Christ Our Redeemer Community Church

The hungry crowd followed Jesus to the desolate shores of the Sea of Galilee, but why? Were they hoping to use Jesus for their purposes or be used by Jesus for his glory? In a sign that points to his full divinity, Jesus demonstrates God’s compassion for people, satisfying their physical hunger while pointing toward an everlasting solution to their greatest spiritual need. Outline: • False Followe...

Where might you find Jesus in the Old Testament? We break from our series on the Gospel of John to explore Jesus’s revelation that the Scriptures (Old Testament) bear witness about him (John 5:39). Through the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, God revealed and pointed to the Lamb who would take away the sin of the world, Christ Jesus. Outline: • Christ in the Law • Christ in the Prophets • Christ...

When Jesus pointed to the authoritative witness to who he is, God the Son in the flesh, he pointed them to God’s Word—in their case, the Old Testament. How is it that a people devoted to Scripture could miss the revelation of God’s redemptive plan and refuse salvation by grace through faith in Jesus? The evidence is clear, but the hearts were hard. Outline: •  God Revealed in Jesus •  Missing the...

Sermon delivered 6/6/24 at Good Samaritan Society in West Union, IA.

The most important question in life is what to make of Jesus Christ. John 5 presents the teaching and evidence that Jesus is truly divine—Jesus is God the Son incarnate. The issue unbelievers face, then and now, is not a lack of evidence but the problem of willful unbelief. Jesus confronts unbelief by laying out the irrefutable witnesses. Outline: •  The Witness of God the Father •  The Witness of...

This week we continue the powerful testimony of Jesus, God the Son, and we get a deeper glimpse into the divine power of Christ. He not only points to the work of bringing eternal life to the spiritually dead through the gospel but to the finality of the resurrection and judgment when he returns in power and glory. Outline: • The Spiritual Life-Giver • The Righteous Judge • Resurrection for Eterni...

Two popular false claims prevalent today are that Jesus never claimed to be God and that God accepts the worship of all religions. The Bible provides clear answers to both. In clear terms Jesus states that he is God the Son, gives insight into the Trinity, and promises salvation to all who worship God by believing in and submitting to the Son, Jesus Christ. Outline: •  Clarity from Controversy: Je...

Chapter 5 marks a transition toward the open opposition to Jesus and his teaching. It begins with the third sign recorded by John, a miracle pointing toward the new creation inaugurated by the incarnate Son of God. The big question Jesus asked a disabled man points to a bigger question for all people: Do you want to be saved? Outline: •   The Universal Human Condition •   The Big Question •  The W...

Nobody wishes for affliction; however, when affliction is used by God to bring salvation and eternal life to a lost sinner, it is a great blessing. As an anxiety-filled father seeks a miracle worker, we witness how a true understanding of Jesus, as the Son of God and Christ, brings peace, joy, and a heart for evangelism to a once lost man. Outline: Seeking the Lost False Belief Confronted Saving F...

Having encountered Jesus, the Samaritan woman cannot wait to extend the simple but profound invitation to everyone she meets: come and meet Jesus! Confessing our faith and pointing to how Jesus saved us is a mark of a life transformed by the grace of God. Jesus highlights the urgency of evangelism, that all might receive eternal life through repentance and faith, seeing the beauty of Jesus, the Sa...

Sermon delivered at Good Samaritan Society - West Union on April 25, 2024.

The Good News is that Christ came to save sinners. By God’s grace, we can be forgiven and reconciled to God when we receive Jesus as Lord through repentance and faith. Jesus models perfect evangelism while speaking to the Samaritan woman, pointing to God’s grace in sending his Son to save us.

The Good News proclaimed to all people is that “whoever believes” is forgiven, reconciled to God, and has eternal life. As Jesus embarks on mission to seek and to save the lost, he demonstrates that God’s saving love knows no limits. Outline: • A Divine Appointment • The Who in Whoever • Revealing the Good News

When we humble ourselves before God and make Jesus the center of all our affections, we will find joy and contentment no matter our circumstances. John the Baptist exemplifies the Christian servant who knows and trusts Jesus. By understanding the sovereignty of God, the plight of humankind, and the gracious gift of salvation by faith in Jesus, John's joy (and our joy) is made complete.   Outli...

On Resurrection Sunday, we especially look back to that wonderful morning when the tomb was discovered empty, our Lord having risen from the grave in victory. It is precisely because we serve and worship the living Christ that the revelation of God’s love and the promise of salvation by faith in Jesus in that most famous verse (John 3:16) touches our hearts and fuels our desire to proclaim the sav...

Good Friday Service: As we reflect upon the once-for-all sacrifice Jesus made for the sins of all who will believe for salvation and eternal life, our hearts grieve over the picture of the wickedness of sin. And yet, from that cross, the first of Jesus’s seven statements was a prayer for forgiveness. The perfect Son of God incarnate is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. Ou...

“How can these things be?” The question Nicodemus asked about the saving work of God in regeneration is the question at the heart of salvation. How can a perfectly holy and just God be merciful and gracious to us? The answer is Jesus. To Nicodemus and for all people, Jesus answered by pointing to the evidence of God’s transforming and saving work around us, the truth of Scripture, and the finished...

“You must be born again” (John 3:7). These words of Jesus formed the basis of over 3,000 sermons of the great evangelist George Whitefield. God’s amazing, gracious, and merciful work of saving sinners like us is well-deserving of such focus and attention. No one begins life as a follower of Jesus Christ, but how we respond to the gospel and whether we finish in the faith are telling signs of to wh...

Sermon Delivered at Good Samaritan Society, West Union on 3/14/24.

Where do we go to avail ourselves of God’s grace and forgiveness, to enter His presence, and worship? How can sinners call upon God with great expectation of experiencing his steadfast love? For centuries the answer was the temple—the place ordained by God for the atoning sacrifice of a substitute. But Jesus, who made the once-for-all sacrifice said, “I tell you, something greater than the temple...

From the start, God called His people to assemble and worship Him in “spirit and truth.” The first century Israelites drifted toward ease, comfort, and going through the motions, rather than reverently seeking to worship God according to His Word. We turn to the first public act of Jesus’s ministry, witnessing what it means to be zealous for true worship and the glory of God. There are many lesson...

Signs tell us something. They present information and require a response to the insight they provide. The first sign (or miracle) Jesus performed took place at the celebration of the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. What Jesus did at the wedding pointed not only to his deity but to the abundant joy and newness of life available to all who answer the call to follow Him as Lord. S...

What do you seek from following Jesus? Jesus asked this all-important question to the first two would-be disciples. A pattern quickly emerges among those who believe. They spend time with Jesus, they follow him, and they eagerly share their testimony and faith with others. When put to the test, these new disciples model a perfect response. They do not have all the answers or clever arguments. Inst...

“Behold, the Lamb of God!” Though humanity is eternally separated from God by sin, our merciful and loving God provided a means to come into his presence through a substitute. The sacrificial system pointed to a day when God would provide a once for all sacrifice that would bring forgiveness, salvation, and reconciliation between God and people. The day has come, and God’s triumphant Lamb has set...

Jesus called him the greatest among men, but John the Baptizer claimed no position or authority other than as the lowest servant of Christ. John presents a model of what it means to be humble in our gospel witness--uncompromising boldness in proclaiming salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone, while always pointing people away from self and toward the Lord Jesus.