Buffalo City Church

John Baumgartner \\ Another group faces off against Jesus with a tricky question. The Sadducees think they understand the Bible, but they only use it to win their arguments. They are proud of their knowledge while being ignorant of the scriptures. Jesus reveals their ignorance by beating them at their own game. He is the true King of Israel, and He is defeating His adversaries with the Word of God...

Caleb Drahosh \\ Christmas Eve Sermon 2025

Caleb Drahosh \\ Some Pharisees again come to Jesus with the intent of trapping Him. They ask Jesus about paying taxes: is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? Taking a Roman coin Jesus asks about the inscription on it: whose likeness is it? It's Caesar's. Jesus says to give Caesar that which bears Caesar's likeness and give to God that which bears God's likeness. We are created in God's image. God g...

Caleb Drahosh \\ There is nothing that we need that cannot be found in Jesus Christ. He is not far off. He is Immanuel, God with us. Specifically, the incarnation brings this into reality; the Word took on flesh. Christmas is a celebration of this event.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Those who receive Jesus are given the right to be called the children of God. But in order to receive Jesus as the true light come into the world, one must be born of God. Jesus made the world, came into the world, and now sets out to make those the Father gave Him new creations in Him. Christmas sets the stage for the final scene for the advent of a new creation completed in the...

John Baumgartner \\ John the Baptist was a man who completely knew what God had called him to do and did it completely. He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” Through his preaching and baptizing, he welcomed the humble to repentance toward their God and rebuked the proud in their self-satisfied comfort. He was a man humble in himself who succeeded in point...

Caleb Drahosh \\ In the opening words of His Gospel, John takes us back to the very first words of Scripture. The One John writes about was present in the beginning. Jesus is the divine Word which is God's eternal, powerful, unstoppable, self-expression. This is the foundation of what we celebrate at Christmas.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Jesus tells a parable of a man who plants a vineyard and leased it to tenants to work. When he sent a servant to collect from his portion of what was produced, the tenants beat him and sent him away. The same thing happens a second time. And then the next servant they kill Finally, the owner sends his son; they kill him also. Jesus says that the owner will then come and destroy th...

John Baumgartner \\ The authorities of Jerusalem--the chief priests, scribes, and elders--are afraid of the following that Jesus is gathering. They try to put a stop to it by questioning His authority. He turns the question back on them and shows that their authority is no real one at all. Jesus has true authority, authority to lay down His life and take it up again, and it makes Him fearless and...

Caleb Drahosh \\ Upon traveling from Bethany to Jerusalem, Jesus found a fig tree that gave the appearance of having fruit, but none was present. As a result, He cursed the fig tree. Arriving at the temple, He found all sorts of economic activity going on. He cleared the temple, teaching about the true purpose of the temple. The next day the disciples see the fig tree withered and ask Jesus about...

Caleb Drahosh \\ For the Christians in Rome, this account of Jesus would have been a strange one. A Roman triumphal procession honored a general after a military victory with a grand parade. He would ride into Rome in a chariot, dressed in kingly purple, and crowned with a laurel. Afterwards, a sacrifice would be made to Jupiter. Jesus would ride into Jerusalem, in view of future victory, where He...

Caleb Drahosh \\ While traveling Jesus is accompanied by His disciples and a great crowd. A blind beggar, Bartimaeus, calls out to Him. The man persists despite opposition; Jesus calls out for Bartimaeus to come to him. Jesus asks Bartimaeus what he wants and Bartimaeus replies that he would like to see. Jesus responds that his faith has made him well. Bartimaeus sought Jesus, recognized Him as th...

John Baumgartner \\ Jesus is the conquering warrior. He came to win glory and greatness for Himself and His own people. James and John were right that Jesus would be enthroned in glory and right to seek to be with Him in it, but they did not yet understand that Jesus' glory is His cross. It is not wrong to seek glory and a crown. If we don't believe we will sit with Christ in His glory and receive...

Caleb Drahosh \\ A rich man came to Jesus asking about eternal life. The man said that he had kept the law. But Jesus sees through the man's statement and gets to the heart of the matter: the man was worshiping his own wealth. The law exposes sin in our life, but the rich man saw his own conformity to it as superficial, not spiritual. He needed a savior, but went away sorrowful to the god of wealt...

Caleb Drahosh \\ In Paul's final greeting to the Romans, we learn that the letter was recorded by Tertius. Gaius hosted Paul, likely in Corinth. We learn of Erastus, the city treasurer, and Quartus as well. These men were of varying statuses, but all served Christ where they were stationed. Pen and ink, civic service, and hospitality are some of the simple, yet profound, tools used in the upbuildi...

John Baumgartner \\ The disciples have spent all this time with Jesus and still don’t get it. The kingdom of God is not what they think it is and is not coming the way they think it will. They rebuke those who are bringing children to Jesus. Jesus corrects them. The kingdom of God belongs to such as these children, and none can enter the kingdom unless they receive it like a little child.

Caleb Drahosh \\ The Pharisees try to trap Jesus by asking Him about divorce. Jesus, again, turns their test against them. The problems with the interpretations of the laws regarding divorce stemmed from the Pharisees incorrect understanding of marriage. And so Jesus refreshes them on marriage. When the disciples question Jesus further, He speaks about the gravity of sin that disrupts God's good o...

Caleb Drahosh \\ The disciple John saw someone casting out demons in Jesus' name, but the person was not with their group. Jesus is unbothered; the work is done in His name. Jesus takes the opportunity to teach the disciples about the seriousness of being a Christian. Personal sin and individual sin must be cut off at the source. Sin is deadly: it's the very thing that sends people to hell. But Je...

Caleb Drahosh \\ For a second time in Mark's Gospel, Jesus speaks openly about His impending death and resurrection, but His disciples simply don't get it. Out of fear they don't seek clarification. Additionally the disciples argue who is the greatest among them. They are reluctant to tell Jesus about the argument, but Jesus knows, and so He instructs them. It is the servant — the lowest, the last...

Caleb Drahosh \\ The call to worship is God’s invitation to those who have been made to worship Him. God is the initiator of our worship; we must have the identity of true worshipers which is ours in Christ. The benediction (which means “good word”) is a blessing spoken as the final word by a minister at the end of a worship gathering. It expresses our hope and confidence in God’s grace to His peo...

Caleb Drahosh \\ There’s nothing that we have that isn’t given to us by God. God is the Creator of everyone and everything and so all things belong to Him first. The foundation of giving for the Christian is the generosity of God. No act of generosity is greater than the giving of Jesus Christ. Reflecting God’s generosity is commanded in Scripture. This is done by taking a portion of what one has...

Caleb Drahosh \\ Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two Ordinances which the Lord Jesus instituted to be practiced by His church until He comes again. In Baptism, the minister of the Gospel submerges a believing Christian in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This immersion in water in the Name of God signifies and seals to the believer all the benefits and g...

Caleb Drahosh \\ Preaching is central to the gathering of the church for worship. In His wisdom, God has given His Church a book, the Bible, and preachers to proclaim all that is contained within it. Preaching that is God honoring and right proclaims and interprets what God has said in His Word and explains what the response of the faithful church must be. God brings about the salvation of sinners...

Mark Reeves \\ Believers sing in churches because Scripture directs us to sing. Jesus Himself sang with His disciples. We sing praises to God for what He has done and for who He is. We sing to affirm our belief and proclaim the truth to others. By singing, we align the affections of our hearts to the truth of God’s Word. Singing is the Word centered focusing of our heart’s overflow to praise and p...

John Baumgartner \\ Ever since our first sin in the garden, we naturally try to hide, justify, and blame others instead of owning up to our own sins. We feel the accusation of guilt and try everything we can to get rid of it, but we cannot. God forgives those who come to Him and honestly tell Him their sins. Because the church is one body, we confess together as that one body for the sake of all o...