Trinity Church of Portland - Sermons

This exploration of John 14:15-31 confronts us with a challenging truth: love isn't proven by our words or feelings, but by our actions. When Jesus says 'If you love me, you will keep my commandments,' He's not placing an impossible burden on our shoulders—He's defining love the way God defines it. The beauty of this passage is that Jesus never commands without providing what He commands. We can't obey alone, and we were never meant to. The Helper, the Holy Spirit, comes alongside us as the Spirit of Truth, dwelling within us forever, empowering the very obedience Jesus calls us to. This isn't about white-knuckling our way through the Christian life or collapsing under guilt. It's about understanding that obedience flows from union with Christ. We're not orphans left to figure things out on our own. Christ lives in us, the Father makes His home with us, and the Spirit illuminates Scripture and brings Jesus' words to remembrance exactly when we need them most. The peace Jesus offers isn't the world's temporary distraction from fear—it's His own peace, the peace that carried Him to the cross. When we face anxiety, guilt, or overwhelming circumstances, the Spirit whispers back the very promises we thought we'd forgotten. This is why we saturate ourselves in Scripture: so the Spirit has material to work with when storms come. We obey because He obeyed. We love because He loved. And we stand because He stood in our place.

In the midst of confusion, betrayal, and impending loss, Jesus speaks words that seem almost impossible: 'Let not your hearts be troubled.' This exploration of John 14:1-14 takes us into the upper room where Jesus comforts His disciples with the most profound promise imaginable—Himself. Rather than offering elaborate explanations or detailed roadmaps, Jesus repeatedly redirects our focus from places to His person, from destinations to relationship. When Philip asks to see the Father, when Thomas questions the way, Jesus consistently answers: 'Believe in me.' This isn't arrogance; it's the ultimate comfort. We discover that heaven isn't primarily about a place but about being with Jesus. The way to God isn't a set of principles but a living person. Our hope isn't vague wishful thinking but solid certainty grounded in who Jesus is. What makes this message so powerful is its relevance to our real suffering. When our hearts are truly breaking—whether from loss, confusion, fear, or grief—nothing less than the real Jesus will ever be enough. Not religious platitudes, not spiritual techniques, not even promises about heaven divorced from the person of Christ. We need Jesus Himself, and the stunning truth is that He is enough. He is the way, the truth, and the life—not just concepts to understand but realities to experience in our darkest moments.

In the shadow of betrayal, we discover the most profound display of love the world has ever known. This exploration of John 13:31-35 takes us into the upper room where Jesus, fully aware that Judas has just left to betray him and that Peter will soon deny him, speaks not of bitterness or self-protection, but of glory and love. What makes this moment so extraordinary is the timing—Jesus declares his glorification not after the resurrection, but in the very moment betrayal is set in motion. This challenges everything we think we know about glory, revealing that in God's kingdom, glory doesn't come after pain is avoided, but when pain is embraced through obedience. The message confronts us with a penetrating question: where have our loves become misaligned? Every betrayal, whether we've experienced it or committed it, flows from loving something or someone more than Christ. Yet here's the beauty—Jesus was betrayed for betrayers like us. His love absorbs our failures, the cross cancels our debt, and his blood makes room at the table for those who walked away. This isn't just ancient history; it's an invitation to examine our own hearts and to let the love we've received reshape how we love one another, making our communities a compelling witness to a watching world.

This powerful exploration of John 13 confronts us with an uncomfortable truth: we are all capable of betraying Jesus. Through the parallel stories of Judas and Peter, we're invited to examine the hidden corners of our own hearts where unchecked sin, self-preservation, and comfort-seeking can lead us away from faithful discipleship. The sermon reveals Jesus in his full humanity—troubled, distressed, and deeply hurt by the impending betrayal of those closest to him. Yet even as he identifies Judas as his betrayer, Jesus extends bread to him, an act of honor and service that demonstrates love even toward the one who will facilitate his death. The central question pierces through our comfortable Christianity: Does our love of Jesus exceed our love of our sin, ourselves, and our desire for a faith custom-fitted to our comfort level? We see two paths diverge—Judas, whose love of money and self-created religion led to despair and death, and Peter, whose bumbling, chaotic love for Jesus ultimately brought him back to repentance and a life wholly given to Christ. The difference wasn't in the severity of their failures, but in where they turned afterward. Peter understood what he declared in John 6:68: 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.' This message challenges us to honest self-assessment and accountability, reminding us that spiritual blindness can creep in gradually until we're indistinguishable from Judas at the table, asking 'Is it I?' while already knowing the answer.

In this powerful scene from John 13, Jesus—fully aware that the Father had given all things into His hands—rises from supper, lays aside His garments, and kneels to wash His disciples’ feet. In this single, scandalous act of humility, the Sovereign King of creation becomes the servant of sinners.This sermon invites us to marvel at the love of Christ—“having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end”—and to see how His love redefines greatness, power, and joy. As we watch Him stoop low to serve, we’re confronted with the question: If the Master has done this for us, how can we not serve one another?John’s Gospel shifts here from the “Book of Signs” to the “Book of Glory,” and in this moment, the glory of Christ shines brightest—not in splendor, but in humility. Through His love, His example, and His charge to His disciples, Jesus shows us that the way of blessing is the way of the servant.

In this powerful closing moment of Jesus’ public ministry, we stand at the edge of the cross — where agony and glory collide.In John 12:27–50, Jesus reveals that the hour of His suffering is not a tragedy to be avoided, but the very triumph of God’s redemptive plan.Pastor Thomas walks through four scenes that uncover the meaning of the cross:The Cross — where the Son of God trembles under divine wrath yet glorifies the Father in perfect obedience.The Light — where Jesus pleads with the world to believe before the darkness falls.The Rejection — where unbelief fulfills prophecy and exposes the blindness of the human heart.The Summons — where Christ’s final public cry calls sinners to step into His light.This sermon invites us to see that the cross is not only the place of judgment and victory — it’s also the magnet of God’s mercy.And for all who believe, it’s a reminder that agony and glory still walk side by side: our suffering is never wasted, our witness must never be silent, and the day is coming when every wound will shine with the glory of the Lamb who was slain.“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain — to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”(Revelation 5:12)

What is something truly worth? What does the way we live reveal about what we value? In this powerful sermon, Trinity Church Member Sean Jim invites us to reflect on the cost of following Jesus—and why He is worth it. Preaching from John 12:20–26, Sean unpacks three key scenes: unexpected worshipers, glory in death, and life through loss.In a world that constantly tempts us to preserve our lives, Jesus calls us to lay them down—to die to self, to suffer with Him, and to find eternal life in Him. Sean reminds us that Christ’s glory is most clearly seen not just in His resurrection, but in His death—and He invites us to follow Him there.Whether you’re wrestling with what it means to count the cost or need encouragement to persevere, this sermon offers gospel clarity, pastoral warmth, and a compelling vision of glory through surrender.“Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25)

On the surface, the Triumphal Entry looks like a spontaneous parade—palm branches waving, crowds shouting “Hosanna!”—but John shows us it’s something far deeper. The people are reenacting a familiar script from Israel’s history, welcoming Jesus the way their ancestors once welcomed Simon Maccabeus, their liberating leader. Yet Jesus intentionally flips the scene on its head.He doesn’t ride a warhorse like a conquering general; He comes on a donkey—a prophetic drama that redefines kingship. In this sermon, Pastor Thomas unpacks the historical and cultural backdrop of John 12 to show how Jesus confronts our expectations—both then and now.You’ll hear how Christ refuses to be co-opted by our politics, why reforming culture is not the same as saving souls, and why the Church—not government—is God’s chosen instrument to display His Kingdom. And you’ll see the hope of the gospel: the humble King who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey will one day return in glory, riding on a white horse to judge evil and rescue His people.This message calls us to receive Jesus as He really is—not our version of Him, but the King revealed in Scripture—so that we might follow Him faithfully in our world today.

In this sermon from John 11, Pastor Andrey leads us through one of the most emotionally rich and theologically profound chapters in the Gospel of John—the raising of Lazarus from the dead. With pastoral warmth and careful exposition, he unpacks the beauty, sorrow, timing, and triumph found in Jesus’ actions and words.We’re invited to see the compassion of Christ as He weeps with His friends, the sovereign timing of God in seasons of confusion, and the resurrection power of Jesus that brings life from death. Pastor Andrey asks penetrating questions: What do we hold onto when everything seems to fall apart? Do we trust in God’s timing even when it doesn’t make sense?Walking through the chapter in three parts —Death and Life to the Glory of God (vv. 1–27)Life and the Defeat of Death by the Power of God (vv. 28–44)Unbelief and Animosity Toward the Son of God (vv. 45–57) —he shows how this miracle is not merely a story of one man raised, but a preview of the cross, and a picture of our salvation.

In John 10:22–42, Jesus stands in the temple during the Feast of Dedication and is charged with blasphemy for claiming equality with God. Against the backdrop of a false “god manifest” (Antiochus), we meet the true God in the flesh and hear His promise: “No one will snatch them out of my hand.” This sermon walks through four simple questions—Who is He? Who are His? What has He done? How will you respond?—and offers deep assurance for weary believers living in a dark world: the Shepherd who calls you is the Shepherd who keeps you.