Sermons

Jesus sums up the Ten Commandments by giving us two Great Commandments, which is to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The parable of the Good Samaritan gives us Jesus' vision (indeed, his assumption) on what true neighborly love looks like. It is a full and complete service to those who are oppressed and downtrodden, and it is driven by our genuine compassion and concern for them. This, in turn, is made possible because of God's great mercy toward us. Thus, a serious church will extend mercy to its members and its community because it has received mercy.

A church that is serious about grace will be serious about Jesus. A church that is serious about Jesus will get serious about repentance for repentance is the reason Jesus came into this world. But what does true repentance look like. A church serious about repentance will get serious about salvation, sin and their Savior.

Reformation is the recovery of Biblical Truth. Revival is what happens to the church when God pours His Spirit out and renews and reinvigorates the hearts of His people. Reformation and Revival go hand in hand. There is never one without the other. The truth of the Gospel is what ignites the renewal in our hearts. Reformation and Revival have always come in dark hours. Our world is experiencing a dark hour in these recent years. The church is the only hope for our communities because we possess the Gospel of Jesus Christ - the only news that can bring real reconciliation and hope to our broken mess.

Like the nation of Israel, we stand at a "Jordan River." An opportunity for greatness! We have the chance to make Jesus look supremely valuable to a watching world. And in order to walk in the fullness of what the Lord has for us, we must forsake all other competing values for this sole purpose.