Adam and Eve sinned even before they ate the forbidden fruit. As soon as they asked themselves why they should obey God, they had sinned in their hearts. Sin is when we remove God as the ultimate authority and enthrone ourselves in his place. By elevating mankind above him, God’s good and ordered world lost its integrity and became broken. Yet, the story of Adam and Eve does not end with despair, but with hope. God, in the midst of his judgment, promises that a day will come when one of Eve’s children will utterly annihilate the power of sin.

A great temptation for Christians is relating to God in a mercenary fashion. We desire to use God in order to further our own purposes. Even when we want to serve God, we place limits upon our obedience. Accepting Jesus as Lord combats this tendency. Instead of acting as if God exists to serve us, we live our lives striving to serve him--no matter what the cost.

Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus concludes his teaching by admonishing his hearers to forsake the broad path and enter through the narrow gate. When Christians say that a person can only be saved through Jesus, it sounds incredibly narrow. Yet on the other side of that narrow gate there is the tremendous space of grace. On the other hand, if we believe that all “good” people can be saved, then we are truly narrow because we have abandoned grace.

Additional scriptural references made in this sermon are: Matthew 5-7.

Even as a boy, Jesus was confusing everyone. He confused the religious experts by his wisdom. He confused his parents who lost him and were searching all over for him. Yet Jesus was where he was meant to be—in His Father’s house. Jesus continues to confuse all of us today, giving us lives that confound our expectations. Yet, though we cannot understand everything Jesus does, the one thing we know with certainty is that He is constantly inviting us to join Him at His Father’s feast.

Additional scriptural references made in this sermon are: Luke 24:18-26; Matthew 2:13-15; Luke 8:24-25.

The reality of God is far greater than our conceptions of God. In this passage, Elijah, persecuted and feeling hopeless, returns to the mountain where God appeared to Moses and hopes for a similar spectacular revelation of His glory. Yet God confounds and comforts Elijah by appearing as a still small voice.

Additional scriptural references made in this sermon are: John 11:21-35; Luke 16:19-31; Luke 9:28-36; Proverbs 11:29; Matthew 11:2.

The only way to understand God's plans for us is to see Christ truly and trust him fully. Gods plans for us are not abandoned to fate; our choices matter, and once we have committed entirely to His will, we can receive his guidance humbly and boldly.