Matthew tells us that Joseph found his fiance' with child and was considering separating from her because he knew the child was not his. That night, the Lord spoke to him in a dream and told him that her child was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that the child would save God’s people from their sins. When Joseph wakes, he did as he was told, keeping her as his fiance’. Matthew says that this fulfills the Old Testament prophecy that a virgin will conceive and bring forth a son, calling him “God with us” (Immanuel).  

This prophecy comes from Isaiah 7, when the young King Ahaz begins to rule during one of Judah’s weakest moments. Assyria was invading the nation, and two local political leaders team up to fight the Assyrians. Ahaz refuses to join the coalition, so they try to conquer him and replace him with someone who will join the cause. The prophet Isaiah encourages Ahaz that they will not succeed, and that Assyria will not succeed. Judah and Jerusalem will not fall to these threats. Isaiah offers Ahaz a sign of God’s promise, but he refuses to ask for one, so Isaiah gives him the sign of a child, born to secure his people and bring the presence of God. Sunday we’ll consider this prophecy and what it means for us.

Do you know the name Errol Musk? He was an electrical and mechanical engineer from South Africa. He got involved in politics, opposing the Apartheid laws. You probably don’t know much about him, but you do know his greater son, Elon Musk. Elon has changed the world with the Tesla company, SpaceX, and recently the purchase of Twitter, now “X”. 

We find a similar dynamic in the Old Testament with King David. We know the name and we know much of his story, but it’s his descendent who would eclipse him. The New Testament writers, especially the gospel authors, emphasize Jesus’ connection to David, but always as his greater son. This Sunday, we’ll explore Jesus’ connection with King David and some of the ways this frames our understanding of Him. Join us as we worship the Lord.

What do you know about Winterset, Iowa? In the 2020 census it had just under six thousand inhabitants. It’s a small town with not much to talk about. What about Glendale, California? This is a larger city in the Los Angeles area with just under 200,000 inhabitants. What about New Port Beach, California? Each of these locations is different in size and significance, but what makes each of this meaningful to me is that Marion Robert Morrison, aka John Wayne, was born in Iowa, moved to Glendale, and died in New Port Beach. Each of these towns are recognized in part for their celebrity member.

Have you ever stopped to consider the locations that Jesus is said to have come from? In Matthew 2, he records three locations, each a fulfillment of an Old Testament promise: Bethlehem, Egypt, and Nazareth. Each of these locations has spiritual significance for God’s people and are highlighted because of the person who lived there. Bethlehem is a reminder of God’s covenant with Abraham and David but it also represents God redeeming a place of paganism. Egypt reminds us of Israel being redeemed from slavery. Nazareth highlights the lowliness of Messiah. These locations are tied to spiritually significant messages. Join us as we explore each of them.

Have you ever been talking with someone, and they go historical? Not hysterical, historical. This happens with my brothers sometimes, where they will mention evidence from my past to prove their point. The Apostle Paul does this in the next part of his argument, that sinners are justified by faith not obedience or good works. He goes all the way back to their prime ancestor and father of the Jewish people, Abraham. He asks how Abraham was justified, by faith or works? Not only would the Mosaic law-covenant not come for another 430 years, but even the rite of circumcision came after Abraham was justified by faith.

Paul lists another great ancestor, King David, who after committing adultery and murder rejoices in his full acquittal before the court of God. How fortunate are those whose sins are forgiven? But it raises the questions, “How can such tragic sin be forgiven? How can God justify the ungodly?” By pouring out his wrath and judgment on Jesus God can justify the ungodly. Faith in Jesus enables our full acquittal. Join us Sunday as we study this text and worship our Redeemer.

Remember Steve Austin? No, not the wrestler, the Six Million Dollar Man. When I was a child, I watched that TV series. The tag line was, “We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better, stronger, faster.” My friends and I would run in slow motion making the noise that highlighted his powers. He was better, stronger, and faster than anyone else. Every child wanted to be Steve Austin, better than everyone else. This tapped into a common human desire and drive, distinction (partiality).

We need something that distinguishes us, that sets us apart from others and confirms how we view ourselves, our self-identity. We bring this pattern into our faith, using our religious practices or obedience to God as leverage to exalt ourselves. This reveals that we are living in a world of comparison with others. We see this played out in the Roman church as the Jewish believers hold their ethnic heritage and religious practices over the Gentile believers, exalting themselves over their brothers and sisters.

But if God is impartial, not favoring one ethnicity over another, and the law condemns everyone as sinners, and our obedience doesn’t meet the standard of righteousness, then we’ve got nothing to hold over one another. As one friend of mine said, “the ground at the foot of the cross is level.” The point is that gospel humbles us and changes our identity, fundamentally changing how we think about ourselves and how we relate to each other. Join us Sunday as we consider the ramifications of the gospel.

This week, we continue to unpack an essential passage that explains the gospel of salvation by grace. Paul says that God has revealed his righteousness by making the payment of redemption through Jesus (remittance). He is answering the question, “How can God pardon ungodly people and still be righteous, or just?” God can declare us righteous because he punished Jesus in our place. This justification is received by faith as a gift of God’s grace. This is how we come to the table, receiving grace by faith, not works, obedience, or performance. This means that whether I’m a highly religious, moral person or a rebel pursuing all the pleasures of life, salvation is granted by faith in Jesus’ redemption.

This has deep ramifications for the interpersonal relationships within the church and the conflict between the Jewish and Gentile believers. Who can boast over another in the church? Who can claim a greater status with God? To do so actually makes God schizophrenic. Join us Sunday as we unpack this powerful text.

The Roman church was deeply divided between believers of Jewish and Gentile descent. The Jewish believers couldn’t reconcile God’s forgiveness of the Gentiles without requiring obedience to Jewish covenant traditions and laws (circumcision, food restrictions, festivals, etc.). In addition, they claimed a privileged status over the influx of Gentile believers within the church, expecting submission to their leadership. How can God be just and pardon these Gentiles without conversion to Judaism? How could God welcome these pagan people into his family so freely?

This division is rooted in a deep misunderstanding of the gospel and the path to acceptance with God. While the Apostle has agreed that the Gentiles are pagans, deserving God’s wrath (1:18-32), he has also corrected the Jewish thinking that their covenant relationship and obedience has merited them something with God (2:1-3:20). No one, not even the most obedient Jewish believer, is justified by obedience to the Law, no matter how advanced their obedience.

In our text this week, 3:21-31, Paul presents the path of righteousness, not in personal obedience but through faith alone in Jesus’ redemption, for both Gentile and Jew. While this is jarring to the religious moralist, it is liberation for the soul to know that I no longer have to live my life wondering if I have “made the grade.” God can be just and justify sinners by faith, because of the sacrifice of Christ. Join us Sunday as we consider the implications of God’s salvation in Jesus.

Many of us have had the experience of getting a traffic violation. We’re given a court date, and eventually stand before the judge to plead our case. The judge might hear our pleas, but he must adjudicate according to the Law. We might even know the judge personally, and hope that he’ll show mercy, but to be just, he must be impartial. Excuses, blame-shifting, minimizing, all fails to move the judge, so we appeal to our relationship. “Judge, you know me. We’re friends. Can’t you cut me a break?” you say. But the court cannot show favoritism. All are judged impartially by the law.

This Sunday we’ll complete our examination of Romans 2 and move into chapter 3. The Apostle Paul is confronting the self-righteousness of the Jewish believers in the church and exposing their distorted vision. They have a distorted view of themselves, the Law of God, the Judge (God), and the gospel. Their internal conflicts with each other are the result of these distortions. This week, we’ll consider their distorted view of God and of the gospel. Join us as we worship and humble ourselves before the righteous One.

Sunday, we’ll go back to Romans 2 as Paul confronts the Jewish believers' distorted view of themselves, the law, God, and the gospel. This week, we’ll focus on their distorted view of God’s Law. Remember that after exposing the sinfulness of the world, particularly the Gentiles, in chapter one, Paul now zeros in on the Jewish believers' “partiality.” The Jewish believers in Rome believed they were a privileged class, having grown up knowing the Scriptures and living a more moral life. That sense of “privilege” is a distorted view of self that produces their judgment of others (2:1), especially the Gentile believers they engaged in church, and blinds them to their own sin (2:1). Paul is adamant that God’s patience and goodness were meant to lead them to repentance not moralism (2:4). They were the “older brother” in the story of the Prodigal Son, rejecting their wayward, but repenting, brother.

Moralism had crept into their lives. The Jewish believers saw themselves as “pretty good people.” But in this they distorted the Law of God as something they could and were obeying. But Paul is adamant again, saying, “no one is justified by the Law,” (3:20). The most moral person is much more sinful than they realize, and an undistorted view of the Law will expose that. Here’s the bottom line, if you think you’re living a good life and obeying the Lord, you might have a distorted perspective. If life is good and you think to yourself, “I must be doing something right,” you have a distorted view of the Law. Join us Sunday as we unpack the Scriptures.

“How could a good and all-powerful God let something like that happen to me?

Does God even care?” It seems suffering is inevitable - Job 5:7 states that “man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.” Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble…” John 16:33. Theologians often state “we live in the now and not yet” meaning the in between times of Christ first coming and his second coming. Another writer uses the term the age of ambivalence or the age of tension. We have a portion of His kingdom but not the completion/fulfillment of God’s promises of a new heaven, new earth, and new body. In this meantime, people still suffer in evil and cruel ways. We all experience losses and unfair treatment. Things just don’t work like they should. Why can’t we get back to Eden? What does Jesus Christ have to offer us during this age of suffering and waiting and hoping?

While suffering is something we must all endure, those of us who know Christ can hold to the promises of his presence, his purpose, and his plan for us.

This Sunday join us in worship of the Man of Sorrows, the Suffering Servant: Jeus Christ our LORD and King!