Sermons

This passage looks at the historical origin and sacrificial meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles, the last of Israel's feasts. The Feast of Tabernacles is a festival that remembers the grace of God's protection and provision during the forty years in the wilderness, and gives thanks to God at the completion of the harvest. The feast also goes beyond simply commemorating past events: it signifies the coming of a new age and the renewal of the covenant, symbolizing both an end and a beginning.

The sermon points out the deep spiritual meaning of the feast's various rituals. Bringing willow branches makes people realize the weakness of human beings, who cannot live without water, and walking around the temple expresses an earnest longing for salvation. In particular, when Jesus declared at the Feast of Tabernacles that he is 'the light of the world,' the religious people bound by formality could not accept it. Trapped in the knowledge and common sense they already had, they met the truth and attacked it instead.

Remembering that the Feast of Tabernacles is about a temporary tent, we must hope for the eternal home God has prepared. But it asks whether we today are still caught up in fleshly thinking and existing knowledge, failing to see the truth properly. To discover the heart of God hidden behind form and custom, with what attitude should we look to God?

Today's passage deals with the meaning of the Day of Atonement, the most solemn feast in Judaism, and the complex sacrificial procedure the high priest carried out on it. The passage explains in detail how the high priest, before entering the Most Holy Place on behalf of the people's sins, changed into clean linen garments, washed his hands and feet, and first confessed his own sins and those of his family. And through the ritual of sending into the wilderness the goat onto which the sins had been placed, it vividly conveys how tense and reverent the people were as they stood before God at that time.

The sermon points out that these Old Testament sacrificial rituals were not mere religious acts but a shadow showing in advance the once-for-all atonement of Jesus Christ. Just as the high priest, allowed not a single mistake, rehearsed again and again, God stresses how weighty a matter it is to receive forgiveness of sins. But while the animal sacrifices people offered only put sin on hold and could not remove it completely, it proclaims that Jesus Christ accomplished eternal atonement once for all by his own blood. So it points out that believers must believe in Jesus' love on the cross and live holy lives every day, as if washing their hands and feet.

We look back on whether we merely know as a fact that Jesus Christ died for us, while living without gratitude and awe for it. Through prayer of repentance today, we should examine whether we are using God, or truly striving to live the life of a believer.

This passage deals with the origin and meaning of the Feast of Trumpets, one of Israel's feasts. Falling on the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, this day is a holy convocation announced by the blowing of trumpets at the start of the feast, a day when the people of Israel rest all day and offer sacrifices. The sermon stresses that the Feast of Trumpets goes beyond a mere religious ritual and is an important moment of waiting for the completion of creation and the return of the Messiah. In particular, it warns that the sound of the trumpet is the signal announcing the day that separates judgment from salvation, and that all humanity will stand before God's judgment.

The sermon points out that what matters is not formal worship and offerings, but truly knowing God, and faith. Through the sacrificial rules of the Feast of Trumpets, it explains that God wants sincerity rather than outward show, and says that believers should regard the feasts as shadows and enjoy freedom in Christ. It also analyzes the meaning of the Hebrew letters of God's name, 'Yahweh,' showing that the suffering of the cross and the plan of salvation are already contained in that name. This means that all of Scripture testifies to Jesus Christ, and that only by seeing and knowing him can we reach salvation.

The sermon makes us look at whether our names are written in the book of life when the trumpet sounds. Rather than settling into a formal religious life, it raises the question of living a life that deeply understands the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and gives thanks for it. We must not call on God carelessly but worship him wholeheartedly, and it is important not to judge the sins of others but to keep our own faith. Through the warning the Feast of Trumpets gives, we reflect on how we know God at this very moment.

This passage deals with Jesus driving out the money changers and merchants who had turned the temple into a marketplace, pointing out the reality that the temple had fallen from a house of prayer into a place of trade. Amid the corruption of priests who exploited the pilgrims' offerings and let only blemished sacrifices pass, Jesus would not tolerate the defiling of God's house. This is no different from the world's attitude of using God for its own gain without knowing his grace, and it shows how precious true worship is.

And through the incident in which Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire without being commanded and were put to death, it warns that even with an office and its robes, one cannot stand before God without changing the habits of one's life. They forgot the holiness of being priests and could not let go of worldly ways of thinking, which led them to despise the ordinances God had set. This was not simply a ceremonial mistake; it was a judgment that came because their character had not changed even after meeting God, and their faith was lacking.

The sermon asks how believers should live so as not to stain the robe of righteousness they have put on. It leads us to reflect on what it means to come to worship not treating God's work as a position or a paycheck, but believing in the grace of the cross and loving and honoring God with a heart that allows no margin of error.

Through the main areas of Herod's temple, this passage looks at the setting of events in the Bible. Solomon's Porch is where the apostles preached the gospel and miracles took place, and in the Court of the Women Jesus saved the woman caught in adultery and pointed out hypocritical giving. It also covers Jesus being tempted by the devil on the pinnacle of the temple, and the reason Jesus kept silent before the council.

The sermon stresses that these places are not mere buildings but spaces that teach spiritual lessons. Just as Peter gave all the glory to Jesus after healing the beggar, believers should give glory to God rather than boasting of their own abilities. And just as Jesus rebuked the hypocrites in the Court of the Women, it shows that giving in secret before God is what true faith looks like. Jesus kept silent before the council because the other side was not ready to understand the truth, and this suggests that we must build our relationship with God through his word.

The sermon leads believers to judge for themselves whether their life of faith is opposing God or helping him. It also asks them to spend time reading the Bible rather than watching TV or reading novels, and to live as people approved by God.

This passage deals with the historical background of Herod the Great ignoring God's specifications and expanding the temple to win the acceptance of the Jews. Herod, a lonely man of Edomite origin, dressed up his political ambition in the outward grandeur of temple building, handling the temple according to human greed rather than God's will. The cruelty of the Herod family and its habit of using God appear again and again, in the reigns of his sons Archelaus and Antipas and in the killing of John the Baptist at Salome's request.

Through the account of Jesus healing a sick man at the pool of Bethesda and the scene of the apostle Paul being dragged into the temple, the sermon points out the attitude of faith believers should have. Unlike the sick man who depended on the water of the pool of Bethesda, it points out how people today cling only to the world's solutions even when they meet Jesus, who is life. And in Paul being beaten after he was wrongly accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple, it shows the foolishness of the Jews, who were caught up in the forms of the Law and their sense of being the chosen people and rejected the true gospel.

Reminding us of the truth that we, who were a tabernacle, have become God's temple in Jesus Christ, the sermon asks how we could live without fearing God, even amid the turmoil of the world's history.

This passage deals with the history of Israel's temple centered on Mount Moriah and the spiritual meaning it holds. From the creation of Adam, through the sacrifice of Abraham and Isaac, David's failed attempt to move the ark, and Solomon's building of the temple, to the rebuilding of Zerubbabel's temple after the Babylonian exile, it shows that the tabernacle and the temple are a shadow of Jesus Christ. In particular, through the incident in which Uzzah died when David tried to move God's ark in the wrong way, it explains how human plans differ from God's will, and how differently things turn out for those who are unprepared and those who are prepared.

The sermon emphasizes that what matters most is not the splendor of a temple or church building but meeting God rightly. Just as David, as one who had shed blood in war, could not build the temple, it points out that we must not use unavoidable human circumstances or suffering as an excuse to violate God's holiness. It also shows that the opposition and hardship faced while building Zerubbabel's temple were attacks from Satan and, at the same time, an opportunity in which God gave the strength to overcome. It warns that believers must discover their own sins before God, repent, and resolve them together with God, but that looking for sin in their relationships with others can bring them down.

It asks how believers living in the last days should live as they wait for Jesus' return. Rather than only saying with their lips that they pray and rejoice, it suggests that they should show unceasing prayer and constant joy in the way they live. It invites reflection on what it means for believers to know God fully without shame, to experience his love, and to live longing for Jesus Christ without fear even in a harsh world.

This passage deals with the scene in which Jesus entered Jerusalem carrying the cross, and the words he spoke as he saw the many women weeping in sorrow along the way. Jesus tells them not to weep for him but to weep for themselves and their children, and the passage emphasizes that those in power inside the city walls have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable people outside the walls. It also explains that the city gate was not merely an entrance but played an important role as a place of judgment and meeting, and it points to the meaning of the walls with which God protects his people.

The sermon shows that the tabernacle of the Old Testament era foreshadowed Christ in the New Testament era, and that the holy temple where the Holy Spirit now dwells is believers themselves. It points out that just as the tabernacle had to be built exactly as God had shown, our lives and worship must also obey God's will. It urges us to discern that although the wicked may seem to be winning in the eyes of the world, judged by God's history and standards, that is not true victory. Because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we must guard against sin and keep ourselves holy, and every place in our lives must become a place of worship that remembers God.

We can reflect on how we should keep our faith amid the suffering we go through and the turmoil of the world, and on what it means to live a life that prepares for the return of Jesus Christ. It leads us to meditate deeply on how we should live in this age as believers, and on the attitude of worship and life that God desires.

This passage deals with the events in which the Israelites who had come out of Egypt made the golden calf and sent out spies from Kadesh Barnea. God meant to lead them into the promised land, but out of fear and complaining the people listened to the spies' negative report. Seeing the giants before them, they regarded themselves as grasshoppers, expected defeat, and grumbled against God, and in the end they wanted to go back to Egypt. This unbelief and complaining led to forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and many perished along the way.

The sermon points out that this failure of Israel is happening to us in the same way today. We have received new life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, yet we complain and grumble in the face of small difficulties or fears. Even though God parted the sea to save us and provided spiritual food and drink, we are not thankful, deceiving ourselves that we live by our own ability. Complaints spoken aloud are especially dangerous, because God hears them and may answer them. God strives to the very end to turn his children back so that they do not fall into sin, whether by soothing them with love or by disciplining them with the rod.

We must live clothed in the righteous garment of Jesus Christ. Having put on this garment means that we must become free from the temptations and sin of the world. When we remember the deep love with which God chose us as his children and cares for us to the end, we can live not in misery but in thankfulness. If we want to be led by God's plans and ways even in the present darkness and difficulty, we must fix our eyes on God. Just as God has had no regrets about us, what question can help us, too, live trusting in God?

This sermon deals with the special standing of believers who have been set free from the law of sin and death through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. According to the gospel proclaimed by the apostle Paul, those who are in Christ are never condemned, and they enjoy freedom through the law of the Spirit. But this grace goes beyond mere religious activity; it is a blessing enjoyed only when we sincerely repent and abide in Jesus. Because the Law could not be fulfilled on account of human weakness, God sent his sinless Son in the likeness of sinners to fulfill its requirement.

This passage also shows God's sovereign plan through the way Moses designed the tabernacle and led the Israelites. Israel's four hundred years of slavery in Egypt were a time of preparation for the fulfillment of God's covenant, and their unbelief and complaining ultimately brought about their destruction in the wilderness. As the lives of Moses and Paul reveal, God sets aside human wisdom and power and uses people only through humble obedience. Only when believers lay down everything they have and entrust themselves completely to God can they take on the role of a true priest.

The sermon calls believers to reflect on the heart that takes the feast days for granted when they come around, and to meditate deeply on the suffering and love of the cross that Jesus bore. Remembering the deep love with which God gave his Son for us, with what kind of heart should we return our thanks and love to God?