HE IS PREEMINENT. MAKE HIM SO IN YOUR LIFE

In Colossians 1:15-20, the Apostle Paul pens a hymn that gives us what some scholars say is “the highest Christology” in the entire Bible. Having seen the whole Christ, the humiliated and exalted Christ, Paul declares that Jesus is preeminent. He is first - in every way that matters.

As we enter into a new year as a church, the pastoral team wants to encourage you to give Jesus first place in your life, but in four areas in particular:

1. In your affections and desires

2. In your relationships

3. In your sexuality

4. In your parenting

If you haven’t yet listened to this sermon, we’d highly encourage you to. As a church, may Christ be preeminent in our lives!

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

JESUS SHARES WITH US THE ROLES THAT HE FULFILLED

The Gospel message tells us that Jesus came to earth, took on flesh and fulfilled the roles of prophet, priest and king in ways that no human in history ever had before Him, namely in a perfect way. We are the beneficiaries. Yet, our benefits don’t end there. In our union with Him, we actually inherit and share in those roles as we represent Jesus to the world. The Church has become a royal people, a priesthood and a people who speak as His ambassadors. Listen to the last sermon of 2021 and be encouraged as your bear the name of Christ to your neighbors.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

THE BIRTH OF JESUS IS A ROYAL SUMMONS

You may not sense a driving need in your life for a king, but you and everyone around you wants a certain kind of kingdom. You want the world you live in to look a particular way. You think others ought to act a particular way. You want a kingdom. But there is no kingdom without a king. Jesus was born to rule as king over the only kingdom that will last forever. His birth, then, is a summons. Will you receive His summons by repentance and faith or will you reject His summons and live outside His kingdom? Learn more in last week’s 4th Advent message.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

JESUS WAS BORN TO STAND ONCE AND SIT FOREVER

Few among us live our daily lives thinking, “I need a priest.” Such a thought conjures images of men in black robes and sacrificial altars. But a priest’s role and function is fundamentally that of a mediator. You and I objectively and desperately need a mediator. We need someone to arbitrate the divine dilemma between us and God. We need someone to solve the problem of sin we can’t solve. We need someone who doesn’t have to first atone for their sin and then the sins of others. We need someone who can offer a perfect sacrifice and not have to stand daily at their service. On the first Christmas morning, Jesus was born to perfectly satisfy that need. Listen to last Sunday’s third Advent message from Hebrews 10:1-18 to hear more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

JESUS REVEALS THE TRUTH WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT

Prophets are those who received God’s words and spoke them to God’s people. God’s people of old needed them because without them they’d live in ignorance. They wouldn’t know the will of God or the way they could return to God when they’d fail to keep his will. The prophets pointed the people back to God the King and his appointed priests. We need them because as Thomas Edison once said, all “mankind is incurably religious,” and by nature we’re all bent to serve kings and seek out priests who will keep us in good standing with them. We all seek out someone or something to follow and worship. But, apart from the light of God’s word breaking into our darkness, we’ll never receive or be reconciled to the one true God.

This is why Jesus came. He came and fulfilled the office of prophet in order to provide the truth without which we can’t make sense of life. But even more than that, he came to announce the truth without which we could not be made alive - set free from sin and death in order to live with God both now and forever. Jesus is the ultimate prophet who came to most fully and finally reveal the truth about: what God wants, who God is, and how sinful and separated man, could be reconciled to him. Listen to the second message in our 2021 Advent sermon series from Hebrews 1:1-4 to learn more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

JESUS IS GOD’S MAN AND THE GOD-MAN

1 Samuel and the Old Testament as a whole cause us as readers to wonder, “will there ever be a good king? Or a perfect priest? Or the promised prophet like Moses? Jesus’ arrival into this world and subsequent baptism followed by the Father’s declaration, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17), were essentially a loud yes to the above questions. Which of those three questions? All of them.

The title of Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) is translated into English as “anointed one”, which in layman’s terms simply means “the one God appointed”: God’s man. Christ’s identity as God’s Messiah implies that in Him is perfected every role and office that every man and woman in the Old Testament failed to perfect. Jesus is the sum of all our needs; the sum of all necessary parts. Yet, this Christmas season, we need to remember that Jesus did not become the sum of all parts just to be one part of your life. He came and has always existed to stand at the center of your life and all things. Listen to the first message in our 2021 advent series to learn more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

WE NEED A KING WHO OBEYS THE FATHER COMPLETELY

In 1 Samuel 15, after Saul had presumed to undertake the role and priest and prophet and failed in chapter 13 and 14, he finally and tragically fails in his anointed role as king and God strips his kingdom away from him. In what way did he fail? He only partially obeyed God’s Word. In last Sunday’s sermon, pastor Kyle explained that God did not give Saul his kingdom to turn and only obey some of His commands. However, where Saul failed, Jesus, the King of Kings, succeeded and fully conquered sin and death in us, bringing salvation to our souls. Like Saul, though, we didn't receive salvation only then to turn and allow sin to remain in our hearts. Listen to the sermon to learn more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

WE NEED TO HEAR FROM GOD

Throughout the book of 1 Samuel, the Old Testament offices of Prophet, Priest and King rise to the surface over and over. As Saul is anointed as Israel’s first king, he then presumes to act in both the prophetic and priestly roles in chapters 13-15, begging the question, “will this man whom the people want prove to be the prophet, priest and king that they need?”. Chapter 13 answers that he is sadly not the priest they need. Chapter 14 answers that he’s not the prophet they need; he’s not suited to speak as God’s representative to His people because he doesn’t seek God’s heart. Saul shows us how desperately we need to hear from God Himself and Jesus has satisfied that need. Listen to last Sunday’s sermon to learn more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

GOD WANTS OUR OBEDIENCE AND HE’S AFTER OUR HEARTS

In 1 Samuel 13, Saul proves that he’s not the “man after God’s own heart” that God’s people needed to lead them. When things became difficult and stressful, he relied on his own wisdom and strategies to find a solution, even though he very clear knew what obedience looked like. In our lives, we’re drawn daily by similar temptations to value convenience or comfort over obedience, despite the fact that it may very well be inconvenient. The good news of the Gospel, though, is that Jesus always did the Father’s will and even graciously gave His perfect record of obedience to us through His cross. So, next time, when you do choose convenience over obedience, run first to Christ in faith and then ask Him for the strength to obey despite however inconvenient it might be.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

BUT YOU CAN’T OVERESTIMATE GOD’S MERCIFUL COMMITMENT

On Sunday, we heard Pastor Jeff preach from 1 Samuel 12, where Samuel addresses Israel one final time and pulls the cover off their sin of desiring a king. His aim was to show Israel that they had drifted away from their God to the point of rejection. Yet, they didn't see the gravity of their sin until they were fully committed to their sin. They had drifted farther than they realized. But what’s even more apparent than their sin in the text is the strength of God’s commitment - to His own glory. Because He had called them His people, He refused to forsake them. The same is true of those who have been adopted into God’s family through the blood of Christ. Though you may have drifted far - and may yet drift again - God’s commitment to you in Christ remains steadfast.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE