From The Pulpit - sermons by Pastor Aaron

Jesus is an upside-down Savior. He saved us not by political wins or military victories but in weakness, not through riches but poverty, not through success but defeat, not by life but by death. The way Jesus saves us is upside-down to our thinking. He demonstrates that greatness is not what we would tend to think. Greatness is humble service. If you want to be the greatest, be the servant. When y...

Jesus is an upside-down Savior. He saved us not by political wins or military victories but in weakness, not through riches but poverty, not through success but defeat, not by life but by death. The way Jesus saves us is upside-down to our thinking. He gave us life by dying for us, and he told us to follow him in dying to self. Jesus demonstrated and taught that life comes through death. March 30,...

Psalm 83 might seem like a "flyover" psalm, but it has a unique request for victory over enemies. The prayer asks that enemies be put to shame so that they would seek God's name. It does not simply want survival but that enemies would have a change of heart and seek the true God. March 23, 2025 PM sermon at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to disc...

It's easy to conform to everyone else around us. Put someone in a group and they will say white is black. Put someone in a group and they will even commit atrocities. Instead of doing what others do, we are to be transformed from the inside out by God's Word. God's message is very different from the world's messages. We must purposefully believe and act on what God has said every day. March 23, 20...

Psalm 108 is a copy and paste of two other psalms. Psalms 57 and 60 are both laments that end in confidence. Psalm 108 is the confidence parts of both psalms put into one. Why repeat what was already said? The Psalms are meant to be used again and again in new situations. March 16, 2025 PM sermon at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this...

Jesus is an upside-down Savior. He saved us not through strength but weakness, not through riches but poverty, not through success but defeat, not by life but by death. He did not sell tickets to heaven but demonstrated a whole way of life. He demonstrated that gain is through loss. March 16, 2025 AM at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss...

Psalm 7 is a prayer for God's justice by someone who has been slandered. God being a perfectly righteous judge gives assurance that justice will be done. March 9, 2025 PM sermon at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aaronvriesman.substack.com

Jesus is an upside-down Savior. He is everything we are not looking for. We are drawn to the successful, the beautiful, the wealthy, the high position. Jesus was a poor peasant who took the role of a slave. He showed how in God's economy, respect comes through humility. March 9, 2025 AM at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with othe...

Psalm 141 might seem like an unremarkable psalm. It is a prayer when tempted to sin because of the provocation from enemies. Jesus taught us to pray to be delivered from temptation. It contains relevant prayer content for us. March 2, 2025 PM sermon at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus e...

Narratives shape us. The stories we tell define who we are as people. The world gives a narrative and God gives a narrative. Every story has an end or goal. The world's narrative tells us live life to the fullest now because eventually we will die. God's narrative tells us to live for the glorious eternity that awaits on the other side of death. Our time here on earth is short. We can either live...

Psalm 68 is a song praising God for his victories. God is a warrior who helps the weak. The psalm is ultimately about Jesus who conquered sin and death. February 23, 2025 PM sermon at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aaronvriesman.substack.com

Narratives shape us. The stories we tell define who we are as people. The world gives a narrative and God gives a narrative. Every story has a salvation or redemption of some kind. The world's narrative offers a salvation of being who you are, life is about finding happiness by satisfying personal desires. God's narrative is that we are sinners in need of salvation and Jesus is that salvation. Feb...

Psalm 55 is an individual lament about being betrayed by a close friend. A vortex of evil surrounds the singer in a city seemingly run by corrupt gangsters. When times are oppressive, we are told to cast our burdens on the Lord. February 16, 2025 PM sermon at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...

Narratives shape us. The stories we tell define who we are as people. The world gives a narrative and God gives a narrative. Every story has an explanation for what is wrong in life. The world's narrative says something like the following: you are your own, therefore wrong is anything else imposing its standards on you, and you should be who you are. The biblical narrative says you are God's, ther...

Narratives shape us. The stories we tell define who we are as people. The world gives a narrative and God gives a narrative. Everyone has an origin story that defines our essence and purpose. If we are produced by chance, then we have no overarching purpose, and you are your own. On the other hand, if we were produced by God, then we are designed for a purpose, and you are God's. February 9, 2025...

It's okay for Christians to lament and be sad when there is tragedy or loss. The Bible contains many such laments. Perhaps the most important is the lament of Jesus on the cross. God is immutable - he does not change and cannot be manipulated. Yet, God became human in Jesus Christ and took upon himself our griefs and sorrows to lament with us. February 2, 2025 AM at North Blendon Christian Reforme...

People like to lead the way in having the most money or being the best at a sport but not many are leading the way when it comes to Jesus. The reality is, you can be a good follower of Jesus no matter how old you are. Cadet Sunday 2025. January 26, 2025 AM at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...

It's okay for Christians to lament and be sad when there is tragedy or loss. The Bible contains many such laments. Lamentations is a whole book of laments about the destruction of Jerusalem. The grief and sadness is strong but it ends with hope in God's promises and love. January 19, 2025 AM at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with...

The Canaanite woman from Matthew chapter 15 has to be one of the most impressive women in all of Scripture. We do not know her name or much about her, but her faith was off the charts. Nowhere else in Matthew does Jesus describe describe someone's faith as "great." January 12, 2025 PM sermon at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with...

It's okay for Christians to lament and be sad when there is tragedy or loss. The Bible contains many such laments. Psalm 22 is one of them. It begins with an anguished, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Yet it is punctuated by praise and ends with thanksgiving. January 12, 2025 AM at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with...

Psalm 25 is a lament of an individual who faces troubles within and without but is trusting God. The singer is taking a risk of faith and twice pleads with God to not be put to shame. This is a song of someone in distress who chooses to trust God against all other impulses, believing that God's ways are the way of preservation. January 5, 2025 PM sermon at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church T...

It's okay for Christians to lament and be sad. The Bible contains many laments that demonstrate what it looks like to mourn while believing in an all-powerful and benevolent God. Job is a notable example. He certainly believes in God's providence but laments bitterly. His lament is instructive for us today. January 5, 2025 AM at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If...

From the beginning of time, God has promised to fix the mess of our sin. As the Old Testament progresses, prophesies begin to show a Savior is coming. Luke 2 documents the fulfillment of centuries and millennia of hopeful anticipation. What happened on the first Christmas should lead us to treasure and ponder these things in our hearts. December 25, 2024 AM at North Blendon Christian Reformed Chur...

Psalm 98 is a joyful song that the Lord is coming to rule and reign over the world. Isaac Watts wrote "Joy to the World" based on this psalm. December 22, 2024 PM sermon at North Blendon Christian Reformed Church This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aaronvriesman.substack.com

From the beginning of time, God has promised to fix the mess of our sin. As the Old Testament progresses, prophesies begin to show a Savior is coming. Daniel has a vision where four kingdoms in the form of grotesque beasts arise, but then a figure "like a son of man" appears. He comes on the clouds and is given a kingdom that is worldwide and eternal. Jesus' most common way to refer to himself was...