Sermon Date: January 7, 2024

Matthew 28:18-20:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Titus 3:1-8:
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”

Sermon Date: December 31, 2023

2 Corinthians 5:17-21:
“¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15:
“¹ There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: ² a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, ³ a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. ⁹ What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil – this is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure for ever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him. ¹⁵ Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.”

Sermon Date: December 25, 2023

Joy to the World, The Lord is Come!

John 1:14:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Sermon Date: December 24, 2023, Christmas Eve

O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us to-day.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
Oh, come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!

Sermon Date: December 24, 2023

Luke 1:46:
“My Soul magnifies the Lord, and my soul rejoices in God my Saviour.”

Read Galatians 5:13-26. The battle of Satan versus God in the world.

Sermon Date: December 17, 2023

Joy to the World

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.

Sermon Date: December 10, 2023

Prayer of the Day

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sermon Date: December 3, 2023

Advent; A Marriage Proposal

Isaiah 43:1-5:
“¹ Israel, the Lord who created you says, “Do not be afraid—I will save you. I have called you by name — you are mine. ² When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you. ³ For I am the Lord your God, the holy God of Israel, who saves you. I will give up Egypt to set you free; I will give up Ethiopia and Seba. ⁴ I will give up whole nations to save your life, because you are precious to me and because I love you and give you honor. ⁵ Do not be afraid — I am with you! “From the distant east and the farthest west, I will bring your people home.”

Isaiah 43:10-13:
“¹⁰ People of Israel, you are my witnesses; I chose you to be my servant, so that you would know me and believe in me and understand that I am the only God. Besides me there is no other god; there never was and never will be. ¹¹ “I alone am the Lord, the only one who can save you. ¹² I predicted what would happen, and then I came to your aid. No foreign god has ever done this; you are my witnesses. ¹³ I am God and always will be. No one can escape from my power; no one can change what I do.”

Isaiah 43:18-19:
“¹⁸ “But the Lord says, “Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. ¹⁹ Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already — you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.”

Joel 2:12-13:
“¹² ‘But even now,’ says the Lord, ‘repent sincerely and return to me with fasting and weeping and mourning. ¹³ Let your broken heart show your sorrow; tearing your clothes is not enough.’ Come back to the Lord your God. He is kind and full of mercy; he is patient and keeps his promise; he is always ready to forgive and not punish.”

Isaiah 62:1-5:
“¹ I will speak out to encourage Jerusalem; I will not be silent until she is saved, And her victory shines like a torch in the night. ² Jerusalem, the nations will see you victorious! All their kings will see your glory. You will be called by a new name, A name given by the Lord himself. ³ You will be like a beautiful crown for the Lord. ⁴ No longer will you be called “Forsaken,” Or your land be called “The Deserted Wife.” Your new name will be “God Is Pleased with Her.” Your land will be called “Happily Married,” And will be like a husband to your land. ⁵ Like a young man taking a virgin as his bride, He who formed you will marry you. As a groom is delighted with his bride, So
your God will delight in you.”

Sermon Date: November 26, 2023

“We Care, to Share, to Dare, and to be Different for Jesus”
Matthew 25:31-46:

“When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne, and the people of all the nations will be gathered before him. Then he will divide them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the righteous people at his right and the others at his left. Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’ The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Away from me, you that are under God’s curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels! I was hungry but you would not feed me, thirsty but you would not give me a drink; I was a stranger but you would not welcome me in your homes, naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison but you would not take care of me.’ Then they will answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and we would not help you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me.’ These, then, will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life.”