Christ Presbyterian Church

Hope in a Hopeless World

Bible Text: Micah 7 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: Micah

Because God is faithful and the only means of salvation, we must cultivate confidence in God.

Micah 7:1–3, 7–9, 18–20
Woe is me! For I have become
      as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
      as when the grapes have been gleaned:
      there is no cluster to eat,
      no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
      2 The godly has perished from the earth,
      and there is no one upright among mankind;
      they all lie in wait for blood,
      and each hunts the other with a net.
      3 Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
      the prince and the judge ask for a bribe,
      and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
      thus they weave it together.

…

7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.

      8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
      when I fall, I shall rise;
      when I sit in darkness,
      the LORD will be a light to me.
      9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD
      because I have sinned against him,
      until he pleads my cause
      and executes judgment for me.
      He will bring me out to the light;
      I shall look upon his vindication.

…

      18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
      and passing over transgression
      for the remnant of his inheritance?
      He does not retain his anger forever,
      because he delights in steadfast love.
      19 He will again have compassion on us;
      he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
      You will cast all our sins
      into the depths of the sea.
      20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
      and steadfast love to Abraham,
      as you have sworn to our fathers
      from the days of old.

The Good Life according to Micah

Bible Text: Micah 6:1-8 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: Micah

Because our liturgy and life are connected, for our worship to be authentic it must be reflected in neighbor-love.
Micah 6:1-8

Hear what the LORD says:
      Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
      and let the hills hear your voice.
      2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the LORD,
      and you enduring foundations of the earth,
      for the LORD has an indictment against his people,
      and he will contend with Israel.

      3 “O my people, what have I done to you?
      How have I wearied you? Answer me!
      4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
      and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
      and I sent before you Moses,
      Aaron, and Miriam.
      5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised,
      and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
      and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
      that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”
      6 “With what shall I come before the LORD,
      and bow myself before God on high?
      Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
      with calves a year old?
      7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
      with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
      Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
      the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
      8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
      and what does the LORD require of you
      but to do justice, and to love kindness,
      and to walk humbly with your God?

Christ the Key to Scripture and Life

Bible Text: Micah 5 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: Micah

Because God promised to raise up a savior, we must confidently hope in him.
Micah 5

Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;
      siege is laid against us;
      with a rod they strike the judge of Israel
      on the cheek.
      2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
      who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
      from you shall come forth for me
      one who is to be ruler in Israel,
      whose coming forth is from of old,
      from ancient days.
      3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
      when she who is in labor has given birth;
      then the rest of his brothers shall return
      to the people of Israel.
      4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD,
      in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
      And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
      to the ends of the earth.
      5 And he shall be their peace.

      When the Assyrian comes into our land
      and treads in our palaces,
      then we will raise against him seven shepherds
      and eight princes of men;
      6 they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
      and the land of Nimrod at its entrances;
      and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian
      when he comes into our land
      and treads within our border.
      7 Then the remnant of Jacob shall be
      in the midst of many peoples
      like dew from the LORD,
      like showers on the grass,
      which delay not for a man
      nor wait for the children of man.
      8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations,
      in the midst of many peoples,
      like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
      like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
      which, when it goes through, treads down
      and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.
      9 Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries,
      and all your enemies shall be cut off.

      10 And in that day, declares the LORD,
      I will cut off your horses from among you
      and will destroy your chariots;
      11 and I will cut off the cities of your land
      and throw down all your strongholds;
      12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
      and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;
      13 and I will cut off your carved images
      and your pillars from among you,
      and you shall bow down no more
      to the work of your hands;
      14 and I will root out your Asherah images from among you
      and destroy your cities.
      15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance
      on the nations that did not obey.

United Nations

Bible Text: Micah 4:1–5 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: Micah

Because Israel’s God is the one true God, God will redeem the nations through Israel.

Micah 4:1–5
It shall come to pass in the latter days
      that the mountain of the house of the LORD
      shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
      and it shall be lifted up above the hills;
      and peoples shall flow to it,
      2 and many nations shall come, and say:
      “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
      to the house of the God of Jacob,
      that he may teach us his ways
      and that we may walk in his paths.”
      For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
      and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
      3 He shall judge between many peoples,
      and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away;
      and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
      and their spears into pruning hooks;
      nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
      neither shall they learn war anymore;
      4 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree,
      and no one shall make them afraid,
      for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
      5 For all the peoples walk
      each in the name of its god,
      but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God
      forever and ever.

The Leaders we Deserve and the Leaders we Need

Bible Text: Micah 3 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: Micah

Because we need just leaders, we must be willing to hear the truth
Micah 3:1-2a; 4-7; 9-12

1 And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob

and rulers of the house of Israel!

Is it not for you to know justice?—

2 you who hate the good and love the evil,

4 … they will cry to the Lord, but he will not answer them;

he will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have made their deeds evil.

5 Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets

who lead my people astray,

who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat,

but declare war against him

who puts nothing into their mouths.

6 Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,

and darkness to you, without divination.

The sun shall go down on the prophets,

and the day shall be black over them;

7 the seers shall be disgraced,

and the diviners put to shame;

they shall all cover their lips,

for there is no answer from God.

9 Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob

and rulers of the house of Israel,

who detest justice

and make crooked all that is straight,

10 who build Zion with blood

and Jerusalem with iniquity.

11 Its heads give judgment for a bribe;

its priests teach for a price;

its prophets practice divination for money;

yet they lean on the Lord and say,

“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?

No disaster shall come upon us.”

12 Therefore because of you

Zion shall be plowed as a field;

Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,

and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

God’s Two Words

Bible Text: Micah 1–2 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: Micah

Because God’s word kills to make alive, we must vulnerably accept the truth of our condition before we can experience God’s healing embrace.
Micah 1:1–7, 16; 2:12–13

The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear, you peoples, all of you;
pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,
and let the Lord God be a witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.

For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place,
and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.

And the mountains will melt under him,
and the valleys will split open,
like wax before the fire,
like waters poured down a steep place.

All this is for the transgression of Jacob
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
And what is the high place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?

Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country,
a place for planting vineyards,
and I will pour down her stones into the valley
and uncover her foundations.

All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,
all her wages shall be burned with fire,
and all her idols I will lay waste,
for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them,
and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.

16 Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair,
for the children of your delight;
make yourselves as bald as the eagle,
for they shall go from you into exile.

Chapter 2:12–13

I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob;
I will gather the remnant of Israel;
I will set them together
like sheep in a fold,
like a flock in its pasture,
a noisy multitude of men.

He who opens the breach goes up before them;
they break through and pass the gate,
going out by it.
Their king passes on before them,
the Lord at their head.

Designed for Praise

Bible Text: Psalm 96 | Preacher: Reed Jolley | Series: Psalms

We are designed by God for praise. Praising God is both our duty and our supreme delight.
Psalm 96

Oh sing to the Lord a new song;

sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples!

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

he is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,

but the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

bring an offering, and come into his courts!

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;[a]

tremble before him, all the earth!

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!

Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;

he will judge the peoples with equity.”

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

let the field exult, and everything in it!

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

before the Lord, for he comes,

for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness,

and the peoples in his faithfulness.

The Cry For Justice

Bible Text: Psalm 7 | Preacher: Derek Rishmawy | Series: Psalms

The gospel points us to the justice of God in Christ, which both affirms our heart’s cry for justice, tempers our unjust ways of seeking it, and justifies even unjust sinners such as ourselves.

Psalm 7
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge;

save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,

lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,

rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

O Lord my God, if I have done this,

if there is wrong in my hands,

if I have repaid my friend with evil

or plundered my enemy without cause,

let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,

and let him trample my life to the ground

and lay my glory in the dust. Selah

Arise, O Lord, in your anger;

lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;

awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.

Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;

over it return on high.

The Lord judges the peoples;

judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness

and according to the integrity that is in me.

Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,

and may you establish the righteous—

you who test the minds and hearts,

O righteous God!

My shield is with God,

who saves the upright in heart.

God is a righteous judge,

and a God who feels indignation every day.

If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;

he has bent and readied his bow;

he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,

making his arrows fiery shafts.

Behold, the wicked man conceives evil

and is pregnant with mischief

and gives birth to lies.

He makes a pit, digging it out,

and falls into the hole that he has made.

His mischief returns upon his own head,

and on his own skull his violence descends.

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,

and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Glory and Gratitude

Bible Text: Psalm 36:1-12 | Preacher: Reed Jolley | Series: Psalms

Psalm 36 invites us to glorify God by living lives of gratitude
Psalm 36

Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;

there is no fear of God

before his eyes.

For he flatters himself in his own eyes

that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;

he has ceased to act wisely and do good.

He plots trouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in a way that is not good;

he does not reject evil.

Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

your judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you save, O LORD.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light do we see light.

Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,

and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

There the evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Two Kinds of People

Bible Text: Psalm 112 | Preacher: Jason Walch | Series: Psalms

The life lived in light of the Lord’s grace is wise, generous and full of trust in God.

Psalm 112

Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!

His offspring will be mighty in the land
the generation of the upright will be blessed.

Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.

Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.

It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.

For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.

He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.

He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.

The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!