The Greatest of These is Love Text: 1 Corinthians 13 In this sermon, we will look at what may be the most well-known and possibly most popular passage of scripture. As we prepare for Lent, we'll sit in St. Paul's call to love well, in 1 Corinthians 13. In this passage, we learn the importance of love, what love actually is, and that in the end, it is the most important thing. But Paul is also clear that love isn't an emotion but an attitude and posture towards others. As we

Should I not pity them? Text: Jonah 4 We finish our travel through Jonah. Nineveh has repented, God has shown them mercy, and then Jonah's true fear is revealed. He wasn't afraid that the Ninevites might hurt him, or that he'd fail; he was afraid that God would actually show them mercy. In the final chapter of the book, we get the true punch, the true point of the whole book: what if God chooses to show mercy to those whom we hate, despise, fear, or think are truly evil? How

We follow Christ without knowing what will come next, but still, this is good. Text: Jonah 3 In this sermon, we look at Jonah 3, which is a chapter of hope. In it, Jonah is told, yet again, to go to Nineveh; he goes, preaches the message that God gives to him, and the Ninevites repent. What makes this chapter especially interesting is the people's hope without promise. The Ninevites in particular realize the despicable nature of their ways, show signs of repentance through in

Text: Jonah 2 In this sermon, we look at Jonah 2. After three days in the belly of a fish, Jonah finally prays. But before he prays, he has to be crushed, brought low. Christ looks at this bringing low as Jonah's death. While it may not be have been a physical death, Jonah certainly reaches a point of being crushed. Sometimes we must be brought low in order to experience new life in Christ. While we would never hope for this, we can meet Christ anew in our lowest moments.

Let us be a people of renewal. Text: Jonah 1 This sermon starts our mini-series working through the book of Jonah. This short book is filled with incredible imagery, beautiful wordplay, and a profound message: God's mercy is deeper than our sin. In Jonah 1, we meet the hapless prophet, who, as we will learn, would really rather not see pagans saved. Yet, even as Jonah runs, even in his rebellion, God uses Jonah to turn pagan hearts to him. The contrast between the sailors and

How do we live in the in-between time? Text: Psalm 134 It is hard to believe that we are ending our time in the Ascension Psalms tomorrow! The final Psalm invites the priests of the Lord to continually bless the Lord. In our new-covenant reality, Christ completes this invitation for us and invites us into it. The Psalm is ultimately about what life looks like in the inbetween and it's instruction is simple: bless the Lord, praise the Lord. In the valleys, on the plains, in t

How beautiful and delightful is the goodness of the Lord. Text: Psalm 133 One of the things we've been thinking about as we've read through the Ascension Psalms is how to read them canonically, that is, how they fit together as a whole. We have seen that we are on a trajectory from Galilee to Jerusalem to the Cross to life in the resurrected Christ. Tomorrow, we are nearing the end. Psalm 133 anticipates, in a deep and hope-filled way, eternity bound together in Christ, in un

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Text: Psalm 132 In this sermon, we will look at Psalm 132, which at first glance seems to wander around, but as we dig into the Psalm, we cant help but think of the beginning of the Westminster Shorter Catechism's first question. What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. In this Psalm, we see an arc of glorifying God, culminating in all of God's people enjoying that

We are called to trust God with the trust of a child. Text: Psalm 131 In this sermon, we look at Psalm 131. This is a very short but encouraging Psalm. In Hebrew it is 3 verses, and each verse represents a thought: Vanquish your proud spirit. Fosert a quiet faith. A calling to hope. (Paraphrased from the WBS Psalms commentary). These three invitations push us to rid ourselves of our desire to be our own king and sovereign and trust the king and sovereign of our universe and o

Christ brings us into the deepest delight. Text: Psalm 130 The Psalm this week begins with this resounding cry:  "Out of the deep. " We've discussed this fairly often, perhaps because it is one of my favorite types of imagery in scripture, but the imagery of the sea is that of uncontrollable, chaotic forces. The Psalmist starts, and there is a sense of being overcome by the forces of chaos. Yet, like last week's Psalm, the Psalmist has a particular faith that God will deliv

God takes hostile ground and makes it holy. Text: Psalm 129 We've probably all faced seasons in our lives when it seemed as though every day someone was mad at us for something. Rumors kept getting spread, and people kept trying to ruin us. In Psalm 129, the Psalmist speaks to this, but unlike other lament songs, there is a sense of victory. One of the best parts of living in the Church is knowing that Christ has already won; he has defeated death and freed us from sin, so th

The Church is Christ's Good Vine Text:  Psalm 128 As we continue through the Ascension Psalms, we'll look at Psalm 128. This Psalm makes incredible promises, but they depend directly on the completion of the first covenant, which no one has perfectly fulfilled. That is no one, until Christ, who fulfills the covenant perfectly. We carefully consider this Psalm and we realize it is to Christ the promises are made. In other words, it is through the church, Christ's bride, that h

In Christ, we are given the opportunity to have a holy laughter, joy that is rooted in what Christ has already done, is doing, and will do for us. Text: Psalm 126 Psalm 126 shifts its focus to a point of joy. There are five points in the Psalm where the author talks about rejoicing, gladness, and laughter. We get this sense of utter, even unbelievable excitement in the life the the Psalmist. However, there's also an interesting tension as we move into the second part of the P

Text: Psalm 124 In the progression of the Songs of Ascent, and we see a move from fear to hope to joy. As we enter into Psalm 122, we see how the Psalmist is excited - rejoicing even to go to the House of the Lord to worship him. This joy isn't based on any worldly expectation but on the nature of who God is, how he will behave, and the reality that his judgment is good. As we read this, we are reminded that we are called to have this same gladness or excitement, not just to

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In a sin-sick world, interpersonal conflict is inevitable. Text: Psalm 120 We begin our series examining the Ascension Psalms (Psalms...

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Christian life is meant to be lived together. Text: Hebrews 13:22-25 This sermon concludes our study of the letter to the Hebrews. The...

An order for family prayer, primarily to be used in the morning Together: OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy...