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Digressions in Church Polity: There are no members of the Reformed Church in America
For anyone familiar with my ecclesiastical communion, the Reformed Church in America, or anyone who has read my writing elsewhere as of late, perhaps you are aware of the struggles that our communion is facing regarding differing understandings of human sexuality. However, the real issues are much deeper, the real issues are the things below […]
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The tension of the green season
Sunday begins the long season after Pentecost with the green liturgical color. As a young child, I remember that we called it “the growing season.” Which fits both with the color and with the orientation. We call this season “ordinary time,” that is, there is nothing special. No Christmas, no Easter, no Pentecost. No special […]
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Wait…Where are we going?
Sermon originally delivered to the Calvary Reformed Church of New Berlin, Wisconsin. Text: Genesis 15:1-18. It is one thing to hear about the promises of God, or to read about the promises of God. It is another thing altogether to really feel and understand the promises of God. Especially when you are in a difficult place. […]
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The Redemptive Wilderness
Sermon originally delivered to the Calvary Reformed Church of New Berlin, Wisconsin. Text: Luke 4:1-13. The other day, I went out for a walk, as I often like to do in the winter, on the lake behind my house. It is shallow, and it freezes over quickly, solidly, and smoothly. For someone who cannot […]
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Not Always Calm and Bright
A sermon originally delivered to Calvary Community (Reformed) Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin. Text: Matthew 2:1-23 | Oremus Bible Browser The Magi have come and gone, it has been an unremarkable two years for the young child, but now, things are going to become challenging once again. It was a messy entry into the world […]
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Finding Hope Amidst Tragedy
A sermon originally delivered to Calvary Community (Reformed) Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin. Text: Mark 13:1-26. How do we make sense out of tragedy? It seems that we have to deal with this with increasing frequency. If not a bombing, then a school shooting, if not a school shooting, then a massive natural disaster, and […]
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The Voice That Wakes the Dead
A Sermon originally delivered to Calvary Community (Reformed) Church on November 1, 2015. Text: John 11:32-44 “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” “If you had been here, [he] would not have died.” Have you ever uttered words similar to this? “Lord, if you had been here, things would have been […]
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Pierced with Grace
A sermon originally delivered to Calvary (Community) Reformed Church in New Berlin, WI. Texts were Job 23 and Hebrews 4:12-16. Job presented us with some difficult words, and truly, Job is a difficult story. The writing of Job was a way to try to come to terms with suffering and the age-old question: why do […]
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God’s Graciously Stubborn Refusal to Give Up
Sermon originally delivered to Calvary Community (Reformed) Church in New Berlin, Wis. Text: Ezekiel 2:1-5 “Does God ever get too fed up with us?” The question came to me. As the question was asked, I could see concern, maybe even worry, come across Sharon’s face. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Does God ever […]
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The Tragically Unfinished Work of Reconciliation
A Sermon originally delivered at Calvary Community Church on June 21, 2015. Text: 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:13 ———————————————————————– From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view… So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is […]
Matthew van Maastricht
Writer | Speaker
Matthew van Maastricht 