Sermons from 2024 (Page 2)

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,…

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.  Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.  It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.  But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.  This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the…

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,    for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning;    great is your faithfulness.I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;    therefore I will wait for him.”The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,    to the one who seeks him Lamentations 3:22-25 Sermon Notes

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as…

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.In doing this, you will heap…

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message…

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:7-10 Sermon Notes

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.  There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do…

One thing I ask from the Lord,    this only do I seek:that I may dwell in the house of the Lord    all the days of my life,to gaze on the beauty of the Lord    and to seek him in his temple.For in the day of trouble    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent    and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted    above the enemies who surround me;at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;    I…

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,    slow to anger, abounding in love.He will not always accuse,    nor will he harbor his anger forever;he does not treat us as our sins deserve    or repay us according to our iniquities.For as high as the heavens are above the earth,    so great is his love for those who fear him;as far as the east is from the west,    so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children,    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;for he…