Sermons | Word of Grace Bible Church [wgbc.org]

God, who created heaven and earth, is the only source of true consolation. Life on earth is full of sorrow and anxiety. People have turned and are turning to different sources for comfort, to powerful people or to false gods. Isaiah, speaking to the people of Israel who were suffering under oppressors, tells them that they have a Comforter, Jehovah God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt. This sermon is about God and His consolation.

Children are one of the most significant blessings God bestows on human beings. Parents have the amazing privilege of being co-participants in God's process of creating souls that will exist forever. Children bring great joy and blessing into the lives of fathers and mothers and grandparents. At the same time, children bring with them great responsibility. The life of parents becomes the main instrument for the formation of personalities who will live, create something during their lives and then, entering eternity, inherit eternal life or perdition. The life and eternal destiny of the children depend greatly on the life of the parents. That is why Scripture is very specific about this. 

The gospel is the only sure means for us to build strong, edifying relationships. Human relationships are one of the most difficult areas of life. Since the fall into sin, people have been condemned to be in constant confrontation and conflict with one another. By sending Jesus Christ to earth, God, through Him, not only reconciles them to Himself, but also makes it possible for them to live harmoniously with one another. The key to such a life is in the gospel.

The gospel is not only the source of true ministry to God, but also its motivation, which gives the power to serve, overcoming difficulties and determining the essence and direction of ministry. Whenever ministry is motivated by something other than the gospel, it is deprived of God's power and God's arrangement, creating many difficulties. 

Ministry is an integral part of the Christian life. It is not just an opportunity for self-fulfillment for those who are especially active. Service is an expression of the life that God has born in the heart of the Christian. The gospel plays a vital role in how this life is put into practice. It becomes a conduit of God's power that makes us able to work tirelessly for Christ without expecting praise or grumbling. It always gives hope and motivation, making our ministry joyful regardless of external conditions.

God made sure that those saved by His Son could have all the necessities of life and godliness. One of these necessities is to have the strength to overcome the hardship we face in life. Various experiences, difficulties in life, persecution, and direct attacks from the devil constitute the reality of believing people's lives on earth. To persevere through them and emerge victorious requires supernatural strength, which comes to us through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Introducing the theme of adoption, the Apostle Paul says that all who are in Christ, all who are born of the Holy Spirit, “all who are led by the Spirit of God, are children of God.”

Being born again is the result of the radical work of the Holy Spirit in the human heart, resulting in a new nature in us that carries God's DNA. It binds our inner world to God as children are bound to their parents. We belong to Him and we are part of His family.

In Jesus Christ, through adoption, we have a stronghold. We know for a fact that He, trusting in the Father, lived a wholesome life on earth, overcoming all the hardships and trials decreed for Him by the Father, and triumphantly entered into glory. This is what gives us confidence.