Sermons by Darryl G. Klassen

SEEKING JUSTICE FOR ALL   What comes to my mind when you hear the word “justice”? Our natural inclination would be to think of criminals getting what they deserve. We think of the justice system with its courts and lawyers. Justice punishes the wrongdoer and protects the innocent. Justice has a heavy judicial meaning.             I found a song that laments the broken justice system of America by Metallica entitled “And justice for all.” But Metallica’s not really my thing. Then I remembered another song about justice by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson. (Read portion of lyrics).  Grandpappy told my pappy, back in my day, son A man had to answer for the wicked that he done Take all the rope in Texas find a tall oak tree, Round up all them bad boys hang them high in the street For all the people to see That justice is the one thing you should always find You got to saddle up your boys, you got to draw a hard line When the gun smoke settles we'll sing a victory tune And we'll all mee

“Now That You’re Saved”: THE PURPOSE OF LIVING FOR CHRIST   A truck driver was hauling a load of 50 penguins to the zoo. Unfortunately, his truck broke down and could not continue his route. He was able to wave down another truck and offered the driver $500 to take the penguins to the zoo.             When the driver had his truck fixed, he drove to town the next day and witnessed a peculiar sight. Just ahead of him, he saw the other truck driver crossing the road with 50 penguins waddling behind him. The driver jumped out of his truck and ran up to the guy and said, “What’s going on? I gave you $500 to take these penguins to the zoo!” To which the man responded, “I did take them to the zoo. But I had enough money left over, so now we’re going to the movies.”              The second driver was unclear on his mission. Either the instructions given by the first driver were given in a moment of panic and hurry, or the second driver worked for Purolator and was not instructed on how to del

RECOGNIZING THE RISEN CHRIST   I was impacted a few years ago by the “Me Too” movement that emerged out of Hollywood. Movements like this tend to overflow the banks of logic and sense when fed by emotionalism and a flawed sense of justice. So, to be clear, I do not count myself a radical left-winger. But the Harvey Weinstein affair opened my eyes to the way women have been treated in Hollywood and throughout history. And it grieves me as a man to realize the various abuses women have endured at the hands of men.              Isn’t it striking then to consider that the first witnesses of the empty tomb and the risen Christ were women? It certainly gives a tone of authenticity and credibility to the historical reality of the event.              Yet when the women reported to the men that Jesus had risen, they didn’t believe it. Certainly, the main reason they didn’t believe it was because people don’t rise from the dead. In their grief, people get confused, imagine things, speak in error

THE MYSTERIOUS SUFFERING SERVANT   These past few weeks we have been studying images of Christ on the cross from an OT perspective. We have seen how God foreshadowed long ago the saving event that would deliver the world from sin and death. Some of the images have been obscure and needed interpretation. Isaiah 53, in comparison, so clearly refers to the person of Jesus that it hardly needs explanation. That wasn’t always the case, however.             Who is the suffering servant of Isaiah 53? In Isaiah’s day, some thought Isaiah was talking about himself. Shortly after Israel’s fall and captivity, many Jews thought it was talking about themselves and their plight in Babylon.             But in Acts 8, we read the account of a treasury official who was reading Isaiah 53 on the way home from a religious festival. He is struggling with the text and can’t figure it out. While engrossed in the scripture, a man named Philip appears who hears him reading Isaiah 53. “Do you understand what yo