Sermon Reflections from Jesus is Grace | Alex Hardt | April 7, 2024
As Pastor Alex preached from Luke 15 this Sunday, I caught a vision of the many facets of Jesus’ character. Our God has many attributes to who He is. Some are ones that are for him alone like- sovereign, creator, Savior, glory, Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient and others are ones that He has in perfection but desires that we emulate like love, mercy, justice, goodness, kindness, compassion, patience, etc. From the parables in Luke 15 and Jesus’ actions we can learn much about our Lord. As Pastor Alex noted, Jesus began by confronting the narrow minded thinking of the religious leaders. Luke 15:1-2 “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” The religious leaders were criticizing Jesus for associating with known sinners. Their idea was that their sins were small in comparison and they were more worthy. However, Jesus showed by his actions and words that He is impartial. He loves all sinners and desires that all would come to repentance and faith. 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” The first parable Jesus told the crowd was of the lost sheep. The shepherd loses one sheep and leaves the 99 in search of the lost. His conclusion in verse 15:7 “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” This attitude shows Jesus’ incomprehensible love. It is a love beyond our understanding. Alex put it this way, the pursuit of the lost.. is a reflection of the Father’s love for His children. We do not understand that kind of full love that would lead Him to send his only son to die on our behalf. John 3:16 says it this way, “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God’s love is complete and beyond our understanding. Thanks be to God for His great love for us! The second illustration Jesus told the crowd was of the woman who had 10 silver coins and had lost one. She went in search of this lost coin and like the lost sheep she rejoiced when she found it. Luke 15:10 “ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” This speaks of God’s great joy when someone turns to Him and accepts Jesus as their Savior and Lord by his infinite grace. His joy at our turning to him shows His kindness that we do not deserve. His grace is favor that is undeserved. He gives it freely, feels His joy freely and we did nothing to earn it. The joy of redemption is the restoration of the lost by the GRACE of God! Thanks be to God for His marvelous grace towards us! The last parable in this series is the story of the prodigal son. The son who takes his inheritance and squanders it recklessly. When he comes to his senses in the depth of despair, he realizes at that the servants in his father’s house are better off than he is. He returns home and his father unexpectedly welcomes him home and prepares a feast of celebration. Jesus was trying to explain the concept of mercy and forgiveness. The father is merciful and forgiving towards anyone who repents and turns to Him. Without Him, they were lost and now they are found. They have moved from death to life which is what we do in Christ through our faith in Him. Alex’s statement is so true, only the compassion of the Father can turn sinners into repentant citizens of heaven! The other son who had worked diligently all those years was upset over the father’s welcome feast. However, the father shows understanding and wisdom when he tells the other son in Luke 15:31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” The son who stayed has had the benefit of the father’s love and care all those years and has a full inheritance plus time with the father. The father desires that the other son understand the love, joy and compassion towards the lost when they come home. They were dead and now are alive. Ephesians 2:4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Thanks be to Jesus for His amazing Grace towards us! Linda MESSAGE LINK Click Here to View the Message on Youtube Our Sunday service is online and in-person at 11:00am. Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass Sermon Reflections from Taming The Tongue | Alex Hardt | July 9, 2023 July 16, 2023 James is such a practical book as it is filled with advice and admonitions about how to live our best Christian life. A life where our walk and our talk line up with scripture and are pleasing to God. Pastor Alex took this Sunday to walk us through James Chapter 3 gleaning important truths for us to remember and put into practice. James starts with the admonition to be careful if you are a teacher. At first glance most of us would say- I don’t teach. But all of us are teachers of spiritual truths by the way we speak and act. Our children, spouses, family and neighbors all hear and see our ‘teaching’ each and every day. I know James was talking about teaching spiritual truths and the need for them to be accurate so that we give out the Word of God correctly. We do not want to cause others to deliberately stumble by what we say and do. Take a few minutes and think about a spiritual truth- God is love, God desires us to be just and righteous in Christ, etc. How have others seen these truths in your life? Are you giving a true picture of Christ and His love? James reminds us that we need to be mindful of the messages we give to others and be sure they are aligned with scripture and show who God is. Next James talks about the power of the tongue. It is a small member of our body but used improperly it can do great damage. We only have think about a time we said something to someone that was unkind or hurtful. I’m sure we have all experienced the repercussion of those types of remarks. Pastor Alex talked about the tongue being a container that we carry around with us that can greatly affect everyone and everything. He wanted us to remember that the power of the mouth has the ability to give life to those around us- positive, hope filled encouragement or to give death with putdowns, discouragement, slanderous, and even evil thoughts. We can praise God or curse God with the same tongue. It holds a lot of power and we need to be mindful of how and when we speak. When we are speaking ill of something, it is like using deadly poison or pouring gasoline on a fire. David describes a poisonous person in Psalm 140:1-3 “Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers; protect me from the violent, 2 who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day. 3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips. I know we all agree with David that only the Lord can rescue us from such people and their vile tongues! I love the way James 3 concludes. He talks about 2 kinds of wisdom. Wisdom from God and wisdom of the world. We know we cannot all be perfect but we can seek God’s help, wisdom and guidance to live as best we can for Him. He empowers us through His Holy Spirit to stand firm and resist the devil and his enticing desires. Worldly wisdom is described in James 3:14-15” But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” Worldly wisdom causes strife, bitterness, selfish desires and untruth to grow in our lives. The root of this type of wisdom is unspiritual and of the devil. It is filled with evil desires and leads to chaos. The wisdom of God, by contrast, is described in James 3:17-18 “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” God’s wisdom leads to peace, hope, living well with others, showing others about Jesus and His righteousness. What a contrast- chaos vs peace! Pastor Alex reminded us that God’s Wisdom produces good fruit. James calls it a ‘harvest of righteousness’. Isn’t that what we all truly desire? So how do we get there?
Linda SERMON LINK Click Here to View the Sermon Our Sunday service is online and in-person at 11:00am. Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass. Sermon Reflections from A Hospital for the Wounded and Weak | Alex Hardt | February 5, 2023
In Sunday’s message, Pastor Alex focused on the who Jesus came for and why he came. The passage in Luke 5:27-32 opens with Levi being confronted with Jesus and responding to his invitational command to ‘follow me’. When did you receive Jesus’ invitation to follow him? If you know him as Savior, at some point you decided to follow Jesus. Many who have known Jesus for a long time, since childhood, have difficulty pointing to an exact time when they decided. However, if you see the fruit of your decision – the desire to learn more about Him, to tell others about Him and Serve Him, then don’t let the timing bother you. Have you considered why you said yes? Was it an emotional response to a call from a pastor, was it during a bible study or was it from seeing God’s grandeur in nature? God can and does use all of these situations to lead us into the realization that we need Him! The realization that we are sinful and cannot be holy through any efforts of our own comes from Him. We can never be good enough in and of ourselves. When Jesus calls us and we realize that He is connecting with our heart, mind and soul, then we respond with a resounding YES! Our hearts connect with His love and tenderness, and we encounter His lasting forgiveness. When this happened to Levi, he dropped everything, left his corrupt lifestyle and stepped out in faith to follow Jesus. Levi was undesirable and looked down upon by both Romans and Jews. Yet, Jesus singled him out and called him. The definition of grace is the undeserved favor of God. Levi had not earned God’s favor in any way and yet, Jesus chose him. Each of us who responds to Jesus are sinners undeserving of God’s love and forgiveness, and yet, like Levi, God calls us to himself. I love Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We see in our passage Levi’s response to God’s grace was to drop everything and follow him. That is how it has to be, drop everything and follow Him. He is worthy of all our praise and love and is more valuable than anything or anyone. What do you need to drop this week in pursuit of Jesus? Where can you make time for prayer, study of His Word or fellowship with other believers? We see from the passage that Levi wanted to tell everyone about his new found love for Jesus. He hosted a large dinner party at his home. It is significant that he did not try to do this secretly but openly invited all those he knew. The Pharisees who criticized the disciples of Jesus about why they would lower themselves to associate with tax collectors and sinners were probably not coming inside to eat with them. They would not have wanted to be defiled by eating in their presence. They would have stood outside the home and spoke with the attendees from outside. In Luke 5:31-32 “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” Jesus was not suggesting that the Pharisee’s were healthy in their faith but that those who realize they need a doctor, someone to save and cleanse them, are the ones Jesus came for. Following Jesus requires a repentant open heart. Levi had been open and recognized his sinful nature and became a follower of Jesus. The result was a change of heart, mind and body towards his whole world. 2 Corinthians 5:17 describes this change succinctly, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Doesn’t that sound like what happened to Levi? Peter writes and gives us the why of this miraculous transformation in 1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Knowing and following Christ changes us because we have new hope, a new life and a new forgiven perspective in Jesus! Praise God! Pastor’s last point was that Levi experienced joy in this new found life with Jesus. Likewise, we find Joy in Jesus. Sometimes this is not easy as we have many things in the world that would seek to rob us of this joy. Difficult circumstances, hardships, painful relationships, death of loved ones, sickness…., the world is filled with things that would love to take away our joy. Satan works overtime to defeat our joy filled walk with Christ. He cannot take away our salvation but he can destroy our witness and rob us of joy. To counteract this, one must put things aside, and immediately follow Jesus. Focus upon Him and the provision he provides for us spiritually (indwelling of the Holy Spirit), emotionally (a home in heaven, salvation assurance, hope) and physically (casting away our sins, providing for us in so many ways). Scripture is filled with verses that seek to uplift and remind us of who God is and how much He loves and cares for us. Here are a couple of my favorites: Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” Nehemiah 8:10b “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” Regardless of your circumstances is your attitude like Habakkuk’s in Habakkuk 3:18? “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” When we choose to follow Jesus, joy comes and we need to learn to be open to it, accept it whenever and however it appears with gratitude and grace, knowing it is from Jesus! Levi did and he was mightily blessed and blessed those around him. He continues to bless us as we read his story and share in his joy. Know that just like Levi, Jesus came for you and me and died to bring us into His forever family. We now have a new life, a new perspective and a new hope in Jesus. Following Him brings it to us with joy an abundance! Praise God! Linda SERMON LINK The Unknown Love | A Hospital For the Wounded and Weak Click Here to View the Sermon Sermon series, "The Unknown Love " Today Alex Hardt share how to Christ is A Hospital For the Wounded and Weak If you are local, please join us for our weekly service. Our Sunday service is held at 11:00am. Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass. |
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