Sermons

December 15, 2024

A Question of Faith – Matthew 17:14-21

A Question of Faith

Matthew 17:14-21

Faith is so vital to the Christian life that Scripture tells us that, without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). The Bible tells us that salvation is the gift of God through faith (Eph. 2:8–9). Paul writes that in the gospel, “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” (Rom. 1:17). In other words, we are not only saved by faith, we live our whole Christian life from beginning to end “from faith to faith.” From day one of our journey of faith until the very last day, the righteous live by faith. Whether we are brand-new followers of Christ or seasoned, mature believers who have walked with the Lord for many years, we must trust God “from start to finish” and rely on His mighty power—the power of the gospel—to change our lives and the lives of those we encounter.

In our passage today, Christ told His disciples that, with just a tiny measure of faith, the size of a mustard seed, they could move mountains and “nothing will be impossible for you” (Matt. 17:20).

Richard Sipes / Sermons / faith, Jesus Christ, Matthew, Prayer / 0

December 8, 2024

The Transfiguration – Matthew 16:28 – 17:9

The Transfiguration

Matthew 16:28 – 17:9

In Matthew 17, we have what is called the transfiguration. The account records three disciples seeing Jesus’ appearance changed into His glorified form right before their very eyes. Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus and the voice of God the Father sounds forth. It was a momentous event in Jesus’ life as well as in the lives of Peter, James, and John. All three synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—record this amazing occurrence (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:1-8; Luke 9:28-36). Peter himself refers to it in his second letter (2 Peter 1:16-18). John doesn’t record the incident in his Gospel, but he does allude to it when he writes, “we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Richard Sipes / Sermons / Jesus Christ, Kingdom of God, Matthew / 0

November 10, 2024

The Necessity of the Cross, Part 2 – Matthew 16:24-27

The Necessity of the Cross, Part 2

Matthew 16:24-27

We come today to the end of Matthew 16. This chapter records a truly pivotal point in the account of our Lord’s earthly ministry. Simon Peter had declared the fundamental truth about the identity of Jesus, confessing, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Jesus confirmed his confession, saying, “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:17). This led to Jesus declaring to Simon, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” Matt. 16:18). Thus we saw in Matthew 16:18-20 the church’s foundation, builder, victory, and authority.

Matthew then tells us that Jesus gave His disciples the most shocking news: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” (Matt. 16:21). Jesus taught that the cross was a divine necessity. He “must” suffer, be killed, and rise again. It was the Father’s set purpose for Him.

Yet, due to their mistaken expectations, the disciples struggled to understand this truth. Peter even found the idea so intolerable that he dared to pull Jesus aside to rebuke Him. Like the devil, Peter offered Christ the crown without the cross, success without sacrifice, promises without pain. But Jesus rejected the devil’s way and man’s way, and He chose instead God’s way (Matt. 16:23)—the way of the cross.

Richard Sipes / Sermons / Discipleship, Jesus Christ, Judgment, Matthew / 0

November 3, 2024

The Necessity of the Cross, Part 1 – Matthew 16:20-23

The Necessity of the Cross, Part 1

Matthew 16:20-23

Over the last few weeks we have been taking a close look at a central passage in Matthew 16. Jesus took His disciples away from the Jewish crowds in Galilee to the mostly Gentile area of Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:13). There Jesus questioned them about His identity, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). Simon Peter spoke up for the group and confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). That Jesus is “the Christ” means He is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Savior, an anointed King in the line of David who would reign forever. That Jesus is “the Son of God” means that He is divine, having the very nature and essence of God Himself. Jesus blessed Peter and his confession, saying “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:17).

Then Jesus told Simon, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” Matt. 16:18). And we spent three weeks examining the church that Jesus builds—its foundation, builder, victory, and authority. Peter and the other apostles believed that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. And based on the reality of Jesus’ identity—the truth that God revealed and they confessed—Jesus will build His victorious and powerful church.

But as great and true as that confession was, Jesus’ disciples did not really know what all that meant. They understood that Jesus was the Christ, but they did not understand what it meant for Him to be the Christ. They knew His identity but they did not know His mission.

Richard Sipes / Sermons / Cross, Discipleship, Jesus Christ, Matthew / 0

October 27, 2024

I Will Build My Church Part 3 – Matthew 16:18-20

I Will Build My Church Part 3

Matthew 16:18-20

Over the past few weeks, we have been studying together from what I believe is one of the most important passages in the Gospel of Matthew. And we have been focusing on the key phrase in this passage where Jesus states, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). We have already looked at …

1. The Church’s Foundation

Jesus tells Peter that He would build His church on “this rock”. Peter had just confessed the truth about Jesus—the truth that God the Father had revealed to him—saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16). Jesus Christ Himself is the church’s foundation. The apostle Paul affirmed, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:11). As the representative of the apostles, Peter was foundational in the sense that God revealed His truth to the apostles, and they believed, confessed, proclaimed, and recorded that gospel truth about Jesus Christ. So Paul would write to the Ephesians of the church “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20). To be a member of Christ’s true church, like Peter, you must believe and confess Jesus Christ.

Then we saw …

2. The Church’s Builder

Jesus said, “I will build My church.” Jesus is the builder and the owner of His church. Like Peter and the rest of the apostles, we have the privilege of being used by Christ in the building of His church. There is no more important work than this.

Then we saw …

3. The Church’s Victory

Jesus says that He will build His church, “…and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Even death cannot prevent Christ’s work of building His church. The gates of Hades shall not prevail against His church. Speaking about Christ’s victory over death, the apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:57-58).

Finally, today we see …

4. The Church’s Authority

Richard Sipes / Sermons / Church, Evangelism, Gospel, Matthew / 2

October 20, 2024

I Will Build My Church Part 2 – Matthew 16:18-20

I Will Build My Church Part 2

Matthew 16:18-20

In our verse-by-verse study of the Gospel of Matthew, we have come to a passage at the very heart of Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew 16 is the hinge on which the Gospel turns. Everything that comes before in the first part of Matthew leads up to it and what comes after has its basis in it.

In Matthew 16:13, Jesus took His disciples away from the Jewish crowds in Galilee and Judea to a mostly Gentile area around Caesarea Philippi. There, He gave His disciples their midterm exam. First, He asked them, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (Matt. 16:13). They answered that the people generally thought that Jesus was one of the prophets who was possibly come back from the dead.

Then Jesus asked the most important question. He specifically addressed the disciples themselves, and asked, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). Simon Peter, speaking for the group, confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16). First, he affirmed that Jesus is the “Christ,” the promised Anointed One, the prophesied Messiah-King who would save His people and reign over them forever. Even more, he confessed that Jesus is “the Son of the living God,” meaning Jesus Christ is of the very nature and essence of God.

Jesus then responded to this confession by telling Simon Peter that he was blessed, “for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt 16:17). Simon did not figure this out on his own or learn it from others. He confessed the truth about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, because the Father revealed that truth to him.

Then Jesus went on to say to Simon, “And I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build My church …” (Matt. 16:18). We said that the key phrase in this passage is when Jesus states, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). Everything Jesus says in these verses relates to Jesus building His church.

Richard Sipes / Sermons / Church, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Matthew / 0

October 6, 2024

I Will Build My Church – Matthew 16:18-20

I Will Build My Church

Matthew 16:18-20

What do you think about when you hear the word “church”? There are certainly a large variety of groups that are called churches today. Are all of them valid churches according to scripture? How is a church built?

Church is a major theme in the New Testament. The Greek word translated “church” is ekklēsia, literally meaning “the called-out ones”. The word can refer to any kind of official gathering or assembly of people called-out for a particular purpose. In the Bible, this word is never used to refer to a building. The church is not a building, it is an assembly of people. Ekklesia is found some 118 times in the New Testament. About 90 of those refer to an assembly of Christ followers those who have believed the gospel of the kingdom, who have been called out of the world of sin into the kingdom of God. It is this “church” that the Son of God promised to build in Matthew 16:18 when He said, “I will build my church.”

Richard Sipes / Sermons / Church, Jesus Christ, Matthew / 0

September 29, 2024

God Alone – Psalm 62

God Alone

Psalm 62

Sometimes God brings us to a place where we find that God alone is our only hope. It could be you arrive at such a desperate place through a devastating circumstance or an internal crisis where all other comforts fail, and other hopes disappoint. In that place, you feel weak and vulnerable, and almost everything seems to be against you. It’s a place you feel overwhelmed by despair and grief.

But with God, it can also be a place of mercy and salvation. In the crucible of that testing place God forges enduring faith in us. If it were not for that place, how could we ever know that God truly is our only Rock and that our only abiding hope is found in Him? When God bring us to that place, and we find that God alone is all we need, that dreadful place becomes a beautiful place. Our desert becomes an oasis where we are refreshed by God alone.

Richard Sipes / Fifth Sunday, Sermons / Attributes of God, Fifth Sunday Sing, Psalms / 0

September 22, 2024

Who Do You Say That I Am? – Matthew 16:13-17

Who Do You Say That I Am?

Matthew 16:13-17

We come this morning to a key passage in the Gospel of Matthew. In a sense, this passage is what so much of the Gospel has been leading to. It’s the passage that sets in motion all the events in the rest of the Gospel. Matthew began his Gospel by telling us that he was writing “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). As we have shown, Matthew presents Jesus as the Christ, the promised Messiah who is Savior, Lord, and King. Everything in Matthew’s narrative confirms that Jesus is the Christ. From His genealogy, His birth, His baptism, His temptation by the devil, His miracles, His teaching, His authority over disease, demons, and even death, and His fulfillment of prophecy—everything has pointed to Jesus as the Christ. But up to this point in Matthew’s narrative, no one has said it out loud.

Richard Sipes / Sermons / Confession, Jesus Christ, Matthew / 0

September 15, 2024

Word of Warning – Matthew 16:1-12

Word of Warning

Matthew 16:1-12

I have been pointing out that we are in a section of the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus is training His disciples in kingdom ministry. Each of these narratives is a lesson in faith, in learning to believe in Jesus and to trust Him in all things. When Jesus fed the five thousand, He was training them on the priority of kingdom ministry and God’s provision for it. When He walked on water, Jesus taught them the power of faith over fear. When the scribes and Pharisees confronted Jesus about hand washing, He gave them a lesson on the purpose of kingdom ministry—God’s cleansing the heart by faith. When Jesus answered the request of the woman of Canaan, He gave them a lesson on the perseverance of faith. And in feeding the four thousand, He taught them that compassion for all people is the passion in kingdom ministry. Today, along with the disciples, we will learn a lesson on the peril of kingdom ministry.

We who are disciples of Jesus Christ are called to kingdom ministry with Jesus. Kingdom ministry is all about making disciples, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom so that men and women, boys and girls, would believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world. Today we learn that discipleship not only requires us to believe, but it requires us to beware.

Richard Sipes / Sermons / Hypocrisy, Matthew, Warning / 0

Sermons

A Question of Faith

Matthew 17:14-21

The Transfiguration

Matthew 16:28 – 17:9

The Necessity of the Cross, Part 2

Matthew 16:24-27

The Necessity of the Cross, Part 1

Matthew 16:20-23

I Will Build My Church Part 3

Matthew 16:18-20

1. The Church’s Foundation

2. The Church’s Builder

3. The Church’s Victory

4. The Church’s Authority

I Will Build My Church Part 2

Matthew 16:18-20

I Will Build My Church

Matthew 16:18-20

God Alone

Psalm 62

Who Do You Say That I Am?

Matthew 16:13-17

Word of Warning

Matthew 16:1-12

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