Search Results

Consider Your Ways Sermon Series Description Consider Your Ways is a series about what happens when God's people get comfortable putting themselves first. In 520 BC, the returned exiles had every reason to rebuild the temple — and every excuse not to. Sixteen years passed. Life got busy. Private concerns crowded out covenant obligations. The prophet Haggai steps into that drift with one of Scripture's most searching commands: consider your ways. Not your circumstances. Not your neighbors. Your ways. These two weeks walk through one of the Bible's shortest books to find one of its most urgent invitations — repent of self-centered priorities, reorder your life around God's presence and honor, and trust that the God who calls you to build will not abandon the work he has started. Because God calls his people to prioritize his presence and glory, we must repent of self-centered delay and trust that he will fill his house with a glory greater than we can imagine. Greater Than You Know Haggai 2 Watch From This Day Haggai 2 Watch Wrong House Haggai 1 Watch

Belgic Confession Article 1: The Only God We all believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that there is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God— eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty; completely wise, just, and good, and the overflowing source of all good. Article 2: The Means by Which We Know God We know God by two means: First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: God’s eternal power and divinity, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20. All these things are enough to convict humans and to leave them without excuse. Second, God makes himself known to us more clearly by his holy and divine Word, as much as we need in this life, for God’s glory and for our salvation. Article 3: The Written Word of God We confess that this Word of God was not sent nor delivered “by human will,” but that “men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God,” as Peter says.1 Afterward our God— with special care for us and our salvation— commanded his servants, the prophets and apostles, to commit this revealed Word to writing. God, with his own finger, wrote the two tables of the law. Therefore we call such writings holy and divine Scriptures. 12 Pet. 1:21 Article 4: The Canonical Books We include in the Holy Scripture the two volumes of the Old and New Testaments. They are canonical books with which there can be no quarrel at all. In the church of God the list is as follows: In the Old Testament, the five books of Moses— Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth; the two books of Samuel, and two of Kings; the two books of Chronicles, called Paralipomenon; the first book of Ezra; Nehemiah, Esther, Job; the Psalms of David; the three books of Solomon— Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song; the four major prophets— Isaiah, Jeremiah*, Ezekiel, Daniel; and then the other twelve minor prophets— Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. In the New Testament, the four gospels— Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; the Acts of the Apostles; the fourteen letters of Paul— to the Romans; the two letters to the Corinthians; to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians; the two letters to the Thessalonians; the two letters to Timothy; to Titus, Philemon, and to the Hebrews; the seven letters of the other apostles— one of James; two of Peter; three of John; one of Jude; and the Revelation of the apostle John. * “Jeremiah” here includes the Book of Lamentations as well as the Book of Jeremiah. Article 5: The Authority of Scripture We receive all these books and these only as holy and canonical, for the regulating, founding, and establishing of our faith. And we believe without a doubt all things contained in them— not so much because the church receives and approves them as such but above all because the Holy Spirit testifies in our hearts that they are from God, and also because they prove themselves to be from God. For even the blind themselves are able to see that the things predicted in them do happen. Article 6: The Difference Between Canonical and Apocryphal Books We distinguish between these holy books and the apocryphal ones, which are the third and fourth books of Esdras; the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Jesus Sirach, Baruch; what was added to the Story of Esther; the Song of the Three Children in the Furnace; the Story of Susannah; the Story of Bel and the Dragon; the Prayer of Manasseh; and the two books of Maccabees. The church may certainly read these books and learn from them as far as they agree with the canonical books. But they do not have such power and virtue that one could confirm from their testimony any point of faith or of the Christian religion. Much less can they detract from the authority of the other holy books. Article 7: The Sufficiency of Scripture We believe that this Holy Scripture contains the will of God completely and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently taught in it. For since the entire manner of service which God requires of us is described in it at great length, no one— even an apostle or an angel from heaven, as Paul says—2 ought to teach other than what the Holy Scriptures have already taught us. For since it is forbidden to add to the Word of God, or take anything away from it,3 it is plainly demonstrated that the teaching is perfect and complete in all respects. Therefore we must not consider human writings— no matter how holy their authors may have been— equal to the divine writings; nor may we put custom, nor the majority, nor age, nor the passage of times or persons, nor councils, decrees, or official decisions above the truth of God, for truth is above everything else. For all human beings are liars by nature and more vain than vanity itself. Therefore we reject with all our hearts everything that does not agree with this infallible rule, as we are taught to do by the apostles when they say, “Test the spirits to see whether they are from God,”4 and also, “Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching.”5 2Gal. 1:8 3Deut. 12:32; Rev. 22:18-19 41 John 4:1 52 John 10 Article 8: The Trinity In keeping with this truth and Word of God we believe in one God, who is one single essence, in whom there are three persons, really, truly, and eternally distinct according to their incommunicable properties— namely, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is the cause, origin, and source of all things, visible as well as invisible. The Son is the Word, the Wisdom, and the image of the Father. The Holy Spirit is the eternal power and might, proceeding from the Father and the Son. Nevertheless, this distinction does not divide God into three, since Scripture teaches us that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each has a distinct subsistence distinguished by characteristics— yet in such a way that these three persons are only one God. It is evident then that the Father is not the Son and that the Son is not the Father, and that likewise the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son. Nevertheless, these persons, thus distinct, are neither divided nor fused or mixed together. For the Father did not take on flesh, nor did the Spirit, but only the Son. The Father was never without the Son, nor without the Holy Spirit, since all these are equal from eternity, in one and the same essence. There is neither a first nor a last, for all three are one in truth and power, in goodness and mercy. Article 9: The Scriptural Witness on the Trinity All these things we know from the testimonies of Holy Scripture as well as from the effects of the persons, especially from those we feel within ourselves. The testimonies of the Holy Scriptures, which teach us to believe in this Holy Trinity, are written in many places of the Old Testament, which need not be enumerated but only chosen with discretion. In the book of Genesis God says, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.” So “God created humankind in his image”— indeed, “male and female he created them.”6 “See, the man has become like one of us.”7 It appears from this that there is a plurality of persons within the Deity, when God says, “Let us make humankind in our image”— and afterward God indicates the unity in saying, “God created.” It is true that God does not say here how many persons there are— but what is somewhat obscure to us in the Old Testament is very clear in the New. For when our Lord was baptized in the Jordan, the voice of the Father was heard saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved;”8 the Son was seen in the water; and the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. So, in the baptism of all believers this form was prescribed by Christ: Baptize all people “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”9 In the Gospel according to Luke the angel Gabriel says to Mary, the mother of our Lord: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.”10 And in another place it says: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”11 [“There are three that testify in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.”]12 In all these passages we are fully taught that there are three persons in the one and only divine essence. And although this doctrine surpasses human understanding, we nevertheless believe it now, through the Word, waiting to know and enjoy it fully in heaven. Furthermore, we must note the particular works and activities of these three persons in relation to us. The Father is called our Creator, by reason of his power. The Son is our Savior and Redeemer, by his blood. The Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier, by living in our hearts. This doctrine of the holy Trinity has always been maintained in the true church, from the time of the apostles until the present, against Jews, Muslims, and certain false Christians and heretics, such as Marcion, Mani, Praxeas, Sabellius, Paul of Samosata, Arius, and others like them, who were rightly condemned by the holy fathers. And so, in this matter we willingly accept the three ecumenical creeds— the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian— as well as what the ancient fathers decided in agreement with them. 6Gen. 1:26-27 7Gen. 3:22 8Matt. 3:17 9Matt. 28:19 10Luke 1:35 112 Cor. 13:14 121 John 5:7—following the better Greek texts, the NRSV and other modern translations place this verse in a footnote. Article 10: The Deity of Christ We believe that Jesus Christ, according to his divine nature, is the only Son of God— eternally begotten, not made or created, for then he would be a creature. He is one in essence with the Father; coeternal; the exact image of the person of the Father and the “reflection of God’s glory,”13 being like the Father in all things. Jesus Christ is the Son of God not only from the time he assumed our nature but from all eternity, as the following testimonies teach us when they are taken together. Moses says that God created the world;14 and John says that all things were created through the Word,15 which he calls God. The apostle says that God created the world through the Son.16 He also says that God created all things through Jesus Christ.17 And so it must follow that the one who is called God, the Word, the Son, and Jesus Christ already existed before creating all things. Therefore the prophet Micah says that Christ’s origin is “from ancient days.”18 And the apostle says that the Son has “neither beginning of days nor end of life.”19 So then, he is the true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we invoke, worship, and serve. 13Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3 14Gen. 1:1 15John 1:3 16Heb. 1:2 17Col. 1:16 18Mic. 5:2 19Heb. 7:3 Article 11: The Deity of the Holy Spirit We believe and confess also that the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son— neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but only proceeding from the two of them. In regard to order, the Spirit is the third person of the Trinity— of one and the same essence, and majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son, being true and eternal God, as the Holy Scriptures teach us. BACK TO TOP Article 12: The Creation of All Things We believe that the Father, when it seemed good to him, created heaven and earth and all other creatures from nothing, by the Word— that is to say, by the Son. God has given all creatures their being, form, and appearance and their various functions for serving their Creator. Even now God also sustains and governs them all, according to his eternal providence and by his infinite power, that they may serve humanity, in order that humanity may serve God. God has also created the angels good, that they might be messengers of God and serve the elect. Some of them have fallen from the excellence in which God created them into eternal perdition; and the others have persisted and remained in their original state, by the grace of God. The devils and evil spirits are so corrupt that they are enemies of God and of everything good. They lie in wait for the church and every member of it like thieves, with all their power, to destroy and spoil everything by their deceptions. So then, by their own wickedness they are condemned to everlasting damnation, daily awaiting their torments. For that reason we detest the error of the Sadducees, who deny that there are spirits and angels, and also the error of the Manicheans, who say that the devils originated by themselves, being evil by nature, without having been corrupted. Article 13: The Doctrine of God's Providence We believe that this good God, after creating all things, did not abandon them to chance or fortune but leads and governs them according to his holy will, in such a way that nothing happens in this world without God’s orderly arrangement. Yet God is not the author of, and cannot be charged with, the sin that occurs. For God’s power and goodness are so great and incomprehensible that God arranges and does his works very well and justly even when the devils and the wicked act unjustly. We do not wish to inquire with undue curiosity into what God does that surpasses human understanding and is beyond our ability to comprehend. But in all humility and reverence we adore the just judgments of God, which are hidden from us, being content to be Christ’s disciples, so as to learn only what God shows us in the Word, without going beyond those limits. This doctrine gives us unspeakable comfort since it teaches us that nothing can happen to us by chance but only by the arrangement of our gracious heavenly Father, who watches over us with fatherly care, sustaining all creatures under his lordship, so that not one of the hairs on our heads (for they are all numbered) nor even a little bird can fall to the ground without the will of our Father.20 In this thought we rest, knowing that God holds in check the devils and all our enemies, who cannot hurt us without divine permission and will. For that reason we reject the damnable error of the Epicureans, who say that God does not get involved in anything and leaves everything to chance. 20Matt. 10:29-30 Article 14: The Creation and Fall of Humanity We believe that God created human beings from the dust of the earth and made and formed them in his image and likeness— good, just, and holy; able by their will to conform in all things to the will of God. But when they were in honor they did not understand it21 and did not recognize their excellence. But they subjected themselves willingly to sin and consequently to death and the curse, lending their ear to the word of the devil. For they transgressed the commandment of life, which they had received, and by their sin they separated themselves from God, who was their true life, having corrupted their entire nature. So they made themselves guilty and subject to physical and spiritual death, having become wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all their ways. They lost all their excellent gifts which they had received from God, and retained none of them except for small traces which are enough to make them inexcusable. Moreover, all the light in us is turned to darkness, as the Scripture teaches us: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”22 Here John calls the human race “darkness.” Therefore we reject everything taught to the contrary concerning human free will, since humans are nothing but the slaves of sin and cannot do a thing unless it is given them from heaven.23 For who can boast of being able to do anything good by oneself, since Christ says, “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me”?24 Who can glory in their own will when they understand that “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God”?25 Who can speak of their own knowledge in view of the fact that “those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit”?26 In short, who can produce a single thought, knowing that we are not able to think a thing about ourselves, by ourselves, but that “our competence is from God”?27 And therefore, what the apostle says ought rightly to stand fixed and firm: God works within us both to will and to do according to his good pleasure.28 For there is no understanding nor will conforming to God’s understanding and will apart from Christ’s involvement, as he teaches us when he says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”29 21Ps. 49:20 22John 1:5 23John 3:27 24John 6:44 25Rom. 8:7 261 Cor. 2:14 272 Cor. 3:5 28Phil. 2:13 29John 15:5 Article 15: The Doctrine of Original Sin We believe that by the disobedience of Adam original sin has been spread through the whole human race.30 It is a corruption of the whole human nature— an inherited depravity which even infects small infants in their mother’s womb, and the root which produces in humanity every sort of sin. It is therefore so vile and enormous in God’s sight that it is enough to condemn the human race, and it is not abolished or wholly uprooted even by baptism, seeing that sin constantly boils forth as though from a contaminated spring. Nevertheless, it is not imputed to God’s children for their condemnation but is forgiven by his grace and mercy— not to put them to sleep but so that the awareness of this corruption might often make believers groan as they long to be set free from the body of this death.31 Therefore we reject the error of the Pelagians who say that this sin is nothing else than a matter of imitation. 30Rom. 5:12-13 31Rom. 7:24 Article 16: The Doctrine of Election We believe that— all Adam’s descendants having thus fallen into perdition and ruin by the sin of Adam— God showed himself to be as he is: merciful and just. God is merciful in withdrawing and saving from this perdition those who, in the eternal and unchangeable divine counsel, have been elected and chosen in Jesus Christ our Lord by his pure goodness, without any consideration of their works. God is just in leaving the others in their ruin and fall into which they plunged themselves. Article 17: The Recovery of Fallen Humanity We believe that our good God, by marvelous divine wisdom and goodness, seeing that Adam and Eve had plunged themselves in this manner into both physical and spiritual death and made themselves completely miserable, set out to find them, though they, trembling all over, were fleeing from God. And God comforted them, promising to give them his Son, born of a woman,32 to crush the head of the serpent,33 and to make them blessed. 32Gal. 4:4 33Gen. 3:15 Article 18: The Incarnation So then we confess that God fulfilled the promise made to the early fathers and mothers by the mouth of the holy prophets when he sent the only and eternal Son of God into the world at the time appointed. The Son took the “form of a slave” and was made in “human form,”34 truly assuming a real human nature, with all its weaknesses, except for sin; being conceived in the womb of the blessed virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, without male participation. And Christ not only assumed human nature as far as the body is concerned but also a real human soul, in order to be a real human being. For since the soul had been lost as well as the body, Christ had to assume them both to save them both together. Therefore we confess (against the heresy of the Anabaptists who deny that Christ assumed human flesh from his mother) that Christ shared the very flesh and blood of children;35 being the fruit of the loins of David according to the flesh,36 descended from David according to the flesh;37 the fruit of the womb of the virgin Mary;38 born of a woman;39 the seed of David;40 the root of Jesse;41 descended from Judah,42 having descended from the Jews according to the flesh; descended from Abraham— having assumed descent from Abraham and Sarah, and was made like his brothers and sisters, yet without sin.43 In this way Christ is truly our Immanuel— that is: “God with us.”44 34Phil. 2:7 35Heb. 2:14 36Acts 2:30 37Rom. 1:3 38Luke 1:42 39Gal. 4:4 402 Tim. 2:8 41Rom. 15:12 42Heb. 7:14 43Heb. 2:17; 4:15 44Matt. 1:23 Article 19: The Two Natures of Christ We believe that by being thus conceived the person of the Son has been inseparably united and joined together with human nature, in such a way that there are not two Sons of God, nor two persons, but two natures united in a single person, with each nature retaining its own distinct properties. Thus his divine nature has always remained uncreated, without beginning of days or end of life,45 filling heaven and earth. Christ’s human nature has not lost its properties but continues to have those of a creature— it has a beginning of days; it is of a finite nature and retains all that belongs to a real body. And even though he, by his resurrection, gave it immortality, that nonetheless did not change the reality of his human nature; for our salvation and resurrection depend also on the reality of his body. But these two natures are so united together in one person that they are not even separated by his death. So then, what he committed to his Father when he died was a real human spirit which left his body. But meanwhile his divine nature remained united with his human nature even when he was lying in the grave; and his deity never ceased to be in him, just as it was in him when he was a little child, though for a while it did not so reveal itself. These are the reasons why we confess him to be true God and truly human— true God in order to conquer death by his power, and truly human that he might die for us in the weakness of his flesh. 45Heb. 7:3 Article 20: The Justice and Mercy of God in Christ We believe that God— who is perfectly merciful and also very just— sent the Son to assume the nature in which the disobedience had been committed, in order to bear in it the punishment of sin by his most bitter passion and death. So God made known his justice toward his Son, who was charged with our sin, and he poured out his goodness and mercy on us, who are guilty and worthy of damnation, giving to us his Son to die, by a most perfect love, and raising him to life for our justification, in order that by him we might have immortality and eternal life. Article 21: The Atonement We believe that Jesus Christ is a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek— made such by an oath— and that he presented himself in our name before his Father, to appease his Father’s wrath with full satisfaction by offering himself on the tree of the cross and pouring out his precious blood for the cleansing of our sins, as the prophets had predicted. For it is written that “the punishment that made us whole” was placed on the Son of God and that “by his bruises we are healed.” He was “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter”; he was “numbered with the transgressors”46 and condemned as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, though Pilate had declared that he was innocent. So he paid back what he had not stolen,47 and he suffered— “the righteous for the unrighteous,”48 in both his body and his soul— in such a way that when he sensed the horrible punishment required by our sins “his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.”49 He cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”50 And he endured all this for the forgiveness of our sins. Therefore we rightly say with Paul that we know nothing “except Jesus Christ, and him crucified”;51 we “regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus [our] Lord.”52 We find all comforts in his wounds and have no need to seek or invent any other means to reconcile ourselves with God than this one and only sacrifice, once made, which renders believers perfect forever. This is also why the angel of God called him Jesus— that is, “Savior”— because he would save his people from their sins.53 46Isa. 53:4-12 47Ps. 69:4 481 Pet. 3:18 49Luke 22:44 50Matt. 27:46 511 Cor. 2:2 52Phil. 3:8 53Matt. 1:21 Article 22: The Righteousness of Faith We believe that for us to acquire the true knowledge of this great mystery the Holy Spirit kindles in our hearts a true faith that embraces Jesus Christ, with all his merits, and makes him its own, and no longer looks for anything apart from him. For it must necessarily follow that either all that is required for our salvation is not in Christ or, if all is in him, then those who have Christ by faith have his salvation entirely. Therefore, to say that Christ is not enough but that something else is needed as well is a most enormous blasphemy against God— for it then would follow that Jesus Christ is only half a Savior. And therefore we justly say with Paul that we are justified “by faith alone” or “by faith apart from works.”54 However, we do not mean, properly speaking, that it is faith itself that justifies us— for faith is only the instrument by which we embrace Christ, our righteousness. But Jesus Christ is our righteousness in making available to us all his merits and all the holy works he has done for us and in our place. And faith is the instrument that keeps us in communion with him and with all his benefits. When those benefits are made ours, they are more than enough to absolve us of our sins. 54Rom. 3:28 Article 23: The Justification of Sinners We believe that our blessedness lies in the forgiveness of our sins because of Jesus Christ, and that in it our righteousness before God is contained, as David and Paul teach us when they declare those people blessed to whom God grants righteousness apart from works.55 And the same apostle says that we are “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”56 And therefore we cling to this foundation, which is firm forever, giving all glory to God, humbling ourselves, and recognizing ourselves as we are; not claiming a thing for ourselves or our merits and leaning and resting on the sole obedience of Christ crucified, which is ours when we believe in him. That is enough to cover all our sins and to make us confident, freeing the conscience from the fear, dread, and terror of God’s approach, without doing what our first parents, Adam and Eve, did, who trembled as they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. In fact, if we had to appear before God relying— no matter how little— on ourselves or some other creature, then, alas, we would be swallowed up. Therefore everyone must say with David: “[Lord,] do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.”57 55Ps. 32:1; Rom. 4:6 56Rom. 3:24 57Ps. 143:2 Article 24: The Sanctification of Sinners We believe that this true faith, produced in us by the hearing of God’s Word and by the work of the Holy Spirit, regenerates us and makes us new creatures,58 causing us to live a new life59 and freeing us from the slavery of sin. Therefore, far from making people cold toward living in a pious and holy way, this justifying faith, quite to the contrary, so works within them that apart from it they will never do a thing out of love for God but only out of love for themselves and fear of being condemned. So then, it is impossible for this holy faith to be unfruitful in a human being, seeing that we do not speak of an empty faith but of what Scripture calls “faith working through love,”60 which moves people to do by themselves the works that God has commanded in the Word. These works, proceeding from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable to God, since they are all sanctified by God’s grace. Yet they do not count toward our justification— for by faith in Christ we are justified, even before we do good works. Otherwise they could not be good, any more than the fruit of a tree could be good if the tree is not good in the first place. So then, we do good works, but not for merit— for what would we merit? Rather, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not God to us, since God “is at work in [us], enabling [us] both to will and to work for his good pleasure”61 — thus keeping in mind what is written: “When you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done.’“62 Yet we do not wish to deny that God rewards good works— but it is by grace that God crowns these gifts. Moreover, although we do good works we do not base our salvation on them; for we cannot do any work that is not defiled by our flesh and also worthy of punishment. And even if we could point to one, memory of a single sin is enough for God to reject that work. So we would always be in doubt, tossed back and forth without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be tormented constantly if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior. 582 Cor. 5:17 59Rom. 6:4 60Gal. 5:6 61Phil. 2:13 62Luke 17:10 Article 25: The Fulfillment of the Law We believe that the ceremonies and symbols of the law have ended with the coming of Christ, and that all foreshadowings have come to an end, so that the use of them ought to be abolished among Christians. Yet the truth and substance of these things remain for us in Jesus Christ, in whom they have been fulfilled. Nevertheless, we continue to use the witnesses drawn from the law and prophets to confirm us in the gospel and to regulate our lives with full integrity for the glory of God, according to the will of God. Article 26: The Intercession of Christ We believe that we have no access to God except through the one and only Mediator and Intercessor, “Jesus Christ the righteous,”63 who therefore was made human, uniting together the divine and human natures, so that we human beings might have access to the divine Majesty. Otherwise we would have no access. But this Mediator, whom the Father has appointed between himself and us, ought not terrify us by his greatness, so that we have to look for another one, according to our fancy. For neither in heaven nor among the creatures on earth is there anyone who loves us more than Jesus Christ does. Although he was “in the form of God,” Christ nevertheless “emptied himself,” taking “human form” and “the form of a slave” for us;64 and he made himself “like his brothers and sisters in every respect.”65 Suppose we had to find another intercessor. Who would love us more than he who gave his life for us, even though “we were enemies”?66 And suppose we had to find one who has prestige and power. Who has as much of these as he who is seated at the right hand of the Father,67 and who has “all authority in heaven and on earth”?68 And who will be heard more readily than God’s own dearly beloved Son? So, the practice of honoring the saints as intercessors in fact dishonors them because of its misplaced faith. That was something the saints never did nor asked for, but which in keeping with their duty, as appears from their writings, they consistently refused. We should not plead here that we are unworthy— for it is not a question of offering our prayers on the basis of our own dignity but only on the basis of the excellence and dignity of Jesus Christ, whose righteousness is ours by faith. Since the apostle for good reason wants us to get rid of this foolish fear— or rather, this unbelief— he says to us that Jesus Christ was made like “his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest” to purify the sins of the people.69 For since he suffered, being tempted, he is also able to help those who are tempted.70 And further, to encourage us more to approach him he says, “Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”71 The same apostle says that we “have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus.” “Let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith….”72 Likewise, Christ “holds his priesthood permanently…. Consequently, he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”73 What more do we need? For Christ himself declares: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”74 Why should we seek another intercessor? Since it has pleased God to give us the Son as our Intercessor. let us not leave him for another— or rather seek, without ever finding. For, when giving Christ to us, God knew well that we were sinners. Therefore, in following the command of Christ we call on the heavenly Father through Christ, our only Mediator, as we are taught by the Lord’s Prayer, being assured that we shall obtain all we ask of the Father in his name. 631 John 2:1 64Phil. 2:6-8 65Heb. 2:17 66Rom. 5:10 67Rom. 8:34; Heb. 1:3 68Matt. 28:18 69Heb. 2:17 70Heb. 2:18 71Heb. 4:14-16 72Heb. 10:19, 22 73Heb. 7:24-25 74John 14:6 Article 27: The Holy Catholic Church We believe and confess one single catholic or universal church— a holy congregation and gathering of true Christian believers, awaiting their entire salvation in Jesus Christ, being washed by his blood, and sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit. This church has existed from the beginning of the world and will last until the end, as appears from the fact that Christ is eternal King who cannot be without subjects. And this holy church is preserved by God against the rage of the whole world, even though for a time it may appear very small to human eyes— as though it were snuffed out. For example, during the very dangerous time of Ahab the Lord preserved for himself seven thousand who did not bend their knees to Baal.75 And so this holy church is not confined, bound, or limited to a certain place or certain people. But it is spread and dispersed throughout the entire world, though still joined and united in heart and will, in one and the same Spirit, by the power of faith. 751 Kings 19:18 Article 28: The Obligations of Church Members We believe that since this holy assembly and congregation is the gathering of those who are saved and there is no salvation apart from it, people ought not to withdraw from it, content to be by themselves, regardless of their status or condition. But all people are obliged to join and unite with it, keeping the unity of the church by submitting to its instruction and discipline, by bending their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ, and by serving to build up one another, according to the gifts God has given them as members of each other in the same body. And to preserve this unity more effectively, it is the duty of all believers, according to God’s Word, to separate themselves from those who do not belong to the church, in order to join this assembly wherever God has established it, even if civil authorities and royal decrees forbid and death and physical punishment result. And so, all who withdraw from the church or do not join it act contrary to God’s ordinance. Article 29: The Marks of the True Church We believe that we ought to discern diligently and very carefully, by the Word of God, what is the true church— for all sects in the world today claim for themselves the name of “the church.” We are not speaking here of the company of hypocrites who are mixed among the good in the church and who nonetheless are not part of it, even though they are physically there. But we are speaking of distinguishing the body and fellowship of the true church from all sects that call themselves “the church.” The true church can be recognized if it has the following marks: The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel; it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them; it practices church discipline for correcting faults. In short, it governs itself according to the pure Word of God, rejecting all things contrary to it and holding Jesus Christ as the only Head. By these marks one can be assured of recognizing the true church— and no one ought to be separated from it. As for those who can belong to the church, we can recognize them by the distinguishing marks of Christians: namely by faith, and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness, once they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. They love the true God and their neighbors, without turning to the right or left, and they crucify the flesh and its works. Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives, appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus, in whom they have forgiveness of their sins, through faith in him. As for the false church, it assigns more authority to itself and its ordinances than to the Word of God; it does not want to subject itself to the yoke of Christ; it does not administer the sacraments as Christ commanded in his Word; it rather adds to them or subtracts from them as it pleases; it bases itself on humans, more than on Jesus Christ; it persecutes those who live holy lives according to the Word of God and who rebuke it for its faults, greed, and idolatry. These two churches are easy to recognize and thus to distinguish from each other. Article 30: The Government of the Church We believe that this true church ought to be governed according to the spiritual order that our Lord has taught us in his Word. There should be ministers or pastors to preach the Word of God and administer the sacraments. There should also be elders and deacons, along with the pastors, to make up the council of the church. By this means true religion is preserved; true doctrine is able to take its course; and evil people are corrected spiritually and held in check, so that also the poor and all the afflicted may be helped and comforted according to their need. By this means everything will be done well and in good order in the church, when such persons are elected who are faithful and are chosen according to the rule that Paul gave to Timothy.76 761 Tim. 3 Article 31: The Officers of the Church We believe that ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen to their offices by a legitimate election of the church, with prayer in the name of the Lord, and in good order, as the Word of God teaches. So all must be careful not to push themselves forward improperly, but must wait for God’s call, so that they may be assured of their calling and be certain that they are chosen by the Lord. As for the ministers of the Word, they all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop, and the only head of the church. Moreover, to keep God’s holy order from being violated or despised, we say that everyone ought, as much as possible, to hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church in special esteem, because of the work they do, and be at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting. Article 32: The Order and Discipline of the Church We also believe that although it is useful and good for those who govern the churches to establish and set up a certain order among themselves for maintaining the body of the church, they ought always to guard against deviating from what Christ, our only Master, has ordained for us. Therefore we reject all human innovations and all laws imposed on us, in our worship of God, which bind and force our consciences in any way. So we accept only what is proper to maintain harmony and unity and to keep all in obedience to God. To that end excommunication, with all it involves, according to the Word of God, is required. Article 33: The Sacraments We believe that our good God, mindful of our crudeness and weakness, has ordained sacraments for us to seal his promises in us, to pledge good will and grace toward us, and also to nourish and sustain our faith. God has added these to the Word of the gospel to represent better to our external senses both what God enables us to understand by the Word and what he does inwardly in our hearts, confirming in us the salvation he imparts to us. For they are visible signs and seals of something internal and invisible, by means of which God works in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. So they are not empty and hollow signs to fool and deceive us, for their truth is Jesus Christ, without whom they would be nothing. Moreover, we are satisfied with the number of sacraments that Christ our Master has ordained for us. There are only two: the sacrament of baptism and the Holy Supper of Jesus Christ. Article 34: The Sacrament of Baptism We believe and confess that Jesus Christ, in whom the law is fulfilled, has by his shed blood put an end to every other shedding of blood, which anyone might do or wish to do in order to atone or satisfy for sins. Having abolished circumcision, which was done with blood, Christ established in its place the sacrament of baptism. By it we are received into God’s church and set apart from all other people and alien religions, that we may wholly belong to him whose mark and sign we bear. Baptism also witnesses to us that God, being our gracious Father, will be our God forever. Therefore Christ has commanded that all those who belong to him be baptized with pure water “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”77 In this way God signifies to us that just as water washes away the dirt of the body when it is poured on us and also is seen on the bodies of those who are baptized when it is sprinkled on them, so too the blood of Christ does the same thing internally, in the soul, by the Holy Spirit. It washes and cleanses it from its sins and transforms us from being the children of wrath into the children of God. This does not happen by the physical water but by the sprinkling of the precious blood of the Son of God, who is our Red Sea, through which we must pass to escape the tyranny of Pharaoh, who is the devil, and to enter the spiritual land of Canaan. So ministers, as far as their work is concerned, give us the sacrament and what is visible, but our Lord gives what the sacrament signifies— namely the invisible gifts and graces; washing, purifying, and cleansing our souls of all filth and unrighteousness; renewing our hearts and filling them with all comfort; giving us true assurance of his fatherly goodness; clothing us with the “new self” and stripping off the “old self with its practices.”78 For this reason we believe that anyone who aspires to reach eternal life ought to be baptized only once without ever repeating it— for we cannot be born twice. Yet this baptism is profitable not only when the water is on us and when we receive it but throughout our entire lives. For that reason we reject the error of the Anabaptists who are not content with a single baptism once received and also condemn the baptism of the children of believers. We believe our children ought to be baptized and sealed with the sign of the covenant, as little children were circumcised in Israel on the basis of the same promises made to our children. And truly, Christ has shed his blood no less for washing the little children of believers than he did for adults. Therefore they ought to receive the sign and sacrament of what Christ has done for them, just as the Lord commanded in the law that by offering a lamb for them the sacrament of the suffering and death of Christ would be granted them shortly after their birth. This was the sacrament of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, baptism does for our children what circumcision did for the Jewish people. That is why Paul calls baptism the “circumcision of Christ.”79 77Matt. 28:19 78Col. 3:9-10 79Col. 2:11 Article 35: The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already regenerated and ingrafted into his family, which is his church. Now those who are born again have two lives in them. The one is physical and temporal— they have it from the moment of their first birth, and it is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, and is given them in their second birth— it comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ; and this life is common to God’s elect only. Thus, to support the physical and earthly life God has prescribed for us an appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all people as life itself. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers, God has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten— that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacrament in our hands and eat and drink it with our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Now it is certain that Jesus Christ did not prescribe his sacraments for us in vain, since he works in us all he represents by these holy signs, although the manner in which he does it goes beyond our understanding and is incomprehensible to us, just as the operation of God’s Spirit is hidden and incomprehensible. Yet we do not go wrong when we say that what is eaten is Christ’s own natural body and what is drunk is his own blood— but the manner in which we eat it is not by the mouth, but by the Spirit through faith. In that way Jesus Christ remains always seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven— but he never refrains on that account to communicate himself to us through faith. This banquet is a spiritual table at which Christ communicates himself to us with all his benefits. At that table he makes us enjoy himself as much as the merits of his suffering and death, as he nourishes, strengthens, and comforts our poor, desolate souls by the eating of his flesh, and relieves and renews them by the drinking of his blood. Moreover, though the sacraments and what they signify are joined together, not all receive both of them. The wicked certainly take the sacrament, to their condemnation, but do not receive the truth of the sacrament, just as Judas and Simon the Sorcerer both indeed received the sacrament, but not Christ, who was signified by it. He is communicated only to believers. Finally, with humility and reverence we receive the holy sacrament in the gathering of God’s people, as we engage together, with thanksgiving, in a holy remembrance of the death of Christ our Savior, and as we thus confess our faith and Christian religion. Therefore none should come to this table without examining themselves carefully, lest by eating this bread and drinking this cup they “eat and drink judgment against themselves.”80 In short, by the use of this holy sacrament we are moved to a fervent love of God and our neighbors. Therefore we reject as desecrations of the sacraments all the muddled ideas and condemnable inventions that people have added and mixed in with them. And we say that we should be content with the procedure that Christ and the apostles have taught us and speak of these things as they have spoken of them. 801 Cor. 11:29 Article 36: The Civil Government We believe that because of the depravity of the human race, our good God has ordained kings, princes, and civil officers. God wants the world to be governed by laws and policies so that human lawlessness may be restrained and that everything may be conducted in good order among human beings. For that purpose God has placed the sword in the hands of the government, to punish evil people and protect the good. [RCA only* And the government’s task is not limited to caring for and watching over the public domain but extends also to upholding the sacred ministry, with a view to removing and destroying all idolatry and false worship of the Antichrist; to promoting the kingdom of Jesus Christ; and to furthering the preaching of the gospel everywhere; to the end that God may be honored and served by everyone, as he requires in his Word.] [CRC only** And being called in this manner to contribute to the advancement of a society that is pleasing to God, the civil rulers have the task, subject to God’s law, of removing every obstacle to the preaching of the gospel and to every aspect of divine worship. They should do this while completely refraining from every tendency toward exercising absolute authority, and while functioning in the sphere entrusted to them, with the means belonging to them. They should do it in order that the Word of God may have free course; the kingdom of Jesus Christ may make progress; and every anti-Christian power may be resisted.] Moreover everyone, regardless of status, condition, or rank, must be subject to the government, and pay taxes, and hold its representatives in honor and respect, and obey them in all things that are not in conflict with God’s Word, praying for them that the Lord may be willing to lead them in all their ways and that we may live a peaceful and quiet life in all piety and decency. [RCA only*** And on this matter we reject the Anabaptists, anarchists, and in general all those who want to reject the authorities and civil officers and to subvert justice by introducing common ownership of goods and corrupting the moral order that God has established among human beings.] * The Reformed Church in America retains the original full text, choosing to recognize that the confession was written within a historical context which may not accurately describe the situation that pertains today. **Synod 1958 of the Christian Reformed Church replaced the aforementioned paragraph with the following three paragraphs (in brackets). ***The RCA retains this final paragraph of the original Article 36, choosing to recognize that the confession was written within a historical context which may not accurately describe the situation that pertains today. Synod 1985 of the CRC directed that this paragraph be taken from the body of the text and placed in a footnote. BACK TO TOP Article 37: The Last Judgement Finally we believe, according to God’s Word, that when the time appointed by the Lord is come (which is unknown to all creatures) and the number of the elect is complete, our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven, bodily and visibly, as he ascended, with great glory and majesty, to declare himself the judge of the living and the dead. He will burn this old world, in fire and flame, in order to cleanse it. Then all human creatures will appear in person before the great judge— men, women, and children, who have lived from the beginning until the end of the world. They will be summoned there “with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet.”81 For all those who died before that time will be raised from the earth, their spirits being joined and united with their own bodies in which they lived. And as for those who are still alive, they will not die like the others but will be changed “in the twinkling of an eye” from perishable to imperishable.82 Then the books (that is, the consciences) will be opened, and the dead will be judged according to the things they did in the world,83 whether good or evil. Indeed, all people will give account of all the idle words they have spoken,84 which the world regards as only playing games. And then the secrets and hypocrisies of all people will be publicly uncovered in the sight of all. Therefore, with good reason the thought of this judgment is horrible and dreadful to wicked and evil people. But it is very pleasant and a great comfort to the righteous and elect, since their total redemption will then be accomplished. They will then receive the fruits of their labor and of the trouble they have suffered; their innocence will be openly recognized by all; and they will see the terrible vengeance that God will bring on the evil ones who tyrannized, oppressed, and tormented them in this world. The evil ones will be convicted by the witness of their own consciences, and shall be made immortal— but only to be tormented in “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”85 In contrast, the faithful and elect will be crowned with glory and honor. The Son of God will profess their names86 before God his Father and the holy and elect angels; all tears will be wiped from their eyes;87 and their cause— at present condemned as heretical and evil by many judges and civil officers— will be acknowledged as the cause of the Son of God. And as a gracious reward the Lord will make them possess a glory such as the human heart could never imagine. So we look forward to that great day with longing in order to enjoy fully the promises of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 811 Thess. 4:16 821 Cor. 15:51-53 83Rev. 20:12 84Matt. 12:36 85Matt. 25:41 86Matt. 10:32 87Rev. 7:17

Crowned with Praise Prosper Christian Reformed Church Crowned with Praise Crowned Mitchell Leach Sunday, March 29, 2026 Audio Crowned with Praise Mitchell Leach 00:00 / 42:16 Sermon Transcript This morning's scripture reading comes from Matthew 21:1-11. This will be our second part of our 5-sermon series, our 3-week series that we're going to be going through. We are going to have 2 midweek services this week, one on Maundy Thursday at 6:30 and another on Good Friday at 5:30. So if you have the ability to come out to that, it will be something that you don't want to miss. And then obviously on Easter Sunday we'll have that. Scripture Reading Matthew 21:1-11 Hear this, the word of the Lord. Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, go into the village in front of you and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, the Lord needs them and he will send them at once. This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. The disciples went and did as Jesus directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, 'Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!' And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, 'Who is this?' The crowd said, 'This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.' This is the word of the Lord. Big Question Who is Jesus? As we enter into this Palm Sunday, the question that comes from the text, the question that we need to answer, and the question that everyone must answer is this: Who is Jesus? Every person on earth has to answer this question, whether Christian or not. If you've ever talked with anyone who doesn't believe in Christianity about Jesus, you'll notice that they have an answer for Jesus. They have to. Jesus is too important. He is too controversial. He is too persistent for people to simply ignore. To simply not have an answer for who is Jesus is something that we can't do. Every major world religion has a way to explain him. Islam says that he's a prophet, a great prophet, but simply a prophet. Buddhism says that he's a teacher, that he's moral, that he's wise, he's worth listening to. Secular historians say that he's a revolutionary, a man who changed history. And even inside the church, you ask 10 people, 'Who is Jesus?' you'll get 10 different answers. Maybe he's a personal therapist who helps you feel better about yourself. He's a fire insurance policy there to ease your conscience. A moral example that you can admire, or a social activist who was ahead of his time. We have been asking this question, 'Who is Jesus?' for 2,000 years. Kings, scholars, philosophers, historians, skeptics, all answering this question and we still cannot agree. Who is Jesus? Which either means one of two things. Either it means that we can't answer this question, that the answer is not knowable, or that we've been getting it wrong. Who is Jesus? The Bible has an answer for us, and Matthew writes this chapter, writes this section, because he's saying we have been getting this wrong. We are prone as human beings to get this wrong. So keep your Bibles open with me as we look at Matthew 21:1-11. Outline He Presents Himself (Matthew 21:1-5) They Shout His Praise (Matthew 21:6-9) They Still Don't See (Matthew 21:10-11) He Presents Himself (Matthew 21:1-5) This passage will show us this: Jesus enters Jerusalem as the promised king, receiving public praise while revealing that his kingdom comes in humility and peace and not in worldly power. Where we're at in this series — last week we saw that Jesus had this defining moment in his ministry. In the Gospels, there's really two halves of each Gospel. The first half is his ministry on earth, the first 2 years and some change, and then the rest of it is the last week of his life. A predominant amount of the gospels are focused on the last week of his life. That turning towards Jerusalem that we saw last week starts this last week where he's walking towards Jerusalem, walking towards his crucifixion. Matthew 21 is one of the most public moments in Jesus's ministry. It's designed to force us to ask and answer the question, 'Who is this?' The way that Jesus presents himself matters here. In the next series of events that unfold in this passage, we see imagery that proclaims the greatness of Jesus, not just as a king, but as something more. In this section, Jesus shows us and the world that he is God, and yet he has come in humility. Matthew 21:1-3 says this: 'Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, "The Lord needs them," and he will send them at once."' Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem, on this march towards his final destination of his ministry on earth. He stops at the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is significant for a couple of reasons. One, just in terms of where he is topographically, the Mount of Olives is the only peak in all of Israel that is higher than Jerusalem. Jerusalem is on a mountain itself and the Mount of Olives is slightly higher. So Jesus is on this march towards Jerusalem and he's stopping here, able to see all of the city — the city where he will be persecuted, where he will be arrested, tried, and just outside the city walls where he will be crucified. The Mount of Olives is also where the Garden of Gethsemane is. On Good Friday, we'll talk a lot more about that, but this is the place where Jesus sweat blood. The Mount of Olives has a ton more historical significance tying back to King David and different things like that. But Jesus essentially, by stopping here, is one subtle way of saying that he is king. But this is where they stop to make a plan for what will happen. I think this is an interesting point to just stop and think about. Jesus doesn't just do things willy-nilly. Jesus has a plan. I think oftentimes when we think about Jesus, or spirituality, we think it needs to be authentic, it needs to be in the moment, we can't really have anything planned out. But Jesus is deliberate here. He stops and makes a plan. The sovereign God of the universe is orchestrating what will happen. I think oftentimes when we think of our own spiritual life, we think, well, if I pray, it has to be something that just comes to me in the moment, but prayer can be something that we even write or rehearse. It can be deliberate. It can be planned out. There are a lot of things in our Christian life that should be planned out. Jesus teaches us that we don't need to only live in the moment. So Jesus, in this planning, he goes and asks the disciples to go get a donkey and a colt. An interesting thing about this — why this would have been strange to any first-century Jewish person reading this — Passover was a celebration, a festival that you were required to walk to. Jesus, up until this point, had walked 100 miles to get to the Mount of Olives. The choice to ride a donkey in on the last 2 or 3 miles in a pilgrimage full of pedestrians is not convenience, it's not coincidence. He's doing something incredibly theological. He is setting himself up as the Messiah. He wants everyone to see him as the Messiah. The time for hiding behind the miracles and saying, 'Don't tell anyone,' is over. As he rides a donkey into Jerusalem, he's proclaiming himself as the Messiah. When we hear that word Messiah, there's a lot of connotation that comes with that. We think of Jesus, we think of the Lord. But when a Jewish person would have heard the term Messiah, they would have never connected that with this fully God, fully man person. When they hear Messiah, they think this is going to be a king, an anointed king like David, who's going to set up another 200 years of prosperity and blessing for the kingdom of Israel. He's going to come and conquer all of their enemies and he will defeat them. He will allow them to have their own nation back, their own kingdom. They were expecting Jesus to be a conquering king, a king who would destroy Rome. It makes sense to us now when we look back on the Old Testament and see all of this prophecy about the Messiah being God. But this was not their expectation. So Jesus, by doing this, is making a statement just by getting on the donkey that he is the Messiah. Every Jewish person watching this knows that this is what Jesus is intending to do. He says, 'If someone's giving you trouble, say that the Lord has sent you.' There are two ways to interpret this, and I think both are equally valid. Either Jesus was intending to say the Lord needs them in terms of Yahweh needs them, or the Lord needs them in terms of a medieval lord — a title of lordship. Either way, whether it's a boss or Yahweh himself, what Jesus is saying is, I'm sovereign over everything. All things belong to me. If it's Yahweh, this is God himself needs your donkey. Or if it's a lord, yes, you might be the rightful owner of that animal, but the true owner needs it back. And all this happened to fulfill what the Old Testament said. Matthew 21:5 says: 'Say to the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."' Matthew wants us to see something here. He wants his readers to see that Jesus is the king but came in a new way. The passage quoted here from the Old Testament is actually two passages, one from Isaiah and one from Zechariah, both about the Messiah. The main reason Jesus uses them is to highlight something that would not have been popular in the ancient world of leaders and kings — Jesus's humility. Jesus's humility, the humility of a leader, of a king, would have been so foreign to anyone outside of Israel. To describe a king as humble would have been an insult to any king. It described someone who lacked the power or will to assert themselves — essentially a weakling. But the Old Testament said that the Messiah will be meek, will be humble, because he will be like Moses. Moses was described as being meek, but his meekness was because he laid down his own agenda in submission to God's. Jesus's meekness is not the absence of power, it is the presence of power held back. It is the sovereign choice not to conquer with force. Jesus could have rode in on a war horse. He owned all the war horses. But he didn't. He chose a donkey. And yet Jesus' meekness is not niceness. This is not wimpy Jesus. This is not passive Jesus. What he's doing is saying, yes, I absolutely could come in with force and yet I'm choosing to go and suffer instead. Dorothy Sayers has this amazing quote. She says this: 'We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him meek and mild, and recommended him as a fitting house pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.' Dorothy Sayers wrote this in 1949 and I think within the church, this notion of a weak and emascified Jesus has only grown stronger. We've sanded down all the sharp edges of Jesus, everything offensive from Jesus. We've made him palatable, agreeable, pliable, safe. But meekness was never meant to be the same thing as niceness. Niceness avoids conflict. Meekness walks straight into Jerusalem knowing exactly what needs to be done there. This is not a house pet that we see here in this passage. This is a sovereign God choosing suffering over power. This is a king who has already decided what his power is for. They Shout His Praise (Matthew 21:6-9) So Jesus has staged this moment purposefully, deliberately. He has given every signal and the crowd sees it. They respond to everything that he said with everything that they have. The problem is they believe they're certain of how they're supposed to respond and what they are responding to. So the disciples get the donkeys and Jesus rides the colt, an animal that's never been ridden before. They throw their cloaks down. This act of throwing cloaks down seems kind of like a footnote, but this was important. This is not just an improvised action. This was a coronation ritual. It goes back to Jehu in 1 and 2 Kings. Jehu was coronated as the king of Israel and they threw cloaks down in front of him. This was a way to say, this is the one who we want to save us. The problem is they wanted to domesticate him. Jesus is presenting himself as Messiah, but they wanted to define what Messiah meant for them. Matthew 21:9 says this: 'And the crowds that went before him and the crowds that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"' Hosanna is a word that means save us. Essentially, this thing that they're saying to Jesus is, we need saving. Here is the authorized one by God who can save, and we need saving. This is the gospel framework, right? Crying out that we need saving, a recognition of our own sinfulness. Seeing who our Savior is and rejoicing that this is the one who can save us. The crowds shout, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' They are simultaneously praising and pleading for him to save them. The distinction between prayer and praise has collapsed. It is both. The king himself is the answer to the prayer. And Jesus' response to this is worthwhile noting. It's incredibly important. All throughout Jesus' ministry, he tells people not to talk about what he has done. In Matthew 9:29-30, he heals two blind men and he says, 'See to it that no one knows about this.' And now, the whole crowds are shouting and what does Jesus do? He doesn't turn them away. Jesus understands the time for secrecy is over. This worship is appropriate because he knows that he is going to die. The truth is that what the crowds are doing is actually right, it's just in a wrong heart posture. They aren't hypocrites in a technical sense; they are actually saying all of the right things. They are praising Jesus and inviting him to be their king. Hosanna and 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord' both derive themselves from Psalm 118. These psalms would have been sung by the king with the people as they were marching through the streets in a festival in worship. They're crying out to him saying, 'You're our king.' They're even using the right liturgy, the right terms to worship God, and this is real worship. Yet they miss who Jesus truly is. They want a king that they've invented in their own minds. They want another David, another king who would destroy their enemies but not destroy their true enemy, liberate them from Rome but not liberate them from sin, restore the kingdom of Israel but not inaugurate the kingdom of heaven. It is entirely possible to praise Jesus loudly, liturgically, and sincerely and to be praising a Jesus of your own imagination. The danger in this text, in our own hearts, is not rejection, not rejecting Jesus. It is Scripture-quoting worship of a domesticated Savior. It is worshiping God truthfully from the pages of Scripture and yet worshiping one that we've invented, one that truly isn't there, one that fits in a box that's convenient for us. Not the true infinite God of the universe. That is a Jesus that's nice, that's kind, that's easy for us, that's palatable for us, that we can grasp our arms around, one that we can control, the actions of whom we can predict. A Jesus that has the same morals as I do, who's concerned with the same social justice issues as me, who votes the same way that I do. And that, I think, is a real danger for us especially in our world today. The belief that the right leader, the right party, the right coalition, the right policy, the right revolution will finally fix what is broken — this is political idolatry. Political idolatry isn't the problem of caring so much about politics, but that we ask politics to do what only God can do for us. This is clear and evident in our text. They want a political king. They want someone who will come and make a nation for them, a kingdom for them. Jesus has something far superior for them. These visions of Jesus that we impose on him — we can find passages in Scripture that support our own version of Jesus. That's why we have churches on far ends of political and theological spectrums. We have churches that affirm homosexuality and they bring up passages to talk about Jesus as a social justice warrior. And we see also very legalistic churches who use passages of Scripture to justify their legalistic views. They're not hallucinations. We can find bits and pieces of them. The problem is with a curated Jesus, a Frankenstein's monster sort of Jesus where we take parts and pieces that we like from the gospels and mash them together. That is no longer Jesus. We can quote Scripture that supports our monstrosity but it isn't truly, fully the Lion of the tribe of Judah. One of the most dangerous things that we can say is, 'If Jesus were here today, he would...' whatever it is, fill in the blank. Unless we're saying Jesus would be truthful, or he wouldn't sin, we can say those things. But if we're trying to say, 'Here's a problem in our culture, if Jesus were here today he would do this, he would vote for my candidate, he would be Reformed, he would be Presbyterian, he would be Methodist' — it's one of the most dangerous things we can say. Nobody could predict what Jesus was about to do next. Not his disciples, not the people traveling with him, not the Pharisees. For us to believe that we can wrap our minds or our arms around Jesus, to contain him in a box that fits neatly in our worldview — it's to be as silly as Peter when he rebukes Jesus. C.S. Lewis says this: 'We want not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven, a senile benevolence who, as they say, likes to see young people enjoying themselves and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, "A good time was had by all."' We want a God who will make our life better. We become like the people in the crowd. C.S. Lewis nailed it. We don't want a king, we want a benefactor. Someone who smiles at our choices and picks up the tab. A God who is endlessly supportive and never inconvenient. But that God does not exist. And deep down, we know it. Because a God small enough just to make you happy is not a big enough God to save you, and ultimately not a big enough God worthy of worship. They Still Don't See (Matthew 21:10-11) Matthew 21:10-11 says this: 'And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up saying, "Who is this?" And the crowd said, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee."' The whole town after hearing this parade of Jesus coming into Jerusalem asks the question, 'Who is this?' The town is stirred up. Actually, a better translation of that word 'stirred up' would be more closely tied to an earthquake — shaken would probably be a better word for this. Every time the true identity of Jesus presses in on those who do not recognize him, the whole world shakes. This word 'shaken' is consistent throughout Jesus's life. When Jesus was born, Bethlehem shook. When Jesus enters into Jerusalem, Jerusalem shook. When Jesus is crucified, the veil is torn and the earth shook. And on the third day, the tomb rolled away, the earth shook. History itself is being seismically reoriented around this man, the God-man, Jesus Christ. The only question is whether you will let him reorient your life. Who is this? This is the question they ask. Who is Jesus? The fragments of the truth have been laid throughout the gospel narratives leading up into this point. Some say king, some say the coming one, some say Jeremiah or Elisha. The people in Jerusalem say, 'A prophet.' To say, to call someone a prophet like they're calling Jesus is the highest thing that they can call someone. Spiritually, this is the greatest honor you could give someone in a title. This is the most glorious thing you could call someone. So are we overreacting that these people are just calling him a prophet? No, this is not an overreaction at all. To call Jesus merely a prophet is the greatest slight in human history. Categorically getting the person of Jesus wrong, putting him in an altogether different category. It would be like calling a man and a fish the same thing because they both have a heartbeat. Calling him a prophet is not just an error that's harmless. What you think about Jesus determines what you expect him to do. The crowd called him a prophet. But prophets don't rise to overthrow Rome. Prophets don't sit on thrones. So when he didn't do what a king would do, they turned on him. The Jesus that you expect determines the response that you give to the Jesus you get. The world has an answer for Jesus, each answer insufficient or wrong. There is only one answer. Main Idea Praise the humble King who comes to save What do we do when we see our king humble and riding on a donkey? We praise the humble King who comes to save. We have to praise Jesus for who he truly is, not the Jesus we want, but the Jesus who is truly there. The crowd goes from praising him to condemning him in a week. The Jesus they wanted was the one who would defeat Rome, but Jesus becomes the one who allows Roman guards to arrest him and crucify him. When this happens, they feel betrayed. The Jesus that you expect determines the response that you get from Jesus. A Jesus of your own imagination will disappoint you. I don't want you to miss that. When we imagine Jesus, when we create our own version of him, the Jesus that we can fit into a box, the Jesus that really has to be smaller than us if we're going to comprehend him, that Jesus will disappoint you. Oftentimes as a pastor, one of the most prominent questions I get asked is, 'Pastor, how do I get through a season of hardship? How do I get through a season of spiritual drought? I just don't feel a connection with God anymore.' Oftentimes, the answer to this is that we have brought Jesus so far down to our level, in fact, beneath us, that this is a Jesus that we don't even feel like we should worship. It's not a Jesus that we can connect to. An invented Jesus is not a Jesus worth worshiping. And so, honestly, we don't. We have to let go of the Jesus we like, the Jesus that we want to worship, and embrace the true and rightful King. The King who does things that we cannot predict, riding in on a donkey. The King who comes in sometimes with power, sometimes with anger, as we see if you just kept reading, as Jesus cleanses the temple. This Jesus we can't predict, this Jesus who is beyond our human capacity for reason. What do you do when you find a Jesus who scares you, who confronts you, who challenges you, who calls you out to something different, who calls you to something greater? Do you retreat to the Jesus that you knew, that you can hold in the box, that feels comfortable, or do you embrace a Jesus who might just scare you? If you become a Christian and none of your views shift, you've most certainly created a Jesus of your own imagination. True Christianity, the true Christ, challenges you. If you were very conservative before coming to know Christ and none of your views change, you've missed the very liberalness of Jesus that we see in the gospels, who cares about social justice, who cares about oppression, who cares about the poor. And if you're liberal and you become a Christian and nothing changes, you don't see the moral fortitude that Jesus has — the morality that is far more conservative than maybe you're comfortable with. The moral nature that says not only can you not commit adultery, but that you can't even lust. Far more conservative than maybe you'd care to admit. If Jesus doesn't challenge your paradigm, challenge your worldview, I guarantee that you're seeing a Jesus that you're inventing. True Christianity challenged the true Christ. He pushes us beyond our beliefs and changes everything that we do. The crowd thought that the donkey was the beginning, a humble entrance before the real display of power. Surely, riding in on a donkey was his entrance to take Jerusalem's throne back. The donkey was just the opening act before the war horse came out. But they had it exactly backwards. The donkey wasn't the prelude to his kingship; the donkey was his kingship. Don't you see? The donkey is the gospel. He comes in not to conquer but to be humiliated. It is the clearest possible announcement of the kind of king Jesus came to be. Not the king who rides out against his enemies, not the king who conquers by force, but the King who came to take the blows himself. Not the King who makes others suffer so he can reign, but the King who suffers so we can live. The road from the donkey leads straight to the cross. This was always his destination. He rode into Jerusalem not to take a throne, but to take a wound. The humility of his entry and the humility of the cross are the same thing. The voluntary surrender of a king who had all the power in the world and chose instead to spend it on you. That's what the prophet saw. Behold your king riding on a donkey, humble. Not humble until the real power shows up, humble as the very shape of our salvation. And that changes everything we know about God and every way we go before him. We want a king whose power looks like the world's power — force, dominance, victory over enemies. But Jesus said, I have given you something better. I have given you a king whose power looks like a donkey, looks like a cross, and looks like a tomb that could not hold him. This is not weakness dressed up as theology. This is the only power in the universe strong enough to defeat sin, to defeat evil, and to rise victorious over the grave. He is coming back. And this time he will not ride in on a donkey. Jesus will ride in on a war horse, on a blood-soaked robe, one that was bought with the humiliation of riding in on a donkey and being crucified on a cross. Through the humility that the world would call defeat, heaven has called victory. Application Bring someone to Easter You were handed a card on your way in and if you weren't, you need to grab one on your way out. All of Jerusalem asked, 'Who is Jesus?' And church, we know the answer to this. Let this week be a reminder to you as you have this card. This isn't a card to invite you to church, this is a card for you to give someone else. Hand this card to someone else. In fact, before you leave this morning, before you leave the doors to go out to your car, I want you to put a name to it. Know who you're going to give that to. Because I know how it works — you get home, you get in your car, and you start thinking about everything else you have to do. Have a name before you walk out. Easter is one week away. Invite someone to come and see, to come and ask the question, 'Who is Jesus?' And for us to be able to say, 'Jesus is the most glorious, risen God-man in all of human history, and he's our Savior who's alive and seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.' Audit your expectations of Jesus What are you asking Jesus now to do? Not a theological question, but a personal one. Are you asking him to fix your finances, your marriage, asking him to get you a better job? None of those are wrong prayers, absolutely not. But beneath them, what kind of king are you expecting to show up? A war horse king who comes in to overpower every obstacle in your path? Or worse, a king who is there only to serve you, to make your life more comfortable? Because I think oftentimes we turn Jesus into a concierge. He's there when we need something and he's invisible when we don't. We pull him out when life gets hard and we put him back when things are manageable. That is not a king, that is a spiritual vending machine. Jesus came on a donkey, not because he couldn't ride in on a war horse. He owned everything. Not because he couldn't afford a war horse, but because he held back power in order to serve others, and that's the whole point. Yes, Jesus came to serve, but he came to serve your deepest need. Not your most comfortable request. He didn't come to make your current life easier. He came to give you new life. He came to make you new. His meekness is not weakness. It is strength, strength that chose the cross over a crown. The King you have is better, I promise you, is better than the king that you wanted. Church, as we leave today, praise the humble King who comes to save. Closing Prayer Father God, we thank you and praise you for who you are, that you came in humble, riding in on a donkey, and that your humility, your humiliation did not end with that. But you humbled yourself in the form of a servant, humbled enough and obedient enough to die on a cross on our behalf. Father, we have no hope without you. We have no hope to save ourselves. Thank you for coming to save us, being wounded for our transgressions, stricken for our iniquity. God, you are good. Let us sing in response to how good you are. It's in your name we pray. Amen. Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Crowned with Humility Prosper Christian Reformed Church Crowned with Humility Crowned Mitchell Leach Thursday, April 2, 2026 Audio Crowned with Humility Mitchell Leach 00:00 / 01:04 Sermon Transcript Scripture Reading Matthew 26:26-30 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take and eat, this is my body.' And he took the cup, when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, 'Drink of it all of you for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.' And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. This is the word of the Lord. Big Question What is the Lord's Supper? Tonight we're going to be looking at the Lord's Supper. The question that we have for tonight is, what is the Lord's Supper? I think oftentimes when we hear a message or we talk about the Lord's Supper, we as Protestants have done such a good job talking about what it isn't — that we talk about that we're not Catholic, we don't believe that the elements literally become the literal body and blood of Christ. We've done such a good job of saying that that's not what it is. But I think that there is a more pervasive belief that has infiltrated into the church, and it's this really common belief in America — this idea of remembrance. And before you jump out of your seat and say, well, that's in the Bible — it is in the Bible, absolutely. Jesus says that we need to take communion, that we need to approach the table and to do it in remembrance of him. But oftentimes that's where it ends. That's all that happens, that it's kind of this weird ceremonial ritual act that we do and there's nothing more behind it. But as people who are Reformed or even Presbyterians, we talk about the Lord's Supper as having a spiritual presence, that the Lord is spiritually present in the elements. So what does it mean for the Lord to be spiritually present? Really, what is the Lord's Supper? Well, this passage is going to help us see that. What happens in this passage is that Jesus inaugurates a new covenant by giving his body and shedding his blood for many, for the forgiveness of sins. To give context of what's happening — this has been Holy Week. Jesus has ridden into Jerusalem as the Messiah, as the new king. Everyone's expecting him to be this new king. And while he's in Jerusalem this week, there's a lot of things that happen. He gives a lot of parables. He overturns tables in the temple. He's teaching a lot. And finally, he meets with his disciples in the upper room, where he washes their feet and promises that the Holy Spirit is going to come. Then we get to this part in the supper. The Table Jesus Sat At: Passover In order to understand what Jesus is giving us at this table, we have to understand the table that he is sitting at. When he is talking about this, there is something incredibly important going on. They are celebrating Passover. Passover was the celebration in the Jewish calendar. It was the thing to do. If you were a Jewish person and you had means to make it to Jerusalem, you absolutely would make the pilgrimage every year. This was the highest point of their calendar. This was like Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving all put together. Passover was a meal, a festival that celebrated when God rescued Israel out of the hands of Pharaoh, out of the hands of Egypt, and delivered them into the wilderness and eventually into the Promised Land. Up until this point, that moment in redemptive history was the pinnacle. This was the highlight. When they thought about what was the most important thing that God had ever done in history, if you were to ask a Jewish person, they would have said, 'It was the Exodus. It was the Passover. It was when God saved us from the judgment and delivered us into the Promised Land.' This meal had some elements to it. There would have been bread, there would have been wine, and there would have been lamb to remember the Passover lamb. There would have been a person too who presided over the ceremony. The presider would have led this meal almost like a service, would have led them through this Passover experience. And when he got to the bread, every Jewish child would have remembered this line repeated over and over, year after year. The presider would have got to the bread and would have said, 'This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the wilderness' — talking about the manna that God sustained them with. The Bread: Jesus is the Better Passover Jesus is the presider of this meal. He's leading his disciples through this meal, and he says this. He takes the bread, he breaks it, and says, 'Take and eat, this is my body.' Essentially, what Jesus is saying in this moment is not, 'This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the wilderness.' He's saying, 'This is the bread of my affliction.' The room would have gone silent. They would have heard this like a theological bomb going off, seeing the correlation of what had been happening leading up into this moment. Every person knew this phrase. Every person was expecting it, and Jesus applies it to himself. Jesus is saying, I am the better Passover. He's saying, in fact, you need something more than Passover. God absolutely delivered you from the hands of your captors, out of your slavery, but you need something more. You need me. Passover, again, was a huge deal. The historical moment of Passover was so big. God had saved them from the angel of death. Breaking the bread meant that we're remembering that God had saved us from death, from the angel of death. But now Jesus is saying, you're going to break bread in a different way. You are going to break bread to remember that I have saved you from death itself. What makes the Passover meal that Jesus is celebrating different than any other Passover meal? It's because Jesus is the bread. John 6 says this: 'It was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.' He goes on to say, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.' How does the bread of life give life? He becomes the bread because the bread can be broken. We hear that Jesus is the bread of life and we think, oh, that is so great — he nourishes us, he sustains us, he gives us life. But in order to give life, Jesus had to become weak. Bread is breakable. Bread is vulnerable. Jesus had to become that. He had to become breakable in order to give us life. In order to be the thing that sustained us, he had to be able to be broken. The bread of life would die so that we could have eternal life. The one who holds all things together, every atom of the universe, the one who holds all things together would be torn apart. The Cup: My Blood of the Covenant We see the bread, we see the bread tells us who he is, but then Jesus moves to the cup and he tells us what it cost. Matthew 26:27-28 says this: 'And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."' I want you to notice the word 'my' in there. When the disciples heard this, this would have been unbelievable. What Jesus is doing is in some sense copying Moses. When Moses handed out the covenant with Israel, sprinkling blood on Israel, he said this in Exodus 24:8: 'Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you.' And Jesus is sitting here in the upper room and he's saying, 'This is my blood of the covenant.' 'My' seems like a little word — why are we focusing on this? But it makes all the difference. Moses was the intercessor. He was the middleman between God and people. In order to talk to God, you had to go through Moses. In order to be atoned for your sin, there had to be somebody standing in the way. And Jesus sits with his disciples and he says, I am the bread, I am the blood. This cup is my blood. Being sprinkled by blood was a marker of the people. It was an external marker. The new covenant says that Jesus will be the marker. He will be the intercessor. It is personal. But he will not sprinkle you with blood; he invites you to drink. Think about what that means. Being sprinkled with blood says that you belong to this covenant. Drinking it says that the covenant is inside you. Moses marked the people from the outside; Jesus wants you from the inside out. This is the shape of his whole ministry. Jesus goes after more than just the external actions of people. He's going after your heart. Think about the Sermon on the Mount. Essentially, Jesus is going over the law again with people. They thought that if they just did enough good, if they could just perform, do the right outward actions, that God would be happy. And Jesus gets up and says, 'No, God wants your heart. It's not good enough just not to commit murder, you can't hate. It's about your heart.' Jesus is saying, I want all of you. This isn't just a legal transaction. This is an eternal relationship that Jesus is instituting here. God isn't just declaring you clean by sprinkling blood. He is making you his and cleansing you from the inside out. Jesus, in doing this, becomes the new covenant representative and more than that, he becomes the sacrifice himself. When a covenant was made, in order to seal it, two people would walk through an animal that was cut in two. The symbolism of that is to say that a covenant is a promise against your own life. You would walk through this animal torn in two with someone else, and you'd say, 'If I break this covenant, let me be like these animals that we have cut.' This is what happens with God when he makes a covenant with Abraham. Except normally both parties would walk through. In this instance, it is only God. Abraham is put to sleep and he wakes up and he sees God walking in between the animals. And it leads us right into the upper room. What God is saying to Abraham and what Jesus is saying to the disciples is that I will take the full weight of this. When this covenant is broken, it will not fall back on man. It will fall back on me. I will be the one who's torn apart in order to make it right. That's what Jesus is doing at this table. He's saying, 'I am going to become the torn one. I am going to become the one who is pierced. I am the promise that God made humanity so the burden would not have to fall on you.' In this covenant, Jesus will make right what man could not do himself. The beautiful part about this is that not only is he looking right at the disciples as he says this, he's looking at you when he says this. This promise goes to you today. We do not have to fall. We don't have to be the person that all of these consequences fall on. Jesus is going to be torn to pieces in just a couple hours from when he says this, in order to spare us. Jesus will go and pay for your sins on the cross. This is why he says, 'This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.' This is not distant. This is not out there. This is not just a promise anymore. Jesus is saying, 'I am going now to the cross and I will take all of your sin with me.' He is giving himself for you. That word 'for' in Matthew 26:28, when it says, 'which is poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sins,' what he's saying is, 'I'm going to the cross for you,' or 'I'm going to the cross instead of you.' His body is going to be broken in your place. His blood will atone for your sins in your place, instead of you. Every covenant before this depended on humanity. Every failure, every sin, every moment where we knew what was right and did the opposite — that's the weight that we carry into this room. And yet Jesus looks at all of it, and instead of turning away from the cross, he turns towards it. He says, I will carry this to the cross. Main Idea Receive the King who gives himself for sinners For centuries, the church has wrestled with this question of what actually happens when we come to the table. The Catholic Church says that the bread actually becomes his body, the cup actually becomes his blood, and that you're literally touching Jesus. The Protestant response since the Reformation has been, no, that's not right. Jesus is standing there in the room with the disciples — it can't be his blood, it can't be his body yet, he hasn't been pierced. It can't be literally. But if it's not literal, then is it just symbolic? Is it just a memorial? Is communion essentially just a spiritual Fourth of July, where we remember what sacrifice someone did for us so that we can have freedom from sin? Is that simply all it is? A weird ritual that allows us to remember? No. Something real is happening here. When we eat the bread and drink the cup, we aren't eating Jesus with our mouth literally, but we are with our soul. When we take communion, it doesn't become the physical body and blood of Jesus, but it becomes that for our soul. This is why Jesus says in John 6:51: 'I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I give for the life of the world is my flesh.' Any non-believer could take these elements and yet it is only the true believer who gets the benefits. It's only the Christian who can receive Christ because Jesus is spiritually present in communion at the table. Robert Bruce has this brilliant quote: 'Why then are the sacraments appointed? Not that you may get anything new but that you may get something better, better than you had it in the word. We get Christ better.' We talk about communion as a visible sermon, as a tangible gospel. It isn't something new. It's not a different version. It's the same gospel, and yet we get to taste and see it. It is more intimate. It is closer. It is better than we had it just in the word. And if this is true, which it is, then this table cannot be what most of us treat it as. This isn't a ritual we sit through while we think about dinner. This isn't a box that we check in order to perform as a Christian. You are receiving the living Christ in your soul. Every time we come to communion. Application Examine yourself God says that we need to examine ourselves and make sure that we're not taking communion in an unworthy manner. This means that there are some qualifications in order to take Communion. You should not take communion if you aren't a Christian, if you haven't accepted Christ. If that's true of you today, I'd love to have a conversation with you in order for you to take your first communion tonight. You also shouldn't take communion if you're living in active rebellion against God. If you're living your life unrepentant, this is a time to seek repentance first. Another requirement is that if you have unresolved sin, an unresolved grudge, if there's disunity between you and another believer, God's Word says that we should go to them before we take communion. That is more important — the unity of the body — than it is that we participate in this tonight. The last thing is that if we are living in hypocrisy or a life contrary to the gospel that we believe. Why would I say all of this? I think sometimes pastors like me get the wrong connotations, that there's all these rules set up around the table. It absolutely is not that. I find no pleasure in saying these things. The reality is that I care about your soul. These things are what God tells us when we come to the table. I love you enough to tell you — I don't want you to walk into something that God says you shouldn't be walking into. Doing these wrong things are actually bad for your soul. The Lord's table is too important to simply go through the motions. I also want you to hear this because oftentimes this is the outcome that comes from saying something like this. There are going to be some of you who hear that and go, 'Well, man, I messed up this week once and therefore I shouldn't come to the table.' And then there are others of you who are actively living in rebellion and go, 'Well, he's not talking about me.' This is a moment to stop and pause and ask the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin and to help you discern whether or not this is the moment for you to take this. The point of this is not for you to feel more condemnation. The point is that it would draw you back into repentance and into a relationship with Jesus. Do this Jesus doesn't just warn about the table. He commands us to do it. That's what Jesus says. It's our application because it's the whole point of Maundy Thursday. It is a mandate. It is our duty to do this. Jesus doesn't just say, 'Do this in remembrance of me.' He says this: 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.' This is not just a Christian add-on. This is not an optional thing for a mature believer to do. Communion is where you regularly receive life that only God can give you. So we cannot passively take this, we cannot casually skip this. Communion is so important that it is worth rearranging our schedule for. It's worth missing our grandchildren's or children's sporting events on a Sunday. It's worth rearranging your schedule around. It's more important than visiting family. It's more important than making a day trip to wherever. Communion is not an add-on. It is an invitation. Jesus has set the table before you. He has given his body and blood so that we could have a seat at this table. So don't miss it. As we come to a close — the night of the first Passover, God said either a lamb will die or the firstborn son. Israel killed the lamb and painted that blood of the spotless lamb over its doorposts, and death passed over them. That's what happened. That's what is happening at this table. Jesus is the lamb, and Jesus is the firstborn son. He is the blood on the doorpost and death passes over everyone who is covered by it. And he is the firstborn son who takes the judgment. But here is what is remarkable about this night. Jesus knows that this is coming. He knows that Judas is about to betray him. He knows that Peter is about to deny him. He knows that the cross is only a couple hours away. And yet, he looks past it all. He says this: 'I tell you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom.' On the worst night of Jesus' life, he is already thinking about the feast that will be on the other side of this. He is sitting at the table about to go through the most anguish that any human being will ever go through or has ever gone through. And he says, another table is coming. Not a table of bread and cup, but a table where you will see me in all of my glory face to face. No more symbols, just him. A lamb who died will be the host. Every time we take communion, we are living between these two tables. We are living between the table of that Passover night, the table behind us where Jesus gave himself, and the table ahead of us where Jesus welcomes us home. This meal is how we remember where we came from and where we are going. Receive the King who gives himself for sinners. So come to the table knowing what it costs. Come to the table knowing that this will not be the last one. Closing Prayer Father, we praise you that we do not have to be the ones who were slaughtered for our sins, that we didn't have to be the ones who paid the price for our foolishness, for our lack of wisdom, and for our rebellion against you, but that you sent your Son to take our place. God, I pray that we would not look at this communion, at this table, the same. God, you loved us and took our place. God, help us to worship you, to see the gospel, to hear it now, and to taste and see that you are good. It's in your name we pray. Amen. Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Mothers Day Sermon Series Description Coming Soon

For all funeral information at Prosper Christian Reformed Church Funerals We have the capacity to conduct funeral services for church members and their parents, children, and grandchildren. Funeral Arrangement Process To arrange a funeral at Prosper CRC, contact office@prospercrc.org

Overboard and Overwhelmed by Grace Prosper Christian Reformed Church Overboard and Overwhelmed by Grace Jonah Mitchell Leach Sunday, November 2, 2025 Audio Overboard and Overwhelmed by Grace Mitchell Leach 00:00 / 34:49 Sermon Transcript Good morning. I am Alex. I serve as a deacon currently, and my wife and I have been attending gospel church for almost three years now. This morning's scripture reading comes from Jonah 1: 1-17. Please turn with me in your Bibles as we hear God's word. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son 'Emma' of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. ' But Jonah rose to flee to Tarsish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Jopah and found a ship going to Tarsish, so he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarsish, away from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord hurled a wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his God, and they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had leaned and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call to your God. Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish. And they said to one another, 'Come, let us cast lots that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. ' So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. They said to him, 'Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And what people are you? And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land. And then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, What is this that you have done? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord because he had told them. Then And then they said to him, 'What shall we do to you that the sea may quiet down for us? ' For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. And he said to them, 'Pick me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you. Nevertheless, the men rode hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore, they called out to the Lord, 'Oh Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood for you. 'Oh Lord, have done as it pleased you. ' So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. This is the word of the Lord. What happens when we run from what we know we're meant to do? This is our big question for this morning. What happens when we run from what we know we're meant to do? Maybe it was forgiving someone. Maybe it was admitting that you were wrong. Maybe it was telling the truth when it would be easier to lie. Maybe it was answering a call from God that scared you. This issue is so pervasive in our human experience that it's been written about in nearly every culture throughout all time in history. One of the most famous examples of this is the play Hamlet. You're probably thinking, Man, I wish I would have read that in high school, too. Yeah, they're here with you. But the reason that we are supposed to read that is that this touches on some human experience that we all have See, in the play, Hamlet's father is murdered, and Hamlet knows who did it. He knows what he needs to do, but he spends most of the play putting it off. He at one point says this, O cursed spite, that I ever was born to set it right. And that, in modern English, means why me? Why this? Why now? We've all been there at the crossroads between, O obedience and comfort between trust and fear. We've all been there like Jonah, standing on the dock, ticket in hand, feeling the tug of the Holy spirit, begging us not to board the boat. And yet, time and time again, we find ourselves aboard. Like Hamlet, who knew what he needed to do but couldn't bring himself to it, Jonah knew exactly what God wanted and ran the other way. And that's the story we see in Jonah Chapter 1. So stay with me. Keep your Bibles open as we look at these three points in Jonah. We'll see that God calls, God corrects, and God appoints. In this chapter, we see a God who saves his disobedient prophet as he flees God's word. So let's look at that first point. God calls verses one through three. Last week, we said that asking good questions of the text is important, and there are some important questions that we need to ask this week as well in this chapter. First would be, who is Jonah? Jonah is our main character. In this story, he fulfills an important role. It's important to understand what he does. He is a prophet, and a prophet in the Old Testament fulfills a certain position in redemptive history. They They speak to people on behalf of God. They are the mouthpiece for God's word. And that's what Jonah is called to do. He is called to speak a prophetic word to Nineveh. And that begs the question, where is Nineveh? Where is Tarsish? Where is Japa? It's important for us to understand these things. It's more than just geography, but it shows the heart of Jonah. Nineveh is in modern day Turkey. Tarshish is in modern day Spain. And there's 2,500 miles that separate the two. Jonah, in running away, runs to the farthest point West in known existence at the time. This is the end of the known world. This is how far Jonah looks to run away. He's not running away to the city, the next door neighbor city. He is going as far away from God as he can. So why was Jonah running? Jonah likely saw Nineveh not just as a sinful city, but as a threat to his people's survival, to Israel's survival. Preaching repentance to the enemy felt like helping the oppressor. And remember, during this time in Israel's history, there's rampant idolatry. Oppression of the poor, people taking advantage of the least of these, and general disobedience to Yahweh. Nineveh would become the capital of Assyria. And later, just after Jonah would invade Israel and siege warfare against the Northern Kingdom. Another question that we need to ask is this. Let's go back. Why would the author say, Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord? ' This is an important question that we can probably ask of almost any text that we read. Why does the author say this in this way? Well, let's look at verse three. Why does he say, 'The presence of the Lord? ' Says this, But Jonah rose to flee to Tarsish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarsish. So he paid the affair and went down into it to go with them to Tarsish, away away from the presence of the Lord. It doesn't just say that Jonah fled what God wanted or even fled God. It says that Jonah fled the presence of the Lord. We know that we cannot get away from God's omnipresence. We can't run away from that. But we can resist intimacy with God. That's what Jonah is doing here. The reason that this word is used is because Jonah doesn't just dislike what God's asking him to do. Jonah doesn't want anything to do with God. Jonah hates God's heart. The main idea of this book that we talked about last week is Do you pursue God's Heart? Jonah isn't struggling whether or not God is real. He doesn't have doubts about his faith. He isn't questioning who he believes in. He hates who he knows. Jonah doesn't have a location problem. Jonah has a Lordship problem. And part of this problem is perspective. Jonah believes that he understands reality better than God does. So Jonah flees from God, from the presence of God. He gets in a boat and sails to the end of the known world. God called Jonah to Nineveh, a place that Jonah was saying, God, anywhere but there. Where is that for us? Where in your heart today might God be calling you to that you would say, God, anywhere but there? Maybe is it to a new job or to be honest with someone about something that might offend them, but it's important for them to hear. Maybe to confess a sin struggle you have or to serve people who annoy you or to be kind to people that you feel like you don't need to be kind to. Where would you say, Anywhere but there, God? Rather than running to God, Jonah runs away. Rather than trusting God. Jonah flees. Yet God isn't done with Jonah, and that's what we'll see in this next section, is a God who corrects. Verses 14 through 16. God's correction isn't not an act of anger, but an act of love. So let's see what happens in this section. God creates a storm so strong, it's looking to sink the ship. So the sailors or mariners start throwing cargo overboard. It says that the mariners were afraid. I was hoping that this was a prophetic word for the tigers this year, but that didn't seem to come true. Throwing the cargo overboard doesn't work. It doesn't stabilize the boat. And so they wake up everybody on board and they find out that Jonah has been sleeping, and so they wake him up and bring him on the main deck. And they cast lots, or this is an old-fashioned way of rolling dice, and it falls on Jonah. They ask, Jonah, who are you? Jonah says, 'I'm a Hebrew. I fear the Lord. My God controls the Earth and the sea. Jonah gets caught doing something as someone who follows the Lord that isn't very fearful of God. I don't know if you've ever been caught doing something as a Christian that wasn't so Christian-like. I, as a pastor, run into this maybe more than the average person. This typically comes out when I play sports. Sometimes I'm a little bit competitive. Whether it's cards or the World Series, I'm I'm pretty competitive. Sometimes I can smack talk and I'll play sports with someone and talk to them after the game. My friend will come out and rat me out and say something like, For a pastor, you played pretty good. They'll look at me like, Man, you said some stuff out there and I have to go, Yeah, you're right. I did. It's a little bit embarrassing. I don't know if you've ever been in that situation, but... Jonas in this situation. He looks foolish because he's acting foolish. The solution In verse 12, he says, To throw him overboard. So the mariners, they don't want to do this right away, so they try to row back to shore, but that doesn't work. So they know what they have to do. They know that throwing him overboard will stop the storm. So that's what they do. They throw him overboard. And as soon as Jonah enters into the water, the storm stops. And as soon as the storm stops, the mariners start to worship God. They offer sacrifices. This incident shows us where Jonah's heart is. Rather than repenting, rather than saying, God, I'm sorry. I get that if I don't turn back now, everyone If someone's going to die, he says, Throw me overboard. I'd rather drowned. I'd rather die than do what you want me to do. More than that, I'd rather die than be aligned with you, then be caught on your team. But like I said, God is correcting Jonah. God's correction, God correcting us, is there to save us from sin. See, sin matters to God. It's more than just breaking his rules. I think as parents, we can get these things convoluted because oftentimes our kids break rules, the rules that we make for them, and they can be frustrating to us. It can absolutely be frustrating. It is disobedient. It's wrong when they do that. But there's a difference between when kids disobey and when kids do something dangerous. The response can be different. You can be frustrated when your kid doesn't listen to you, when you ask them to stay in bed over and over and over. That doesn't happen in our house, but I can understand how that might be frustrating. But it's different than when your kid does something dangerous. If your kid climbs up on a ladder that they're not supposed to and slips. You don't run and scold them. You throw your arms around them and say, This is why we have a rule for this. There's a difference as parents between breaking a rule and doing something dangerous. But to God, these things are the same. To God, sin is dangerous. It's dangerous to our soul. God's correction isn't out of anger. It's not an act of anger. It's an act of love. Often when God creates a storm in our lives, it's an act of mercy, not an act of anger. And that's what we'll see in this next section. We see God's love, grace, and mercy as God appoints in verse 17, God sends a fish to swallow him, to swallow Jonah. And we need to see this here in this passage, that God God could have just not done anything. God could have left Jonah alone, and Jonah would have died. Jonah asked to be thrown overboard, not as some step out in faith, knowing, I know God's going to send me a big old fish that's going to save me? No. Jonah knew what he was doing, yet God wasn't done with him. The word 'appoint' will come up a couple of times in this story, mostly in chapter 4 after this, but it happens here in verse 17. It's important for us to understand this word, understand what it's trying to communicate. God wants us to see that he is in control, that he is sovereign over everything. The Heidelberg Catechism says it best, What do you understand by the providence of God? Providence is the Almighty and ever present power of God by which he upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures And so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty, all things, in fact, come to us, not by chance, but by his fatherly hand. God wants us to see. God wants Jonah to see that he's the one who takes care of Jonah, that he's the one who sustains Jonah, he's the one who saves Jonah. God is reeling Jonah back in, out of his disobedience. Most of the time when you hear a sermon on this passage, we get to this point, and a pastor will say, This is God judging Jonah. This is God disciplining him, this is God bringing him back from his disobedience through punishment. And that's absolutely true, that this is discipline, this is judgment, but it's also saving. I don't think we talk about that as much. Jonah could have died. God didn't need to do anything. He saved Jonah by sending him this fish. And these two ideas, judgment and salvation go hand in hand throughout the entire biblical narrative, throughout the entire biblical story. God is glorified in salvation through judgment. Whenever there's salvation, God is judging. This happens in the Garden Eden. When Adam and Eve, they will surely die by eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. And when they do this, God doesn't put them to death immediately. He saves them. Though he judges them, though he kicks them out of the Garden of Eden. Instead of getting what they deserved, God saved them because he wasn't done with them. And instead of getting what Jonah deserved, God saved him because he wasn't done with him. And that leads us into our main idea. Our main idea for this text is to fear God and to run to him. Fear God and run to him. Remember that we are supposed to do the opposite of what Jonah did. Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord. Jonah writes this book to plea with us, to beg us to run into it. We have to recognize Like I said before, that this problem with Jonah is a perspective one. We have to recognize that God's perspective is so much more infinite than ours. If we're lucky, we'll get 100 years on Earth. So far, I have 30 years of perspective on this Earth. I know a lot of you guys were wondering about my age. I wanted to slip that in there. I'm 30. I've got 30 years on this Earth, and yet I have the goal, Jonah has the gall, we have the gall to question God or to say to God, God, if you only gave me the chance, I think I could bring out a better outcome. God has seen eternity past. He was there eternally before he created anything. He's going to be there. He's seen eternity future. He's seen how the world ends. He's seen what happens next. God has seen every second of every minute of every day, of every month, of every year since creation. And we sit here and say, God, I think that with my limited perspective, I actually might have a chance to show you something here. No. This passage isn't just about being good because the consequences are bad. That's not the point of the sermon. That's not the point of this passage. It's not to obey because God might discipline you. He might send you a fish to swallow you if you're disobedient. That's not the point. The point of this passage is to fear God and to run to him, not from him. That leads us into our point of application, one of our two. This ought to change the reality of how we parent. We cannot parent children to obey just because the consequences are unpleasant or are harsh. We parent our children to obey because it's right and good for them to obey. We parent our children to love what is good, not just to love what is easy. It's easy to teach children the punishment game, right? And I was guilty of this for a long time until Elizabeth, my wife, helped me see the danger of it, right? The punishment game is teaching your children to obey because the punishment is going to be uncomfortable or it's going to not be fun for the kids. But if we do this, what we're doing is we're teaching our children to find the path of least resistance rather than the path of obedience. And this bleeds into our children's spiritual life. It bleeds into how they see God. If we just teach them to do the path of least resistance, that's why people come to church only when things are hard. That's why we turn to God in prayer only when things are hard. We don't come just because it's right. We don't go before him in prayer just because life is good. We go because we need something from him. It teaches our children to be sneaky, to get away with what you can get away with if no one's going to hold you accountable. That has devastating effects for our spiritual life. We obey because obedience is good. We obey because we love what's right Punishments are necessary. They are a necessary way to reinforce that belief. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a gentle parent at all. But discipline when punishments cannot be the primary motivator. Again, otherwise, we're teaching children to be sneaky. Jonah didn't like God's decision, and he threw a fit. God's here to show us in this book, to show Jonah that obedience in action isn't good enough. We need obedience in heart. We need a heart change. This has to be built on love and trust. God wants to show Jonah that he knows what's best for him. And we need to show our children that what we want for them is best. This book, God could have come down and just said, Jonah, I know what's right, and you need to listen. You need to do this. You have no reason to question who I am. You have no reason to disobey, and you're going to obey. He absolutely had every right to do that. And yet at the end of the book, we see God gently asking Jonah questions. We have every right as parents to come down hard, but that doesn't lead to true heart change. Being gentle with our children will. This leads us to our last point of application. It's this, that we need to trust Godly men and women in our lives around us. Too many times as a pastor, I see people making horrible choices with no input from the people that love them most. The reason that we do this, and the reason that we don't seek out people who love us, Godly men and women around us, is because we know what's wrong. We know what we're doing is wrong. We don't want someone to come and correct us. In my last church, part of my role was to to oversee the Benevolence Fund, which meant that at least twice a week people would come in to request benevolence, and 99% of the time, those people weren't in. They weren't a member of a church. They weren't in a church home. I wrestled with that. I was just baffled that that was the case. In the more and more cases that I saw, I had to come to the conclusion that being in a gospel community, being in a part of people who love you, who care for you, who can speak into your life, that that was a correlation for these people. These people didn't have people in their lives counseling them against horrific decisions that would lead them into terrible situations. That's one of the reasons that I'm asking you guys to have this, to have godly men and women in your life, around you. Find a friend who can offer you wise counsel. Or this is just a tip for men. Men, just ask your wives when you feel like you don't know. I know we say that as a joke, and sometimes we talk about our wives as nagging, But I think the reality is that as husband, sometimes we just don't want accountability. We don't want the wisdom that our wife has to offer us. If you don't have anyone, if you can't think of anyone in your life that can offer you Godly counsel, I want to take that away from you. You might have seen that in the newsletter, in the email that goes out in the last couple of weeks. But pastoral counseling is an offer that I offer to anyone here. It's something that's free. It's something that historically the church has done for 2,000 years. I think we're too fast sometimes to go to therapists or counselors when there are sometimes spiritual matters that we need to. I'm not saying that going to a counselor, going to a therapist is a bad thing. In fact, it's an important thing in different stages of our life. But some things can get handled by free counseling from a pastor. Not only is it a good thing that you'd get good biblical counsel, but maybe you'll save some money, too. I don't know. There's two for one there. As we come to a close, we talked about this this reality of salvation in judgment going hand in hand throughout the Bible. We see this all throughout God's word. This happened in the Garden of Eden. This happened to the Egyptians. They were judged through the Pharaoh's army. They were judged through the Red Sea to save Israel. We ultimately see this on the cross. We ultimately see this on the cross that judgment came down, not on us, but on Jesus, so that way we could be saved. We see this in this story. God hurled a great storm at Jonah. He hurled a great... He hurled his son at the cross. Jonah was thrown into a sea to calm a temporary storm, and Jesus was thrown into death to calm an eternal one. This is why we fear God. We We fear God because he has the power to crush us, and he doesn't. This is why we love him, because he's the only one powerful enough to save us. My question for you today is, where are you running? What are you running from? Where are you running from God in your life? I promise you, Prosper Church, the storm that you're fearing is the one that he wants to save you from. Fear God and run to him. Would you stand with me as we pray and we prepare our hearts for our closing songs? Father God, thank you for who you are, that you are the one who saves us, that you sent your son to be judged in our place, that we would not have to bear that, that we weren't the ones who were crushed for our iniquity, but you sent your son to be crushed for our iniquity. Father God, I pray as we respond in worship for who you are, that coming off of the heels of Reformation Day, that we would worship knowing that you are our only comfort in life and in death, and that we would proclaim that truth throughout all of our life. God, we love you. We love to do your will, so help us do that. It's in your name we pray. Amen. Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Gospel In Three Words Sermon Series Description What is the gospel—really? In a culture filled with spiritual confusion and shallow answers, this three-week series clearly and faithfully explains the core of the Christian faith through three essential words: God, Sin, and Christ . We begin with God , whose holiness, righteousness, and justice establish a perfect standard no one can meet. From there, we confront Sin , not as a surface problem but as a deep condition of the human heart that leaves us desperate for mercy and renewal. Finally, we behold Christ , the supreme and sufficient Savior, who reconciles sinners to God through His death and resurrection. This series is designed to help believers articulate the gospel with clarity and confidence, and to invite skeptics and seekers to see the beauty, seriousness, and hope of Christianity. As we move from God’s holiness, to our need, to Christ’s saving work, we are called to trust God’s justice, confess our sin honestly, and remain steadfast in the gospel that truly saves. The gospel begins with God’s holiness, confronts us with our sin, and offers reconciliation through Christ alone. Christ Colossians 1 Watch Sin Psalm 51 Watch God Habakkuk 1 Watch

Come Thou Long Expected Sermon Series Description When we think of Christmas, we usually think of shepherds, wise men, and angels — and we’ll get there. But Christmas didn’t begin in Bethlehem. It started in the garden when God made a promise that one day someone would come to crush the serpent, restore what was lost, and bring us back to Himself. This Advent, we’re going to walk through that promise, from the garden to the manger, and see how all of history has been pointing us to Jesus. From the ruins of the fall to the birth of the King, God weaves a story of judgment, mercy, and promise—fulfilled in Jesus, the long-expected Savior. The Child Who Fulfills Every Promise Luke 2 Watch Judgement and Mercy Genesis 6, Genesis 7, Genesis 8 Watch Blood on the Ground Genesis 4 Watch The Promise in the Ruins Genesis 3 Watch The Blessing of Abraham Genesis 12 Watch

Upcoming Events Stay Connected Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media for the latest ministry updates. Newsletter Sign Up Contact Us Go Interested in Serving? Go Stay Connected Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media for the latest ministry updates. Newsletter Sign Up Interested in Serving? Go Go Stay Connected Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media for the latest ministry updates.

Upcoming Events Stay Connected Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media for the latest ministry updates. Newsletter Sign Up Contact Us Go Interested in Serving? Go Stay Connected Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media for the latest ministry updates. Newsletter Sign Up Interested in Serving? Go Go Stay Connected Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media for the latest ministry updates.

Upcoming Events Stay Connected Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media for the latest ministry updates. Newsletter Sign Up Contact Us Go Interested in Serving? Go Stay Connected Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media for the latest ministry updates. Newsletter Sign Up Interested in Serving? Go Go Stay Connected Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media for the latest ministry updates.