salvation. Jesus died for us and called each of us from death into life! Therefore, rest in His plan for your transformation and give God all glory. Pray for, strive for, and expect sanctification while living in community and waiting for Jesus’s return.
Prophecy is a gift of the Holy Spirit which allows the sharing of a message from God. God makes this gift a priority above all other spiritual gifts and warns against quenching or ignoring the Spirit’s leadings. Paul urges believers to "eagerly desire" the gift of prophecy. We are encouraged to ask God to help us hear from Him both to advance His mission and for the sake of the Church.
Paul tells us we should always rejoice, pray and and give thanks to God—but this is only possible if we are “in Jesus”. This union with Jesus is key to our joy in doing the will of God and pleasing Him.
Paul addresses the Thessalonian church, giving guidance for relating to church leaders and to each other. Today, believers are still encouraged to actively walk together by respecting our leaders, encouraging the faint hearted, admonishing the idle, helping the weak, and praying for patience with all, as we prepare for Jesus’s return.
Paul teaches the Day of the Lord is sure and will bring inescapable judgement on sinners. For those of us who have accepted salvation through Jesus, we are not subject to God's wrath but will have eternal life. As we wait, believers should stay spiritually sober and encourage one other, growing in faith, hope, and love.
Paul assures the Thessalonians that when Jesus returns both those “asleep” in Christ and living believers will be with Him. Our grief and unanswered questions about death pale in the light of our hope. Jesus conquered death, it is no longer final! There is nothing in life or death that can break our union with Him forever.
In the account of Jesus cleansing the temple, we see that God cares about how and where we worship. Today, the house of God is no longer a building-- Jesus is God's temple. The ultimate demonstration of Jesus' zeal was the willing sacrifice of His own life to cleanse His people with mercy and grace.
As you walk with outsiders, aspire to live quietly in the busyness of life, mind your own affairs, and work hard with your mind fully present while carrying out your tasks. Give your energy to what God has called you to do, remembering that Jesus is coming back.
Although God teaches us to love in many ways, it is through the love of Jesus and the Gospel that we most clearly see God’s love for us. As we know God more, we will be transformed by the Holy Spirit, our faith will increase, and we will grow in our love for others.
God created us with the gift of sexual identity and appetite, but our sinful desires often lead us away from God’s will for our sexuality. But because He is good, right, and true, God will strengthen our faith and help us make decisions to live as He wants us to live.
Paul urges us to walk as we ought, living our lives with the singular goal to please God more and more. Because everything Jesus did pleased the Father, only by participating in union with Him, through His power, can we pursue holiness, living free, clothed in His righteousness.
As we consider the instability of life, we must set our minds on the truth that God is our dwelling place--our source of protection, provision, and rest. He will show us the futility of relying on our own strength for our security and joy so that we will be satisfied only in Him, our all loving and powerful God.
Even as other forces work to derail your faith in Jesus, God actively works to establish your faith. Today, we review Paul's benediction (blessing) to the church, which highlights God's commitment to increase our faith.
Our faith is the most important thing about our walk with Jesus. Paul reminds the church that our faith is regularly in flux and must be strengthened and encouraged. It is constantly under attack by Satan’s lies. But God’s design to protect our faith is through community with other believers, who can support us, pray with us, and speak Jesus to us when our faith is lacking.
God tells us to expect suffering for our faith in Him, yet we need not be moved by this affliction. Though there will be loss and temptation in our lives, God has provided support through church community and hope of eternal life in Jesus Christ.
The salvation of souls is the glory and joy of Jesus. The church is the evidence of Jesus’ ability to redeem, and making His disciples is our crown of boasting and our life's work.
An encouragement to read the Bible and ask God to help to you recieve it, just as the Thessalonians did, as God's very heart to you. Reading the Bible will activate you to accomplish God's purposes, peirce your heart, see Jesus in fresh ways, experience His spiritual fruit, and keep you from being moved (lost) when suffering.
God urges believers to meet together to stir one another up to love and to use our gifts to serve others. This both promotes godly living and protects us from wandering from the faith. In turn, parents can stir up their young children through their love and encouragement, and by charging them to find their worth and identity in Jesus. Older children are entrusted with the job to seek the Lord on their own and through fellowship.
Continuing in 1 Thessalonians 2, Matt resumed discussing the theme that all relationships should image (be like) God. The applications for our own God centered relationships include (1) being intentionally transparent, (2) willingly sacrificing time and resources, (3) actively striving to be blameless in our dealings with one another, and (4) encouraging and strengthening one another.
May God be part of our every interaction. Paul expands on this appeal explaining that to do so the church must (1) have a bold gospel, (2) make pleasing God the goal, and (3) possess an affectionate love for people. The aim of the church is to lead others to Jesus Christ rather than to merely give practical wisdom.
While we are wait for Jesus to return, we often turn to other things to help us feel better about ourselves. Idols are the things we turn to to cope; things become idols when we look to them to deliver us. But they leave you more hopeless. God graciously warns us to turn from idols to serve Him.
The basis of Paul's encouragement to the Thessalonians is rooted in the foundational truth found in God the Father and in Jesus Christ. God has chosen you, and reordered your life through the explosive power of the Holy Spirit. He puts you to work for His purpose, even In afflictions. And you recognize and have hope in Jesus as your deliverer. Therefore live as God's chosen, eagerly serve, and wait until Jesus’ return.
In this letter we are shown what it means to receive a new identity in God and the Lord Jesus. Once hopelessly dead in our sins, our lives are turned upside down, completely changed, and sealed to the Father by the Holy Spirit. And because He who calls us is faithful, as we seek to live God centered and saturated lives, we are kept holy and blameless while we anticipate Jesus’s return.
The glory of God is the manifestation of His holiness. The more the church understands the great power of God’s love, the redemptive power of Jesus’s resurrection, and the explosive power of the Holy Spirit within us, the more we will be fueled to grow and go. Then the world will see the glory of God.
As we conclude the end of our two-year journey through Genesis, three themes are highlighted: (1) God at the center of creation, (2) God revealing Himself and His plan, (3) God working through man's sin. Ultimately the good news contained within the chapters of Genesis is to point us forward to the source of our redemptive salvation, Jesus.
Following the death of Jacob, his sons and all in Egypt mourned. Through this account we see God’s plan to bring about His redemptive purposes. His invitation to us to grieve the loss and pain of death, His promises fulfilled that death will be swallowed up in victory, and a vision of an eternal future in which we are forgiven and reconciled to Him.
Before his death, Jacob gathered his 12 sons to give each a prophetic blessing. Although, Jacob's blessing highlight the sins of his decendants, their offenses can not stop God's grace. God overcomes the consequences of their failings to fulfill His promise to make a nation.
After His resurrection, Jesus seeks out the disciples' knowing their need for assurance as they continue to follow His purpose for their lives. Jesus gives three specific assurances that are applicable to His followers today. First, Jesus is alive and is on His throne. Second, He is powerful and graciously provides all things and wants to bless us. Lastly, He remains ever faithful and will never forsake His chosen, so we can follow Him without fear.
God does not withhold blessing--God is the blessing. He is our shepherd, and it is through blessings that He guides His children to what they really desire. He is near, He redeems, and He satisfies.
God is the Creator and maker of all things. He is self sufficient, not needing anything, yet He gives us life and breath and all we have because He is good and generous. He wants us to prepare for the Day of Judgement through our repentance, and acceptance of salvation throughJesus, whose death and resurrection conquered sin on our behalf.
Jacob faces many fears and anxieties about his future. God speaks to Jacob, and to us, as He comforts him with these principles: 1) Remember God is God, (2) God knows you by name, (3) God keeps his promises, (4) God himself will go with you, and (5) God will bring you up again.
The revelation of Joseph to his brothers is the climax of the story and a vibrant parallel of Jesus' revelation of himself to his disciples after his death. Joseph's story of redemption, reconciliation and the saving of his people foreshadows Jesus as a greater Joseph. Jesus being alive is enough--everything--to revive our hearts.
Humans seem unable to change, but God changes hearts--often through less than desirable circumstances. Marks of a changed heart include: brokenness for others, bodily demonstration of humility, and an identification as a servant of Jesus.
God's mercy is demonstrated in His care to those in misery and stress. The details of Joseph's reunion with his brothers shows the breath of God's grace as He provide for their financial, physical, emotional, and relational deficiencies.
The type of gifts God gave worked in the hearts of Joseph and his brothers to produce conviction, repentance, and freedom. Likewise, God continues to work in our lives to address sin and extend salvation.
Just like with Joseph, God is working out all the details of your life to fulfill His purpose for you. He gifts you and sends you, like Joseph, to save people from all kinds of starvation.
In addressing the division found in the church in Corinth, Paul seeks to explain how the message, people and preaching of the cross makes no sense to a culture focused on pursuit of status and wisdom, but that it is the solely the power of Christ and proclaiming him crucified that brings rightness and sanctification.
Nearing the end of his life, Peter closes his second letter with four exhortations on how we are to wait with anticipation for the return of Christ, the destruction of the ungodly and the world, and the coming of the new heavens and new earth. Peter calls believers to holiness, being on guard for false teachers, counting on the patience of the Lord as salvation, and to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. These points demonstrate how different God’s priorities are for his followers than those encouraged by our modern culture.
At the end of Peter's life, he writes to tell us about the promise of God's second coming, the Day of Judgement and the destruction of the ungodly. He warns that although the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, to rest assure that He knows how to mercifully rescue the godly from being destroyed.
See what God did for falsely-accused Joseph, and be amazed! Suffering is not a punishment from God. God takes the worst things that humanity can think of and turns them into good to save lives. (Foreshadow much, God?)
Joseph's innocent life in Chapter 39 is contrasted with Judah's wicked one in Chapter 38, and we see it as a foreshadowing of the coming of Jesus. Throughout our human history, we see that God makes a way to provide mercy to those who don't deserve to be loved.
God tested Joseph, who eventually learns that God is always at work, and that what man meant for evil God flipped around for good to save lives.
Jesus died and rose from the dead to make forgiveness possible. Everywhere in God's Word we should see things about Jesus that will transform our minds. Ask for the Spirit’s help to understand so that our hearts burn for God.
The coming of Jesus to Earth is the greatest display of God's glory that the world has ever known. Through Jesus, God created a perfect vehicle to offer peace and salvation to humankind.
The conflict between Jacob and Esau continues through their offspring throughout redemptive history all the way till Jesus is crucified. But this conflict is all part of God’s redeeming and renewing plan for His people.
After the events detailed in Genesis 34, it is shocking that God pursues Jacob to grant him spiritual renewal. Jacob responds to God with action and repentance.
When in panic, instead of turning to God, Jacob and his family revert to their old tricks to control their situation. Losing sight of God, the Hivites were willing to violate Dinah, Dinah's brothers were willing to defile the sacred sign of circumcision and commit murder, and Jacob was willing to abdicate his leadership responsibility to his family. In the end, only God frees us from sin and brings justice.
As the presumed confrontation with Esau approaches with no solution in sight, Jacob wrestles a strange opponent revealing his internal struggle. This causes a turning point in his life that requires him to rely only on God for his deliverance.
In Genesis 32 Jacob models what to do when we're under fear and distress. His actions reminds us to turn to God for mercy, grace, and help by recalling God's character, promises, and asking for deliverance. The One who delivered you in the past can deliver you in the future.
Astonishingly, Jacob was not crushed by the last 20 years of difficulty, because he believed that God saw him and was on his side. By application, we are asked to think through the events of our past (good and bad) and consider how they have effected our outlook about God.
Jacob's seemingly arcane negotiations with Laban to enable his departure are revealed to demonstrate how God is fulfilling the promises he made at Bethel. It also shows change in how Jacob relates and responds to God reveals how he has been changed over the 20 years since that encounter.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is what unifies the church. Deacons maintain this unity as they serve the practical needs of the church.
The activities of the gathered church have as their purpose to make the manifold Wisdom of God known to the world and the unsearchable riches of Christ known to one another.
In Matthew 28 Jesus tells us that we are to disciple one another by observing and applying all that he has told us. Discipleship in community is Jesus's plan for his followers no matter the circumstance, when we are worshiping in belief and when we are struggling with doubt.
As a local church we believe we are sent everyday with the authority of Jesus and the Spirit of God inside us to the people around us and to those at the ends of the earth, to show them the love of God and overwhelming them with the Trinity.
How Christ Church lives out our mission to GLORIFY God through the proclamation of the excellencies of Christ, to both GROW one another and to GO to those who do not yet know of His marvelous light.
In considering the mission of CCMA, we examine what it means for the church to glorify God. In doing so we and find that the more we are convinced, and convincing one another of the greatness of God's love, the more we receive his power, the more we are able to proclaim his supreme uniqueness which brings Him glory.
God working in the mess of Jacob’s family reveals how God works through the difficult circumstances we face to ensure that each person will come to know Him deeply and specifically as He intends.
Leah, overlooked, despised, and rejected by her family and husband, seeks to prove her value to them through having children, only to find that her true satisfaction is only to be found in the Lord.
Jacob’s encounters with Leah and Rachel teach us that because of God’s Steadfast Love and Faithfulness, He is at work in your world and in your heart even when you forget God and are not worthy of it.
The feeding of the 5000 is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. But the focus of the supernatural miracle of the Jesus multiplication of the food is not principally about the physical provision of food for the gathered crowd, but rather to train his disciples, including us today, of his provision for servants in his kingdom. As Christs servants and representatives of His mission to this generation, it is a GREAT honor for us to serve the Lord.
The Apostle Peter reminds and exhorts Christians to make every effort to use the spiritual blessings we already have to produce godly virtues, so that we can be effective and fruitful.
When life feels like we’ve hit rock bottom, as Jacob seems to be experiencing in Genesis 28, recognizing God’s presence and declaring that He owns all we are is the truth that will get us through.
Like Esau, Rebekah, and Isaac, we can be unbelieving believers. God has shared with us His plans, and instead of living as if God's promises are true, at times we feel that His way is unfair. We react with anxiety and take matters into our own hands. Yet regardless of our lack of belief, God's promises are true and He will fulfill them all.
The sin and deception of Isaac, Jacob and family to substitute their scheme for the revealed plan of God to Bless the world through them, shows that despite our best or worst intentions, God remains sovereignly in control of the hope of the world at all times
Similar to his father, Isaac finds himself in a land of famine, and through the covenant with Abraham, God shows clearly that he is with Isaac and sovereign over all circumstances. We too will face famines of various kinds and through the covenant of Christ, God will be with us as well.
God demonstrated steadfast love for Abraham in his life, later years, and even after death through continued blessing to Abraham's sons Ishmael and Isaac. Matt encourages us to prioritize inquiring of God in our daily lives because we too are anchored in His steadfast love.
God proves His steadfast love to His people by ensuring the continuation of Abraham's line in providing Isaac a wife in a most miraculous way.
The deep grief Abraham experiences at the loss of his wife Sarah provides a personal example and an opportunity to explore a biblical perspective of grief and how God uses death to progress his plans for Abraham and us.
Abraham faces his greatest test, the specter of the loss of his promised and beloved Son Isaac by his own hand. Ultimately this isn’t just a test of Abraham’s faith but also a demonstration of God’s trustworthiness and sovereignty to secure his promises, which he did eternally through Jesus Christ.
God’s promises to Abraham appear to be threatened by Ishmael’s persecution of Isaac and Abimelech’s taking of a well. But the resolution to both stories demonstrate that the everlasting God keeps his covenant promise to set us free and to be with us in all that we do.
It is not too hard for God to do everything He promises personally in His timing. His promises are based on grace--not our obedience--and result in joy.
Abimelech taking Sarah seems to threaten God’s covenant to Abraham and by extension our redemption through Christ from the curse of the law. But God… is committed to his plan and sovereign in all events and interactions throughout time, despite our sin, to ensure his purposes are fulfilled and He receives all the glory.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the supreme act of God’s great mercy and the source of many amazing blessings. As saved sinners our response is simply to Rejoice, Love and Believe.
Description: Seeing God's response to the wickedness prevalent in Sodom and Gomorrah sheds light on how He defines and deals with sin. In application we consider how wanting to preserve our own life, the way we want to live it instead of following Christ, is the essence of the same sin.
In the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham is shown that God, Himself, is the standard of righteous and justice. For those who are forgiven, justice looks like mercy and escape. But for those who are guilty, justice is terrifying with sobering consequences.
Following Sarah’s reaction to God’s renews promise of a child, we are shown that disbelief and sin do not reverse or interrupt God’s promises.
When Abraham encounters three visitors before him at his tent, we are shown an example of how to respond with hospitality to guests. We may be called to apply the same alert and generous reception to anyone God puts before us.
In Psalm 32 David illustrates and encourages us that the supernatural happiness we desire comes when we confess our sin to God. Paul interpreting this in Romans makes clear that as believers our happiness, although released through confession, is a result of our sins already having been forgiven and our justified state secured by Christ’s work on the cross.
Job experiences real and deep suffering, which his friends don’t understand and fail to care for well in, but God comforts him by clearly revealing his power, glory and majesty. This shows that suffering is not random, it has a purpose and God is sovereign in all suffering.
God sets his covenant with Abram by pronouncing new names and blessings on him and Sarai and requiring circumcision of all the males in his household. This leads us to consider how God continues to reveal his purpose and definition of circumcision throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament, as an outward sign of the inward cutting the sin out of our hearts.
Psalm 136’s unique repetitive structure gives insight to the breadth and depth of the unchanging God of the universe and our need to be constantly reminded of it at all times.
Abraham's example, in Genesis 17, of humbly waiting for the Lord encourages us to draw near because God is YOUR God Almighty He is worth waiting for, walking with and worshiping!
God’s in-depth awareness and intimate care for Hagar, the outcast, afflicted servant of Abram and Sarai reminds us that no situation and no person is out of His sight or beyond his reach.
God is going to do everything He needs to in order for Abram to know God the way He wants to be known (as Abram's Shield and Reward) and so that Abram will give God an “amen."
To begin a new year and considering what God is going to do, and what he has for us to do, we examine what training Paul tells Timothy is of value in every way and how it is meant to impact our lives.
John’s Gospel opens by giving us a perspective of the glory of Jesus, the Word, from the beginning of time thru his incarnation on earth. As we near Christmas we consider how Jesus’s coming to earth, his rejection by those he created and his adoption of those who did receive him as children of God display God’s grace and bring him Glory.
Following Abrams victory against the kings and rescue of Lot, he is greeted and blessed by a mysterious king who surprisingly is also a priest. Although we are told little about this figure in Genesis, study in Psalms and Hebrews reveals his priestly order leads to Jesus who is also a King and Priest, but unlike all that came before him, fulfilled the law and rules forever.
In Genesis 14, God is victorious in establishing His glory in both Abram's external and internal battles. God brought about a successful outcome in Abram's fight with the King of Sodom. Afterwards God demonstrated, through Abram's value of God's glory over riches, that He had secured Abram's inward allegiance to Himself, God Most High.
In Genesis 13, Abram models how to call upon the Lord with the same intensity when things are going well as when in need. God responds commanding Abram to lift his eyes to see God's extravagant promises for the future.
In Genesis 12 we see that Abram was pursued by God and received blessing instead of wrath. God’s grace produced faith in Abram allowing him to follow without knowing the details of his future.
The Gospel is of first importance and impacts everyday life. We see in Ephesians 4 as well as other Scripture passages that community amongst believers is God’s vehicle for gospel mission and spiritual growth.
Included in the spectacular invitation of Isaiah 55 is the call to share that invitation and stand as a witness to those we do not know that do not know God.
The urgent call of God in Isaiah 55 to listen and repent demonstrates the expansive gap between His ways and our own. The difference is highlighted in God's response to our sin through His compassionate offer to bridge the gap between us. As a church, we are exhorted to confront our confidence in our own way of thinking so that we can more fully submit all areas of our lives to God's word.
Our soul is often tricked into trying to quench its thirst and satisfy its hunger on imitation "drinks" and "food." God invited us come to Him for the real thing.
Going back to the basics, Matt reminds us that the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ is marked by a desire to know, love, and live for God. This is not something we can produce ourselves, rather it is the life changing encounter with Christ that compels us to love and serve others because of how we've been loved by Jesus. On October 31, we will have the opportunity to share God's love as we partner with a church in Frederick to serve their community.
Paul appeals to the Corinthian church not to be divided among any leaders but instead to recognize the unity of Christ, that He was the only one crucified for us and we are baptized in His name alone. As such we consider how disagreements and quarrels around non-essentials matters and eloquent wisdom can empty the cross of its power, robbing Christ of glory.
In Isaiah 55 we find God making an invitation to both those who are "thirsty and broke" and those who are "wealthy and busy", to come to him to find satisfaction, life, strength, and joy. These rewards are greater than that which any amount of money or labor could produce and are given freely, no matter who you are and what you have done.
With a desire to understand what it means to rest in Grace, we examine what it means to be strengthened by the Grace of Jesus’s Presence and his unchangeableness and how un-beneficial it is be devoted to food/diets for strength.
Paul draws a comparison between the trespass of Adam and the free gift of grace from Jesus Christ. This comparison declares the hopelessness of human effort, that Christ's grace abounds to cover our sin, and that the law operates counter to our understanding. All of this was designed by God with the intended purpose to bring Jesus the most glory.
The genealogies of Noah’s descendants to Abram show God working his purposes to “fill the earth”, which the tower builders in Babel attempt to interrupt. God’s suprising solution to their rebellion, to confuse their language, shows his power and full control to fulfill his plans. We find later in Acts that this language confusion, which may seem like a challenge to the spread of the Gospel, is once again an opportunity for God to display His power and be glorified.
Following the flood, the common thread of God dispersing the people through the world is seen in Genesis from Noah and his descendants through the tower of Babel. We then consider what we are to learn about God’s purpose in shame from the final story of Noah’s life.
Following the flood God remakes creation and in so doing establishes a covenant with Noah that informs how he is to Think, Believe and Live as he fulfills the repeated command to “multiply and fill the earth”. This command applies to us today and is further understood by the believers who have themselves been made “a new creation” in Christ.
The flood waters receding, and the opening of the Ark show God remembered Noah and took action by rescuing Noah from judgement, setting him free and giving him rest, which foreshadows how Jesus does the same for those in covenant with Him.
In preparation to celebrate the baptism of 4 followers of Christ we consider the purpose and significance of baptism in the life of a believer, the church and God's mission.
As Noah and his family enter the ark, it is made very clear that the judgment they are escaping is complete and total, and Christians today are reminded to be on watch for the return of Christ, in whom is the only escape from the judgement He will bring.
A topical study of what it means to fear the Lord, which concludes that as believers fearing God is an affectionate relationship, an understanding of our desperate condition apart from God, and an assurance of safety knowing that when you fear the Lord you need fear no one else.
In the midst of chaos and human wickedness, God was grieved, but he had favor on Noah and his family, and Noah’s faith in the promises of God saved him.
In the listing of the descendent of Adam in Genesis 5 we find the fulfillment of God’s promise of death because of the fall, but also signs of hope for who’s faith is in a redeeming God.
In Genesis 4, hope rises with the birth of Cain and Abel but quickly deteriorates when Cain murders his brother. Cain's faulty faith in his own efforts fail, and he is cast away. Despite his death, Abel's faith in a future Serpent Crusher lives on.
In Chapter 3 of Genesis the reader is shocked by the entrance of evil into the garden as God's order is flipped upside down, resulting in the first human experience of sin and shame. Even more surprising is God's response to humanity's rebellion with holy grace and a foreshadowing of redemption.
Kalen compares and contrasts the characteristics of God found in Genesis chapters one and two, asserting that both chapters are included to give us a fuller view of God. These passages reveal a God who is all powerful yet who draws near to provide for our needs.
Among the first things revealed to us about God in Genesis is that he values rest for himself and for his people. This truth is expanded throughout the old and new testaments where we find the purpose and the blessing found in true Sabbath rest for God’s restless and weary people.
A look at created order reveals God's intentional distinction of humans as his image bearers. This distinction profoundly defines our identity and our relationship with creation, each other, and God himself.
The opening of Genesis tells us not primarily of the creation story but about the creator, how he speaks, what he sees and the goodness that flows from him. From this we see the first picture of the main character of the biblical redemption story.
In an overview of the book of Genesis, Matt makes the case that knowing the history of our rescue story is integral to our faith and identity as God's children.
In response to God’s promises the church eagerly and thoroughly pursues a godly grief that produces a repentance that leads to salvation.
Following Nathan’s confrontation of David for his sin in the rape of Bathsheba and murder of Uriah, Psalm 51 shows David’s response, a cry to Lord for grace and mercy, for cleansing and restoration. We see that the repentance is both brokenness and grief over our sin, and the joy of God’s forgiveness.
We are encouraged to examine the attitude of our hearts towards God in the way we respond to personal patterns of sin by studying King David, who knew the law yet acted unaware of the sinfulness of his actions, when he despised the word of the Lord in the rape of Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. We are reminded that even awareness of our sin is a gift from God.
As we consider the mission of the church as presented in scripture the word “GO” seems to be the word God uses as He SENDS people into the unknown, the unpredictable, the uncomfortable for His purposes.
In Matthew 28 we see the reactions to the empty tomb and the resurrected Jesus include fear, great joy and worship, but ultimately the reaction needs to be obedience to Jesus’s command to “Go and Tell” those who have not heard of His triumph over sin and death for them.
In considering our GO mission to spread the Gospel to those who God has put in our life, we find in Romans 9 that the position of our hearts should be grieved by their state of separation from Christ, which should motivate us even further to extend grace and care to them.
The relationship between Philemon, Onesimus, and Paul mirrors God's relationship to us with Christ as the mediator, and it illustrates how to handle messy relationships with grace, encouragement, and action.
In the closing sermon in our series on Colossians we examine the final verse of the letter where Paul says, "grace be with you," he has a lot in mind: common grace, spiritual grace, strengthening grace, training grace, and more!
In Psalm 103 David shows us how to encourage our souls with the truth found in blessing the Lord for what he has done, for who he is and his compassionate rule.
By taking refuge in the only true God we can find eternal, unshakable fullness and joy and be spared the abandonment of our soul by God.
Despite all the chaos and opposition in this world, in Psalm 46 we find that we can have confidence that God is sovereign over all of history, including our own.
In the final greetings of Paul's letter to the Colossians we get a behind the scenes glimpse of how Jesus builds his church
We are created to work for God as his ambassadors by declaring the preeminence of God in all things.
From Colossians 3 we are told what it looks like for children and parents to do everything in the name of the Lord: Children, obey your parents because it pleases Jesus. Parents, our aim is is to point children to Christ and His glory.
As we start a new year we consider how Jesus our Great high priest enables us draw near to God, hold fast to hope and stir one another up to love and good works.
Matt Maka teaches from Hebrews and Psalms that God reveals himself, examines us and blesses us through His Word. We should not underestimate the value of God's Word as it is more desired than money and honey, it is living and active, it discerns the thoughts and intentions of hearts, and it is God's instrument to revive souls.
In preparation for Christmas Matt Maka shares how the story of Zechariah foretells the purpose of God visiting his people.
In the final sermon in the series on marriage, Matt Maka teaches that the primary instruction to husbands is to “love your wives” and the example Jesus provides in how he loved the church.
In the fourth installment in our series on marriage Matt Maka explains how Gospel submission flows from a wife’s conduct, heart, hope and fearlessness.
Shvan (Chevy) Zangana explains from Matthew 16 that Jesus is building his Church and we can either join him or be a hinderance to him.
Christ's preeminence is on display in marriage when husbands and wives see and treat their spouses the way Jesus sees and treats them.
Matt Maka explains how marriage was created through Jesus, and for Jesus, to show his preeminence
Matt Maka shows how Colossians 3 tells us to "do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus"
Chris Silard explores how the seemingly ordinary things of our lives are part of our mission for the extraordinary Savior.
We see in Colossians 3 that a reason we sing to one another is so that the word of God dwells richly in us.
Matt Maka teaches on how Colossians 4:2-6 instructs our Mission by Praying, Watching, Walking and Speaking
Since the Spirit of God has given all members of the church body a variety of gifts to serve God's mission, you have an important role and your gifts are needed.
Right now, Jesus is continuously saving and interceding on behalf of all those who draw near to God through him.
Jesus is calling you to experience peace that only he can secure and offer, which has the power to role your life and give deep soul rest.
Matt recaps Colossians chapters 1-3 reminding us that who we are, who Jesus is, and what we believe all come together enabling us to preach the truth to ourselves so that we do not to shift from the hope of the gospel.
The things of this earth are meant to enhance our understanding, knowledge and engagement with God
Caleb Maka continues our series in Colossians by looking at Colossians 3:1-14. Because of our union with Christ, we are united to each other and are called to love each other.
Matt Maka continues our series on the book of Colossians by looking at Colossians 3:1-4. View the video on our website at https://www.ccmtairy.org/sermons/sermon/2020-08-02/who-you-are-in-jesus.
Matt Maka continues our series on Colossians by looking at Colossians 2:16-23. Self-made practices and rules should only be followed with the intent of helping other to see and hold fast to Jesus; they should not be used to pass judgment on others. View the video on our website: https://www.ccmtairy.org/sermons/sermon/2020-07-26/shadow-vs-substance
Matt Maka continues our series on Colossians by looking at Colossians 2:13-14. We were born as enemies of God in sin, but God has forgiven and made spiritually alive those whose faith is in Jesus Christ! View the video on our sermon page here: https://www.ccmtairy.org/sermons/sermon/2020-07-19/the-very-good-news-about-the-bad-news
Matt Maka preaches from Colossians 2:8-23 in an outdoor service. We should not let anyone disqualify or pass judgment on us, because we are in Jesus and he has fully qualified us for his kingdom. View the video on our website at https://www.ccmtairy.org/sermons/sermon/2020-06-07/let-no-one.
Jordan Thomas preaches on Colossians 2:6-8. View the video on our website at https://www.ccmtairy.org/sermons/sermon/2020-05-31/captive-or-captivated.
Matt Maka preaches on Colossians 2:3-5 and how proclaiming Christ lets us avoid being deluded by plausible but untrue arguments. View the video on our website here: https://www.ccmtairy.org/sermons/sermon/2020-05-02/proclaiming-christ-and-avoiding-plausible-but-untrue-arguments.
Matt Maka preaches on Colossians 2:1-5. We are called to struggle to love and encourage one another to have a firm faith in Christ. View the video at https://www.ccmtairy.org/sermons/sermon/2020-04-25/encouragement-in-the-faith.
Matt Maka continues our series in Colossians by preaching from Colossians 1:24-29. View the video on our website at https://www.ccmtairy.org/sermons/sermon/2020-04-18/proclaiming-jesus-as-we-mature-in-jesus,
Matt Maka looks at Colossians 1:15-19 and the Gospel accounts of Jesus' resurrection. View the video on our sermon page at https://www.ccmtairy.org/sermons/sermon/2020-04-11/the-preeminence-of-jesus-in-the-resurrection-easter-sunday.
Matt Maka preaches on Colossians 1:24-29. To view the video, visit the sermon page at https://www.ccmtairy.org/sermons/sermon/2020-04-04/hope.
Matt Maka preaches on Colossians 1:24-27 in Christ Church's first virtual sermon. If you'd like to watch the sermon, please go to the sermon page on our website at https://www.ccmtairy.org/sermons/sermon/2020-03-28/enduring-suffering-with-joy
Matt Maka shares from Colossians 1:24. Whether our suffering comes from circumstances outside our control or from burdens that we have taken on behalf of the church, Jesus uses it to make his church stronger.
Matt Maka preaches on Colossians 1:19-23. Jesus is preeminent in his reconciliation of his people.
Matt Maka preaches on Colossians 1:15-20. Jesus is the preeminent God, Creator, Sustainer, and Forgiver.
Matt Maka preaches on Colossians 1:12-14. God has qualified, delivered, transferred, redeemed, and forgiven us through the work of Jesus.
Matt Maka preaches on Colossians 1:9-14. Paul demonstrates how we pray for each other by praying for the knowledge of God and for strength to endure.
Matt Maka introduces our series on Colossians by looking at Colossians 1. Seeking the preeminence of Christ protects us from worldly thinking and wandering from the faith.
Matt Maka on Matthew 9:35-38. Jesus sees the crowds helpless and harassed and responds with compassion, and he calls his followers to do the same.
Matt Maka on worship. Worship is the act of bowing down in awe to our God. At the beginning of the sermon, the congregation reads aloud 42 verses about worship. This audio was not recorded, so the recording cuts the portions of silence. The verses can be found on the sermon page on our website.
Christmas 2019: Matt Maka on Matthew 1:18-25. Jesus came to save his people from their sins.
Matt Maka on Titus 2:11-3:11. Jesus appeared to save us from sin, to bring us into his family, and to send us out for good works.
Matt Maka on Matthew 6:25-34. Because we are in relationship with our loving Heavenly Father, Jesus commands us not to be anxious, but to believe in his care for us and to prioritize his kingdom.
Jordan Thomas on Ruth 4 and Boaz's redemption of Ruth. The tragedy and redemption of Ruth and Naomi paves the way for Jesus, our ultimate Redeemer.
Matt Maka on Ruth 3 and Ruth and Boaz at the threshing floor. God provides Naomi and Ruth fullness and rest through Boaz, who won't rest until they have been redeemed.
Sam Branchaw on Ruth 2 and the meeting of Ruth and Boaz. God shows his faithful loving-kindness to the needy and vulnerable through the kindness of his people.
Tyler Golden on Ruth 1 and Naomi's return to Israel. In the midst of tragedy, God is working to redeem his people.