Julian's Sermons

Genèse 35-37:1 conclut le quatrième grand mouvement du livre de la Genèse. La Genèse est un livre complexe. Nous pouvons nous perdre dans les récits épiques tels que la Création, le Déluge, Babel, Sodome et Gomorrhe, et oublier que la Genèse est une Écriture. En tant qu'Écriture, la Genèse nous confronte à notre condition de pécheurs. Elle nous met en garde contre la méchanceté des desseins de notre cœur. Elle tourne notre regard vers un Dieu qui est saint, patient, miséricordieux et fidèle à ses promesses. La Genèse est une Écriture chrétienne car elle nous dirige vers le Christ. Tout en mettant en évidence notre péché, elle désigne également un individu, un fils d'Adam, Noé, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob et un roi de la lignée de Juda qui apportera la bénédiction de Dieu à toutes les familles de la Terre. La Genèse prépare le reste de la Bible à réfléchir au salut. La justice ou le pardon des péchés s'obtient par la foi en les promesses de Dieu. En tant qu'Écriture chrétienne...

  On November 5, 2017, I was invited to preach at Freedom as a pastoral candidate. I began explaining my strange accent. Then, we looked at God’s love for us in Mal 1:2–5. A lot has happened since then. In my personal journey, I have written a 275 page dissertation on these verses. I have grown in knowledge, but more importantly, I experienced something that only happens in community. Being part of this church community, learning together, hearing your stories, sometimes disagreeing passionately with you, I know that God has worked in my life and yours so that we love him more and we love each other more than we did three years ago. When I compare my old and new sermons, I see more love and affection in the content as I have gotten to know you. I have become less concerned about sharing fun facts about the Bible and more concerned that we treasure God more and love all people because of God’s gift to us in Christ’s death and resurrection. I want to end at Freedom on the same note w...

  1 Peter was written to “ elect exiles .” This means Christians are chosen by God to live for him in a place that is not home. We are not home yet, but we are here on a mission. We disciple: we grow in our own faith, we equip others to grow in faith so that we are equipped to bless others and share the gospel that other would enjoy eternal life! Because we are not at home, this letter assumes hardship. Joy, anger, sadness, suffering, and peace are all part of the Christian experience. We do not all have to come to church with a smile. It’s okay to not be okay. In fact, if we are honest about our health, world news, our family dynamics, our struggles with sin, we can expect to feel a combination of joy, anger, sadness, suffering, and peace at any time. The Christian life is not one of ignoring problems. In fact, if we choose to be honest with ourselves and truly reflect on and work through our pain and sorrow, we will heal and learn to care for those who have suffered as we have. S...

  Biblical teaching on submission is often abused, so we need to get it right. This passage calls us to submit to the government, in the workplace, and at home. Using these texts to abuse others in God’s name is a horrendous sin. One key for understanding biblical submission are the phrases in the passage, “ for the Lord’s sake ” (1 Pet 2:13), or while being “ mindful of God ” (1 Pet 2:18), or like Jesus, we submit by “ entrusting ourselves to God ” (1 Pet 2:23). The right foundation for submission is the belief that God has the absolute right to rule our lives. Abuse of the biblical teaching of submission happens when we quote verses out of context and confuse human authority with God’s authority. SIOS: In light of Christ’s submission for the forgiveness of our sins, we submit to the government, in the workplace, and at home. We will see that without submission, there is no gospel. We will look at submission to human institutions, in the workplace, and at home. We will condemn ab...

 There are different opinions on how much persecution Christians endure in America. To avoid trivializing the real horrific persecution that Christians face around the world we must not use the word “persecution” lightly. At the same time, since people hated Jesus, we can assume they will also hate his followers (John 15:18). Surveys suggest discrimination against Christians in America. In 2019, a survey revealed that half of all Americans believe that evangelicals face discrimination. Another survey reveals that 32 percent of all Americans like conservative Christians much less than other social groups. A group of wealthy, educated, and irreligious people were asked about what they thought of Christians in America and their answers were scary. One of the more mild answers was, “I am only too well aware of their horrific attitudes and beliefs, and those make me see them as subhuman.” I am sure that this is a minority perspective in our society. But, this kind of unreasonable hatred...

  Do people change? I remember debating with a friend years ago. His claim was that people could not change. I had just become a Christian and so my life was like a huge roller coaster of changes, so I had to passionately disagree. If we cannot change, discipleship is in vain. Perhaps, lack of discipleship in the church is an argument that people do not change. When we think about loved ones with bad habits, bad tempers, toxic behaviors, or people with addictions, we can easily become pessimistic about change in ourselves and others. Change is hard and often slow, but how can we be intentional about changing? How can I free myself from sinful habits? How can I change the way I interact with people I disagree with? How can I learn to extend mercy to the worst of sinners? How can I become more like Jesus? These questions lie behind the main theme and command of 1 Pet 1:13–25: “Be Holy.” Being Holy is being like God. If we want to obey this commandment we need to change. How do we do ...