Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 09 – March 1990   Godly Living   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 32 Reading: James 2:14-26, 1Thessalonians 4:1-8   When our Confession speaks here about good works then you must not become suspicious and think that it is teaching salvation by good works.  No, our Catechism knows very well that Scripture teaches that salvation is by Christ alone.  That most comforting doctrine has been strongly defended in part two of the Catechism.  The question now facing us is this: what is the sinner going to do now that he...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 13 – April 1990   Repentance Or Conversion   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 33 (Q&A 88-9) Reading: Colossians 3:1-17; Psalm 1   Conversion is a word in the vocabulary of the Christian church that we must never lose the meaning of. If the members of the church start shrugging their shoulders, when asked if they are converted, then the church is in a bad way indeed.  So what is meant by conversion? Different people mean different things by it.  In a game of rugby a try can be converted...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 33 – September 1990   Our Speaking And God’s Name   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 36 & 37 (Exodus 20:7) Reading: Ecclesiastes 5:1-7; James 3:1-12   How important is the name of God to you?  Some of you will probably say that God's name means a lot to you.  Others might shrug their shoulders and thereby indicating that they haven't really thought about it that much.  Well then, how do you feel when the name of God or Christ is misused? Let's say you're watching television and in the...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 31 No. 19 – May 1986   The Gift Of Prophecy: Should We Seek It?   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on 1Corinthians 14:3 Reading: 1Corinthians 14:1-5, 22-40   One of the spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit was the gift of prophecy.  This gift is mentioned already in chapter 12 of Paul's letter to the Corinthians but it receives a greater deal of attention here in chapter 14. One of the questions that is often asked today with regard to the gifts of the Spirit, has to do with the gift of prophecy.  The...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 32 No. 24 – June 1987   Jesus Christ, The God-Man Saviour   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 6 Reading: John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1:1-4 Singing: PsH. 286: 1,2; PsH. 286: 3,4; PsH. 376; PsH.252: 1,2,3; BoW. 14:1,2,5   Most people do not like to hate for they know from experience that hate leads to terrible things.  Violence, terrorism and war all stem from hatred, and they lead to hate, thus forming a vicious circle. The followers of the Raja Yoga meditation movement say they have the solution and know how to bring...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 31 No. 41 – November 1987   Confessing Jesus As Saviour   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 11 Reading: Acts 4:1-22 Singing: Ps.H.446: 1,2; Ps.H.446: 3,4; Ps. H. 384; BoW. 1; BoW. 704:1,3,4.   The Christian church proclaims a wonderful message when it says: Jesus saves!  But anyone hearing that has every right to ask: from what?  You also should ask: from what does Jesus save me?  And where are we after Jesus has saved us?  The answer is that Jesus has saved us from death to give us life.  That is...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 33 No. 08 – February 1988   Like His Brothers   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 14 Reading: Luke 1:26-38; Hebrews 2:5-18 Singing: Ps.H.89; BoW.H.100; BoW.H.102; Ps.H. 298.   Dear people of God, The historic Christian faith has some important things to say about the way Jesus Christ came into the world.  We all know how we came into the world.  It is the same way for everybody.  It is true for the famous and for the unknown, for the rich and for the poor, for the powerful and the...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 33 No. 07 – February 1988   God’s Only Begotten Son, Our Lord   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 13. Reading: John 1:1-18; Col. 1:9-23 Singing: PsH.483; PsH.55:1,4; PsH. 206; PsH.372: 1,3; PsH.281:1,10.   Dear Brothers and Sisters, Nothing causes a Jehovah's Witness to disagree with you more quickly than for you to say that Christ is also eternal God.  This denial of Christ's existence from all eternity by the Jehovah's Witness is actually a very old heresy.  Way back in the year 320 A.D. an elder by the name...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 33 No. 21 – June 1988   Christ’s Ascension Into Heaven   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 18 Reading: John 14:1-3; 26-31; 16:5-16 Singing: Ps.H.42:1,2; Ps.H.42:3; BoW.H.505; BoW.H.508; Ps.H. 125: 3,4   The birth of Jesus Christ means that the Son of God, who from eternity dwelt with God in heaven, came to live among us as a human being in order to save us from our sins.  The death of Jesus Christ means that the Son of God was punished for our sins.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that the...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 33 No. 28 – July 1988   The Reign Of Christ From Heaven   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 19, Q.&A. 50 and 51 Reading: Psalms 110 & 113; Revelation 20:1-6 Singing: BoW. Ps.1-A:1,2; 1-A:3; Bow. Ps. 72; BoW. H. 8:1,7,8,9, Ps.H.469.   We know that Stephen was the first martyr of the New Testament Church.  The leaders of the Jewish people were driven to intense hatred when Stephen told them they were stubborn and resisted the Holy Spirit.  That hatred turned into a murderous fury when Stephen, full of the Holy...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 33 No. 32 – August 1988   The Return Of Jesus Christ As Judge   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 19, Q.&A. 52 Reading: 1Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; 2Thessalonians 1:3-12 Singing: Ps.H.264:1,2; Ps.H.264:3,4; Ps.H.47: 1,2,3,4; Ps.H.78; BoW.H.14.   International tensions and nuclear arsenals cause people to fear an all-out global war which may blow up the world.  That will mean the end of civilization as we know it.  Christians are not sure whether the present world will end by direct action of God, or God using man's self-destructive powers.  But Christians are sure that...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 33 No. 33 – September 1988   Believing In The Holy Spirit   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 20 Reading: John 14:15-18; John 16:5-16 Singing: Ps.H.393:1,2; BoW.H.605; Bow.H.602; Ps.H.391:1,2,3,4; Ps.H.491.   The Christian church must confess the reality of the Holy Spirit.  It is not an option.  The Heidelberg Catechism has been following the Apostles' Creed, and, having dealt with the section on Christ, now focuses on the Holy Spirit.  However, this is not the first time the Holy Spirit is mentioned.  Whilst Lord's Day 20 is quite brief on the Holy...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 33 No. 37 – October 1988   Building The Body Of Christ   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk Lord's Day 21, Q.&A. 54. Reading: John 10:1-16; Ephesians 4:1-16; Heidelberg Catechism: LD21 Singing: Ps.H. 89:1,2; 38:3; 426; 398; 402.   Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The process of building is always very visible.   At first there is a vacant block of land.  The activity begins with stakes being put into the ground, indicating where the building will come.  Then the foundations are laid, the frame and the walls go up.  The roof is put on,...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 34 No. 41 – November 1989   Who May Come To The Lord’s Table?   (Participation in the Lord's Supper concerns the individual church member.) Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 30b (Q & A 81) Reading: 1Corinthians 10:1-22   Congregation, beloved in Christ, It can sometimes happen, as it did here last Sunday evening, that a stranger is in church when the Lord's Supper is held.  As far as we could tell, no one of the church's members knew the lady.  She seemed unfamiliar with the liturgy.  A Psalter Hymnal was kindly...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 01 – January 1990   Who May Come To The Lord’s Table   (Participation in the Lord's Supper concerns the whole church.)   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 30c Q&A 82. Reading: 1Corinthians 11:17-34   The sacraments are very important to the Christian church.  The Lord has given them to the church as a means of grace.  That is to say, by using them the faith of the believer is strengthened. Speaking now of the Lord's Supper – with which Lord's Day 30 is dealing – the eating of bread...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 17 – May 1990   Good Works: The Fruit Of Repentance   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 33. Reading: Psalm 19:7-14; Matthew 21:28-32   When the tax-collector went up to the temple to pray, he was very careful not to show off, as did the Pharisee.  The tax-collector was not even sure that God would ant to listen to him and he did not dare look up to heaven.  But he prayed anyway and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." (Luke 18:13). This man did not look down...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 25 – July 1990   Worship As God Prescribes   Sermon by Rev. M.P. Geluk on Lord's Day 35 Reading: Exodus 20:4-7; Jeremiah 10:1-16; Romans 1:18-25   Do not make a likeness of God other than Christ.  The best way to distinguish the second commandment from the first is to say that the first commandment is about whom we must worship and the second about how we must worship. The first commandment says: do not serve any other gods, for there is only one true God.  Serve Him only.  All others are false. The...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 29 – August 1990   The Only God   Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord's Day 34b, Q/A 93-95                                                             and Exodus 20:3   Today we listen to the first of the Ten Commandments.  Each one expresses the will of God for all people.  The first four describe what our relationship to God should be, and the last six describe to us how we should relate to other people. There is more to God's will than what we find expressed in the Ten Commandments.  You need to listen to all of...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 37 – October 1990   The Fourth Commandment And The Wellbeing Of Man   Sermon by Rev. M.P. Geluk on Lord's Day 38 (Exodus 20:8-11) Reading: Exodus 31:12-17; Hebrews 4:1-13   Today we want to look at what the fourth commandment has to say to us.  God has given His commandment, not to make life miserable or narrow for us, but so that we may have a full and blessed life, lived to the glory of God. Let us see then how the fourth commandment aims at the well-being of man.  In the first...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 41 – November 1990   Honouring Parents And Others In Authority   Sermon by Rev. M.P. Geluk on Lord's Day 39 Readings: Proverbs 4; Ephesians 6:1-4   From the catechism material, in use by our churches, comes the following story, which you may or may not have heard before. 'Once upon a time there was a father who had grown old and frail.  His eyes blinked and his hands trembled.  When he ate, he clattered the cutlery against the plate, missed his mouth with the fork and spoon as often as not, dribbled food...