Sermons from First Evangelical Free Church in Sioux City, IA
Sermons for your birth into and growth in the Christian faith.
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Sermons for your birth into and growth in the Christian faith.
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1:1 Greeting. James (the half-brother of Jesus, writing in the mid to late 40’s AD) writes to the people of God scattered about the world. He has three major topics in mind, two of which will be introduced today… 1:2-4 Counting. The trials that come in the Christian life aren’t to be despised; they aren’t reasons to distrust God. Instead, by God’s providence, the trials we endure are part of the very way that He grows and matures us. Thus, we can see even hardships as opportunities for joy rather than despair. 1:5-8 Believing. But how can we have the wisdom to navigate our trials faithfully? J
119:49-53 Remembering leads to comfort. God’s word gives hope to his people because when we remember it, we remember the very words and promises of our trustworthy God. This gives us comfort and helps us to remain steadfast when we go through the hardships of life because it causes us to keep our eyes (and our minds) fixed on what is true: the ways and laws of the Lord. 119:54-56 Comfort leads to (further) remembering. Note how the comfort that the Lord provides leads to further remembering of Him and His ways. The response to the Lord giving us what we need, exactly when we need it, is nothin
119:41-43 What God promises. The psalmist highlights three ways in which God’s word gives us strength and encouragement: promises, trust, and hope. When we call on our Lord in faith, when we take His words seriously, treasuring all that He has said for us, then we grow in the faith and are able to navigate life with Christian maturity. 119:44-48 How the faithful respond. God’s words aren’t meant simply to inform us, however; rather, they are a call to faith-filled living. Because God has promised, therefore we can hold to His words and ways with confidence. What’s more, the psalmist’s example
119:33-35 Request. The psalmist asks for the Lord to provide not only knowledge, but also understanding and leading as well. The result is not just a better grasp on God’s law, but also a more faithful embracing and following of it. 119:36-37 Contrast. Part of learning to savor God’s ways is to call on Him to develop a taste for what He says in contrast with the tastes promoted by our world. It’s that we would see and desire Jesus more than anyone or anything else. 119:38-39 Purpose. The reasons behind the psalmist’s request are highlighted in these verses – the point isn’t simply knowledge fo
119:25-27 Ask for life and hope… What we need most when life is hard is for the hope that only the Lord can give. The psalmist asks for this in prayer, listening closely and attentively to the words and ways of the Lord. 119:28-30 Ask for strength… Faithfulness comes not from our own strength, but from the Lord doing the work in us and through us. When we have no strength worth looking to, trusting the Lord, desiring what He desires, is the way forward. We trust Jesus to provide all that He has promised. 119:31-32 Ask for the Lord’s work in you… Our goal is to so delight in the words of our Ki
119:17-19 Blessing in God’s will. The psalmist challenges us to seek blessing not for ourselves, but instead God’s blessing in order to do God’s will: a heartfelt desire to please God, first and foremost, instead of our own selves. 119:20-22 Blessing instead of judgment. The one who pursues the Lord, who treasures what God has said rather than what God’s enemies have said, is the one who will enjoy His blessing – and not His judgment – forever. 119:23-24 Blessing instead of despair. God’s blessing matters not just for the future, but even in the present. The way to delight is found not in focu
119:9-11 A pure way. The picture is of a life that is transformed through devotion to God’s word. What does that look like? All throughout this stanza, a number of action words paint the way. Here: guard, seek, and store up. 119:12-14 A delightful way. The call of Psalm 119 isn’t only a call to read the scriptures. It’s more! It’s a call to delight in God’s word given to God’s people. What does that delight look like and how can we have it? The psalmist answers: teach me, declare, and delight. 119:15-16 A remembering way. Four more actions complete the picture of how we can be transformed by G
119:1-3 The person God blesses. True blessing – the blessing of knowing God and being known by Him – comes from delighting in His law, His word, and all that He has said. 119:4-6 The blessing you can have. Far from being unattainable, you and I can have this blessing because Jesus has won it for us – He perfectly keeps all God’s words, He has fulfilled the law. Because of Jesus, because every Christian has the Holy Spirit, we too can follow the pattern of treasuring God’s words in how we live and respond. 119:7-8 The delight in God’s blessing. Delighting in the Lord leads to confidence of His
6:21-22 People matter. It’s easy for us to overlook, so let’s thank the Lord for these verses which show us how relationships are crucial for God’s people. Our relationship with Jesus is what brings us hope – and on that basis, our relationships with one another matter as reflections of our King, too. Notice how Paul cares for the Ephesians on a personal level, and they for him. 6:23-24 Grace matters. The very kinds of things that Paul prayed for at the beginning of the letter are what he continues to hope for and point them to here at the end. Because of Christ’s work, Paul can confidently of
6:14-18a The imagery. Paul uses the picture of a Roman soldier’s armor to show a vital truth about how God provides for us to become the very people that He has called us to in Christ: the armor is provided for us, all we need to do is embrace the life that Jesus has called us to in Him.6:18b-20 The practice. Practically, “armoring up” looks like, among other things, treasuring the words of our King (the scriptures) and calling on Him in prayer for each other and for the spread of the gospel.The Point: Every Christian has been provided with what we need to stand firm and faithful in this life.
5:15-17 Walk wisely. Paul gives three contrasts in our passage for today, two of them are found here. Both point to one reality: be imitators of God and walk as children of the light (5:1, 8). That starts with prizing new life in Jesus: not being unwise, but wise; not living foolishly, but pursuing what the Lord wills. 5:18-21 Filled with the Spirit. Ultimately, the way of life that Paul envisions is found in this third contrast: our aim as Christians is not to live in the world’s ways of debauchery, but instead it is to live Spirit-filled lives. Three pictures are given of what this looks lik
28:1-4 Fear. There is so much that we fear in this life, and the first disciples had even more reasons: their Master had been killed in the most brutal and public way possible. As Mary and Mary come to the tomb, they also are confronted with fear: the fear of the miraculous! 28:5-7 Life. The good news is this: what Jesus had repeatedly taught is exactly what had happened. He was no longer dead in the tomb, but had risen. Jesus was alive! The mission for the women was simple: they were to look in, see for themselves that Jesus wasn’t there, and then take this wonderous news to the rest of the d
26:36-38 Let us pray… Following the events of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus and the disciples head to a hill overlooking town to spend time in prayer; they need to call on the Lord for spiritual strength to be faithful with what will soon come. 26:39-41 Any other way? Christ’s first prayer asks the heart-searching question: is there any other way to save God’s people than to die a brutal death on the cross? Yet, Jesus focuses on the Father’s will more than His own. The disciples, for their part, fall asleep – they give in to temptation instead of preparing themselves. 26:42-43 Your will be done. Ch
4:17-19 What we were… Paul’s goal is to call the Ephesians – and us! – to see that there is, and must be, a radical difference between somebody who isn’t a Christian and somebody who is. Those who aren’t Christian live for the sorts of things that are the direct opposite of what will be valued in Christ’s kingdom. 4:20-24 Who we now are… Those who are Christian are called to daily embrace the gift that Jesus has given to us: we are to put off the old self and to embrace the new. Jesus has done the work, and we are to receive it. Christians should, in every way that treasures Jesus and values H
2:11-12 What we were. Prior to Jesus, Gentiles (i.e. non-Jews) were ridiculed and thought to have no hope for salvation. But that wasn’t God’s plan! Instead, His work was to bless all people through the Jews: most directly, through Jesus Christ! 2:13-18 What we are. Because of Christ’s work, not only can we have salvation because of a right relationship with God, but we also can enjoy the unity that the gospel produces: no longer would the world be divided between Jews and Gentiles. Each is succeeded by one new people of God, unified in their worship of Him. 2:19-22 What we are becoming. This
2:8-9 Saved by God’s grace. Paul makes clear that our salvation is – from start to finish – entirely by God’s grace, received through faith. We contribute nothing; He accomplishes everything. Our salvation is not something we ever earn or deserve, but is a gift, given to us by our loving God. We dare not boast. Instead, we dare to respond with worship and by living as testimonies to our wonderful Savior. 2:10 Saved for God’s purpose. This means that our salvation isn’t simply a self-improvement project for our own sake, as if Christians can now do whatever they want. No, we have far more value
