Cutlerville East Christian Reformed Church

As we get older, it is increasingly important to keep in tune with our health. When we visit our doctor, one of the things he/she does is checks our vital signs (pulse, breathing, reflexes, etc.) to see if each area is healthy. If we have no vital signs, we’re dead! The church also has vital signs. In Corinth, apparently the vital signs were decreasing. Paul, using the body analogy, reminds them,...

Scripture: Genesis 37: 12-28; Genesis 50:15-21

Scripture: Revelation 12

Throughout Advent, we’ve noted that the Bible is the history of God seeking to dwell with his people, but also the people frustrating his plans. Then there is a long period of silence, with no shekinah glory/presence of God. For almost 400 years, they were waiting to hear God’s voice. It had been over 600 years since they’d seen the shekinah glory in the Temple, and knew God was actually dwelling...

Throughout Advent, we’ve looked at the concept of “God with us”, noting that the history of the Bible is one of God coming down: to Eden, but then leaving after the Fall; with Moses to live in the tabernacle (in his shekinah glory); to a permanent temple under Solomon, but then the glory departed (Ezekiel 10) in exile; followed by the promise of a new Temple and the glory returning someday, when h...

 Luke intentionally sets the birth of Jesus in the context of world and local history. Caesar Augustus heads a Roman Empire known for peace and prosperity and a glorious culture. Herod, as clientking over Judea, is known for his power and propaganda of the Hellenistic culture, but also for his murderous paranoia and moral evil (not to mention he was a descendant of Esau and an Edomite, Israel’s gr...

When Solomon became king, one of the first things he did was to build God the King a palace. God will now reside, not just camp, with his people. God comes down more permanently, residing with them in the promised land. From leaving Adam & Eve outside the Garden of Eden, God had now fully returned, “come down.”  Scripture:  1 Kings 5-9; Ezekiel

 Matthew 2 In Matthew 2:1 we are introduced to three characters: “Jesus … Herod … Magi.” Now we sometimes sing “We Three Kings” referring to this last set of characters (Magi), but Matthew sings it referring to the three “kings” he introduces us to in this part of his Christmas story. As he does, he is setting up his readers with a question: who’s the real king? 

Exodus 25, 40 What kind of God goes camping with his people? That’s the question we’ll start with in our Advent series, “God with us.” The incarnation (usually defined as God becoming flesh in Jesus) is not just for Christmas; for God, it’s an ongoing process that takes us from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. In the Bible, God’s motion is always one of “coming down.” 

Scripture: Isaiah 49:8-16

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

Philippians 4:2-20

Jesus’ return to “judge” (last week) also includes bodily resurrection and the onset of eternal life in a new heaven and earth. As we move from the judgment of Revelation 20 to our eternal reality in Revelation 21-22, these are all events of comfort. In Rev. 20, there is comfort in the present, as deceased believers are depicted as being with Christ (and vindicated, as their oppressors are punishe...

Revelation 20 deals with judgment and justice, and it is important to see that the two are tied together: our vindication or justice comes in  connection with the judgment of Satan and unbelievers.  As with almost all of Revelation, chapter 20 covers not just the future but the past as well. It gives us a heavenly perspective of the span from Jesus’ first to second comings. Scripture: Revelation 2...

While the Greek world viewed gentleness or meekness almost as an ethical vice (like cowardice), Christians see it as an important ethical virtue and a fruit of the Spirit. We still battle those differences today, when we hear our world say “nice guys finish last” or “meek equals weak.” But one of the early leaders of the Christian church holds forth gentleness as an ideal, a virtue, which expresse...

A program of organ music, played on the instrument at Cutlerville East Christian Reformed Church in thanks for the organ and the people who made it possible. Organists Raymond Haan and Kathleen Herrema Click here for full program handout

Last week we saw the Lamb given "all authority in heaven and on earth” in the form of a scroll. The scroll, which only he has the authority to open, is symbolic of the destiny of humanity. We noted how this fits with the statement of our faith, the Apostles’ Creed, when it says: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.” But how does Jesus exercise hi...

When Paul was writing to the church in Galatia, he found himself wrestling with their attitude of works-righteousness. As part of his teaching them about faith, he used the Old Testament example of Abraham. Not only does Paul find in Abraham the exemplary of faith/fullness, but the author of Hebrews gives the most ink to Abraham when writing about the “heroes of faith,” those who are examples from...

Priesthood was one of the fighting words of Reformation. The Reformers recognized that the priesthood had become a barricade to God, rather than a bridge. So the Reformers called every believer to the awareness of his/her own priestly role before God, “the priesthood of the believer.” Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4-12

David is one of the most enigmatic characters in the Bible. He is honored as the ideal king of Israel, the builder of an empire, a great father to his people, the root from whom the Messiah would come, and the key to Jesus’ ancestry. He was a mighty warrior, a musician, a poet, a deeply loyal friend, and devoted lover of God, and for the most part a just and able king. Yet he was notorious for a v...

Having just looked at the “signs of the times,” it is somewhat natural to step into the book of Revelation for a few weeks. John is on the isle of Patmos and sees a vision of an exalted, allpowerful Christ, standing among the churches: he is with them! Then he is called to pass on Christ’s message to the churches, an overall message warning of assimilation, persecution and complacency, and calling...

As we come to the middle of the list of the fruit of the Spirit, we find a series of words that are often interchangeable in the Bible: kindness, goodness, and faithfulness, in particular, seem to be connotations of several Hebrew and Greek words. But if we were to pick one Old Testament concept to represent the word “kindness,” we’d be best to focus on the Hebrew word hesed, which is often transl...

The Temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world. People came to Jerusalem from all over the Roman Empire to see it. Here the disciples are “oohing” and “aahing” over the huge stones and massive building of the Temple. Jesus says: “Don’t be impressed. It is all going to come crashing down, and life as you know it is going to come crashing down.” It is a reminder for all to hold on to the ete...

We live in an instant world: we can get instant food, instant banking, an instant oil change, instant credit, want to be an instant success. The American’s prayer is “Lord, give me patience … and I want it right now!” But God says through Paul, “the fruit of the Spirit is … patience!” If we want to follow God’s will and be Spirit-filled Christians, patience is to be a virtue, a fruit of the Spirit...

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Perhaps it is at Christmas time that we most try to instill that idea into our children. Either we find out the truth of that anew, or battle again our insatiable greed. Christmas giving versus receiving is a matter of maturity (and some are less mature than others!). Christian giving versus receiving is also a matter of maturity—spiritual maturity. An...