Sermons

Living with Realism and Hope in our Time

The application for us as we face a new year is, “Do not be complacent. Do not take it for granted that you are not being pulled into the current of worldly thinking and worldly living. Think very seriously about your life and values and priorities in the light of biblical teaching.” One of the common themes of the best Christian literature on this subject is that the only Christians who will survive in the current environment are those who go deep – that is those who are serious about their relationship with the Lord...
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The Birth of Jesus

Jesus is more than the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason for everything. As the risen and ascended Jesus himself says to John in Revelation 1:17, “I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

There is no celebration of the birth of Christ that is in line with biblical priorities that does not have the overturning of sin by Jesus at its heart. The problem of all problems, both in each of our lives and in the world in general, is sin and the blessing of all blessings is the fact that God send Jesus and Jesus came to deliver us from the curse and the power of sin.
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

Waiting for the Day of the Lord

What Peter is saying is that we must prioritize what will matter on that day. Having lived a life of holiness and godliness will matter on the day when heaven and earth will be dissolved. What really matters now is what will matter then and that is what is to determine how we live as we wait for the coming day of God.
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The Fifth Commandment (4) The Abuse of Authority in Marriage

The key from a biblical perspective is that the abuse of authority is sin and it must be dealt with as sin. A related perspective is that God cares greatly about people who are suffering abuse at the hands of other people. Psalm 146:7 says that God “executes justice for the oppressed.” The oppressed are those who are mistreated by others particularly the weak who are suffering at the hands of those who are stronger than they. A wife who is suffering because a husband is misusing his authority is in an intolerable situation from a biblical perspective and such a situation should not be allowed to continue.
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

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