Sermons tagged #Calling

Christians have no basis to boast in themselves but have every reason to boast in the Lord Jesus who provides gracious salvation to them. Many problems in the church and culture can be solved by a healthy dose of humility before God and others.

Conversion was the best preparation for Paul and for his life's work. His conversion experience, while unique on one hand, is also a model of every true conversion. Here too is a call to service, a call applicable for every true convert.

Amaziah the high priest of Bethel tries to get rid of Amos the prophet.

We continue a year through what we believe as Christians using the Heidelberg Catechism. This evening, we continue in its third part on our grateful response to God's grace delivering us from all guilt. In the Lord's Prayer, we learn that we were made for communion with God. In its third petition, we ask God to help us obey His commands and be faithful to His calling. Let's listen in to what the Holy Spirit has for us today... Introduction: Obeying God's Will (various Scriptures) Following God's Call (1 Cor. 7:17–24)

In 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28, we learn that the one who calls us to salvation is always faithful.

Moses encounters God at the burning bush and is called to lead. God confronts him with his purpose, gives him a higher cause, and challenges him to rise to the occasion.

Work is an exchange. We give labor in return for a well-earned reward. This reward isn't always a paycheck. Fathers and mothers give themselves in exchange, with God's help, for the reward of fair compensation. Diligent parenting can bring great joy (Prov. 15:20; 29:15). A similar principle holds true for volunteer work. All worthy work is undertaken in the hope of bearing some fruit for yourself or others. Clearly it doesn't work this way with God. We approach him not as workers demanding compensation (Rom. 4:1–5) but as children held in his firm hand. But the fact that Paul has to make a distinction with how we approach God confirms the transactional nature of ordinary labor. Here's the problem: especially in our day many people feel entitled to a good life regardless of what they are able to give in exchange. Many people take it as a given that they will have a better standard of living than their parents. But we think too little of what we have to offer the world, what we are bringing to the bargaining table. Put bluntly, "You need to be good at something before you can expect a good job." And this is not an unspiritual matter. Being "good at something" is lauded in the Scriptures from cover to cover. Proverbs 31 is a prime example. It is no wonder that her household flourished; she is a picture of godly wisdom, character, and competence. What we should ask is, "How did she become the woman extolled as the premier example of everything taught in the previous 30 chapters of Proverbs?" How can young people come to have something to offer?

Every follower/apprentice of Jesus is called to continue his mission. We are disciple-making disciples. The one thing we're sent into the world to do is to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed so that others follow Jesus with us. Whatever else we do must serve this end.

What a Glorious Person, Purpose, and Plan The God who hears and the Son who prays. John 11 The Son who lives to glorify and point everyone to His Father. John 11 The God who reveals His purpose in the life, death, and resurrection of His Son. John 12 The God who hides His light. John 12 The God who made a sacrifice for Himself. Isaiah 53 Who will declare His times seeing He was cut off from the earth through death? Will you? Isaiah 53; Acts 8:32-33 The Suffering Servant who could see His seed and the labor/payoff of His soul. Isaiah 53 The God who wisely blinds some to open the door to many. John 12 (they wouldn't believe because they couldn't believe that they shouldn't be healed and saved.) The God of grace and the working out of His eternal salvation for Jews and Gentiles. Romans 11 (that we Gentiles would believe, could believe, and should be healed and saved through the grace gift of Jesus.) The NEW commandment is to love one another. John 13 What makes the command new is that it's modified by — Jesus' words "As I have loved you…" 13:34 May we spend our time learning from, living for, and loving to love like Jesus. His love does… it always acts and acts rightly when He loves. John 13:1 Summary bullet points from the transcription of the message. • Jesus' example and God's listening. ◦ Jesus praises God for listening and responds to a grieving woman by thanking Him for the resurrection of her dead brother. ◦ Jesus reveals He's working for the Father's will, not his own. Jesus' glory and the Trinity. ◦ Jesus emphasizes the Father's will and purpose in his miracles, attributing them to the Holy Spirit. ◦ Jesus emphasizes the importance of reco

What has turned foolish rebels into careful maintainers of good works? Titus 3:3–8 prepares us for the second serial reading in public worship on the Lord's Day. In these six verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that righteous works do not come from righteous works, but from divine kindness and mercy that necessarily produces righteous works.

That God's purpose according to election may stand, faith in the promised seed comes not by works, but by the effectual call of God.

How does Christ call His disciples and launch His church? Not with a fanfare of trumpets but two words: "Follow me". He calls ordinary people, with weaknesses and failings. He turns them into extraordinary people of faith.

What determines who gets saved? Romans 9:10–13 prepares us for the sermon in the midweek prayer meeting. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God's loving choice is what determines who gets saved.

Every believer has a vocation, a calling to glorify God in the place he has apportioned to him or her. Each child of God should "lead the life that God has assigned to him, and to which God has called him" (1 Cor. 7:17). Our specific callings flow from our general callings (quote perkins). To put it differently there is an essential relationship between calling and conversion. This is not to discredit the valuable work done by non-believers. God can truly work through even the most resolute atheist to bless his world. Calvin put it this way: "Hardly anyone is to be found who does not manifest talent in some art," either liberal or manual. God bestows his gifts "indiscriminately upon pious and impious." In fact, "the mind of man, though fallen and perverted from its wholeness, is nevertheless clothed and ornamented with God's excellent gifts." Unbelievers can do excellent and edifying work. Even the "natural person" (1 Cor. 2:14) can be "sharp an penetrating in their investigation of inferior things." God helps his children through the "work and ministry of the ungodly" in fields like physics, logical argumentation, mathematics, and many more. In the diversity of gifts God grants even to unbelievers we see "some remaining traces of the image of God, which distinguish the entire human race from the other creatures." Despite all of this unbelievers are not self-consciously living out a calling. In all areas of life, including work, they do not honor the Lord as God (Rom. 1:21). An unconverted person simply cannot live vocationally, bringing the truth of God to bear on every area of their lives. If you want to live out a Christian calling you have to actually be a Christ

This message deals with one of the greatest heresies of the church, the healing movement. Truthfully, there are more important things than physical sickness that needs prayer and healing.

God has called us to be His holy people! We are to be set apart, distinct, different from the world surrounding us. God Himself is holy! He is in a class by Himself! And what makes God holy is His perfections. He is perfect in every way. And He sets the standard of right and wrong. We are to be 'holy as He is holy.' To do so, we must stop compromising by conforming to our old way of life. We are now new creations in Christ Jesus. We must seek to reflect God's holiness in every area of our lives. This however is a process, not something we obtain overnight. Each of us should carry the sign, 'Under Construction!' for indeed we are. We must be careful not to thwart the process by substituting outward religiiosity for inward heart change. We must not develop a 'holier-than-thou' attitude for none of us can live up to the standard. God has set the bar high! We are called to be 'holy as He is holy!'

Peter repeats the phrase "these things" five times in these verses, emphasizing that there are things that Christians are given by God that will cause them produce and multiply for His glory. And, those things give Christians confidence and peace in their calling and election by God's grace.

God calls his chosen people to rest in him and then to work for him. We can't work to earn God's favor; salvation is "not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph. 2:9). But we show our gratitude by doing the good works that God has prepared for us to walk in (10). Christians are workers. And the good works that we must do are not only special works of charity, like going on mission trips or tithing at church. All of life offers opportunities to perform work that flows from faith, conforms to God's law, and tends to God's glory is a good work. It should be quite obvious then that our work lives are an arena for good works. Work is not the only expression of vocation but it a large part of it. After all "Work gets the largest single block of our lives." To live vocationally we have to know how to think about and perform the work that God calls us to. We could define work simply as labor or toil. John Stott offered a more expansive definition. Work is "the expenditure of manual or mental energy in service, which brings fulfillment to the worker, benefit to the community, and glory to God." This is helpful. Work is toil. But it is also toil to a purpose. And it is done in relation to the God who made us.

The final message from Emmanuel Reformed Church in our series through the Gospel of John, "Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior." This morning Pastor Carl looks at John 21:15-25 in a message titled "Gospel of John: Epilogue (Part 2)." If you were blessed by this message, please take the time to leave a comment. You can also reach us via email at [email protected]. To learn more about Emmanuel Reformed Church and her ministries visit our website at: https://emmanuelreformedrcus.org/ If you would like to give to the kingdom work of Emmanuel Reformed Church, visit our website and click the "Give" tab on the menu bar. You can also donate through the ChurchOne App (our church code is 46029). To learn more about the denomination we're a part of, please visit https://rcus.org.