Journey to Jesus V - The Son of God

Pastor Dan's sermon from 12/31/06

Scripture Reference: John 20:30-31

Click here to listen.

Well, the Journey to Jesus series is over. However, I can't help but think that our journey to Jesus never really does end until we have been fully glorified when we meet our King in eternity. And until that time, that either God sees fit to call us home or Jesus returns to take us to that place that he has prepared for us, we will always struggle on this journey to Jesus. We will fall, we will sin, we will disappoint, we will hurt, and we will suffer. However, we will also be sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives--a true continued work of grace.

I am looking forward to this next series called "Journey with Jesus". We are going to take a look at some of the claims that Jesus made about himself. He called himself the "way, truth and life", the "bread of life", the "resurrection and the life", the "vine", the "good shepherd...I can't wait to dive in as we, the disciples of Jesus continue this journey with our Savior through His Living Word.

Can't wait to be with you all this Lord's Day!

What's In A Name?

It's Saturday, New Years Eve-Eve. We are on the brink of another man-made landmark of time. Many people are making New Years Resolutions to change, lose weight, get in shape, make more money, spend less money, be a better person all around, go to church, change their church and so on. I have just finished my sermon notes (I usually do a few touch ups on Saturday to get refreshed and prepared for Sunday) and I am excited about sharing with you what God has laid on my heart.

To be perfectly honest we will be looking at some doctrines tomorrow that could launch 50 new sermon series. But we will only have a few minutes to get into them tomorrow. But if you are reading this tonight, befor the Lord's Day, I want to ask a question. What is in a name? More specifically, what is in Jesus Christ's name or names? What do they mean? Do they challenge us? Do they change us? Do they "wreck" us? Have you ever looked into what Jesus' names mean?

Names meant so much more to people in biblical times. When we choose names today it is usually from a baby book or internet page full of baby names. We try to match them with our last name and in some cases with our other children's names. Why did your parents give you your name? Have you ever asked them? My parents gave me "Daniel" which is from the Hebrew name which means "God is my judge". Boy, isn't that the truth. My son's name is Caleb Mark. We gave him the middle name to remember my younger brother, Mark, who was killed in a car accident in 1993. The funny thing is that Caleb and Mark are both the same name. Mark is the Greek name for Caleb meaning literally, "Mighty Warrior, Mighty Warrior". Think about Caleb's role in Israel's history. He and Joshua were certainly mighty warriors.

I say all of that to say this, think about Jesus Christ. Literally his name means, "Yahweh saves, the Annointed One". We often think of these names as a first and last name. But Jesus was probablly known as "Joshua". Jesus is a late adaption. "Christ" was a confession about Jesus. It was an announcement more than a name. To say "Jesus Christ" is to say, that the Son of God is the Messiah of God, the one who saves us from our sins.

Many say that they believe in Jesus or that they are a Christian. But unless we really believe this about Jesus, than we are using his name in vain. If we say we believe but have not a life that shows it, we use his name in vain. What do you believe about Jesus' name?

Who is Jesus? The Children Speak.

Many of you have requested a way to download the Children's Video from a few weeks ago. Here it is! You can download the video for keeps by Clicking here.

They are precious aren't they?

Journey to Jesus IV - The Word Became Flesh

Pastor Dan's sermon from 12/24/06

Scripture Reference: John 1:1-5

Click here to listen.

Download this week's devotions Click here.

Well, Merry Christmas to all of you! What a wonderful time of worship and fellowship we had this morning. It always is a blessing to be with God's people on the Lord's Day. It is my prayer that God's Word touched you this morning and that hearts and lives have been changed. God's Word will accomplish what it set out to do!

Glory to God in the highest and peace on whom his favor rests!

'Twas the Night Before...

'Twas the night before the "holiday" and all through the house
Not a mention of Jesus, nor could the Story be found.
There were mountains of presents and a big bright tree,
A quick annual church visit for it is all about me.

Somewhere in the midst we had lost the true meaning
Of the story of Christmas and the angels singing,
"Glory to God in the highest and peace on whom his favor rests!"
Let's just leave that to Charlie Brown, his boy Linus says it best

So another "Holiday" gone by and I have what I want
Too bad my new iPod broke, I want a refund!
Through all the bulbs and bows, lights and festivity
Do I have any idea about the real Christmas tree.

For there were no lights and no stars, no bulbs and no tinsel
Rather pierced hands and feet and a crown of thistles
It's here that the baby from the manger cried out
"Father! It is finished!" that's what the "holiday" is all about.



Have we lost it? Is Christmas really dying in America? What about in the world? Is Jesus really that offensive to people? I always leave my Christmas shopping to the last week before Christmas. This year I waited until two days (yesterday) before Christmas to hit the malls with the crowds. I finally felt the "holiday cheer" when I stepped into the Mall and heard the generic Christmas Muzack playing throughout the mall. I went into the toy store to see if I could find a little something for my kids and I immediately began to laugh to myself as I saw the many people holding toys in one hand and the cell phone in the other to make sure they were picking up the "right one". "These people are desperate!" I thought to myself. That was until I reached the Care Bears and was immediately lost. What color did my daughter want? What did my wife tell me. I looked around to make sure no one was watching and slowly took out my own cell phone as I dialed for my wife. "Honey..." I immediately started laughing. Now I am the desperate Christmas shopper.

As the day went on I realized that every merchant wished me a "Happy Holiday". Being a preacher, I couldn't help but respond with "Merry CHRISTmas to you too!" I left the mall only to return late that night. I wasn't done consuming yet. I needed more stuff to give away. I was finally done as I purchased the last gift--a little heart pendant for my 4 year old. The jewler gave me my receipt as the noise level had died down at 11pm and I could tell she was beat. As she handed me my bag she said, "Have a happy holiday." I said, "Merry Christmas!" and began to walk away but something stopped me. I turned back around and said, "Could I ask you something?" She nodded, "Sure." I went on, "Do they--I mean, your bosses--do they require you to say 'happy holidays'? Are you allowed to say, 'Merry Christmas'?" She laughed, "Of course, but I just don't feel like gambling on the customers. Some people get offended. Not many, but that one is enough to ruin my day." I smiled and said again, "Well then, Merry Christmas to you." She smiled in return, "Thank you, Merry Christmas."

You know we really think we have it bad. We think persecution is if a few people get upset about a few words. We think the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket if a manger scene is taken down because our "Christian" government wants to be politically correct. There is no doubt in my mind that here in America, we have it easy. They could take Christmas out of every department store and government building and the Kingdom of God would just grow and expand. Did you ever wonder why the Church grew so rapidly in the early centuries? One Word--persecution.

But I say all that to say this. Have we, the church, lost our perspective on Christmas. Is it more than words? Is it more than feeling? Is it more than nostalgia? Is it more than gifts and receiving and giving and Christmas trees and lights and a special time to go to church? Is it more? Tomorrow I am going to preach on John 1:1. Just one verse. One verse that lit up the world. "The Word became flesh". This is Christmas. This is the true meaning of what we celebrate.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man with all of our infirmities and qualities so that God would make him a sin offering. He did what the law was powerless to do--save us from our sins. This is Christmas.

Journey to Jesus III: The Seed of the Woman

Pastor Dan's sermon from 12/17/06

Scripture Reference: Luke 1:26-36

Click here to listen.

Download this week's devotions Click here.

I hope that the Holy Spirit moved in all of our hearts yesterday as we read and learned from God's Word. It was a difficult sermon to preach in that we could have spent several hours on "Seed Theology". I would encourage you to investigate this further as it is rich with blessing and helps us to understand how God has worked all throughout history and how he continues to work to this day. It also helps us to understand that each of the stories in the Bible have a significance to the coming of Jesus Christ. These weren't just random accounts but God-inspired inclusion of Redemptive facts and history.

This week we will prepare to study John 1 as we approach Christmas Day. I hope you enjoy the devotions this week and I hope that they prepare you for this Sunday. If you have trouble downloading the devotions, please feel free to e-mail me.

Preparing for the Lord's Day

If your week has been anything like my week, than the last thing you are preparing for is the Lord's Day. Christmas can be the most busy time of the year. My wife was commenting the other day as we were headed off somewhere with the kids that Christmas can often be a "non-family" event if we aren't careful about what we commit to and where we spend our time. The same thing can happen for the Lord's Day.

We often come into church with last weeks burdens and the following weeks worries on our shoulders. So how do we prepare? Get your family together. Read a few passages on the Lord's Day. Genesis 2, Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5. Remember that it was God who gave us His Son Jesus that we might be brought up out of the bondage of sin just as Israel was to remember how God brought them up out of the "house of slavery" which was Egypt. Don't just read...pray. Use the means of grace that God has given us to get your heart prepared. Give thanks to the Lord in your prayer. Ask him to open your heart to hear His Word. Pray for the leadership of the church that they might be able to lead God's people into true worship in "spirit and in Truth".

Let the Lord's Day be a delight to you and to your family. I am looking forward to bringing God's Word tomorrow as we take a look at Jesus who is the Seed of the Woman and as we look at the faithfulness of God's servant Mary. Let's continue on this journey as we get closer to Christmas. See you on this Lord's Day.

Journey to Jesus: The Seed of the Woman

Before I get started I wanted to post the new devotions for the week. You can download them by clicking here.

We continue down this journey to our Lord by turning from the "suffering servant" of Isaiah 53 to Jesus as the "seed of the woman". Where do we get this term from? Genesis 3:15 tells us that the seed of the woman will crush the serpants head. We are told in Revelation that the serpant is Satan himself in the garden. But the seed is Jesus Christ. In fact all of the Bible contains what we call "seed theology". Satan is constantly trying to destroy the seed of the woman so that the Messiah would not be able to save his people from their sins. It is an epic spiritual battle!

The Christmas account in Matthew tells of how Herod wanted to destroy the Seed of Woman by sending out soldiers to kill all 2 year old boys and under. What a tragic story and picture of man's depravity. But through the work of the Holy Spirit, the faithfulness of a teenage girl and Jewish man, the Seed of the Woman, the fragile little infant would be protected and God's salvation plan accomplished.

The Christmas story is incredible. Read it again and pray that the Lord would allow it fall on you in a fresh way. This week, in the devotions, we will wrap up last weeks message. We could spend months on Isaiah 53 alone but the journey must go on for now. Perhaps we can return to it, or perhaps you could do your own study on it! This week we will begin to read the Christmas account from Scripture as we see how Christ came into the world to be the Savior of his people...to save us from our sins. Amen, to God be the glory alone!

Journey to Jesus II: The Suffering Servant

Pastor Dan's sermon from 12/10/06

Scripture Reference: Isaiah 53

Click here to listen.

A New Week

What a great time of worship we had together this morning. What a way to bring in the Christmas season as we pay closer attention to the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, I haven't received any cards or letters yet about my "New Jersey" comment so I can head that off now--if need be. All in good fun right? Parenthetically, my wife's family is from Jersey...so good things do come from there!

I am looking forward to posting some new weekly devotions this week. Feel free to come here on Monday night to download at least the first half of the week as we continue on this "Journey to Jesus". We could spend 12 weeks on Isaiah 53 alone. We will take a closer look at some of the verses this week before we prepare for next weeks sermon.

It is my hope and prayer that you were blessed by God's Word this morning and that you truly worshipped the Lord our God in Spirit and in Truth. Look for a new post with devotions tomorrow night. Feel free to comment and post!

Before the Lord's Day

I am sitting here, putting the "finishing touches" on my sermon on Isaiah 53 for tomorrow. This is a little later than last week. I try to have things wrapped up by Thursday so I can concentrate on delivering the sermon, spending time with my family and preparing spiritually, mentally and yes, even physically for the Lord's Day.

To be honest, I am in awe of this passage on the Suffering Servant. There is so much I could say tomorrow. We could spend weeks and months on this one passage. What a journey it has been so far. What is it that we need to hear from this passage? We need to hear that Jesus Christ, the Suffering Servant, paid the price and no more punishment is required. Do you realize the depth of these words? no more punishment is required! Those who have confessed with their mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead, those that live their lives according to this confession, those people, God's sons and daughters can rely solely on the atoning work of the Suffering Servant. That is the message of Isaiah 53. He bore the inquity of us all! Amen!

I recently had the chance to offer assistance to one of our college students with a debate he is having with an online friend. This friend said that he could not believe in a God who would damn some to hell and save others. It just didn't seem fair. But we need to look at it from another point of view...God's. What isn't fair in our human justice is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. Yet God's perfect holiness is displayed through it and his mercy is displayed through his saving of anyone at all. God's justice is always perfect.

I am looking forward to tomorrow's sermon. I am looking forward to it, because it is another opportunity to preach the Word of God. Please pray that I would be filtered out completely and that God's Word would go forth. See you on the Lord's Day!

The Journey to Jesus: Introduction

One of a pastor's main concerns is really rather simple. He is always asking himself, "What am I going to preach on next Sunday?" And this might seem like a simple question, but it carries a lot of weight. What does God want to say through His Word to His people that are gathered on this particular Sunday? And the humbling part is this--how could God possibly use me to communicate His Word?

We are getting ready to enter the "Christmas Season". The malls entered into it sometime around Halloween! However, traditionally, the Church always begins to celebrate Christmas sometime after Thanksgiving. And now, here we are again. In some ways it is pretty simple to answer that pastoral question of what the congregation needs to hear during this time of year.

In a society full of commercialism (just check out the Charlie Brown Christmas Special from 1965 to see how far we have really come in such a short time...was Charlie Brown a prophet???) it is hard to work through the artificial trees, Playstation Threes and church going wannabees to really get to the meat of the advent of Jesus Christ. That is why I feel the Lord is directing me to take this "Journey to Jesus" and to gather however many people I can to take this journey with me.

It won't always be an easy journey, nor should it. I want to answer the question that our guest pastor, Reverend Isaac Shaw, posed to us a week ago. Who is this Jesus of the Bible? To answer the question we need to dig deeper, think harder, and examine our own lives and our own thoughts on who Christ is. It is a theological journey, a practical journey and a rewarding trip. I hope you will join me!

Of course we won't be able to exhaust all that the Bible has to say concerning Jesus. Every single passage in Scripture point to our Lord in some way! But our goal is simple as we answer the question that Jesus asks of His disciples in Matthew 16: Who do you say that I am?

Come with me. I will be adding some weekly devotions at the start of each week to the weblog. You can also e-mail me at dbetters@grpc.org if you wish. You can use the devotions in any context, single, married, family, young, old, etc. Let's do Christmas a little different this year. Feel free to post and converse. I welcome all questions!

Journey to Jesus: Lamb of God

Pastor Dan Betters' sermon from 12/03/06.

Scripture Reference: Genesis 22:9-18, John 1:29-36, Revelation 5

Click here to listen.

Yesterday, I preached about the Lamb of God. Why is Jesus called the Lamb of God? What are Jesus' functions as the Lamb of God? We began to study Genesis 22 as we tried to answer the question of who the promised Lamb of God is. The Old Testament Scriptures are full of prophecies concerning Jesus Christ. This week, we want to take a look at some of those prophecies in our devotions. I also would like to prepare you to hear next week's sermon called "The Suffering Servant" as we study Isaiah 53. We want to pray through God's Word as we continue to journey toward that universe shaking event that took place 2000 years ago in Bethlehem.

If you would like, download the devotions by clicking here. These devotions are through Wednesday, I will post the remainder on Tuesday night. Hopefully, you will be able to get deeper into the sermon material from last week. In the middle of the week, I will present the material from the upcoming sermon so that you can prepare to worship and to hear God's Word in a much deeper way.