Sermons – Cherrydale Baptist Church

Here’s the main claim God makes in this text this morning: Heed wisdom’s warning and invitation. Wisdom calls us to cut ties with the world and to build our lives upon God Himself. To know Him and enjoy Him forever.

But how does a dead King usher in all the sweeping promises of the Kingdom that is to come? That’s what’s agonizing Jesus’ followers during his arrest, trials, crucifixion, death, and burial. And honestly, that’s what can agonize you and me as we follow Jesus through this world experiencing the trials and opposition He predicted. Beholding the risen King rightly fills our h...

Sometimes it will feel impossible to follow Jesus because of the costs that might be associated with following Him. But in Matthew 27, Jesus goes first into some of the hardest things that we can imagine, showing us that it is possible to follow Him and still find the life that He promised us.

Jesus understood that He alone could faithfully bear the spiritual load and withstand the spiritual labor necessary to atone for sins. Just one Passover lamb would die that year. And Jesus predicted Peter’s restoration too. After I rise, I’ll go ahead of you back to Galilee. Peter’s failures are met by Jesus’ faithfulness. Our failures are met by Jesus’ faithfulness.

At the bottom of all that weighs us down is the curse of sin that infested creation. Jesus defeated the darkness so we don’t have to. Instead, we come by faith trusting the glorious sufficiency of His atoning death. Worship Him!

Jesus demonstrates His complete control and authority over every event leading up to His atoning death and powerful resurrection. When the pressure mounts against Him, the disciples will abandon Him. But He won’t abandon them. And His work on their behalf transforms them into men who will take up their cross and follow Him.

Times will come when people say that we are wasting our lives by following Jesus. But Matthew 26 teaches us why following Jesus is never a waste, no matter what it might cost us.

Love for God is expressed by love for people; especially the church. The call of Jesus in this text is to care for the King’s bride and wait for the King’s reward. And the stakes are high. How we respond to Jesus reveals whether we are welcomed into an inheritance in a kingdom prepared for us before the foundations of the world, or into the eternal fire prepared for Satan and his angel...

While Jesus can return at any moment, He prepares us in these two parables for a possible delay. How do we wait for the King’s return? Jesus calls us to watchfulness and diligence.

Unless Jesus returns, we won’t fully experience the salvation that God promises through Him. To prepare His people for a perhaps longer-than-expected wait for His return, Jesus assures them that His return is closer than it seems, that it is absolutely certain, and that it will surprise many. Then, through a parable, He instructs us to prepare for His return by embracing a life of faithful o...

One of the most glorious truths of the Christian life is the fact that we are in Christ. The expressions “in Christ”, “in the Lord”, and “in Him” occur more than 160 times in Paul’s letters alone. Theologically, this glorious truth is called ‘union with Christ.’ Spiritually speaking, we died and were buried with Christ. And we rose and ascended...

Jesus reveals the signs that will precede His return at the end of the age and He encourages us how to live in light of His coming! Hold fast to Christ, proclaim Him, and love His appearing!

It feels good to be praised and respected by others, so we can be tempted to be content to get that praise and respect even when we aren’t what we want people to think we are. Jesus warns His disciples and the crowds–and us–to avoid an insincere faith that doesn’t lead to true obedience.

Jesus goes four rounds of questions with the Jewish leaders who try to undermine His popularity with the Jewish crowd. In each, round Jesus astounds and silences His opponents and the crowd alike. The account ends with a resounding revelation of Jesus’ divine authority. Jesus alone is worthy of our wholehearted devotion.

God has invited us into the marriage feast of His son. It is an invitation cast far and wide. Anyone can come! But all who come must wear the garments of the kingdom.

How you respond to Jesus matters. Is He the Cornerstone upon which your life is built or the Rock of offense you reject as irrelevant. If He’s the Cornerstone He will be for you an eternal refuge. If not, the Rock you’ve rejected will rise up on the last day as your judge. Won’t you come?

As Matthew’s Gospel takes a dramatic turn, Jesus goes public with His identity as the Messiah–the promised King. As He does, we see that He is a King who both humbly lays down His life and boldly opposes sinful hypocrisy. Along the way, He also graciously invites our expectant prayers.

Our world lives and breathes fairness. Jesus’ kingdom is an upside down reversal that lives and breathes off His generous grace. When we live by grace all of life is a gift from a good shepherd; even the difficult.

The main question the Holy Spirit is dealing with in these verses is: How does one enter the kingdom of God Jesus came to usher in? How is one saved? The question rises again and again. Here’s the answer: Forsake all else, come to Jesus, and anticipate Heaven.

Jesus left us the church with a task: Proclaim me throughout the whole world. To every nation. My argument is that churches must be the primary means to accomplish this task and the end-goal of this task.