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

Freedom

The Fifth Commandment (5) Submit to One Another

Read: Ephesians 5:1-21
Text: verse 21

“In biblical thought the freedom of individualism is really bondage and the submission to God and to the obligations of belonging to the body of Christ is really freedom. True freedom in biblical terms is not freedom to express ourselves and to do whatever we want to do, it is living as God has designed us to live and that involves a significant dose of self-denial and submitting to the demands and constraints of our relationships with other people.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The Meaning of the Fourth Commandment (4) Rest for Everyone

“The Fourth Commandment is a transition between the first table of the law which is focused on our duty toward God and the second table of the law which is focused on our duty towards our fellow human beings. It requires that we set a day apart for the worship of God, but it also requires that the people who work for us and the weaker members of society share in the blessings of the Sabbath. The concern is that those who have the money and the power to have other people working for them, do not require those people to work for them on the Sabbath day. So the Sabbath is both about our duty towards God and our duty towards other people.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The Meaning of the Fourth Commandment (2) Work, Rest and God

“God did not rest because he was tired. He rested because “not working” is also worthwhile and valuable. He not only stopped working, he declared the state of not-working on the seventh day to be holy. We might say that he set the seventh day apart for himself. He set the example of taking pleasure in what he had created. He paused to enjoy “not working” and taking pleasure in his own glory as that was reflected in the creation. And, no doubt, part of his pleasure on that first seventh day was receiving the worship of the people whom he had created to serve and worship him.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The Ten Commandments (1) Introduction

“You see the Ten Commandments define the life of salvation. Salvation in the Bible is salvation from slavery, to obedience to God’s law. The contrast is the slavery in Egypt. God saved his people so that they might live the life that the Ten Commandments describes and requires. They were given by God to his people out of his love. They were given by God to his people because of his desire to bless them. They were given by God to his people because they are the way of life.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

Sermon Series: The Ten Commandments

Comfort for the New Year (1)

“There is something very precious about belonging to Jesus Christ and belonging to God the Father. When we belong to God, we matter to God. Jesus bought us with a price. God the Father chose us to be his treasured possession. He has adopted us into his own family. We are important to God. We are significant to God. We are loved by God. Because we belong to him in these different ways we know that we have value in his sight. And this is something that matters a great deal.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra