Psalm 32:1-2  What does it mean to be redeemed?  Today we will see many examples of redemption both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  There will be a plethora (a bunch) of theological terms I will define and explain.  (Each one could be one sermon if not a series in themselves.)  At the end, this is what I want us to remember -  Redemption is an act of God that restores us into relationship with God, brings us joyfully into His grace and mercy, and frees us from the guilt of our sin.

Psalm 32:5 Our topic today - repentance. It has far more reaching consequences than just being sorry we did something wrong or, as more often happens, we are sorry that we got caught. It means a total change of life, a total change of direction, a total reorienting of our lives according to God’s will not our own. Until that happens we will never experience true freedom because we will always be enslaved to our sin. For those that repent it means freedom and reconciliation with the God that loves them and desires reconciliation and relationship.

Only through repentance can we be freed from enslavement to sin and brought into true freedom with God.

Psalm 32: 3-4   With Psalm 32 as the background, we will focus on verses 3-4 today. We will ask the questions “What is sin?” and “How can I recognize sin in my life?” Though these are questions that apply to believers, it is THE question that must first be answered by an unbeliever before they can become a child of God. Unless they can recognize the sin in their life they will never get to the point of needing or desiring to be reconciled to God. Acknowledging the weight of our sin is vital for our spiritual journey; embracing it allows us to experience God's grace and restoration through repentance.

Matthew 18:1-5  What we see today is unless we completely and totally trust in God and depend on him, we cannot even enter His kingdom.  This is not a case of “You do your best and God will do the rest.”  No, this is a case of God is our only hope in every situation of life and we must depend on Him for everything.  We must humble ourselves and trust Him as his child in order to enter the Kingdom.

Matthew 17:24-27  As children of God, we are called to live in a manner that honors Him, using our freedom not to indulge our desires, but to serve Him and serve others for His glory.

Matthew 17:24-23  As we will learn today it is not the amount of our faith or the strength of our ability to generate faith.  Not quantity, but quality.  Who is the object of our faith and on whom do we depend for that faith? Even the smallest faith can move mountains when it is placed in the hands of Jesus.

Matthew 17:1-13  Today we get a glimpse of Jesus in His glory and what we will become after His return. It’s a familiar story, one we have heard or read many times. While I do not have anything earth shattering to add, I think we need the reminder of who it is we believe in and worship and what this frail body of dust will become. That hope can carry us through our dark days of wanting to be so different than we are. We need to remember that 1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” 

1 Peter 1:3-9 Heaven will come down one, last time.  God, the Father, has set a day when everything infected with sin is either renewed, saved to eternal joy, or sent to eternal punishment.  After that, Heaven and Earth will once more be open to each other and we will either live eternally with or without God.  That day begins with the return of Jesus from Heaven.

Matthew 16:21-28  Memento Mori - remember you must die.  It is not intended to be a morbid practice but one that forces us to confront our mortality and the type of life we live.  To live for ourselves is to die for eternity, to live for Jesus is to find life in God.

Luke 2:1-20 We can spend a lifetime finding all that the birth of Jesus, and his subsequent life, death, and resurrection, means to us and to the world.  We all know it means far more than trees and presents and food and fellowship and Christmas carols and “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  Today we focus on two meanings of God coming to Earth in Jesus.  One is of paramount importance - we now have forgiveness of our sin and we can be justified, declared righteous, before a Holy and Perfect God.  The second fills us with hope and reassurance because we are adopted into God’s family to enjoy all that God has to offer us as children.