Kongsvinger Lutheran Church, Oslo, MN USA Sermons

Faith is choosing boldly to believe what God has said, beginning with the fact that the Gospel of Christ is the “power of God to salvation to everyone that believes.” We must never allow ourselves to be ashamed to proclaim the wonderful truth of the gospel, regardless of the reaction of those who hear us. There are many all around us that do not really want to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It is our duty to share this good news, as the Gospel is the power able to change lives.

NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL. ROMANS 1:16-17. Paul was not ashamed because his message was the gospel of Christ, the good news. It was a message of salvation, it had life—changing power, and it was for everyone. We are to proclaim the gospel boldly, without any fear. You will notice also in verse 17 wherein is quoted “The just shall live by faith.” In this hour we are accountable to tell others about the saving grace of Christ and to share this great truth with others.

THE GOSPEL WILL PRODUCE THE NEW BIRTH. 1 PETER 1:22-25. “Sincere love“ involves selfless giving. God’s love and forgiveness frees us to take our eyes off of ourselves, and to meet others needs. By sacrificing His life, Christ showed that He truly loves us. Now we can love others by following His example and giving of ourselves to meet the needs of others. There are so many in this world who have such great needs, let us do everything we can to meet their spiritual and physical needs.

THE GOSPEL WILL SET US FREE. JOHN 8:31-36. You will notice in verse 31 the word “if“ is used, that is usually a condition, the condition for these new believers was to remain true disciples of Jesus Christ. If one is made free from sin by Jesus Christ, he is free indeed. God’s truths in the gospel always produce freedom and wholeness.

THE GOSPEL IS OF SUPERNATURAL ORIGIN GALATIANS 1:11-17. Notice here how Paul states that his message of the gospel was received directly from Christ. Paul seemingly never gets away from his awful past of murdering christians, and of fighting against Jesus Christ. But Paul had to go to Arabia where God ministered to Him. The good news he preached did not come from human inspiration, but from God.

HOPE IS FOUND IN THE GOSPEL. GALATIANS 1:21-23. The way to be free from sin is to trust Jesus Christ to take it away. We must remain “established and firm“ in the truth of the gospel, putting our confidence in Jesus alone to forgive our sins, to make us right with God, and to show us how to live the way He desires. When God forgive our sins, our record is wiped clean.

THE GOSPEL (GOD’S WORD) IS ALIVE. HEBREWS 4:12-13. The word of God is powerful, it is alive, when we read the word of God and allow it to direct our lives, we become changed. We must not only listen to the word, we must also let it shape our lives. The word is God breathe, eternal, true, everlasting. The word is meant to be a blessing to us.

We must never be ashamed to share the gospel wherever we can, there so many who need to be touched by God so it is our duty to do this. God bless. Pastor Harvey.

August 17, 2008

WHAT ABOUT ETERNITY?

The Bible devotes much less space to describing eternity than it does to convincing people that eternal life is available as a free gift from God. Most of the description of eternity are probably hints as to what Christians can expect when they go to meet the Lord. The future for Christians who serve God and the Lord Jesus is secure, and what lies ahead for them will be more blessed than anyone can imagine.

A PLACE PREPARED FOR US. JOHN 14:1-3 These are probably some of the most comforting words in all of scripture. In these verses Jesus tell us of a “peace,” “a place,” and a “promise.” Jesus begins by urging us :: Do not be troubled, be at peace. Our peace is based on our belief in God and Christ. Second, Jesus spoke of a place, which He has promised to prepare for us. Finally, we have His personal promise that He is returning for us.

WE WILL BE LIKE JESUS. 1 JOHN 3:1-3. The Christian life is process of becoming more and more like Christ. This process will not be complete until we see Christ face to face. It might seem hard for us to imagine we will be like Jesus, but we must remember we are created in God’s image in His likeness. (Gen 3:26) As sons and daughters of almighty God we do have the ability to show God’s characteristics in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness and faithfulness.

WE WILL HAVE NEW BODIES. 1 COR 15:35-38. Paul asks the question what will out resurrection bodies be like? Would we like to select our own bodies? Paul explains that we will be recognized in our resurrected bodies, and they will be made to live forever.

OUR EXPERIENCE WILL BE WONDERFUL. 1 COR 2:9. We can not imagine all that God has in store for us, both in this life and for eternity. The wonderful and eternal future that awaits us is really beyond our thinking as human beings. This present world’s system is not all that there is. God has certainly much more in store for us, the best is yet to come.

NO MORE DEATH. 1 COR 15:26-28. The apostle Paul chose here that the resurrected Christ has conquered all evil, including death. Jesus defeated sin and death on the cross, and in the final days, He will defeat Satan and all evil. God is in control. At the resurrection there was complete victory. So there should be no fear in death.

WE CAN KNOW WE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. 1 JOHN 5:1-15. There are probably many who hope that they will receive eternal life. John says we can know we have it. Our certainty is based on God’s promise that He has given us eternal life through His Son Jesus. All that is required is that we commit our lives full to Christ, our guarantee is life eternally with Him. (Ephesians 1:14)

Can we ever imagine the depth and length of eternity? That is what lies ahead for all believers in Jesus Christ. Rejoice in the fact that you are believers, we are so truly blessed to have the privilege of being sons and daughters of Almighty God. Have a great week. Pastor Harvey.

August 10, 2008

THE GREAT BANQUETING TABLE

The Lord illustrates the restoration of His intimacy with His people through the teaching of the bride and bridegroom. The wife here refers to the church (believers) which Christ is going to come back for, this is made up of saints of all ages. What a blessed time that will be when we sit down at the final banqueting table in heaven, what a reward that will be.

THE WEDDING SUPPER OF THE LAMB. REVELATION 19:6-9. This will be the end of human history, the wedding of the Lamb and His bride (the church). The church consists of all faithful believers from all time. The bride’s clothing is the righteousness of the saints. The blood of Christ is eternal, it is where we start the Christian life, and that is where we finish. Without the shedding of the blood of Christ, there is no remission for sins.

THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING FEAST. MATTHEW 22:1-14. Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to the great wedding feast. Using this parable of the wedding celebration, Jesus pointed out that who had been invited to the feast had refused to come. The wedding garment symbolizes being clothed in the righteousness that Christ provides through believing in Him and obedience to the will of God.

THE EXCUSES FOR NOT COMING TO THE FEAST. LUKE 14:16-24. In Jesus’ story, many people turned down the invitation to the banquet because the timing was inconvenient, God’s invitation is the most important event in our lives. No matter how poor the timing. This shows we must be ready at all times to the call to come to the banqueting table. Jesus never asks us to give up something good unless He plans to replace it with something better.

MARRIAGE—CHRIST AND THE CHURCH. EPHESIANS 5:23-27. The specific instructions that the Apostle Paul gives to husbands and wives are a glimpse of the bridegroom and bride—a heavenly model for every marriage on earth. Notice verse 27, Christ is coming a “Radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless, this is what Christ thinks of His church.

THE GREAT MULTITUDE IN WHITE ROBES. REVELATION 7:9-12. The great multitude is the redeemed people of God who have been faithful to Him, through suffering, persecution, hardship, even death, allowing nothing to interfere with their devotion to Almighty God. No true believers ever need to worry about which group he or she will be in, God includes and protects each of us, and we are guaranteed a place in His presence.

ALL THINGS MADE NEW. REVELATION 21:1-7. God is creating a brand—new world for His people, a Holy City called “New Jerusalem“ will come down from heaven and God’s people will live in this fantastic city. This will be a place where there will be no more pain, or tears, and God will make everything new.

We cannot imagine as human beings how wonderful this banqueting table will be, but this is just another reward from God to His people who serve Him. God bless you. Pastor Harvey.

August 3, 2008

NEW CREATURES IN CHRIST.

It is so neat to know that we can change and start over in areas of our lives that we know are needed. The Bible tells us that nothing is impossible with God, so when we know we are followers of Christ, the old life is gone, and we begin to live a new and exciting life. When God changes us, it is always for our good, so in what ways do we change?

A NEW CREATION. 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21. It doesn’t matter what you were in the past, you could have been a failure, a loser, drug addict or any number of short comings, however, once Christ has control of our lives you get a chance again to start all over again in a brand new way. Christians are to be the salt of the earth, the Holy Spirit gives them new life, and they are not the same anymore.

CONTROL YOUR ANGER. EPHESIANS 4:25-27. The Bible does not tell us that we should never feel angry, but it points out that it is important to handle anger properly. Paul tells us to deal with our anger immediately in a way that builds relationships rather than destroy them. Do not let the day end before you take care of any anger.

FEAR DONE AWAY WITH. 1 JOHN 4:15-19. When we know the love of God by His word, we need not to live in fear. When we realize how much God really loves us and wants the best for us, then we can totally trust Him and fear will have to leave our lives. Remember, fear is torment which the devil uses on us to cause us misery and harm.

CONFIDENCE IN THE FUTURE. PHILIPPIANS 1:21-27. Paul’s whole purpose in life was to speak out boldly for Christ and to become more like Him, thus Paul could confidently say that dying would be even better that living, because in death he would be removed from worldly troubles and he would see Christ face to face.

OUR ATTITUDES CHANGE. PHILIPPIANS 2:1-11. Jesus Christ was humble, willing to give up His rights in order to obey God and serve people. Like Christ we should have a servants attitude, serving out of love for God and mankind, not out of guilt or fear. Jesus was our perfect example.

GREATER LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER. JOHN 13:34-35. The sacrifice of His son on Calvary, points the way to true love and shows us that love is more than a feeling, it is an action. Jesus states that the world will know that we are His disciples if we have love for one another and are willing to go the extra mile when we see others have a need.

There is nothing more wonderful to see and experience than when someone turns their life completely over to Christ and to see what wonderful things happen to them, they are completely new people just as the verse in 2 Corinthians 5:17 says. Harvest is upon us, what a wonderful time of the year.

Have a great week. Pastor Harvey.

July 27, 2008

WHAT IS AN ANGEL?

The first purpose of an angel is to worship God and Jesus Christ. The apostle John in Revelation tells us that there are innumerable angels around the throne of God. Throughout the scriptures angels came to guide men and women to warn them, to encourage them, to deliver them, to reward them, and to escort the righteous to heaven on the day of their death. Angels are never to be worshipped, and you are never to pray to an angel. You are to pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus, and He will send His angels to give them charge over you.

WHAT IS AN ANGEL? REVELATION 12:7-9. There is only one solid reason to believe in Angels: The word of God says they are real. So what is an angel? Paul wrote that angels are created beings. Col 1:16. They are innumerable, very wise, they are standing waiting for God’s bidding to do His will. Notice in these scriptures there are two types of angels, the ones following almighty God, and the ones following Satan.

OLD TESTAMENT ENCOUNTER. GENESIS 19:15-17. There is literally a parade of angels in the word of God; angels with flaming swords drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Lot hesitated to leave Sodom, but the angels grasped the hands of Lot, his wife, and his daughters and rushed them to safety. Lot probably did not want to abandon the wealth, position he held, and the comfort of living in Sodom.

NEW TESTAMENT ENCOUNTER. LUKE 22:41-44 Angels are seen throughout the New Testament. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary that she would conceive in her womb the Lord Jesus, an angel rolled the mighty stone away from the grave of Jesus. When Jesus sweat, was as drops of blood, an angel came and strengthened Him.

ARE THERE GUARDIAN ANGELS? MATTHEW 18. Jesus said every child has an angel. He gives the sternest of warnings to anyone who gives offense or causes a child to sin. When Peter was delivered out of Herod’s prison by an angel, “A light shone in the prison, and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up saying, arise quickly and his chains fell off of his hands.” Even the praying church could not believe Peter had been delivered.

HOW WILL ANGELS HELP US? 2 KINGS 19:35. How do angels help us? First of all they are instructed to protect us. In this biblical account, the king of Syria sent his army to arrest the prophet Elisha, King Hezekiah prayed, an angel walked through the enemy camp and swiftly killed 185,00 of the Assyrians. God will give His angels charge over us in all your ways.

ANGELS AT DEATH. LUKE 16:19-23. When those who believe and trust in Jesus Christ die, they are carried by angels into heaven. There is an angel in your future, when Christ is Lord of your lives, that angel is going to carry your soul and your spirit into the arms of God. What a comfort this is.

I am sure many of us can remember when we were saved from some disastrous situation that tried to come upon us, and we were miraculously saved from it. There is no doubt that angels are surrounding us all the time, and thank God for that. God Bless. Pastor Harvey.