February 2, 2025

Luke 9:28-45

A Glimpse of His Glory

Sunday Sermons

Some moments change everything. The disciples had walked with Jesus for a while now—learning as eyewitnesses of Jesus’ healing, teaching, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom. Now, at the Transfiguration of Christ, on a high mountain, Jesus peeled back the veil between heaven and earth, revealing his divine glory in a way they’d never seen before. Then right after that, they all descended back down into the valley where chaos, suffering, and struggles with unbelief awaited.

That’s the paradox of the Christian life, isn’t it? Glory and struggle. Awe and agony. We long to stay on the mountaintop, but Jesus calls us to walk with him through the valley of our broken world.

Join Pastor Jim as he helps us catch the mind-blowing, heart-pumping, eye-popping glimpse of glory and rich depth of meaning we find in the Transfiguration of Jesus.

Speaker

Jim Thomas

Series

The Gospel According to Luke

Go to Series

Scripture

Luke 9:28-45

Topics
Suffering Worship

Sermon Notes

  1. The Incomparable Glory of the Son
  2. The Eternal Communion of the Saints
  3. The Divine Imprimatur of the Father
  4. The Progressing Transformation of the Disciples

“At the Transfiguration, the prophets rejoiced because they had seen Christ’s humanity, which they had not known. And the apostles rejoiced because they had seen the glory of his Divinity, which they had not known.”
St. Ephrem, the Syrian

“This scene (the Transfiguration) has been preserved for us because God loves us. He knows that we are often troubled by doubt and fear, and he wants us to rest, assured that Jesus is worthy of our trust. He is God in the flesh, the one who satisfied God’s requirements on our behalf, and the one through whom God‘s promises are delivered.”
Paul Tripp, Everyday Gospel

“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”
2 Peter 1:16-19

“The fear of God as a strong biblical theme thus stands as a superb theological guard dog. It stops us from thinking that we are made for either passionless performance or a detached knowledge of abstract truths. It backs us into the acknowledgment that we are made to know God in such a way that our hearts tremble at his beauty and splendor, that we are remade at the deepest level. It shows us that entering the life of Christ involves a transformation of our very affections, so that we begin actually to despise—and not merely renounce—the sins we once cherished, and treasure the God we once abhorred.”
Michael Reeves

“Human beings do not readily admit desperation. When they do, the kingdom of heaven draws near.”
Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace!

Discussion Questions

  • Jesus, fully God and fully man, is singular in category and form. Do we focus on this enough…or in our Christian culture, have we lost our awe of God’s “beloved Son”(God’s words at the Transfiguration)? How do we retain our awe in the midst of our advancing world (technology, AI, etc)?
  • “Progressing transformation” is another way to describe sanctification (spiritual growth in the Christian life) and is a lifelong journey. Are you ever impatient with yourself and your progress? Where do you sense God’s sanctifying work in your life today?
  • In 2 Peter 1: 19, Peter tells us that we can have even more confidence in who Jesus is from the prophetic word than from his personal eyewitness/experience of the Transfiguration. How can this be true? Do you long for a personal “experience” over and above the confidence we can have by trusting in God’s Holy word?

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs

“Come People Of The Risen King“ by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend
“Almost Home“ by Matt Boswell Matt Papa and Lauren Papa Choir & Orch. Arr. by Paul Campbell (Strings adapted from Ben Shive)
“He Will Hold Me Fast“ by Ada Ruth Habershon and Matthew Merker
“Before the Throne of God Above“ by Cook; Smith arr. Nathan Mickle
“O Praise The Name (Anástasis)“by Benjamin Hastings, Dean Ussher, and Marty Sampson 
 “Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois

All songs are used by Permission. CCLI License #2003690

Call To Worship: At The Cross

Most merciful God, thank You for sending to us Your Son, Jesus. We remember this day His redeeming death, that we might stand forgiven at the cross. Thank You for sending to us Your Son, Jesus, to whom we belong, in life and in death. He bore our infirmities and carried our sorrows. Most holy God, thank You for sending to us Your Son, Jesus, who became sin for us and suffered the punishment due to us, that we might stand forgiven at the cross. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.

Confession:

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You this day, in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole hearts; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us, that we may delight in Your will, and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your Name. Grant to Your people pardon and peace, that in Your great mercy, we may be forgiven all our sins, and serve You with a quiet and contrite heart. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Classic Prayer: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home. O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, be thou our guide while life shall last, And our eternal home.

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