Sound Words

Would you give up your life for a meal?  Have you found yourself in a situation where you want nothing more than to fulfill your sinful appetites?  In Genesis 25, we find that God has an inheritance in store for his children.  It outweighs any short term pleasure that we can get for ourselves.  In fact, when we live for our own sinful desires, we communicate that God’s inheritance is not a worthy treasure.  Listen as Pastor David warns us not to neglect the promise of God for those who give up their lives to gain all the blessings of God in Christ.

Judas.  This name provokes thoughts of betrayal, disgust, and despair.  This man turned the savior of the world over to be killed.  He appeared to be a faithful servant.  Yet he abandoned the faith.  Judas’ betrayal shocked all of the disciples.  But it didn’t shock Jesus.  Jesus serves Judas even when he knows that he is serving a betrayer.  Jesus is always faithful.  Ultimately, Christ shows his love for sinners on the cross.  Listen as Pastor David calls us to trust God’s plan, even when distressing circumstances come our way. 

What does humility before a Sovereign God look like?  Perhaps we should work our hardest to serve him.  After all, he deserves it.  If God is so holy, and I am so sinful, then I had better get to work in order to please him.  In John 13:1-11, we find that what we call humble service sometimes looks more like pride.  There is no service that we can perform to impress God.  Jesus’ disciples found this out as the Lord of glory knelt down to wash their feet. Listen as Pastor David calls us to humble ourselves by accepting the service of Christ who loves sinners to the uttermost.

What does it mean to be a child of God?  It at least means that you will not face the wrath of God.  But the gospel offers a much richer promise to those who believe on Christ.  The Father of glory makes sinners part of his family through Christ.  God makes spiritual orphans into true sons.  God does not simply love Jesus and tolerate you.  He is really committed to you, loving you as he loves Jesus.  Listen as Pastor David charges us to see the assurance of our Father’s love. 

In Ephesians 1, Paul talks about the plan of a sovereign God to save sinners.  And the most scandalizing thing about God’s plan might surprise you.  Even though he did not have to save sinners, God adopted sinners into his family.  And even though we might be from every kind of background, we may now call God Father when we believe on his Son.  Our one hope in this world is that the Father will look down on spiritual orphans and say, “I love you.”  Listen as Pastor David encourages us to hope in sovereignly planned parenthood.

If you were given the task of convincing the intellectual elite of our society that Christianity contains the most compelling message in this world, what would you say?  How would you prepare for that mission? You might read books on philosophy, familiarizing yourself with the arguments against God.  You may work to construct your own argument, calling men to follow their need for an origin, morality, peace, or happiness.  In Acts 17, the Apostle Paul took on this task.  And his message was so compelling that he was invited to give a lecture before all the great thinkers in Athens.  What did Paul say to attract so much attention?  It sounded like this.  Jesus died for sins.  God raised Jesus from the dead.  How can he face these men with such a simple message?  Paul knows that in God’s wise plan, a simple story about a suffering and risen savior is the one message that saves sinners from all walks of life.  Listen as Pastor David calls us to see Jesus as the focal point of God’s story.

Who is the real father?  How much did they cost?  Did you just go pick them out?  Have you ever asked parents who have adopted any of these questions or at least thought about asking them? Why do we respond to adoption so awkwardly? Fumbling around not quite knowing what to say or to ask.  Is it the right DNA and gene pool that makes someone a real parent? Listen as pastor David explains the apostle Paul’s battle with teachers hung up on DNA, gene pools, and ethnic identity in Galatians 3:25-4:11. If adopted sons of God cannot really call Him “Abba, Father” then we have no hope but since we can every orphan ought to have hope. 

We live in a generation of professing believers who have embraced a little Pharaoh Theology. God said “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28; 9:1) and “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward . . . Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” (Psalm 127:3, 5). Yet many believers do not celebrate and treat a full quiver as a reward. Far too often children are seen as necessary liability to carry on the family name but something you should not get carried away with.  Even more when children threaten certain comforts, like Pharaoh, many begin to think of God’s blessings as a curse.  Listen as Pastor David exhorts the Christian to reject such an ungodly way of viewing the gift of children.  

You’re in the supermarket and a little girl asks her mom for a sucker.  “No.”  The girl proceeds to entreat her mom with promises of obedience and arguments about the joy of candy.  Finally, she wins the day with a pouty lip and a feeble “please.”  We have no problem spotting manipulation when we see it.  Or do we?  Have you ever offered God more prayers, church attendance, or a moral life, if he would only change your circumstances?   In 1 Samuel 4, we find that God is not an object to be used.  Listen as Pastor David calls us to give up on our own efforts and trust God.

For God so loved the world… Does that statement make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck? Or do you associate John 3:16 with kindergarten Sunday School classes and signs at the Super Bowl? Often we think of this verse as a sentimentalized slogan for Christianity. In this sermon, Pastor David contends that God’s loving offer of salvation to a sinful world is a scandalous declaration from a Holy God. And God can use the same words that pass the lips of kindergarteners to humble grown men. Listen as Pastor David calls us to consider God’s message of hope to a condemned world.