Cutlerville East Christian Reformed Church

What do James and Paul, Martin Luther and contemporary society all have in common?  All are part of a controversy, a problem, over faith.  Faith is a key doctrine in the Christian life.  But notice what Paul and James say about it:   Paul:  "For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law."  (Romans 3:28) James:  "You see that a person is consider...

Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Accepting people is not the same as approving, condoning, or even tolerating bad behavior. Acceptance is an act of the heart in which we recognize that, despite someone’s behavior, he or she has value in God’s sight, and we honor that. But this can be a hard thing to do! The early church found that out, and James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem and its scattered offshoots, takes time to add...

Mark introduces us to Jesus. When he does so, people are wondering about Jesus what many wondered about the Lone Ranger and countless superheroes: Who is this masked man? When he speaks about God’s kingdom come, His words ring true in our minds and make our hearts skip a beat! When he commands, demons flee! When he calls, we follow, not knowing why! John the Baptizer moved us emotionally; Jesus mo...

This church year, we will explore the life of Jesus as it is depicted by the gospel writer, Mark. Mark, arguably the first Gospel written, is the shortest, the most action-oriented.  Mark is clearly writing to a mixed Jewish and Gentile Christian audience, quite likely in Rome, where they are suffering and being martyred (probably by Nero).  For this reason, his Gospel focuses on Jesus' role...

We begin the fall with a look at the book of James.  In launching an overarching case that real faith produces genuine works, James begins with an opening argument that many preachers would prefer to relegate to a closing remark: the problem of suffering and trials in life.  Given that James' readers were experiencing hardship as they tried to come to terms with their new identities as Jewish...

We wind up the story of Ruth, a story about a couple of women looking for “rest” — that is, a sense of security and peace. But Naomi also represents Israel, restless in the time of the judges. How will God bring them rest? A good story generally does two things at the end: (1) resolves the tension created in the story (solves a murder, brings justice, ends in a wedding, etc.) and (2) ties together...

Paul was seeing the decline of a work ethic in Thessalonica. In his first letter he warned them; by the second letter had it gotten worse? For them, it seems that it was a combination of the Greek ideal of leisure is for free people and Jesus Christ’s imminent return. And the church fed the problem, literally, with their shared goods. The idlers were abusing the food pantry and the Benevolent Fund...

When Naomi  and Ruth returned to Bethlehem, we see how the loss of her husband and sons had left her bitter, restless and hopeless.  When they entered Bethlehem, the women greeted her and she launched into a tirade against God.  I wonder how she would have responded if it had been a particular holiday and the women had said, "Happy Mother's Day, Naomi!"  They would likely have ended...

Scripture: Ezekiel 47:1-12

We often focus on the New Testament gospel story, the life of Jesus Christ, and ignore the Old Testament, particularly little stories like that of Ruth. It’s a neat little tale, yet seems insignificant. But, in reality, Ruth is really an Old Testament gospel story that prepares us for the Author’s life’s work, the epic masterpiece of the New Testament life of Christ. We’ll look at it over three we...

Have you ever looked at what’s happening around us and wondered if the world could get any worse? Any more lawless? Any less Christian? Have you ever wondered if this might be the lawless “end times” the Bible talks about? The Thessalonian Christians did! The lawlessness of their time and their personal persecution was far greater than we could imagine. They turned to Paul and asked: is this the e...

In 538 BC, the Jews were released by King Darius; a few faithful Jews returned to Jerusalem and began restoring the foundations of the Temple.  Now it is 520 BC, 18 years later, and there is still no Temple.  They've given up on what seemed likean overwhelming task. So God speaks through Haggai with a singular purpose: "Get going and build my church!"  This is a cautionary tale for...

Why do Christians suffer?  It's an age-old question, and the Thessalonians were asking the same question.  Persecution increased even while their lifestyle became more Christian. How do you encourage people in that situation?  How do we deal with the "why?"  Paul doesn't answer the "why?" but suggests three ideas about what can come out of suffering for Christians.

Psalm 34

John 3: 1-21

We focus on one last story from the exile, and it’s quite a story! From rags to riches, from a captive to a queen. Does every girl, when she is little, want to be a princess? My granddaughter does. She loves all the Disney princesses, especially the princesses in Frozen! She could sing some of their songs by heart when she was very young! Well, the story we will look at is actually about a young g...

The Thessalonian church was worried about Christ’s return being like a sneak attack, catching them off guard (and making them liable to judgment!). Not wanting to be trapped by a false sense of peace, they had no peace. So Paul reassures them of how to live in peace with Christ, in light of his second coming, then also talks about having peace with fellow Christians. Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5

It’s likely that somewhere along the line you’ve heard the phrase: “the writing is on the wall.” The phrase is used to foreshadow trouble: a baseball manager about to be fired; a factory about to be shut down; people about to be laid off; a union about to strike. It speaks of signs that something bad is about to happen. The phrase came, of course, from Daniel 5, where the writing on the wall foret...

Death is part of life, even for Christians. However firm our Christian faith, it is natural and healthy to grieve, for to lose a loved one is to lose a part of oneself. But according to Paul, there are different ways to grieve. The Thessalonian church was young in the faith, with lots of questions. Apparently since Paul had been with them, they lost a Christian brother to death. How were they to r...

 | Daniel: Faith Tried by Fire – Daniel 1-3 Our focus in the prophets up to this point has been prophecies about the coming exile. Now we find ourselves in exile itself, as Daniel and his friends were taken captive and brought to Babylon. The exile was God’s punishment for Israel’s disobedience and idolatry. But it was more than just punishment: God provided it as a period of testing and refining....

Living to Please God – 1 Thessalonians 4 One of Paul’s favorite pictures of the Christian life is the walk of faith (translated “live” in most Bibles), which actually comes from the Hebrew halakh (“walk”, but used for one’s conduct of life; sometimes called halakhah). The Christian life begins with a step of faith. Walking suggests progress (which we all need as Christians). To a young Thessalonia...

Where is God when bad things happen? It is a popular question that arises when major catastrophes hit the news: coronavirus pandemic, flooding, tornados, an airplane crash. It also arises in our personal lives: at the loss of a job, a serious illness, the loss of a loved one, depression, straying children. Such a question made When Bad Things Happen to Good People (by Rabbi Harold Kushner) a bests...