In Good Faith: The Central Reformed Church Sermon Podcast

The world distracts with a panoply of false paths to meaning and purpose. But the word of God—the Holy Bible—offers the only true path. It won't give you specific and personal answers to questions like "Should I marry this person?" or "Is this the right job for me?" Instead, the Bible reveals to us the Living God through Jesus Christ. Reading scripture regularly is part of an internal, Spirit-inspired work that changes us. It equips us for good works and good lives so we can in turn magnify God's glory and greatness and love for all Creation. Being rooted in the Word of God gives us a blueprint for our lives, gives us the meaning and direction we need, and grounds us in life with God.

As delivered by Pastor Matt Shults on Sunday, October 9, 2022, at Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Don't be ashamed or embarrassed by your faith but be bold in it! We are the beneficiaries and inheritors of a faith tradition built on centuries of good teaching and instruction. We are connected to the past by our teachers and mentors and by a God who has entrusted us with this one life and a faith by which to live it. So, rather than fall to internal conflicts and factionalism, let us nourish and share our faith and bring the Good News into the lives of others. That's truly radical change! As Pastor Steve says in this sermon, "Trust the one who trusts us," and find our purpose in a faith that delineates our shared future in God's will.

"You are heading toward a choice between money and happiness." The world is full of such temptations, and regardless of where we might be in our faith journey, we can become easily distracted by them. Exercising virtue—living out the tenets of our faith—is made all the more difficult by such distractions, and encourages us to become discontented with the state of our lives. Perhaps we want more than we have, or wish were someone else. How have we compromised our characters because of greed or envy? How do we fail to plan for the future or learn from the past if we only ever live on impulse in the present? How can we live as Christ if we ignore other people and turn inward, busy ourselves with our own internal life? We have so much to gain when we find contentment in what gifts God has granted us, when we recall Christ's promise of the eternal, when our lives align with God's will—when we live as Christ. A virtuous life.

Prayer is the engine of every church. It's the work of the church's people and is indicative of the church's life. But for whom should we pray, and for what should we pray? For everyone and for everything. Prayer is the life of Christ coming alive in us, and it brings change to our lives and to the life of the church. From supplication to intercession, every prayer we make is a brick laid on the foundations of both our faith life and the life of the church. As Pastor Steve outlines in the sermon, the key prayer is to pray.

Often, it feels as if the only constant in life is change. On top of that, change may also present us with great challenge and struggle. Changes in the world, our communities, and in our lives seem beyond our control, and any efforts we make to wrest that control for ourselves almost always end in futility! The Holy Spirit also brings change into our lives and beings and can leave us permanently altered, as with Paul. Through the Spirit, God finds us where we are, when we might least expect it, and through this grace and mercy we are able to become changed and new. In this sermon, the first in a new series, Pastor Steve draws upon 1 Timothy 1:12-17 to illuminate the generosity of God's grace and mercy and the possibilities they hold for our lives. Rejoice and be glad!

How many times a day do we ask ourselves, "Where am I going? What have I done with my life?" It's so easy to become subservient to such feelings of incompletion and personal failure. As if we could be defined so narrowly! In this sermon, Pastor Steve draws upon Psalm 139 to remind us that, from a heavenly, divine perspective, we are so much more than these long, dark tea-times of the soul. What was lost in the Fall—separation from God (explains feeling incomplete, right?)—was realized in the person of Christ. We need not hide from God; God already knows us, completely. We cannot draw conclusions on ourselves based on what others say or think, or even our thoughts and words. Only God is the author of our beings, and we are his, known and loved forever.

Do you ever toot your horn, so to speak? Maybe you have a particular skill or possession that gives you some sense of superiority. But superior to whom? These kinds of self-aggrandizing feelings and patterns of behavior are often deadly to our spiritual life and encourage the world to continue thinking poorly of the Church. As Pastor Matt offers in this sermon, his first at Central, we are prone to putting ourselves forward, over others. Instead, Christ calls us to put others before ourselves and invite the marginalized—the least of these—to his great banquet.

Based on Luke 13:10-17, and delivered by Pastor Steve Pierce on Sunday, August 21, 2022, at Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

As delivered by guest preacher Pastor Scott Hoezee on Sunday, August 14, 2022, at Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.