Sermons

This passage emphasises the sacredness of marriage made before God, and sternly rebukes the sin of husbands who abandon their wives and marry foreign women. Like the union of Adam and Eve, husband and wife must leave their parents and become one, and the passage makes clear that this is not merely a legal union but a covenant relationship with God. Yet the people dishonoured God's holiness by mistreating or abandoning their wives and marrying foreign women who worshipped idols. As the cases of Solomon and Rehoboam show, the faith and character of parents are an important factor in shaping their children's destiny.

The sermon points out the double-minded attitude of performing religious rituals outwardly while sinning in daily life. It makes clear that the reason God does not accept the people's offerings lies in the breakdown of their families and their false faith. In particular, it treats a husband's mistreating his wife or abandoning the wife of his youth as a grave sin that grieves God. It emphasises that God wants upright families in order to raise godly offspring, and that the character of the head of the household determines the family's peace and the children's growth in faith.

Finally, it warns that God's holding back judgment in patience does not mean he forgives sin. When judgment is delayed even though they sin, the people protest by asking where the God of justice is, but this is an attitude that abuses grace. Should we not, instead of taking God's patience for granted, repent and build godly families?

This passage deals with the covenant of life and peace that God made with the priests of the tribe of Levi. The priests were called to be messengers who teach God's law rightly and lead the people in purity, but many priests became lazy and corrupt, did not proclaim the truth, and defiled the offerings. God shows fierce anger at the disobedience and corruption of these priests, and emphasises that their lips should keep knowledge and that the people should seek the law at their mouth.

The sermon points out that the priests' failure was not simply a personal matter; it led the whole people to death and brought judgment on the nation. God warns that he will cast them off, as though spreading the dung of the sacrifices on the priests' faces, and sternly rebukes the sin of perverting justice and taking bribes for the sake of power and wealth. These ancient warnings apply just as they stand to pastors entrusted with the Word and to believers today. Believers must not know faith only as knowledge, but live out the six days of the week by faith and offer pure worship.

Believers must stay awake, holding the sword of the Spirit, to guard their souls from the temptations of the world and the smooth talk of heresies. We must not justify our own sin because others sin, or ignore God's law in the name of common practice. God unchangingly keeps his covenant and requires us to live by his word, and he warns us not to live lives that are identified with the corrupt priests. What kind of faith will you choose?

This passage deals with a time when the people of Israel and their priests defiled the sacrifices they offered to God, disregarded his grace, and mocked him. God points out that they were bringing not healthy offerings but sick and blemished ones, trying to use him. This goes beyond a mere question of ritual; it is a spiritual corruption that exposes their complaints against the Creator and their lack of thankfulness.

The sermon points out that such an attitude is, in the end, an act of despising God. Just as the priests' corruption put the whole nation in danger, a faith today that seeks only blessings and tries to use God is also a serious problem. It warns that God does not accept offerings brought with deceit, and that we can enjoy his grace only when we sincerely repent and live holy lives. Like King David's earnest prayer, what is required is a true faith that serves God as Lord without being shaken by whether circumstances are good or bad.

The sermon asks why believers must not fall into the world's temptations and greed, but live in obedience to God's unchanging word. It also raises the question of what wisdom enables us to live as believers who keep the faith while waiting for Christ's return.

This sermon deals with the corrupt priests whom God rebukes through the prophet Malachi. God points out that although the priests should have offered unblemished, healthy sacrifices, they placed sick and injured ones on the altar. They kept the good offerings for their own gain and treated God with what was left over, and without even recognising their own sin they questioned God in return. This is the grave sin of despising God's name and treating his table with contempt, and it shows that the corruption of the priests leads to the spiritual ruin of the people.

In the sermon, the priests of the Old Testament are likened to the spiritual stance of pastors and believers today. Just as the apostle Paul kept an unchanging faith in every circumstance, believers must handle both wealth and hardship with trust in God. On the other hand, the attitude of offering good things to the rulers of this world while calculating and begrudging what is given to God is that of an unjust steward. God wants not the offering but the sincerity and honesty of the one who offers it, and pretended worship or selfish giving is regarded as an insult to God.

The sermon leads believers to look back on whether, regardless of their circumstances, they are offering God complete devotion and worship without complaint or doubt. It also leads them to reflect on whether they neglect what they give to God by following the world's standards, or treat their offerings as a means of gaining blessing. The sermon puts to the reader the question of what a life that fears God and truly serves him is.

This passage explains, by contrast, the sturdiness of a work made of stone, which endures the years, and the weakness of a castle built of sand, which easily crumbles before the waves. It warns that believers' faith is the same: a faithful belief centred on God's word is like stone that does not shake even in hardship, but a faith of outward show can vanish without a trace as circumstances change. In particular, through the history of Edom and the parable of the prodigal son, it makes clear that what is built by human effort and pride will in the end be thrown down when God removes his hedge of protection.

When God sends rebuke and warning, complaining against it or resisting it is the same as walking the path of judgment by one's own choice. God's voice calling us to repent of sin and turn back is not for the benefit of our human relationships, but a signal of grace to guard us from Satan's schemes. However much we marshal the world's knowledge and reason to justify our own way, apart from God we cannot build anything firmly, and in the end everything comes to nothing.

The difficulties and collapses we go through may not be simple failures, but signals from God, knocking on our hearts and calling us into deeper fellowship. We are led to look back at the crossroads of choice where we now stand: whether we will be those who, like Edom, refuse to let go of our pride despite the warnings and keep complaining, or whether, like the prodigal son, we will acknowledge our sin and decide to return to the Father's arms.

This passage deals with the spiritual corruption of the people of Israel who had finished their exile and returned to their homeland, and with the warning of the prophet Malachi, whom God sent. Though they had come back after seventy years of suffering, the people complained against God and mocked him because of the hardships of their situation and the lack of prosperity. Along with the corruption of the priests, the people drifted far from God through formal worship and offerings and through sins such as marrying foreigners.

The sermon compares this attitude of Israel with Esau of Edom, and points out the danger of a faith that treats God's grace lightly and pursues only its own benefit. Although God had already chosen them as his people and poured out countless graces, the people clung only to the visible realities before them and doubted God's unchanging love. This shows the human nature that reveals its evil intentions when answers are slow in coming, even after experiencing grace.

We need to look back on whether we are demanding immediate solutions to our problems and prosperity, and pressing God for answers. We ask ourselves whether we are committing the folly of complaining while trusting what we can see rather than the invisible God, and whether we are seeking only blessing without having restored a clean heart through repentance.

This passage deals with the sin of Edom, which betrayed its brother Israel and stood by and rejoiced at the destruction of Judah, and with the judgment of God that followed. Edom grew proud because of its geographical advantage, and instead of helping its brother in distress it responded with plunder and slaughter, testing God's patience. God warned that their disregard for brotherly love would in the end come back upon themselves, and that prophecy was fulfilled exactly in history.

The sermon stresses that Edom's downfall was not simply a national defeat but a righteous judgment on those who cast aside grace and hated their brother. It reminds us that human beings may boast in their own strength or position and grow proud, but that God alone gives all these things and takes them away. It also shows how greatly God's wrath is stirred by an attitude that stands by at a brother's suffering, or even does him harm.

Believers must not be shaken by worldly power or changing circumstances, but live good lives directed toward God alone. This sermon, which helps us realise that helping a brother in difficulty is itself worship offered to God, asks what we should hold on to as we live.

This passage deals with the scene of the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples before bearing the cross. In particular, it reveals human limits through Judas Iscariot leaving the table to betray Jesus, and through the disciples afterwards leaving Jesus because of their own weakness and betrayal. Though Jesus knew that all the disciples would stumble, he prays for them and shows a loving heart that understands their weakness.

The sermon finds in these disciples a picture of believers today, and emphasises that even when we want to give up amid suffering and hardship, God gives believers strength and courage. It also warns that attitudes that stir up complaint and quarrels in the church or hinder God's work can lead in the end to spiritual judgment. On the other hand, it says that to believers who devote themselves wholeheartedly and keep the faith, God promises not only long life and riches but blessing in the eternal kingdom.

It leads us to think about what attitude believers should take so that they do not fear in the world and do not lose hope to the end, and what choice they must make in order to meet the risen Christ and enjoy true peace.

In this passage Solomon, having come to see the vanity of life through his own regretful life, warns how we should live so that in old age we will not regret time we can never get back. Reflecting on a past in which he craved power and pleasure, he emphasises that in the face of death everything is meaningless. He also reminds us that keeping the law God has established is essential for kings and priests alike.

Seeing people laughing and chattering in bars late at night, the preacher questions whether they are aware of the judgment after death. Even amid the world's changes and conflicts, God's law does not change, and if we do not acknowledge it, our state after death cannot help but be different. Believers must not forget that the people of the world are the ones to be saved, and must set an example with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit; if they do not keep the faith, they lose their direction like a sunken ship.

It also points out the attitude of treating church like a hobby or caring only about the kingdom of heaven, and makes clear that true faith is bound up with the eternal life gained through Christ. Through the martyrdom of Stephen, it emphasises the importance of those who proclaim the gospel and of a love that forgives even in persecution. Finally, the reader is asked how to use this very moment so as not to regret it in old age, and whether they truly believe that God is the Judge.

This passage deals with the mission of bringing the truth of life to souls who are in darkness. Every life, heading toward death from the moment of birth, is precious, but because of our sinful nature we can be saved only by receiving Christ. So believers who have been called have the responsibility to save souls by proclaiming the gospel, and this is an important mission God has entrusted to them.

The sermon compares proclaiming the gospel to casting bread on the waters or sowing seed. The world is full of darkness and sin, but when believers boldly proclaim Jesus, who is life, those who have ears will hear. The importance of choice and effort is also emphasised: believers must work diligently morning and evening and take responsibility for the path they have chosen. God helps believers in their struggles and efforts, and since the salvation of souls belongs wholly to God's sovereignty, we must keep proclaiming steadily without being discouraged or giving up.

Noah, who in his day believed that judgment would come and built the ark, is an example for believers. Knowing that the world is full of sin and that judgment is near, believers must still share their wealth, proclaim the truth, and live good lives. Those who follow Christ, the light, come out of darkness, but those who refuse remain in darkness. Only by enjoying the days of our youth without forgetting God, and by making right judgments, can we live a life without regret.

The sermon asks whether we have sown the seed of the Word that God has entrusted to us in people's hearts, and how that seed is growing.

This passage contrasts the wise and the fool, and shows that human choice determines whether God's planned grace becomes a path to enjoying blessing or turns into a curse. Abraham's obedience in offering Isaac shows the attitude of the wise, who receive grace rightly even though God's will had already been prepared. By contrast, the rich man, boasting in his wealth and his outward show of faith and ignoring his neighbour, is the picture of the fool, and in the end he meets spiritual ruin.

The sermon emphasises that believers must have an obedient heart that is thankful for the grace of Jesus' atonement on the cross, rather than trusting in their own merits with a proud heart. Satan and the world focus only on what is seen and cannot understand God's invisible kingdom, but the wise humble themselves, obey God's word, and keep the faith to the end. It also warns that complaints in the heart or secretly cursing others cannot be hidden from God, and urges us not to be lazy and not to neglect examining our faith.

What should believers hold on to as they live, in order to stand as wise people who place Christ at the centre of their lives and make right judgments every day?

This passage deals with the effect a ruler's wisdom or folly has on the nation and its people. When those in power lose discernment and make foolish judgments, the fate of the nation is put at risk, and those who love the truth end up suffering instead. Yet believers must show a faith that keeps its place and prays even amid the world's unreasonable situations.

Through the example of King Hezekiah, the sermon warns of the spiritual crisis that comes after hardship. He prayed earnestly and experienced miracles, being healed of his illness and seeing an army driven back, but after he gained peace he grew proud and forgot God's grace. As a result he fell into Satan's trap by showing off his treasures, and in the end his faith was corrupted and he committed the folly of fathering his son Manasseh. Once hardship has passed it is easy to forget to give thanks and to put forward our own righteousness, but the sermon stresses that this is exactly when Satan attacks most.

Believers must live humbly, not forgetting God's grace, and must keep the blade of their faith sharp to protect themselves from Satan's temptations. What are we holding on to, so that we do not become fools who break through their own walls, but wise believers who rely on Christ and build a strong spiritual hedge?