Jan 5, 2020
Week 1: Why the Wise Men?
Today we celebrate Epiphany, which means "shine into." This season begins by commemorating the first time the Son of God in the flesh was worshiped by someone from another part of the world than Israel. Magi from the East (Persia) followed a special star, created by God to mark the presence of his Son. These wise Men worshiped Jesus and brought him gifts. But, who exactly are these unknown men? What purpose do they serve, that we celebrate their coming to see Jesus with a special church service? This is a lightbulb moment. Who are these Wise Men? What do they mean for us? We look to God's Word to "turn on the light" and help us understand the value and importance of The Wise Men this Epiphany. 
 
Sermon Text: Matthew 2:1-12
WatchNotesDownloadDateTitle
  • Jan 5, 2020Week 1: Why the Wise Men?
    Jan 5, 2020
    Week 1: Why the Wise Men?
    Today we celebrate Epiphany, which means "shine into." This season begins by commemorating the first time the Son of God in the flesh was worshiped by someone from another part of the world than Israel. Magi from the East (Persia) followed a special star, created by God to mark the presence of his Son. These wise Men worshiped Jesus and brought him gifts. But, who exactly are these unknown men? What purpose do they serve, that we celebrate their coming to see Jesus with a special church service? This is a lightbulb moment. Who are these Wise Men? What do they mean for us? We look to God's Word to "turn on the light" and help us understand the value and importance of The Wise Men this Epiphany. 
     
    Sermon Text: Matthew 2:1-12
  • Dec 29, 2019Week 4: When God Calls an Audible
    Dec 29, 2019
    Week 4: When God Calls an Audible
    On Christmas Eve, we talked about how God displayed the greatest love when he GAVE his one and only Son, born to be both true God and true man, so that he might be our Savior. But after the joyful peach of Christmas, things weren't always so peaceful for the holy family. As we'll see in our service today, God also displayed his great love for us sinners, in that he SAVED his one and only Son from a dangerous threat. And in doing so, God made it possible for us to be saved!
  • Dec 24, 2019The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
    Dec 24, 2019
    The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
    Christmas is not about a sentimental, warm, and fuzzy kind of love - although these ways that we show love to each other, especially in families, are certainly important. But the heart of Christmas is about God's redeeming love - God's rescue plan for a humanity alienated from him despite all claims of reform, goodness, or morality. The human condition of sin separates us from God, and only his action could have solved that problem. The life, death, and resurrection of his Son has solved the problem. By trusting what Jesus has done for us, heaven awaits us and we live life this side of heaven in loyal thanks for rescue. What great love God has lavished on us, by sending us the greatest gift we've ever received - the child born in Bethlehem's stable. Immanuel, "God with us," our Savior!
  • Dec 15, 2019Week 3: Focusing on Jesus in the Storm
    Dec 15, 2019
    Week 3: Focusing on Jesus in the Storm
  • Dec 8, 2019Week 2: Repent!
    Dec 8, 2019
    Week 2: Repent!
    Your friend is coming over for coffee, so you straighten up the kitchen and buy some fresh coffee beans. Your state senator is coming over to talk to you about some policy. The preparation is more intense, more meticulous, right? The more important the guest, the more preparation must be made. When it comes to meeting Jesus, whether during his first coming at Christmas or his second coming on Judgment Day, important preparation must be made. It is so important to prepare to meet Jesus that God raised up a special messenger, John the Baptist, whose only job was to help people prepare to meet their God in the flesh. If you want to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, if you want to stand on the Last Day, you need to be prepared too. And as John the Baptist preached to those who gathered to hear his message, part of preparing our hearts for Jesus' coming requires us to repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!
  • Dec 1, 2019Week 1: Keep Watch!
    Dec 1, 2019
    Week 1: Keep Watch!
    We know when Christmas will be. Maybe part of your family’s tradition includes an Advent calendar, or other countdown system used to track how many days are left until Christmas. But when it comes to Jesus’ coming again at Judgment Day, there’s no calendar; no countdown that we can look to to know exactly when Jesus will come again! So, because we don’t know the exact day or hour, we need to prepare our hearts as we keep watch for his coming again. Just as in the days of the flood, Noah didn’t know when the rains would begin, so we don’t know when Judgment Day will come. But just as God kept Noah safe in the ark, so also will God keep us safe on Judgment Day, through faith in the one we prepare our hearts for--both for his coming at Christmas, and his coming again!
  • Nov 27, 2019The Thanksgiving Mindset
    Nov 27, 2019
    The Thanksgiving Mindset
    Sermon Text: Luke 17:11-19
  • Nov 24, 2019The King We Need
    Nov 24, 2019
    The King We Need
    Series: Welcome Home
    Windsor. Bernadotte. Bourbon-Anjou. Orange-Nassau. Glucksburg. Liechtenstein. Do you know what those have in common? They are all names of royal families.  A member of each of those families serves as a monarch.  The extended members of those families enjoy fabulous privileges, even if the monarch serves largely as a figurehead.  For the past month, we have seen that Christ has welcomed us into his home and made us part of this family.  Today, we see that this is a royal family.  For our brother Jesus is Kin.  He does more than serve as a figurehead.  Christ rules over all Creation for the benefit of his family.  He promises us that one day we will sit with him on his throne (Revelation 3:21).  Today-Christ the King Sunday-the Church Year comes to an end.  We praise Christ for his glorious reign.  We thank him for making us part of his royal family. giving us a claim to the Kingdom.
  • Nov 17, 2019LIFE
    Nov 17, 2019
    LIFE
    Series: Welcome Home
    Death is ugly. It does not matter if someone dies after a long, protracted fight with some illness or if they die peacefully in their sleep. Either way, the body goes into the ground and begins to decay. Either way, that person is gone, and their absence is constantly noticed.
    Death would be overwhelming were it not for the fact that, for the believer, Christ has completely transformed death. Death is not the end. For those who are part of Christ’s family, death is the beginning of a new and better life, one where the deceased has triumphed over sin and all its consequences. We thank God for this beautiful gospel truth—that Christians have an everlasting family. When Christian loved ones die, they are not “lost.” Something is lost when: a) you don’t know where it is, and therefore b) you will not see it again. We know exactly where our deceased Christian loved ones are. We look forward to being reunited with them soon. This Sunday, we celebrate the Saints Triumphant—those believers who have died and been welcomed into their true home with Jesus.
  • Nov 10, 2019Where You Are Perfectly Safe
    Nov 10, 2019
    Where You Are Perfectly Safe
    Series: Welcome Home
    Twenty-one billion dollars.  That is how much Americans spend annually on home security.  We want our homes to be a place that our family can feel safe, where they can be apart from everything that can hurt them.  However, the reality is that no matter how many locks and alarms and cameras you might use to guard your house, you and your family are no perfectly safe. There is a greater danger than thieves ... a greater threat than bullies.  There is even something worse than physical death.  Judgement day is coming, and with it, the destruction of all creation.  If that day comes and you are not prepared, you begin an eternal nightmare.  In the Church, our brother Jesus has given us a home that is indeed perfectly safe.  Not even Judgement Day can touch it, Christmas can look forward to Judgement Day with great anticipation.  Even as "the mountains fall into the hear of the sea" (Psalm 46:2), we have Christ's promise that we will be perfectly safe.