THE GOSPEL

God is Good

By: Joshua Mathew

Life has a way of convincing us to doubt in the truth of God being good. Yet God has consistently demonstrated His goodness towards humanity and to His people in significant ways. We see God show His goodness towards us in His kindness, love, mercy and grace. In this sermon, we learn about these significant ways and how God made it complete in Jesus. We learned that apart from Christ, we cannot and will not experience the totality of God’s Goodness. It is only by knowing and following Him that we really do experience it in it’s fullness.

The Bad News

By: Joel Mathew

The Gospel is the good news; and for something to be called ‘Good news’, it infers that there must be bad news. God created the world with order, purpose, and good intentions; and He created us with a purpose to enjoy His fellowship and to glorify Him. However, tragedy struck in the garden of Eden; man chose Satan’s lie over God’s truth, and became fallen sinners. We looked to Romans 3:10-12 and saw how Paul concludes his case against everyone using the Old Testament scriptures. People are born guilty before God, spiritually dead to understand Him, lost in their ways, condemned by God, wasted without Christ, and totally broken in sin. The totality of man’s depravity shows the horrific problem of sin, and the impossibility of reconciliation with a Holy God on one’s own merit or capability. Yet God, rich in love, sent His Son Jesus to die on a cross for guilty sinners, so that we would be saved from His wrath to a loving relationship with Him, for the praise of His glorious grace!

The Promised Messiah

By: Ian Opiniano

How does God reconcile His goodness and the sinfulness of man? He does it through His Messiah; a Savior, a deliverer who would atone for the sins of humanity. We first see this promise of a Messiah in the garden with God’s promise that an offspring of the woman would eventually crush the head of the serpent. We then looked at how God’s theme of redemption is portrayed through every book of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi. By observing the description of the patriarchs and their faith in the promised Messiah found in Hebrews 11, we saw that for believers who live after the fulfilled promise, we are now entitled to a better hope, promise and faith through Jesus Christ. For we no longer live in the shadow of the promised Messiah, but in the light of the proclaimed One.

The Birth of a Savior

By: Benjamin Thomas

To demonstrate His Grace, the God-man was born in this world at precisely the right moment. The Christmas narrative found in Luke 2:1-20 demonstrates God’s redemptive plan for humanity; fulfilling several prophecies found in scripture that point to the Savior. Joseph and Mary’s suffering experienced by the long journey to Bethlehem, reminds us that God’s purposes in suffering are not often apparent; requiring us to be humble and trust in a God who provides. As Jesus entered this fallen world, He extends His call of Grace to all people, but only those who acknowledge their sin, repent, and put their faith in Jesus, will receive the good news humbly like the Shepherds. God who is personal, wants to make our heart His home. May we, the church respond in praise like the Angels and Shepherds did when they heard the gospel; “Joy to the world! The Lord Has come. Let earth receive her King.”

The Life of Christ

By: Joshua Mathew

The life of Christ fulfilled messianic prophecies, displayed divine wonders among people, and also provided the ground on which sinners are declared righteous before God. In this sermon, we learned that Jesus Christ came to fulfill the entire Law for our sake (Matthew 3:13-17; 5:17-20 ESV). Jesus lived His life voluntarily, in obedience to the will of the Father and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This life that Jesus lived was essential; without it, the work of salvation would be incomplete. The Law of God from the Old Testament was given so that people could live a blessed life in God, and experience His goodness. Instead, we saw that the Law of God reveals humanity’s sinful condition; sin was made known by disobedience to the Law and the Law, rightly condemned all people to death. Jesus obeyed the Law perfectly for us since we can not obey it genuinely and totally. On His account, we are declared righteous by God when we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus for our salvation.

The Crucified Lamb

By: Joel Mathew

Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. When God looks down on earth, He sees guilty sinners who cannot work towards a right relationship with Him, and are condemned by the law of God. In the right time, God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to endure His wrath against sinners, so that His righteousness would now be revealed through grace apart from the law. As a lamb led for sacrifice, Jesus Christ died a horrific death on the cross, for the atonement of our sins. God is just and so, no sin will go unpunished. However, God is also the justifier of those who place their faith in Him for salvation. We looked at Romans 3:23-26 and saw that God Himself provided what sinners needed without compromising His character. On the cross, Jesus satisfied God’s demand for justice, purchased us with His blood, freed us from the punishment of God’s law, and gave us the righteousness He earned with His life on earth. The Lamb of God was slain so that guilty sinners are declared righteous by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Risen Lord

By: Ian Opiniano

Three days after the crucifixion, Jesus became the Risen Lord. In this session of our Gospel series, we studied Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, concerning the necessity of the resurrection to our Christian faith. The resurrection of Jesus displayed His validity as the Messiah, and His sacrifice on the cross. The resurrection also demonstrated our victory through the power of the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Finally, the resurrection defeated the final villain -death- in order that we too may rise from the grave and join our Savior for all of eternity. It is because of the victory that Christ demonstrated in the grave that we who believe can boldly say, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?…But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:55-56

The Crowned Victor

By: Benjamin Thomas

Forty days following His resurrection as recorded in Acts 1:1-12, Jesus while still incarnate ascends into heaven and is seated on the throne at the right hand of The Father. As the second Adam, Jesus restores human dominion over the earth. This transformative moment, integral to the gospel, empowers the church to share in His victory over all power and dominion. As an advocate, Jesus no longer limits Himself to being at one place at one time. Instead, He steps out of time and space and is available to all. His threefold office of Prophet, Priest and King along with His gifts of leadership and teaching are now available to His church through the advocacy of The Holy Spirit. As Prophets, the church has the truth of God’s Word to shape and build their lives around Christ. As priests, the church has access through Christ to God’s throne of mercy and grace. And as Kings, the church has the authority to proclaim Christ boldly. Christ distributes His gifts to build up the church until His glorious return; when He will defeat death once and for all as The Crowned Victor.

The Righteous Judge

By: Joshua Mathew

At the ascension of Jesus, the angels assured the crowd watching that the resurrected Christ will return again. The New Testament repeatedly assures us through numerous passages that there is a day coming when Christ will return to receive His bride, the Church; and judge all nations. In this sermon, we learned that all must stand before Him to give an account of their life as evidenced by their words and deeds, and be justly rewarded for it (Revelation 20:11-15, 1 Corinthians 3:10-23). We believe that we are saved by our faith in Christ, and that our works matter to God. It is God’s desire that all who are saved will be sanctified, and will live for Christ as a chosen people for His Glory. All who live in such a manner will personally receive an eternal reward from Jesus Christ. We also learned that on Judgement Day, those who do not believe in Christ and do all evil, will be handed over to eternal punishment and face God’s wrath in Hell forever. Praise be to God, who saves guilty people from eternal condemnation! Praise be to God, who rewards the faithful and condemns evil! Praise be to God, who judges the living and the dead!

The Glorious King

By: Ian Opiniano

The narrative concludes at the return of Christ as the Glorious King. In the final session of our series, what the return of Christ entails. We learned that Christ is returning to create His kingdom here on earth, complete our hope in Him, and condemn sinners who are against Him. With the knowledge of His glorious return, believers are to have a sense of excitement for the things to come, endure the trials of the present, evangelize the lost and evaluate one’s own faith. Christ’s return is inevitable, therefore believers must be immovable until He returns.

“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” Revelation 22:17