Word of Salvation – Vol. 54 No.8 – January 2009   Minding Your Language?   A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 43  Scripture Reading: Mark 14:53-65   Congregation... For a commandment that says simply, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour,” Answer 112 sure seems to have a lot of dos and don’ts. But then this Lord’s Day isn’t really for you, is it? These sins of the tongue couldn’t possibly be yours, could they? I mean, who among us would ever “give false testimony against anyone”? None of us would ever “twist anyone’s words”,...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 54 No.4 – January 2009   Taking,Breaking Or Making?   A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 42  Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 12:1-10   Congregation... How would you feel if you were told a story like the one we read from 2 Samuel 12? A story that tells you of something so absolutely unfair you cannot help but grow very angry. What a terrible injustice! A devastating example of man’s inhumanity to man. How could anyone treat someone the way that rich man treated the poor man, just taking his lamb? The reaction of David...

Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.48 – December 2008   Flower Power  A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 41 Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 5   Congregation... In our studies of the Catechism, we have recently been looking at the second table of the Ten Commandments using a picture of a fountain in a garden. We have used the fountain we are imagining to symbolise the family. What comes out of the family can be compared to the water which comes out of a fountain. The family is God’s way of controlling the quality of the water, of...

Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.44 – November 2008   Letting the Water of His Goodness Flow  A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 40 Scripture Reading: Genesis 4:1-11   Congregation of our Lord... The Lord saw right through Cain. He looked at his heart. He perceived what was about to happen. He knew he was going to kill Abel. He even says it to Cain in Genesis 4:6-7. “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what’s right, sin is...

The Family is Love's Fountain A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 39 Scripture Reading:  Ephesians 6:1-9   Fellow saints... There is a change here in the Ten Commandments. The fifth commandment has quite a different focus than the first four commandments. This is why the fifth commandment has often been known as the first command of the second table of the Law. And this is the structure our Lord Jesus demonstrated, when, in Matthew 22:37 he said that the greatest commandment in the Law was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with...

Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.36 – September 2008   On God's Day Go God's Way! A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 38 Scripture Readings: Exodus 20:8-11; Hebrews 4:1-11   Congregation... There was a movie some years ago which brought out very well the meaning of the fourth commandment. The person who obeyed God by having a day of rest on Sunday wasn’t understood by those around him — and certainly not by the makers of the movie — yet his principle was clear. Not even the Prince of Wales could convince that man to break it!...

Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.32 – August 2008   Got Your Hand on Your Bible A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 37 Scripture Readings:  Leviticus 24:10-23; Matthew 10:32-33   Congregation... Is this all real? Have we actually met for worship two times this Sunday? Now, could it be, in, say, three years times that I could possibly deny that you and I were here today? Imagine if I were to say then, “You know, I can’t recall that I was actually in the ………………………… Church that Sunday?"  Or even perhaps, “No, I’m absolutely sure I wasn’t...

Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.28 – July 2008   The Name Above All Names! A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 36 Scripture Readings: Leviticus 24:10-23; Matthew 10:32-33 Congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ... The first and second commandments have very clearly told us that we’re not to rebel against who God is and how He shows Himself in His Word. They are commandments which concern what we are within — they begin with our hearts and souls. They are about inward attitudes. Now, with the third commandment, we move from that inward attitude to the outward...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 53 No.24 – June 2009   How Do You Worship? A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 35 Scripture Readings:  2 Kings 18:1-12; Exodus 20:4-6   Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ…   The 2 nd commandment is all about worship. The 2 nd commandment, and so Lord’s Day 35, defines how we are to worship. It is the focus on how we are to worship which makes the 2 nd commandment different from the 1 st commandment. The 1 st commandment was about whom we worship. And there we were really...

Word of Salvation – Vol. 53 No.20 – May 2008   The First — And Last   A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 34 Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:1-11   Brother, sister, young person... Where is your eye? What are you looking at? “Well, Mr Preacher,” you might say, “I’m looking at you actually!” Good! Now let me ask: “Why me?” Don’t hurry, take a few moments to think about what this is all about. Why are you here? Where is your inner eye looking? Are you looking to God? The God who has made himself known...

Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.16 – April 2008   Changed Right Around! A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 33 Scripture Reading:  Colossians 3:1-17   Congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ... Many of the people who live in our country are migrants. Whether they came two hundred years ago, fifty years ago, or a year ago, there are those who came to this place with the hope for a better and different future. Yet, when many of those folk first came here, it was often a hard struggle. You can read the stories of migrants who, for...

Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.12 – March 2008   It's Got to Come Out! A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 32 Scripture Reading: Romans 11:25-12:21   Congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ... Have you ever been called "a chip off the old block"? You know, others notice how much you are like your parents? Perhaps it's your physical features, maybe a particular mannerism. There's something that strikes someone else about you that reminds them of your mum or dad. Imagine, though, instead of saying how much you were like your earthly parents, people were to...

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.4 – January 2008   Are You Coming?   A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 30b (Q & A 81-82) Scripture Reading:  1 Corinthians 11:17-34   Congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ. In the period before Christmas the managers of some firms give a party for their employees and their families. It's a way of showing appreciation for the work the employees have done for the company that year. Now try to imagine a situation where the manager cannot attend. Before he's called away, he gives instructions to his deputy and...

Word of Salvation – Vol.52 No.48 – December 2007   When Seeing Isn't Believing    Sermon by Rev. Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Days 29-30a Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:1-18   Congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ... When we considered Lord's Day 28, we saw clearly the spiritual meaning of the Lord's Supper. There we were reminded that the value of this sacrament is not in what is physical. Rather, it's what the physical represents that's important. That's why we speak of this as a sign and seal of the Word. Throughout the history of the church, however, Christians have had...

Word of Salvation – Vol.52 No.44 – November 2007   Whose Supper Is It?   By Rev. Sjirk Bajema Sermon on Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 28 Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34   Congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ... We have before us the subject of the Lord's Supper. And as we consider Lord's Day 28 we see lots of material brought together into small questions and answers. The teaching can confuse us. So, as we start, let's get down to basics. And let me do this by asking you: "What is the Lord's Supper to you?" Think about that for a...

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.36 - September 2007   Washed Clean! - by Rev. Sjirk Bajema Sermon on Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 26-27b Scripture Reading: Romans 6:1-14   Congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ... We consider this evening the first of the two sacraments found in the New Testament, the sacrament of 'baptism'. Do you remember when baptism was instituted? Baptism appears early in the New Testament through John the Baptist, but only after Christ's work of reconciliation did He made it a mandate for His Church. First He had to put away our sins. Through His suffering and death...

Word of Salvation - Vol.52 No.32 - August 2007   The Pictures Which Tell One Word! A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Lord's Day 25 Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-2:3   Church of our Lord Jesus... In Lord's Day 25 we come to an aspect of our faith which has historically been the source of much difficulty between believers. What Christians understand the sacraments to mean varies so much, even today! Mind you, all Christians would agree that the sacraments bear some relation to faith. The trouble is - what is their relation to faith? Before we go into the...

Word of Salvation - Vol.52 No.28 - July 2007   Don't Get It Wrong! A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema on Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 24 Scripture Reading: Luke 18:9-14   Congregation... At first glance, doesn't it seem that Lord's Day 24 repeats the previous Lord's Day? Lord's Day 23 says clearly that we're made right with God by faith alone. And don't we know that to accept this gift of God we only need a believing heart? So why then does Lord's Day 24 continue to mention that it is by God's grace alone that we are who we are?...