By Topic
Advent Week 4 – The Angel’s Candle of Peace
Advent | Hope | Pastor James Martin
This is a short children’s sermon on Peace with brief additional commentary. It focuses on how the Advent of Christ is the source and cause of all Peace in Heaven and on Earth. This sermon was originally preached by Pastor James Martin on December 25th, 2011 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Advent Week 3 – The Shepherd’s Candle of Joy
Isaiah 9: 2-7 | Advent | Joy | Josh Feil
This is a topical sermon on Joy, building from an exegetical reading of Isaiah 9:2-7. It focuses on how Christ’s birth, life, and death show what it looks like to have a true and better Joy that takes pleasure in God’s eternal plan no matter what. This sermon was originally preached by Resolved leader in development Josh Feil on December 18th, 2011 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Vintage Resolved: Confessions of the First Christian
Humility | Luke 1:26-38,46-56 | Pastor Duane Smets
This is an exegetical sermon looking at Luke 1:26-38,46-56 focusing on the character of Mary. This sermon was originally preached by Pastor Duane Smets on December 6th, 2009 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Advent Week 2 – The Bethlehem Candle of Humility
Philippians 2:1-11 | Advent | Humility | Brad Hutchison
This is a topical sermon on Humility. It focuses on how the Advent of Christ and the scene of his Nativity is an example of his Humility. This sermon was originally preached by Brad Hutchison on December 11th, 2011 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Advent Week 1 – The Prophecy Candle of Hope
Psalm 40:1-3 | Advent | Hope | Pastor Chris Swan
This is a topical sermon on Hope. It focuses on how the Advent of Christ gives us Hope by teaching us a new song in praise to our God that we can sing even in times of trial. This sermon was originally preached by guest preacher Chris Swan on December 4th, 2011 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Advent This December!
Blog | Pastor Duane
“The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word Adventus, which is a translation of the Biblical Greek word parousia, meaning “coming” “arrival” or “appearing.” Out of the 24 times it occurs in the New Testament, only one of those actually refers to the incarnation or birth of the God-man: Jesus, on earth (2 Pet 1:16). The majority of all the other occurrences refer to the time when Jesus promised he will come once again to earth, a second advent or coming when he will not come as a baby, poor and lowly but as a powerful king full of glory.
Some churches celebrate Advent, others do not. Traditionally there are 4-5 week of Advent depending on the calendar year and what day Christmas falls on. As a church, part of our vision and mission is to express the good ole’ gospel in new and fresh ways to reach people today. We see being a part of the historical Christian faith as important, thus we like to incorporate some of the more formal liturgical traditions of the past. Advent falls within that camp, so rather than just having one Sunday celebrating Christmas we take four and follow a yearly theme for Advent. The four main weeks and candles of Advent are Hope, Humility, Joy and Peace.
This year for Advent during the time of worship in the study of God’s word (sermon time) we will be taking each week and comparing the first coming of Jesus with the second. By looking at the first coming of Jesus we see how Jesus initiates the great coming of God into the world to redeem and rescue his people. By looking at Jesus second coming we see how Jesus fulfills the great coming of God into the world to finalize all the benefits of his redemption and rescue. Seeing these two Advents side by side puts the power of the gospel in a perspective for us which not only minister to our hearts and needs now but also breeds great excitement and anticipation for what God has ahead.
May God bless us and work among us greatly by His Spirit this Advent season,
- Pastor Duane
* SPECIAL NOTE *
On Christmas Day, we will only be having ONE SERVICE – 9:00AM (no 11 o’clock).
When Strivings Cease: The Law and the Gospel
Reformation Sunday 2011 | Galatians 3:10-14 | Josh Feil
This is a topical sermon preached by relief-preacher/seminary-student/Resolved-leader-in-development Josh Feil, as part of The Resolved Church’s Reformation Sunday. This sermon was originally preached on October 30th, 2011 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Resolved Vision
Blog | Pastor Duane
A few weeks ago at the leaders conference our church put on our keynote speaker Dave Kraft he pressed us on having a clear vision for the future of our church. He gave examples from Scripture, Christian history and current movements who had a vivid, detailed picture of what God had put on their heart and what it would look like when it happened.
Many have noted having and communicating a clear vision often involves answering three questions: “Where are we going? Do I belong? What’s in it for me?” I’ve touched on a few of these elements here and there in member meetings, sermons and blogs but never clearly and simply addressed it outright out of insecurity, fear, and a long period of questioning my own personal motives since my chief desire is to see Jesus glorified and not Duane Smets or The Resolved Church.
I asked Dave Kraft how you know whether the vision in your heart is from God or just from yourself and he replied, “a good indicator is whether you would be okay with someone else accomplishing your vision without you.” It was an immediate point of clarity when I heard that because I know I would be completely happy if the things you are about to read happened even if I was never a part of them. Since then, several of you from the church have asked me to write more on my vision for our church. So here it is…
If You Love Jesus You’ll Love His Church
If You Love Jesus You’ll Love His Church | Selected Texts | Pastor Duane Smets
This an topical sermon rooted in Hebrews 10:23-27 addressing the need, importance and centrality of the local church. It looks at what the church is, who the church is, how a church works and why the church exists. In addition, it provides some biblical basis and background for the installation of a new elder, two new deacons and the move to two Sunday morning services. This sermon was originally preached on August 28th, 2011 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Discipleship: The Sermon
Discipleship: The Sermon | Selected Texts | Pastor Duane Smets
This sermon looks at what discipleship is, what it isn’t, why it’s important and what it looks like in practice. Particular attention is paid to the historical and cultural backgrounds of discipleship, modern day forms, and how discipleship is what undergirds the way the Christian life is meant to be lived. This sermon was originally preached May 29th, 2011 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
