Sermon Video: Ruth approaches Boaz - Ruth 3:1-18

As the story of Ruth continues in this fourth part of five, Ruth embarks upon a seemingly bold plan given to her by her mother-in-law Naomi to confront Boaz with his status as a kinsman-redeemer and prompt him to make a decision about marrying Ruth.  The plan, though seemingly very odd in our minds, works as Boaz agrees to marry Ruth, a decision he arrives at quickly once he realizes that Ruth is even interested in an older man like him.  Throughout this process, Boaz has shown himself to be above reproach.  We have already seen his kindness in action, in this episode he displays the fortitude that resists sexual temptation, as well as the honesty that resists taking the easy way out (he informs Ruth of the closer kinsman-redeemer).  Boaz is not willing to falsely elevate the pursuit of happiness above the maintenance of righteousness, a character trait we all ought to imitate.  It is possible for God's people to live according to righteousness, in the small things and the big things, by grace; Boaz is proof enough of that.

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Sermon Video: The grace of God has appeared - Titus 2:11-12

There are many ways that we learn things in life, from watching others to being taught by the spoken or written word, to the life lessons that we only learn through experience.  Knowledge of the things that we need to know about God also comes in a variety of forms.  We most often think of the Word of God as our primary teacher, whether we're reading it or having it explained to us, or perhaps the Holy Spirit as our guide, but we must also learn from the experience of being born again and transformed by our faith, by God's love for us, and as Paul explains in Titus 2:11-12, by our experience of the grace of God.
When God's grace if poured out upon us, bringing healing and forgiveness to our undeserved and unearned souls, it also acts as a powerful teacher to spur us on in our Christian faith to both say "no" to sin, and to say "yes" to living for righteousness.  The Word of God and the Holy Spirit are great and helping us see what we should and should not do as Christians, grace offers us motivation as to how we can accomplish the difficult task of living like Jesus.  Paul's combination of saying "no" to ungodliness and worldly passions, while at the same time saying "yes" to self-control, upright living, and godly lives, reminds us that our faith cannot simply be defined by what Christians say "no" to, it must go one beyond that to fully embrace the life or righteousness that God intends for us here and now, as Paul says, "in this present age".

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Sermon Video: The faithfulness of Asa - 2 Chronicles 14-15

History is full of the stories of heroes and villains who attempted or accomplished dramatic things.  Far less well known are the builders, creators, and reformers whose efforts often go unnoticed even though their impact is not.  One such less well known but not less accomplished person in the Bible is the King of Judah, Asa.  Asa was the son of Abijah, a war hero who only reigned for three years, but he didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps.  The kingdom of Israel, which had rebelled against Asa’s grandfather Rehoboam, was exceedingly weakened by Abijah’s victory over them in battle, but Asa didn’t press forward to try to reclaim the land that Rehoboam’s pride had forfeited.  Instead, Asa chose a path of peace.  The temptation to seek glory in war was overshadowed in his mind by the need to work for reform amongst his own people.

                The focus of Asa’s reign as king was the destruction of the idols and altars of foreign gods that had existed in Judah since the days of Solomon.  This cancer upon the spiritual faithfulness of God’s covenant people had grown and was long overdue for removal.  When Asa came to the throne, he used his power and authority on behalf of the cause of moral purity, following the commands of the Word of God.  To remove idolatry would not be enough, however, Asa also urged his people to renew their efforts to follow the Law.  Whenever we seek to combat sin, we only do part of the needed task if we don’t replace sin with righteousness.  Our hearts abhor a vacuum, if sin is removed it will return again if the right and the good have not filled its place.

                Asa also prepared his people for war, building up the nation’s defenses, even in a time of peace.  This foresight proved valuable when the nation was invaded, but even though he had prepared ahead of time, Asa still cried out to the LORD for deliverance.  Asa’s mixture of prudence and reliance upon God is certainly worth emulating in our own lives.  We can and should use our mind and resources to prepare for the uncertainty of the future, and we certainly still need to rely upon the Lord when that day of trouble comes.

                After all of these victories, God sends the prophet Azariah to warn the people against the danger of wandering away during the good times.  God promises to always remain as long as his people are faithful, but warns them that if they leave him, he won’t stick around.  This reminds us that we have a relationship with God, something that requires commitment from both sides.  If we abandon God, how can we expect to still have a relationship?  To protect against such a mistake, Asa encourages the people to rededicate themselves to God, offering sacrifices and taking new oaths of fidelity.  The concluding commentary is encouraging, “They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them.  So the LORD gave them rest on every side.”

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Sermon Video: Taking the bread and cup in a worthy manner - I Corinthians 11:27-32

The Church in Corinth had a unity problem.  In Paul’s first letter to this church, he writes disapprovingly about their approach to the communal meal that included their celebration of Communion.  As part of that discussion Paul warns against anyone who “eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner.” (I Corinthians 11:27)  What does it mean to take Communion in an “unworthy” manner?  Paul goes on to describe the judgment that will come from God against those who do this, so figuring out what he means is important to us.

            For the Church in Corinth the primary issue was unity, that lesson will apply to some churches and some Christians who struggle with the issue of placing the bond of Christ above all other distinctions.  But for others, the issue of not being “unworthy” reflects the larger principle of maintaining a proper relationship with God.  We know that anyone who approaches Communion in an irreverent or flippant way would be mocking the table of the Lord, but what of those whose fault is that they approach Communion while still walking in darkness?  Because God desires a relationship with his people, a relationship defined by his character and Law, it is unacceptable for the people of God to try to serve two masters by keeping one foot in the world of sin and one foot in the kingdom of God.  Such hypocrisy is self-destructive; it will lead to our own physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual demise.  We cannot come to the Communion table with an unrepentant heart beholden to wickedness.

            What is Paul’s solution to the danger of being “unworthy”?  Judge yourself.  Take the time to examine your own heart and mind to see if there is anything there that is causing, or could cause, damage to your relationship with your heavenly Father.  We know that it is necessary to be proactive in our marriages, necessary to put in the time and effort to keep the passion alive.  Our spouse doesn’t deserve to be ignored, neglected, and certainly not cheated upon.  Why would our relationship with God deserve any less?

            In a nation where the majority of people self-identify as Christians, there should not  be such high rates of abortion, divorce, infidelity, gambling, drug addiction, fraud, and whatever other vice you want to consider.  These problems are not simply problem outside our churches; these sins infect the body of Christ.  When the Church of Jesus Christ stars choosing righteousness over wickedness, when the Church takes its marriage vow as the bride of Christ seriously, our society will change.  It is no wonder when the Lost act according to their sin nature, but the people of God are supposed to be different.  We have been washed clean by the precious blood of the Lamb; we cannot walk in darkness and have fellowship with our Savior. 

            Why do we take Communion, why do we go to Church, why do we volunteer to serve?  All these and more are ways in which we can fill up our lives with righteousness and holiness.  The key to avoiding sin is not simply avoiding temptation.  Success against temptation will be found when we leave no room in our lives for sin to take root.  Let us them examine ourselves, confess our sins, and approach the table of the Lord with humility as we do what is necessary to build up our relationship with God and indeed be “worthy” of that union.

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Sermon Video: We Can't Save Ourselves - Isaiah 64:4-9

Continuing along the rode through Isaiah that explains the need for the Cross, we come to Isaiah’s explanation as to why the people of God cannot repair the damage caused by their sinfulness on their own. Isaiah begins by reminding his audience that there are no other gods to turn to, that only God has shown care for those who follow him. The lack of other options beyond God makes sense when connected to the end of verse five where the lack of commitment to the Law of God shows that the descendant of Abraham are truly in trouble because of their disobedience. Isaiah asks, “How then can we be saved?”


That the answer to Isaiah’s question is, “we can’t do it ourselves, we need God to save us” is made painfully clean when Isaiah shares three metaphors that explain the inability of even God’s people to rectify the situation themselves. The first, that we are all “unclean” connects to the Law’s designation of some people as being temporarily unclean, a status that could be changed, but on that prevented fellowship until it was solved. That the entirety of God’s people could be designated as “unclean” despite their many sacrifices is a sobering thought that explains the seriousness of the damage done by sin to the relationship with God.

The second metaphor is even more shocking, Isaiah says that, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags”. That righteous deeds could be nullified because of the impure hears of those doing them is another illustration that this is a relationship with God that we’re talking about; God isn’t just some cosmic good vs. evil meter, our hearts matter too. The “filthy rags” of the NIV (and most English translations) are literally a Hebrew euphemism for a woman’s menstrual cloths. In other words, Isaiah actually said, “all our righteous acts are like bloody tampons”; point taken.

Lastly, Isaiah compares God’s people to leaves that have fallen from the tree, shriveled up, and blown away. There is no hope for that leaf, its days are over; so too are we hopeless unless God rescues us.

The last portion of the passage is an appeal to God as our Father, Creator, and Judge to save us despite our sin, to remember that he is the one who initiated the relationship, and appeal to God’s mercy. Why did Jesus have to walk to Calvary, because mankind had wandered away from God, and we don’t have the ability to walk back on our own.

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