Series
Rev. Jerry Hamstra
The Book of Esther
The Book of Esther
Sermons
Rev. Jerry Hamstra
Introduction to Acts
Introduction to Acts

Jacob Blesses Simeon and Levi

“In all of this history leading to Jesus, God was teaching the world the horrific consequences of the sinful natures that we all share and in that way preparing the world for the one who came from heaven and became a man so that as the God-man he could break the power of sin in the lives of a chosen people. He did that by living a life of perfect obedience and love. He did it by dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. He did it by rising from the dead and thus obtaining the forgiveness and new life that would enable his people to gradually learn to love rather than to hate.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

Truths of the Reformation (5) Christ Alone

“Jesus is uniquely qualified to be our Saviour. The Bible makes it clear that he had to be holy, that he had to be a perfect human being and that he had to be God. The Bible goes to great lengths to show how Jesus was unique and that that uniqueness was necessary for Jesus to do the saving work that his Father had sent him to do. No one else comes close to that. No mere human being is able to even come close to adding to what Jesus has done.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

Jacob Blesses Reuben

“Those with weak characters are unstable
in their inner beings and so winds of temptation or foolishness push
them this way and that. Those with strong characters are steadfast and
stable who are not easily deflected from what is right and what is wise
and what is godly. In the context of the Bible we must understand these
differences in the light of sin and grace. We are all weak by nature, but
Jesus died so that those who trust in him might be gradually changed to
be people of strong character who have learned self-denial and self-control and to “walk by the Spirit” and are learning “not” to “gratify the
desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

Truths of the Reformation (4) By Grace Alone

“On the one hand we confess that salvation is by
grace alone. It must be by grace alone because before we are saved, we
are dead in sin and trespasses. When God saves someone, he brings a
spiritual dead person to spiritual life. We are completely passive at that
point. And yet in our experience we are active. We become aware of
our need of the forgiveness and renewal and what Jesus has earned for
us. We hear the gospel and we respond to it in faith and repentance.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

“No one who comes to Jesus for forgiveness and renewal will be turned away. The same God who says that “he has mercy on whomever he wills and hardens whomever he wills” also says just a few verses later in Romans 10:12-13, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” The same “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.””
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

Truths of the Reformation (3) Glory to God Alone

Read: Psalm 96

“Our greatest good and joy and satisfaction is experienced in glorifying God while the greatest harm for us is not to glorify God. We were made to find our greatest good in seeing and appreciating and worshipping and adoring God. The greatest blessing that we can know is to be filled with love and adoration for God. And the greatest curse that we can know is to be without love and adoration for God.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

Joseph and the Famine

“The message of the Bible is never – you can do it if you try hard enough. God never says to us, “You can do whatever you set your mind to.” But he does say, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” And he does say “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.””
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

Truths of the Reformation (2) Scripture Alone

“The Reformers taught that Scripture was the highest authority on whatever it addressed. That meant that everything that the church taught must be shown to be taught in the Scriptures. It meant that church teaching always had to pass the test of faithfulness to the Word of God. It meant that if anyone could show where church teaching was not in harmony with the Bible that teaching must be rejected. And it meant that church leaders could not bind the consciences of church members in areas where the Bible was silent.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

Jacob/Israel Settles in Goshen

“This evening we will consider this genealogy that we find in Genesis 46:8-27 and then the part of the story in which Jacob and his family end up in Goshen. Goshen was a part of the land of Egypt. The theological theme in both of these sections has to do with how God was making the offspring of Abraham into a great nation.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra