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Who Is Worthy?
A sermon at our evening service by Josh Henson.
Don’t Grieve the Holy Spirit!
Many Christians today think that as long as they don’t engage in “big” sins, that they are not grieving the Holy Spirit. Paul gives many Ethical Exhortations in the last part of chapter 4, subtle ways that Christians can grieve the Spirit of God. Everything from white lies, to stealing, speaking rotten words, bitterness are to be put away from us. We must cultivate a compassionate forgiving spirit. Paul not only tells us what not to do, but tells us the proper Gospel motivation we are to have in our obedience to Him.
Paul’s Thanksgiving
An evening service sermon from Aaron Todd.
The Joy of Trials
Last week I was parked in a friend’s driveway and had to move my car. It was very dark and as I back out into the street I heard a crunch!
I got out of my car and realized that I had hit another friend’s car. As I sulked back inside to find the owner of the newly dented car, I was trying to remember this text, “Consider it all joy my brethren when you encounter various trials…”. It was hard for me to feel happy. I was facing embarrassment, hassle and higher insurance rates. I had to talk to myself and apply today’s text.
That trial was minor compared to what some of you are going through. Some have dealt with life-threatening illnesses. Others have lost their jobs and even their homes. Some have had their hearts broken in relationships. James doesn’t say that we should enjoy trouble. Rather he encourages us to recognize God’s good purpose in our trouble. He is at work to build spiritual endurance so that we might grow into maturity. While we might be in love with our own comfort, God seeks our holiness. We should be thankful that He cares for us as a loving Father.
The Theology of James
Some people (ignorantly) claim that James is a non-theological book. Since James was probably the first book written in the New Testament, how much theology could we know if James was the only book we had. Closer examination shows that James speaks to theology proper (including many of God’s attributes), Christology (including His deity), Pneumatology (the doctrine of the Holy Spirit), harmatology (the doctrine of sin), Soteriology (the doctrine of salvation – including regeneration), ecclesiology (the doctrine of the church), and eschatology (the doctrine of future things).
A Bondservant of God
I am very excited to be starting an exposition of the book of James tomorrow.
James has been misunderstood by many including Luther who called it “a strawy epistle” because it didn’t have the explicit exposition of gospel doctrines which can be found in many of Paul’s writings.
Luther, however, didn’t seem to understand that James is built on the foundation of the gospel, expressing how we are to live out the implications of the work God began in us through the new birth.
James is also among the best loved books in the New Testament because of its intensely practical nature.
In our first message we will only cover one verse as we seek to determine who wrote this epistle, what we can know about the original recipients, and the major themes of the book of James.
I encourage you to read through the book of James before coming the church in the morning – which should take less than 15 minutes.
The Parable of the Good Shepherd
Tomorrow morning I will have the privilege of sharing God’s Word with you. The
text I have selected is from John 10:1-18. This is the account of the Parable
of the Good Shepherd. I have been very encouraged by the preparation and am
hopeful this text will bring comfort, discernment, and encouragement to all of
our souls.
Recent Sermons
Thirsting for God
Psalms 42-43 go together. They are Psalms of lament with an almost identical refrain. 42:5 42:11 43:5.
These Psalms are of special value to believers who feel overwhelmed or struggle with depression.
We can relate to the Psalmist as he describes his own spiritual drought, longing for God to satisfy his thirst.
He also describes his situation as being overwhelmed by the floods of sorrow.
Yet within this Psalm we find the answer to our despair. “Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones used Psalm 42 in the first chapter of his famous book, “Spiritual Depression”.
He tells us that a key to overcoming depression is to stop listening to ourselves (complaining and worrying) and to start talking to ourselves (about the hope we have in God).
Please read Psalms 42-43 before coming to church.
God Speaks Through His Word
This Sunday I plan to complete our consideration of Psalm 19.
Last week we looked at the first six verses which declares how God speaks to all humanity through His creation (General Revelation)
This week we will consider the Lord’s speech to His people through the Scriptures (Special Revelation) in verses 7-11, and then our response in verses 12-15.
As you read over Psalm 19 before coming to church consider the following questions:
Do you notice that the first six verses use the name God and verse seven and following use LORD. Why do you think that this is?
How are general revelation similar to each other? How are they different?
Where can you see the gospel in this Psalm?