Christian Bible Church Sermons

Throughout the Gospel of John, we see Jesus pointing to the activity and ministry of the Holy Spirit. On the night before going to the cross, Jesus will give his last major teaching on the work of the Holy Spirit when he’s gone. We learn that the Spirit comes in fulfillment of God’s promises, he brings conviction of sin, and he points believers to truth.

Jesus gives a couple of warnings in this passage. The disciples will face persecution and hatred for following Jesus. Some will fall away, which is why Jesus gives this warning. He doesn’t want us to be oblivious to the cost of following him. Today and throughout history, Christians have faced opposition from the world.

In this passage, Jesus tells of the giving of the Holy Spirit who will witness to Christ after he’s gone. Jesus also tells the disciples that they themselves will be witnesses to Jesus in the early church. And this sets up a reminder for all of us today that we too are witnesses of Jesus I our lives.

Herod is the king of Israel, but when presented with the prospect that a new king has been born in his territory, he seeks to have Jesus killed. Even from the beginning of his ministry, we see that the world is inhospitable to its own savior. In our natural state, we're not so different from Herod. We live in a fallen world which also does not want to acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus. 

The wise men come to Herod in seeking the King of the Jews. It’s so much woven into the Christmas story that it can be easy to overlook how bizarre the scene is, but the first people who seek out the newborn Jesus are pagan astrologers. There are different responses to this king. Some will seek him out, others will overlook him, and some will seek to destroy him. How do you respond?

In this passage, we see a young couple who have been given the most amazing piece of news anyone had ever been given. Despite being a virgin, Mary is going to carry the Christ child. In this passage, we see Joseph and Mary while Matthew points to a prophecy for the virgin birth of Jesus given hundreds of years before. We also see in this section who Jesus is and what Jesus does.

It’s an easy section in the Bible to skip over. The genealogy of Jesus at the beginning of Matthew. 42 names from Abraham to Jesus. It’s not a list meant to be skipped. It’s a picture of the history of God’s people in leading to the savior of the world benign born. It points us to the gospel, to the mission of God, to the power of God, and to the promises of God.

The first verse of the Gospel of Matthew can be easy to skim right over. “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” But this packed verse grounds Jesus in the Old Testament and begins the New Testament by pointing us to the history of God’s redemptive work.

After seeing many miraculous works of the Lord, the Israelites begin the next chapter in their Exodus saga. In these passages, we see some early challenges for the Israelites. How do they respond? Is it in faith in God’s goodness and provision? Quite the opposite. The Israelites turn to grumbling and doubt.

It’s perhaps the most significant event to happen to the people of God in the Old Testament: crossing over the Red Sea. In this story, we see a picture of the gospel, commands not to fear, and the dominion of a mighty God.

One of the most significant events in the Old Testament is the Lord striking dead the firstborn of all of the Egyptians. The Lord spared the Israelites from this judgment and commanded that they observe this act of deliverance in the day that became known as Passover. During the ministry of Jesus, Jesus will take two common elements from the Passover and point to his own sacrificial death on the c...

Darkness. After eight plagues, and Pharaoh’s continued refusal to release the Israelites, the Lord brings a plague of darkness. Darkness would have been totally crippling in the ancient world. The darkness shows an undoing of creation as God takes away the light that he brought forth. zIt also undermined the most venerated of the Egyptian deities in the lead up to the final and most severe plague.

After having received seven judgments from the Lord in the form of plagues, the Lord brings an eighth plague of locusts against the Egyptians and against Pharaoh for refusing to release the Israelites. Locust plagues still happen today and can be ecological disasters.

Why were there ten plagues? It can so often be so easy to ask why God does the things he does. But in this passage, he gives a reason: his glory in the world. All people will ultimately bring God glory, either through by his grace through Christ or through his righteous and holy judgment. Pharaoh is given numerous warnings about the plagues which will befall him but continues to disobey the Lord....

In spite of all of the plagues and divine signs, we continue to see Pharaoh’s refusal to be obedient to the Lord in freeing the Israelites. As we look at the fifth and sixth plagues, we see an intensification of the Lord’s judgment upon Egypt.

In this passage, we continue in the Exodus plagues and see the Lord continue to show his power and dominion while Pharaoh continues to rebel and refuse to listen to the Lord as the people continue to suffer the consequences.

In this passage, we see a clash of world views as Pharaoh is commanded to release the Israelites. When he refuses, the first of the ten plagues befalls Egypt. Pharaoh was viewed as a quasi-divine person in Egypt, but we see he's no match for the Lord, nor are the Egyptian pantheon a match for the Lord's plagues which shows his dominion over nature and over life and death. 

The Exodus is the seminal event of the Old Testament. In this message, we look at the first four chapters of Exodus as the Lord calls an unlikely figure to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.

As the world opposed Jesus, it also opposes his followers. Truly living for Christ, living for the gospel, standing up for Jesus, and sharing the good news will result in friction. At times, we don't face opposition in America because we aren't boldly living out our faith. 

Jesus is the eternal God of the universe, but on the eve of going to the cross, he tells his followers something profound: we are his friends. Jesus came to befriend a world who were enemies of God. We see his ultimate act of service and friendship in gong to the cross, but we also see a savior who calls his friends to be friends and make friends to introduce to our friend, Jesus.

How do I make things right with God? That’s a common question that we can ask when we’ve sinned. In this passage, James paints a bleak picture of the destructive sins and covetousness which can plague a church, but he ends on a hopeful note of pointing us to principles of turning to God and away from sin. Ultimately it is through the death of Jesus - and that alone - that we are made right with Go...

What happens when we live for Jesus? In this passage, Jesus makes four affirmations of what results from abiding (remaining/living) in him. When we abide in Christ, we are delivered from judgment, there is power in our prayers, it brings glory to God, and there is joy.

In this passage, the Apostle Paul calls Christians to rejoice in their sufferings. It’s a message that is counterintuitive within society and (often) within the church. Suffering is an unavoidable part of life. But for the Chrisitan, we should rejoice that it is always for a purpose.

Jesus is the true vine and his church are the branches which are meant to bear good fruit on the vine. In this wonderful image, we're pointed to the life that Jesus has for his followers. 

All throughout John 14, Jesus has been telling his disciples what to expect when he’s gone. In this final verse of this section, we see something of a Last Will and Testament where Jesus will talk of the Holy Spirit, his Word, the peace that he gives, while pointing to the providence of God in all that Jesus has done.