Federal Way Church of Christ Sermons

The final Advent Antiphon, “O Emmanuel,” traces God’s story from beginning to end, gathering up and fulfilling all the other antiphons in Jesus, who is God-with-us in his birth into the world, his life among us, and his return to dwell with his people forever.

The fifth and sixth Advent Antiphons, “O Dayspring” and “O King of the Nations,” trace God’s story from the deep darkness of exile to the hope of light and peace among all nations, finding their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, the Dayspring from on high and the King who reigns for the healing of the world.

The third and fourth Advent Antiphons, "O Root of Jesse" and "O Key of David," trace God's story from origins of Israel's kingdom to the coming king who will bring true freedom and find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, the unexpected king who establishes God's peaceable kingdom and faithfully frees all who are captive.

The first two Advent Antiphons, "O Wisdom" and "O Adonai," trace God's story from the creation to the exodus and find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, who is the Wisdom that orders all things and the Lord who redeems all things.

The story of Exodus shows us a God who rescues his people, reveals himself to them, and finally takes up residence among them. As we become God's people, we continue to experience his deliverance, grow in knowing him, and ultimately carry his presence wherever we go.

The Tabernacle is a portable Eden, pointing us back to the God of creation who dwells with humanity and inviting us to participate in God's work of new creation with generous and willing hearts.

After God's people betray him by breaking covenant, he responds to Moses' bold intercession by revealing himself as merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, inviting them—and us—into restored relationship and transformation.

God gives the law not as a burden but as a gift that reveals his heart, showing us a God who is accessible, compassionate toward the vulnerable, and who invites his treasured people to reflect his character to the world.

Just as God led the Israelites into the wilderness to rebuild their relationship with Him after centuries of slavery, He invites us into our own desert spaces where distractions fall away and we can move from knowing about Him to truly knowing Him.

After crossing the Red Sea, Moses and Miriam lead Israel in an act of creative, holistic worship, showing us that creativity is a natural response to God, rooted in story, ripe with imagery, and rekindling hope for all that God is yet to do.

The Passover meal and Red Sea crossing become foundational practices of remembrance and deliverance for ancient Israel and they point forward to Jesus who offers his disciples communion and baptism as ongoing signs of belonging in God's family.

The Exodus plagues are signs that reveal God's character of patience and mercy as he confronts Pharaoh's hard heart.

In Exodus 4, Moses resists God's call with reluctance rooted in fear and past shame. God persistently responds with signs of his power and presence, showing us that when we face similar fears, we too are invited to partner with God rather than withdraw or carry the burden alone.

In Exodus 3, God reveals himself through the burning bush as present in the world, active in salvation, and personal by his name, calling us to pay attention, participate with him, and grow in relationship with him.

Exodus 2 tells the origins of Moses being found and formed through his subversive birth story, maturing heart for justice, and embrace of his identity as one of God's people.

The book of Exodus is a foundational story about becoming God's people. Picking up where Genesis left off, it shows how God's faithfulness persists despite Pharaoh's increasing oppression and calls us to become faithful resisters like Shiphrah and Puah who courageously chose to fear God rather than earthly powers.

As we prepare to enter a Global Week of Prayer, we explore God's desire—from the Tower of Babel to Pentecost—to transform human self-promotion into cross-cultural blessing, calling us to live "Anti-Babel" lives that extend his kingdom to all nations.

Psalm 57 calls us to take refuge in God's steadfast love and faithfulness instead of falling asleep in the numbing distractions of our culture so that we awake with active trust and praise that proclaims God's kingdom to the world.

Psalm 56 expresses trust in the midst of fear because of God's promise to be with his people.

In the midst of corruption and betrayal, Psalm 55 teaches us to bring our honest emotions to God in persistent prayer and trust. We ultimately find our hope in Jesus who, though betrayed, calls his disciples friends and remains faithful to the end.

Psalm 54 shows that biblical justice is primarily about God protecting the innocent rather than punishing the guilty, calling us to trust God as a good judge and partner with him in his kingdom work of restoration.

Jesus comforts his troubled disciples in John 14 by calling them to trust in him as the way, truth, and life during times when old certainties are being torn down to make way for new spiritual understanding and growth.

Psalm 53 contrasts worldly foolishness with godly wisdom, calling us from practical atheism to ongoing life with God and promising God's ultimate defeat of evil and restoration for his people. We see this fulfilled in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection where he begins the work of restoration, reveals true wisdom at the cross, and scatters the power of death, making a way for life with him.

When evil seems to prevail and suffering abounds, Psalm 52 calls us to reject worldly pursuits of power by trusting in God's love and justice with a defiant, stubborn, absurd hope.

Psalm 51 shows us how true repentance moves from confession to renewal, as the compassionate God creates pure hearts and personal forgiveness overflows into building up community in God's Kingdom.