Mercy Hill Church Sermons

If we want to become the kind of trees that bear good fruit in love for God and neighbor, then we must tumble towards the only fruitful One and abide in His love, drawing on His grace and Spirit.

Jesus tells a parable that seems to indicate there are what we might call divine and holy tensions within God Himself. God demands justice but desires to show mercy. He demands that the tree to be cut down, but desires to give it more time and care. These tensions subsist and even increase until, at last, they find their sweet resolution in the cross of Christ.

When tragedy strikes it can be severely disorienting. We are often left wondering how we should interpret it, how we should respond to it, where is God in the middle of it, what is He doing or saying in it all? Our text leaves little room for doubt. At a basic level, in tragedy, God is calling us to search our own hearts, repent, and take refuge in the Son.

The notion of judgment may be unpopular, but truly we are all longing for a judge to come and make every wrong right. God will do this in Jesus, but if we want to be standing on the right side of this judgment we must settle our debts with Him outside of court. In other words: we must flee to the cross.

The people of God have always had to wait. But it's never been easy. In this text we see that this waiting is necessary, full of desire for God, marked by love for others, and granted a glorious end.

As Christians we likely know that we should be reading our Bibles, but do we know why? In this sermon Nick offers 7 reasons to pick up this old book and read. He also offers a few practical suggestions for getting started.