The Great Works of Our God
December 6, 2023 · 1:28:51 · Watch on YouTube ↗
These notes - summary, key points, and highlighted thoughts - were generated by AI from the recording and are not the preacher’s exact words.
Summary
The service opens with a reminder from the Apostle Paul, who wrote that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him. Looking at Paul's beatings and dangers, and at Daniel who kept praying toward Jerusalem even under threat of the lions' den, the message shows that this confidence is not about personal gain but about a life fully surrendered to God and lived according to His will.
A visiting bishop from Ukraine then shares how his churches keep serving in the middle of war - praying, fasting, preaching, cooking food, sheltering refugees, and sending firewood and supplies to ruined villages. He gives heartfelt thanks to American believers and the Slavic diaspora and asks for continued prayer and support.
From Psalm 65 and Matthew 16, the main sermon calls us to turn our eyes away from what people do and onto the works of God. Creation, the exodus from Egypt, salvation through Jesus Christ, and the building of His church all reveal a God whose works are perfect, purposeful, and always for our good. Because He finishes every work He begins, we can trust Him completely and live in hope instead of fear.
Key Points
- We can endure anything through Christ when our lives are surrendered to Him and lived according to His will.
- People will let us down, but the works of God never disappoint.
- Everything God does has a purpose, and everything He begins He brings to completion.
- Creation and the exodus reveal a God of perfect, miraculous faithfulness even when His people are afraid.
- Salvation is found in no other name than Jesus, planned before the world began and secured by His blood.
- Christ Himself builds and guards His church, and He will return for her.
- Even amid war and loss, the church keeps praying, serving, and trusting God.
Devotional
When fear and disappointment crowd in, lift your eyes from people and circumstances to the works of God. He made the world perfect, He carried Israel through the sea, and He saved you through the blood of Jesus - and He finishes everything He starts. The same God who did all this is still guiding your steps today. Rest in His faithfulness, and let hope, not worry, shape the way you live.
Everything God does has a purpose, and everything He begins, He finishes.
People disappoint us, but the works of God never do.
There is no other name and no other way - salvation is found only in Jesus Christ.