Calvary Church

This passage opens with Jesus healing people. Out of that Jesus answers a question from the Pharisees meant to test him that speaks on marriage, divorce, and singleness.

This sermon looks at forgiveness as seen in Matthew 18:21-35. This passage is a follow up to previous messages in Matthew 18, in wherein we looked at forgiveness when someone is unrepentant. This message discusses what Jesus has to say about forgiveness when repentance is present. He tells the parable of the unforgiving servant and we are given three principals to apply to our lives today.

In this message, we read Matthew 18:15-20. We walk through what Jesus taught about the local church. We are provided with an answer to the question many find themselves asking as they navigate the role of the gathered assembly in their lives, “why church”?

This week we are in Matthew 18:10-14, a passage wherein Jesus tells the story of the lost sheep. We learn through this how God loves the most vulnerable. In our message, we see how the ongoing verses of Matthew 18 widen the scope of focus, applying these particular verses to a spectrum from the unborn child, to the young adult.

This message examines Jesus’s stern warning against causing our fellow believers to stumble. It helps us under what a stumbling block might look like in our own lives and how we can ensure we don’t create one for others.

In this message, we see God teach us what the kingdom of heaven is like and how we live in it.

In Matthew 17:24-27, God provides an example of how Jesus is present and can relate to us, not only in the highs and lows but in the mundane things of life as well.

In this passage of Matthew, Jesus has to cast out a demon his disciples were unable to. The disciples ask Jesus why they could not and Jesus tells them it is because of their little faith. Out of this comes the question: Where does faith come from? We then make some observations in the passage, define faith, and find a missing key to unlock the answer to this question.

The passage addressed in this sermon is a turning point in the ministry of Jesus. Here Jesus informs his disciples of his imminent death. Our message looks at the three requirements Jesus lays out for following Him as he shares this news. It concludes with word of the glory that awaits those who make the choice do to follow Jesus.

We hear a message from Jesus about His church in Matthew 16:13-20. We are reminded of some of God’s purpose, mission, and vision in creating the Church, as well as Calvary’s more specific role in that work as well. We are also reminded that Jesus is building his church and that he invites us to join him in his work.

In this message, we see how doubt can work against our ability to experience God’s love and power. But Jesus, in these passages in Matthew, teaches us to trust in God in the midst of our troubling circumstances.

Calvary Church, Grand Rapids, MI Senior Pastor Dr. Jim Samra (616)956-9377

This message addresses how Jesus calls out the concept of virtue signaling in Matthew 15:1-20. Though a more modern term, we see what the pharisees were doing as virtue signaling and how Jesus denounces, and points out the flaws of it. We then learn what the opposite of virtue signaling is and how to apply it to our lives today.

In this message, we read Matthew 14:22-36 which tells the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter’s act of faith, submission and obedience. We are encouraged to think about the difference between the results of desire, ambition, and effort and the results that faith, submission, and obedience produce in the same scenario. The results of acting in faith, submission and obedience include: the abil...

This message looks at Jesus feeding the 5000. We look at the other three accounts of the story told in the books of Mark, Luke and John to compare them. Out of the comparison comes five differences. These five differences show us how God provides for our physical, spiritual and emotional needs.

In Matthew 14, we see how people-pleasing affected the decision-making of Herod. We saw in Herod’s life, God teaching us the dangers of working to please people rather than working to please God. We are also reminded of John the Baptist’s commitment to obedience and were encouraged to follow Christ’s example to be seeking the Father’s approval not the approval of man.

In this sermon, we look at Matthew 7:24-29. We learn that rain, water, and wind will come to us – just like in the story, there are troubles that come up in our lives suddenly. We see that we need to both hear and act on the teachings of our teacher, Jesus. When we do so, we’ll have a house that is built on a firm foundation and withstand’s life storms.

In this message, we learn about the narrow road, which represents the path of following Jesus. We are reminded that though sometimes the narrow road may feel lonely, be less traveled and require sacrifice, God provides abundant life and agency for those who are faithful to stay on the narrow road. We are challenged to look at how we can follow the narrow road in our lives.

In Matthew 7, we hear Jesus encourage us to ask, seek, and knock in prayer. For when we do we will receive, we will find, and the door will be opened to us, the children of God. We are reminded that God is our good Father who desires to give his children good gifts. We are also reminded and challenged as Jesus gives us the Golden Rule, that we should treat others the way that we would wish to be t...

In this week’s sermon we learn we are not to judge others. Pastor Jim shares two types of judging Jesus could be talking about here. We learn who is allowed to judge and who is not allowed to judge and were given some examples of this. We were then given two warnings for when we are supposed to judge others. Lastly, we were given an assignment if we have judged others unfairly or if we need to spe...

In this message, Pastor Jim shares how we ought to pray and fast as an act of worship, pleasing to God. We learn that this passage of Scripture calls us to close out the world, open up the door to God, and bring God and others into the action when we pray. We were also given a practical step of fasting to put this into action in the week ahead.

In this sermon we look at Jesus’ proclamation that He fulfilled the Law. We see that Jesus’s fulfillment of the law came by bringing salvation. We also see that salvation is in Jesus alone, not in rule following. Jesus has saved us fully and made a way for us to follow God’s law in joy with Him enabling us to do it.

In this sermon we look at Jesus’ proclamation that He fulfilled the Law. We see that Jesus’s fulfillment of the law came by bringing salvation. We also see that salvation is in Jesus alone, not in rule following. Jesus has saved us fully and made a way for us to follow God’s law in joy with Him enabling us to do it.

In this message we cover the story of Jesus returning to His hometown. We see that Jesus faced rejection there and throughout His life. We also see how Jesus’ rejection ultimately made a way for our acceptance with God.

In this message we cover the story of Jesus returning to His hometown. We see that Jesus faced rejection there and throughout His life. We also see how Jesus’ rejection ultimately made a way for our acceptance with God.