Reformed & Expository Preaching

Introduction We can approach the Lord’s table with confusion. On the one hand, the Apostle Paul warns that some in the Corinthian church have died ( 1 Corinthians 11:30 ). On the other hand, one of our communion forms warmly invites all repentant sinners to the table.  “But all who repent and believe are invited to this sacred meal, not because you are worthy in yourself, but because you are...

Introduction The Gospels show that outsiders can be insiders.  The outsiders are people we expect to be excluded from the Lord’s promises.  The insiders are those we expect to be part of the Lord’s promises.  The Gospel assures us that people who would be on the outside, Gentiles, can be on the inside.  The Gospel is not about nationality, but our identity in Christ. Luke is re...

Introduction The sacraments are visible signs and seals of God’s gospel promises.  These signs do not point to our faithfulness, but to the certainty that God fulfills his promises.  Baptism is the sign that the Lord sets apart his people. It assures and testifies that God is with his people.  The Lord continues to sustain his community in his Spirit. Ultimately, baptism assures us...

Introduction The book of Acts traces the Gospel moving from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The Lord promised that the nations would be blessed through Abraham. (Genesis 12 and 17 ) Acts 10 reminds us that sometimes the hardest part is convincing God's own people that the grace of God is bigger than the boundaries we may have placed around it.  We can set boundar...

Introduction: Is the Lord’s Supper more than a memorial? Christ says that we are to do this in remembrance of him.  We might think that the Lord’s Supper is merely a sentimental reflection of him. When Christ tells us to do this in remembrance of him, his intention is more than just thinking about Christ in a sentimental way. In the Reformed understanding, we believe that Christ feeds us in t...

Introduction The stories of Aeneas and Tabitha can seem like small transitional narratives in the book of Acts. We can read Acts and note that the historical record is fine without these stories. Luke, the inspired writer and researcher, records these stories in his orderly account. These two stories testify to Peter’s credibility as a witness and apostle of Christ. These stories also assure us th...

We welcome Mr. Roy Kim to fill our pulpit. Psalm 43 gives voice to the weary soul that cries out to God in the midst of suffering, injustice, and apparent abandonment. David pleads for God to vindicate him, defend his cause, and deliver him from his enemies. Yet beneath the circumstances lies a deeper spiritual struggle: “Why have you rejected me?” Even while David feels distant from God, he conti...

We welcome Mr. Roy Kim to our pulpit this Sunday. Genesis 39 tells the story of Joseph in Potiphar’s house. Joseph experiences blessing, but also hardship. Joseph’s travel down to Egypt was an act of betrayal. His brothers sold him to Ishmaelites as a slave. His brothers were jealous of Joseph. He had the coat that celebrated his favored status. Joseph did not have to get his hand dirty in the fam...

In Philippians 3, Paul warns the church in Philippi to be on guard against false teaching and against the temptation to place their confidence in the flesh. The Philippians were a faithful and commendable church, yet Paul knew that even a strong congregation needed to be reminded of the danger of trusting in anything other than Christ. False teachers were adding confidence in heritage, circumcisio...

We welcome Mr. Rudolph Gallegos to our pulpit Sunday morning. In Luke 7:36–50, Jesus is invited to the home of Simon the Pharisee, where a woman known throughout the town as a sinner comes and pours out her love and devotion at Jesus’ feet. While Simon looks at the woman and sees only her reputation, Jesus sees her faith and demonstrates that he knows both her sin and her need for forgiveness. Jes...

People hear about infant baptism, and they have immediate questions when they are not used to this practice. How can we baptize an infant who has not yet made a profession of faith? Does baptism mean that the child is necessarily regenerate? Does the water itself wash away sin? Baptism is not a magical act, nor is it a declaration that we know with certainty what God has done in the heart of an in...

Introduction There are certain things in life that we simply like to stay the same. There is a certain comfort in consistency. We know what to expect. We know who people are. We know where we stand. This is true until it is not. Things change, and the challenge is figuring out what to do with the change. This is true today as it was for the early church. The early church knew that Saul was a threa...

Introduction: What Does Baptism Mean? A Reformed, Heidelberg Catechism View Baptism can be difficult to understand because we do not want to fall into either extreme. We do not want to say that baptism is merely sentimental. This would reduce baptism down to a sentimental reminder of Christ’s work. The Lord gives us the sacraments to strengthen our faith. The Lord works to build us up through the...

Introduction God shows his grace in capturing an unlikely prisoner. Saul assumed that Christ was a failure. Saul’s goal is to do everything in his power to destroy Jesus. Saul sees Jesus as the failed liar who ended up on a cross. Saul was breathing threats and murder. This makes explicit that he was consumed with destroying the church. He had received authority to travel to Damascus, find those w...

How does the gospel advance? It advances not only as people come to faith, but as the church grows together as the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul reminds us that we have been joined together by one Spirit, called to serve rather than compete, and to find our worth not in our gifts or accomplishments but in Christ alone. Through the preaching of the gospel and the visible testimony of th...

Introduction We can easily fall into the mindset that if something is working, then we must have figured out the system. We look at the growth of the church in Acts, the conversions in Samaria, and the gospel going forward it seems like we figured it out. We want to look at the history and then figure out the method to move forward. But that is not how the Lord works. John 3 reminds us that the Sp...

Introduction If salvation is by grace and our good works do not earn our redemption, what motivates us to live faithfully for Christ? Scripture speaks openly about rewards, crowns, and even Christ repaying his people for what they have done. At first glance, this can seem to conflict with the Protestant conviction that we are saved by grace alone.  The answer is not to deny the biblical langu...

Introduction We would expect that Stephen’s death would halt the gospel’s advancement. One of Christ's faithful servants had been murdered, and the gospel agitators grow in boldness. The church is being persecuted. Yet what looked like defeat was actually another step in the fulfillment of Christ's promise. Christ promised that the Gospel is to go from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and to the e...

Introduction There can be a disconnect in the Christian life. We can become so focused on doctrine that we forget that we are called to live out the gospel. Or we can become so focused on living the Christian life that we lose sight of the doctrine that gives us the strength and assurance to live it. The Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 23 understands this tension. As we come to justification by fa...

Introduction Stephen's trial draws to a conclusion. We are confronted with the hardship of living in a sin-cursed world. Stephen is doing everything right. He is faithful to the Lord. He speaks the truth. He boldly proclaims Christ. The apostles' faithfulness has been rewarded with thousands of converts. One would think that this is going to be the trend. Stephen tells us otherwise. Stephen is fai...

Introduction The Heidelberg Catechism reminds us that Christ's care for His people extends beyond this life. If God only shepherded us through our earthly journey, death would continue to threaten us. But Christ's resurrection changes everything. Because he lives, his people have the sure hope that he will lead them safely through death into everlasting life. We are left with an important issue. Y...

Introduction Stephen stands falsely accused. He has been set up by false witnesses who claim that he has blasphemed Moses, the Temple, and God. These charges are serious and warrant death under Moses. Stephen is invited to give a defense by the high priest when he says, “Are these things so?” One would think that Stephen would defend himself, but Stephen knows they do not want him to be acquitted...

Introduction Last week we considered God's promise to Abram that the Lord is our shield.  Lord’s Day 21 expands that promise from individuals to the community. It expands to his holy assembly.  While our culture prizes independence, Scripture reminds us that Christianity is never simply "my Bible and me." Christ gathers a people for himself, and it is within his church that he nurtures,...

Introduction It is easy to think that if we are faithful, God will always reward us with visible success. That was the assumption of Job's friends, and to some extent Job himself. Job does wrestle with God’s will, and lays out that the wicked man can prosper and the righteous man can suffer.  Justice in this age is not always so black/white.  We can fall into a hasty assumption that if w...

Introduction Abraham struggled to trust God's promises even after receiving a vision and an explicit word from God. The Lord assured Abraham that he is Abraham’s shield ( Genesis 15:1 ).  The Lord will protect him and defend him. Peter also doubted the path to glory through the suffering of the cross.  The thought of a distant God protecting a people who seem so far away just seems absur...