We continue our journey through Luther’s Small Catechism and we arrive toward the end of the Lord’s Prayer with the following petitions: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” This is a big, huge, intense prayer tucked right inside a prayer we speak on autopilot every week in worship and perhaps every day in our homes. It is not fun to ponder the existence of evil…or the Evil One himself. How can we stand up to temptation? What does God do about evil? Pastor Smith explores these biblical themes in this sermon, shares what God does in response to temptation and evil, and encourages us to pray even more fervently for Jesus to return to once and for all deliver us from evil.
“My Love/Hate Relationship with God’s Law” | Exodus 20:1-11 and Matthew 22:34-40
As we begin our series preaching/reading through Luther’s Small Catechism during Lent, Pastor Smith starts us off with the 10 Commandments–specifically the “First Table” of the Law, dealing with our relationship with God. We hear the will of God for our life, partially expressed in the 10 Commandments. And because we are sinners and saints at the same time, we have a “love/hate” relationship with God’s revealed Law. We will explore the different uses of God’s Law in our lives, as well as how our relationship with God ultimately affects our relationship with our neighbor. And we will learn why God’s Law is a blessing for us to love and cherish!
How Can I Be Sure the Bible is True? | 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, John 20:24-31
A common concern among Christians is that the Bible might be unreliable. We get concerned because our entire future hope is based on the message of salvation the Bible teaches us! And the world has some favorite arguments that it puts forward to shake our trust in the authority and truth of the Bible. Join Pastor Smith this week as we explore some of these biggest concerns. We will learn some ways to better understand how we got the Bible, how to respond to some of the world’s most popular claims against the Bible, and ultimately and most importantly, we will grow in our confidence that God has preserved His truth and presented it to us in His Word.
How Can a Christian be Faithful in Difficult Forgiving Situations? | Romans 12:9-21 | Pastor Jeff Smith
In the first week of our “Ask Me Anything” sermon series, Pastor Smith tackles how Christians can be faithful even in difficult situations regarding forgiveness and reconciliation. Jesus gives us essential teaching in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35), and St. Paul also gives us helpful exhortation in Romans 12:9-21. We know we are called to forgive just as God in Christ has forgiven us. But what about when the other person isn’t sorry or won’t try to reconcile? How can I find peace? How can I avoid harboring hatred and bitterness? Join Pastor Smith as we turn to God’s Word for wisdom and guidance.
Christmas Eve Sermon | 11pm Service
Songs of Salvation | Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
In week 2 of our “Songs of Salvation” series, Pastor Smith reflects upon the powerful Advent song “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.” We take a journey through the history of God’s people as they have waited for God to redeem and restore His broken world. We learn about God’s promises kept in the first coming of Jesus…and we continue to wait in hopeful expectation of Jesus’s second coming.
More | Giving Part 2: Treasure | 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 and Matthew 6:24-34
In this second part of a short sermon series on the stewardship of our blessings from God, Pastor Smith leads us through a reflection on 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 and Matthew 6:24-34. One of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of Christian generosity is a faith issue–do we trust in God to provide more of what we need in this life? Pastor Smith addresses this faith issue and leads us to see how God provides abundantly not only for our earthly needs but also our spiritual and eternal needs. Knowing this, may we as God’s people be generous and expect Him to continually take care of us!
