Christ Church (Moscow, ID)

Preacher: Ben Zornes Texts: Eph. 3:14–15, Gal. 4:26 The US Congress recently introduced the rules for their new legislative session. They struck gendered familial terminology (i.e. father, mother, son, daughter, etc.) from the House’s rules for legislators. The recent events of our nation reveal our void of fathers and mothers. This is just one more effort by the godless to further erode the bibli...

Preacher: Toby Sumpter The thing that drives our militance is joy. The joy of the Lord is literally our strength. The cash value of all of this is that we want to be a community known not merely for militance, but for a militant joy. We want our homes to be places of fellowship, our tables places of laughter, our community a place of forgiveness, our social media posts to be overflowing with good...

This excerpt is from Pastor Doug's sermon, 'State of the Church 2021.' 1. Worship 2. Honesty about sin 3. Marriage 4. Music 5. Hospitality/community 6. Christian Education 7. Debt-free 8. Joviality, cheerfulness, laughter 9. Family dinners/sabbath 10. Study/read 11. Work 12. Stories

Preacher: Toby Sumpter Text: John 12:20–33 It has sometimes been said that people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good, but that is actually a slander and a lie. In fact, C.S. Lewis said rightly, “If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.” Likewise, Lewis said, “Aim at heaven and you g...

Preacher: Toby Sumpter So this is the exhortation: if you’re new here, you are most welcome. If you’d like to really dig in and be part of this crazy blessing, the most important thing you can do is confess your sins to God and anyone you’ve sinned against. And not just one time, but regularly, daily, weekly. Don’t let any bitterness or guilt build up. That will only get in the way. And if you’ve...

Preacher: Douglas Wilson Text: 2 Cor. 10:3–5 We are living in a time of great uncertainty and turmoil, and in such times, men turn naturally to their gods. In the case of many Americans, jack-secularists, they have resorted to long-neglected temples, only to find that their gods have toppled over like Dagon. They are therefore governed by fear and anger, both right and left. We are not in their po...

Preacher: Chase Fluhart Text: 1 Pet. 2:4–10

Preacher: Douglas Wilson Text: Luke 18:1–8 The year behind us, 2020, has been quite a year, and it may have occurred to some of you that when 20 turns 21, it might start drinking, and then what shall we do? Of course, we shall pray about it, but there is a particular kind of prayer that we need to understand in times like these.

Preacher: Ty Knight God's peace does not come with the absence of trials, but rather God's peace emerges in the midst of trials. This is demonstrated clearly at Christmas.

Preacher: Douglas Wilson Text: Luke 1:26–35 One of the more obvious things about the Christmas story as Scripture records it would be prevalence of angels in it. The angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah to tell him about the birth of the forerunner of the Christ (Luke 1:11). Six months later Gabriel again appears to Mary, to tell her that she will give birth to the Son of the Highest (Luke 1:26-27)....

Preacher: Dr. Ben Merkle Text: Psalm 2

Preacher: Douglas Wilson Text: Luke 2:15–20 We sometimes glide over the stupefying doctrines that are entailed by the Christmas miracle. We are accustomed to the story, and so we simply nod our heads at the familiar words and phrases. But if we are listening, actually listening, the whole thing should bring us up short. “Wait, what?”

Preacher: Dr. Ben Merkle Text: Psalm 2

Preacher: Shawn Paterson

Preacher: Douglas Wilson. It is our usual custom to recite the Apostles Creed at this point in the service, but several times a year we break from that custom, and recite the Nicene Creed or the Definition of Chalcedon. During Advent season, it is Chalcedon, and so there are a few things for use to consider.

A genuine biblical faith is one that knows how to climb mountains, and how to not get lost in the valleys. In the flesh we know how to get used to what happens to us all the time. But it takes a true spirit of Christian character to deal with the fluctuations.

Preacher: Ben Zornes. Text: Psalm 132 The season of Advent is often painted in the dark hues of solemnity. Advent is a season of waiting, hoping, longing. But this longing, as our fellow saints of the Old Testament demonstrate, need not have too much starch in the collar. The expectation of Israel was jovial, and thus gilded with glistening gold and silver, clothed in royal red and priestly white,...

Preacher: Toby Sumpter This union of God and man in Jesus underlines what we are celebrating in Advent. The chasm between Creator and creature is an infinite chasm. Man cannot cross it. Nothing in all of creation can leap from some finite point and arrive at infinite. Infinite, by definition, doesn’t ever really arrive. And this is why if there is to be a bridge between God and man, it must come f...

Preacher: Aaron Ventura

Over time, holidays take on a certain patina. Long usage and custom make this necessary, but it remains our responsibility to not allow such later accretions to overthrow or to reverse the actual import or meaning of the festival. In the case of Christmas, we have, quite obviously, the scriptural story of the birth of the Messiah, but we also have—do we not?—silver bells, softly falling snow, Hall...

Preacher: Ben Zornes. Text: Psalm 40 This Psalm has three layers to it. The first is the one on the surface. David recounts a deliverance from one of his many trials, and his response of praise. The second layer is that David’s sufferings reflect the common plight of Israel as whole. Her history of exiles and returns, persecutions and deliverances, separation from and the reunion with Jehovah lie...

Preacher: Ben Zornes. Discontentment makes the turkey dry, the gravy bland, and the pies dull. Worse yet, it makes the fellowship frigid, the conversation barbed, and the relationships strained. Contentment, on the other hand, can make a meager meal a feast, it can make enemies into friends, it can turn hardships into joys. It does this because it is rooted in the fact that God is on the throne.

Preacher: Douglas Wilson The world of men, with their wars, and their politics, and their elections, and their controversies, is a turbulent sea. The disciples of the Lord were once in the boat with Him under challenging conditions, but it took them a while to learn what kind of authority the Lord Jesus actually has in the affairs of men. Even from within a vulnerable boat, He speaks to the wind a...

Preacher: Douglas Wilson. This psalm contains a marked contrast between the eyes of faith, which look to the Lord, the God of heaven, and the blind eyes of insolent unbelief, which see nothing as they ought to. Unbelief and pride are the chains that anchor the soul to this earth, such that the entire globe becomes the great ball in their ball and chain. From this benighted position, they heap abus...

Preacher: Aaron Ventura. Text: Deuteronomy 21:1–9