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Joy is a result of our Christian walk. That joy - part of the blessing of God - is visible and beautiful to a world that was made to know joy. We are meant to not only enjoy God's blessings, but to BE a blessing to the whole world.
The Fall of Man adversely affected everything, including our God-given mandate to work. Work is an essential part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus and live out our mandate and calling. Yet for many of us, our view of work has been distorted into thinking that work is an inconvenience or even an evil to be avoided. When we approach work with a Kingdom of God perspective, the element of work in our lives can be a satisfying, fulfilling, and even transformative aspect of our discipleship.
Our culture and society praises very individualistic, independent lives, but scripture never talks about solitary Christians. We are meant to be in communities of faith. Even the Lord's prayer is written as from a plural perspective referring to "our" Father and "our" sins. Community is an essential element of our faith and in this sermon, we look at how Psalm 133 encourages that aspect of our discipleship.
While we may think of prayer as natural, Jesus needed to take time to teach His disciples to pray. Like Him, we need time in prayer with our Heavenly Father. Looking at Jesus' teachings on prayer, we see that prayer is meant to be bold, persistent, and that the answer to all of our prayers is fulfilled in the Holy Spirit.
Many Christians are not living their spiritual potential because they aren't feeding themselves properly. The Word of God, both spoken and written, are essential elements of our daily walk.
This week we look at how the first element of the Christian life is repentance. Repentance doesn't cause us to look at ourselves, but causes us to realize that we're meant for a different world - the Kingdom of God. Repentance, then, leads us on a pilgrimage through holiness - the idea of being separate from the world, but united with God.
Our spiritual walks are meant to be such that we abide with God, day in and day out. In order to be healthy, maturing disciples, there are basic components that must be a regular part of our lives. Pastor Josh introduces this new sermon series, "Elements", by discussing how our reliance on the Holy Spirit and pursuit of Jesus must be a 7 day a week adventure.
When the disciples discovered that Jesus' tomb was empty, they weren't really sure what to do next - so they just went home or went on with their normal routines. In this sermon, Administrative Pastor Leah Pavel shares from the story of the disciples on the Emmaus road to show that Jesus was revealing himself to his disciples and teaching them to recognize Him. Likewise, we must look for Jesus in unexpected places and ways and learn to pay attention when He is "burning in our hearts" so that we learn to hear and discern the voice of the Lord.
As Jesus entered Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, the crowds gathered to worship Him, shouting 'Hosanna' and laying down palm branches and their coats on the road in front of Him to make a way for their Messiah. This crowd knew they weren't here to watch a show, but a real demonstration of authority and power. Jesus will still be a king without our worship, but He won't be our king. In worship, we declare to Jesus and to others that He is indeed in our king, and in worship, we are participants in the coming of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus sacrifice on the cross is foretold all throughout scripture, beginning all the way back in Genesis. It's clear that God knew His rescue plan all along. Many of the prophets point to a savior that will take the punishment for our sin. In this sermon, Pastor Josh focuses on one prophet in particular, Jonah, and how the story of Jonah is a foreshadowing of the life of Jesus. What Jonah struggled to do by obeying God and preaching forgiveness, Jesus faithfully completed in a strikingly similar story, except without flaw.
A sacrifice is something that costs dearly and doesn't come back. We're often so busy trying to accumulate things that we don't ever sacrifice. The though of having to or needing to is foreign and unappealing. We much prefer compromise. But a life of discipleship requires sacrifice - a living one that is holy and pleasing to God.
This sermon is the first in the Journey to the Cross series that will take us through to Good Friday. The long time evangelist, Rev. Billy Graham, passed away this week, and if there was one thing that Rev. Graham's life was all about, it was pointing people to the cross and bringing the cross in view of those who had not yet experienced it's power. In this teaching, we look at the foreshadowing of the crucifixion that begins all the way back in Genesis and are called to ask ourselves if we are living our lives in view of the cross.
The last in this Wisdom of God series, this sermon looks at the wisdom that is found and demonstrated in the life and teachings of Jesus himself. This sermon came the Sunday following the tragic shooting at a high school in Florida, and thus Pastor Josh spends some time reflecting on how the wisdom we find in Jesus impacts the broken and hurting world we find ourselves in, specifically in such horrific events as this.
VCHS's own William Simkiss shares his insights with us this week on the wisdom of heeding God's reproof before we require a rebuke. Pastor Josh wraps it up with a note of application on what it means to be our brother's keeper and operate as a family of faith.
Having wisdom does not guarantee obedience, blessing, or God's favor. Solomon was given wisdom, discernment and wealth but in the end found it all to be meaningless when his heart turned away from the Lord and he stopped following God's ways. Late in his life, he looks back and realizes that his best chance for a happy and fulfilled life was to follow God's commands. The tragedy of Solomon is the tragedy of what could have been. But his writings give us direction to avoid the same folly.
The lesson of Ecclesiastes is not that we should be depressed all the time because everything is meaningless, the lesson is that God has provided a way that we can enjoy life by putting things in their proper perspective. We must make the right choices and value the right things. King Solomon had spent time, money and energy on all the wrong things that do not satisfy and he writes to offer wisdom to avoid his error.
The wisdom of Job is the mystery of suffering in light of the sovereignty of God. God is sovereign over both the trouble and the blessings. If you've ever judged yourself and thought that you were experiencing trouble because you failed, if you've ever given counsel to someone in error like Job's friends did, or if you've received counsel that was errant and that left you dismayed and wondering where to turn, then we hope this lesson from Job's life will help you heal, forgive, and see your circumstances in light of God's sovereignty.
Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Wisdom is more than just knowledge - it is the application of knowledge combined with obedience to God. Wisdom must by sought and cultivated not in the times of crisis and distress but in the day to day of life so that when we encounter the unexpected and difficult times, wisdom is at the ready. But we must start from a place of revering and respecting the Lord, or we will learn the wrong lessons and grow in fear or cynicism instead of wisdom.
What does it mean to be a seeker? It means that you are relentlessly looking for something. The Bible directs us to "seek the Lord while He can be found". The journey of the Magi to find the newborn King gives us an amazing illustration of persisting in our pursuit of Jesus and the surprising ways that He unexpectedly reveals Himself.
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