Grace Reformed Church

Genesis 15 gives us one of the clearest pictures of the gospel in the Old Testament.

Abram believes God’s promise, but then asks the question we all eventually ask: “How can I know?” How can I know God will actually keep his word? How can I know the promise will hold when my faith is weak and my track record is worse?

God answers by making a covenant. And the ceremony is strange. Animals are cut in half and laid opposite one another. In Abram’s world, this was covenant language. The lesser party would walk between the pieces, effectively saying, “If I break this promise, let what happened to these animals happen to me.”

But that is not what happens. Abram is put into a deep sleep. He contributes nothing. And God himself passes between the pieces.

That changes everything.

In this sermon, we look at the promise sworn, carried, and received. God does not merely promise Abram blessing; he takes responsibility for both sides of the covenant. The fulfillment rests on him, and so do the consequences when the covenant is broken.

That promise ultimately leads us to Christ.

The God who passed between the pieces takes on flesh and blood. The one who could not lie becomes the one who can die. And when humanity breaks the covenant, Christ bears the curse himself. The darkness falls, the Son is torn, and the covenant breaker goes free.

We are not saved because we earn what Christ accomplished. We do not spend the rest of our lives trying to prove we were worth the sacrifice. The gospel is not Jesus saying, “Earn this.”

It is Jesus saying, “It is finished.”

And that grace does not produce indifference toward sin. It gives us a new heart. We do not obey because we are terrified that God might abandon us. We love because he first loved us. We repent because grace has made us alive. We follow Christ because we have been adopted, not because we are trying to earn a place in the family.

Genesis 15 is God’s pinky promise to sinners, only infinitely stronger: the covenant rests on him.

He began it.

He carried it.

He bore the curse.

And he will finish it.

Scripture references include: Genesis 15:8–21, Genesis 12:1–7, Jeremiah 34:18, Hebrews 6:13–18, Exodus 13–14, 1 Corinthians 10:1–4, Jude 5, Hebrews 2:14, Ephesians 1–2, Matthew 26–27, Galatians 3:13, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 1:6, John 10:28–29, Romans 6:1–4, Romans 8:15, 2 Timothy 1:7, and 1 John 4:18–19.

Genesis 15 opens with God speaking to Abram at the height of his success: “Fear not, Abram. I am your shield.”

That timing matters. Abram has just returned from an impossible victory. Lot has been rescued, powerful kings have been defeated, Melchizedek has blessed him, and Abram has refused the riches of Sodom. If there were ever a moment when he might feel secure in his own strength, this was it.

And that is exactly when God reminds him where his safety actually comes from.

In this sermon, we look at three promises God gives Abram: I am your shield, I am your righteousness, and I am your covenant keeper.

A shield does not mean the battle disappears. It means God keeps his people through it. Scripture never promises that faith will spare us from grief, loss, suffering, temptation, or death. Job lost nearly everything. The disciples were sent into a hostile world. Christians still experience storms. But the enemy cannot cross the line God has drawn around what ultimately matters: we belong to him, and nothing can separate us from his love.

That is why our confidence cannot rest in circumstances. Prosperity is not proof that God loves us, and suffering is not proof that he has abandoned us.

Abram’s faith itself is hardly impressive. God promises him descendants, and Abram immediately begins proposing alternative solutions. Yet God takes him outside, points him toward the stars, repeats the promise, and Abram believes. Scripture then gives us one of its most important statements: “He believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

Abram is not declared righteous because he finally performs well enough. He simply trusts the God who promises to accomplish what Abram cannot.
The same is true for us. Our righteousness is not built out of stronger faith, better obedience, or our ability to keep ourselves faithful. Christ is our righteousness. And the God who begins the work is also the God who promises to finish it.

So whether we find ourselves in a season of peace or standing in the middle of the storm, the answer is the same: fear not.

God is our shield.
Christ is our righteousness.
And the covenant rests on his faithfulness, not ours.

Scripture references include: Genesis 15:1–7, Genesis 14, Deuteronomy 8:17, Job 1–2, Job 19:25–27, John 10:28–29, John 17:15, Romans 8:38–39, Ephesians 6:16, Galatians 3:16, 29, Romans 4:4–5, Exodus 20:2, Philippians 1:6, and 1 Corinthians 11.

Genesis 14 ends with a striking title repeated again and again: God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. It is more than a name. It tells us who actually stands above the kings, nations, rulers, authorities, and spiritual powers that fill the story of Scripture.

In this sermon, we bring together the threads running from Genesis 3 through Babel, Abraham, Melchizedek, the Psalms, and into the New Testament. God promised that through Abraham all the families of the earth would be blessed. Yet from the beginning, that promise unfolds in the middle of conflict: the seed of the woman against the serpent, earthly kingdoms in rebellion, and spiritual rulers opposed to God and his purposes.
Genesis 14 gives us a glimpse of both sides of that war. Abram returns victorious over powerful kings, but Melchizedek makes clear that the victory was never ultimately Abram’s: God Most High delivered his enemies into his hand. The visible battle pointed beyond itself to the God who rules over heaven and earth.

That same conflict continues throughout Scripture. Paul reminds us that we do not ultimately wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, and spiritual forces of evil. Yet we do not enter that battle wondering how it will end. Christ has already disarmed the powers through the cross, and one day every opposing rule and authority will be finally destroyed.

So how do we live in the meantime?

Not by grasping for the security offered by the king of Sodom. Not by finding our hope in money, politics, comfort, health, family, or circumstances we can control. Abram refuses the king’s offer because his portion belongs to the Lord Most High.

We have been given something even greater. God has reconciled us to himself through Christ and entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation. We are sent into a world still marked by suffering, deception, and spiritual conflict to proclaim the King who has already won.

Our circumstances may be painful. Our bodies may waste away. Our work may sometimes feel invisible or pointless. But in the Lord, our labor is not in vain. We do not lose heart because what we see is temporary, while what Christ has secured for us is eternal.

The Most High God is still our portion. His kingdom is still advancing. And the work he has given us to do is never wasted.

Scripture references include: Genesis 14:18–24, Genesis 3:15, Genesis 6, Genesis 11–12, Deuteronomy 32:8–9, Psalm 82, Daniel 10, Ephesians 6:12, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 Corinthians 15:24–25, Revelation 12:12, 2 Corinthians 5:18–20, John 17:15–18, 2 Corinthians 4:16–18, and 1 Corinthians 15:58.

Genesis 14 introduces Melchizedek as something Israel would have found shocking: a king who is also a priest.

Those two offices were never meant to be combined in an ordinary man. Kings held authority over the people. Priests stood between the people and God. Put both powers into the hands of a sinner, and the result is corruption. But Melchizedek points us to someone different: the one true King-Priest who can hold both offices perfectly.

In this sermon, we look at why we need a priest in the first place. Scripture presents God’s holiness as overwhelming and dangerous to sinful people. At Sinai, the people trembled. Uzzah died when he touched the ark. Isaiah cried out when he saw the Lord. Again and again, the message is clear: sinners cannot simply walk into the presence of a holy God on their own terms.

That is why the priesthood matters.

Hebrews tells us that Jesus is our great High Priest, the one who has passed through the heavens and now brings us safely into the presence of God. He is not distant or cold toward our weakness. He sympathizes with us because he has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Because of him, the throne that would otherwise terrify us has become a throne of grace.

We do not draw near to God by cleaning ourselves up first. We do not close the distance through discipline, religious effort, or better performance. We draw near because Christ stands before the Father for us.

And Genesis gives us a beautiful picture of that reality. Melchizedek comes to Abram with bread and wine, blessing him after God has already given the victory. Abram’s response is not fear or obligation, but gratitude. He gives because he has first received.

The same pattern remains for us. Christ comes to us with grace before we offer anything back. He sustains us, forgives us, and gives us access to the Father. Our obedience, service, generosity, and worship are not payments made to keep God pleased with us. They are responses to a love and mercy we have already received.

When the world offers security, satisfaction, power, or comfort apart from Christ, we are reminded that we already have something better: a King who is also our Priest, who has brought us near and will sustain us to the end.

Scripture references include: Genesis 14:18–24, Numbers 18:7, 1 Samuel 13:11–14, Zechariah 6:13, Exodus 19, Deuteronomy 5:25–26, 2 Samuel 6:6–7, 1 Samuel 6:19–20, Isaiah 6:5, Psalm 130:3, Hebrews 4:14–16, Hebrews 12:29, Galatians 3:26–29, 1 John 4:18–19, and 1 Peter 2:9.

Genesis 14 introduces one of the strangest and most fascinating figures in the Bible: Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He appears suddenly, blesses Abram, brings bread and wine, receives a tenth of everything, and then disappears from the story almost as quickly as he arrived.

But Scripture does not treat him like an insignificant side character.
In this sermon, we begin tracing the mystery of Melchizedek and the way God slowly reveals the true King throughout the Bible. His name means “king of righteousness.” His kingdom is Salem, or peace. He is both king and priest, long before Israel’s priesthood is established. Hebrews later describes him as having no recorded father, mother, genealogy, beginning, or end, and says that he continues as a priest.

Rather than appearing out of nowhere, Melchizedek fits a pattern we have already seen throughout Genesis: the Son of God drawing near to his people before the incarnation, revealing himself little by little and preparing us to understand who Christ will permanently become for us as our Prophet, Priest, and King.

And notice how this King comes to Abram. Abram does not earn the meeting by proving himself worthy or winning the battle through his own strength. Melchizedek immediately reminds him that God Most High delivered his enemies into his hand. The victory belonged to God before Abram ever received the blessing.

That pattern continues all the way to Christ. God does not wait for us to close the distance between us. He comes toward sinners. He draws near to the weak, the weary, and the undeserving. Ultimately, he comes in the flesh, goes to the cross, rises from the grave, and continues to meet his people with grace.

Even the bread and wine carried by Melchizedek point us forward. The King still comes to weary people with provision. At the Lord’s Table, we are reminded again that we do not approach God because we have performed well enough. We come because the King has already won, has drawn near to us, and invites us to receive from him.

The King was in the story all along. And he is still the one who comes to us.

Scripture references include: Genesis 14:17–20, Hebrews 7, Psalm 110, John 3:16, Colossians 1:13, and the broader Old Testament appearances of the Angel of the Lord.

Genesis 14 reads like an ancient war story, but underneath the kings, armies, and strange names is a powerful picture of redemption.

Lot is taken captive by a ruler who has already proven himself stronger than nations, armies, and even the giant clans of the land. From every human angle, Lot is trapped. He cannot free himself. He needs someone with the right relationship, the right obligation, and enough power to come after him.

That person is Abram, his kinsman.

In this sermon, we look at Genesis 14 as the Bible’s first major picture of the kinsman-redeemer: one who enters enemy territory, defeats the captor, recovers what was lost, and brings the captives home. Abram’s victory is remarkable, but Melchizedek makes clear where the power actually came from: God Most High delivered the enemy into his hand.

That story points us forward to Christ. Scripture describes us as captives under the domain of darkness, blinded and enslaved by a power we could not overcome ourselves. Jesus becomes like us, enters the kingdom that held us, defeats the rulers and authorities, and transfers us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.

Together, we are reminded that the Christian life does not begin with our strength, and it does not continue by our strength. God repeatedly chooses weak, ordinary, broken people and accomplishes his purposes through a power that belongs entirely to him.

That matters when the darkness around us feels overwhelming. We are not called to overpower the world through human strength, political force, personal discipline, or sheer determination. Our battle is deeper than flesh and blood, and the power God has given the church is the gospel of Christ.
We do not rescue ourselves, and we do not rescue others by becoming impressive enough. We proclaim the Redeemer who has already broken into enemy territory, defeated the captor, and led his people into freedom.

Scripture references include: Genesis 14:1–20, Deuteronomy 2–3, Amos 2:9, Numbers 13:32–33, 1 Samuel 17, 2 Samuel 21:22, Judges 7, Ephesians 2:1–3, 2 Timothy 2:25–26, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Colossians 1:13, Ephesians 4:8, Colossians 2:15, Ephesians 6:12, and Philippians 4:13.

Baptism is more than a celebration of a decision we made. Scripture presents it as a rich, visible declaration of what God has done for us in Christ.

In this sermon, we look at four ways the Bible teaches us to understand baptism: as a reenactment of a spiritual reality, a renaming ceremony, an ordination into a royal priesthood, and a means of grace that strengthens and assures us.

Baptism reenacts our union with Christ in his death and resurrection. We go under the water because, in Christ, we have gone under judgment, and we come up because we have been raised to new life. Like Passover, the Lord’s Supper, the flood, and the Red Sea, baptism points us away from our accomplishment and toward God’s saving action.

It is also a renaming ceremony. In baptism, we are publicly marked as belonging to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Christ, adopted into God’s family, and welcomed into the visible church. Our identity is no longer grounded in who we were, but in whose name has been placed upon us.

Baptism also reminds us that we have been set apart as a royal priesthood. We do not represent Christ because we are especially qualified, impressive, or spiritually accomplished. We represent him because he has qualified us. Our confidence is not in our own fitness for the task, but in the righteousness of Christ into whom we have been baptized.

And finally, baptism is meant to strengthen our souls. The water does not save us, but it visibly proclaims the cleansing, regeneration, adoption, and Spirit-given life that belong to us by faith in Christ. When we are discouraged, ashamed, or overwhelmed by our failures, we can remember our baptism and everything it declares: we have been washed, named, adopted, united to Christ, and welcomed to draw near to God with full assurance.

Baptism is not ultimately about what we have decided to do for God. It is about what God has done for us.

Scripture references include: Ephesians 5:31–32, Exodus 12–13, 1 Corinthians 11:23–26, Romans 6:3–4, Colossians 2:11–12, 1 Peter 3:20–21, 1 Corinthians 10:1–2, Matthew 28:18–19, Galatians 3:26–29, Romans 8:15, Acts 2:41, Matthew 3:13–17, 1 Peter 2:9–12, Ezekiel 36:25–27, Titus 3:5, 1 Corinthians 12:13, 1 Corinthians 6:11, 2 Timothy 2:13, and Hebrews 10:22.

Genesis 13 may look like a simple story about Abram, Lot, land, and generosity, but underneath it is a much bigger story: God is restoring the nations to himself, and he is doing it through broken people by mercy rather than human strength.

In this sermon, we step back from the immediate details of Abram and Lot and trace the larger biblical story from Babel to Abraham and beyond. The nations have been scattered, rebellion has spread, and yet God promises that through one man all the families of the earth will be blessed. Paul later tells us exactly what that promise meant: the gospel was being preached beforehand to Abraham, and the nations would be brought into his family by faith.

Together, we see that God does not accomplish this plan through impressive, faithful, self-sufficient people. He works through Eve, Noah, Abram, and a long line of sinners who repeatedly fail. Abram has barely returned from Egypt after lying, scheming, and doubting God’s promise, yet God simply continues the covenant and repeats the promise. Abram’s failure does not derail God’s plan because Abram was never the one holding the plan together.

That leads us to a better question than, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Scripture forces us to ask: Why does God build his kingdom out of bad people? The answer is mercy. God does not choose the strong because he needs their strength, or the righteous because he needs their goodness. He chooses the weak, foolish, undeserving, and broken so that no one can boast and so that his grace is unmistakable.

We are part of that same promise. Those who belong to Christ are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise, part of a family so large that God compares it to the dust of the earth. And the same mercy that began the story is the mercy that carries it forward.

We do not save ourselves, sustain ourselves, or bring redemption to the world through our own strength. God does. Our life, our obedience, our love for others, and our participation in his kingdom all flow from the mercy we have already received.

Scripture references include: Genesis 13, Genesis 12:1–3, Deuteronomy 32:8–9, Psalm 82, Genesis 3:15, Galatians 3:7–9, Galatians 3:29, Deuteronomy 7:7, 1 Corinthians 1:27–29, Romans 2:4, and Romans 5.

Romans 5 brings us to one of the most comforting truths in the Christian life: because we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Not temporary peace. Not probationary peace. Not peace that depends on how steady, sincere, or consistent we have been. The war is over because Christ has ended it.

In this sermon, we consider what our standing before God actually rests on. Paul does not point us to our behavior, our doctrine, our religious activity, or our ability to endure suffering well. He points us outside ourselves to the finished work of Christ. While we were still weak, while we were still sinners, while we were still enemies, Christ died for us.

Together, we are reminded that suffering is not God turning against us. For those who are in Christ, wrath has already fallen on Jesus. Our trials may grieve us, test us, and expose our weakness, but they are not punishment. They are the loving discipline of a Father who is producing endurance, character, and hope in his children.

And because God reconciled us when we were his enemies, we can be certain he will keep us now that we are his sons and daughters. Our standing before God never depended on us, not when it started and not now. We did not build it, and we cannot knock it over.

So we can stop bracing for a verdict that has already been handed down. We can draw near to the throne of grace with confidence, look outside ourselves to Christ, and rejoice in the God who justified us, reconciled us, adopted us, sustains us, and will not change his mind about us.

Scripture references include: Romans 5:1–11, Romans 1–4, James 1:2–4, 1 Peter 1:6–7, Romans 8:32, Hebrews 12:6–11, Hebrews 4:16, and 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Genesis 12 gives us a painfully honest picture of Abram. After receiving the promise of God, believing his word, and building an altar in worship, Abram immediately faces famine. The man who had just heard that God would bless the nations through his offspring is suddenly afraid, scheming, lying, and putting Sarai in danger to preserve himself.

In this sermon, we consider the pattern Scripture shows again and again: mountaintop moments are real, but they do not carry us. Abram, Elijah, Gideon, Peter, Paul, and many others all show us that spiritual highs do not make us immune to fear, failure, pride, despair, or unbelief. The high is real, but the low often comes close behind it.

Together, we are reminded that trials are not interruptions to God’s work in us. In many ways, the trial is the work. God uses suffering, weakness, grief, and need to pry our hands open from the things we cling to and to teach us again that Christ alone is our foundation. Trials expose our weakness, but they also drive us away from ourselves and back to the grace that sustains faith.

Our hope is not in recreating old mountaintop experiences or proving that we can stand strong in the famine. Our hope is alive because Christ is alive. The resurrection is the true mountaintop we are waiting for, and until then, we walk by faith, grieving honestly, trusting weakly, and resting in the grace of the God who sees, saves, protects, and holds us.

Scripture references include: Genesis 12:10–13:1, Genesis 12:1–9, Joshua 24:2, 1 Kings 18–19, Judges 8:27, Matthew 16, John 13, Luke 22, 2 Corinthians 12, James 1:2–4, 1 Peter 1:3–7, and Genesis 12:17.