Reformed & Expository Preaching

We can attack the Lord and accuse him of many things. This is not right, and our accusations are not justified. However, human beings continue to attack God. We do not realize that God publishes many warnings, God is very long suffering, and ultimately God is merciful even though we may deny this reality. This is not a call for us to question God, but a call for us to reevaluate how we view God. Notice, this is not saying that God has changed, but a call for us to change. We can see that even in the midst of his judgment his mercy is manifested.

It would be nice if the Lord would just tell us what he wants us to do. It would be nice that in every circumstance the Lord would tell us what is right and wrong. However, God did not create robots. He desires for us to consciously pursue him. So, when we pray this request we are asking the Lord to accomplish his will, and what we would do his will for his glory.

When Satan stood before Adam and Eve in the garden of eden he gave them the seduction and the allure of freedom. They could be like God and God would have to bow to their will. Adam and Eve discovered that Satan is a liar in that moment. We also discover that sin's appetite is never exhausted and it can never be quenched. Hosea gives the examples of this from Israel's depravity, but also teaches us that God's redeeming mercy can reach deeper than our depravity and sin.

Christ commands us to pray that his kingdom would come. Our desire is to see his kingdom advance knowing that it is his kingdom and not our kingdom. We are called to be aligned with God's purpose in this kingdom and so we are praying that the Lord would continue to orient us with a heavenly perspective on this Christian pilgrimage.

People say that they want Christianity, but they do not want the religion. There is no doubt that there have been many hypocrites in the church who have done atrocious things in the name of Christ. However, we fail to ask, "Is that Christianity?" This is what Hosea addresses. Hosea warns a very religious people to stop trusting in their religion, and trust in their God.

We thank Dr. David Van Drunen for filling our pulpit this Sunday while Pastor Paul Lindemulder takes a week off.

Christ teaches us to pray that the Lord's name would be hallowed. This means that the Lord will make his name holy. This is a strange request considering that God is holy. So, why ask the Lord to make his name holy? #lordsprayer #expositorypreaching #heidelbergcatechism

Hosea is commanded by the Lord to go and bring his adulterous wife hom. Hosea must pay the cost to buy her back. We might wonder what God is doing through the prophet until we realize that Israel is not a distant people, but it is a picture of us. We continue to desire the false gods, but it is the Lord who continues to overwhelm us and woo us to him. Praise be to God that he redeems such a people and may we not push the boundaries of his grace.

#expositorypreaching #hoseasermon #gospelpreaching

We thank Mr. Roy Kim for filling our pulpit while Pastor Paul takes a week off.

We thank Mr. Roy Kim for filling our pulpit while Pastor Paul takes a week off.