Word of Salvation – Vol.52 No.40 – October 2007   The Father's Voice - by Rev. Sjirk Bajema Sermon on Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 27c Scripture Readings: Exodus 4:18-31; Colossians 2:6-15   Congregation of Jesus Christ... The Answer to Question 74 of the Catechism is very clear! "Yes! Of course we baptise our babies! In fact, we have to!" This is a most emphatic command. For our Father God is most definite as to how our children are also together with us in the household of faith. Not that we have always understood this so well. But, as our Catechism faithfully...

Word of Salvation – Vol.52 No.37 – October 2007   The Weakness Of God's Servants - by Rev. Dr. Steve Voorwinde Text: 2Corinthians 12:9. Scripture Readings: 1Corinthians 1:18-2:5; 2Corinthians 12:1-10.   Introduction: The Lord said to Paul: My power is made perfect in weakness. This is one of the central paradoxes in the Christian life. You see it when a believer is struck down with a life-threatening illness, and the Lord uses the testimony of that person to bring others to faith. You see it when a church is small and struggling to survive and cries out to the Lord for...

Word of Salvation – Vol.14 No.10 – March 1968   On The Doorstep Of The Church   Sermon by Rev. A.l. De Graaf, (B.D.) on Genesis 16. Scripture Reading: Heb. 6:1-12 & Genesis 16. Suggested Hymns: Psalter Hymnal: 222 (1,2,4,6); 94 (1,2); 387; 448; 493.   Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, Hardly a day passes by, that in the newspaper or on radio and TV we do not hear of troubles in the Arab world. Either it's Egypt, or Jordan, or Lebanon, or Syria, where Arabs live; resenting Israel, and seeking to destroy it! Age-old hatred that began in Abram's...

Word of Salvation – Vol.14 No.11 – March 1968 The Covenant Of Grace   Sermon by Rev. A. l. De Graaf (B.D.) on Genesis 17 Scripture Readings: Genesis 17 & Romans 4. Suggested Hymns: Psalter Hymnal: 180; 9:1,2 (new); 266; 273   Brothers and sisters in Jesus, Thirteen years have passed by since Abram tried to make God's promise come true by taking Hagar... thirteen years of which the Bible tells us nothing.  But thirteen years are a long time when you're getting over ninety! The LORD surely takes His time!  Well, He does!  But then: He has plenty of it. ...

Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.8 – February 2007   An Open and Shut Case A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 31   Scripture Readings: Matthew 16:13-20; 18:15-20   Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we consider the Keys of the Kingdom. Like all other keys they are used for a specific purpose. What do you do with a key? You open something! Something which had been closed before is now open. Whether that be our house, or shed, or car, or many other valuable things. If you want to keep those things safe you need...

Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.6 – February 2007   The Day of Judgment A Sermon by Rev Jack Kapinga on Malachi 2:17-3:5   Scripture Reading:  Malachi 2:17-3:5 Suggested Singing:  BoW 383; 182; 517; 57a; Rej 41   Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1. When will God's justice be done? As Christians we believe that we are God's people. We believe that God has chosen us and saved us and made us his own. And so we believe that he loves us and cares for us and blesses us in every way. But congregation, if that is so,...

Word of Salvation - September 2017   The Priority of Preaching the Word By Rev. Craig Van Echten On 2Timothy 4:1-4   Textual Theme: There is an urgent need for Timothy to see to it that the word is preached in every circumstance to every person. Purpose Statement: To encourage Timothy to Preach the Word. Proposition: Having the Word preached is central to the ministry of a healthy Church   Brothers and sisters, We continue with our theme which is: What is a healthy Church? So is preaching the Word a mark of a healthy church? I know it’s pretty central...

Word of Salvation - September 2017   We've Got It All By Rev. Craig Van Echten On Ephesians 1:1-6   Textual Theme (what): Paul begins the letter with a doxology and praises God for the Spiritual blessings that believers enjoy through Christ which are given on the basis of God’s grace and for the purpose of God’s worship. Original Purpose (why): To encourage the believers by showing them the blessings they have in Christ. Proposition (what and so what): Let the Church praise God because in Christ we’ve got it all!   Ephesians 1:1-6   Brothers and sisters, How good is...

Word of Salvation - September 2017   Practical Outcome #6 = Faithfulness By Rev. Craig Van Echten On Galatians 5:22   Textual Theme (what): Faithfulness is the grace by which God is totally reliable and its this disposition that He is working within us so that we may faithfully follow Him and be loyal to others. Original Purpose (why): To encourage the faithfulness of God to flow through our lives Proposition (what and so what): Through the Spirit’s empowering God is enabling us to be faithful. Songs: BoW 359 Galatians 5:22 (Daniel 6:1-16)   Brothers and sisters, The media call them...

Word of Salvation - September 2017   Aging into a Sage By Rev. Craig Van Echten On Titus 2:3-5 Textual Theme: In the face of false teachers Titus encourages the older women to lead godly lives and in their godliness guide the next generation of women which in turn will adorn the gospel to the watching world. Purpose Statement: To adorn the gospel before the next generation and the watching world. Proposition: Encouraging women to age into a sage. Songs for after sermon: Bow 210, 215   Brothers and sisters, Jean Williams tells the story, “My friend and I were visiting...

Word of Salvation - September 2017   Sons and Daughters of the Living God By Rev. John Zuidema Readings: John 1:1-18; 1 John 2:18-27; LD 13 Q&A 33-34 Suggested songs: BOW: 170 vv 1,2,4; “Praise to the Lord the Almighty” BOW 159 “Glory be to God in heaven” BOW 375 “Behold what Manner.” BOW: 530 “Praise God, you angel hosts above”   Congregation, one thing that has become very obvious is that we live in a multi-religious society.  Many people believe that it doesn’t matter what you believe, so long as you are good and you do your best and don’t...

Word of Salvation - September 2017   From King to Babe By Rev. John Zuidema Scripture Readings: 1 John 4:7-21; Phil 2:5-11; LD 14 q35-36; Suggested singing: BoW 292 “All glory Laud and Honour” RJ2: 295 “Be still, for the presence of the Lord” BoW: 404 “From heaven You came helpless babe” BoW:  532 “Now blessed be the Lord our God”   Congregation, many of us have marvelled at the miracle of new birth.  From the time of conception to the time when we can see the new born with our own eyes it is just an amazing blessing.  And we...

Word of Salvation - September 2017   Our Suffering Saviour. By Rev. John Zuidema Scripture Readings:  Isa 53; John 19:17-30; LD 15 Q37-39   Beloved people of God, Over recent months and years, we have seen much suffering and trouble in our world.  In fact, when I think about it I have to be careful, for it tends to depress me.  I think of some African nations that we hardly hear about, yet they are torn with civil war and as a result, there is much suffering, not least being poverty.  I think about the recent conflicts and wars in my...

Word of Salvation - September 2017   A Saviour, Dead and Buried: So What? By Rev. John Zuidema Scripture Readings. John 11:17-44; John 19:31-42. LD 16 Q40-43   Congregation, I once spoke to a lady who tried to convince me that death, the loss of a loved one or dear friend who dies in the Lord, should never be a reason for tears, but only for praise.  While this lady was telling me her thoughts, I was thinking, “What planet is this lady on?”  I have never thought about death in this way.  God has made us emotional beings who become...

Word of Salvation - April 2018   Thankful Praying By Rev. John Westendorp Text: Matthew 6:9-13 [with Lord’s Day 45 (Q/A 116)]   Theme: Prayer, as unique to a Christian disciple, is a thankful act of necessity.   Introd:  When I was growing up, a local Ladies’ Guild had as their motto: Ora et labora. You may be aware that this was a common motto and slogan in the Middle Ages. Today there is even a board-game called Ora-et-labora. Each player is supposedly the head of a monastery. You acquire land, construct buildings and engage in a variety of business ventures....

Word of Salvation - April 2018   The Ascended Christ's Authority By Rev. John Westendorp Text: Eph. 1:20-23 & H.C. LD 19 [Q/A 50,51]   Theme: Jesus’ ascension reminds us that Christ has honour and power now over all things for the church.   Introd:  How relevant is Ascension Day in our society? The whole world celebrates Christmas – the coming of Jesus into the world. And Good Friday is a crucial day in the Christian calendar.    We remember that Jesus died for the sins of the world. And of course Easter Sunday couldn’t possibly be ignored.    On that...

Word of Salvation - May 2018   Issues in Living: Money By Rev. John Westendorp Text: Proverbs 3:9,10,13-16   Theme: The place of money in the life of God's children. Introd:  If you read the sermon title in the bulletin you may be a little curious. A sermon on money - is that really necessary in this congregation? Over the last decade or so things have gone well for us financially as a church. Our congregation manages its financial affairs rather well. Okay, occasionally we're a few thousand dollars behind budget. That's happened often before and we’ve always manage to catch...

Word of Salvation - April 2018   Blessed is a God-fearing Family By Rev. John Westendorp Text: Psalm 128 Scripture Readings: Ephesians 5:21 – 6:4 and Psalm 128   Theme: Blessing for the family is found in the fear of the Lord... and that blesses God’s Church and Kingdom.   Introd:  You may be tempted this morning to dismiss this Psalm as irrelevant.  For several reasons. For starters... it’s a song about families... and you’re sitting here as a single person.. The unmarried, the widowed and the divorced seem to be bypassed in this Psalm. But that’s not true.  Take another...

Word of Salvation June 2018   Always Thankful - by Rev. David Waldron Text: Psalm 118 Readings: Luke 17:11-19; Psalm 118 Theme: The thankful psalmist calls all the covenant people of God to respond in gratitude to the Lord for his constant goodness and ever faithful love. Proposition: Jesus is the reason to be always thankful.   Introduction Helen Keller, American author, political activist, and lecturer, was struck by an illness when she was under two years old which left her blind and deaf. With the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan, she learned to communicate and went on to graduate...

Word of Salvation June 2018   Saving Grace - by Rev. David Waldron Text: Acts 11:17-18 Scriptures: 2 Chronicles 33:9-16; Acts 11:1-18 Series:             Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q&A) Theme:           The Holy Spirit works the saving graces of repentance and faith in all God’s chosen people thereby giving them life in Christ Proposition:   Give glory to God for his gifts of repentance and faith   Introduction “Look there’s a conversion!” – what exactly does that indicate? The word ‘conversion’ has many meanings in our English language usage, depending on which sphere of life it is used within e.g. In finance,...