This Week at Christ Reformed Church (November 30-December 6)

Sunday Morning, December 6:  We begin a four week Advent-Christmas series covering the opening chapter of Luke's Gospel.  In the first of these sermons, we will be looking at Luke 1:1-25 and the Angel Gabriel's surprising announcement to the priest Zechariah.  Our worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Afternoon:  This week, we move into the next section of the Heidelberg Catechism (grace).  We will be considering Lord's Day 5 (Q & A 12-15).  Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study, December 2:  We return to our study of Galatians and the fruit of the flesh/fruit of the Spirit contrast in Galatians 5. 

Church Christmas Party, Friday, December 4:  You are invited to join us for dessert, coffee, and Christmas carols.

The Academy:  On Hiatus (TBA)

For More Information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Info), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).

"Remember Me, O My God" -- Nehehiah 12:44-13:31

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon, the final in our series on Ezra-Nehemiah: Click Here

This Week's White Horse Inn

What Was Jesus' Mission?

Over the past few weeks we’ve been evaluating what many people in our contemporary culture think about Jesus Christ. But what exactly did Jesus say about himself and his mission? How did the Old Testament speak of the role of the coming messiah? How does the Old Testament help us understand the New? Why is it crucial to let Jesus define himself? Why is it problematic to use Jesus for our life projects?

Joining us for this program is W. Robert Godfrey, President of Westminster Seminary California who has been a regular guest to the program. He is the author of numerous books including An Unexpected Journey, Reformation Sketches, and John Calvin: Pilgrim & Pastor. Join us for this edition of the White Horse Inn as Jesus defines his messianic identity and work through his Word.

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"I Have Said Nothing in Secret" -- John 18:12-27

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

From the period of time Jesus time spent in Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths (the previous Fall), until the night of his arrest on the eve of the Passover (in the Spring), the religious leaders of Israel have been plotting to kill him.  One of Jesus’ own disciples (Judas) had approached certain members of the Sanhedrin with an offer he knew they could not refuse.  In exchange for thirty pieces of silver, Judas was willing to direct the Sanhedrin to the ideal place where they could arrest Jesus.  Once the Sanhedrin accepted Judas’ offer, he then led them (along with Roman soldiers and temple guards) to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Judas knew Jesus and his disciples would have gone after celebrating the Passover together.  To everyone’s amazement, Jesus voluntarily surrendered himself and was soon on his way to appearances before the high priest, and then before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.  Jesus had done nothing wrong, had broken no laws, and was perfectly obedient to the will of his Father.  But his obedience will take Jesus before the magistrate and will end in a sentence of death.

As we continue our series on the Gospel of John, we are currently working our way through the so-called “Passion” narrative of John (chapters 18-19).  Jesus has left the upper room, where he celebrated his final Passover with the disciples.  After praying for himself (John 17:1-5), for his disciples (vv. 6-19), and then for us (vv. 20-26), Jesus took his disciples across the Kirdron Valley to a small walled-in garden on the slopes of the Mount of Olives–a place known as Gethsemane.  After Jesus and his disciples entered the garden, while Jesus was praying for strength for the horrific ordeal which lay ahead, his disciples fell asleep, leaving Jesus alone when he needed them most.  Struggling with the awareness of the painful suffering he must endure the next day, Jesus petitioned his Father–“if it be your will, may this cup pass from me.”  “If there be some other way. . .”  There is no other way.  Jesus prayed to his Father, “not my will, but thy will be done.”  Jesus will suffer and die so that the guilt of our sins might be taken away.

About this time, Judas, who left the upper room early, went to inform the Sanhedrin that Jesus and his disciples were going to Gethsemane to pray, and that this would be the ideal spot where the Sanhedrin could find Jesus and arrest him.  The garden was small, it was surrounded by a stone wall, and Jesus and his closest disciples would not be expecting to be arrested there, of all places.  Following Judas’ direction was an arrest mob, described by John as “a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees . . . with lanterns and torches and weapons.”  

Fearing trouble–that Jesus would perform a miracle, or evade arrest (as he had done on several occasions earlier during the Feast of Booths), a detachment of Roman soldiers was present, as were the temple police (who worked closely with the chief priests).  According to John (chapter 18:4-5), “then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward [i.e., out of the walled garden] and said to them, `Whom do you seek?’  They answered him, `Jesus of Nazareth.’  Jesus said to them, `I am he.’” The moment Jesus identified himself, simply answering “I am he,” John, who was an eyewitness to these events, tells us that the armed mob “drew back and fell to the ground.”  All Jesus need to is but identify himself–ego emi “I am he,” and those arresting Jesus cower in fear–perhaps seeing his words as an assertion of his oneness with YHWH (who identifies himself as the “I am” throughout the Old Testament), which, as we saw last time, fulfills messianic prophecy.  Fearing that Jesus might attempt to escape, the mob fell to the ground, likely because they were afraid that Jesus would unleash upon them whatever power which lay behind his miracles.  Jesus’ reputation as a miracle-worker was now widely known (many of the people in Jerusalem knew about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead).  The arrest mob exposes their private fear that Jesus might do something to harm them and free himself.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

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

Sunday Morning, November 29:  We will conclude our series on the books of Ezra-Nehemiah.  We will be considering the failure of the Old Covenant to truly deal with human sin (Nehemiah 13).  Our service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Afternoon:  Chris Coleman will be looking at Lord's Day 10, Question 27, "Finding Hope in Your Faithful Heavenly Father."  Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study:  No Bible Study this week due to Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Service (November 26):  Join us for our annual Thanksgiving service as we give thanks to the Lord for his many blessings.  Chris Coleman will be leading our service, which begins at 10:00 a.m.

The Academy:  On Hiatus (TBA)

For More Information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Info), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).

"God Made Them Rejoice" -- Nehemiah 11-12

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

This Week's White Horse Inn

Jesus in Pop Culture

Joining the hosts on this edition of the White Horse Inn are David Zahl of Mockingbird Ministries, and James Gilmore, co-author of Authenticity and The Experience Economy. We are continuing our focus on the Jesus portrayed in popular culture. What are they saying about Jesus in today’s music, movies, and television? Who is the Hipster Jesus, and how does he differ from the Macho Jesus? More importantly, how are these popular expressions of Jesus different from the real Jesus?

Who do you say Jesus is? Just as Jesus asked this question of his disciples in his own day, so too does he confront us in his Word concerning his person and work. Join us for this special edition of the White Horse Inn as we seek the real Jesus in this culture of noise.

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"I Am He" -- John 18:1-11

The Fifty-Fifth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Jesus has done absolutely nothing wrong.  He has spoken only those words which YHWH has given him to speak.  He has broken not a single one of God’s commandments in his thinking, in his doing, or in his speech.  He has loved God with his whole heart and his neighbor as himself.  But the religious leadership of Israel absolutely detests Jesus–this includes the Sanhedrin (the Jewish senate), both main political parties and religious factions (the Saduccess and the Pharisees), the smaller factions (the Herodians and the zealots), as well as many of the chief priests, elders, and biblical scholars (the scribes and teachers of the law).  In their minds, Jesus is a blasphemer and a heretic.  Although his miracles attest that he is from God, instead, many of the Jewish religious leaders see this as proof that he is in league with the devil.  Jesus has spoken of himself as equal with YHWH, he has called himself the true temple as well as the true Israel.  He identifies himself as the “Son of Man,” a prophet, and that one foretold throughout the Old Testament.  Because people love darkness rather than light (even “religious people”), the Jewish leadership seeks to put an end to Jesus’ messianic mission, even as he seeks to be alone with his disciples to pray.  It is hard to imagine, but the sinless Son of God is about to be arrested by an armed mob on the charge of blasphemy, even as one of his own disciples betrays him by revealing where Jesus is to be found.  And all the while the citizens of Jerusalem and pilgrims in the city to celebrate the Passover, remain sound asleep only to be rudely awakened as the news of Jesus’s arrest begins to spread.

We continue our series on the Gospel of John, and we enter into the final section of this gospel, the so-called “Passion Narrative.”  In the “Passion” section of his gospel, John recounts those events associated with Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion (chapters 18-19), followed by the account of our Lord’s triumphal resurrection from the dead (John 20-21).  The first seventeen chapters of John’s gospel have been pointing to those events found in the closing chapters.  Jesus’ long-dreaded hour is at hand.  The time has come for Jesus to suffer and die, and in doing so, secure eternal life and faith for all those given him by the Father.  In his death and resurrection, Jesus will bring glory to both the Father and to himself–the very thing which Jesus sought in the opening portion of his High Priestly Prayer.  

One of the things which makes the gospels unique as a literary genre, and which separate them from ordinary biographies, is the presence of a so-called “Passion narrative.”  Each of the gospels includes an account of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and brutal death by crucifixion, followed by the account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  Although each of the gospels emphasizes different aspects of Jesus’ passion, when taken together we get a very full eyewitness account of why Jesus was crucified, how his death fulfilled Old Testament prophecy, what this death means (in terms of our salvation), and how his death was not the end of his messianic mission.  It is in Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead that many of the hard sayings and unexpected turn of events revealed throughout John’s gospel find their resolution–something which the disciples have been led to expect but were struggling to understand.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

This Week at Christ Reformed Church (November 16-22)

Sunday Morning, November 22:  We are  continuing with our study of Ezra-Nehemiah.  This Lord's day we come to chapters 11-12 and the dedication of the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem.  Our service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Afternoon:  We are working our way through the Heidelberg Catechism, and will be discussing Lord's Day 4 (Q & A 9-11), which speaks of God's mercy.  Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study (November 18):  We are working our way through Paul's letter to the Galatians, and we are in chapter 5, and continuing to discuss the fruit of the Spirit.

The Academy:  On Hiatus (TBA)

For More Information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Info), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).

"Observe and Do" -- Nehemiah 10:1-39

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon.

Click Here