Cutlerville East Christian Reformed Church
Episodes
584 episodes
Jesus and the Pharisees
If you looked in a dictionary, you might find the following definition of pharisaical: “observing the form but neglecting the spirit of religion.” A Pharisee is often defined as a self-righteous, hypocritical person. These are probably the defi...
How to Be Right with God
Years ago, there was an extremely talented law school student whose life was changed by a couple of scary events: his friend’s sudden death and his own narrow escape from a lightning strike. Suddenly he became terribly afraid for his own salvat...
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem
We have come to call the events described in Luke 19:28-44 (and parallels) Palm Sunday, and the event of the day "the triumphal entry." But I think we've got the names wrong, both of them. Why Palm Sunday when palms were an inappropriate image ...
Preparing to Partake
Before we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we traditionally (in the CRC) use the previous Sunday to prepare to partake of the sacrament. Why do we need to prepare? What sort of preparation? The main passage referring to this preparation is 1 Corint...
Crucified for Love
We will focus on the suffering of Jesus Christ, particularly looking at two elements of that suffering: the cross and the cry.Scripture: Mark 15:21-39
Firstfruits of the Resurrection
Easter is a great Christian holiday. Easter is a celebration of new life, a celebration that Jesus arose and is our living Lord. But let me ask you what's so great about that? What difference does it make in our lives? On Easter, I want t...
On the Other Side of Easter Is … Spiritual Heartburn
Spiritual heartburn can come from a variety of places. For Cleopas and his friend, it came from a close call with spiritual death, trying to digest too much of the Bread of Life, and meeting their Maker face-to-face! When we take it seriously, ...
Sacraments: God's Visual Aids
Do you ever think about what a wedding ring means? Giving and receiving the ring doesn't make one married. But it does two things: it is a sign/symbol of marriage and it is a pledge of martial faithfulness to each other. That is also true...
On the Other Side of Easter Is … Transformation
Whenever and wherever Jesus appeared to people after Easter, not only did minds change about the reality of his resurrection, but lives were transformed. The disciples were transformed from fear to courage, Thomas from doubt to confidence, and ...
The Church's One Foundation
Political leaders are known to see which way the people are marching and hurry in front to "lead" them. But not Jesus; he refused to allow public opinion to change his ministry. Now his public popularity has been dwindling. Herod Antipas ...
On the Other Side of Easter Is …Understanding
Every Gospel and letter in the New Testament is written from the other side of Easter, which makes a great difference in how we understand the life of Jesus. After Easter, the disciples gained a new understanding of the past (the Old Testament ...
The Church and Discipline
Last week we looked at the story of Jesus passing the keys of the kingdom on to his Apostles, giving the church the authority to "open and close the kingdom of heaven (God)." One key is the preaching of the Word, centered on the confession of J...
On the Other Side of Easter Is… a New Vocation
Uncertain about their future, some of the disciples appear to be returning to their location of fishing. Jesus orchestrates a large catch of fish to show them he could still provide for their daily needs, but also to remind them of their call t...
The Church and Preaching
Preaching is important. In fact, the Heidelberg Catechism reminds us that it is one of the "keys of the kingdom." It opens the kingdom by proclaiming the Gospel message so people might accept by faith a relationship with God through Jesus Chris...
On the Other Side of Easter Is … Restoring Love
Have you ever really blown it and thought there was no way you could ever make up for it? Meet Peter. He blew it big time, denying his Lord, the Son of God, three times! But on the other side of Easter is the restoring love of Jesus, a lo...
On the Other Side of Easter Is … Christ’s Ascension
While the disciples celebrate the ascension of Christ in Luke 24, they weren’t always that thrilled about his leaving them. In John 14:1-21, Jesus reminds them of some of the advantages of his ascension: He guarantees our personal home with the...
The Day God Changed His Address
While we talk about Pentecost as a Christian holiday, it was first a Jewish feast. It was one of three times a year God’s people were to appear before Him at the Temple. Each feast was a ceremony deeply rooted in the past, but also gave h...
Children of Light
Paul’s concerned about unity in the Ephesian church, which is mixed racially, culturally, socially. But now he focuses on what it means to be the church personally. Paul is writing to some who have a long-established habit of “being in the dark...
Do the Ten Commandments Belong in the 21st Century?
We are free from the Law, we live by grace! We are New Testament Christians who live by love, not Old Testament believers who feared a wrathful God. How often haven’t you heard this from well-meaning Christians? Those who make such statements s...
Two Ways of Life
The book of Psalms begins by reminding us of two ways of life, holding up the “way” of the Bible-observing, righteous person as the lifestyle that is blessed by God. That is contrasted by the person who increasingly “feels at home” with th...
God versus Self
External success and internal feelings; most people use these as a sort of cost-benefit analyses to shape their lives in selecting or changing a career, acting morally, hangingfriends, etc. External success and internal feelings. In both ca...
How Do We Handle Fear?
We are all subject to fears. What are the greatest fears for you? The phone rings at 1:00 in the morning and your heart skips a beat? You hear a noise downstairs and have visions of a burglar? As a child maybe you had fears that this argument b...