"Featured" Tagged Sermons (Page 10)
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We Will See His Face
The Bible is replete with theophanies–special occasions when God revealed himself to people in incredible ways. Think of God’s glory passing by as God covered Moses’ face in Exodus 33, for example. But even at these special times God’s appearance is obscured or mediated in some way so that people can’t see him in all his glory. Apparently, it’s because of this: “No one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). There’s something so special about God’s holiness that we–presumably…
Living in Exile
Most people in the church know something of this storyline: Judah rebelled against God and persisted in idolatrous practices in spite of myriad warnings, so God eventually sent Babylon to conquer Jerusalem and take many captives to Babylon. What many people don’t know is how this theme actually reflects something much more than just that relatively short period of history. The entire biblical story–and many of the stories within Scripture–can be framed in terms of Exile and Return, and I…
I Have Found a Book
These days were some of the darkest in Judah’s history. Manasseh’s fifty-five-year reign of terror was followed by the two-year reign of his son Amon, which was little better. Then came Josiah at the tender age of eight. He began his reign when the people had never known a king who cared about God. Idol worship filled the land, the priesthood was largely corrupt, and the people were lost. And then one day several years later when Josiah had come…
Pierced for our Transgressions
When considered within the scope of both testaments of Scripture, it clearly refers to Christ–something we would know even if we didn’t have Philip’s conversation with the Ethiopian Eunuch, a man who was confused by his reading of Isaiah 53. Luke tells us that Philip began with our text and “told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35). Perhaps the most obvious way this text reaches us is by teaching us again about Christ’s substitutionary death. Notice how many…
Be Still, and Know That I am God
The words of this Psalm may have been especially meaningful to Hezekiah. A few years earlier his kinfolks in the northern kingdom of Israel had been absolutely annihilated by the cruelest nation on earth–the Assyrians. And now the conquerors are back, this time with Judah and Jerusalem and Hezekiah in their sights. No army on earth was built to stop Assyria, and everybody knew that. Even Hezekiah knew that. “. . . though the earth gives way, though the mountains…
Hope
Everyone has some sort of hope, I suppose . . . or at least almost everyone looks to something for security. For some it might be a job (i.e., “If I can accomplish this or that, then I’ll feel secure”). For others it might be money, or power, or relationships. When we hope in something, we turn to it for feelings of accomplishment, security, or identity. It gives us something to aim for, some reason to get up in the…
Jacob’s Ladder
Jesus Christ meets our most basic human needs. We need companionship (we don’t want to be alone), we crave security (we don’t want to feel vulnerable), and we want a home–somewhere to belong (we don’t want to be rootless). When God comes to Jacob, the patriarch is a fugitive who is alone and vulnerable. He’s been told by his parents to leave home–to leave the land of Canaan–and go about 450 miles to the northeast to find a wife. On…
It Cost Everything
This chapter is an odd and interesting conclusion to the book of Samuel. Chronologically, it almost certainly belongs to an earlier period in David’s life, so the author probably intended for it to be a kind of summary of David’s life. In a similar way to last week’s text (Psalm 51), David shows an attitude of remorse–probably the reason why God blessed him with a kingdom that would survive his death. But the focus here is on God, who does…
Have Mercy On Me, O God
Psalm 51 is one of the most famous of all the Psalms, perhaps because we’re drawn to the emotional rawness and vulnerability that it reflects. According to tradition, David wrote this psalm after Nathan had come to him and convicted him of the sins he had committed against Bathsheba and her husband, but especially against God. We’ll reflect Sunday morning on what this Psalm teaches us about the ugliness of sin and what it does to us. We’ll think about…
How is Our Culture Affecting Us? “That We May Be Like All the Nations”
We’re about to send six high school graduates off as they begin the next phase of life. Their lives will change significantly as they experience the world without being watched as closely by their parents. So I planned this sermon with them in mind. As the sermon developed, though, I became more convicted that it is a message that everyone in our congregation needs to hear. The temptation that affected Israel in Samuel’s day–to allow the spirit of the age…