Sermons from First Evangelical Free Church in Sioux City, IA

119:25-27 Ask for life and hope… What we need most when life is hard is for the hope that only the Lord can give. The psalmist asks for this in prayer, listening closely and attentively to the words and ways of the Lord. 119:28-30 Ask for strength… Faithfulness comes not from our own strength, but from the Lord doing the work in us and through us. When we have no strength worth looking to, trustin...

119:17-19 Blessing in God’s will. The psalmist challenges us to seek blessing not for ourselves, but instead God’s blessing in order to do God’s will: a heartfelt desire to please God, first and foremost, instead of our own selves. 119:20-22 Blessing instead of judgment. The one who pursues the Lord, who treasures what God has said rather than what God’s enemies have said, is the one who will enjo...

119:9-11 A pure way. The picture is of a life that is transformed through devotion to God’s word. What does that look like? All throughout this stanza, a number of action words paint the way. Here: guard, seek, and store up. 119:12-14 A delightful way. The call of Psalm 119 isn’t only a call to read the scriptures. It’s more! It’s a call to delight in God’s word given to God’s people. What does th...

119:1-3 The person God blesses. True blessing – the blessing of knowing God and being known by Him – comes from delighting in His law, His word, and all that He has said. 119:4-6 The blessing you can have. Far from being unattainable, you and I can have this blessing because Jesus has won it for us – He perfectly keeps all God’s words, He has fulfilled the law. Because of Jesus, because every Chri...

6:21-22 People matter. It’s easy for us to overlook, so let’s thank the Lord for these verses which show us how relationships are crucial for God’s people. Our relationship with Jesus is what brings us hope – and on that basis, our relationships with one another matter as reflections of our King, too. Notice how Paul cares for the Ephesians on a personal level, and they for him. 6:23-24 Grace matt...

6:14-18a The imagery. Paul uses the picture of a Roman soldier’s armor to show a vital truth about how God provides for us to become the very people that He has called us to in Christ: the armor is provided for us, all we need to do is embrace the life that Jesus has called us to in Him. 6:18b-20 The practice. Practically, “armoring up” looks like, among other things, treasuring the words of our K...

5:15-17 Walk wisely. Paul gives three contrasts in our passage for today, two of them are found here. Both point to one reality: be imitators of God and walk as children of the light ( 5:1, 8 ). That starts with prizing new life in Jesus: not being unwise, but wise; not living foolishly, but pursuing what the Lord wills. 5:18-21 Filled with the Spirit. Ultimately, the way of life that Paul envisio...

28:1-4 Fear. There is so much that we fear in this life, and the first disciples had even more reasons: their Master had been killed in the most brutal and public way possible. As Mary and Mary come to the tomb, they also are confronted with fear: the fear of the miraculous! 28:5-7 Life. The good news is this: what Jesus had repeatedly taught is exactly what had happened. He was no longer dead in...

26:36-38 Let us pray… Following the events of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus and the disciples head to a hill overlooking town to spend time in prayer; they need to call on the Lord for spiritual strength to be faithful with what will soon come. 26:39-41 Any other way? Christ’s first prayer asks the heart-searching question: is there any other way to save God’s people than to die a brutal death on the c...

4:17-19 What we were… Paul’s goal is to call the Ephesians – and us! – to see that there is, and must be, a radical difference between somebody who isn’t a Christian and somebody who is. Those who aren’t Christian live for the sorts of things that are the direct opposite of what will be valued in Christ’s kingdom. 4:20-24 Who we now are… Those who are Christian are called to daily embrace the gift...

2:11-12 What we were. Prior to Jesus, Gentiles (i.e. non-Jews) were ridiculed and thought to have no hope for salvation. But that wasn’t God’s plan! Instead, His work was to bless all people through the Jews: most directly, through Jesus Christ! 2:13-18 What we are. Because of Christ’s work, not only can we have salvation because of a right relationship with God, but we also can enjoy the unity th...

2:8-9 Saved by God’s grace. Paul makes clear that our salvation is – from start to finish – entirely by God’s grace, received through faith. We contribute nothing; He accomplishes everything. Our salvation is not something we ever earn or deserve, but is a gift, given to us by our loving God. We dare not boast. Instead, we dare to respond with worship and by living as testimonies to our wonderful...

2:1-3 From death… Paul describes us as we were without Jesus: dead. Not just sick or needing a bit of help, but dead. We had given in to the ways of the sinful world, we were followers of the devil in our rebellion, and we repeatedly chose our own sinful passions over anything faithful, true, or good. This is what total depravity looks like: everything tainted by our sin, by our fallenness. And we...

1:15-17 Why Paul praises. What an encouragement that we have Paul’s prayer recorded for us: he praises God for His work in the Ephesians to make them both faithful in the Lord and also loving toward one another. 1:18-19 What Paul prays for. Because of the Lord’s work in the Ephesians, Paul prays that they would gain a deeper and wider understanding of all that they already have in Jesus: He has al...

1:11-12 We have an inheritance. In Christ, we have been predestined to obtain an inheritance. All our blessing is found in Jesus and He is everything that we need. God’s plan is being accomplished through Jesus to take people who are sinful yet chosen and to turn them into living examples and testimonies to God’s glory. 1:13-14 We have the Spirit. What is our proof of such a blessing, of such an i...

1:1-2 Grace and peace. Paul’s letter begins with a theme that will unfold throughout the coming chapters: God’s grace and peace for His people. 1:3-6 Past blessing. The Lord’s sovereign decisions, His predestining of us, is not something to fear or to see as restrictive. Instead, it is His blessing! It is because He chose us that we enjoy Christ today. It is because He chose us that we have purpos...

2:1-3 In those days. Luke tells us the historical details of the setting for Christ’s birth: Caesar had ordered a tax census that required folks to go to their hometowns in order to register. 2:4-5 In David’s line. Yet, Caesar is not the center of this story! Instead, we rapidly switch to Joseph and Mary who were heading to Bethlehem. Why? Because Joseph was of the line of David. Luke reminds us t...