Calvary St. Cloud

In this sermon on the traditional Christmas story found in Luke 2, we highlight three main characters—an angelic host, shepherds, and Mary—and their common response to Jesus. What will your response be?

Nestled in the Christmas Story is the example of a poor, teenage girl who is the first songwriter of Christmas, who shows us how to experience God, and express it with joyful song.

The story of Christmas is a story that doesn’t ignore our pain, and shows us that, in Jesus, while we may not find deliverance from our pain, we can find relief.

From Middle Earth to earth, the first century to the twenty-first, people have been walking in darkness, awaiting the return of the King. The Christmas Story brings the hope of his arrival, the Light and Life of the world.

Has 2020 been a year for us to experience together some of this bruising and smoldering? I don’t know many who are overly confident of their ability to even get through this year, let alone flourish in it. May it be that God has ordained a year like this to humble our hearts, to position us, His church, before Him in such a way that we cry out for His gentle hands to heal our bruises and to fan into flame the flickers of faith that at times are barely perceptible? Suffering saints, let us not forget this promise of our Servant-King! Behold Him! Cry out to Him! Fall before Him! Though we are one of just many, and though He could accomplish His work without us, the promise is that He will not ultimately break us; He will not ultimately extinguish us. Though it may feel that way at times, though He may indeed slay us as Job felt, still we can hope in Him! Why? Because His hands are gentle AND they are strong! And so we, trust in His strength!

In whatever circumstance we are in, God always is our strength, shield, saving refuge, and shepherd and we can plead with him like David does in this Psalm of prayer and praise.

In Revelation 19, we find Jesus leading us into the coming together of the story lines of the tale that God has been telling throughout his Word.

In this extended metaphor of the great prostitute, Jesus gives us a way to understand the times of national upheaval we are living in, and where we find our hope.

As Jesus continues his revelation through his ongoing vision, he gives us a picture of the full and final outpouring of God’s wrath. Is such wrath really necessary? And if so, how do we possibly prepare for such an end?

As Jesus continues to reveal the future, he uses the metaphor of farming and harvest time to show us that all our decisions, and one key decision, will lead us to one reaping or the other.

While we live in a time where our labors are stained by toil and disappointments, Jesus provides a vision of the future when we will rest from our labors, supplying us with a way to fight the battle for joy today.

At Calvary, our hope is to increasingly become a place where people are helped and encouraged to move one step closer to Jesus. In part two of the sermon, “On To Maturity,” we find out how.

At Calvary Community Church, we desire to be a people that helps each other—and others—move at least one small step closer to Jesus. So at times throughout the year, we take a Sunday or two to remind ourselves of the eight Next Steps we’ve identified to function as a healthy disciple of Jesus Christ.

In this sermon, we focus on the response of Jesus to the crowd of John 6, who desire to make him king “by force.” In turn, how do we respond to our own "Messianic expectations?"

In Revelation 12-14, Jesus reveals the Cosmic Conflict going on between the Holy Trinity—of Father, Son, and Spirit—and the un-holy trinity of Dragon, and the beast from the sea, and the beast from the earth. And how we are part of the battle.

We are in a “mini-series” inside of Revelation entitled “The Cosmic Conflict,” covering chapters 12-14. This week is part three, from Rev. 12:13-13:10, where we ask the question: “How do we answer the call of Jesus for the endurance and faith of the saints?”

In this part of his revelation, Jesus shows us how Satan, the Accuser, has been defeated, and yet, continues to come after God’s people. How to conquer him? Come, and see.

In this vivid vision from Jesus, we find that while the satan is real, deceitful, dominating, and deadly; one little Word shall fell him.

The mission of the church—the people of God—in every age is to trust in his sovereign plan and saving proclamation, and to be the prophetic voice heralding both to a broken world.

In Revelation 11 we find an imaginative retelling of Jesus’ earlier teaching on the church, and how it will survive opposition and attack. Namely, Jesus will build his church, use his church, and rescue and restore his church.