Cutlerville East Christian Reformed Church

At the outset, the Heidelberg Catechism suggests that we need to first grovel in our sin in order to find “our only comfort.” Lord’s Day 2 asks: “How do you come to know your misery?” What a question! The answer is that the “law” or Bible tells me. We often have an uneasy relationship with the Bible: some parts we love, because they bring comfort and inspiration. But other parts mirror our sinfuln...

Beginning this fall, our evening services will focus on working through one of the standards of Reformed faith, the Heidelberg Catechism. Our first sermon looks at the most well-known and beloved of all the Lord’s Days: question and answer #1. The theme of belonging stems from many Scripture passages, but is especially memorable from Jesus’ image of the shepherd and his sheep in John 10.  Scriptur...

Paul began his letter to the Ephesians giving them and us an eternal perspective on God’ new community: he chose us before creation, redeemed us in Jesus Christ, and marks us for Himself by the Holy Spirit. This makes Paul drop to his knees on behalf of the church. Prayer dominates this letter, split into two sections: Ephesians 1:15-23 and 3:14-21. What can we learn from Paul’s prayer about what...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” begins A Tale of Two Cities. The same could be said for the end of Revelation. John is talking about the city of man (Babylon/Rome) and the city of God (Jerusalem). For one city, the end will be the worst of times; for another, the best. But the punchline of John’s visions was that the cities he has in mind will have very different outcomes tha...

We begin a series on what it means to be the church as Paul reflects on it in his letter to the church in Ephesus. The city was one of the gems of the Roman empire, dominated by a temple to and worship of the goddess Artemis (or Diana). But within the city was a small group which had moved away from that religion; a new community which called themselves Christians. Having earlier visited (Acts 19)...

We’ve looked at John’s letters to the seven churches (yet challenging & hope-giving to us), reminding them that the Lamb is on the throne (not Rome/our culture). And also calling them/us to stand strong in persecution, and give up complacency & assimilation to our culture, because God will vindicate those who bow, not to the world, but to the Lamb. We called that “things present.” We’re in...

Jesus’ discipleship training sessions with his Apostles were coming to an end. Oh, there will be more; after the resurrection, Jesus will appear several times to them. He’ll restore Peter, convince Thomas, and encourage his Apostles. He’ll spend time explaining all that’s happened and how it fulfills the Old Testament Scriptures. And he’ll tell them to wait for Holy Spirit to come before they get...

Scripture: Romans 15:1-13, James 2:1-4

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 and Matthew 5:14-16

 Revelation is prophetic in content and intent, not necessarily predictive, but speaking to their time and situation (not ours). Revelation is not giving info about the end times (at least until the very end); its purpose was to strengthen their loyalty to Jesus Christ. Like Israel and the early churches of Asia Minor, the church today has also become complacent and compromising in many ways. Reve...

 Jesus has been with his Apostles in the Upper Room and they are now moving toward the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus has brought them into the 4th phase of disciplemaking that evening, calling them to “remain in me” in order to be able to accomplish their ministry. Now Jesus spells out what to expect as they minister without him physically present. It’s going to be a battle, he warns them, on eve of...

The situation was that churches in Asia Minor, which John oversees, were dealing with false teachers who were splitting the churches. They believed Jesus was divine, but not fully human. Thus, the death & resurrection of Jesus was relatively unimportant to them — just the opposite of Christian theology: the blood of Jesus is absolutely necessary for our salvation. As John writes, he’s dealing...

Jesus’ pattern of discipling his apostles was (and still is) somewhat similar to getting married: ·  Phase 1: Come & See = like a first date, as the disciples got to know him ·  Phase 2: Come & Follow = steady engagement, learning more, growing closer ·  Phase 3: Come & Be with Me = marriage, as they threw lives in with him; it was a time of doing, ministry training, equipping, last in...

Scripture:  Romans 8:35-39

Scripture:  Mark 8:14-26

Scripture: II Chronicles 7:11-22

Scripture: Mark 10:13-31

In a sense, we are moving closer to the apostolic age of the New Testament. Such was the world of those to whom Peter writes this letter, mostly Gentiles who converted to Christianity. To believers living in that kind of world, Peter writes with a 3- fold strategy: 1) to exhort them to stand firm in light of the return of Christ; 2) to advise them how to shape their behavior so as to overcome prej...

Jesus refused to allow public opinion to change his ministry. But now his public popularity has been dwindling. Herod Antipas is concerned about Jesus’ political ambitions. The Jewish authorities are increasingly hostile. Some disciples are leaving him, frustrated by his refusal to be a conquering king. Jesus and his Apostles retreat to Caesarea Philippi, where we see a turning point in Jesus’ min...

This is a letter James writes to churches outside of Israel, dealing with the conditions and problems they all faced, the trials and temptations of life in the real world. Perhaps this why the book of James is such a favorite among so many Christians: it gives practical advice for real world living. Yet this is not an individual letter for individual Christians but is addressed to a community of b...

We’ve been following Jesus as he called and is now equipping his disciples to become disciplemakers. Around this time the disciples must have been asking questions like: Why are we doing this? Who is this we’re following? What authority does he have over us? Maybe you have similar questions. As we’ve talked about the need for every single one of us to get in the games, to become leaders and discip...

Hebrews Imagine being a Jewish Christian in the city of Rome in the time of Nero. You’ve been waiting on God’s promises of forgiveness and release from oppression, and have found your Messiah: Jesus. But as the years go by, rather than release from oppression, it only gets worse. You had suffered at the hands of emperor Claudius, but now it has intensified under Nero. You begin to wonder about thi...

Last week we looked at the preceding passage (Matthew 9:35-38), a call for laborers to go out into the harvest fields. But what does that involve? Jesus is going to send out the 12 Apostles (“sent out ones”) with harvest instructions. He speaks with them about having a heart of a harvester, but also the hostile harvest field they will encounter.  Scripture: Matthew 10

Paul is in prison and his main concern is about the future of his Gospel message in the face of the heresies and false teachers of the day. Compounding his concern is that many believers have deserted him. In the face of all this, Paul looks to Timothy, his “dear son.” He writes encouraging Timothy in his faith, but also charging Timothy to “guard the gospel.” This letter is a passing of the torch...

What does it means to be a disciple who is growing into a disciplemaker? We can see a progression in Jesus’ disciples, as they grow from Curious Converts (come & see) to Established Disciples (come & follow me), and now to Equipped Laborers (come & be with me). Jesus withdraws from the crowds and gathers Apostles, which he limited to 12 in order to develop close relationships. They gre...