IBCD Sermon Weekly

Today is Palm Sunday where we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. It is a homecoming of a sort. Many of us have experienced “homecomings” and it can sometimes be great, but sometimes bittersweet. Today we will look at Jacob’s homecoming and Jesus’ homecoming.

Genesis 33:4 4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.

Matthew 21:9 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!"

Today we continue the life of Jacob. So far, he has not been a model of good behavior! Today we look at a famous story of a dream he had of angels ascending and descending and what this means to us today.

Genesis 28:16-17 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."

Today we are looking at how Jacob stole the blessing of the firstborn from his brother Esau. Again, we are reminded that God works through sin and imperfection to bring about redemption and holiness. The blessing stolen from Esau eventually led to the blessing of Christ in our lives.

Genesis 27:36 36 Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!"

Today we are beginning a sermon series on the life of Jacob. Jacob, like many of the “heroes” of the Bible is a very flawed character. However, God uses him and, in the process, transforms his life and makes him the leader of the family from which the Savior of the world would come.

Genesis 25:25-26 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob.

One of the things I have struggled with in my life of being a follower of Christ is being able to communicate to people the importance of the gospel message in a way which they could hear and really understand. The reason for this difficulty is not that I do not know what to say, but rather I find people are very guarded when the topic of faith comes up. So how can we effectively communicate about Christ?

Today we are looking at the place of Baptism in one’s obedience to following Christ. I want those of you who are part of the family of IBCD who have not taken this step, often because of your church background in state churches which teach the practice of infant baptism, that I love you and am not attacking you. However, it is both my duty and privilege to share with you why I think it is an important aspect of one’s obedience to following Jesus as Lord.

Today we are looking at "Care". In doing this we are going to ask a few questions. One is, "Who is supposed to do the "caring" within the church body?" and "How is this supposed to take place?"

“Care” is one of the areas which is easy to talk about but hard to do. To say we should care for others is simple. To care for others effectively is very difficult. The main reason is because we are all different and when it comes to "caring" there is no "one size fits all" approach.

When Jesus was on the cross, He had many concerns. But His concerns were not about His own pain and suffering; instead, He was focused on others. One of them was Mary, His mother. This reveals a lot about His character.

Ruth 1:16 16 For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

Today we are continuing our journey through the 5 C’s with Connect.

We are called to be in fellowship with Christ and one another.

Through this we have the power to overcome the enemy, rejoice in community and live lives which give God glory.

Today we are beginning our journey for the 5 C’s which are the purposes of the church.

The C for today is “Celebrate” which is describing our purpose to worship God.