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Calvary Evangelical Free Church

Calvary Evangelical Free Church

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Listen to our latest weekly messages from Calvary Evangelical Free Church located in Rochester Minnesota. Find and watch the corresponding sermon video in our Calvary Sermon Archive, https://www.calvaryefree.church/sermons/ or on our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@calvaryefcrochester Calvary’s Mission is to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus who live out passion for Christ and compassion for people. Learn more about Calvary at https://www.calvaryefree.church/im-new/ and view what we believe at https://www.calvaryefree.church/about/mission-values-beliefs/© Calvary Evangelical Free Church Cristianismo Espiritualidad Ministerio y Evangelismo
Episodios
  • Possible with God

    Possible with God
    Mar 8 2026
    To inherit eternal life with Jesus forever, we need to set aside and sacrifice anything in our lives that would prevent us from following him whole-heartedly. I’m not sure if I’ve ever explained the graphic for our sermon series in the Gospel of Luke. You can see it’s shaped like a flip book with different colors corresponding to different parts of the book. Yellow is for the birth narrative. Blue is for the section of Jesus baptism in preparation for ministry. Orange is for Jesus public ministry, which began in Luke 4:14 and has been going ever since. So, that’s two chapters of birth, two chapters of prep so far, 14 chapters of ministry. So if you don’t remember blue and yellow, I do not blame you. It’s been a while. I bring it up, because we’re almost to the place where we’re going to switch to green. In chapter 19, verse 28, Jesus enters Jerusalem and begins the final week before his death and resurrection, the final week of Jesus ministry and the few weeks following his resurrection constitute five and a half chapters of the Book of Luke, so you can see how important that time in Jesus ministry is. It really commands a large portion of of the gospel. But before we get there, two things are going to happen. First, following Easter, the preaching team and I will begin a new series through the spring and summer preaching the letter of First John. And if you’ve never heard the letter, you’re in for a treat. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s one of the most deeply transformative books in the Bible, in my opinion. Before that, over the next few weeks, as Jesus closes in on Jerusalem, which is what he’s been doing through the book, right? He’s been walking toward Jerusalem this entire time. But before he gets there, he’s going to have some interactions with some individuals. We’re going to meet three of the most famous people in the Gospels. The rich ruler. The blind beggar. And Zacchaeus. And I know what you just did in your head. I know as soon as I said, Zacchaeus. All of you Sunday school kids just went the wee little man. That poor guy. That poor guy. How he’s remembered. We won’t get to Zacchaeus until this fall. The blind beggar will be in just a couple of weeks. But today, Jesus encounters the rich ruler. The other gospels call him the rich young ruler. But Luke focuses only on his wealth. I believe that’s because Luke has a special thematic approach in his gospel to wealth and poverty. That’s something he appreciates, something he really wants to focus on. Luke doesn’t care so much that this young man that we encounter today is young and brash. He cares that he has a lot of wealth and that wealth is holding him back. And I’ve gotta to say, this is a big concern for us in Rochester, too. At least it should be. When you think of the idols of the heart that could prevent people from following Jesus in Rochester, Minnesota. Money is at or near the top of that list. The median household income in our city is 89 to $92,000. That’s the median. So you take all households in America take the middle one, right? All households in Rochester take the middle one. That’s 80 to $92,000. That is 45% above the national average. And that, by the way, is in a nation that is richest in the world. So stack all the nations up, put United States on the top, put Rochester 45% above that. If you don’t think it’s possible that this wealth could mislead us away from Jesus, you’re not reading the Bible very closely. I’m not saying it must, or it will mislead us and become an idol. But if you think we don’t need to be careful about that, you’re being spiritually naive. Our passage today is a cautionary tale of spiritual ruin. It’s one man’s journey into shipwreck because he refuses to let go of the wealth that has gripped his heart. But it’s also Jesus explanation for how it’s possible for spiritually weak people like you and me, who are navigating through our world of idols to be saved despite our own failings. So while there is a tremendous amount of caution and warning in what we’re about to read, there’s also a way forward that is vital and it’s life giving to those who receive it to inherit eternal life with Jesus forever. We need to set aside and sacrifice anything in our lives that would prevent us from following him wholeheartedly. The very first of the Ten commandments that God gives to his people is to make sure that we have no other gods before him. This passage shows us what that looks like lived out. We’re in Luke chapter 18, verse 18 today, so you can turn your Bibles there if you have your Bibles with you. Jesus is going to have three conversations. First, he’s going to talk to this rich ruler, and then he’s going to talk to the crowds who are listening to that conversation. And they’re going to get pretty nervous about what Jesus has to say to this ruler. And then he’s going to talk to his disciples. Here’s how it starts. ...
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    33 m
  • Let the Children Come

    Let the Children Come
    Mar 1 2026
    Children should come to Jesus because everyone must come to Jesus like children. Well, our passage this morning is unique because of how much we already are on Jesus side on this one. We’re on his side of the argument, and that doesn’t happen very much in the Bible. Usually, when I read something that Jesus says, I find it to be deeply challenging because of how far away I am from it, and how far I am from living it out correctly. Jesus says anger is murder. Uh oh. That’s not good for me. He says lust is adultery in your heart. He says you can’t serve God and money. Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. And I take these words in my heart, and they bring conviction and repentance, and it leads to transformation by God’s grace and a new commitment to spiritual disciplines in my life. That is a very typical time of listening to God’s Word for me, probably is for you. But then I hear Jesus say, let the little children come to me and do not hinder them. And I think, of course, who’s hindering little children from coming to Jesus? What monster would stop little kids from coming and finding the loving grace of God in Jesus? And then I look in the scriptures and you know who it is? It’s the disciples. The disciples are doing this. Haven’t they ever heard of children’s ministry? It’s like the most important part of church. But then I calmed down and I remember it’s been 2000 years change that has taken place since the days of the disciples. Our Western culture has been saturated with biblical values. And so the status of children has been raised considerably over those 2000 years. And that’s a good thing. Now, it can sometimes tip in the other direction, and we can get to the place where we’re idolizing children. That’s a different sermon. Also, our churches have been applying Jesus words to our ministry to kids for 2000 years. And it shows. I’m going to talk a little bit a little later on about how we do children’s ministry here at Calvary. So we’re doing pretty good at this part of the Bible that we’re going to look at this morning in a way that’s encouraging and different from the more challenging parts of God’s Word. However, you knew there was a however, right? However, while Jesus talks about the value and importance of children and their place in the Kingdom of God, that is not his only point in our passage. As Jesus so often does, he takes what’s happening around him, and he uses it to create a teachable moment. And this second point is quite challenging, especially to our highly educated people who consider themselves to be independent thinkers when it comes to God and only want an intellectual engagement with him. Jesus is going to move from an argument of valuing children to a statement that all saving faith should be child like. Children should come to Jesus because everyone must come to Jesus like children. We’re going to look at both halves of that statement this morning. We’re in just three verses. We’re in Luke chapter 18, verses 15 to 17, if you want to follow along. Let’s start with why children should come to Jesus. Now, they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. You know, we see a lot of failure from the disciples throughout the Gospels, which I’m thankful for, because it means that my failure as a disciple of Jesus is to be expected. Even the 12 apostles who walked most closely with Jesus were works in progress. They were learning through their failures. They were slow to grow. They were slow to conform to the kingdom of God. And if you’re like me, you resonate with discipleship failure. You can be encouraged this morning. We’re in good company. If you feel like a discipleship failure, you’ve got a good team around you. But thankfully, the Lord continues to work on us, doesn’t he? He doesn’t just leave us there, His grace ensures our growth. The crowds continue to come to Jesus and they’re finding healing and he’s happy to receive them. And what starts to happen is people start bringing their children to Jesus. The ESV says infants here, but the word can refer to a range of young children. This is probably, infants through toddlers. So crawlers through walkers, these folks want Jesus to touch these children. Now, in some cases it might be for healing. Some of these kids might be sick and they know that Jesus can heal them. There’s also a tradition of rabbis giving blessings to children in that first century. So maybe something that parallels our child dedication is what they have in mind, but there are probably a variety of reasons people want their children to be near Jesus, but regardless of the purpose, their goal is to have their children encounter Jesus. That’s what they want to have happen. And the ...
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    33 m
  • Heart of Penitence

    Heart of Penitence
    Feb 22 2026
    While everything in us says “Justify yourself before God with your goodness,” true justification comes when we recognize our need for God’s mercy.
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    33 m
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