Sermons

Christ comes with authority to clean house in our lives, to wipe away the unclean things and bring real change by his grace, working through his Word.

Paul's life was forever altered when Jesus appeared and called the Pharisee to be his apostle. We, like Paul, are impressed upon by Christ as we live "in Christ," so that the people who touch our lives may see our Lord.

We worship a seeking and searching God who desires to have a living and vital relationship with people. God will go to great lengths to communicate with us, but the question is: are we listening? God's call came to Philip and Nathanael, who listened to and followed Jesus. God's call comes to us as well as the Lord invites all his baptized people to listen and respond, to follow where he is leading. That call may come when we least expect. That call may take us to places we would never have imagined. That call may stretch us beyond anything we thought ourselves capable of. But the same Lord who calls us also promises to be with us and strengthen us to live out that calling.

Jesus' baptism marked him as God's chosen Servant to fulfill all righteousness, setting him on the path of servanthood that would lead to his coronation upon the cross. As the heavens were torn apart at Jesus' baptism, so when our lives are torn apart God enters into our brokenness and comes to us. By the grace given in that cleansing water of regeneration, we are declared God's beloved children. The tearing of the heavens which took place at Jesus' baptism would lead to another tearing on the day Jesus died. The curtain of the temple was torn in two and the separation between God and man was now bridged by Christ's atoning death.

Epiphany commemorates the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus in Bethlehem; however, it even more significantly points us to how God steps in to draw us to the one true King.

Simeon and Anna bore witness to the coming of the Messiah after long lives of waiting. Mary and Joseph, who came to the temple offer a sacrifice for purification, would themselves be purified -- along with us -- through the same Jesus they presented that day.

The message of the angels to the shepherds is one of joy: God has come down to mankind to save us from our sin!

God's astounding love for us is revealed in the Annunciation of Christ's conception.

Jesus, the Messiah, God's Anointed, brings hope and joy into our hearts as we look ahead to his return.

John the Baptizer's message of repentance -- doing an "about face" from our sin -- rings true to us today, just as it did to his first audience. The Holy Spirit turns us around and gives us a new beginning.