Our Theme for Easter Week -- Jesus, Our Prophet, Priest, and King

Francis Turretin once said of our Lord's Three-Fold Office,

The threefold misery of men introduced by sin–ignorance, guilt and tyranny and bondage by sin–required this . . . threefold-office [of Jesus Christ].  Ignorance is healed by the prophetic [office of Christ]; guilt by the priestly [office of Christ]; the tyranny and corruption of sin by the kingly office [of Christ].  Prophetic light scatters the darkness of error; the merit of the Priest takes away guilt and procures a reconciliation for us; the Power of the King removes the bondage of sin and death.  The Prophet shows God to us; the Priest leads us to God; and the King joins us together and glorifies us with God.  The Prophet enlightens the mind by the Spirit of illumination; the Priest by the Spirit of consolation tranquilizes the heart and conscience; the King by the Spirit of sanctification subdues rebellious affections (Institutes of Elenctic Theology, 2.393).

Our sermon series this week will focus upon each of these offices.  On Maundy Thursday, we will focus upon Jesus, our prophet, who removes our ignorance.  On Good Friday, we will focus upon Jesus, our Priest, who removes our guilt.  On Easter Sunday, we will focus upon, Jesus, our King, who, having defeated death and the grave, delivers us from the tyranny and corruption of sin.

For more information about our Easter week services, Easter Week at Christ Reformed Church

"When the Christ Appears" -- John 7:25-36

The Twenty-Sixth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

While he was ministering in Galilee, people saw Jesus heal the sick and cast out demons.  They heard Jesus teach, and identified him as the great prophet foretold by Moses.  When Jesus fed over five thousand people in the wilderness east of the Sea of Galilee, messianic fervor grew so intense that people wanted to make Jesus king.  But six months later when Jesus went to Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths and began teaching in the temple, things were different.  Some thought Jesus to be a good man.  Others thought that Jesus was a dangerous false teacher.  When Jesus revealed to the crowds who gathered to hear him teach that the religious leaders of Israel were plotting to kill him, some of those present alleged that Jesus was demon-possessed.  As the events in John’s Gospel begin to point us toward the cross and the empty tomb, the critical question is now on everyone’s mind.  Who is this man?  Is he really the Christ?

As we work our way through the Gospel of John, we are in the seventh chapter and covering the initial exchanges between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders of Israel during the so-called “conflict phase” of Jesus’ messianic mission.  The conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel–which is recounted in John chapters 7-10–takes place during the Feast of Booths.  According to Josephus (the famed Jewish historian), this was the most popular of the three principle Jewish feasts.  Coming close on the heals of the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Booths was established by God before Israel entered the promised land.  Pilgrims came to Jerusalem from outlying areas (Judea and the Galilee) and the city was packed with people during the eight days of the Feast.

By the time of Jesus, the Feast of Booths was a national harvest festival celebrated after the fall crop of olives and grapes had been harvested (late October, early November).  The Feast included a solemn water-pouring ritual and a lamp-lighting ceremony.  Jesus will refer to both rituals as the conflict between himself and the Jewish leaders continues to escalate.  The eight-day celebration of the Feast of Booths serves as the setting for the conflict which follows.  

As we saw last time, Jesus was still in the Galilee region when his brothers (the younger biological children of Mary and Joseph) encouraged him to go to Jerusalem for the Feast with the intention of performing miracles–perhaps to regain some of the followers he had lost months earlier as a result of the “hard sayings” found in the “bread of life” discourse which Jesus had given while in the Galilee.  In verses 3-4 of John 7, Jesus’ brothers told him, “leave here [the Galilee region] and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.  For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”  Jesus’ brothers were still unbelievers at this time, and they do not understand that it was not yet time for Jesus to go to Jerusalem.  Jesus will go when it is his Father’s will that he go.  His brothers went to the opening of the Feast without him.

To read the rest of this sermon:  Click Here

Easter Week at Christ Reformed Church--March 30-April 5

Our Easter Week schedule of Services:  You are cordially invited to join us!

Maundy Thursday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m.
The Old Testament Lesson:  Deuteronomy 8:1–16
The New Testament Lesson:  Luke 22:7–37
Sermon:  “Jesus, Our Prophet”

Good Friday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m.
The Old Testament Lesson:  Exodus 12:1–14
Psalter Lesson:  Psalm 22:1–26
The New Testament Lesson:  Luke 23:13–47
Sermon:  “Jesus, Our Priest”

Easter Sunday, April 5 at 10:25 a.m.
The Old Testament Lesson:  Job 19:23–29
The New Testament Lesson:  Luke 24:1–36
Sermon title:  “Jesus, Our King” 

Sunday Afternoon:  We will discuss Lord's Day 17 of the Heidelberg Catechism and the benefits of Christ's resurrection.  Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

No Wednesday Bible Study this week!

The Academy:  The Academy will resume on Friday, April 17   

Our next Academy series will be entitled "The Great and Holy War" and will be a lecture and discussion of the legacy of World War One, including the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine (Israel), the roots of ISIS (the end of the Caliphate/Ottoman Empire), the Bolshevik Revolution and the rise of Marxist-Leninism, along with a host of other contemporary geopolitical conundrums--all of which are part of the legacy of the Great War. 

Here's a link to Philip Jenkin's book A Great and Holy War" which will serve as our primary text for this series.  The Great and Holy War

For more information and directions, check out the Christ Reformed website:  Christ Reformed Church

"He Is Able" -- Jude 17-25

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon: Click Here

This Week's White Horse Inn

American Spirituality

The New World was a place of all kinds of new experiments, experiments in liberty, and experiments in religion. It was a place where people felt like they could go and not only have the political freedom to practice their religion, but they were also liberated from external forms and church structures. And so, it’s not surprising that the search for the sacred in America has often taken on a very radical kind of form.

Americans are very religious, very spiritual, very interested in spirituality. Of all American adults 92% say they believe in God. 63% say that the Bible is the Word of God. God, apple pie, and mom just go together when you say the word, “America.” But is that the way it really is once you scratch the surface of this phenomenon?

It gets a little murkier. Take belief in God for example. According to a Pew Study, 92% of American adults give a nod to belief in God, but only 60% say they believe in a personal God. I don’t know what the statistic would be if you narrowed it down to the Holy Trinity, and then a Holy Trinity identified by the attributes we find in the Scriptures. In fact, only 79% of those who’ve identified themselves as Evangelical, Born-Again Christians said that they believe in a personal God. So, despite the public nod to the Bible, most Americans rely on their own ‘Inner Light’ to determine what they believe, and why they believe it. They have their own spiritual playlist, according to the same Pew Study I referred to. Most Americans, including most American Evangelicals, say that there are many paths to salvation.

What does it even mean to say we believe in God? What does it even mean to say that we believe the Bible is the Word of God? What do these slogans, these phrases that roll off our lips, so easily even mean in our contemporary context? Join us this week on the White Horse Inn as we look at the spirituality of America.

Click Here

Friday Feature -- "Messing With Dispensationalists"

From "Lutheran Satire."

Audio from My Recent Lectures on "The Antichrist"

My friends from Church of the Redeemer in Mesa, AZ., have posted the audio of my recent lectures on the doctrine of the Antichrist.

You can find them here:  Lectures on "The Antichrist"

Abbott and Costello Would Love This!

(h.t. Paul Barr)

"My Teaching Is Not Mine, But His Who Sent Me" -- John 7:1-24

The Twenty-Fifth in A Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Jesus has returned to Jerusalem.  The on-going conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel will now escalate.  Speaking with the Father’s authority, Jesus proclaims that the people of Israel do not keep the law of Moses, and are sinners in need of a Savior.  Already plotting to kill Jesus–because, ironically, the Jews consider Jesus to be a law-breaker–some of those opposing Jesus accuse him of being demon possessed.  As the tension increases, the people of Israel are now forced to choose whether they will follow Jesus or reject him.  From this point on in John’s Gospel, the messianic mission of Jesus will center in and around the  city of Jerusalem, and the leaders of the Jews will keep plotting to kill him.  All roads now lead to the cross and the empty tomb because this is the will of YHWH, and Jesus’ mission requires him to fulfill his Father’s will.

We are continuing our series on the Gospel of John, and we move into a new section of the Gospel, recounting those events which took place in Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).  These events take place about six months after Jesus gave the “bread of life” discourse in the synagogue in Capernaum (in the Galilee region).  Chapters 7-10 of John, which record this so-called “conflict” phase of Jesus’ ministry, are characterized by an increasing tension between Jesus and the Jewish religious authorities in Jerusalem (the Sanhedrin).  This tension stems from Jesus’ previous trip to Jerusalem (a year earlier), when Jesus healed an invalid on the Sabbath as recounted in John 5:18, where we read, “this was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill [Jesus], because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

Although the increasing tension between Jesus and the Jewish leaders occurs during Feast of Booths, the nature of the Feast itself does not enter into the dispute.  But the celebration of the Feast does serve as the setting for the various disputes between Jesus and the Jews which are recounted in the next few chapters.  This is not the final conflict between Jesus and the members of the Sanhedrin (that will come during the Passover a few months later), but the vast divide between Jesus and the Jewish leaders is now fully out in the open.  Once this happens, the people are now forced to take sides.  The differences over the meaning of the Sabbath, and Jesus’ claims to deity became clear in chapter five.  New issues arise in chapters 7-10, specifically questions about Jesus’ relationship to Abraham, Jesus’ authority and his interpretation of the Old Testament (particularly the way Jesus places himself at the center of Israel’s history), and Jesus’ assertion that the religious leaders of Israel are actually in league with the devil.

Since we have much ground to cover today, let us turn to our text, verse 1 of chapter 7.  “After this Jesus went about in Galilee.  He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.”  John does not specify how much time has elapsed since Jesus gave the “bread of life” discourse in Capernaum but since the Passover occurs in the spring and the Feast of Booths late in the Fall, it is safe to say that about six months have elapsed since the events of John 6.  The synoptic Gospels devote much attention to this period in our Lord’s ministry in the Galilee, but John says nothing about it.  According to John’s account, Jesus stayed in the Galilee region because the Jews in Jerusalem (the capitol of Judea) were threatening to kill him. 

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

This Week at Christ Reformed Church (March 23-29)

Sunday Morning (March 29):  We will conclude our three-part series on the Epistle of Jude.  This coming Lord's Day, we will be looking at Jude's "closing remarks" and doxology in vv. 17-25.  Our Lord's Day worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Afternoon:  The Rev. Chris Coleman is preaching on "The Law of God and Man's Misery" from the Heidelberg Catechism's Lord's Day 2 (Question and Answers 3-5).  Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study (March 25):  We are continuing our "Run Through the Letters of Paul" and we in are Galatians 3:1-8, and continuing our consideration of Paul's doctrine of justification. 

The Academy:  The Academy will resume on Friday, April 17   

Our next Academy series will be entitled "The Great and Holy War" and will be a lecture and discussion of the legacy of World War One, including the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine (Israel), the roots of ISIS (the end of the Caliphate/Ottoman Empire), the Bolshevik Revolution and the rise of Marxist-Leninism, along with a host of other contemporary geopolitical conundrums--all of which are part of the legacy of the Great War. 

Here's a link to Philip Jenkin's book A Great and Holy War" which will serve as our primary text for this series.  The Great and Holy War

For more information and directions, check out the Christ Reformed website:  Christ Reformed Church