King's Table Church Sermons

We are called to contend for the faith. We are to discern and root out counterfeit teachers who have stealthily presented an alternative gospel. We are to keep ourselves in the love of God, building up our faith and having mercy on those who waver. But all of this is only possible because He (God) is the one who is able. He is the one who prevents us from stumbling. He is the one who holds and kee...

In every generation, the church will encounter those who oppose the things of God. Jude therefore urged believers to contend for the faith and to keep themselves “in the love of God.” This “keeping” is not mysterious or isolated; rather, it is an exhortation to the regular assembly of worship, where we hear from God’s Word and cultivate relationships with other believers. It is a call to steadfast...

Throughout the Old Testament, we find an unfolding picture of God Almighty as the divine warrior appearing from heaven to establish justice and righteousness on earth. Jude’s letter reminds us that this anticipation finds its fulfillment in the Lord Jesus. He who came to earth, died in our place, rose from the grave, and ascended to heaven will one day return as promised, judge the whole world, an...

The relativism of our age would have us think that we can believe whatever we want and do whatever feels good. In contrast, Jude, writing nearly twenty centuries ago, appealed to believers to contend for the faith and to beware of those who were distorting the Gospel by exchanging its freedom for license. Jude’s appeal, while unpopular, is just as critical today. Genuine Christians must stand firm...

Jude begins by establishing several truths that are vital for God’s people everywhere to understand. As believers, we are called, beloved, and kept by God and recipients of his unending mercy, peace, and love.

The only Son from the Father - full of grace and truth. There are many things that John could have mentioned the Son coming in the fullness of - full of justice, full of righteousness, full of holiness. After all, he possesses every perfection. "A faithful God who does no wrong; upright and just is he." (Deut 32:4) And yet John chooses to highlight that he comes full of grace. And not only is HE f...

John tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. But this means so much more than we could imagine at first blush. Christ, the Eternal Word, took on flesh and dwelt among us. This doesn't just mean he lived with us. It doesn't only mean that he walked around in close proximity and slept in a human bed to see what it was like. (This is not Undercover Boss: the Incarnation.) He took on f...

He came into the world that he created, but the world did not receive him. Instead, he was rejected. We esteemed him not. We regarded him stricken and afflicted. Do you struggle with fears of rejection? Have you expereinced what it is like to not be accepted. So has Jesus. By the very world he created. But he was rejected so that we might be received. To those who received him he gave the right to...

God is the creator of everyone and everything. There is nothing made that was not made by him. He is the source of all things. And John tells us that the Word - Christ the Son - is the Creator God. They are one in the same. All the glory that is due God Almighty - that makes Paul exult in singing, "From him and to him and through him are all things! To him be glory forever!" - also belongs to Chri...

Contstruction is finished and Jerusalem is reinhabited. They establish priests and leaders and singers and gatekeepers. The wall is dedicated with a joyous celebration and music. Provisions are made for the house of God and those who serve in Israel's worship. But the full glory of Jerusalem never returns. Even after Nehemiah goes back into the service of Artaxerxes, he comes again to Jerusalem to...

The Israelites gather to corporately confess their sins. They sing about God's repeated faithfulness - recounting the story of God creating the world, covenanting with their fathers, and delivering his people from bondage. They confess their own arrogance and stiff necks - but God's gracious, slow-to-anger forgiveness. The pattern continues. God blesses and does not withold good; His people rebel....

When the walls are rebuilt and the doors installed and the exiles returned, Nehemiah gathers the people for the public reading of God's law. The people kneel low, worship, and weep as they hear the words of the law read aloud. Because they know that they have a long history of transgression. But Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites instruct the people not to weep but to rejoice! Today is a day that is...

The wall around Jerusalem is almost rebuilt, but those who oppose the work will not stop trying to derail the endeavour. They fabricate invitations to lure Nehemiah away from the work. They invent false rumours that the king has caught wind of the rebuilding and is planning to put Jerusalem down as insurrectionists. They hire false prophets and send intimidating messages. But Nehemiah refuses to b...

The rebuilding of Jerusalem also involves the reform of Jerusalem’s people. The walls weren’t the only things broken. As they come together and undertake the work to rebuild, Nehemiah learns that some of his countrymen are taxing and charging each other high interest rates. They are exacting and oppressive – even causing one another’s children to be sold into slavery due to their indebtedness. Hea...

As the rebuilding of the walls progresses, the mocking turns into fury. Opposition to the work intensifies to plotting and fighting against it. Nehemiah leads the people to pray and station guards – saying to them, “Don’t be afraid. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord.” Each builder strapped a sword around his waist while building – working with a tool in one hand and a sword in the other. J...

The king commissions Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and oversee the rebuilding of the walls – to begin to mend what is broken. But there are those that hear the prosperity of the city is being pursued and are greatly displeased. Nehemiah makes known the gracious provision of the Lord and others are strengthened to join the good work – but in doing so, they are mocked and despised. Nehemiah replie...

Nehemiah weeps when he hears the state of Jerusalem. Israel has been unfaithful – and rightly scattered, exiled from their homes. Nehemiah laments that the glory of the kingdom has been lost – because he delights in revering the name of the Lord. The primary motivation for grieving in exile is the glory of God obscured. This mirrors our story – exile from the Garden, creation in a state of ill-rep...

All of history culminates in a meal – the great marriage supper of the Lamb! The beast and his armies have been defeated; the great prostitute has been judged. The blood of the martyrs has been avenged! And all of heaven rejoices because the church, his bride, is prepared and ready. The marriage of the Lamb has come and he is worthy to rule and reign and receive the glory of all creation! When we...

The Lord’s table is not always used well; it has often been abused from within. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we find two cautionary tales around abusing the table. One is members within the church engaging during the week in the idolatry and then coming to the Lord’s table as if the two could coexist. Paul rebukes strongly. Those who participate in pagan feasts (which often involved prosti...

In Acts 10, the Lord speaks to Peter. He lowers a picnic blanket from heaven with all sorts of animals on it and instructs Peter to kill and eat. Peter is horrified, having rigorously adhered to all the Jewish ceremonial food laws. But the Lord insists telling Peter not to call impure what he has called clean. Jesus is turning Peter’s world upside-down all over again, and he’s still using his tabl...

No issue raised more questions and opposition during Jesus’ life and ministry than how he ate and who he shared a table with. Luke’s gospel in particular seems to highlight this theme which we see pronouncedly in the calling of Levi (Matthew), the tax collector. Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees demanding to know why he would share a table with sinner. And he answers that he has come for the si...

The Psalmist speaks of God’s shepherd-like care for his people – both his presence and his provision. Even when in “the valley of the shadow of death,” he is there. The Psalmist paints a picture of being surrounded by hostility – in the very presence of his enemies. And in the face of great opposition, the Lord prepares and sets a table. The Lord’s table is a picture of peace in the midst of chaos...

The Lord instructs Israel in the law to not glean all the way to the very perimeter of their fields. Instead, the edges were to be left unharvested so that the poor (and foreigners sojourning in the land) could come and gather food. This is more than just teaching Israel the value of charity. This command is followed by an emphatic declaration – “I am the Lord.” Why? Because to violate this comman...

In the wilderness, Israel complains about their lack of food. They even look back fondly on their days of slavery and pots of stewed meat – even considering a return to bondage in Egypt. But the Lord sends quail and bread from heaven (even to the point of providing “all the bread they could want”). He gives clear instructions about the gathering of this bread to ensure that Israel daily depends on...