Tag: Salvation

His Only Son

On By Tim ValentinoIn GeneralLeave a comment

Here’s how we opened our Easter service this morning at Christ Community Church in Myerstown, Pennsylvania. As has become our tradition, it’s a dark-to-light presentation that culminates in a choir processional of exuberant voices declaring the joy of Christ’s resurrection, with the congregation joining in on the last verse. This year’s presentation was called “His Only Son,” from Genesis 22 and the Gospels. Enjoy.

Click on the image to access the video:

His Only Son

An Original Production by
Christ Community Church

Written by
Tim Valentino

Narrated by
Ken Hunkins

Produced and Edited by
Tim Valentino

Artwork by
Maureen Logan

Choir Directors
Sonya Valentino
Shirley Long

Processional
Christ Community Church Easter Choir

Jen Danielson, Lisa Dreibelbis, Stacey Espenschied, Kaye Focht, Marcy Garman, Shawn Garman, Ginny Hauer, Ken Hunkins, Faye Hipkiss, Bonnie Hunkins, Carol Keller, Kirby Keller, Maureen Logan, Shirley Long, Claude Petrie, Jan Petrie, Dawn Sharp, Pat Shroff, Sonya Valentino, and Tim Valentino.

—

Music by

“Adagio for Strings,” String Quartet, Op. 11 by Samuel Barber, performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, Sony Music, 1971.

“Prelude” by Scott Brasher and J. A. C. Redford on Unveiled Hope by Michael Card, performed by the London Session Orchestra, featuring Hunter Lee, conducted by J. A. C. Redford, Myrrh, 1977.

“Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee,” lyrics by Henry Van Dyke, music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Ode to Joy: from Symphony No. 9, performed by the Grace Community Church Orchestra, Sun Valley, CA, 2024.

Video by

His Only Son, directed by David Helling, starring Nicolas Mouawad as Abraham, Sara Seyed as Sarah, Edaan Moskowitz as Isaac, and Dan da Silva as the Lord, Angel Studios, 2023.

Jesus of Nazareth, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Robert Powell as Jesus, Olivia Hussey as Mary, Yorgo Voyagis as Joseph, and Michael York as John the Baptist, ITC Entertainment, 1977.

The Passion of the Christ, directed by Mel Gibson, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus, Icon Productions/Newmarket Films, 2004.

Risen, directed by Kevin Reynolds, starring Joseph Fiennes as Clavius Aquila Valerius Niger, Antonio Gil as Joseph of Arimathea, and Victor Trapani as Nicodemus, Affirm Films/Columbia Pictures, 2016.

Licensed By

Christian Copyright Licensing International No. 21229380

Christian Video Licensing International No. 21-03851831

Redeemed by God and for God (Revelation 5:9-10)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

In Revelation 5, the Apostle John becomes part of the vision he receives from heaven. He weeps bitterly because a universal search is made for someone who is worthy to open the Scroll of Destiny held in God’s right hand. Alas, no one is found who can do so. That means God’s good plans for the world will be thwarted. His vision for human redemption and cosmic restoration cannot be realized. In the end, evil wins, and all hope is lost. John is devastated. But then he’s invited to see that the Lion from the tribe of Judah is able to open the scroll. He turns to look, but instead of seeing a lion, he sees a lamb—slain yet risen—who is worthy to open the scroll. The message is clear: only Jesus can bring history to its rightful conclusion. That’s why all the hosts of heaven give Jesus the same response they give to Almighty God—exuberant praise and heartfelt worship. Indeed, God’s redemption in Christ transforms our outlook from despair to worship. Thanks to Jesus, the human race is never without hope because history itself will be redeemed.

Sermon Resources:

Redeemed by God and For God (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
Redeemed by God and For God (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Grave Errors: What Not to Miss at the Empty Tomb (Luke 24:1-8)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Three friends were talking in a restaurant one day when the conversation turned to dying. They asked each other what they would like said about them at their funerals. The first man said, “I’d like someone to talk about my career success and all the good things I did for people during my life.” The second man said, “I’d like someone to talk about what a great husband and father I was, and how much I loved my family and took care of them.” The third man said, “I’d like someone to say, ‘Look! He’s moving!’”


That’s the story of Easter. Jesus was dead on Friday, but on Sunday morning he was moving again. In fact, the Greek word for resurrection is anastasia, which literally means “to stand again.” Unfortunately, it’s sometimes hard to see what’s right in front of our face. That’s the story of the women who come to Jesus’s tomb on that first Easter Sunday. There’s a vitally important truth staring them in the face, but they can’t see it yet. We might not have seen it, either.

The women come on Sunday morning to finish the burial they had started Friday afternoon. The Sabbath was approaching, so they had to cut short their preparations. Consequently, they come back the following day to finish the job. When they get there, they find that the stone had been rolled away, and the tomb is now empty. Jesus’ body is gone. Verse 4 tells us they started “wondering” about this. (Who wouldn’t have?)

The good news is they don’t stay in the dark very long. God tells them directly what happened. Two men in radiant garments give them the explanation. According to the other gospels, these men are “angels” or “messengers” from God. The whole scene reminds us that Christian faith rests entirely on hearing, believing, and resting in what God has spoken.

Without divine revelation, these women would have stared at the empty tomb for hours and debated what it could possibly mean. That’s what happens when we think Jesus is still dead. We miss it completely. Specifically, there are three things these women miss—and they’re the same things people often miss today. They miss the miracle of the resurrection; they miss the meaning of the resurrection; and they miss the marvel of the resurrection. They make three “grave errors,” but in all three cases, the gift of divine revelation gets them back on track. Specifically:

  • They see Jesus as a good man but not the God-man.
  • They see Jesus as a prophet but not the fulfillment of prophecy.
  • They see Jesus as a religious duty but not a real-life delight.

In love, God corrects their fuzzy vision with lenses of truth. In time, they come to see the grand reality that the resurrection of Jesus changes everything—from here to eternity. They come to see that Easter really happened, Easter really matters, and Easter really transforms. We can see it, too, for Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.

Sermon Resources:

Grave Errors (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
Grave Errors (Sermon PowerPoint)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Thank God It’s Friday, Part 2: The Word of Assurance (Luke 23:35-43)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

There’s a saint and a sinner on Mount Calvary. What separates them is Jesus. In Luke 23:35-43, we find Jesus hanging between two criminals—one a scoffer and one a brand-new believer. Having mocked Jesus earlier during the crucifixion (Mark 15:32), this “repentant thief” has a change of heart at some point, asking Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom. Jesus responds with memorable words of grace and assurance: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

With death approaching, the repentant thief begins to fear God and take responsibility for his own wrongdoing. Perhaps his heart was softened by the prayer of forgiveness that Jesus had prayed earlier (Luke 23:34). Showing both courage and confidence, he takes a public stand for Jesus, expressing his belief that Jesus would have a life beyond the cross. As a result, the man learns he would be spending eternity with Jesus in heaven. Nowhere in Scripture is it clearer that salvation is by grace through faith.

Throughout this series, we’re looking for both the “good news” and the “good life” in each of these sayings from the cross. That is, each statement has in it divine grace for us to receive (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) and a divine example for us to follow (1 Peter 2:21). Practical applications, then, abound from this second saying of Christ from the cross:

  • Jesus dies in the company of unbelievers, attracting them to God. 
  • Believers should live in the company of unbelievers, attracting them to God.
  • Jesus dies refusing to retaliate for the insults and injuries inflicted on him.
  • Believers should live refusing to retaliate for the insults and injuries inflicted on him.
  • Jesus dies submitting to God’s agenda rather than to the world’s agenda.
  • Believers should live submitting to God’s agenda rather than to the world’s agenda.
  • Jesus dies speaking words of hope and encouragement to the hurting.
  • Believers should live speaking words of hope and encouragement to the hurting.
  • Jesus dies helping someone in a similar predicament as himself. 
  • Believers should live helping someone in a similar predicament as themselves.
  • Jesus dies serving someone who is totally unable to return the favor. 
  • Believers should live serving someone who is totally unable to return the favor.
  • Jesus dies joining God where he is at work, sharing the good news. 
  • Believers should live joining God where he is at work, sharing the good news.

In short, the message of this second saying from the cross is twofold: Humble yourself to receive the gift of Jesus, and pattern your life after the death of Jesus. It’s still true today—what separates saints and sinners is Jesus. Thankfully, God in Christ can respond to the faintest cry in the last moments of a person’s life (cf. Rom 10:13). Including ours.

On a Personal Note

Don Francisco used to sing a gospel folk song called “Too Small a Price,” told from the vantage point of this repentant thief on the cross. Francisco came to a meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the Towers 3 dormitory at West Virginia University back in the day when the Lord was pursuing me big time. This song, more than all the others he sang that night, bore deep into my soul, and it was instrumental in my own conversion to Christ. I’ll place a recording of it below for those who may not have heard it.

Though the agony continued there it was still too small a price
To be allowed to hear those words, and to die beside the Christ.
– Don Francisco

Sermon Resources:

The Word of Assurance (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
The Word of Assurance (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

“Too Small a Price” by Don Francisco

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Thank God It’s Friday, Part 1: The Word of Forgiveness (Luke 23:32-37)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

The first statement of Jesus from the cross is, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). One can hardly think of a more unlikely thing for Jesus to say, given the circumstances in which he says it. Crucifixion was designed to be maximally painful. As the ancients said, to be crucified was to “die a thousand deaths.”

As such, this gracious prayer is spoken from inside the vortex of a living hell on earth. Jesus does not defend his innocence or curse his enemies; rather, he prays for those who are torturing him. Indeed, he is practicing what he preached about forgiveness, which is noteworthy because he has the power to stop the entire ordeal. But the removal of our sin is more important to Jesus than the removal of his own suffering, so he endures the pain. 

Mercifully, a great exchange is taking place here at Calvary (1 Peter 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:21). “Bearing shame and scoffing rude / In my place condemned he stood.” God didn’t sweep our sins under the rug; he swept them onto Christ. Jesus takes our place and dies our death. What Jesus is really praying here is, “Father, forgive them, and condemn me. Charge their wrongdoing to my account, and I will pay the cost.” In the cross of Christ, then, we see what God has done about what we have done. For God to take our part, he had to take our place. And he does so in Christ. 

Moreover, though immersed in agony, Jesus died believing in the goodness of God despite the wickedness of man—as revealed by the fact that his first word from the cross is, “Father.” His steadfast faith is the kind of faith we need to extend forgiveness to others, too, which is always difficult. We tend to attribute other people’s faults to their character, and our own faults to our environment. The cross challenges that perspective, for as Jesus himself taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” When we don’t forgive others, we tear down the very bridge we need to walk on to connect with God. Forgiving those who’ve wronged us is actually the key to not being victimized or controlled by them any longer.

In the end, if the murder of the Son of God is forgivable, then your sin—whatever it may be—is forgivable, too. So, accept your acceptance from God, and then forgive others as Christ forgave you—gracefully and extravagantly.

Sermon Resources:

Series: Thank God It’s Friday: Living Words from Our Dying Savior

The Word of Forgiveness (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
The Word of Forgiveness (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

God Has Landed: Rejoice & Respond! (Matthew 2:1-11)

On By Tim ValentinoIn General, SermonsLeave a comment

God has landed! Right in a manger. Right on top of cow spit and barnyard bacteria. Jesus came a long way to save us. Two thousand years ago, the eternal Son of God stepped across the stars of the universe to become a zygote in the womb of the Virgin Mary. And then he was born as one of us. “Manhood and deity in perfect harmony—the Man who is God,” wrote Graham Kendrick.

Christmas, then, is the ultimate display of meekness and majesty in one person. “Glory to God in the highest,” was the angelic response. They easily could have said, “Glory to God in lowest,” too. God is with us now in the person of Jesus Christ. On earth. Magi from the east were among the first to welcome him. Following the natal star, they set out on a journey to find the newborn king. 

It was more than curiosity that drew this caravan of dignitaries and polymaths to Jesus. It was God himself. They saw him at work in the sky—speaking their language—and they wanted to go meet with him. Indeed, this passage shows us that God speaks in a variety of ways because he has something important to say. Matthew 2:1-11 reminds us that God makes himself known to us:

  • generally through creation. (1-2)
  • specifically through revelation. (3-6)
  • graciously through intervention. (7-10)
  • supremely through incarnation. (11a)

Are we listening? The Magi were listening, and that’s why they traveled hundreds of miles across the desert to go see the Christ. They were men of wisdom and learning. They were into math, medicine, astronomy, and human nature. Some of them were superstitious. We get our word “magic” from their title. Call them “wizards” if you like. It was basically the cast of Harry Potter who came to see Jesus. Mark it well: Gentiles (non-Jews) were among the first to welcome and worship the Christ, indicating that God means for Jesus to be the Savior for the whole world!

If the Magi teach us anything, it’s that it’s never enough for us to just be amazed at the wonders of God; we have to set out on the journey and follow him. Our calling is not just to stand in awe of creation but to get to know the Creator. That’s why God’s revelation of himself in Christ demands a response of faith in Christ. He is worthy of our treasure and our trust. Indeed, he wants everyone to come and worship his Son. He wants you to worship his Son. Even if you’re a wizard.

This interactive Christmas Day devotional is followed by a reading of The Tale of Three Trees, a wonderful story for children of all ages.

Sermon Resources:

God Has Landed—Rejoice Respond! (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
God Has Landed—Rejoice & Respond (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

The Best Headline Ever (1 Timothy 1:15-17)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Headlines are notoriously difficult to write. Even news editors who’ve been in the business for decades can struggle with the task. When you write a headline, you have to summarize the story in a few words, and do so in a way that hooks people and makes them want to keep reading. You have to be clear, concise, and captivating. You have to be journalistically accurate and grammatically correct. You have to be somewhat clever without being overly cute or trite. Above all, you have to be careful that you never communicate an unintended meaning—an oversight that, in the end, can make you look silly as a writer.

After looking at a few bad (and humorous!) headlines, this Christmas Eve message looks at a headline God doesn’t want anybody in the world to miss: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). That’s the message of Christmas, and it’s front-page stuff. It’s a banner story. It’s the best headline ever. It’s clear, concise, and captivating. It’s theologically accurate and doctrinally correct. And it’s still as exciting and relevant as when it was first hot off the press. It certainly was for Paul, who gives us an abbreviated testimony here. He gives us the scoop on himself.

Paul used to be a terrorist. He was the Osama bin Laden of his day. But the headline of Christmas radically changed his life. He writes in sheer wonder at the grace of God that was lavished on him despite his past: “I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16). He’s saying, “Folks, I’m Exhibit A of the grace of God. I deserved judgment; but in Christ I received mercy. I deserved punishment; but in Christ I received pardon. I deserved condemnation; but in Christ I received salvation. Essentially, Paul is saying, “If Christ can save someone like me, then he can save anyone!”

That’s the best headline ever. It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. Christmas is for you, too—as long as you recognize you need a Savior. Indeed, Paul reminds us here that Jesus came to save us and show us that no one is beyond the grace of God. No wonder he ends his brief testimony with a doxology, a burst of praise: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17). Christmas made him thankful. 

How about you? Are you grateful for Christmas—the birth of the Savior? The old Christmas carol puts it so well: “Where meek souls will receive him still the dear Christ enters in.” So, do what Paul says here in this passage: “Believe on him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16). 

Sermon Resources:

The Best Headline Ever (Sermon Outline)Download
The Best Headline Ever (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Concerning This Salvation (1 Peter 1:10-12)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Even the apostles came across passages of Scripture once in a while that confounded them. Peter wrote of Paul’s writings, “His letters contain some things that are hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16). That’s a comfort to those of us who have ever been perplexed by something we’ve read in the Bible!

Peter also wrote, “The prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow” (1 Peter 1:10-11). In other words, the Old Testament prophets also had difficulty understanding some aspects of Scripture—including their own prophecies! The good news is, they kept pursuing greater understanding despite their own confusion. They faithfully wrote down what God had led them to write, even when they couldn’t piece it all together.

To take a case in point, the prophets spoke of a glorious messiah to come. They also spoke of a suffering messiah to come. Consequently, they had trouble reconciling these two concepts, which seemed to stand in an irresolvable tension. “What kind of messiah will he be,” they wondered, “a glorious messiah or a suffering messiah? Or will he somehow be both?”

Looking at all the biblical evidence, some rabbis said there was not one messiah coming but two! They even gave them names. The first was called, “Messiah, son of David,” the one who would rule and reign in righteousness in the spirit of King David, the one who brought Israel to its zenith of power and glory in his day. The second was called, “Messiah, son of [Old Testament] Joseph,” the one who would be mistreated by his own people and suffer greatly at their hands, just like Joseph, the patriarch, who was betrayed by his brothers.

The two-messiah theory was a good theory. It sought to be comprehensive and make sense of the sum total of biblical data. It tried to leave no stone unturned and be faithful to what God had revealed in his Word. The only problem with the theory is that it was wrong! There were not two messiahs coming, but one messiah in two appearances. The first time he would come as “Messiah son of Joseph,” the suffering servant who would die for the sins of the world. The second time he would appear as “Messiah son of David,” the everlasting king whose throne would never end.

The lesson for us today is both practical and helpful: When Scripture is hard to understand, keep studying it as best you can, letting God unravel the mysteries in his own time. And, in the end, know that Jesus is the center of all of it. As the prophets learned, God’s unfolding plan requires patience and faith. Paul himself wrote, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). We ought to be very careful, then, about how tightly we hold onto our pet theories—even when we can attach a bunch of Bible verses to them.

Sermon Resources:

Concerning This Salvation (Sermon Outline PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

The Gospel Unchained, Part 7: Watch Out (2 Timothy 2:14-19)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Somebody once said, “The main thing in life is to keep the main thing the main thing.” That’s true in Christian theology, too. Jesus once spoke of “weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23), meaning some things in the Torah are more important than others. Likewise, the Apostle Paul spoke of “disputable matters” (Roman 14:1), meaning some things in the Christian life require no ecclesiastical positions or pronouncements. The Early Church called such things adiaphora, meaning “matters of indifference.”

The fact is, certain aspects of the Christian faith are never worth disputing (2 Timothy 2:14, 16-18a), while certain aspects of the Christian faith are always worth defending (2 Timothy 2:18b). The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (along with his followers at the end of the age) is in this latter category. That’s always doctrinal hill to die on—so much so that Paul devotes an entire chapter to it in 1 Corinthians 15. Without the resurrection, he says, there is no Christianity.

Paul tells us in this passage that when it comes to haggling over WORDS, cut it out (2 Timothy 2:14, 16-18). However, when it comes to handling THE WORD, cut it straight (2 Timothy 2:15, 19). He instructs young Timothy—and he instructs Bible teachers today—“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). 

The image is rich with practical insights for today’s teachers. Our calling is to be faithful to what God has revealed in his Word, a task that requires hard work, courage, and living primarily for the approval of the One who inspired his Word to be written down for our instruction. 

Moreover, we should want the apostles and prophets of old—were they sitting in the front row of our classrooms or sanctuaries—to hear our sermons and lessons, and nod in agreement after we teach, saying, “Yes, that’s what I meant. You were faithful to the message I wrote down about God and his ways many years ago, and you demonstrated its relevance for God’s people in your day.”

In short, Paul’s message for us is: Watch out for Bible teachers who make much of what is little and little of what is much. What we need to make much of in our day is Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, and his gospel of salvation for all who believe.

Sermon Resources:

Watch Out (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
Watch Out (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

The Gospel Unchained, Part 6: Remember the Gospel (2 Timothy 2:8-13)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Adoniram Judson was the first overseas missionary sent out from America. In the early 19th century, he and his wife went to India. A short time later, he went to Burma, where he labored in gospel work for nearly four decades. After 14 years on the field, Judson had a handful of converts and had managed to write a Burmese grammar. 

During that time, he suffered a horrible imprisonment for a year and a half, and he lost his wife and children to disease. A man who had been incarcerated with Mr. Judson described their prison conditions as he re-called them:

“The only articles of furniture the place contained were these…a gigantic row of stocks, similar in its construction to that formerly used in England…[only these were stocks for the feet, not the head and hands]. It was capable of accommodating more than a dozen occupants, and like a huge crocodile opened and shut its jaws with a loud snap upon its prey…. The prison had never been washed, nor even swept, since it was built… This gave a kind of…permanency to the odors… 

“As might have been expected from such a state of things, the place was teeming with creeping vermin to such an extent that…the greater portion of my dress was plundered. Surely it was enough for Mr. Judson to be shut up in the hot, stifling stench of a place like this without having his ankles and legs weighted with…irons, the scars from which he wore to his dying day. 

“He could say with the Apostle Paul, ‘I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.’ When Mr. Judson was subjected to these indignities and tortures, he was in the very prime of life—36 years old.”

There’s nothing like a good missionary biography to illustrate how small our sacrifice for Christ often is by comparison. Adoniram Judson suffered greatly for his Christian commitment. But, like the Apostle Paul, Judson considered his work for Christ to be infinitely more important than his own personal comfort. 

Where does that kind of inner strength come from? It comes from the grace standing behind what Paul writes to Timothy: “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained” (2 Timothy 2:8-9). In other words, you can endure anything when you remember the gospel is everything.

Looking back on his life, Judson wrote these words: “If I had not felt certain that every trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated sufferings.” Like Paul, Judson believed that no suffering is too great if it brings about the salvation of those who place their trust in Jesus Christ—a trust that leads to “eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:10). Or, as Martin Luther put it:

Let goods and kindred go
This mortal life also
The body they may kill
God’s truth abideth still
His Kingdom is forever

Sermon Resources:

Remember the Gospel (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
Remember the Gospel (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

The Mirror in the Manger (Luke 2:25-35)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Life is filled with riddles and illusions. We’re often surrounded by mysteries and conundrums. We can’t always figure out what’s going on around us or why things happen the way they do. Sometimes our minds get confused and we need help to determine what we’re really seeing. Certainly, it’s the case that “we all see from where we stand.” We all have different backgrounds, experiences, families of origin issues, and traumas—and that can affect how we see the world.

Psychologists tell us that sometimes what we’re looking for determines what we see. It’s an interesting observation considering Jeremiah 29:13, where God says, “You will…find me when you seek me with all your heart.” If we honestly look for God, we’ll find him. That’s especially true in the Christmas story. God is all over the story of Christmas. He’s on every page of it. And if we look for him there, we’ll find him. Most of the people who were part of the original story certainly did, although a few did not.

In this holiday message, we ask the question, “What did the original characters see in Christmas?” What was their perspective? How did they see it? And what will we see as we join them around the manger this year? It’s an important question because what we see in Christmas reveals what God sees in us. That’s what Simeon was getting at in his prophecy, “This child is destined…to reveal the thoughts of many hearts” (Luke 2:35). In other words, there’s a mirror in the manger, not just a baby. And that mirror tells us something about what’s inside our own hearts.

Sermon Resources:

The Mirror in the Manger (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
The Mirror in the Manger (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

O Holy Night, Part 4: Chains Shall He Break (1 Corinthians 7:17-24; Ephesians 6:5-9)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

It’s easy to overlook the fact that God entered the human race through a descendant of slaves. Every slave who has ever lived, then—whether in physical shackles or some other kind of bondage—has a friend in Jesus. He can identify with the struggle, which is a tremendous source of encouragement to the oppressed of this world.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.

Cappeau’s reference in verse 3 of “O Holy Night” to the equality of all persons, whether slave or free, got the song banned by the church hierarchy in the early years of its popularity. Congregations all over Europe, however, sang it anyway. Such was the French revolutionary spirit. In a qualified sense, St. Paul may have agreed with that sentiment, having written to the Corinthians, “Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so” (1 Cor 7:21).

Once again, Sullivan Dwight’s theology—not Cappeau’s lyrics—drives the English translation. Dwight elevates an important biblical ethic (viz., loving others and standing against oppression), but he eliminates part of the gospel in the process. Lost in Dwight’s translation in v. 3 is:

  • The concept that Christ, the Redeemer, has already broken all shackles
  • The concept that Christ has already freed earth and opened heaven
  • The concept that Christ was born, suffered, and died for all humanity
  • The concept that gratitude is a proper response to this good news

Dwight really did a hack job on Cappeau’s lyrics. And yet what remains is true and beautiful. In this particular message, we focus on two admonitions to two groups of people: (1) to those under authority—remember the contentment of Christ; and (2) to those wielding authority—remember the kindness of Christ. Indeed, we can begin to conquer our own sense of oppression by adjusting our attitudes even before adjusting our circumstances.

In the end, we celebrate the fact that God entered the human race through a descendant of slaves to set us free. Consequently, no one who knows Jesus can ever live perpetually with a victim mentality. 

Sermon Resources:

Chains Shall He Break (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
Chains Shall He Break (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

O Holy Night, Part 3: He Knows Our Need (Hebrews 2:9-18; 4:15-16)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Verse 2 of “O Holy Night” contains these two lines: “In all our trials born to be our Friend! / He knows our need—to our weakness is no stranger.” These concepts are biblically true and spiritually encouraging. Once again, however, the translator’s theology, not the original lyrics, are driving the carol’s rendering into English. 

Lost in translation is the sinful pride of humanity for which Christ came to die as an atoning sacrifice. But by eliminating the reference to human brokenness, the good news is not as good as it could be. For example, it’s certainly amazing that a holy God would befriend sinful people, but that’s amazing precisely because in our natural state, we were first his enemies (cf. Rom 5:8).

What the translator did is what so many people try to do today—keep the good news of the gospel while eliminating the bad news that it answers. But if there’s no bad news, what is it that makes the good news good? The lack of a contrast renders the word “good” almost meaningless in such a context. It’s like the medical community announcing a great cure for some disease nobody has. So what?

Christmas is the announcement that God has a great cure for the spiritual disease everyone suffers from—the disease called sin. It’s a condition that manifests itself preeminently in human pride, as the author originally wrote. And pride needs to be confronted by the preaching of the gospel. So, yes, God knows our need, and let’s not minimize that need. By properly understanding it, we better appreciate God’s solution for it, and the lengths to which he went to deliver it to us on that first Christmas.

“He knows our need—to our weakness is no stranger.” Our passages from Hebrews 2 and Hebrews 4 bear that out. God cares about our physical needs, our emotional needs, and our spiritual needs. Indeed, Christmas shows that God cares about our every need. He is attentive to our condition because he loves us. And his love for us is why he sent us his Son (John 3:16).

That’s why Jesus came. He would go on to suffer and die in our place on the cross. He made our hell his so that he could make his heaven ours. Our response of faith to such amazing grace is to “walk as Jesus walked” in this regard. God’s people cannot be indifferent toward other people’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. We serve humanity because the ultimate human served us. To our weakness that ultimate human—Jesus—is no stranger. So let us not be a stranger to him.

Sermon Resources:

He Knows Our Need (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
He Knows Our Need (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

The Christ Community, Part 2: The Church as God’s New Humanity (Ephesians 2:11-18)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

Ever since Genesis 3, it has been hard for people to get along. We’re all so different, and, because of our fallenness, those differences can annoy us, threaten us, and make us suspicious of one another. In jealousy, envy, and pride, we tend to think, say, and do nasty things to each other, making life unpleasant at times.

In the first century, there were two groups of people who didn’t get along very well—Jews and Gentiles. The Jews were descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. The Gentiles were everybody else. Both latent and overt hostility marked their relationship over the centuries. Paul addresses that enmity in Ephesians 2, and he talks about what God has done to rectify it. The solution he offers is still relevant today because the world is more polarized now than ever. In recent years we have witnessed a growing hostility between races, classes, genders, and political parties. The tension is exhausting and disillusioning. 

How can God take widely diverse and disparate people and put them successfully into one new group? Paul’s answer is Jesus. Why? Because “he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace” (Eph 2:14-15).

Paul argues that the source of alienation between Jew and Gentile—God’s law—was put on the shelf (2:15a) because the source of reconciliation—God’s Son—was put on the cross (2:13b, 16b). Human beings may be hostile to each other, but God treated his perfect Son as if he were all the world’s hostility rolled into one. And when Christ died on the cross, the Father regarded the hostility itself as having died, too. God’s purpose was to create one new humanity out of the two—a horizontal hostility replaced with horizontal peace (2:15b).

The result is that irreligious people (like the Gentiles, who thought they are “far off”) can now hear and believe the gospel of peace (2:17a). Religious people (like the Jews, who thought they are already near) can hear and believe that same gospel (2:17b). All are “far off” because of sin, but all can “draw near” now because of Jesus. God is wise in this regard. All who draw near to him wind up drawing near to each other, too. Indeed, the only way to fully experience the God who is community is to participate fully in his new community—the church.

That’s not always easy because we’re all different. But believers who draw near to God bear the marks of unity in diversity. That’s why Paul cites the Trinity two times in this passage (2:18, 22). God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are the ultimate model for the church—a community of truth, love, and unity in diversity.

Sermon Resources:

The Church as God’s New Humanity (Sermon Outline PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

The Christ Community, Part 1: The Church of Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:13-20; 18:15-20)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

What on earth is the church, and why are we here? All authoritative answers to these questions must begin with Jesus, who said, “I will build my church” (Matt 16:18). Since the church is his church, and he is building it, there’s no better place to begin our inquiry than Christ himself. Therefore, in part 1 of this series, we focus on Jesus’ two uses of the word “church” in the Gospel of Matthew, along with its Old Testament background. His first reference speaks of “the Church Universal,” and his second reference speaks of “the Church Local.” What do these expressions mean, and how do they relate? 

Quite significantly, the Hebrew word qahal denotes an assembly of Israelites, especially when gathered before the Lord as a “saved” or “rescued” covenant people. When the Greek Old Testament (called the Septuagint) translates qahal, it uses the word ekklesia, which means “group,” “assembly,” “community,” or “congregation.” In secular usage, it meant the gathering of people at a town hall meeting. In sacred usage, it meant the gathering of believers for worship, prayer, and mission.

In our day, the word ekklesia comes into English as “church,” which always refers in Scripture to a “saved” or “rescued” covenant people, never to a building. Let that sink in for a moment. The church of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament, is a people, not a building. It is people that Christ is building.

As suggested by Jesus’ two uses of the word ekklesia, “the Church Universal” refers to the community of all true believers in every age and in every place. By contrast, “the Church Local” is a community of professing believers at a certain time and in a certain place. The rest of the New Testament bears out this important distinction. 

At its most basic level, then, the church of Jesus Christ is a community of believers rescued from sin and released for service. It’s God’s new society. And it’s still very much alive around the world today. No, it’s not yet perfect, but it is perfectible, and it will be perfect when Christ has finished his building.

Sermon Resources:

The Church of Jesus Christ (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
The Church of Jesus Christ (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.