Word of Salvation – Vol.34 No.29 - August 1989   Believers’ Children and Baptism Sermon by Rev. M.P. Geluk on Lord's Day 26 (Q.74) Scripture Reading: Genesis 17:1-4; Acts 16:11-15; 25-34   With the foregoing Lord's Days, we have seen how God's Spirit uses the sacrament of baptism to move us to faith in Christ.  That's what sacraments are for – to strengthen faith in God.  There is a word of God at baptism – it’s the baptismal formula "I baptise you into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit".  And there is the...

Word of Salvation – Vol.34 No.30 - August 1989   Our God Redeems, Summons and Guards His People   Sermon by Rev. Peter Abetz on Isaiah 43:1b-3a Scripture Readings: Isaiah 42:18-43:7; Romans 8.   Introduction Brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ: Many of the people of Israel felt utterly dejected.  And it was in this setting that God called the prophet Isaiah to speak words of encouragement and hope.  These people had been a slave people in Egypt and God had made them out of being nothing, into a nation.  As a nation they had prospered and things had...

Word of Salvation – Vol.34 No.31 - August 1989   Conversion: It’s Nature, Essence and Results   Sermon by Rev. Michael Flinn on Acts 16:19-34   This passage in Acts 16 records the circumstances surrounding the conversion of a man to Jesus Christ.  In terms of the history of the church it is one of the very first conversions and it is inscribed in Scripture to teach us for all time.  There are elements pertaining to this particular conversion that are true and must be true of every genuine conversion that has and ever will take place in the history of...

Word of Salvation – Vol.34 No.32 - August 1989   Giving and Tithing   Sermon by Rev.N. Benfell on 1Corinthians 16:1-3 Scripture Reading: 1Corinthians 16   Have you ever thought as you read through a letter of Paul the Apostle, "I'm so glad he put those practical parts at the end of his letter for people like me".  You wouldn't be the first 'to feel like that.  Even the Apostle Peter thought some of Paul's letters were hard to understand. Our text today in the last chapter of first Corinthians is a practical text.  It's about what Paul calls the collection...

Word of Salvation – Vol.36 No.17 – May 1991   Obeying God’s Commandments   Sermon by Rev. M.P. Geluk on Lord's Day 44, Q&A 114   In the first part of Lord's Day 44 the Christian church confesses the meaning of the tenth commandment.  It is about coveting.  In the middle part of the same Lord's Day the church confesses the nature of Christian obedience. It is good for Christian believers to reflect on their obedience to God's will.  And now is a good time to do this.  We have worked our way through the Ten Commandments and learned again about...

Word of Salvation – Vol.36 No.18 - May 1991   The Heart of Philippians 4   Sermon by Rev. H. DeWaard on Philippians 4:13 Reading: Philippians 4:10-20 Singing: 515,172,116a, 314   Lucy and Linus in the Peanuts cartoon are staring out of the window.  The rain is pouring down.  Boy, says Lucy: Look at it rain!  What if it floods the whole world?  Linus answers: It won't do that.  God promised Noah it would never happen again.  Lucy smiles and says: You have just taken a big load of my mind.  To which Linus responds: Sound theology has a way of...

Word of Salvation – Vol.36 No.19 - May 1991   Tolerance   Sermon by Rev. M.C. DeGraaf on Romans 14:15-23 Reading: Deut.10:12-22; Gal.2:11-3:9 Singing: 119:1,7,8, 26, 344, 451, 166   Brothers and Sisters, You don't have to be a great expert in international or domestic affairs to realise that sin has made it difficult for the peoples of this world to live together in harmony.  Ever since Adam accused Eve of leading him astray, and ever since Able was murdered by Cain, it is as if the forces of sin are pulling us apart. We all know that that was not...

Word of Salvation – Vol.38 No.43 - November 1993   Joab’s Call to Bravery and Trust in God   Sermon by Rev. M. Geluk on 2 Samuel 10:12 Readings: 2Samuel 10; Ephesians 6:10-20   Congregation, beloved in Christ, Joab, the commander over the army of king David, and his brother Abishai, were called 'the hard sons of Zeruiah.'  Joab was a man who plotted his own course in life and would not let anyone stand in the way of him realising his own selfish ambitions.  David wore the crown but later on in his reign it became increasingly obvious that it...

Word of Salvation – Vol.38 No.42 - November 1993   Adam’s Curse and the Factory Floor   Sermon by Rev. M. Vanderree on 1Thessalonians 4:1-13 Reading: Ecclesiastes 2:17-26; 1Thessalonians 4:1-13   Beloved congregation of the Lord, Work occupies the largest single block of time in our lives.  Yet we tend to look for meaningful living anywhere but on the job. We do daily work for the pay cheque that is part of trying to get ahead a little bit, and provide us with enough leisure so that we can pursue what seems to give meaning to our existence. We don't quite...

Word of Salvation – Vol.39 No.12 - March 1994   On The Way To The Cross Jesus Denies The World   Sermon by Revd. J. Rogers on Matthew 19:16-30 Reading: 1 John 2:9-17   Beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, 'Good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' That was a very good question.  He was obviously a serious young man. I wish some of you young people were more serious at times.  Actually, this applies to all of us.  Far too often, we seem to live life on the surface.  Mind you, life has a way of...

Word of Salvation – Vol.39 No.10 - March 1994   Trust In The Lord   Sermon: by Rev J. Haverland on Proverbs 3:5-6 Readings: 1 Chronicles 28:1-10, 20-21; Proverbs 3:1-6 Hymns/Psalms: 'Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah' 'The Lord's My Shepherd'   Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, Each Sunday we come together to worship God and to receive help and encouragement from His word.  We do that because we are conscious of our need for guidance in our lives.  In a world of confusion and turmoil we need the light and clarity that comes from God.  Each Sunday again we...

Word of Salvation – Vol.39 No.23 - June 1994   The Kingdom Advancing Forcefully   Sermon by Rev. D. Baird on Matthew 11:12 Reading: Matthew 11:1-19 Book of Worship: 29, 399, 518, 476, 132, 528.   Beloved congregation, I want the children to imagine this: In the middle of this village there is a market place.  It's like an open mall.  Every Thursday people set up stalls there and sell oranges, and rabbits and moccasins and fish.  But for the rest of the week there are no stalls there, so it's a great place for the children to play. On this...

Word of Salvation – Vol.41 No.37 - October 1996   God Provides Redemption Sermon by Rev W Wiersma on Lord's Day 28 Note: This short sermon can be used as a Lord's Supper preparatory sermon  together with the long preparatory form, or in a service where there is no minister present.   Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ. We all need reassurance from time to time.  There are things in our life, things that happen in or around us, which make us ask questions – which create doubts.  And one of those questions that can plague us is...

Word of Salvation – Vol.41 No.38 - October 1996   Worship: an Everyday Response of Thanks   Sermon by Rev G Vander Kolk on Romans 12:1-2 Scripture Readings: Isaiah 1:10-20 Suggested Hymns: BoW 515; 104a; 32; 182; 528   Beloved Congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ. Introduction In Luke 17, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and as he is passing through a village, ten lepers stood at a distance and called out, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us.”  Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests and on their way there they were healed.  One, of...

Word of Salvation – Vol.41 No.39 - October 1996   Unless The Lord Builds the House   Sermon by Rev PG Van Dam on Psalm 127:1 Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 8:12, 22-30, 54-61, 10:23-29, 11:1-13 Suggested Hymns: BOW 87:1, 2, 5; 86:2, 5, 7 (with the Law) or 523 (with Creed); 203:1, 6; 241 Dear Brothers and Sisters. The two thoughts which readily come to mind when mentioning the name of Solomon are a.         his great wisdom and riches, and b.         how he used both for the building of the temple of the Lord. We will concern ourselves mainly with the...

Word of Salvation – Vol.41 No.40 - October 1996   Worshiping A Holy God   Sermon by Rev J A Haverland on 1 Chronicles 13 Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 13, 15:1-4, 11-15, 25-16:3   Congregation. There are a number of startling stories in the Bible – stories that make us sit up and take notice.  Some of those stories are notable because they are beautiful, and others because they are unusual.  Then there are still others that make us sit up and take note because they are so severe; they seem so harsh; they seem to support the view of some...

Word of Salvation – Vol.41 No.41- November 1996   The Lord's Supper   Sermon by Rev W Wiersma on Lord's Day 28-30   Dear Brothers and Sisters, Question 75 spells out what I will be talking about this morning.  It speaks about your share in Christ's sacrifice and gifts. The Lord's Supper is intended to remind and assure you that you have a share in Christs' one sacrifice on the cross and in all his gifts. The Lord's Supper, therefore, focuses our attention on the Lord Jesus and all that He has done and is doing for our salvation.  What that...

Word of Salvation – Vol.41 No.44 - November 1996   One Body – Many Parts Sermon by Rev G Vander Kolk on Romans 12:3-5 Scripture Readings: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 Suggested Hymns: BOW 22A; 425; 398; 434; 525   Congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ. Introduction In CS Lewis' book “The Screwtape Letters," a senior devil writes letters to a junior devil.  There is one letter that goes like this: "I note with great displeasure that your patient has become a Christian...  There is no need to despair, hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a brief sojourn into the...

Word of Salvation – Vol.41 No.46 - December 1996   The Servant King   Sermon by Rev S Bajema on Isaiah 42:14 Scripture Readings: Matthew 3:13-17; Isaiah 41:1-16; 42:1-4 Suggested Hymns: BOW 96:1-3, 5; 286; 72B; 357:4   Congregation of our Lord. It has been said that this book of Isaiah is all about the Messiah.  So, in a more particular way than any other Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, the son of Amoz, seven hundred years before Christ was physically born and lived for a while among us, gives us a very clear view of what would happen. In fact, if...

Word of Salvation – Vol.43 No.1 - January 1997   The Power of the Church   Sermon by Rev W Wiersma on Lord's Day 31   Dear Congregation, The Lord Jesus has given the church – which is his body and his ambassador corps on this earth – a tremendous responsibility.  The church controls the door to the kingdom of God.  As we read in Matthew 16, Jesus said to Peter and the other apostles, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on...