Trinity Church of Portland - Sermons

We hear from a guest preacher, Dr. Todd Miles on the fifth commandment, honor your father and your mother from Exodus 20:12. Living in a way that honors your parents is not optional for the Christian. The New Testament even elevates this command, and it can be extended to other authoritative relationships. Jesus was not impressed with people who sacrificed care for their parents for other things, even for ministry. Jesus even from the cross provided for his mother as he placed her John's care. So, honor those God has placed over you as way of honoring God.

Former Trinity Church Pastor, Norm Thiesen was our guest preacher, his sermon "Living Wisely" is from Luke 12:13-21. Norm helps us see that life is full of choices that require us to exercise wisdom from God's word to avoid foolishness. A life lived that is honoring to God will be one that lives aware of God daily, one that makes eternity a priority, and one that lives content knowing God is in control.

Pastor Andrew Pack brings our series Follow The Son to a conclusion preaching on The Great Commission from Matthew 28:18-20. Because Jesus has been given all authority and promises to be with us to the end of the age we are blessed by Him to go, to baptize, and to teach people to become disciples wherever God has placed us. Often this involves both formal church programs and informal work done within discipleship relationships. Remember, Jesus always empowers His people to do the things he commands, so go and make disciples.

This week Pastor Thomas finishes the Gospel of Mark with the resurrection of Jesus found in Mark 16:1-8. The story of Jesus’ resurrection in these verses highlights feelings of sorrow, fear, and hope that the women who went to anoint Jesus’ body experience. Their encounter with an angel who announces that Jesus has been raised gives them evidence of Jesus’ resurrection and sends them to tell the disciples of this fact. The resurrection is an historical event that is to be believed by faith, which is to believe in a person—Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day in order to save sinners.

Our Good Friday sermon preached by Pastor Andrew Pack is from Isaiah 53:3-5. Andrew draws out for us from this text that Jesus saves us from our rejection of God, he saves us with his finished work on the cross, and he saves us to healing from our sins being forgiven. This leads us to a life of peace, and a life that is truly abundant.

This week in our series Follow The Son, Pastor Thomas preaches from Mark 15:42-47. This sermon brings us to the burial of Jesus when the Lord Jesus after dying for the sins of his people is wrapped in linen and laid in the hewn rock tomb that is sealed with a very large stone.

This week in our series Follow The Son, Pastor Andrew preaches from Mark 15:33-41. In this sermon we see Jesus being forsaken as he suffers God's wrath in our place, giving us full and unfettered access to God. Remember, Jesus died so we can live...so live for Him.

This week in our series Follow The Son, Pastor Thomas preaches from Mark 15:15-32. This sermon shows us the terrible abuse and mockery Jesus suffered at the hands of his Roman executioners. This was a divine drama with prophetic precision as Jesus endures the humiliation, mockery, and crucifixion unto death, long before predicted by the Old Testament and by Jesus. In Jesus' perfect obedience to the Father to die for his people, we are saved from God's wrath, our sins forgiven, and we receive eternal life, which should draw us into a deeper worship of and love for the Lord Jesus.

This week we continue in our series Follow The Son from the Gospel of Mark. In this sermon Pastor Andrew Pack preaches from Mark 15:1-15. This text gives us the profile of individuals who respond to Jesus in different ways. First, we see Pilate who takes an agnostic approach toward Jesus. Then we see the crowd who are fully antagonistic demanding Pilate crucify Jesus. When it comes to what each person believes about Jesus, ambivalence or antagonism are not options, each person must be either for Jesus or not for Jesus. There is no neutral position when it comes to each person's belief in or rejection of Jesus Christ.

This week in our series Follow The Son, Pastor Thomas preaches from Mark 14:66-72. This sermon brings us to Peter’s denial of Jesus. God often uses unimpressive people to accomplish his work and will in the world. Peter is just this kind of person, a man who was untrained, yet trained and made ready by Jesus and the three years he spent with him. Peter's pride is likely the biggest cause of his denial and downfall but Jesus restored him and Peter went on to great ministry success, even writing two New Testament epistles. This should serve as an encouragement to people like us living in in a cancel culture world. God never cancels His children who have stumbled—rather once we repent in humility, God prunes us and restores us for service in His kingdom.