Sermons - Christ's Church

In the fourth week of the Heart of Anglicanism Fr. Carl explores the 2019 Book of Common Prayer.

In the third week of the Heart of Anglicanism Fr. Carl explores the history of how Anglicans have worshiped and how we receive those traditions and live them out today.

Jesus said the world would know we are his disciples by the love we show for one another. In these times of uncertainty, in a world that is filled with confusion and malice, we are called to have love for our brothers and for all of humanity.

In the second class on the Heart of Anglicanism Fr. Carl explores what Anglicans believe and how we express those beliefs.

The question is not whether you have religion or a relationship, but rather whether your religion is relating rightly to God. God calls us to relate to him well by listening closely for him, having a passion to continue learning, longing for intimacy with him, and having a lively faith.

In the first week of The Heart of Anglicanism Fr. Carl teaches us a bit about the history of the Church, where Anglicanism came from, and what it means to be an Anglican today.

Our faith must be supplemented by knowledge. Perfect knowledge is wisdom, which is revealed to us in the person of Jesus, who is the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), by the Spirit, who knows and reveals the thoughts of God (1 Corinthians 2:11).

Living a life of virtue is not something that can be habituated through our own efforts, but comes through the power of the Holy Spirit working through the good news planted in our hearts.

The church is called to be a gathering of those who are apprenticed by Jesus, who agree in the Lord, and who make themselves available to serve.

In the second part of his series Fr. Carl examines the arguments for infant baptism before exploring the nature of the new covenant its connection to the family.

In the first of a two part series Fr. Carl explains what happens at our baptism and how formative and instrumental it is to our life in Christ.

Though we find ourselves to be exiles, we can trust that God is working through the difficulties and challenges we face to refine and reform us to the image of the one who assumed our shame, miseries, and flesh: Jesus.

As we seek God's heart and will we can trust that he will speak into our lives through Scripture, a sermon, a counselor, or even a dream.

Though we live in a fallen world, God has blessed us in immeasurable ways and calls us to a life of joy that is rooted in his faithfulness and promises.

In the midst of injustices, atrocities, and hurts we await the return of Jesus, the perfect judge, who will set all things right and whose kingdom will have no end.

The prophecies of the Messiah’s advent led many of the people who encountered Jesus to have rigid, closed-off expectations, but God is calling us to live with a posture of expectancy, with hearts that are open to the work he is doing in our midst.

On his last Sunday with us Pastor Ken reminds us of the Our Father, the prayer that Jesus gave his disciples, and invites us to come back to it over and over because this prayer teaches us how we always ought to pray.

Though we suffer injustices now, we wait for the Day of the Lord when Jesus will return and set all things right.

In the face of suffering in body, mind, or soul, we can cling to the hope of the return of Jesus, when our sinful bodies will be made like his glorious body, and suffering will come to an end.

God, the unmoved mover, has moved in our hearts by grace through faith to draw us to his Son Jesus that we might become his inheritance, all to the glory of God.

God calls each of us from different circumstances, but what matters is not where we begin, but that we finish the race to attain Jesus.

As we await the coming of Jesus we stand fast in faithfulness to him, trusting in his Word and promise to sustain and save us.

The call of the Church is to be people who go out into the world to love our neighbor not so that they can see us, but so that they can see and meet Jesus in us.

First of all, before anything else, we are called to pray, not seeking the Lord in vain or without hope, but trusting in his goodness and mercy towards us, knowing that he loves us and hears our prayers.

Without God’s mercy and grace we would be lost, and yet he showers it upon us abundantly in his Son Jesus.

God’s judgement and wrath are coming for those who do not repent and trust in Jesus, but those who repent and trust in the Son of God will be purified in his cleansing fire, having been set free from their sin that they might live forever.

Jesus came not only to establish the Kingdom of God, but to destroy the works of the Devil. He invites us to join in this work of ushering in the kingdom and spiritual warfare against the wiles and deceptions of the evil one.

In the face of dangers, doubts, and distractions, by faith we cling to the promises of God that find their yes and amen in Jesus.

God the Father has made us his sons and daughters through baptism so that we can share in the life of God found in his Son, be indwelt by his Holy Spirit, and do the work of the kingdom together with him.

God longs for us to be close to him, to have an intimate relationship with him, so much so that he calls us friends.

Jason reminds us that the story of the good Samaritan is about far more than showing compassion to our neighbors.

Pastor Ken reminds us that our ultimate hope is found in the coming Kingdom of God when all things will be set right, therefore we invite all into the kingdom.

Pastor Ken reminds us of our need to seek after God, especially in our darkest hour, because he is the one who can satisfy and deliver us.

Ron reminds us that our God, who has eternally existed as three co-equal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, has invited us to grow in our knowledge and love of him that we might have eternal life.

On Pentecost Sunday Pastor Ken reminds us that we are called to be one body, filled with the Spirit of God so that we can be united with the Father and follow Jesus’ example of sacrificial love.

Jason reminds us that we have been sent out into the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus because Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father and been declared to be king over all things.

Bishop Keith reminds us that because we are his, because we are beloved, because we have been redeemed and rescued, we ought to go out into the world and share the good news of the living God.

In the final class Ron walks through the last section of the Creed to discuss who the Holy Spirit is, his work in the individual and the body of Christ, what it means for the Church to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and how baptism is the means for people to enter the Church.

Ron encourages us to follow Jesus' example of self-sacrificial love by giving up our rights and reputations for the sake of loving one another and inviting the nations into the Kingdom of God.

Nicene Creed Week 3: For Us and for Our Salvation

Pastor Ken reminds us of the love Jesus has for us, leading us like a shepherd into the family of God that we might glorify God forever.

In the second of four classes Ron walks through the section of the creed that talks about the incarnation of the Son of God.

Pastor Ken invites us to behold the Lamb of God, Jesus, who knows the hurts and pains of his people and died to ransom his people back to back.

In the first of four classes Ron Offringa walks through the origins of the Nicene Creed and then shifts into the first section of the Creed that affirms our belief in the Father as our God and the maker of all things.

Jason calls us to join people like Job, Thomas, John Newton, and Norma McCorvey who were once blind to what God was doing and wanted of them, but when they turned to Jesus were able to see clearly.

Pastor Ken reminds us of the good news that because Jesus died and came back to life we too have the opportunity to turn from darkness to light, from chaos to order, from death to life.

Pastor Ken reminds us of the love our redeemer Jesus showed us in becoming like us and taking on our sin to redeem us back to God.

Pastor Ken calls us to look ahead rather than behind and recognize the new things God wants to work in and through us.

Pastor Ken calls us to not give up remembering all the benefits and blessings that the Lord has given us so that we can be fully devoted to the Lord.

Ron encourages us to endure the distractions, the bad examples, and the attacks of our enemies by trusting in the body of Jesus to rescue and redeem us.

Jason reminds us that the reason for Lent is not to find another resolution or self-help, but rather to renew our trust in God and find our identity in him.