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

Christmas

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

What Jesus Came to Do

Read: Luke 1:67-79

“But through believing in Christ our sins are forgiven and we have peace with God. Through believing in Christ the power of sin is broken in our lives so that we are learning to live lives that please God. Through believing in Christ we are renewed so that we are learning to find our greatest joy in loving and worshipping and serving God. Through believing in Christ we receive eternal life – that is the life of the world to come. Through believing in Christ we know that death is not the end, but that we will rise from the dead and live with Christ in a renewed creation forever and ever. ”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The Song of Mary

Read: Luke 1:39-56

“Jesus came on a mission of mercy because he came to save us from our sins. God’s mercy has to do with saving us from our sins. We cannot understand or appreciate the meaning of the birth of Christ unless we understand this fact and unless the horror of sin and its consequences are real to us. Jesus came to live the life that we should have lived, and he came to die the death that we deserve so that our sins might be forgiven and so that the power of sin in our lives may be broken.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

Read: Luke 1:26-38

“A world in which everything is as it ought to be has been the longing of human beings for almost as long as the world has been around. But there are different visions for that and there are different perspectives on how that might be achieved. The birth of Jesus is at the heart of the biblical vision. And a key part of the biblical vision is that it is the only true vision – that is, the biblical vision is what will actually come into being at the end of the age.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

John the Baptist and the Promise

Read: Luke 1:5-25

“The underlying truth here is that sin is the cause of all misery and salvation from sin is the cause of the greatest possible joy. The underlying truth here is that separation from God is the cause of all misery and reconciliation with God is the cause of the greatest possible joy. This is what Advent and Christmas are all about for the people of God who are waiting for the coming of the Lord – both those who were waiting for the first coming and those who are now waiting for the second coming.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra