Christians, as citizens of the Kingdom of God, have a King: Jesus Christ. But what does it mean and what does it look like to follow this King? Through Luke's account of Jesus' Sermon on the Plain, we are given clear instructions from Jesus himself that following him means seeking ultimate satisfaction in God, loving radically, and rejecting hypocrisy. He also explains how and why following him, despite the cost, is entirely worth it.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, sin is a fatal sickness we all have to deal with. What Jesus' debates with the self-righteous Pharisees helpfully make clear is that God will not be impressed by pious reputations, tricked by disciplines, or satisfied by rule-keeping. Our only hope to be free from sin and saved from God's just judgment is to look to, trust in, and rest upon Jesus, the great physician of souls.

Due to our sin and its stain, we must grapple with the reality of being unholy creatures facing the justice of holy God. Thankfully, in Jesus, we have a source of hope. Through two amazing stories of Jesus healing the physically sick, Luke teaches us that Jesus has the power and desire to heal and cleanse us of the much greater problem of sin. Therefore, we can confidently go to Jesus in faith and expect and trust that he will forgive us our sins.

Many aspects of the Kingdom of God seem counterintuitive, and that's true from the very beginning, starting with Jesus' call to join His kingdom. Yet, in this passage, we see that the seemingly counterintuitive nature of Jesus' call is wonderfully intentional. As His inconvenient calls to Simon and the first disciples demonstrate, Jesus helpfully directs his followers to embrace Him as the Lord of Creation who offers new life.

Is it possible to be confident that God will deliver you? Is your future secure or up in the air? Is there any hope at all as you suffer today? In Psalm 18 the righteous king leads every believer in a song of praise to God for his great faithfulness. And what it makes clear to believers is this: you can be confident in God, and God has secured your future in Christ. So yes, you can be confident of future deliverance, and by God’s grace, you can love and praise him even now.

Once you understand who is the Author of salvation, you begin to gain clarity on the way we all lived before God called us to Himself. In this sense, the Nation of Israel in Paul’s day (and ours) serves as a picture of how people attempt to appease God by their religious efforts. It never works. Which only highlights our great need for a real Saviour!

Paul continues to prove how it is we can be sure that God keeps all of His promises when it appears to us like He might have broken a few to Israel.

There are some parts of the Bible that are hard to understand (See 2 Peter 3:16!). There are other parts we may just find, well, kind of offensive. We don’t like what they say. Romans 9 has come across that way to lots of people over the years, but often that is because they do not take the time to follow the line of Paul’s logic throughout. In this sermon we will start to make our way toward solving the problem of Israel, which ends up being a problem for God. Does He keep His promises?

Theological convictions cannot and should not be held in isolation. What Christians believe about church governance ties directly to what they believe about Scripture's authority and the gospel itself. Through a comparison between Eastern Orthodoxy and Biblical Christianity, this sermon explores how theological truth is a package deal, and what a person believes about the Church, Scripture, and the gospel will spill over into every aspect of their spiritual life.

Every once in a while it is good to pause and take stock of the health of your relationship to God. Having carefully looked at the first 8 chapters of Romans, now seems like a good time to do just that. Taking all of that text into consideration, what behaviours or values should be marking all of our lives now?