Do you need a priest? Believers will probably answer yes to that question, but have you thought deeply about your need for one? Have you considered how you functionally ask other people, tasks, efforts, achievements, etc. to act as your priest? “Go before me and win me favor,” might not be something you say, but it’s often something we feel. 

This Christmas, we’re going to consider the role of our Savior as our Priest. My prayer as we engage the Scripture is that we’ll deepen our understanding of and affection for Christ as our High Priest, not only to advance our worship of Him, but to functionally lean on Him in that role. Join us as we begin our celebration of His birth in a new sermon series, Born to Intercede; Jesus, our High Priest.

Many of you have heard the testimony of Rosaria Butterfield, a former tenured professor of English and women’s studies at Syracuse University, with a Ph.D. from Ohio State. She was a lesbian in a long-term relationship, teaching and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and policies. In 1999 through the ministry of a local pastor and his wife, she came to faith in Christ as they ate meals, read scripture, and answered her questions. She married a PCA pastor in North Carolina, raised her children,  and now advocates in churches, urging them to stand for the Biblical teaching on heteronormativity in God’s created order. She has spoken before school boards and congress as God opens doors for her to share biblical truth. What a story! Some of us were recently able to attend her lecture at Johnson Ferry Baptist.

We’ve spent the last few years in Romans. This Sunday, I want you to meet its human author, the Apostle Paul. We’ll recount his life story and pick up statements that help us see how the gospel transformed his life. He was an advocate for the law, righteousness by works, and strict ceremonial practice. He persecuted the church and consented to the martyrdom of Stephen. But God transformed his life and made him a chosen servant of Jesus Christ. Join us as we worship the One whose gospel changes lives.

In honor of Veteran’s Day, did you know that Operation Overlord, the code name for the June 6, 1944 invasion of Normandy, was one of the most highly kept secrets in military history? In fact, the allied nations (Britain, Canada, and the US) created a false flag operation, code named Operation Fortitude, to deceive the Germans into thinking the invasion was headed to Calais. The diversion came with the staging of a fake army in the southeast of England, complete with inflatable tanks, wooden planes, and fake radio traffic. Hitler took the bait and kept over 200,000 soldiers in Calais awaiting the invasion. When the allies launched the invasion, Hitler was caught flat footed, and while his troops were dug in at Normandy, they were not fortified and fell to the invasion. 

Did you know that God kept a secret? His prophets alluded to it, hinted at it, but never fully revealed God’s plan. He waited until the time was right (fullness of time) to launch Operation Gentile Redemption (ok, I made that title up). The prophets were clear that Messiah was coming, but they didn’t anticipate the full invitation of the Gentiles into His family. Paul reminds us that God has commanded the full disclosure of His plan through his preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The mystery has now been revealed! Join us as we worship the Redeemer, celebrate the beauty of the church, and glorify God!

Have you ever left a conversation with someone feeling greater amounts of guilt and shame then when you engaged the person? I remember visiting a neighbor who walked me through his home detailing all the improvements that he had made. His home and mine had the same exact layout, but his was fully updated. While I left with ideas of improvements that I could make, I also left feeling like I had fallen short of the standard. Maybe some of that was my own insecurity, but some was the manner he communicated the improvements. I walked away feeling behind on my home projects. I’m sure that I’ve done that to others in areas I am more competent in than home improvement.

In our text, the Apostle Paul warns us to be alert to people who walk into the church creating tiers of spirituality and tasks to perform for acceptance. He tells the church that this is the work of our adversary, Satan, whom God will soon crush under our feet. It’s interesting language because it’s words that the Father speaks to Christ, saying, sit here until I make your enemies your footstool, and points to Christ’s victory, being our victory. Join us as we celebrate Christ.

Tim, there are three critical decisions that you need to make in life: who you will live your life for; who you will live your life with; and, what you will spend your life doing. I heard this lesson with broad explanation for each decision my entire childhood. My dad was committed to challenging me to see the critical nature of these decisions. Well, God’s Spirit captured my heart early in life, called me to ministry as a teenager, and then led me to Debbie in my mid-twenties. Beyond this and other conversations that we had, my dad made my involvement in church a critical part of my upbringing, including providing me a Christian high school education.

This Sunday, we’re going to emphasize our role as parents to disciple our children and consider the responsibility of the covenant community to partner with parents in their role. While we accept our responsibilities, we labor in dependence on God’s Spirit to do the heart work that our children need. Join us as we pray for our children and worship the One who loves them more than we do!

One of my favorite movies is Mel Gibson’s We Were Soldiers. It’s a tribute to the men who served in the 7th Cavalry in Vietnam. At the end of the movie, Mel stands before the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. before the panel of men who died from the 7th Cav. In addition the names of the men who served are listed, those who died and those who survived. Each of these names are significant and tell a unique story.

In our text Sunday, the Apostle Paul, by his secretary Tertius, concludes the letter to the Romans by listing names of people who are partners in ministry. Why does Paul do this? What is he communicating through this list? What story do their names tell?  Join us Sunday as we rejoice in the history of people who have served and influenced the church and the One who called and filled them with His Spirit.

Winston Churchill, the fiery Prime Minister of Britain during WW2, was constantly fighting two battles. The first was the war against Hitler’s Germany. He was constantly planning attacks, managing supply lines, motivating and assuring a nation through public speeches, and maintaining diplomatic relationships with other nations, especially American President, Franklin D Roosevelt. The war effort was the focus; it was the eminent threat and the pressing need. The second battle was the political war in parliament. He was constantly battling the infighting in his own cabinet, his war committee, and his opposition party. In his famous speech, Blood, toil, tears, and sweat, he urged politicians to drop old rivalries, saying “let pre-war feuds die; let personal quarrels be forgotten, and let us keep our hatreds for the common enemy.” He knew that internal dissention would be the death knell of the nation that faced obliteration by Hitler.

In our text, Paul is explaining to the church his mandate, urging them to get focused. He ends by appealing to them to partner with his efforts. Paul’s great desire was service to Christ by spreading the gospel all the way into Spain. Most of his epistles (letters) were direct corrections of the churches to get them focused on the bigger mission of evangelism. It’s a great text to call us to ask, What do we see? How far is our vision? Join us as we worship our Ambassador from Heaven, Jesus Christ, and renew our commitment to His mission.

As a younger man, I listened to a seminar on the volatility in the stock market, the devaluing of the dollar both nationally and globally, and the way the national and international banks manipulate the economy. It got me worked up and I went home to tell my dad what I had learned. I was so excited to share what I learned and convince him to act. Before I even finished the story, my experienced dad interjected, “Let me guess, you want me to buy gold?” He totally beat me to the punch! He had heard those arguments before. So instead of buying gold, I got instruction.

Paul says the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). But, if our minds are consumed with matters of performance and purity our evangelism, our excitement to spread the gospel gets stifled. Our next section in Romans is Paul sharing his ministry plans as he delights in something better than gold! Join us as we celebrate the gospel and worship the gospel Giver!

In our text Sunday, the Apostle Paul is leading us to his benediction in Romans 15:13, Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. The opening words, God of hope, might confuse us: Is God the author of hope or the object of our hope? The preceding text answers that question, saying in essence, welcome each other regardless of ethnic differences because Christ served both Jew and Gentile. For the Jew, He kept God’s promises, while for the Gentiles, He showed God’s mercy by making them family. Clearly, God is the object of our hope!

Join us Sunday as we worship God, the object of our hope!

If you’re a parent, you’ve probably had that moment when you’re in a store and your child is acting out. In that moment, you try to respond appropriately to calm and direct your child, but you feel it, all the eyes in the store are on YOU! You can feel the judgmental stares piercing your soul, and you know what they are thinking to themselves: Why doesn’t he get his kid under control? Probably a bad parent. My kids would never do that. In that moment, my reputation as a parent, what others are thinking about me, and similar thoughts can dominate my thinking; or I can brush off the embarrassment and shame to patiently address my child’s needs.

That feeling of embarrassment and shame is what Paul is addressing. The Jewish Christians, with their strictly formed consciences could create some awkward situations in public. It would be easier to avoid them in the markets, hiding behind the frozen food section, avoiding association with someone who is culturally out of step because of their religious traditions. But Paul brings us right into gospel truth, saying of Christ, The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. Christ embraced us even though we are unclean and out of step. He isn’t concerned with the shame that we bring upon Him because He loves us!

Worship with us Sunday as we celebrate the grace and humility of Christ!