The Apostle Paul speaks of the peace of God and the aid that it is to the believer’s life. One of the great problems is that most want to define peace with God on by their own definition.
In this sermon excerpt from the past Lord’s Day dealing with Philippians 4:4-7, I give warning to all of the danger of not wanting to be at peace with God
This coming Lord’s Day for the preacher (at least for this preacher) is an exciting moment. It is the one day of the year where the church house has the potential of being full to the brim. It is a day when everyone expects you to be on your “A Game” for preaching. (by “A Game” they mean funny, cool, and a short sermon) It is a day where everyone expects to hear of the resurrection of Christ. It is a day of potential new beginnings with people who may have become sluggish in their attendance or involvement. It is a day for preaching!
On the one hand, it is a day like none other. On the other hand, it is like every other Lord’s Day gathering. It is a day for preaching!
There has been a growing trend over the years for less preaching and more entertainment to take place on Resurrection Day. After all, there may be more unbelievers willing to attend a church service on this day and we don’t want to hit them with too much churchy preaching, so let’s give them a softer church experience. No preacher, it is a day for preaching!
I say to my fellow preaching preacher friends; Preach this weekend. Preach like a Richard Baxter of old when he said, “I preach as a dying man to dying men.”
Go home on Resurrection Day satisfied that you have preached. Don’t give the day over to softer things because it may win you the applause of men. Exhaust yourself of yourself and give them Jesus!
It is a day for preaching!
What is needed most among the saints of God?
It is critical that while on this ancient path that the church not abandon truths of old. The meaning of the words, terms, and phrases are obviously what must not be lost, but I fear we get closer to losing the richness in what these words, terms, and phrases mean when we abandon them in fear that we may appear out of touch, out of date, or traditional.
As we are on the precipice of the greatest day in the history of the world, the resurrection of our Lord, I’m convinced we need this ancient path in order to articulate the gospel to this current generation. It has always been the means of passing the gospel on from one generation to another. This is the way of Scripture, to use words to communicate to all generations.
My defense is not for the words for the sake of language. My defense is a matter of eternal weight, and needs words to communicate. In general conversation we may not use these rich words, but as ambassadors of Christ’s reconciliation we must communicate the whole gospel.
With that said… here are some of those rich words that I believe are needed as most urgent among gospel proclaimers. Get these words, understand these words, and communicate these truths.
Faith:
Justification:
Atonement:
Imputation:
Sanctification:
Propitiation:
There are many in the land attempting to do what only God can do.
To think that one can achieve salvation through any means other than through Christ Jesus, the only begotten son of the Living God is a hope against hope.
It’s easy to look at the atheist and think how foolish their actions are. It’s easy to look at the cult followers as empty and heading to a dead end with no room to turn around. It’s easy to see the trappings of the religions of false prophets as of no help and filled with falsehoods.
Then there is the danger of practical blasphemy that some professors of Christ practice. To suggest that God needs anything from us or that we have any stake in how he should rule His created order is an equal act of blasphemy.
There is joy in the Lord. In the condition of helplessness we were once in, Christ came to us in our spiritual depravity and saved us from the deserved wrath of God that is fairly charged against us but was graciously placed upon our redeemer in our stay.
O for a thousand tongues to sing…
This short video has ideas and suggestions on what heads-of-households can do to prepare themselves and their families for the coming Lord’s Day gathering of Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Lord’s Day, December 11, 2016
Sermon Text: 2016: Philippians 1:1-7
Sermon Title: Prayer for the Good Work of Grace
From Behind the Pulpit (FBP-002)
Live Video Streaming is now available HERE. (new service available – thank you for your patience as we work out some details.)
Audio Sermon Archive for Current Sermon Series: Philippians; There is Joy in the Lord
Video Sermon Archive for Current Sermon Series: Philippians; There is Joy in the Lord
On December 4, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. I will begin the preaching through the letter of Paul to the Philippians.
There are parts of this letter that are familiar to all believers. This is perhaps the most encouraging, uplifting, hope-filled letters the Apostle Paul ever wrote.
I have been looking forward to preaching through this 4 chapter book in the Bible for some time.
I rarely post a full preaching outline of a book but thought it appropriate to do so this time. The risk in doing so is that I may change my mind on how a section of the text should be preached. But maybe it will help knowing the basic preaching plan. I currently have an 18 sermon outline for the full letter. (I may make adjustments as the unfolding of the preaching actually takes place.)
Where there are many themes in the letter and the Apostle speaks of them, I’ll let this statement govern the theme of the whole of the letter.
The reason God is pleased to give suffering and faith to His people is that they might take pleasure in magnifying Christ to those opposed to the Gospel through bold fearlessness of faith and humble grace.
Chapter One
1. Introduction
2. Thanksgivings and Prayers for the Good Work of Grace. (vv. 1-7)
3. Affection and Prayers for all. (vv. 8-11)
4. Don’t Let Suffering Cast You Down. (vv. 12-20)
5. Stand Prepared for Glorifying Christ by Life or Death (vv. 21-26)
6. Zeal and Constancy in Proclaiming the Gospel (vv. 27-30)
Chapter Two
7. Description of a Kind, Humble Spirit and Godly Behavior (vv. 1-4)
8. The Example of Christ (vv. 5-11)
9. Diligence in Salvation and an Example to the World (vv. 12-18)
10. A Great Hope (vv. 19-30)
Chapter Three
11. Cautions Against False Teachers and Putting Aside Former Privileges. (vv. 1-11)
12. Source of desire to be found in Christ; (vv. 1-11)
13. Pressing on Toward Perfection. (vv. 1-11)
14. What Kind of Example to other Believers Are You? (vv. 12-21)
Chapter Four
15. Stand Fast in the Lord (v.1)
16. Directions to some and Directions to All. (vv. 2-9)
17. Contentment in Every Condition of Life (vv. 10-19)
18. Conclusion with Prayer to God the Father.
The breakdown of the outline is primarily influenced by Matthew Henry and the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary.
I just heard word of a dear brother in Christ that has made way to that better promise of a better rest in Christ. Earl Lowen was a faithful pastor/preacher, and long time mentor of mine.
Earl Lowen was kind enough to invest time into my life while early in my pastoring days. Where many would put emphasis upon the trendy, or upon methodology, pastor Earl Lowen put emphasis upon the sufficiency of Scripture and he modeled it before me in word and deed. He was a faithful expositor of Scripture and stood against the grain in the unquenchable appetite to appease men.
A small thing that this intentional mentor did for me in my early days and years was that he let me ask him questions. I knew when I would ask him a question he would answer it, not according to how I wanted him to answer it. Actually, that is a rare kind of person.
For example: I had traveled to a far away land to pray for a gospel planting movement to take place among a people who do not have access to the Bible, preaching of the sinful nature of humanity, or the public heralding of the great news of the redemptive work of Christ, the only begotten son of God. While there we had many occasions to discus how the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is carried around the world.
One day, while visiting a camel souk (ranch), I ask my mentor brother: “Why do you wear a tie most of the time? and do you always wear a tie when you preach?” His answer persuaded me and has influenced me to this day. He told me that he wears a tie as a reminder of the authority he is under when he speaks of God.
It was not an answer I expected at all. I thought maybe it was a generational thing. I thought it was a seminary thing. I thought it was a traditional thing. But, no; It was a respect of God thing, it was an intentional act to remind him that he was under authority.
I may not ever wear a tie to a camel souk, but I rarely preach without a tie anymore. I bless the Lord for Earl Lowen.
A.W. Tozer called for a rejuvenation of the church by calling for faithful preachers.
If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by other means than any now being used. If the Church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting.
Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many), he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom. Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world. He will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath.
(A.W. Tozer, The Size of the Soul, pp. 128-129)
If you’ve never driven on an interstate highway in the west you don’t know about this, but if you miss an exit it could be half an hour or forty-five minutes later before you are able to get to the next exit to turn around. Just one simple miss and now you are far off the mark of where you were wanting to be.
This can happen before you know what has happened. This is how it is with sin too. You have a plan of where you want to go, you even know where you are going and then… all of the sudden you’ve missed your exit and too far down the road to quickly fix the matter. It can still be corrected, the right path can be reclaimed, but for now, the consequences of not giving attention to where you are may have a longer effect than desired.
This is the story of the book of Kings.
We will take First Kings this coming Sunday and begin examining where Israel became derailed and why. While doing so it will be of greatest interest to learn as much as can be learned about the God of Israel.
Join me this Sunday as we begin the examination of First Kings
