Calling it "Good Friday" seems like a great contradiction. There doesn't seem to be much good that happens on Golgotha as Jesus dies. However, on this Good Friday we see the Greatest Contradiction. On a day where I should feel sad, I feel relief, because Jesus saved me from my sins.

Why do we focus on the specific aspects of Jesus' pain and torture in his final days? It is not for pity, but it shows us the depth of love your Savior has for us. He was willing to pay the cost for us to live.

Sin is serious even if we try to convince ourselves that it isn't. The Israelites complained and complained about God and his blessings. This was a serious matter. God sent snakes as a punishment for the Israelites and you can bet, that got their attention. Just like the Israelites, God wants your full attention.

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul writes these beautiful words. How clean is your temple? Is it free from impurity or blemish? We'd like to think so. However, we know that there are things that God needs to cleanse from our lives as well. Just as Jesus cleansed the temple in Jerusalem, so he cleanses our temples from impurity and makes us holy.

What happens when my perception of what is happening doesn't seem to match up with God's promises? Often that is the case. We know that God's promises are true, but our experience seems to tell an opposite story. Jacob had this very experience. We can learn from Jacob's story that God's promises are true and certain regardless of our perception.

Spiritually speaking, you are weak. Most people don't like hearing that. We want to be strong; we want to be self-sufficient. But the reality is - we are weak. We give into temptation instead of remaining strong. But where we are weak, Jesus is strong. He was perfectly obedient on our behalf. This gives us confidence in our forgiveness and in heaven.

We love it when life is good, when we are on the mountain-top. We cherish those moments because we know what happens when we come down from the mountain - deep valleys. In these deep valleys of life, it can be hard to see that Jesus is God, it can be hard to see Jesus' glory. However, Jesus gives you things in your life to strengthen you through the valleys of life.

In our world, in our culture, in our way of thinking, freedom is something to be taken thankfully, not something to be given up willingly. However, Jesus inspires and motivates us to do just that - to give up our freedom in order that more people might know about Jesus and His Word. This is all motivated by Jesus, who gave up freedom in heaven and confined himself to human flesh. This is all motivated by Jesus, who set aside his power to set captives free and save sinners.

Samuel and Eli didn't get it at first. This was God calling. But that's not God's fault. It's not like he mumbled. It's their fault -- our fault -- when we can't recognize the Word of the Lord. He doesn't work through feelings or urges or inclinations or a warm feeling in my stomach or a voice that sounds like my own. God speaks. It's always his Word. He speaks in a way to make it clear that it is the Lord speaking, just as it will be clear when Jesus has come on Judgment Day. And when he speaks, we listen, because he has something incredible to tell us.

Sermon preached by Pastor Benjamin Tomczak.

The Kingdom of God is the greatest kingdom ever. It operates differently from the kingdom of the world... and that's a good thing! Being apart of the kingdom of God elicits 2 reactions. LIsten to the sermon to find out what those 2 reactions are.