This familiar psalm reminds us that the ultimate worker and provider in all our endeavors is the LORD. While the natural principle of cause and effect is indeed taught in Scripture, this psalm shows us that that principle must always be accompanied by the understanding that the LORD is the crucial provider in all our affairs. Whether it's our homes or the house of God, our greatest need is the LORD’s provision. In this unique psalm of Solomon, the Holy Spirit teaches us that human strength and ingenuity alone do not guarantee success. It is the LORD and His provision that ensure true success. May we learn to pray, depend on the LORD, and carry out His work with hearts that wait on Him.
Revelation 7 shows that the wrath of the Lamb will be poured out on those who dwell on the earth, not upon Jesus’ own beloved people. John is shown two groups that will stand despite the intense judgments to come and contrary to the unbelievers’ outcry (6:17): the 144K Israelites and the raptured Gentile church of God. This sermon is part one of two sermons on Revelation 7 on the important topic of the rapture and its implications.
Micah prophesied of the Messiah that He is the LORD God and that He is the shepherd over His people. This is the true message of Christmas that woos us to worship Christ, to love, honor, and serve Him. May we ponder deeply the wonder of Christmas, that the LORD, the eternal God, came from heaven in human flesh, born in Bethlehem, born of a woman, in the person of Jesus, to seek and save that which was lost and to shepherd all His elect who repent and trust in Him, to guide them away from sin and in the pathway of sanctification all the way home to glory.
The future is the reign of God in heaven becoming a reality on earth. Christ overcomes the world with judgments and He will reign on the earth with His people.
What the triune God reveals in this book is the imminent coming of the grand finale to history as prophesied in the OT: the second coming of Christ.
God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are a biblical paradox. They do indeed work together, though they appear to be contradictory.
The human conscience, given by God, acts as a moral compass, convicting us of guilt when we sin. This sense of guilt is universal, affecting all people, whether they acknowledge God or not. Yet, no human effort—neither good deeds nor rituals—can cleanse this guilt or make us right before Him. Even the sacrifices prescribed in the Old Testament could only temporarily cover sin without fully purifying the worshiper.
The lesson of Hebrews 9:14 reveals that the only way to achieve a clean conscience is through the blood of Jesus. His sacrifice, offered without blemish, washes away the guilt that weighs on our hearts. In doing so, it not only frees us from the shame of sin but also gives us a renewed purpose: to serve the living God with a life directed by His grace and truth. Through Christ, we find the ultimate freedom and a conscience made clean.
Through His death, Jesus accomplished three essential purposes. First, He fulfilled the Old Covenant by perfectly keeping the law and meeting its requirements on our behalf. Second, His death established the New Covenant, offering believers complete forgiveness of sins and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Finally, the New Covenant grants direct access to God, allowing us to approach Him freely through Christ. These three truths reveal how Jesus’ sacrifice transforms our relationship with God.
Jesus’ death on the cross opened salvation to everyone, uniting Jews and Gentiles into one family of God. While the Jews were God’s chosen people in the Old Testament, tasked with carrying His promises and the Law, Christ’s sacrifice fulfilled God’s plan to extend grace to all, as promised through Abraham’s seed (Acts 3:25). Now, all who believe—regardless of background—are part of God’s family, heirs of His promises, and one in Christ, with no distinction between Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female (Galatians 3:28).
Jesus shows Himself to the apostles and gives them a global mission.
How can people know and worship God? Christmas celebrates when the eternal Word came into the world, bringing life in Him. But even more so, Jesus came to truly show us who God is.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but God’s work or plans with His Son began far, far before then. The Son of God has always existed and came to bring new life and light to the world.
