Monday, December 29, 2014

God Dreams Bigger Than You Do

Genesis 41:42  Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck.
The 17 year old boy Joseph who had his varicolored robe ripped from him and was sold into slavery could have never imagined that one day Pharaoh would robe him in his own fine linens. God's dream was bigger than Joseph's dream. Yet Joseph also couldn't see that it would take a dungeon to get him there. Are we willing to let the Lord strip us of the things that we dream of in order to robe us in His righteousness? In this sermon Pastor Chris Kopp explores the narrative of the life of Joseph.
Delivered to the Galena Bible Church, Sunday December 28th, 2014. 
 
 

Monday, December 22, 2014

Good News of Great JOY

Luk 2:10  And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Joy is a consistent theme throughout scripture but our experience of it is far from what we naturally expect. What we expect is more in line with the word "Happiness" but what is offered through Jesus at His coming is Joy. When you understand that the "good news of great joy" includes the cross you can stare down even death and cry "JOY"! This is the good news.
Delivered to the Galena Bible Church, Sunday December 22nd, 2014.


Monday, December 15, 2014

1 John: We Know

1Jn 5:13  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
Because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ there are a lot of things that we know. We know we have eternal life. We know we have confidence to pray to the Father and he hears us. We know that we are loved. In this final sermon from 1 John, Church Elder Martin Hornfischer teaches us what we can know through the Gospel.
Delivered to the Galena Bible Church, Sunday December 14th, 2014.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Leaving an inheritance

I have thought a little over the past several years of ministry about legacy. What will I be remembered for? Today I lost a mentor and friend. Randy and his beautiful daughter Ariana died in a freak interstate accident. My heart is heavy for myself and Shell as we personally grieve. My heart aches for his amazing wife Jennifer and his three other children. There are no words for the pain so I want to give words to the joy. 
Randy was my youth pastor and first ministry boss as I interned under him the summer of 2000. Randy had a unique way of explaining God's Word in a way that people could understand and grab on to. His passion for loving Jesus was only equalled by his determination to show teens that Jesus was worth everything. I saw in him a preacher that I wanted to be like in my ministry. He also loved his wife well. Adored is a much better term. I remember going on youth trips and seeing the longing in Randy's eyes to be home with his bride. When he performed Shell and my marriage I did think that I wanted to love Shell like Randy loved Jen. 
Proverbs 13:22 says "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children..." The text is talking about money but I believe there is a spiritual truth too. A good man pours into his children in such a way that his grandchildren are blessed. Seeing the tributes to Randy have reminded me that that's true. If you've been blessed by any aspect of my ministry, it's because you've received an inheritance from Randy that he shared with me. An inheritance of joy in Jesus. He has his great joy now. And I would share with you the same Joy. I will see you again Ari and Randy and it will be in joy. 

I've started a gofundme account to be used by Jennifer however she sees fit. Please share and give as you feel led. 

Monday, December 8, 2014

1 John: The Testimony Never Ends

 
1 John 5:6-12
1John 5:11-12  And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Your testimony (the story of Jesus' work in the Gospel in you) contains your salvation experience, but no more ends there than your marriage does at "I do". In fact a billion years from now you'll still be sharing your testimony of Christ's goodness toward you.
But have your ever heard that Jesus has a testimony? What is it and what does it say about Him? In this sermon Pastor Chris Kopp takes us through 1 John 5:6-12 and we'll see that:1. Jesus has a testimony, 2. We have a testimony, and 3.The world needs our witness.
Delivered to the Galena Bible Church, Sunday December 7th, 2014.

Monday, December 1, 2014

1 John: It takes faith to love

1 John 5:4
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.
A Chiasm (><) is a Greek literary style of communicating a specific point using a similar choice of words. Like an X is big on both sides and comes to a singular point in the middle, so a chiasm phrases statements in such a way to illustrate a big idea. Here in 1 John 5 the apostle shows that the Gospel frames all obedience to God in His commands, and that inside the context of the Gospel is how we can truly love people. All of this is accomplished by faith.
Delivered to the Galena Bible Church, Sunday November 30th, 2014.