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SERMON FOR SUNDAY DECEMBER 14TH, 2025BY REV RUEMU.

12/16/2025

THEME: God's Greatest Gift: The Provision of the Cross

Introduction: The Problem of Gifts

We live in a world of gifts—some extravagant, some practical, some forgotten in drawers. But there's one gift that stands above all others, so profound that it redefines the very meaning of giving. Not a gift wrapped in paper, but one wrapped in flesh. Not a gift presented on a special occasion, but one that makes every moment sacred.

Today, we consider God's greatest provision: the cross of Christ.

I. The Context of the Gift: Our Deepest Need

Before we appreciate the gift, we must understand our need:

· The Human Condition:
· The Divine Dilemma:

II. The Nature of the Gift: Costly Grace

The cross is no afterthought or plan B. It is the centerpiece of redemptive history:

· A Personal Gift:
· A Costly Gift:
· A Complete Gift:

III. What the Gift Provides

The cross is not merely a historical event but a present provision:

1. Reconciliation: How and any relevant Bible verses?
3. Forgiveness: How and any relevant Bible verses?
4. Victory: How and any relevant Bible verses?

IV. Our Response to the Gift

How do we receive such an extraordinary provision?

· Acceptance: How and any relevant Bible verses?
· Transformation: How and any relevant Bible verses?
· Proclamation: How and any relevant Bible verses?

V. Living in Light of the Gift

The cross isn't just something we look back to, but something we live from:

· Daily Dependence: How and any relevant bible verses?
· Sacrificial Love: How and any relevant Bible verses?
· Eternal Perspective: How and any relevant Bible verse?

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we stand in awe before the cross—that instrument of suffering that became the means of our salvation. Help us to never grow casual about this astonishing gift. May the reality of what it cost You fill us with gratitude, and may the reality of what it accomplished fill us with hope. Teach us to live as people of the cross, for Your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen.

"Our Greatest Need: The Reality of Sin and Separation"

12/10/2025

This blog is a follow-up to the sermon "Our Greatest Need: The Reality of Sin and Separation", preached by Rev Susan Salo on Sunday, December 7th, 2025.

READ Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-13, 3:22-24
1. If someone tells us to do something, why then do we want to not do it? For instance, if our doctor tells us to cut down on cholesterol, why do we want to eat French fries?
2. How does sin appeal to our lower human nature, the “flesh”? What leads us to rebel against God’s authority over us? Why do we want our own way, even when we know the consequences are bad?

READ Matthew 18:1-9
3. Why is it a blessing that the Gospel writers portray the disciples in all their messiness? They are not “plaster saints.” Why is that a help to us?
4. Why did Jesus put a little child among them after they argued about who will be the greatest in the kingdom of God? Why does Jesus tell us to change and be like children?
5. Child rearing was much, much stricter then than nowadays. Obedience to parents was unquestioned. Was that part of what Jesus meant by becoming like children?
6. There is a myth in some people’s minds that once one becomes a Christian, we become obedient and stop sinning. But if we fall into sin, as even wonderful Christians do, we can then hide our sin both from God and ourselves, with drastic consequences. What are some of the steps to turning this around? READ I John 2:1-2

A sermon on the topic "The Forgiven Forgive: Extending Grace to Others." By Rev. Ruemu on Sunday, November 30th, 2025.

12/4/2025

Text: Matthew 18:21-35 (The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant)
Introduction: The Arithmetic of the Heart

Good morning. If I were to ask you, “What is the most difficult command in the Bible? It’s the simple, searingly difficult command to forgive.

The Apostle Peter, ever the pragmatist, wanted to quantify it. He came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Peter thought he was being generous. The rabbis of the day taught three times was sufficient. Peter more than doubled it and threw in one for good measure. HE WAS PRACTICING THE ARITHMETIC OF FORGIVENESS.

But Jesus responds with THE CALCULUS OF GRACE. “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Or, as some translations say, “seventy times seven.” Jesus isn’t giving us a new math problem to solve—490 and then you’re done.
He’s blowing the lid off any notion of keeping score.
HE’S SAYING, “YOUR FORGIVENESS SHOULD BE LIMITLESS, BECAUSE MINE IS.”

This is the core of our message today: Forgiveness is not a transaction we manage, but a grace we extend, because it is first a grace we have received.

The Staggering Debt Forgiven -This is THE VERTICAL REALITY: We have been forgiven a debt we could never pay.

The Call to Extend the Grace We Have Received-THE HORIZONTAL REALITY

So, how do we do this? How do we extend grace when it’s hard?
1. Remember Your Story. Discuss?
2. Forgiveness is a Choice. Discuss?
3. Trust God with the Justice. Which Bible verse(s)?
Let us pray.
OUR Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, Forever and ever.
Amen.

the Preachers blog

SERMON FOR SUNDAY DECEMBER 14TH, 2025BY REV RUEMU.

"Our Greatest Need: The Reality of Sin and Separation"

A sermon on the topic "The Forgiven Forgive: Extending Grace to Others." By Rev. Ruemu on Sunday, November 30th, 2025.

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