Sermon Illustrations

Jeremiah says: “The LORD IS OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” God sees us as righteous by looking at Jesus. Unlike all other kings, King Jesus is without sin. What he has and is—namely, his righteousness—becomes what we shall receive as a gift of grace. He is OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS because he is the only one who could ever be perfectly righteous—without King Jesus we have no hope of obtaining or achieving righteousness. To employ an imperfect example: Without a boat or airplane, it would not be possible for us to travel safely and reach a destination here from Canada over to Europe or Asia or Africa. Without Christ our King, it is not possible to be righteous—he carries us safely into the Promised Land of his realm of righteousness. This has been accomplished for us thanks to his life, teachings, suffering, death and resurrection. We don’t have to live in dread or fear of the present or the future. In the present we do see inklings of Christ’s reign as we pray: “Your kingdom come.” Today we can indeed celebrate Christ our King, confident that our future is full of hope and joy, peace and love in the Perfect Realm, which has no end. As composer G.F. Handel so majestically proclaims in The Messiah: “He shall reign forever and ever!” Thanks be to God! Amen!