Coram Deo Church Sermons

Because we love the idea of self-sufficiency, we often try to mask our inner brokenness with outward religious performance or other means. The gospel shatters the illusion that we can be self-sufficient by revealing a Savior whose grace is abundant. In this sermon, we explore Matthew 15 and how Jesus is enough and how this truth frees us to seek him boldly, to let his Word rule us, and to offer hi...

We all place our faith in something. We often step out confidently, only to focus on terrifying circumstances that expose our dangerous illusion of self-sufficiency. The gospel reveals a Savior who absorbed the ultimate storm of judgment so he could catch us when we fail. In this sermon, we explore Matthew 14:22-36 and how trusting the Lord of the storm with our "little faith" turns our desperate...

Every human being wrestles with the exhausting concern for what others think. We chase worldly status only to end up enslaved by the opinions of an ever-watching audience. The gospel invites us to a radically different table, hosted by a compassionate King — we need only bring our lack. In this sermon, we explore Matthew 14:1-21 and how the gospel frees us from the fear of man to rest in God’s sat...

Human beings are story-formed people. There’s a story that has formed you; and there’s a story (the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus) that can transform you. In this sermon we consider the life of the Apostle Paul as narrated in Acts 22 to learn how the good grace of Jesus comes to meet us in the midst of our life story.

What are we here for? A meaningful life requires a satisfying answer to that question. In this sermon we explore the purposes for which God created the world and consider why “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”

We live in a world that envisions freedom as the absence of obligations. But it turns out that our deepest freedom comes from embracing duty and responsibility. In this sermon we explore Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 11), where Jesus shows us the human goodness of fulfilling our duties and obligations toward our neighbors.

What does it mean to be human? Psalm 8 answers this question by portraying human beings as both glorious and limited. God has “crowned us with glory and honor” as persons made in his image. He has also made us “a little lower than the angels,” reminding us that we are finite and limited. In this sermon we explore the wisdom of Psalm 8 to discover how embracing both our glory and our limits is key...

Seasons of spiritual dryness are a familiar experience for God's people. We often respond to these seasons by quietly going numb, settling for empty routines while hoping something changes. In this sermon, we explore Psalm 85 and discover how looking to the cross — where God's perfect righteousness and peace embrace — sets us free to actively seek renewal.

All of us long to BE someplace. Psalm 84 shows us the place we're meant to be is in the presence of God. So why don't we long for God's presence like we ought? And how can we awaken a deeper longing? In this sermon, we explore Psalm 84's invitation to long for God's dwelling place, and we discover how Jesus fulfills this Psalm and brings us near to God.        

Everyone has enemies. Opposition is part of what it means to be human in a broken world. In this sermon, we look at Psalm 83 and its stark call for God to judge his enemies. We learn how God’s justice frees us to radically forgive and love others—remembering that Christ died to save us while we were still His enemies.

Every human being is entrusted with some level of authority, yet we frequently distort this gift by judging others based on our own feelings and preferences. Until God finally arises to "judge the earth," we are called to judge justly, and Psalm 82 shows us how. In this sermon, we explore what it means to do justice in the world.

Our daily lives are full of habits and routines that shape who we are becoming. To say it another way: we are liturgical creatures. Some of our life patterns are good; others aren't. In this sermon, we explore Psalm 81's invitation to build a better life liturgy: one that sings to God, tells His story, and submits to His authority.

Every human being understands the longing to be seen. As Curt Thompson says, “We are all born into this world looking for someone looking for us.” In this sermon, we explore Psalm 80 and its plea to God: "let your face shine that we may be saved." We discover how longing for God's face to shine upon us finds its perfect, saving resolution in the ultimate Shepherd and True Vine, Jesus Christ.

One of the biggest problems in the world is the problem of "us" versus "them". Our human tendency is to respond to injustice by seeking retribution against our enemies. In this sermon, we explore Psalm 79, written after enemies had destroyed Jerusalem. The Psalm shows us how shifting our gaze from “them” to “us” to "you, O God" empowers us to seek justice while also loving our enemies.

It's easy to present a curated version of our lives. We often go through the motions, aiming our devotion at worldly idols and missing the profound grace given to those who stop pretending. In this sermon, we explore Psalm 78 and how being ruthlessly realistic about our hearts and lives is the only way to experience the relentless mercy and transforming grace of God.

Every human being has troubles. And sometimes our troubles overwhelm us. We live in a culture that encourages us to turn inward and endlessly process our troubles, yet this self-focused rumination often distorts our theology and leaves us doubting God's goodness. In this sermon, we look at how Psalm 77 calls God’s people to shift their gaze from their own internal pain to God's steady faithfulness...

Whether we admit it or not, every human being is prone to fear. We often let the fear of what others think or of what we might lose shape our decisions and responses. In this sermon, we explore Psalm 76 and how cultivating a right fear of God is the only way to stop fearing everything else.

Whether it be graduation, tax day, or an important holiday, human beings intuitively understand what it means to live in light of a coming date on the calendar. In Psalm 75, God declares that he has appointed a day when he will judge with equity. In this sermon, we explore how living backward from the certainty of Judgment Day sets us free to walk in humility and hope.

Every human being wants a framework for a good life, often reducing faith to simply being a moral person, holding the right beliefs, or belonging to a community. But when our willpower fails or our doubts creep in, these superficial definitions leave us exhausted. The gospel subverts our striving by inviting us into a deeply personal union with Christ, where our old, corrupted self is crucified so...

Familiarity with Jesus is not the same thing as following Jesus. Human beings love what is familiar. But familiarity can lead to complacency and apathy. The people of Jesus' hometown missed the miraculous power of God because they couldn't see past the ordinary carpenter they grew up with. In this sermon, we examine three ways to reject Jesus and what it means to actually receive his gracious auth...

Every human being is a disciple or a learner, constantly shaped and trained by the culture around us — from the algorithms on our phones to the expectations of our family of origin or careers. True discipleship, however, requires actively submitting ourselves to the training of Jesus, allowing him to shape our understanding so we can bring out the treasure of his truth to a hungry world. In this s...

Being in the church is not the same thing as being in God's kingdom. Everyone sorts. Whether it’s laundry, your recycling, or the people you spend time with, most of us have a deep-rooted instinct to sort the things in our lives. Through the parable of the net, Jesus warns that this period of grace will eventually give way to a final sorting. In this sermon, we explore the importance of responding...

The kingdom of heaven is irresistible to those who find it. We all seek something — a career, a relationship, or status — that makes life's sacrifices feel worthwhile and brings us joy. But when we glimpse the incomparable value of Jesus, "selling everything" no longer feels like a sacrifice; it becomes irresistible. In this sermon, we examine the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of g...

Jesus invites us into a life of hopeful realism. To be human is to wrestle with the presence of evil in a world we wish were different. We often feel an urgent pressure to "fix" the world by taking matters into our own hands. Yet Jesus, through the parable of the wheat and weeds, offers a path of hopeful realism. In this sermon, we explore the nature of hopeful realism as the kingdom develops from...

A fruitful life comes from standing under the word of God. Every human is listening to someone or something. And how we listen to the word of God makes all the difference. In this sermon, we explore Jesus' famous Parable of the Sower, which shows what happens when the seed of the gospel lands on the soil of our hearts. In this parable, Jesus teaches that a fruitful life comes from standing under t...