All of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ. It is God who gives us the ability to stand firm. God has commissioned us. And God has identified us as his own By placing the Holy Spirit in o...
The biblical fondness for genealogical lists is not dull obscurantism, it is an insistence on the primacy and continuity of people. Each name is a burnished link connecting God’s promises to his fulfi...
Preaching Commentary Context A Dire Warning All the way back in the Pentateuch God warned the people of Israel that their residency in the promised land was predicated upon their obedience to the ...
All God’s promises depend upon Christ alone. This is a notable assertion and one of the main articles of our faith. It depends in turn upon another principle—that it is only in Christ that God the Fat...
Luke 15:1-7, Hosea 3:1, Romans 8:38-39, Jeremiah 31:3, Matthew 23:37, Jonah 1:4, 2 Timothy 2:13
Our gracious God, you repeatedly move towards us, even when we pull away. You are not deterred by our rejection of you nor our running from you. Your love is persistent. We confess our distrust of you...
The promise of God in Christ Jesus is of such extraordinary magnitude that it seems almost impossible that it also applies to someone like me. Therefore the Lord, by means of His Supper, stamps the se...
And having a high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pur...
Pastor: As we are about to receive our Lord’s body and blood in, with, and under this bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins, let us make confession to our heavenly Father. With the psalmist w...
Loving father, you promise the most amazing things. You give us an inheritance, you adopt us as your sons and daughters, you say you will never leave us nor forsake us, and you say that nothing can se...
Pastor: Oh God, you have been so gracious to us. You have given us so many wonderful gifts—they outnumber the stars in the sky! You have kept your promises to us, and you have been faithful! All: But ...
Isaiah 44:3, John 14:15-17, John 14:26, Acts 2:38-39
Pastor: God promised: "I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants." Jesus promi...
Pastor: God exalted Jesus at His right hand as Leader and Savior People: to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. Pastor: In repentant faith, we come before our Lord in confessi...
Context A Dire Warning All the way back in the Pentateuch God warned the people of Israel that their residency in the promised land was predicated upon their obedience to the Torah . This can be ...
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, you who faithfully fulfill your promises. We thank you that you sent your only begotten son in the fullness of time. With all your church we celebrate his joyous com...
God’s promises are meant to move and motivate us. They are meant to instill hope. They are meant to give us courage. They are meant to defeat feelings of loneliness, inability, and fear.They are meant...
The Bible is full of God’s promises to provide for us spiritually and materially, to never forsake us, to give us peace in times of difficult circumstances, to cause all circumstances to work together...
O God, the Father Almighty, who has promised to give the Holy Spirit to those that ask you,; look graciously upon us assembled with one accord in one place to make our prayer to you, and to wait for y...
Psalm 27:4, 1 Chronicles 16:29, Philippians 4:6-7, John 4:23-24, Matthew 11:28, Psalm 100:4, Hebrews 10:24-25
Thank you Lord God for the opportunity of worship, for the freedom to be amongst your family meeting together in your house, and in the warmth of your embrace Thank you that in worship we can put asid...
The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us … shall please God… to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted...
Preaching Commentary The Good News or the Bad News? Which do you want first: the good news or the bad news? Well, if you’re preaching Hosea these next two weeks, it doesn’t matter what you want. ...
Pastor: Oh Lord our God, we have forgotten who you are and what you have done for us. Your great and miraculous works for us are lost in the recesses of our minds, and we could not care less about you...
Ancient lens What’s the historical context? Psalm of Lament or Psalm of Trust? We’ve categorized this psalm under the psalms of lament. The psalms of lament highlight the problems and enemies tha...
PRAYER OF CONFESSION Pastor: The Lord calls to all to “Come and see” who He is, repent of our sins and put our faith in Christ. Silence for personal confession. Pastor: Merciful God, People: w...
Acts 2:1-4, Isaiah 44:3 , John 14:15-17, John 4:26, Acts 2:38-39
Pastor: God promised: "I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants." Isaiah 4...
Acts 2:1-4, Isaiah 44:3 , John 14:15-17, John 4:26, Acts 2:38-39
*Note this liturgy calls to a man and woman reader as well as the leader. Pastor: God promised: "I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Sp...
Preaching Commentary Preaching Angle: Irony When we discover a bit of irony in life, we feel like we’ve struck gold. When we stumble upon a bit of irony in Scripture, it’s holy gold! Maybe you read...
Isaiah 60:1-6, Genesis 32:30, John 2:1-12, Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:16, Ephesians 5:8, Luke 1:78, Titus 2:11, Isaiah 49:6, John 1:5, Isaiah 60:19, Revelation 22:5
Preaching Commentary Word Study Ἐπιφάνεια: The Greek word from which the English transliterates Epiphany is a combination of a preposition and a verbal idea. Epi -upon and fainō -to shine, illumi...
2 Samuel 7:1-11, Psalm 89:1-4, Psalm 89:19-26, 1 Samuel 4:, Micah 5:2, Psalm 127:1
Advent 2020: Tear Down the Heavens God Builds the House Updated & expanded for 2023 AIM commentary Ancient lens What's the historical context? The Ark of God The ark of God tra...
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? The Old, Old Story Jesus’ resurrection and ascension (and perhaps Pentecost) are the resolution of a story that starts with all the way...
Thus the incomparable George Herbert writes of our glorification in his poem “The Star”: Bright spark, shot from a brighter place, Where beams surround my Saviour’s face, Canst thou be any where ...