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

Sermons

God Sent forth His Son

“Our natural tendency, apart from salvation, is to prioritize the joys and pleasures of this world apart from God. That is the tendency of our sinful nature. We focus on God’s gifts and ignore God himself. The things of this life dominate our thoughts and our efforts, and God is ignored or neglected. But when we are saved, we come to see that fullness of life is rooted in our relationship with God.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The End of the Matter

“There is a profound trust and submission behind recognizing that since God is who he is, it is impossible that in the end it will not all be beautiful and God’s way with the world, what he did and what he allowed, will demonstrate “the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33) And so our job is to leave governing the universe to God and just focus on the only wise way of life in the light of who God is, “Fear God and keep his commandments.””
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The Fifth Commandment (3) Authority in Marriage

“In connection with male headship in marriage, it is important to underscore the emphasis in the opening chapters of the Bible on the basic equality of man and woman. Both are equally made in the image of God. We also see that when Adam receives his wife from the Lord, he is so thrilled that he sings a love-song. It is the first love song in the history of the world and so it does not sound very romantic to 21st century ears, but it is poetry and so we can legitimately consider it a love-song when Adam said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:23). Adam is the head, but he also treasures his wife and cherishes her. And that love is the necessary context in which leadership is to function.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

Youth, Old Age, Judgment and Death

“The world is a wonderful place and the possibilities are endless and God has given us appetites and desires and Ecclesiastes is saying that you should follow them and see where they lead. There are, of course, sinful desires and appetites and Ecclesiastes is not encouraging you to follow those, but we are created with hearts that seek satisfaction and fulfillment and pleasure and joy. That belongs to our humanity. We have desires to learn things and experience things and accomplish things. There are things to do. Places to go. People to meet. Relationships to nurture. Experiences to try. Subjects to investigate. Skills to learn. Tastes to experience. God created the world and pronounced it good and there are ways to participate in life and its potentials that are in harmony with God’s intention and Ecclesiastes is saying that when you are young you should seize the day.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The Fifth Commandment (2) The Nature and Purpose of Authority

“Wherever we have authority over others, we are to use that authority in a way that reflects how God uses his authority and that means that it must be a blessing to those who submit to it. God is good. God is love. God punishes the wicked, but his nature is to bless, and his use of his authority reflects that fact. Because of sin, authority sometimes means punishment, but the overall purpose must always be righteousness and goodness and so our use of authority must always be a blessing for those who submit to it. That is rooted in the fact that we are made in the image of God.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

You Can be Too Careful

“We are saved so that we can invest our lives so that we can make something of them for the glory of God. That is a risky business because we may fail, or disaster may strike, but God does not want us to be so careful that we just exist, live as safely as we can, and making nothing of the opportunities and possibilities that God has given to us.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The Fifth Commandment (1) The Basic Thrust of the Command

“Now I want to remind you of the biblical context. God did not give his people the Ten Commandments as the way of salvation. He gave them to his people after he had already delivered them from Egypt. In our context, we must understand that keeping the commands is not the way of salvation; it is the way that saved people are called to live for the glory of God and for their true well-being. We should never think of God’s laws as the way to be saved.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra