Madison Reformed Church

Jesus warns of the tribulations of this age and says "Watch" and "stay awake." Now here in Gethsemane, the tribulation of Jesus' death is upon them, and again he says, "Watch and stay awake." In Mark 14:26–52, we learn the command to all disciples to be spiritually awake during times of trouble, especially through prayer. But as we’ll see, this is only possible t...

The first Passover was the night of the exodus of God’s people out of Egypt. Not long after this event, God made the covenant with Moses and Israel. The New Testament calls this “the old covenant.” Christ’s death brings the shadows of this Old Covenant to full clarity, and through this clarity, we should begin to taste of our future inheritance with confidence.

Exod. 24:1–11  Isa. 25:6–12  John 6:49–59  1 Cor. 10:14–22  The Lord's Supper is a sacred meal that strengthens our fellowship with God and with one another. It is called different names: Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Table, even the Eucharist, which comes from the word to “give thanks” in the New Testament. In this sermon, we learn how to participate in this sacrament and two...

Deut. 30:1–10 Isa. 44:1–8 Mark 10:13–16 Gal. 3:1–9 In this sermon, see how the children of believers are included in God's gracious covenant both in the time of Abraham and today in the new covenant. And since they belong to the covenant, then the covenant sign of baptism should be given to them as well.

Here in this story, we find a disciple who has clearly begun to recognize who Jesus is and what he is doing, and in response, she approaches him with deep reverence. Her disposition and actions teach us that s ince Christ gave his whole self to us in his death and burial, he compels us to give our whole selves to him. Or as 1 John 4:19 tells us, “We love because he first loved us.

Hope leads to disappointment only if the thing you’ve put your hope in isn’t certain. But Christians put our hope in the return of Jesus Christ, a certainty. Even though there are some things we don’t understand about the return of Christ, our hope is certain that when he returns, it will be to get rid of wickedness, to redeem his people, and to make a new creation. This certainty clarifies what o...

Exod. 14:15-31 Zech. 12:10-13:1 Mark 1:4-11 Rom. 6:3-11 We are tempted to fall into the extremes of merely symbolic on the one hand and magic on the other. When it comes to baptism.  But Scripture calls us to neither of these extremes. Baptism is a holy ritual given by God himself, through the command of Christ. This ritual objectively proclaims God’s gospel promises, and it is subjectively a mean...

Gen. 17:9–14 Isa. 6:1­–7 John 6:22­­­–34 Rom. 4:9–12  With the guidance of the catechism, we’ve seen how faith is the gift of God to us. But how does this faith come about? Is it something that we create? Is there a special religious act we need to perform to get it? The teaching of Scripture is that the ordinary way that God creates faith is through gospel preaching and he confirms and strengthen...

In Mark 13, some of what Jesus says sounds like he’s talking about local events that will happen very soon . And other parts sound like he’s talking about worldwide events that happen at the end of time . What do we do with this? Our Lord helps us to see us a pattern in the Bible, through which we learn that hatred for God will get worse even in the Church. But Christ also comfort us shows us how...

Exod. 23:20–33 Isa. 64:1–7 Luke 17:7–10 Rom. 3:21–31 When we are justified, Christ gives us a two-part gift—forgiveness and righteousness, and these are received in no other way than by faith alone. But it raises several good and fair questions about good works.  If our good works don’t contribute to our righteousness, then why does the Bible talk about being rewarded for them?

Jesus the Prophet begins to explain the kind of things Christians can expect in the end times. Whatever comes, Christ’s call remains the same: “Endure.” In this passage, Christ promises to use end-times hardships to save unbelievers, and our role in this great work of the Lord is to bear witness to Christ by our endurance.

Gen. 15:1–21 Jer. 23:1–8 Luke 18:9–14 Rom. 4:1–8 The Bible teaches us we have broken God’s commandments and that we need him to forgive us and make us right with him. When you believe the teaching of the Apostles' Creed, the result is that you are “ righteous in Christ before God and an heir to life everlasting.” This is the doctrine of justification, which means to be righteous before God. I...

Jesus  gives us another surprising glimpse of what it means for him to reign. Because he reigns as the true Messiah—not the Messiah of human imagination—we must be careful not confuse his reign with selfish ambition, but pursue self-denial.

Gen. 17:1–8 Dan. 12:1–13 John 5:19–29 Rev. 21:1–8 The Bible says that we should learn to number our days (Ps. 90).  We'd usually rather avoid that, and avoid the topic of death altogether. But since we believe in the "resurrection of the body" and "the life everlasting," we have sure hope that Christ will make us and all things new.

The night before Jesus’ crucifixion, the Lord Jesus says that he's about to leave and send them the Holy Spirit. In this sermon to commemorate Pentecost,  we learn that the Spirit brings the truth of heaven down to earth in a unique and powerful way. As the "Spirit of truth," he speaks and declares the truth of God. And since that is the case, the whole world—believers and unbelieve...

We welcomed Pastor Austin Reifel of Indy Reformed Church to our pulpit. He opened up Micah 7:18–20 from the Minor Prophets.

Gen. 26:1–5 Ezek. 34:11–16 John 10:1–18 1 Cor. 12:20–27 What does it mean for us to be members of Christ's body? In this sermon, Christ's love for his people in put on full display as we learn that he gathers, protects, and preserves a church for himself. This church is made up of believers all times and places—called the holy catholic church—who are given gifts to serve one another.

Psalm 24 John 17:6–19 Hebrews 4:14–16 In this sermon for Ascension Day,  we meditate upon the glorious work of Christ as the ascended Prophet to the cloud, Priest at the mercy seat, and King on the throne.

Over the course of three tests of Bible knowledge, Jesus enemies  hope to “trap him in his talk” (v. 13). Through these tests, this passage shows that the central meaning of Scripture is love, and only Christ has fulfilled this command, and only through him can we give up our self-centered approaches to reading the Bible and learn to hear and do the Word with love.

There are many misconceptions about the Holy Spirit in our day. But there always has been.  In this catechism sermon, we look at the basics: He is God, he saves, and he will remain with us forever.

We all have a problem with authority.  Listening to someone else tell us what to do, or who to be, or how to act is the great offense to our generation. But what happens when the authority we're rejecting is marked by grace, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, and a   host of other blessings? In this passage, Christ teaches that enjoying his blessings without his authority is robbery. But Christ’...

Exod. 17:8-17 1 Kgs. 1:28–40 Luke 21:25–28 Eph. 4:1–16  The seating and crowning of a king are a big deal, full of ceremonies and symbols that are meant to give the impression that the king's reign would go on forever and ever. These are just ideals, of course. No earthly king lives forever. But we nevertheless long for a just and wise ruler to reign over us forever and ever. That’s what we w...

Deut. 10:1–11 Dan. 7:9–14 Luke 24:44–53 Heb. 7:23–28 The doctrine of the ascension of Christ is a wonderful and very comforting doctrine, and in this catechism sermon, we take a look at it basics: (1) what exactly happened in the ascension; (2) what Christ is doing that that he has ascended; (3) what these things have to do with you and me in our life of faith.

It’s always hard when something has run its course and needs to end. In this passage, Jesus demonstrates that the Temple—the place of Israelite religion—has run its course. Christ has come, the gospel is being proclaimed, and now all people are welcomed to worship, especially worship marked by faith, prayer, and forgiveness. 

 Apostle Paul proclaimed the Gospel in Athen and when he was finished, the thing that his hearers zeroed in on was the bit about the resurrection. Epicureans scoffed—they don't believe in the afterlife. Stoics mocked—they think the physical body is evil.  But if Christ has not risen from the dead, then our faith is in vain. This doctrine is central to the Christian faith, and that is why we c...