Quenching and Grieving [46:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Kingdom Singers - "Tune my Heart" [2:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 [+/-]1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 [16]Rejoice always, [17]pray without ceasing, [18]give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [19]Do not quench the Spirit. [20]Do not despise prophecies, [21]but test everything; hold fast what is good. [22]Abstain from every form of evil. [23]Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [24]He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (ESV)
and Ephesians 4:25-31 [+/-]Ephesians 4:25-31 [25]Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. [26]Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, [27]and give no opportunity to the devil. [28]Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. [29]Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. [30]And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. [31]Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. (ESV)

The Christian life from start to finish is all about grace.  And it is all about grace, it is all about God.  Paul puts it this way in Romans 11:36 [+/-]Romans 11:36 [36]For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (ESV)
, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be glory forever.  Amen.”  “Him” is God as He makes Himself known to us through His Spirit on the basis of the work of His Son for our justification, sanctification and ultimately for our glorification.  All of it is grace.  All of it is God.  The Christian life begins through the awakening that comes to us as a gift of the grace of God.  The Holy Spirit comes to us through the proclamation of the Word of God and awakens us to how holy and righteous God is and how sinful and ugly we are as He calls us to trust the only one who can save us from God’s wrath and our sin.  The Holy Spirit convicts us and gives us all that is needed to trust Jesus.  And we do.  That is grace.  That is God.  And as we trust in Jesus alone for salvation God declares us to be fully and absolutely right with Him not on the basis of anything in us or about us but on the basis of the sacrifice of His Son through the shedding of His blood on Calvary.  We are declared forever right with God.  This is Grace.  All grace.  This is God.  All God.  “It was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.”  And the Holy Spirit who changes us also seals us up as a person and a people who belong to God and He begins to work in us to shape us toward the image of Jesus to make us as we live our lives among the people of God all that He wants us to be.  He is making us holy.  He is sanctifying us.  He is changing us as He grows us.  This is grace.  This is God.  And at last either by way of the coming of Jesus or the coming of death we are transported home on the wings of grace.  The Christian life begins and ends in grace.  AND THE SUPREME GOAL OF THE ENEMY IS TO WORK TO FRUSTRATE THE WORK OF THE GRACE OF GOD IN US AND AMONG US.  The Bible has two apparently different images for what this looks like and we are going to look at them today.

The Christian life from start to finish is all about grace.  And it is all about grace, it is all about God.  Paul puts it this way in Romans 11:36 [+/-]Romans 11:36 [36]For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (ESV)
, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be glory forever.  Amen.”  “Him” is God as He makes Himself known to us through His Spirit on the basis of the work of His Son for our justification, sanctification and ultimately for our glorification.  All of it is grace.  All of it is God.  The Christian life begins through the awakening that comes to us as a gift of the grace of God.  The Holy Spirit comes to us through the proclamation of the Word of God and awakens us to how holy and righteous God is and how sinful and ugly we are as He calls us to trust the only one who can save us from God’s wrath and our sin.  The Holy Spirit convicts us and gives us all that is needed to trust Jesus.  And we do.  That is grace.  That is God.  And as we trust in Jesus alone for salvation God declares us to be fully and absolutely right with Him not on the basis of anything in us or about us but on the basis of the sacrifice of His Son through the shedding of His blood on Calvary.  We are declared forever right with God.  This is Grace.  All grace.  This is God.  All God.  “It was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.”  And the Holy Spirit who changes us also seals us up as a person and a people who belong to God and He begins to work in us to shape us toward the image of Jesus to make us as we live our lives among the people of God all that He wants us to be.  He is making us holy.  He is sanctifying us.  He is changing us as He grows us.  This is grace.  This is God.  And at last either by way of the coming of Jesus or the coming of death we are transported home on the wings of grace.  The Christian life begins and ends in grace.  AND THE SUPREME GOAL OF THE ENEMY IS TO WORK TO FRUSTRATE THE WORK OF THE GRACE OF GOD IN US AND AMONG US.  The Bible has two apparently different images for what this looks like and we are going to look at them today.

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 The Body [48:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1 Corinthians 12:1-31 [+/-]1 Corinthians 12 [12:1]Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. [2]You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. [3]Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit. [4]Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; [5]and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; [6]and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. [7]To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. [8]For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, [9]to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, [10]to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. [11]All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. [12]For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. [13]For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. [14]For the body does not consist of one member but of many. [15]If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. [16]And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. [17]If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? [18]But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. [19]If all were a single member, where would the body be? [20]As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. [21]The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." [22]On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, [23]and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, [24]which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, [25]that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. [26]If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. [27]Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. [28]And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. [29]Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? [30]Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? [31]But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. (ESV)

Dr. Sinclair Ferguson pastor of the marvelous First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, South Carolina said in a sermon two weeks ago, “the greatest privilege and highest honor given to any human being in any part of the world is the privilege and honor of being a part of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Do we believe that? Paul portrays the church as the body of Christ with Christ as the head of the church and it makes it plain in all of his proclamations that to belong to Christ who is the head of the church is to belong to His body. The first belonging to Christ is the result of a radical act of the grace of God on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus and the latter belonging to the church is the Spirit led response of all who have truly received and responded to the grace of God. How do I know that someone is a believer, that they belong to Jesus? Well at least one way I know is that they belong to the body of Christ and are involved both purposefully and passionately. But how does this body of Christ work? What does it look like in its effective operation? That is the question for this morning as we turn our attention to 1 Corinthians 12 [+/-]1 Corinthians 12 [12:1]Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. [2]You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. [3]Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit. [4]Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; [5]and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; [6]and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. [7]To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. [8]For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, [9]to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, [10]to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. [11]All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. [12]For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. [13]For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. [14]For the body does not consist of one member but of many. [15]If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. [16]And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. [17]If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? [18]But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. [19]If all were a single member, where would the body be? [20]As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. [21]The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." [22]On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, [23]and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, [24]which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, [25]that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. [26]If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. [27]Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. [28]And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. [29]Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? [30]Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? [31]But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. (ESV)
. What we want to see this morning is how the Spirit of God works in the church of God to bring glory to God, to bear witness to Jesus and to build up the body of Christ.

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 Walking the Spirit: Family: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

(the audio was a little low for this service…. hope to have it corrected by next week!)

Galatians 6:1-10 [+/-]Galatians 6:1-10 [6:1]Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. [2]Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. [3]For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. [4]But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. [5]For each will have to bear his own load. [6]One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches. [7]Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. [8]For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. [9]And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. [10]So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (ESV)

The Fruit of the Spirit is . . . and we examined last week the fruit that is the inevitable outcome of life lived under the control of the Holy Spirit.  The fruit grows internally as a well-spring of joy that is fed by the experience of the love of God that gives us contentment in all circumstances.  The fruit shows externally in compassionate care for others that is the result of our trust of the purpose of the Sovereign God in our own lives to do that which is good.  And the fruit is eternal as we live our lives in trust of God and obedience to His Word because we are controlled by the Holy Spirit.  The fruit of the Spirit is real and it is revealed.  And it continues to grow and to show as we live out our lives putting to death the desires of the flesh and submitting our lives to the obedience of the Word of God which is what it means to walk in the Spirit so as to live in the Spirit.  But Paul wants us to know that there are two contexts in which we live out our Spirit-filled lives and that there is a core connection between the two.  I believe that he wants us to know also that the first context is the foundation for the second context so that it is impossible to live under the control of the Holy Spirit in the second context if we are not doing that actively in the first context.  Let me be very specific as I ask you to look at these verses to see first how they are laid out and then we will look into them to listen to what the Spirit of God is saying.

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 Walking in the Spirit: Fruitfulness: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Galatians 5:22 – 6:10

We are all born with some very basic desires.  God has made us in His image which means in part that those desires cannot be satisfied except by Him.  As Augustine put it, “God has made us for Himself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Him.”  Our problem is that those desires are directed through our flesh so that Paul calls them the desires of the flesh and our flesh is by nature sinful or self-centered from the very moment of birth.  We want these desires gratified in a way that satisfies us and we seek that from birth.  That is why Paul calls these desires not only desires of the flesh but also works of the flesh.  The word for “works” suggests the investment of time and energy for the purpose of satisfying those desires in a way that brings pleasure to us.  Now we looked last week at the four basic desires that are found as the foundation for the works of the flesh:  we desire relational intimacy, we desire religious stability, we desire to feel good about ourselves and we desire freedom.  And we work for these on the basis of what we see we need so that we invest time and energy in seeking satisfaction for these desires.  And it always leads us deeper and deeper into domination by the sinful expression of these desires.

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 Walking in the Spirit: Faithfulness: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Galatians 5:13-26 [+/-]Galatians 5:13-26 [13]For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. [14]For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." [15]But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. [16]But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17]For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. [18]But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. [19]Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20]idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21]envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [22]But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23]gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [24]And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25]If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [26]Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (ESV)

Paul had he lived in our day and in our country would have loved this time of year.  The bowl season has just ended and the Super Bowl is just ahead.  The NBA is in full swing and March Madness is coming fast.  Spring training is just around the corner and the PGA Tour has arrived on the west coast.  And the World Cup is just in front of us.  Paul loved sports.  Read his letter and he uses the sports of his day as tools for teaching truth.  He says for example that he does not run without a goal and does not just punch the air but he disciplines himself to bring himself under control so that what he preaches to others he lives out in his life so as to be a bridge and not become a barrier (1 Corinthians 9:25-26 [+/-]1 Corinthians 9:25-26 [25]Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. [26]So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. (ESV)
).  Or when he gets near the end of his life and wants to describe his journey he uses image from the world of running and fighting:  I have finished the race and fought the good fight.  And here at the pivot point in this passage that is pointing us to how we are to live lives controlled by the Spirit he makes a statement and raises the question:  you were running well; who hindered you?  The word for hindered comes right out of the world of racing in which it was not abnormal for someone to cut in front of another to slow them down just enough to get them off stride and to impede their progress.  Paul is asking these believers:  who did that to you?  That is why your life is not filled with the fullness of the Holy Spirit; that is why you are struggling so much; that is why you are so downcast and depressed and not jubilant with joy.  And I want to ask you again this morning at the beginning of this sermon:  who is hindering you?  Here is a promise:  the more committed you are to Jesus as Lord of your life in every way the more certain it is that Satan will place people in your life whose role is to throw you off stride; they don’t mind you being a person of faith, they just don’t want that dimension of your life to dominate all that you are and all that you do.  And the extent to which we listen to their voice is the extent to which we cannot hear His and thus lose the sense of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

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 Walking in the Spirit: Freedom [39:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Michael O'Brien - Our Father [2:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Galatians 5:1-12 [+/-]Galatians 5:1-12 [5:1]For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. [2]Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. [3]I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. [4]You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. [5]For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. [6]For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. [7]You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? [8]This persuasion is not from him who calls you. [9]A little leaven leavens the whole lump. [10]I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. [11]But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. [12]I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! (ESV)

Look with me at the last two verses of Galatians 5 [+/-]Galatians 5 [5:1]For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. [2]Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. [3]I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. [4]You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. [5]For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. [6]For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. [7]You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? [8]This persuasion is not from him who calls you. [9]A little leaven leavens the whole lump. [10]I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. [11]But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. [12]I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! [13]For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. [14]For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." [15]But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. [16]But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17]For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. [18]But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. [19]Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20]idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21]envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [22]But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23]gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [24]And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25]If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [26]Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (ESV)
.  Here is our goal.  This is where we are headed.  Verse 25 is a very simple conditional sentence:  if our lives really are controlled by the Spirit of God then everything we are and everything we do will be governed and guided by the Holy Spirit.  Pride will increasingly pass away as humility emerges out of our love for God that comes from His love for us and enables us to love one another.   Anger and bitterness of spirit because we do not get our way will be deeply buried because of the joy that is ours in Jesus.  Envy of others for whatever reason will increasingly evaporate because of the peace that we have come to know through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.  In other words, the fruit of the Spirit will be increasingly evident in our lives.  This is our goal but in order to get to this goal we must go back to verse one and listen to Paul as he points us down the path that leads us toward this goal.

Michael O’Brien sang in our worship service, and we’ve included one of his songs, to be on his new release this March. Please visit his website here: http://www.michaelo.org/ or if you are on Facebook, his fan page is here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=199565099515

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 Sacred Truth [41:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Psalm 139 [+/-]Psalm 139 [139:1]O LORD, you have searched me and known me! [2]You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. [3]You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. [4]Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. [5]You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. [6]Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. [7]Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? [8]If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! [9]If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, [10]even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. [11]If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," [12]even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. [13]For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. [14]I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. [15]My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. [16]Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. [17]How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! [18]If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. [19]Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! [20]They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain! [21]Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? [22]I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. [23]Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! [24]And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Conservative evangelical churches all across America have been observing for some time now the third Sunday in January as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.  I never come to this Sunday without an awareness of what day it is and what is being done on this day, but I am not always drawn to address the issue directly.  I was this year.  Back in the Fall during some of my prayer times it was becoming clear to me that this issue was an issue that needed our direct focus this year.  And it is not as if it does not deserve our focus every year.  We are as demonstrated by our decisions a pro-choice culture.  We love our freedom to make our decisions about the directions for our lives based on the sole authority of what we feel or think in the moment of crisis is best for us.  It has led us since 1973 to destroy fifty million babies.  That is 1.5 million a year, four thousand a day, one every twenty seconds which would work out to between twenty to thirty lives being destroyed during the course of this sermon.  At the same time we are spending literally millions of dollars to find and protect endangered species so as to keep them alive.  And it seems that too few see both the historical ironies and the biblical travesty of such an approach.  The historical irony is that brave men and women engaged in a necessary war to stop the demonically maniacal philosophies of men like Hitler and Mussollini while we have in our day killed more children by way of abortion than they did in all their gas chambers combined.  And the biblical travesty is that we destroy that which the Bible calls sacred and we treasure that which the Bible says exists for the sole reason of serving the purposes of those who are sacred to God because we are made in His image.  But let me move forward here by saying that I know what the issue for our society is and for some of you in this room; the issue is the nature of the embryonic fetus in the womb.  Is this sperm joined to egg combination really a human being?  No other issue tests our commitment to the sacred truth of Scripture quite like this one.  We all will decide whether this book is sacred truth and it has the final word or that we can know what is sacred through secular scientific investigations and we will choose stand there.

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 Super Conquerors [36:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Romans 8:31-39 [+/-]Romans 8:31-39 [31]What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32]He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? [33]Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. [34]Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died-- more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. [35]Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? [36]As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." [37]No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38]For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39]nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)

It was early in my ministry and among my first funerals.  I had yet to have any training at all and so we doing ministry by mimicry.  I did not have a lot of good role models for ministry in my town but I had one great one and in those early days, I did as he did.  It provided for a good start.  But something happened one day at a graveside that startled me in a way that stirred me to ask questions of a text.  I stood there that day ready to begin the committal service and did what I  had seen him do; I pointed to the casket stretched over the empty grave and raised the question of Romans 8:31 [+/-]Romans 8:31 [31]What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (ESV)
, “what then shall we say to these things?”  And it was right there and right then that I was startled by this stirring:  is this what Paul is talking about?  Is this an appropriate use of this text in this way beside an open grave and a grieving family?  Well, is it?

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 Suffering and Sanctification [35:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Romans 8:18-30 [+/-]Romans 8:18-30 [18]For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. [19]For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. [20]For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope [21]that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [22]For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. [23]And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. [24]For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? [25]But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. [26]Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. [27]And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. [28]And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29]For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. [30]And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (ESV)

Does Romans 8:17 [+/-]Romans 8:17 [17]and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (ESV)
bother you at all: The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children then heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him (Rom. 8:16-17 [+/-]Romans 8:16-17 [16]The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17]and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (ESV)
). It is as if we go from such glorious heights where we are declared by God on the basis of His dwelling by His Spirit in our lives to be His children and heirs of His rich inheritance which comes to us in and through Christ to the depths of despair where it is declared that the way of entry into this glorious inheritance is through suffering. But if we had the eyes to see as God sees we would know that it is the suffering that is glorious for it is our participation in suffering to the praise and glory of God that is the proving ground of both the validity and integrity of what we say about who we are as the children of God. Romans 8:17 [+/-]Romans 8:17 [17]and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (ESV)
is a connective verse; we don’t see this as clearly as we should since almost every translation separates verse 17 from verse 18 when in fact they are inextricably linked. God sanctifies us by His Spirit and through His Word and it is seen in our living out our lives under the dominion of the Spirit. Our lifestyle in all that we are and do is led by the Spirit of God through the Word of God. And it is the Spirit of God who leads us into suffering where our witness to the glory of God and the grace of God shines most brightly.

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 Doing the Impossible Task [24:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Romans 7:14-24 [+/-]Romans 7:14-24 [14]For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. [15]For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. [16]Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. [17]So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. [18]For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. [19]For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. [20]Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. [21]So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. [22]For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, [23]but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. [24]Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (ESV)

a message about the spiritual journey by Don Veldboom, Associate Pastor

 

 Life in the Spirit: Sanctification - Part II [45:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Romans 8:1-17 [+/-]Romans 8:1-17 [8:1]There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2]For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. [3]For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [4]in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [5]For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. [6]For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. [7]For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. [8]Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. [9]You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [10]But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. [11]If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. [12]So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. [13]For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. [14]For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [15]For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" [16]The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17]and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (ESV)

As night follows day so sanctification follows a genuine work of grace in the salvation of sinners. This is the promise of God and it is the purpose of God that is fulfilled through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. There is no salvation of a sinner that does not lead to the work of sanctification based on the Word of God through the Spirit of God among the saints of God. A sinner saved by the graced of God is a sinner compelled to come together with the people of God for the praise of the Name of God and the passionate pursuit of the purpose of God. The Bible knows no alternatives so that the Holy Spirit who works salvation shows the legitimacy of that work of salvation in the work of sanctification on the foundation of Romans 8:1 [+/-]Romans 8:1 [8:1]There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
: there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Those who are in Christ Jesus are those who are committed to Christ who have come together in a body of believers in which and through which they carry out the purposes of Christ because of the law of the Spirit that brings life.

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 Life in the Spirit: Sanctification [36:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Romans 8:1-17 [+/-]Romans 8:1-17 [8:1]There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2]For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. [3]For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [4]in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [5]For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. [6]For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. [7]For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. [8]Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. [9]You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [10]But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. [11]If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. [12]So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. [13]For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. [14]For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [15]For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" [16]The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17]and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (ESV)

As night follows day so sanctification follows a genuine work of grace in the salvation of sinners. This is the promise of God and it is the purpose of God that is fulfilled through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. There is no salvation of a sinner that does not lead to the work of sanctification based on the Word of God through the Spirit of God among the saints of God. A sinner saved by the graced of God is a sinner compelled to come together with the people of God for the praise of the Name of God and the passionate pursuit of the purpose of God. The Bible knows no alternatives so that the Holy Spirit who works salvation shows the legitimacy of that work of salvation in the work of sanctification on the foundation of Romans 8:1 [+/-]Romans 8:1 [8:1]There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
: there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Those who are in Christ Jesus are those who are committed to Christ who have come together in a body of believers in which and through which they carry out the purposes of Christ because of the law of the Spirit that brings life.

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 Saved, Sealed and Showing [39:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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 Grace on top of Grace [43:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 The Kingdom Singers - Bonus! [2:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ephesians 2:1-10 [+/-]Ephesians 2:1-10 [2:1]And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2]in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- [3]among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. [4]But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5]even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- [6]and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7]so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8]For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9]not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10]For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)

Paul focuses on the church at the beginning of the letter to the Ephesians and finishes with his focus upon the church.  Listen to what he says in Ephesians 5:25 [+/-]Ephesians 5:25 [25]Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, (ESV)
, “husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up on her behalf that He might cleanse her by the washing of the water which is the Word and then present her to Himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that she would be holy and blameless.”  The church is precious to Jesus.  He purchased the church with His blood.  He planned the church from before the foundation of the world.  He planted the church in the world as His body over which He is head through which He does His work in the world.  He will gather His church to Himself upon His return, perfect her through His purging and purifying and present her to Himself and she will with Him rule forever in the new heaven and the new earth.

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 Union with Christ [42:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ephesians 2:1-10 [+/-]Ephesians 2:1-10 [2:1]And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2]in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- [3]among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. [4]But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5]even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- [6]and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7]so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8]For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9]not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10]For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)

I want to give you three images to help us understand where we are when we start reading Ephesians 2 [+/-]Ephesians 2 [2:1]And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2]in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- [3]among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. [4]But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5]even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- [6]and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7]so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8]For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9]not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10]For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [11]Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- [12]remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. [13]But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. [14]For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility [15]by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, [16]and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. [17]And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. [18]For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. [19]So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, [20]built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, [21]in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. [22]In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (ESV)
.  If this were a musical piece we could say that Ephesians two follows from a culminating crescendo.  If this were a speech we would say that Ephesians 2 [+/-]Ephesians 2 [2:1]And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2]in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- [3]among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. [4]But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5]even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- [6]and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7]so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8]For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9]not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10]For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [11]Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- [12]remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. [13]But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. [14]For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility [15]by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, [16]and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. [17]And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. [18]For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. [19]So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, [20]built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, [21]in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. [22]In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (ESV)
flows from the center of what is being communicated.  And if this were a landscape we would say that Ephesians two comes just as we arrive at the peak of the highest mountain from which everything around us and below us is seen with clarity and correctly.  And the culminating crescendo, the center of communication, and the mountain peak is the church.

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 The Preacher's Place [42:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

2 Timothy 3:10-4 [+/-]2 Timothy 3:10-4:22 [10]You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, [11]my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra--which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. [12]Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, [13]while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. [14]But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it [15]and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. [16]All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17]that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. [4:1]I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2]preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. [3]For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, [4]and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. [5]As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. [6]For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. [7]I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. [8]Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. [9]Do your best to come to me soon. [10]For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. [11]Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. [12]Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. [13]When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. [14]Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. [15]Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. [16]At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! [17]But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. [18]The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. [19]Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. [20]Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. [21]Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers. [22]The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. (ESV)
:8

Paul was approaching the finish line. He could not see it, but he could surely sense it. He had a keen awareness that he was on his last lap in this long race and as he anticipated his crossing over he would write, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure is at hand.” He anticipated his death to come at the hands of the Roman government as they had accused him of treason against Rome and would execute him by beheading unless he would acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus. But it was because of the Lordship of Jesus that he could look death in the face even by beheading and know that it was only the departure from this world toward the world for which he had longed from the first moment the Lord Jesus made Himself known to Him on the road to Damascus. So, Paul could right about what he faced: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith,” and he anticipates receiving the reward from the righteous judge. Augustine reminds us that for Paul this crown of righteousness had importance only because of the One who gave it because “the crown given by the righteous judge could only be given because of the grace that had been given to Paul by the merciful Father.” So, it is not the crown that was the glory for Paul but living for the glory of the one who wears the crown as great God, gracious Savior, and generous Spirit poured upon and into all who believe. And Paul had lived his life under the guidance of this Sovereign God in order by the power of His Spirit to communicate the Truth of the Word of God the center of which is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is thus no surprise that at the very end, in the very last words that we have from Paul; he is teaching a young preacher whom he had been mentoring about the preacher’s place. It has been such a delight in recent weeks for me to be able to hear again what Paul says and it is such a sacred privilege to be able to share it with you today.

(This is also the ordination service for Michael Godfrey, Youth Pastor!)

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 Leadership in the Life of the Church [34:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Philippians 1:1-2 [+/-]Philippians 1:1-2 [1:1]Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: [2]Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)

One of the very worst developments in the history of the church as it relates to polity or to how the church does her work is the democratization of the church. The democratization of the church is simply the view that the church exists of the people and by the people and for the people. It produced a polity in which the membership by majority vote determined the direction of the church in almost all matters of the life of the church. This way of doing church did not exist at all prior to the Reformation of the sixteenth century and then was put down as heresy wherever it bubbled up until in the late nineteenth century it began to take hold until by the middle of the twentieth century it was accepted as the way of life in the church for many Protestant denominations and particularly for Baptists. It was a historical anomaly that produced a biblical travesty that represented and represents theological treason because it is a way of doing church that is not found at all in the very book that we hold up and to which we submit as the inerrant, infallible and fully sufficient Word of God.

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This is also the ordination service for new Deacons Kevin Booth, and David Stembridge

 

 The Holy Spirit in Salvation: Regeneration Part 2 [34:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 BONUS: the Kingdom Singers! [2:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Titus 3:1-8 [+/-]Titus 3:1-8 [3:1]Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, [2]to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. [3]For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. [4]But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5]he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, [6]whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7]so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. [8]The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. (ESV)

… We need to be biblically clear about the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation. This begins with our understanding of what the Bible means by salvation. Let me give you a definition and then give you a couple of texts to help us see more clearly the definition. Salvation is the work of God by His Spirit and through His Word that begins with regeneration and culminates with glorification and what happens between the two is the demonstration of our declaration of salvation. The term refers to everything that happens from the moment that we give ourselves to Jesus until that moment that we enter heaven. This way of seeing salvation is biblical; it is found in the very form of the word for salvation and it is found everywhere the word is used and that is hundreds of times. Let me just give you two or three. The angel tells Joseph that his betrothed will give birth to a son who “will save His people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21). Paul makes it plain in Romans that “whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.” This is a future tense verb. And John 3:17 [+/-]John 3:17 [17]For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (ESV)
makes it clear that Jesus came into the world so that many in the world “might be saved” by Him. The verb points to what He does during the course of time. So Salvation is the work of the grace of God by the power of the Holy Spirit that begins with the new birth and comes to fullness when by our departure we enter the presence of God forever. And the first step in this journey that is the work of the Holy Spirit is called regeneration or new birth. …

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 Crooked Deep Down [36:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1 Kings 8:54-61 [+/-]1 Kings 8:54-61 [54]Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. [55]And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, [56]"Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. [57]The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, [58]that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. [59]Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, [60]that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other. [61]Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day." (ESV)

This morning Youth Pastor Mike Godfrey shared from the book of 1st Kings some wisdom from Solomon contained in his benediction, and some tangible characteristics that identified the wicked Kings, and also some characteristics of the good kings.

 

 The Holy Spirit in Salvation: Regeneration [36:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Titus 3:1-8 [+/-]Titus 3:1-8 [3:1]Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, [2]to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. [3]For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. [4]But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5]he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, [6]whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7]so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. [8]The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. (ESV)

We live in the New Day.  Ezekiel, Isaiah, Joel and Jeremiah would teach us about this new day.  We looked two weeks ago at the character and content of this new day.  It is a day of individual responsibility before God.  It is a day when God will save His people by the work of His sovereign grace.  It is the day that is the beginning of what is known in the Bible as the last day or last days because it is during this day in which we live that God is doing His most definitive work for the saving of sinners and the shaping of His church for the glory of His Name.  We live in this new day.

Learn more about this message by downloading the sermon notes here!