Sermons

Reformed sermons preached at our church.

Have Salt in Yourselves

In our passage for today, Jesus calls us to weigh the options of eternity.  Here we find Jesus engaged in an intense time of teaching to his disciples.  In the previous passage he just taught the disciples that there are only two camps – those who belong to Christ and those who don’t; those who are Christ’s disciples, and those who are not.  Now in this passage he looks at those same two groups from an eternal perspective.  Those who do not belong to Christ are headed on a trajectory toward hell.  Those who do belong to Christ, are those headed toward heaven, the place described here as “life” and the kingdom of God.

Passage: Mark 9:42-50
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 09/14/2008 in Novato, CA.

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He Who Is Not Against Us

The disciples in our passage thought they were part of something exclusive.  They were part of Jesus’ official disciples, and for that matter, part of his inner circle of twelve who followed him everywhere.  And so when they encountered a man who was casting out demons in the name of Christ, but who wasn’t part of their ordinary group of followers of Jesus, they objected.  They tried to stop the man because he wasn’t one of them.  The disciples evidently thought they were part of something exclusive.

And in one sense, they were right.  The Christian message is in many ways an exclusive message with exclusive claims.  For example, Jesus says that salvation is only through him.  In some important ways, however, Christianity can be very inclusive.  For example, Jesus calls us to deliver the gospel of salvation to everyone in the world.

But looking specifically at our passage for today:  Did the disciples do the right thing here?  Jesus says no, and teaches them more about being a part of his kingdom.  The disciples didn’t properly understand the scope of Christ’s kingdom.  And so as we think about the exclusiveness and the inclusiveness of Christ, we have to look to Christ to define that for us.  In other words, we see the disciples here didn’t fully understand what made someone a part of Christ’s kingdom.  And so we’ll look today at what Christ teaches us about who is with him and who is not.

Passage: Mark 9:38-41
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 09/07/2008 in Novato, CA.

Click here for the manuscript.

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If Anyone Desires to be First

As I’m sure everyone knows, the Olympics just finished a week ago in Beijing.  Most of us probably watched a number of competitions during the last couple weeks, and now the festivities are over.  And when you think of the athletes, I’m sure many things stand out, but one thing inevitably does.  If you are an Olympic athlete, you most likely desire to be first.  That’s the whole idea of a sports competition.  That’s why they give out medals.  That’s why they keep world records.  You train, and you work hard, you get coaching, and you do that over and over again for years, until you finally compete, and you desire and hope to be first.  That’s not only natural, but it’s certainly a good desire.   There’s nothing wrong in one sense to want to excel in whatever you do, especially in a sports competition.

But what about the disciples here?  We find them having a competitive attitude with each other.  Jesus catches them arguing among themselves about who is the greatest.  And Jesus then even instructs them on how to be first.  Well, is this desire by the disciples a good desire or a bad one?  Was it good that they wanted to be first or bad?  What does Jesus think about this?

Passage: Mark 9:30-37
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 08/31/2008 in Novato, CA.

Click here for the manuscript.

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