Jesus’ seven words from the cross

While He hung on the cross, Jesus made seven statements. The first three words concern His personal relationships — a prayer for His executioners, a promise to the thief (His fellow-sufferer on that day), and a provision for His mother. The next three words concern His work of salvation — the cry concerning His moral […]

“Into Your hands I commit My spirit”

What do you say when you are suffering? What comes out of your mouth when you are hurting? Those are not theoretical questions. In the middle of Covid-19, we know what comes out of our mouths when we suffer. We don’t have to guess at what we might do and say when we have troubles. […]

Sermon: The Compassionate, Competent Savior

The Compassionate, Competent Savior John 11:17-44 April 5, 2020 Who will care for you when you are suffering? Who will care for you if everyone is suffering? Who will care for you when care and connection and human touch are being restricted by governmental controls? We are not the first people to ask that question. […]

Sermon: The Birth Announcement

The Birth Announcement Luke 2:1-20 December 22, 2019 Earlier this year, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle had a baby. While babies are born every second of every day, this birth captured the attention of royal followers around the world. Like many other parents, the birth was first announced by Harry and Meghan on social […]

Live by the Spirit by setting your mind on Christ

Romans 8 is one of the most beloved chapters in Scripture. It speaks of the believer’s responsibility and ability to mortify sin. It speaks of the believer’s adoption to become sons of God. It speaks of the coming liberation from the sufferings of this world. It speaks of the intercessory prayer of both the Spirit […]

Our great King and Savior

At Christmas, many sermons, blog posts, and magazine articles rightly expound the greatness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Those writings echo the theme of Scripture, which exposes Christ’s glory with unique and superlative terms [my emphasis]: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” (Col. 1:15) “For those whom He […]

Christmas Joys

Below is the text of the message I preached this evening at our Christmas Eve service: “Christmas Joys” (Luke 2:25-35). It’s a little late to send a letter to Santa with your gift requests tonight. But people have been sending in requests for a while now. It’s usually just children that send in their wants, […]

Sermon: Christmas Sorrows

Christmas Sorrows Matthew 2:13-23 December 23, 2018 What is your dream of the perfect Christmas? Paint the picture in your mind: who are the people who are around you? Where are you celebrating? What are you eating? What gifts are you giving and receiving? What will make the perfect Christmas day? On the first Christmas […]

Christ came for sin

In Romans 8:3, Paul identifies the reason for Christ’s advent — He came “for sin” (ESV). That is, He came for the purpose of addressing the problem of sin. He came for sin because sin was (and is) the great problem of mankind. We tend to think we have bigger problems than sin. We have […]

Sermon: “O Foolish Men”

“O Foolish Men…” Luke 24:13-35 April 1, 2018 A pastor in California tells the story of a secondhand store in California that resells wardrobes of “the stars” of Hollywood. If you have enough cash, you can buy something worn by your favorite actor and play your own role, pretending to be that star. A number […]

“I am thirsty” — a Good Friday meditation

This is the manuscript of my message from last night’s Good Friday service. You may also download a PDF version of the message here. Explanations of why you love whom you love are sometimes difficult. A baby might have been born only minutes earlier, but her new mother or father will undoubtedly be willing to […]

Our union with Christ

Our relationships will change us. If we are married, we are one with our spouses (Gen. 2:24) and through years together we increasingly become like one another — our life philosophies become unified, our desires become singular, our words and vocabularies mimic one another, and we become increasingly dependent on one another. What we were […]

The Greatest Christmas Gift

“The Greatest Christmas Gift” John 6:37, 39 December 24, 2017 This might be the most extravagant, unexpected gift given this year. Two weeks ago a man walked into the “5 & Diner” restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ for a Saturday morning breakfast. He ordered an ordinary bacon and eggs breakfast with coffee. The bill came to […]

Sermon: The Story of Jesus

“The Story of Jesus” 1 Timothy 3:16 December 17, 2017 Christmas is full of surprises. But one of the surprises about Christmas in Scripture is the brevity of the NT narrative of Christ’s first advent. For instance, the four gospels tell the story of Jesus Christ, yet two of the four gospels do not mention […]

Sermon: Solus Christus

“Solus Christus: the Center of the Reformation” Colossians 1:15-20 November 12, 2017 Rowland Taylor was a Reformer living in England who died on February 9, 1555. He was identified as a Protestant, questioned, imprisoned, and then taken from London to his hometown of Hadleigh “where to his great delight [he was] to be burned before […]