Christ Church Jerusalem

Jesus will challenge us to confess who He is in a very dark and confused pagan environment, and declare that His kingdom will not be stopped, not even by Hell. Readings: Exodus 1:8-2:10 • Isaiah 51:1-6 • Matthew 16:13-20. 👉🏼 Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/ 
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Many times in scripture God is revealed to us as full of compassion, plenteous in mercy and slow to anger. And while we are never able to earn His favor or repay His goodness, we are expected to respond aright. Too often, in receiving God’s mercy, many become proud and cheapen God’s overwhelming gift. Instead, as we see in today’s readings, our trust in and response to God’s character and providen...

We are all called by God, He knows those He calls and He knows we can do it, so go do it! Readings: Jonah 2:1-10; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33. 👉🏼 Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/ 
👉🏼 This sermon is also available on our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/christchurchjerusalem

The miraculous provision of food for the 5,000 (recorded in all four gospels) teaches us something critical about Jesus and what it means to be his disciple. This miracle highlights how his ministry follows and yet expands the pattern set by Moses and Elijah. Further, the manner in which Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it foreshadows his redeeming death and the gift of the Eucharist which...

We are encouraged to seek first the kingdom of God and to thirst after His righteousness. That’s not always easy and do we need to do that after we have become followers of Jesus? Readings: 1 Kings 3:3-14; Romans 8: 26-39; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52. 👉🏼 Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/ 
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The Ancient of Days and Son of Man are on their thrones. But the kingdom of God has an enemy. Throughout our life we will meet many false prophets and many false teachers that are scattered within the Church by Satan. The mockery these people make of God, His teachings, and the church can often make us sad, anxious, and angry–even to the point of sinning ourselves. But while we must be careful not...

The parable of the sower describes the heart of the disciples who hear the Word of God and choose to respond to God's invitation. His invitation is free but does require a response! Readings: Genesis 25:19-34; Isaiah 55; Matthew 13:1-9,18-23. 👉🏼 Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/ 
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There is a time to hear the message of the King and that time is now. But having ears to hear includes submitting ourselves to follow the message of the King. In the end, we will submit to the message of a king, a god. The question that we should ask ourselves is do we want to submit to the gods we make or to the God that made us. When we submit to the gods we make, even though it is because we ar...

Jesus ends his challenging discourse on discipleship (Matthew 10) by assuring us that we will be rewarded for even the smallest act of kindness (cup of cold water) to another disciple. We often miss the challenges in what we consider to be “easy" acts of obedience. Yet what appears to be relatively simple commands that come with little personal cost may be just as challenging as facing persecution...

The essence of discipleship is attachment, and discipleship to Jesus involves transferring our primary loyalty from family, ethnic group or nation to Jesus Himself. Such changes can be difficult and costly as we see clearly in the life of Abraham. He was called to surrender his past and was prepared to give up his future (sacrifice of Isaac) and struggled in the present while waiting for God to fu...

Paul concludes his instructions on how to Walk Worthy of the Lord by focusing on three things. First, Paul urges the Colossians to be watchful in prayer and in thanksgiving. While others may be vulnerable you should be praying for them and keep the watch in the night. Secondly, Paul urges his readers to pray for the opportunity to speak the mystery of Christ. And when those opportunities come, to...

Today compassion is considered to be a fundamental value in our society yet it is often confused with doing symbolic acts that cost us little. In contrast, the ministry of Jesus was motivated by a costly compassion which he expected his disciples to emulate. Jesus not only models the compassion that God has for his fallen creation but surely learned from the example of his earthly father Joseph. W...

Paul encourages the Colossians to “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus”. Does this give us permission to do as we like, as long as it is in the name of Jesus? Drive out the infidels! … in the name of Jesus. Do as I say, woman! … in the name of Jesus. Absolutely not, we are to be compassionate, kind, humble, meek and patient. Wives and Husbands, children an...

The word believe also means trust in Hebrew. We are all called to trust the Lord and take courage to walk that calling in faithfulness. Faith is more than believing in something, it’s also something you do. Readings: Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12; Matthew 9:9-13,18-26. 👉🏼 Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/ 
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If we are alive in the Messiah, we should walk worthy of our Lord. This means putting away things that are wrong, such as sexual immorality, greed, and covetousness. It also means living a life worthy of the Lord in our mind, heart, and tongue, even when it comes to our neighbours who are culturally, economically, politically, or socially different from us. In the time of Paul, the Colossians were...

The command to go and make disciples provides the perfect end to Matthew's gospel. The 1st Century context of Matthew's story includes the Jewish practice of discipleship. More than a set of doctrines or practicing spiritual disciplines, discipleship is attachment to a person. As Paul reminds us, a good way to become a disciple of Jesus is by imitating others who model His life for us. All who see...

Walk in the Lord! There are many paths to walk in this world but so many are empty. It is the Messiah who was raised from the dead. It is the Messiah who triumphed, who is God, who is above all and is head of the Church. And it is through the Messiah that we can be full, not full of ourselves, mind you, but full of life (as we also have been raised from the dead of our trespasses). And yet, too of...

This week, Reuven Doron leads us from Genesis through Revelation. While Pentecost is the day we remember God fulfilling His promise of the giving of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is, and always has been, God. And the whole breadth of Scripture declares that the Holy Spirit has been, and will always be, involved with God’s creation and people. Readings: Acts 2:1-21; Numbers 11:24-30; John 7:37-3...

Paul continues to speak of the Colossians' inclusion in the Saints and asks them to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. He turns their attention to the head of the Church–Jesus. Jesus, the creator of all, reconciled the Colossians to God. They were reconciled not because of their greatness or piety, but because of Jesus' blood. Through Jesus, they can be presented to God as holy and blameless. Th...

The ascension of the Lord is the majorly transitional point in the human story. Jesus has done all His work and now it is up to the Church to take the good news from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Daniel 7:9-14; Luke 24:44-53. Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/ 
This sermon is also...

The Epistles are generally written to address an issue in a Church. The Epistle of Colossians never directly addresses what Paul is may be trying to correct, but as we study Colossians we might be able to deduce something of the problem he is addressing. Meanwhile, Paul is grateful that the gospel going around the world has resulted in bearing fruit. Faith has brought results that are visible and...

A Place For You | Rev. David Pilegg Jesus told his disciples, "I go to prepare a place for you." We have a tendency to spiritualize these words, so we assume that Jesus is only talking about the world to come. Yet throughout the Hebrew Bible we see God’s provision of a place for His people that we only enter through love and obedience. Jesus invites us to that place where we can fully participate...

The Way, the Truth and the Life | Martin Lifer John 14:1-14 and Acts 7:55-60 give us the Good News of how to live, pray, and go even through death fully trusting in Jesus as The Way, The Truth, and The Life Jesus is not as simply another rabbi or visionary pointing to God. Jesus is God’s Son Who is One with the Father. In his death, resurrection & ascension, our Lord & Savior prepared a place for...

Salvation & Abundant Life | Rev. David Pileggi Today our Gospel reading is John 10, Jesus the Good Shepherd. The context is John 9, the account of a blind man who was thrown out of the community, a victim of crude theology (which some of us may retain in part). It was in this situation that Jesus responded, “I am the Good Shepherd … I came to give life to the full.” The benefits of salvation are f...

Amos Chapter 9 Judgment and compassion, exile and restoration. We so often focus on a single subject, but the prophets so often mention hope when speaking of God’s punishment as well as obedience and judgment when speaking of promise. While Amos 9 might seem to be divided into two different subjects, it’s good to hear the whole of God’s promises.