Christ Church

In Exodus 5, Israel learns that everyone serves someone—and that the wrong master only multiplies burdens. Pharaoh’s command to “get back to your burdens” exposes the cruelty of false masters who demand more and give nothing. But Jesus, the greater Master, stands before the weary and says, “Come to me… and I will give you rest.” This sermon traces the contrast between Pharaoh’s yoke and Christ’s,...

In one of the strangest and most debated stories in Scripture, God meets Moses on the road to Egypt—not to bless him, but to kill him. In Exodus 4:18–26, we see both the terrifying wrath and the steadfast love of God collide in one moment of blood and mercy. Moses, the chosen deliverer, had neglected the covenant sign; and yet through the blood of his son, the wrath of God was turned away. This st...

The whole Bible points to Jesus, and in this story of Moses receiving three signs from Yahweh, we get to witness not merely parallels to Jesus' story but rather the establishment of a pattern which Jesus would fulfill perfectly. Moses is chosen to be the shepherd-messenger, and one thousand years later, Jesus would be the Good Shepherd. Moses brought a message of being freed from slavery to Egypt,...

This sermon contrasts the despair of praying to an unknown god with the hope of knowing Yahweh by name. When Moses asks, “What is his name?” God reveals himself as “I Am Who I Am." He is existence itself — absolute personality, freedom, and eternality. Yet this revelation alone could remain distant and even terrifying. The good news is that Yahweh also names himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, a...

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not primarily about how we are freed from sin and forgiven. It’s primarily about how God made a way to dwell with us forever. The good news doesn’t end at the cross; nor does it end at the empty tomb. The story reaches its full conclusion at the burning edge of the first New Creation dawn, when heaven and earth fully unite and we are right in the midst of God’s eterna...

In Exodus 2:23–25, we see Israel move from slavery to groaning to prayer—and God responds with salvation. This shows us that God will not deliver us from what we still love, but when we come to hate our sin and groan under its weight, he delights to hear our cries and act on his covenant promises. Human hopes will always disappoint, but when our groans turn to true prayer in Jesus’ name, God hears...

In Exodus 2, Moses emerges as a deliverer, a man of faith, and a man of failure. Yet in each of these, he ultimately points us beyond himself to Christ. Moses tries to rescue Israel but cannot free them from Egypt or from sin. Only Christ delivers fully—from our enemies and from ourselves. Moses chose to identify with God’s people by faith, looking to a greater reward. We strengthen our faith the...

The Israelites have found themselves in Egypt, enslaved, crushed, and oppressed on all sides. But they weren’t sent there because of their disobedience to God; in fact, they were in Egypt because of obedience and faith. So why were they afflicted with so much suffering? And where is God in all of it? Exodus 1–2 helps us to see glimmers of hope in the thick darkness of human suffering. The curtain...

“Boasting” is pointing to something as the source of our identity and the grounds of our confidence. Galatians 6 teaches us that we can boast in vain (empty) things, or we can boast in the cross of Christ! If our identity and confidence comes from the cross, then Christ will transform our conduct toward one another, to make his churches beautiful communities of love and service.

Though Christians still experience sinful desires, the Holy Spirit has been given to wage war within us, restrain the flesh, and produce the fruit of godliness. We cannot defeat sin by our own effort, but the Spirit enables us to live the life we were remade to want. Rather than following the desires of the flesh, we are called to walk by the Spirit, keeping in step with him daily. He leads us thr...

True Christian freedom is not autonomy to indulge the flesh but liberation from sin to walk in love, as a new creation in Christ. Paul urges believers to purge all hindrances to that freedom—by obeying the truth of the gospel, searching diligently for sin, and embracing the offense of the cross. Our calling mirrors the Exodus: freed not by works, but by grace, we now submit our desires to God and...

Standing firm in true Christian freedom means rejecting every form of self-justification—whether through prideful entitlement or despairing unworthiness—and instead receiving the full benefits of Christ by faith. Paul warns that to rely on any part of the law obligates one to keep the whole law, cutting oneself off from grace. Justification cannot be earned; it must be received as a gift. Those who...

Galatians 4 shows that both legalism and idolatry are forms of spiritual slavery that reject the freedom found in Christ. Paul uses the image of a child-heir under a guardian to illustrate that, before faith, people are enslaved to “elementary principles”—whether the Jewish law or pagan gods. But when Christ came, he redeemed us, adopted us, and sent his Spirit into our hearts so that we cry “Abba...

God’s promise to Abraham was a gift of grace, not something earned through effort. When the law came centuries later, it didn’t cancel or replace that promise—it revealed just how much we need it. The law exposed our sin and humbled us, like a stern tutor preparing us for the arrival of Christ. But now that Christ has come, we are no longer under the law—we are adopted as God’s children through fa...

Justification with God comes not by law-keeping or moral performance but by faith alone in Jesus Christ. Paul shows that all who rely on works are under a curse because no one perfectly keeps God's law. But God gave Abraham righteousness through faith before the law or circumcision, and that same blessing—peace with God and his abiding presence—is extended to Jew and Gentile alike. Christ redeems...

In Galatians 3:1–6, Paul confronts the Galatians for drifting from the gospel of grace, reminding them that they received the Spirit not by works but by “hearing with faith.” This sermon emphasizes that the Christian life—both its beginning and its continuation—is entirely dependent on God’s grace, received through faith. Good works are not the cause of salvation, but the result of it. Christians...

This passage comes at the end of Paul’s bold defense of the gospel of grace—that we are justified by faith, not by works of the law. It’s an audacious claim, and it raises the question: if salvation is by grace, does it matter how we live? Paul’s answer is deeply personal and theologically rich. The Christian life begins with death: “I have been crucified with Christ.” The old self—the one that li...

Paul confronts Peter for acting in a way that misrepresents the gospel, reminding us that justification is by faith in Christ alone—not by works or law-keeping. When we misuse God’s law as a means of righteousness, we not only mislead others but also obscure the good news of grace. The law functions like a mirror, showing our need for Christ, while only Christ can make us righteous. Justification...

Some troublemakers had infiltrated the churches in Galatia, and they were spreading a non-gospel — specifically, they said that if you wanted to be saved, you needed to obey the Law of Moses. Conversely, Paul had taught the true gospel: that salvation comes through Jesus’ obedience, not ours. To undermine his teaching, they attacked his credentials as an apostle and questioned the source of his go...

Instead of opening this letter to the Galatian churches with a thanksgiving for them — as Paul normally does — he begins by stating that he is astonished that they are so quickly deserting Jesus. The Galatians didn’t think that they had deserted Jesus! But Paul labors for Christ formed in them through the book of Galatians by demonstrating that departing from true gospel doctrine is deserting Jesu...

Guest Preacher Charisma Clarke

Jesus commissioned his apostles (sent ones) to bring his testimony to us — who who haven’t seen the Risen Jesus. Our faith does not come by sight, then, but by hearing. As we hear and receive Scripture’s testimony about who God is and what he’s done for us, we are receiving the very word of Christ, and thereby offered the gift of eternal life. Not by our righteousness, but by his grace; our mere f...

The first day of creation, God spoke light into the darkness. John 20 brings us to the first day of New Creation, when the Light of the World was brought forth from the darkness of death. And just as the first creation story culminates in Adam meeting his bride, so this New Creation story shows us Jesus and his Bride — the Church.       The resurrection of Jesus is our betrothal to the heavenly Br...