Heritage Baptist Church of Frankfort IL

This is a followup to the morning service where we saw Christ the Word revealing the glory of God. He was revealing what God had declared in Exodus 34-6-7. Tonight, we looked at the greatest sign in John and looked at the compassion of God revealed in this miracle.

This sermon is the culmination of our series dealing with the statement of God's glory found in Exodus 34-6-7. In past sermons we looked at how the nation of Israel used this statement throughout the Old Testament. However, a statement like this might not be enough for people to understand God. God sent His Son, the Word, into the world to tent or dwell among men, revealing grace and truth. No person has seen God in his complete glory, but they can see all the glorious characteristics of God in Christ.

When we sin we often shy away from going to God. We have misconceptions on how He will respond to sinners. Israel had a long history of sinning. However, God was abundantly merciful to them and would forgive their sins when they repented. This is what God stated about His character in Exodus 34-6-7 that He will forgive sin. Believers see God's glory when they come to Him and He not only forgives but cleanses.

Acts 15-16 provide a case study in seeing how God leads individuals into new ministry opportunities. In this passage God uses disagreements, disciples added, and closed doors and open doors to give Paul direction to start a new ministry in a place he had not even considered. In the life of our church we have closed the door on one ministry that has been a part of the ministry for 49 years. For us we need to see the open doors of ministry that the Lord lays in our path.

This is not a sermon that fits exactly into the series. It does take into account the characteristics of God. Lament is a believer's response to situations that are -Whys-- or -How--. The believer must go to God and bring their complaint, ask for help, and trust in who God is. The sermon looks both a Psalm and then the book of Lamentations. The book of Lamentations' central section deals with God's character in the midst of pain and suffering. In the life of the church when sorrow strikes, it is good for them to respond knowing God's character. This was a timely sermon for our church as there was great tragedy for congregation this Sunday.

The last saying of Jesus on the cross is a comfort for believers in Christ everywhere. Jesus reminds of the need of prayer and the Word to be part of one's life. However, it is supreme reminder that we know have a relation with God that we can call him -Our Father- and that He will take care of us in this life right on through till the life to come. Jesus shows us the care and trust one should have in our heavenly Father. A good reminder for our congregation with the loss of several individuals connected with congregation this week.

God's statement about His glory is seen in two books that address the city of Nineveh. Jonah is a story in which God displays compassion and mercy to the violent Assyrians. Jonah quotes Exodus 34-6 in anger because he knew God was this way. God is merciful to all. However, Nahum writes over a 100 years later to Nineveh and expresses the fact that God is longsuffering, yet He will not let sin go unjudged. Nahum deals with the Exodus 34-7 where God will judge the sin of all people.

This sermon is the final sermon of our series on Romans. It recalls all of the themes covered in this series. Romans is a book that shows the power of God in the Good News of Jesus Christ. The book breaks down into major sections, such Sin, Salvation, Sanctification and Security, Sovereignty, and Service.-One Note the sermon is not complete it is missing the last 20 minutes due to a computer glitch.

This psalm has Exodus 34-6-7 in the middle of it. It is a psalm of praise of David where he emphasizes both the greatness and goodness of God. His meditation on God and His word allowed him to have items to praise God for.

The end of Romans 16 echoes many of themes found at the beginning of the book. However, just before closing with a benediction, Paul mentions a number of people in Corinth that greet the congregation of Rome. These individuals both small and great contribute to the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul's closing prayer reiterates that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is empowered by God to transform an individual. Because of this, God is worthy of praise both now and forever.