Covenant of Grace Messages

Through His entrance into Jerusalem and clearing of the temple, Jesus is making clear His authority. He is the King. But in our passage today, we find the religious leaders challenging the very notion. “Who does Jesus think He is? Is He in charge of this place and what happens here?” The answer is yes, Jesus is. But these leaders think that is preposterous.

Many things can masquerade as the real thing but fail upon closer inspection. Jesus deals with this kind of charade in this shocking episode in Matthew: the cursing of the fig tree. In this inverted miracle, we learn the stakes of giving a fruitful impression but failing to back it up.

If you have ever wondered how you get from Psalm Sunday, when everyone was cheering Jesus, to Good Friday, when Jesus hung on the cross, the answer is what happened on the days in between. And especially what happened on Monday, when Jesus cleared the Temple. This was not Jesus meek and mild. This was Jesus in a righteous rage.

This Lord's day, we celebrate the significance of the empty tomb. Jesus has risen!

As we gather for Good Friday this year, we will reflect on how Jesus experienced physical and spiritual suffering that he might accomplish all that we need for our salvation.

Though Jesus came as a king, he was not the kind of king that most people expected. He didn’t come to provide immediate political and military victory. Jesus was different from other earthly kings. In our study of Matthew 21:1-11, we'll see that, despite our expectations, Jesus Christ is precisely the kind of king we need.

Several times in Jesus’ life, He showed that He was a man on a mission. He had a purpose, which He intentionally fulfilled. In this week's passage, we find Jesus resolutely setting out for Jerusalem, where He knows He will be killed. And this, he explains, is why He came; "to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt. 20:28).

Unlike the world, God does not favor the rich or powerful. He saves by grace, not by merit. And God is gracious to whomever He chooses. In this study, we'll examine the grace of God and how it should shape our lives.

We return to Matthew to look at Jesus’ encounter with a rich young man. Jesus reveals the man’s neediness, but he leaves Jesus, holding fast to his riches with an unchanged heart. This week, we study Jesus’ criteria for who enters the kingdom of heaven and see that human achievement is not able to save.

Too often Christian parents are on their heels, talking about all of the hazards out there. They are very concerned about the world infecting their children. And this is understandable. There are hazards to avoid. But the goal of Christian parenting isn't merely to protect our children from being infected but is also to prepare them to launch out to infect. To go out into the world and make discip...

Children are a blessing from the Lord but also a lot of work! God commissions us to train our children in the way they should go. But what does that entail? This week, we study the Scriptures to find help and hope for parenting (and grandparenting) little children.

We live in a country and a culture where children are often seen as a burden. Sadly, this kind of thinking has also seeped into the church. This is a modern problem but not a new one. When children were brought to Jesus, the disciples rebuked their parents. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me." Even when Jesus’ disciples saw children as a nuisance to be avoided, Jesus saw them as a...

We are on a mission to build or buy or lease a house – a building for the Lord – just like thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of local churches before us and, even like the people of Israel. Today, let’s take a brief look at how God used Haggai to encourage his people to continue to rebuild the temple so we can receive comfort and encouragement for ourselves.

Why should local churches and individual Christians do things like go overseas to tell people about Jesus? Why should we forsake the comfort of a safe and easy life to give sacrificially to the cause of Christ? Why should we be willing to leave behind friends and family, careers and comfort in order to tell people about the love of God in Christ? In other words, why do we do missions? Our study th...

In justification, God has declared guilty sinners to be righteous through faith in the finished work of Christ and has done so “by his grace as a gift” (Romans 3:24). Thus, those who are freely saved through the gospel are also called, empowered, and motivated to live a life that reflects God and pleases him. Compelled by grace, believers grow in the knowledge of God, obey Christ’s commands, walk...

On life’s journey we are all going somewhere. The ultimate question is knowing where we are going. Peter tells us of the virtues we must find in ourselves if we are to walk the road that leads to the Kingdom of God and encourages us to persevere and grow in these virtues, becoming increasingly free from the world’s influence on us, thus developing our salvation and glorifying God. Note: Emerson So...

Our text this week is a familiar Christmas favorite: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. This is a familiar passage, but coming back to it in faith we can always find fresh grace and glory.

Scripture clearly teaches that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. But what's the point? Why is this important? In this week's sermon, we'll study the significance of the virgin birth of Christ.

The topics of singleness and celibacy have led to much confusion in our day. What is the purpose of singleness? Who should remain single? After speaking of the high calling of marriage, Jesus both upholds marriage as the norm while validating those disciples called by God to live a celibate life for the sake of the kingdom.

The fracturing of our culture and our churches can be traced back to, in part, a culture of easy divorce. A divorce is easy to obtain in our day, and it surprises many to learn it was the same in Jesus' day as well. In this message on Matthew 19:39, we will look at Jesus' teaching on the damage and danger of divorce. Rightly understanding the seriousness of divorce warns us away from it even as it...