Madison Reformed Church

How can we turn away from the temptation to commit adultery—whether in our hearts or the actual act itself? Only by becoming pure through Jesus Christ. Our Wise King not only gives us his own purity, but empowers us daily to walk in that purity. Find out how in this sermon.

The wise father of Proverbs 4 teaches us that if you have a crooked heart, you'll have a crooked life. But a healed heart leads to a healed life. In this sermon, we are instructed to look away from any program of self-healing, and to look to Christ to heals our hearts when we listen and learn from him.

There is a path of darkness that fools continue down, and a path of light that the wise walk upon. The difference isn't whether we have gotten ourselves to get on the right path, but if we've turned away from our wickedness and trusted in Christ. It is his light that makes the pathway of the wise a well-lit path.

"Get wisdom!" That's one of the main commands of Proverbs 4:1–9, and it demonstrates that wisdom is worth whatever it takes to get it. In this passage—one of three short lessons from a father to his sons in chapter 4—we learn that the tried and true teaching of wisdom is that is comes from Jesus Christ and will benefit us at every stage of our lives.

It's tough to have bad neighbors. It's even harder to realize that you're  a bad neighbor. In this sermon from Proverbs 3:27–35, we learn to love our neighbors in a wise way. Last week's passage showed us how to live confidently. This week's passage teaches us to love confidently, and instructs us how to live with our neighbors, wicked people, and the Lord himself.

In a world of arrogance and anxiety, believers are called to confident living. Not confidence in ourselves, but in the Lord himself. In this passage from Proverbs, we learn how wisdom from Jesus gives us what we need to live this life with confidence in him.

In this sermon from our Lord's Day service just after Christmas, we explore the angel's message to the shepherds. This familiar passage is one of the great moments in Scripture when the Gospel is proclaimed. What is that Gospel, and why is it so important? This message looks at several of its key features, according to the angel.

Our hope is to be firmly placed in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we have to know why. In this passage, we celebrate the advent of Christ by looking at what Jesus himself says about his return.

In this third sermon in our Advent series, we look at the call to "establish your hearts." How is it done? James powerfully points us to the arrival of our great Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the ground of our endurance in this life.

2nd Week in Advent 2021: The difference between a hope and a wish is that a wish may or may not happen. But hope—specifically Christian hope—is a sure thing because God is sure. He makes promises and keeps them. In this sermon on Romans 15:8–13, we learn how to hope in God's promises because he's been faithful in the past.

"In the latter days" God will accomplish a work so wonderful that it stretches our imagination. He will bring the Kingdom of God. When are these "latter days?" And what are the blessings of this kingdom? Isaiah 2:1–5 shows us in the form of a prophetic vision. Advent  2021 Week 1.

At our Thanksgiving Eve service, we opened Philippians 4:4–7 and learned that Paul gives us the antidote for anxiety. "Do not be anxious about anything," he commands. The way to do this is through thankful prayer ground in our union with Christ.

Both blessings and discipline come from the Lord. But how should we receive these things? Proverbs 3:1–12 gives the surprising answer. Both  blessing and discipline can be embraced by trusting wholeheartedly in the Lord.

What am I supposed to get out of Proverbs?   Many have asked similar questions about this book of the Bible. But thankfully, Proverbs itself tells what it offers and how to get it. Simply put—it gives us the very wisdom of God in Jesus Christ. And we get that wisdom by asking for it. In this sermon, we learn that those who have God's wisdom are protected from all sorts of foolishness in this...

Solomon uses personification to present to us  Lady Wisdom , who gives us both a warning and a promise. For those who turn away from her, a storm is surely coming. But for those who turn to her, she will give her spirit. In this sermon, we see how Wisdom is a shadow of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that his Spirit—the Holy Spirit—is our only hope becoming wise.

A gang of violent thieves try to get a young man to join them. Will he listen to them, or to the wise instruction of his counselors? In Proverbs 1:8–9, the people of God are confronted with this hard truth: much of the violence of our hands and hearts comes from greed, from the insatiable desire to have more stuff.  But Christ, our Wonderful Counselor, shows us a better way—the way of Christlikene...

Wise dealing, instruction, prudence, knowledge, discretion, learning, guidance. All these and more are the benefits of wisdom, and as they come to us in Proverbs 1:1–7, we learn that they teach us two primary things: how to love others well & how to listen to God's Word well. Sermon delivered Oct. 24, 2021.

Missions Coordinator Pastor Rich Bout joins MRC to deliver a message on gratitude, rejoicing, and constant prayer.

NEW SERIES: The Proverbs came from the court of the kings of Israel, written to instruct the next king on how to rule in a godly manner. But, through the Spirit, this wisdom has been handed down to us—everyday believers just trying to make it through life. In Prov. 1:1–7 we learn that becoming wise has to start somewhere. It starts in fearing the Lord.

In John 6, Jesus delivers some of his most shocking teaching—"eat my flesh" and "drink my blood." Pastor Zac Wyse of Westside Reformed Church  explains that Jesus' lesson shows us how the Word and sacraments are a sacred meal for believers to receive by faith.

In this last sermon from our series in Ephesians, we see Paul's prayer requests and his blessings for the believers in Ephesus. He prays for help in proclaiming the gospel, and offers the blessings of that same gospel for all who believe.

A Christian's battle is fierce. Our enemies are not visible to our eyes. Their schemes are cunning and difficult to detect. And so we must put on the "armor of God." But what is that armor? In this passage, we learn that it's actually the Messiah's own armor, and in  his  victory, we become victorious too.

In this passage from Ephesians 6, Paul speaks word of promise to slaves and warning to masters, words that—if followed—end up abolishing slavery in every meaningful sense. What is that promise and warning? It is that Christ is a righteous heavenly Master, and when he returns, he will be impartial in doling out justice.

The point of children obeying their parents and parents instructing their children isn't just to have an orderly home. The point is to point our earthly homes in the direction of our eternal home. This new creation home is our hope in this life, and the Lord Jesus himself—the only obedient Son—has secured it for us. Sermon delivered September 5, 2021.

On this Lord's Day, we welcomed the Lichlyter family into membership and their covenant children were baptized into the Holy Triune Name. Providentially, we also came to a passage that explains what baptism signifies—the dying away of the old self, and the making alive of the new. Sermon delivered July 25, 2021.