Only the Holy (04/05/2026)

Only the Holy (04/05/2026)

Psalm 24 As we heard last week, we are living Psalm 23 [/references/bible%2Bnasb95.19.23] in the Saturday between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Our life is also one of a long, slow climb toward our home. Sometimes we gain ground quickly, other times it seems like we roll backwards faster than we were climbing. Some days we crest a ridge and see our home gleaming far off , other days we are buried in a deep, dark ravine wondering if we will ever see the sun again. But in the power of the Holy Spirit we are slowly ascending to life with God as we are being conformed into the image, the resurrected image, of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Psalm 24 [/references/bible%2Bnasb95.19.24] foreshadowed our journey. The Psalm is a Psalm of ascent that was recited by the Jews as they climbed up to Jerusalem and the Temple to worship God. That is what Jesus’s resurrection promises us. For now, we are engaged in a spiritual ascent to God and will continue until the day of our final ascent where we will ascend to meet him in the air and to spend eternity worshiping and glorifying God in the New Heavens and the New Earth. Psalm 24 [/references/bible%2Bnasb95.19.24] says, Psalm 24:3–4 [/references/bible%2Bnasb95.19.24.3-19.24.4] “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.” Jesus repeats this idea in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:8 [/references/bible%2Bnasb95.61.5.8] ““Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Only the holy shall ascend the hill of the Lord. Holiness is not a prerequisite for entering God's presence; it is a product of our resurrection life in Christ, empowering us to reflect His glory and sing His praise in our daily lives.

He Sees, He Hears, He Acts (03/22/2026)

Psalm 22  Good Friday is approaching.  The day Jesus is beaten beyond human recognition and nailed to the cross.  Despite the apparent triumph of evil and the end of God’s redemptive plan, Jesus teaches us as the Psalm does, God is not absent.  He has not abandoned us.  He is there.  His silence is not the silence of a jilted lover or an angry and vindictive being.  His silence is part of His perfect will and perfect redemptive plan.  No matter our feelings we can live in the assurance that our God is working all things for our good and His Glory.  Our God sees, our God Hears, our God answers.

Redeemed Life (03/15/2026)

Psalm 32: 6-7, 10-11 Life, as a child of God, should be lived in joy, gratitude, and obedience.  We are truly free, eternally secure, and infinitely loved by the God that brought us out of slavery and into the freedom of His presence.  Living redeemed means inhabiting this reality daily—acknowledging our freedom, embracing our new identity as God’s own, and allowing that transformation to reshape our choices, relationships, and hope for the future.

Redemption From Sin (03/08/2026)

Psalm 32:1-2  What does it mean to be redeemed?  Today we will see many examples of redemption both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  There will be a plethora (a bunch) of theological terms I will define and explain.  (Each one could be one sermon if not a series in themselves.)  At the end, this is what I want us to remember -  Redemption is an act of God that restores us into relationship with God, brings us joyfully into His grace and mercy, and frees us from the guilt of our sin.

Repenting From Sin (03/01/2026)

Psalm 32:5 Our topic today - repentance. It has far more reaching consequences than just being sorry we did something wrong or, as more often happens, we are sorry that we got caught. It means a total change of life, a total change of direction, a total reorienting of our lives according to God’s will not our own. Until that happens we will never experience true freedom because we will always be enslaved to our sin. For those that repent it means freedom and reconciliation with the God that loves them and desires reconciliation and relationship. Only through repentance can we be freed from enslavement to sin and brought into true freedom with God.