Sovereign Grace Baptist Church: Recent Episodes
Dr. Bryant Owens
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Devoted to PrayerThe opening chapter of Luke's account of the Acts of the Apostles lays the groundword for the work of the Spirit of God through the Church. Jesus commanded the disciples to go to Jerusalem where the promise of the Holy Spirit would come (vv 1-5). Then the twelve expected Jesus to restore the kingdom to Israel (v 6). Jesus then ascended back to the Father in Heaven (vv 7-11).Our LORD was faithful to the Father’s intent for the Son and passed that call to faithfulness to the Church. Today’s passage will show us the faithfulness that the early Church had to one another as they united in prayerful faithfulness to Christ."All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers"Luke tells us what the apostles and the 'others with them' did during the ten days in Jerusalem as Jesus instructed.They were all together.They were devoted.They were praying. It’s a beautiful kind of fellowship; it’s a sweet kind of fellowship.
So the work of redemption was completed on the cross as far as the sacrifice of Christ is concerned.However, the work of gathering the redeemed goes on, and it continued in that first generation of the church through the apostles, and then through the church as the apostles established the church. This is the history of the good news in the fallen world.The spel and the establishment of churches passed to Jesus' disciples. They become the first wave of evangelists and preachers that went out to gather the redeemed and to establish the church.So this is the history of the church, and this history goes on until the last person in the plan of God is redeemed and the kingdom of God is fulfilled.A massive undertaking, Jesus commanded his disciples to take the gospel of repentance and salvation to every person on the planet. That would be beyond our wildest imagination. Just the massive nature of such a task is daunting to even think about, let alone to be assumed, by powerless people ... educationally, academically, religiously.These are the ones Jesus chose for the job. Disobedient, fickle, yet loyal, disciples. They were inadequate for the task of the Great Commission. Yet Jesus chose them. He chose them to receive the gift of the Helper, the promise, the Holy Spirit, so that the task of kingdom building through heart transformations of sinners could be accomplished.Jesus had a 40-day period between His resurrection and His asor them to finish what He started ... to go out and preach the gospel and plant churches in such a way that it extended throughout all of human history and across the globe.These disciples had to 'wait' until the Father in Heaven sent 'the promise' before they were to go and tell the world the good news. Without this 'Helper' ... their words and actions would be ineffective. The promise was that HIS Spirit would dwell with HIS people ... no longer in a separated holy of holies in the temple ... but HE would dwell within them ... in their hearts ... changing their very souls.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Jesus' 40 days with his disciples began in Galilee and ended near Jerusalem. Whereas Jesus'commission to the disciples in Matthew 28:16-20 was in Galilee, further discipleship occurrednear Jerusalem. This passage in Luke's account was an appearance of Jesus to his disciplesfollowing his encounter with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.Jesus ‘opened their minds to understand the Scriptures' concerning himself. Part of the fortydays of discipleship was to illuminate the understanding of who Jesus was but alsounderstanding of the purpose of the gospel. True understanding of the Scriptures was grantedso that the disciples understood how all of redemptive history fit together. This was a gift of Godto the disciples.Furthermore, that illumination seemed to be an act of Jesus while he was present. But Jesusalso taught his disciples that he would leave so that the Helper would come. This “Helper” wouldbe the source of illumination concerning Christ and the Scriptures. The “Helper” would also bethe source of illumination of the sinner about his sin when the faithful disciples proclaimed thepromise of salvation in the name of Jesus Christ.Jesus taught the important lesson of the proclamation of the gospel by citing some of the oldtestament prophets. A key lesson Jesus taught in his discipleship of the eleven (and others ...up to 500) was the understanding of the Scriptures. It is in this lesson in Jerusalem before hisascension that the lesson from the prophets defined what the proclamation would be from thesedisciples. They were witnesses to the gospel.Here is the gospel according to Jesus and the common prophecies of Isaiah and other minorprophets
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
All action has some purpose. The preaching/proclaiming of the gospel is action. Thereforepreaching/proclaiming the gospel must have purpose.But let's pause and consider what has purpose in this statement: "preach the gospel". Is it theact of preaching that has purpose? Is it the gospel that has purpose? Preaching as an actioncan have any number of subjects to proclaim. Marketing executives can preach the value of aproduct or service. A politician can preach a political agenda. An evangelist preaches thegospel.Matthew closes his gospel with what the church now calls The Great Commission. It is a lessonfrom Jesus to HIS disciples to make disciples, baptizing them, teaching them. This passage hasbeen affectionately dubbed, "The railroad terminal through which all of Matthew runs."This is not a lesson in individualism. This is a lesson in dependent unity. Jesus speaks to 'them'and commands 'them' to make disciples of 'them' by baptizing 'them' and teaching 'them'. Theonly sense of singularity here is in the assurance that Jesus is with 'them'. "I AM with youalways".This is a lesson in discipleship in that HIS church will not be alone in this commission. It is alesson for the faithful now to trust in Christ as we proclaim the gospel, HE makes disciples. It isa lesson clearly intended to encourage and affirm that though we doubt and fear this commission,we are not alone. Christ is with us even as we stand in fear and joy of this great calling to makedisciples. In Christ Alone we do this. In Christ Alone we can.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Ideas have power. We used to call misdirected ideas propaganda in times of war. Now in the eraof the war of ideas, we call our enemy's ideas 'fake news' or 'misinformation.'At no other time will the power of ideas be more important than after the death of a loved one.How that person is remembered matters. Memories are powerful."The power of the memory is great, O Lord. It is awe-inspiring in its profound andincalculable complexity. Yet is it my mind: it is myself."[Augustine on memory in 'Confessions’ 10.17.26]True friends honor the memory of the lost one. Likewise, enemies and cold heartedacquaintances may try to confuse the memory. Matthew's gospel alone tells us the uniqueresponse of evil members of the Sanhedrin who plot to silence the power of Jesus' message ofresurrection and salvation. They wanted to ensure that NO ONE would remember Jesus or hismemory. Even evil men understand the power of a memory. God providentially used their vainattempt to stop any memory of Jesus' message of salvation to promote it far and widethroughout history.Let's dig into Matthew 27:62-66, the account of those who sought to hinder the truth of thegospel message.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
While Jesus’ substitutionary suffering and crucifixion means that he took upon himself whatsuffering and judgment was rightly due us; the gospel narratives of the crucifixion alsochallenges the Christian to share Christ's suffering.Via Dolorosa literally means “The Way of Sorrows”, marking the Stations of the Cross, the routethat Jesus supposedly took from Pontius Pilate’s palace where he was sentenced to death, tothe site of his crucifixion on the hill at Golgotha, beyond the city walls. Tourists & pilgrims havetraveled that road for centuries reflecting on Christ’s procession through the streets ofJerusalem since the time of the Medieval Church. They want to experience Christ’s sufferingand pain by walking in the supposedly same steps on the same streets that Christ stumbledthrough on his way to Golgotha and our salvation.Walking through a tourist area of Jerusalem can be a reflective exercise on who might haveshared the same streets throughout history. But honest reflection of the soul and one’s responseto Christ’s suffering can only happen in meditation on Scripture through prayer.A close & prayerful reflection on Matthew’s account of Jesus’ stumbling journey to his crucifixionreveals fulfillment of prophecy and two responses to Jesus and his suffering. One can either:1. Share Christ’s Suffering: Simon of Cyrene2. Save Yourself from Christ’s Suffering: the Mob, the Sanhedrin, and two Robbers[Insurrectionists]Let’s dig into Matthew’s account of Jesus’ journey from the Praetorium to Golgotha. Whiledetails on the steps taken by Jesus can be found in Luke’s and John’s gospels, Matthew wantshis readers to reflect on the different reactions of a Gentile against the religious people of God.
Difficult times do not last forever. Likewise, times of oppression do come to an end. Israel was defeated and humilated by enemy nations. Yet Zechariah is given promises by God to the people that the LORD will conquer those who conquered and oppressed Israel. This promise looks to a day when pease is restored to Israel who was troubled by war. The high point of these chapters [The LORD's promise] looks beyond the immediate future to the some day arrival of the Messiah King. [9:9 & 10:2-4]
Violence and abuse are symptoms of a fallen humanity. We fight for what we want and will oftenharm others to show our power over them. A key truth to gospel salvation is that Jesussubmitted himself to sinful abuse as providentially directed by the Father’s grace. This seems tous illogical. How can divine grace providentially direct violence and abuse for the purposes ofundeserved forgiveness? If we follow the gospel accounts of Jesus’s Great Suffering, we willsee God’s grace poured out upon sinful and guilty humanity through the shift of HIS divine wrathupon HIS Son.Whereas sinful men express sin in violence, anger, and abuse; God who is holy has a wrathagainst sin that is as personal as his love.The Jewish trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin ended with abuse:“Then they [The Sanhedrin] spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him,saying, ‘Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?’” [Matthew 26:67–68]The Roman trial of Jesus before Pilate ended with scourging and mockery:“Then he [Pilate] released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered himto be crucified.” [Matthew 27:26]The details of Jesus’ abusive suffering in Matthew’s account shows us the Love of God throughthe propitiation of Christ’s blood. The Jewish people of God mocked HIM. The Roman gentilesmocked HIM and violently abused HIM. The body of Christ was beaten and his blood shed asthe sacrifice necessary for God’s grace and favor. Jesus Christ, the Son, abolished God’s wrathagainst us and ensured God’s forever after favor. Jesus’s blood ‘propitiated’ God’s wrath andguaranteed the Father’s favorable outlook over sinful humanity. This happens through thepropitiation by the blood of Christ shed on the cross but also in the bloody mess of his suffering.Let’s dig into Matthew 27:27–31 to glean wisdom on how to respond to the public humiliationand suffering of our Savior.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
The Church can be too political. There are forces among God’s elect that see the dominance of the Church in earthly rule as God’s design for His kingdom. Kingdom now theology falls far short of the Christ intent of the Kingdom of Heaven. Kingdom Now proponents believe that God lost control over the world to Satan when Adam and Eve sinned. Since then, the theology goes, God has been trying to reestablish control over the world by seeking a special group of believers—known as "covenant people," or "overcomers," who would bring all earthly kingdoms under God’s authority. The Church fails miserably when calls for theocracy overpower the TRUE teaching of Jesus as the Christ concerning HIS kingdom of heaven now.Matthew’s gospel focuses on the role of Jesus as the fulfillment of kingdom prophecy. “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” [Matthew 3:2]. The kingdom of heaven is referenced fifty times in Matthew’s gospel, and within those mentions Jesus spoke of the kingdom forty-four times. At his birth, the Magi looked for the king of the Jews [Matthew 2:2]. And at his trial before Pilate, the governor asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews [Matthew 27:1]. A battle of kingdoms has played out since the Edenic Fall while two kingdoms between Heaven and Hell wage war. Human history is the battlefield. The kingdom of men fights on the side of the Satanic kingdom but in the end, kings and kingdoms will all pass away under the reign and rule of Jesus Christ who is granted the throne of heaven.As all great battles must fight the greatest of all battles before the war ends, so too will the kings of men fight against the king of heaven who won the great spiritual battle on the cross. Jesus shows his great strength against the kings of men as he suffered greatly along his journey to the cross. Let’s dig into Matthew 27:11–26 to see the battle waged between the religious leaders allied with Rome and the kingdom of heaven where Jesus reigns.
Sometimes a priceless heirloom breaks never to be the same again. Imagine children roughhousing and knocking over a priceless vase. Imagine dropping a cherished dish, a piece of fine china, that shatters never to be replaced. The fall of both the chief priests and the betrayer Judas fulfilled the prophecies of Jeremiah and the prophet Zechariah concerning broken pottery and a potter’s field. The prophets speak of an unrepairable relationship between the LORD and his people … between God the Creator and humanity he created. Although the LORD is always seeking a repentant heart from his people, the broken covenant can reach a place of disrepair. It is a sad outcome for the hardest of hearts toward salvation when one’s soul cannot be saved. It is a sad outcome for the one who is willingly persuaded by Satan and rejects the hand of salvation from Christ alone. While Peter wept in private before the Lord [Matthew 26:75] the chief priests and Judas regretted their actions. Yet the difference between Peter’s broken repentance and Judas’s hardened regret is stark. Judas regretted his actions. The chief priests and elders regretted the money paid for innocent blood. The gospels tell us that Judas, and these chief priests, acted in maniacal betrayal toward the Messiah who was the only hope of salvation. These men have been the example to the church ever since as a warning that human nature can and often will reject salvation when plotting for one’s own glory and pride. Blood is the cost of broken covenants. Blood money for selling Jesus into crucifixion. The Field of Blood where Judas hung himself. Jesus’ Blood alone was the perfect sacrifice to atone for sin. Let’s dig into Matthew 27:1-10 together to see how Jesus’ Great Suffering also spoke of the painful suffering for those who betray HIS name and reject HIS salvation.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
It has often been said of the Apostle Peter that no disciple was placed higher than Peter, and almost no disciple fell lower. No one protested loyalty more insistently, yet almost no one denied Jesus more inexcusably. Jesus especially set apart Peter for the important task of establishing the Church. Peter would be the “rock” on which Jesus himself would build the church as the embassy, the ambassadors, of the kingdom of heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and in this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. [Matt 16:18-19] All four gospels share Peter’s denial with varying degrees of detail. But the historically orthodox Christian interpretation of these passages remind us all that we too may fail and deny Jesus if threatened. Peter’s pride was on trial that night. His loyalty to Jesus was tested. Let us remember that Jesus warned Peter that Satan had asked to ‘sift him like wheat.’ “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” [Luke 22:31–32] Then Peter stood boldly before Jesus declaring his allegiance, even to death. Yet just a few hours later, Peter fears for his life and denies being a disciple of Jesus and sat by the fire with those seeking Jesus’ death. Let’s dig into Matthew 26:69–75 & 27:1–2 together and witness Peter’s trial of the soul on that cold and fateful night in Caiaphas’ courtyard.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
One of the strangest realities of the human condition is that we will hear what we want to hear and see what we want to see resulting in truth being defined by our own perceptions. This is the problem in politics. This is the problem in child rearing. This is the problem in marriage relationships. This is the problem in relationships within the church. This is the problem with a sinner’s faith in Jesus Christ as the only savior. This next passage in Matthew’s gospel recounts the actions of a late night ‘pre-trial’ in order to convict the innocent Jesus in an official trial before the Roman authorities. The plot to kill the only savior of sinners was predicted long ago and now it is here. The only way for Satan to win any battle is with deception. I think the Church can learn much here about how wicked men can distort the truth to their own perception. I think the Church can learn much about how to stand up against such distortions when accused wrongly for the gospel. Let’s dig into Matthew 26:57–68 together.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
One of the greatest sufferings for the human mind is isolation. While physical torture is certainly great suffering, isolation is the greatest spiritual suffering. Penitentiaries will put the harshest criminals in solitary confinement. Secular psychologists argue that being alone will cause great harm to the individual psyche. From a biblical perspective, the psyche is also argued to be the soul. Even the great philosopher Aristotle argued that the psyche [ψυχή] is the soul. Furthermore, English translators of Scripture often translate ‘psyche’ as ‘soul.’ So biblically, we can see that isolation from God the Father is the greatest torment of the soul but can also be a turning point back to God the Father. We can further see Biblically that the soul is life and Jesus’ soul, his very ψυχή was tormented and his body tortured during his Great Suffering and Crucifixion. While Jesus suffered tragedy in his final 24 hours of pain and trial, the greatest suffering that he endured was the temporary separation from the Father. It was this cosmic reality of separation and isolation that was Jesus’ torment more than any other physical pain. Just as the disciples would enter a season of temptation to be sifted like wheat by Satan [Matthew 26:30–35 & Luke 22:31–34], Jesus the Son would be sifted, tortured, falsely tried, and endure the agony of crucifixion. His tormented soul swam in torturous physical abuse while facing the terror of isolation from God the Father. For the Father in Heaven to turn HIS face away from HIS Son was the greatest of all suffering. “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?! Which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!” [Matt. 27:46 & Mark 15:34] Let’s dig into Matthew 26:36–46 together and glean from our LORD on how to pray in great times of depression, anxiety, agony, and fear
“I know who I am. If I just believe in myself, I can accomplish miracles!” This is the message of confidence that sells billions of dollars in self-help books and seminars annually in the United States. The market for this message is big as insecure Americans seek out services and ‘professionals’ to improve their lives. This industry claims to have answers for all spiritual, financial, and health questions. The market is primarily female, but men are getting more involved. The market ranges in categories from curriculums on self-improvement, personal coaching, books, holistic institutes, and motivational speakers. The profits are growing from $13.4 billion in 2022 to $14 billion dollars in 2023.1 The market could easily top $15 billion dollars by 2025. The holistic medicine message is most dangerous in the Church right now since its message claims to be based in spirituality to heal the mind and body. Some in our own congregation have rejected pastoral care in favor of holistic medicine ‘professionals’ claiming to not need the church or spiritual support from church leadership or lay persons. The results are not Christ honoring. The great danger in self-improvement messages is the over-confidence that they produce. Confidence in one’s identity in Christ is always healthy. But confidence in one’s own ability leads to a sinful crash. Improper self-confidence, like that of Peter the night of Jesus’ arrest, is the first step to a fall. We are all prone to be overconfident. Those soon to fall are the most confident, and most foul, in themselves. Those are least safe, who think themselves most secure. Satan is active to lead the prideful mind astray. The over-confident are most off guard. God leaves them to themselves, to humble them. This passage of Jesus’ prophecy of Peter’s (and the disciples’ denial of their LORD) follows a biblical pattern found in the Old Testament Prophets of denial, suffering, and restoration.Let us dig into Matthew 26:30–35 and glean from God’s Word a warning to turn from one’s own pride and turn to Christ our LORD.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Certain people are sometimes not welcome at the table during a meal. We often will send a misbehaving child to his room as a lesson that gathering with the family at the table is a privilege, not an entitlement. The previous verses of Matthew 26:20-25 revealed that our LORD, Jesus, challenged his twelve in preparing to partake in the gift of his body and blood for their salvation. Eleven of the twelve showed honor and humility before their ‘Lord’. But one, a self-entitled disciple, revealed his heart of betrayal toward the ‘Rabbi’, the ‘Teacher’ during the Passover meal. Matthew 26:26-39 is the next passage by Matthew that shows the purpose and intent of the Lord’s Supper that was a part of that Passover Meal as a new form of the meal that only eleven of the twelve disciples received. The symbols of the bread and wine were intended to remind the faithful disciples of the sacrifice of their LORD and a reminder of who were welcome at the table of Christ’s sacrifice for them. He gave all that he was for their redemption. Yet not all of the twelve were present at this portion of the Passover meal. Jesus purposefully invited the faithful who humbly obeyed their LORD to receive the gift of himself for them. One betrayer, the one who symbolically and literally represents now all of humanity’s refusal of the Savior is no longer at the table. It was at this point of the scene in the Upper Room that Jesus taught his remaining eleven disciples the depth of HIS love for them. They received the greatest gift of the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper in a Communion of fellowship with the LORD. Judas, the betrayer, was sent away to ‘do what he must do quickly’ [John 13:27]. Luke’s account indicates that Satan entered Judas prior to the ‘day of Unleavened Bread’ prior to the Passover [Luke 22:3]. John’s account tells us that ‘the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray’ Jesus prior to the supper. [John 13:3] There are four traditional views of the meaning and purpose of the Lord’s Supper. I hope today to briefly help us understand what we receive at the Lord’s Table each time we gather as a congregation. Let us read Matthew 26:26-29 together to discern the meaning of this most important gift of the Lord’s Supper that Christ has given to us.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Many have just experienced family gatherings these past weeks of the Holiday Season centered around a table, a shared meal. Some have enjoyed the blessing of family. Others have tolerated the presence of family. Regardless, the shared meal during a celebration can bring either great joy or tragic suffering. We continue in our exegesis of Matthew’s gospel through the final few days of Jesus’s life and earthly ministry. He is in Jerusalem and directs the gathering of his twelve in an upper room of a house to honor the Passover tradition with the prescribed meal. It is here that all the twelve are called out as denyers, but one is specifically called out as a betrayer. The harsh pain of a betrayal often follows a shared meal because the betrayer fawns loyalty to the one he or she despises. You and I may not see the betrayal coming. But Jesus carries his divine trait of omniscience even in his human essence. Our Lord’s insights are powerful as he navigates the Passover evening with his twelve. I believe we can all see ourselves in this passage about the twelve who will all deny our Lord. Yet one of these twelve is a betrayer who willingly becomes the instrument of Satan by which our Lord’s crucifixion will take place. Which one are we? Are we the doubtful disciple who humbly desires to obey Jesus? Or are we no different than Judas in betraying our Lord? This passage shows how the willing sin of men can be directed by God’s providence to accomplish HIS holy purposes without God the Father being blamed for men’s willing betrayal. Let’s read Matthew 26:17-25 and discover together the depths of treachery that led to our Lord’s crucifixion.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
This fourth Sunday of Advent is the last Sunday morning before we celebrate the birth of our Savior on December 25th. The brokenness of God’s fallen creation at last sees hope in the miraculous incarnation of God’s Son. Today’s text will give us a glimpse into the mysterious yet revealed truth of the Incarnation of God himself as he steps into humanity – resulting in the birth of the Son of God who is holy. Let’s read today’s passage [Luke 1:26-38] … the divine message of God through the angel Gabriel to Mary the Virgin mother of our Lord.
"Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts." -- Zechariah 1:3
Joy to the World is one of the more popular Christmas songs of the English language tradition. This hymn brings remembrance of the rich theology … biblical theology … of the incarnation to the hearer. All the earth responds in a new song of JOY at the arrival of God in the flesh. In contrast, secular Christmas music that fills our airways and streaming services does not have In contrast, secular Christmas music that fills our airways and streaming services does not have the JOY that the rich hymns of the Christian faith convey. One favorite secular song from the 20th century Christmas tradition is the Jazz filled theme to the Charlie Brown Christmas. This song contains no lyrics but the jovial rhythm and head-bobbing beat convey a celebration … a time long gone with innocence and childhood fun. Other songs like “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” just do not seem to reflect the biblical witness of salvation … the good news of salvation and peace. But the ideas conveyed in the hymn, Joy to the World, express in simple ways the fulfillment of the covenant promises of God to his fallen creation. At the pinnacle of this fulfillment is God entering into humanity … taking upon himself what is not of himself … the sin and human dilemma of struggles and battles with thorns and thistles that came as the result of the first man and first woman’s sin. We will sing this wonderful hymn as our closing hymn of worship tonight. So in preparation for the corporate singing of this wonderful classic from Isaac Watts, let’s take a look at the biblical source for the proclamation of singing “JOY to the World”
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Today is the second Sunday of Advent, the theme of PEACE.The biblical theme of Christ as peace is much different than the secular adaptations of Christmas peace between men. The biblical theme of peace is instead peace brought about by the atoning sacrifice of Christ, not between men but between fallen man [the created] and God [the Creator].___________________Thus the Peace that is ushered in at Christ's birth has two applications:First, peace between God and hostile enmity from fallen humanity.Second, peace between Gentiles and Christians ... hostile enmity between fallen men.The unifying peace that the Son of God preached and exhorted was the peace that required mercy and grace. The unifying peace that the Son of God preached and exhorted was the peace that resulted in reconciliation with the Heavenly Father.A passage from the Advent reading today clarifies what is Heavenly Peace."Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven." [Ps 85:10—11] KJV
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
"I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." [1 Corinthians 1:4-9]
The Suffering Passion story of Jesus involves great betrayal but also great adoration and blessing. The first verses of Matthew 26 set the stage for the final days of Jesus’ ministry and life. Jesus himself declared what would happen. Evil men would plot and deliver him over to death. Their actions were seemingly the way to control Jesus and HIS Message because the doctrines that Jesus taught were thought to be dangerous and subversive. ● The Jewish leaders were enraged by what they saw as disrespect toward the Mosaic Law. ● The Roman authorities were threatened by Jesus’ claim to be the King of the Jews. Jesus appeared to be a revolutionary, a dangerous teacher who spread ideas that threatened their power. They were determined to get rid of Jesus just as they did with many otherself-proclaimed ‘messiahs.’ The Apostle Paul’s mentor and teacher of the Law, Gamaliel, stood up in the council at a trial against Peter and the other Apostles and declared that several ‘messiahs’ had gathered followers before but were often shown to be charlatans [Acts 5:33-42]. His conclusion was to permit the preaching of Jesus and the gospel because if it was truly from God, it would prosper. If it was not of God, the truth would reveal the Apostles as charlatans. The Evangelical Theologian John Scott wrote this about why Christ suffered and died: “Ostensibly he died as a law-breaker, but in reality as the victim of small minds and as a martyr to his own greatness.” [The Cross of Christ, 1986, 2006; p. 51] His own twelve Apostles, the Pharisees, the Roman governor, and Judas Iscariot all played a role in denying and betraying Jesus. Their small mindedness missed the larger truth of Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
The Suffering Story of Jesus is the Church’s Story too because the Church has always suffered most for preaching the gospel and is passionate for doing so. The final lesson from Jesus was his lived out suffering and crucifixion and resurrection. The final three chapters of Matthew’s gospel teach us our final lessons in Christian discipleship. We learn our weakness. We learn of Jesus’ fidelity in death. And we learn the power of Jesus’ resurrection and mission. Betrayal is a repeated themes in Matthew 26. It seems that everyone was guilty of handing over Jesus to death. Everyone betrays him.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
This parable of Jesus is one of the most profound teachings of our LORD concerning judgment and HIS expectations for the elect and their service in his kingdom. Yet this parable has less parabolic language and more direct language than other parables. Whereas the previous three parables from Matthew 24:45 [Wise & Foolish Servants] and Matthew 25:1 [The Wise & Foolish Virgins] and Matthew 25:14 [Parable of the Talents] dealt with Jesus's expectations for HIS elect as they wait and long for his return ... the Parable of the Sheep & the Goats focuses on the direct and final judgment of ALL people ... not just Christ's elect. Just as the previous parables compare two types of people in the kingdom of heaven, this parable compares two types of people who live throughout all of history. This parable will compare the humble and blessed Sheep who love our LORD against the wickedly prideful Goats who are cursed and do not love our LORD. "And these [cursed goats] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous [blessed sheep] into eternal life." [Matt 25:46] Let's dig into this profound passage together [Matthew 25:31-46]
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
What is the purpose of a gift received? All of us have received something from someone else that we did not expect or did not seek. But this person knew us well enough to know what we needed and offered an undeserved gift. This is grace. Yet what is the purpose of that gift? What is our duty in possessing that gift? Does our spirit and gratitude align with the gift giver's purpose in granting the gift? If we simply toss that gift aside or worse yet, 'regift' it to another person later ... what does that say about how we value that gift? or value the person who granted that gift? What does ignoring the purpose of the gift say about our spirit toward the gift and the giver? The parable of the talents in the Olivet Discourse is a lesson from Jesus concerning the expectations of the master for the servants of the kingdom of heaven. But what is expected seems to be less what they 'do' with his property and more to do with their love for him. Disciples of Jesus Christ are called to faithful service out of humble love for the master; not slothful self service with no affection for the giver of good news. Let's dig into Matthew 24:14—30, the Parable of the Talents, to gleen how Christ will judge the faithful and the slothful on that great day of HIS coming. The faithful servants who truly love the LORD will escape wrathful judgment. Yet the wicked, slothful servants will succumb to God's righteous judgment.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
The time to be prepared for any event is always now. Whether that future event is a blessed thing like marriage and children, or preparing for a career through education and experience, or even preparing for a doomed day like a wartime invasion, the time for preparation is now. Yet so many in our culture live day to day, paycheck to paycheck, maxing out debt, with no stockpile of food or the savings to weather a harsh future destined to eventually come. The same lax attitude plagues the Church in that Christ promised in his Olivet Discourse that HE would leave for a time but would return “on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” [Matthew 24:30–31]. We have seen that the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24 & 25 is our LORD’s own instruction and sermon concerning his parousia, his second coming. Most of chapter 24 contained Jesus’ instruction about the signs of his coming to watch for. Now, the transition from 24:36–50 concerning the day and hour and the days of Noah into the illustration of the wise and foolish slaves takes us to the series of parables in chapter 25. The Olivet Discourse now goes from watching for signs of HIS second coming to warning of preparation for when the parousia occurs. Let’s dig into the first parable of Matthew 25, The Parable of the Ten Virgins.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Don’t you hate getting caught doing something that you are not supposed to be doing? You know those times when you sneak to get that last piece of apple pie from the fridge late at night and then your wife walks in? Or if your kids pull out their favorite toy when they are supposed to be reading or going to bed? Think about that sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach when mom catches you in the act of doing anything BUT what you are supposed to be doing. Whether we like it or not, we all must please the boss or the mom or the dad. There seems to be something healthy about being held accountable. When someone who loves us expects the best of us, we strive to please that person. We cringe when we let that person down. Jesus’ closes this section of his Olivet Discourse with an illustration, a parable, of two types of servants in the kingdom of heaven. This parable compares the blessed or wise servant against the wicked or foolish servant. It is the sensible slave who is found working when the master of the house walks in. It is the foolish and wicked slave who is found slacking when the master of the house walks in. Let’s dig into Matthew 24:42–51 together.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
I am an advocate for military service for young men and women. I wish that our military could persuade more young people to volunteer for at least two years of military service because the benefits of focus and discipline cannot be ignored. Matthew 24:36-44 is a passage that calls for the church to remain alert as if one is to wait for someone important to come home. It is a call by our LORD to be ever diligent, alert, and disciplined in the faith longing for and open to our LORD’s glorious second coming to judge the nations and to gather his elect to himself. Jesus' Olivet Discourse with his disciples is all about HIS parousia. His second coming will be grand indeed, but Jesus drives home the point that despite no one knowing when this will be, not even the Son of God who comes. Despite the details given in Matthew 24 [and the parallel passages of Mark 13:32-36 & Luke 21:29-33] Jesus' intent is clear in that he expects his disciples, HIS church, to be always awake 21:29-33] Jesus' intent is clear in that he expects his disciples, HIS church, to be always awake to the signs and imminent coming of our LORD again. He describes the details of the parousia with prophetic language that demands a measure of faith from the limited mind of the disciple. God the Father alone knows. He is omniscient. He is the original and primary knower of all things, especially of the day and time of the great Day of the Lord. Let's dig into Matthew 24:36-44 together
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Can we trust everything that Jesus says? Of course. He is trustworthy and always true. We must trust only what scripture says about Jesus and what Jesus himself said about salvation and the kingdom of heaven, but we can also trust the teachings of Jesus by HIS own actions. Eschatology is the theological category of thinking about Christ's second coming and the last days of judgment. Scripture often refers to that day as the great Day of the Lord. In today's passage, Jesus uses the illustration of a budding fig tree as a lesson to his disciples about trusting what HE says about the events of the parousia (παρουσία). This is the Greek word used to describe the second coming of Jesus Christ at the end of history. Literally, this word means ‘the personal presence’ or ‘coming’. When Jesus returns he will be fully and unmistakably present just as royalty is mistakenly present upon arriving at a place. In this context, trusting Jesus’ words concerning the last days and the birth of an eternal kingdom ushered in by 'the sign of the Son of Man' [v. 30] are as sure as events we witness every day. Just as a fig tree does not speak with audible language, but with trusted action blooms faithfully each spring, so too will be Christ’s parousia. Jesus' words are trustworthy through HIS actions that speak about HIS future advent and final judgment. Let’s dig into Matthew 24:32-35 together.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
The apostles of the church were dedicated to the gospel and to the church to the point of death. Of Jesus’ twelve apostles, all were martyred except John the Beloved but he did die in imprisoned exile. The apostle Paul also faced a martyr's death from beheading. Luke’s account of Jesus’ life and ministry was followed with a second volume we now call the Acts of the Apostles [ΠΡΑΞΕΙΣ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΩΝ]. Chapters 19 to 28 recount Paul’s journey to Jerusalem where he would be arrested and sent to Rome for trial. “Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaea and to Jerusalem, saying’ After I have been there, I must also see Rome.’” [Acts 19:21] Many of the great epistles of the New Testament were penned by Paul during his Roman imprisonment. Thus, Luke shares with us Paul’s farewell address to the elders of the church in Ephesus, a congregation where the apostle spent nearly three years in discipleship and teaching [Acts 19]. His journey through Macedonia eventually to Miletus bypassed Ephesus but Paul desired one last word with the elders of the great churches in Ephesus. The encouragement from Paul to the elders is an important instruction for the church and her leadership today. Let’s dig into Acts 20:17-38 to hear the passion of Paul for the beloved elders of Christ’s Church in Ephesus.
The responsibility that Christ Jesus gives the apostles and elders to steward God’s house is a heavy burden. Honestly, it is a calling of responsibility that no one could adequately do. The primary stewardship is over the sheep that the God the Father gave to Christ, the Son. Jesus prays to His Father in Heaven: “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.” [John 17:6] Christ Jesus is THE SHEPHERD of these precious sheep and the elders of the church are his stewards. Peter’s epistle of encouragement to the diaspora of the early church was written at a time of great persecution in the Roman Empire. This letter was written when the churches in Asia Minor experienced torment under Emperor Nero [a crazy man by all historical accounts]. At this time, Peter was in prison waiting for his own crucifixion. Yet in this time of distress, the great apostle of Jesus Christ, carried out his duty as a shepherd and elder to comfort and guide the sheep that belonged to HIS crucified and resurrected Lord. This epistle of encouragement and instruction served as a reminder to the churches of whom they belonged as many were without home or community. Peter exhorted the church to live holy lives among their wicked and pagan neighbors; to live lives of holy example amid unjust suffering. He reminded them of the example of Christ, their Great Shepherd, whose sufferings they too shared. In this last chapter of the epistle, the elders of the churches were called to lead the flock that belonged to their Great Shepherd with humility and strong conviction. This passage reminds the elders of God’s Church who they are to model as they exemplify the humility and compassion of Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sometimes men think differently than women or children. I know this is hard to comprehend by some in our overly hostile-against-the-patriarchy culture, but men think and act in ways that are truly beneficial to the church.
A man, that is a good man, a godly man, will focus on the protection or guardianship of his home. The idea of a husband comes from the agrarian practice of stewarding the land. Husbands, who are men, really, they are men, are called by God to husband their wives and homes. A husband stewards those under his care. This is why the Apostle Paul appointed elders [overseers/bishops] in the churches of the first century. He followed the model of Jesus elders [overseers/bishops] in the churches of the first century. He followed the model of Jesus who appointed apostles to steward the gospel and the church.
Paul’s epistle to Titus is another of Paul’s pastoral epistles. He echoes the same need to Titus for elders in the local churches of Crete that he did to Timothy with the churches in Ephesus. In both circumstances Paul desired elders be appointed to safeguard the integrity of the gospel from heretical and false teachers. Yet for Titus, and the churches of Crete, Paul more strongly emphasized the duty of the elder as God’s steward over the church.
Let’s dig into Paul’s instructions in Titus 1:1-9 for the care of God’s church on the ancient island of Crete.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Matthew 24:15-22 15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ethe sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
Life altering events are hard to see coming or to notice when they do happen. Imagine a community wiped out by unpredictable wildfires in the American west. Seasons when wildfires spread can bring with it unexpected shifts and destruction of homes and lives. Yes, the wildfires are predictable in that they will come each season, but the devastation they leave behind can often come from unexpected natural occurrence.
We now come to a passage within Jesus' Olivet Discourse that speaks to an event that was known to occur long before by the prophet Daniel. The vision of the Abomination of Desolation was known in Jewish tradition as an apocalyptic sign that would certainly come, but the prophecy was shrouded in mystery even as Jesus prophesied its coming in Matthew 24:15-16.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Matthew 24:9-14 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Why do we endure suffering? Why do we endure tribulation? This is the common question for everyone who is in the midst of a season of suffering isn't it? Why? Why am I going through this? The opening of Jesus' Olivet Discourse [verses 3-8] began with the encouragement for the Apostles and the Church that endurance of theological trickery [false messiahs], war, famines and earthquakes “must take place, but the end is not yet." [Matthew 24:6]
Jesus's teaching transitions, compounding those tribulations as they increase to what will be greater tribulation of martyrdom, apostasy, and perseverance. The tension associated with the suffering and tribulations of the saints builds in this teaching.
Matthew 24:3-8 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
Jesus begins his response to the twelve with words of warning. He speaks of times of tribulation and suffering for HIS twelve and for HIS Church. Matthew 24:4-7 is a description of events preceding our LORD's return. But this description is a reminder to not forget who Christ IS. He begins to warn his disciples that there will be deceit, temptation, suffering, and conflict in the world. These events are guaranteed but according to our LORD are necessary and must occur before HE returns for HIS Church.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Chapters twenty-four and twenty-five of Matthew's gospel share Jesus' private teaching with his twelve concerning the destruction of Herod’s temple, Jesus' return, and the end of the age. At the core of this teaching is the reassurance that Christ will return for HIS elect despite the reality that HE must depart. We all desire to know when a beloved will return if he or she must go away. Love attracts us to one another and anxiety can rise up when that attraction is disrupted. The key point that Jesus wants his disciples to remember is that we MUST remain awake and alert, longing for HIS return. The biblical truth is that God is always faithful and Christ, the Son of God, is also faithful. If Jesus promises that he will return, then the signs that he speaks of in this apocalyptic teaching are trustworthy. Jesus will return and when we see the events that Jesus speaks of, both historical and eschatological, we know that Christ will be back soon.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
The Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 & 25 unpacks Christ's love for HIS people and HIS people's love and longing for Christ's return. Jesus instructs his disciples about the end of all time, his parousia, HIS eventual return, through direct discourse and by parables. In summary, today's passage, Jesus' finale, is a condemnation and a prophecy, but it is also a teaching on Christ's LOVE and the genuine LOVE of HIS people for HIM.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Matthew 23:34-36 v1 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,v2 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the alter. v3 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
This is the conclusion of the Sermon of the Seven Woes that shifts the lessons from the sins of the past to the sins of the future. As the Pharisees and scribes claimed piety over the sins of their forefathers against the prophets, Jesus prophecies of future murder of the Apostles who will carry the message of The Christ to synagogues and towns all over the world. Just as God’s prophets of Old were persecuted and martyred, so too will the coming Church be persecuted and martyred. Just as God sent prophets to proclaim the coming Messiah, Jesus will send Apostles and saints of the Church to preach salvation through the blood of Christ alone. As the Pharisees opposed God’s message in the past, they will continue in the future. The Church will be built upon a foundation of blood. First the blood of Christ. Then the blood of the Apostles and these hypocritical leaders would be judged for it all.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Woe #7, Matthew 23:29-33 is Jesus’ final woe against the Pharisees and scribes. It condemns them for looking to the past with a romantic vision of the patriarchs and the prophets. They romanticize the time of the prophets and the patriarchs for the purity of the Mosaic Law. Yet their imagination also condemns their forefathers for murdering the prophets of old. These Pharisees and scribes elevate their piety above the patriarchs and are condemned more by Jesus’ words than their blind vision of the past.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. In Woe #6, Matthew 23:27:28 Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees for an outward righteous and beautiful appearance. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees to whitewashed tombs who appear beautiful and clean outwardly, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”Jesus follows his previous statements with figurative language that condemn the false piety of these religious leaders. He calls out these scribes for being eagerly driven on the single task of polishing up their public image. [v. 25a] “For you clean the outside of the cup and plate …”Jesus spoke the truth to these men of the Law. They were diligent to wash up for the public … adorn themselves with the ornate robes of office and put forth a public face of piety and godly obedience. The scribes and Pharisees seemed to be only concerned with cleanliness that appeared outwardly. They devoted their energies to ceremonial cleanliness through meticulous attention to meals and to the sacrifices on the altar. Yet the figurative purpose of this language by our LORD is meant to expose the external devotions of piety.
This passage of Jonah's prophecy depicts the repentance of the Assyrian Ninevittes following Jonah's brief message of judgment. A review of Jonah's prophecy of judgment from verse four will set the stage for a greater understanding of the mass repentance described in verses six to ten. "Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" (3:4) 'will be overthrown' (ESV/KJV/NASB) / 'will be overturned' (NIV) nehpaket - the basic idea is 'to turn' ... but the word is used elsewhere in the OT: destruction (Gen 19:21) transformation (Ps. 66:6) So literally, God declares through Jonah that within 40 days of this declaration in the open square, Nineveh would be changed. Change was coming on way or another. Jonah 3:2 shows us that Nineveh was a great city. The Hebrew connotation here could be translated, "Nineveh was a great city to God"
Exaggeration of the unimportant can be the easiest way to gain the attention of others. The contemporary version of this is internet clickbait; an exaggeration of something that is truly unimportant but is expressed as the MOST IMPORTANT thing. It is the way that news media and social media influencers grab the attention of their followers and grow their base of influence.Hyperbole is a rhetorical device that exaggerates an idea to make a point. Jesus uses hyperbole in this passage to point out the twisted hyperbole that these Pharisees were guilty of doing. "You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!" (v 24)This fourth WOE from Jesus in his Sermon of Seven Woes exposes the hypocritical exaggeration from these men of the Law of truly unimportant matters.Instead, Jesus again drives home the TRUTH of God's Word, the TRUTH of the gospel, that it is not what one does that is the most important, rather it is THE ONE who redeems us, and that we love and adore, that concerns the Father in Heaven. If one is truly humble and merciful and faithful to the WORD of God as Christ is truly humble and merciful and faithful, then one's actions will reflect the same.Read more at: https://bryantowens.substack.com/p/matthew-2323-24-woe-to-you-camel
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
This third WOE in Jesus's Sermon of Seven Woes now shifts from the charge of closing the kingdom of heaven to the lost and for leading false converts into their religious legalism; to the charge of being blind guides, fools, and men who worship the created rather than the creator.They are the blind leading the blind to the gates of hell.The importance of the Jerusalem temple cannot be overstated when studying Matthew's gospel. The Jerusalem temple was the center of God's holy presence with HIS people. Jesus called it, 'The House of Prayer' (Matt 21:13) when he aggressively kicked out the corruption that had overtaken it the first day of the week when he entered Jerusalem; his final week of life and ministry.Because the Temple is the symbolic center of worship and is God's holy dwelling with his creation, the sin of worshiping the creation rather than the creator must also be remembered as nothing new. The religious leaders who faced Jesus’ judgment misinterpreted God’s meaning and purpose for the Temple by emphasizing the objects of sacrifice and the modes of offering rather than the one to whom the sacrifice and offering were intended. It was the worship of the created that condemned the first man and the first woman into the fallen state that corrupts us even now. Likewise, it was the worship of the created that condemned the Pharisees and scribes. The Apostle Paul rightly warns and condemns the fallenness of man for worshiping the created instead of the creator."Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." (Rom 1:22-23)
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Jesus’ second Woe should guard the church against mistaking missionary and evangelism zeal with divine truth. This WOE is valuable to us to hear because we the Evangelical Church are tempted to look at missionary outreach and church growth as signs of God’s blessing. We mistakenly embrace large movements of evangelism and missions as validation that God loves us because of our dedication to spreading HIS gospel message. This was the mistake of these scribes and Pharisees.But what Jesus speaks to those false teachers is that truth and lies often share a remarkable missionary zeal. Guilt is as strong a motivator as gratitude. False teachers use guilt to motivate obedience [to their teaching … the burden of extrabiblical traditions]. Genuine teachers know that gratitude is the genuine motivator of the sinner toward Christ the only savior that we have.
Blessings and Woes are opposites that are regularly present in the scriptures. From the Old Testament historical books to the wisdom literature and prophets, we see God speaking directly to the patriarchs and kings and peoples of either blessings or woes.Blessing indicates a state of happiness or human flourishing and is often associated with a new beginning. Woes express sorrow or pity, usually from God toward his failed people, often as a judgment of an individual or community. A woe, like a blessing, can also have connections to a new beginning or an end. Blessings and Woes in the Scriptures all point to either the welcomed entry into or the refusal from the Kingdom of Heaven.Following his charge in Matthew 23:3 concerning the scribes and Pharisees; “practice and observe whatever they tell you – but not what they do. For they preach but do not practice” Jesus begins in verse thirteen to lay out a series of judgments and woes that showcase the guilty actions of these Pharisees.Many newer English translations do not include the woe against the mistreatment of widows in favor of public honor found in verse fourteen. The ESV and NIV do not have verse fourteen. The KJV and NASB do include another woe in verse fourteen.As such, let us read the NASB version of Matthew 23:13 & 14. A copy of these verses is included in your bulletin today for your reference. This is the beginning of Jesus's ‘Sermon of Seven Woes’
Jonah: A ProphetThis minor prophetic book is unique among all the books of God’s Prophets in that the theme of the book is more about the Prophet, the man than it is about the message that God gives to that man.Because this small book tells of a man being swallowed by a great fish, many scholars have dismissed the book of Jonah as a myth … as fiction. Unfortunately, one traditional way to study this book of prophecy is as an allegory or even a parable. The Book of Job has been studied this way as a piece of great ancient literature.But I think the best way to study the book of Jonah is:First from history. We must acknowledge that Jonah was a historical biblical figure, not a mythical character. This story is set in real cities with real names and it is set at a specific time in history. The second is from the Christological & Soteriological message. Intellectual honesty demands that we view Jesus’ treatment of this story of Jonah as historical [Matthew 12:40-41 & Luke 11:30-32] If Jesus took this small book of prophecy seriously, should we not do the same? He mentioned the ‘sign of Jonah’ as the key truth of HIS salvation.
Whether it be too many responsibilities at work or at home, we can easily become overwhelmed and burdened to the point where we cannot handle what is expected of us. Sometimes others place too much burden upon us. Sometimes we are too blind to see what burdens we place upon others.We begin Matthew twenty-three by seeing the overwhelming burden of works-righteousness that the Jerusalem Temple leaders imposed upon the people they were called to serve. These men sat on ‘Moses’ seat’ as Jesus points out in verse two. They held a divinely called authority that came from the Mosaic Law, God’s Law. Rightly so, the scribes and priests, the Pharisees and Sadducees, were responsible for guiding God’s people under the authority of God’s Law. HIS Word was to live out in these people.But we will see in Matthew twenty-three that Jesus exercises and boldly proclaims what TRUE authority is and where it originates. This was Jesus’ last public sermon. Matthew 24 & 25 contain the Olivet Discourse, a final and private teaching with his disciples.By declaring the seven ‘woes’ upon the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23, Jesus reveals the light of truth in contrast to the darkness of deception. He contrasts right teaching with false living.The first twelve verses are an introduction to Jesus’ warnings to the people and to these religious leaders. The first twelve verses will reflect Jesus’ warning to all of us about what to listen to with humility and reverence and what practices to avoid. The first twelve verses introduce the right and the true authority to listen to and to follow. And it is not what the Scribes and Pharisees ‘do’ that we model.Truth always reveals itself and Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the light. This is his lesson: learn from THE GREAT master teacher and do not get distracted by the false teachers who claim to be great but are truly weak.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Good Resurrection Sunday Morning!!Our Lord has Risen!! He is Risen Indeed!!Today is the day for all Christians to remember and to celebrate our Savior Jesus Christ as HE has shown us all that Resurrection is not only possible but that Jesus himself, God’s Son, our Savior, alone has been and currently is the only person ever to conquer death. Resurrection is the truth that death no longer wins. Death is the wage of sin … the outcome of sin … and resurrection conquers all of that fallenness.An important reminder is that the HOPE of our resurrection someday is because of THE FINISHED AND COMPLETED RESURRECTION of our LORD Jesus Christ.It is today, Resurrection Sunday, that we hold close together in one bond with Christ Jesus. The gospel truth rests in the Resurrection. What Christ alone can do, we cannot do, so we believe in this resurrection promise.THE RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ is therefore the basis of the Christian faith. It is why we model believers’ baptism after the lowering into death and resurrection again to life after our LORD’s resurrection from death.
The prophecy of the Minor Prophet Obadiah is rich in showing God's warning against alignment with evil and the redemption and hope that only HE can provide to those who challenge HIS people and HIS Word.
After several challenges by his enemies, Jesus earned the right to ask his question because he submitted to the inquiries from the Herodians, Pharisees, and Sadducees. The encounters are bookended by two verses, Matthew 22:15 “Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words.” and Matthew 22:46 “And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.” This question by Jesus was the final question of all questions about him. It is the question that ends all of our questions about his Sovereignty, his Lordship, his Sonship, and his role as our Savior. It is important to notice that at the end of this passage, all attempts to challenge HIM stoppedbecause Jesus posed THE question of all questions. ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose son he?”
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
The tension in this ONE Question from the representative of the Pharisees reveals the tension between the Law and the Gospel but Jesus shows us that there is no tension. The Law and the Gospel hold up the TRUTH of God’s LOVE. The Law of Love is at the center of the Gospel. This is Jesus’ authority and Jesus’ power to speak it and to insist upon it.We try to focus our attention on Grace over obedience to the Law but without the Mosaic Law, we cannot understand Grace. God’s Law is sweet. It is HIS Law.Of all these laws, of all this sin, the Question posed to Jesus is which is the GREATEST of all these Laws. Jesus refers to The Shema [Deut 6:5] … might, strength. But Jesus cites the words slightly from might, or strength, to ‘mind’. I think this is because the lawyer of the Mosaic law confronts Jesus, our LORD emphasizes this Greatest Command to a man who lived by his mind. This Scribe/Lawer was a great intellect. He knew things. He knew the details and arguments that surrounded the 613 laws. His mind was his strength. His mind was his might. His mind was his identity. His mind was who he was. His mind was the single greatest aspect of his being evidenced by his years of training the mind and using his mind to argue and to teach and enforce the Law of God.The word used for ‘mind’ here in verse 37 is διάνοια (dianoia) is translated as either mind or thoughts or understanding. So Jesus is using the idea of one’s thoughts being the avenue of expressing one’s complete love for God. This lawyer/scribe used his mind.If this Scribe/Lawyer truly loved God with all of his soul, then his mind would be filled with EVERYTHING THAT GOD LOVED. HIS MIND WOULD BE FILLED WITH ADORATION AND LOVE OF GOD. How much more would this man have mastered God’s Word, HIS LAW, if this state of complete heart love for God were true? Instead, his mind was busy gathering wool about a host of other things. His mind was fixed on ideas that had little or nothing to do with God, or HIS Law.
It is amazing the length that some people go to in their minds to justify a clearly false idea. This is the basis of troubling ideology. An ideology is a set of beliefs that are so ingrained in a person or a group that no one can counter those beliefs. This is a dangerous place to be in a religion or a culture. We find here the Sadducees now posing a question to Jesus with the hopes of entrapping him in a religious quandary. But I think also the Sadducees do this in hopes of elevating themselves in the eyes of the public and in their own self-glorification. Their hermeneutical error was an ideology … a belief in the Mosaic Law that could never be challenged. Their hermeneutic developed a doctrine that interpreted the Pentateuch with a materialistic worldview.The problem with man’s own philosophy is that we develop a worldview through logic alone and avoid Divine Wisdom altogether. The problem with the marriage dilemma posed by the Sadducees is that they were mistaken about what Moses actually decreed about marriage. They were mistaken about what Moses taught about resurrection. I find it ironic that the Sadducees, who were so smart, failed to see that they questioned the ONE who knew Moses the best. Jesus is the WORD after all so he would understand most of all what God spoke through Moses in the LAW.The doctrine of the Sadducees argued against resurrection whereas the Pharisees did argue for resurrection. The doctrine of resurrection involves the eschatology of judgment. An end-time event where the ungodly are delivered over to judgment and the godly receive eternal life. The challenge by these Sadducees to Jesus over the question of resurrection no doubt came partly because Jesus had a reputation for miraculous resuscitation of recently deceased persons.Yet resuscitation from the dead is not the same as resurrection from the dead. Those whom Jesus restored to life from the dead would die again someday. Jesus himself is the only man who ever was raised from the dead and never died again.God’s faithfulness to HIS covenant with Abraham demanded that resurrection be real.If God is their God after death, death is not the finality for them as the Sadducees taught. This phrase from Ex. 3:6 “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” was a common Jewish prayer reciting God’s faithfulness to the patriarchs as evidence of God’s faithfulness to the Jews in their time.Notice at the end of verse 32b“He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”Another way to think of this statement is that God is not the God of corpses but of living and active bodies. Therefore, HIS created, will not remain corpses. HIS created will exist in living bodies, both now and after the resurrection.This phrase drives home Jesus’ answer to the ludicrous question from the Sadducees.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
What stands out in Jesus’ rebuttal is the ‘malice’ or ‘craftiness’ or the ‘testing’ that these disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians pose to Jesus. I think the comparison in these words of Jesus can clearly be made against the words our LORD uses against Satan during his wilderness temptations. In Matthew 4.So if Jesus speaks against these hypocrites with the same language he used against Satan in the wilderness, can we then conclude that these men were minions of Satan? Then can we also go so far as to conclude that Jesus is practicing what men failed to do in the Edenic encounter with the Serpent?Jesus is portrayed in these encounters as both the New Adam and the GREAT Authority that only the Son of God can possess. What man failed to do in standing up against the temptations of the Serpent in the Garden, Jesus succeeded in doing in encounters like these with Satan.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
This final parable taught in Matthew's scene in the Jerusalem temple is one that describes the Kingdom of Heaven as a GRAND wedding feast given by the king. This time, it is not a master of a house and vineyard at the center of the story. Now we have a king. While this narrative is compelling, its message is very clear in Matthew 22:14. "For many are called, but few are chosen." [Matthew 22:14]
Amos's visions reveal that God is slow to anger and merciful. The visions of locusts, fire, and a plumbline reveal that the Day of the Lord is to be feared by the sinful heart, but in the midst of that is God's mercy.
We have seen in Matthew 21 two parables as Jesus’ rebuttal against the Chief Priests and Elders who challenged our LORD’s authority in the temple.Now we come to the end of Jesus’ parable of the ungrateful servants. Today, I’d like to dig into the final verses of this parable [Matt 21:40-46] to not only grasp the parable’s meaning as Jesus intended but also to gain a greater understanding of God’s love for HIS people. All that is solid in the Kingdom of Heaven, that which is genuine, dependable, is only so because of the strength of Jesus Christ who is the ‘head of the corner’ κεφαλὴν γωνίας [kephalēn gōnias] … often translated the ‘cornerstone’.The ‘head of the corner’ that Jesus speaks of in verse 42 [Citing Ps 118:22] is made clear here. The vineyard is taken away from the rebellious tenants, these poor excuses of temple leaders, and given to a more responsible ‘nation’ or ‘people’ (ἔθνει – ethnei)
v. 37 “Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’”This one verse speaks to the final act of God’s mercy over sinful and rebellious humanity. Likewise, in the context of this parable, Jesus speaks to the final act of God’s mercy over the disrespectful and distorted failure of these Chief Priests in their responsibilities as stewards of God’s Word and God’s People. We return today to the parable of the ungrateful tenants. Remember that Jesus is teaching in the temple directing this parable to the audacity of the chief priests and Pharisees who challenged HIS authority.The Master of the House provides the final and complete ‘redemption’ of his stolen vineyard. What is shown here is that tenant farmers stole what belonged to the Master just as fallen humanity has ‘stolen’ (emphasize air quotes here) authority and Lordship of this created order from the Creator. Satan/the Serpent ‘stole’ the title of master of this world from the one true CREATOR. Jesus is not one of the ‘servants’ of the Master of the House. Jesus is declaring very clearly here that he is not just another prophet but is THE SON of the Master. His sending is the final opportunity for the thieving tenant farmers. It is one of the clearest claims Jesus makes to being unique, to being different from even the greatest men of God who went before. There is no sending of anyone else, servant or angel, prophet or priest, after this sending of the Son --- this Son is the ‘final,’ the ‘last of all’ representatives of God. He is God. The Master arrives to finish business.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Jesus again teaches these Chief Priests and Elders by illustration and inductive questions. Rather than directly answering their challenge “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” [Matt 21:23] … Jesus responds by challenging these men on their understanding of God’s Law and The Prophets as it relates to the coming Messiah and the New Covenant.•The lesson from this second parable of the ungrateful tenants leads to the Inductive understanding that the Master of the House over the vineyard “will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” [Matt 22:41]. In other words, if God gives the responsibility of care over HIS vineyard to someone who fails in that responsibility, then God, the Master of the House, will give that responsibility to someone else.There is much in this parable too about the fundamental Christian Worldview. That is, how does the Gospel narrative, the Christian way of thinking, view this world and our place in it? How does this passage give us a truthful understanding of the gospel and the Kingdom of Heaven?CreationFallRedemptionRestorationAlso, this parable speaks to the calling, fall, and redemption of Israel as God’s chosen people and how this failed status is restored in the TRUE Church. Verses 40 & 41 have led many in Church history to interpret an antisemitic outcome for Israel. We must be cautious not to glean an antisemitic exegesis from this parable.
Keeping one’s word is always a virtue. A promise must always be kept. But then there is the dilemma of changing one’s mind too, isn’t it? Can one change a promise and still be virtuous? Can one change a promise and be condemned? This week’s passage in Matthew 21 takes us further into the scene with Jesus teaching in the Jerusalem temple during his last week of life and ministry. During the day(s) after he purged the temple of corruption, the chief priests and elders challenged his authority often. We saw last week that one particular session of teaching was interrupted by the chief priests as they called upon Jesus to reveal the authority behind HIS ministry. v. 28 “What do you think?”This phrase is Jesus’s answer to the chief priests who demanded to know by what authority HE purged the temple and taught as if he was the HIGH priest of the temple. Now Jesus wants these hypocrites to discover the answer for themselves. The last words of verse 32 are directed to the heart of these wicked ‘princes’ of the temple.“And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.”Change your mind.Jesus shows great wisdom in his parable. God desires the changed minds of the humble and the repentant. If only these chief priests would ‘change their minds’ and believe in Jesus .. the Son of God himself … standing and working and ministering right before their very eyes.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone. Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 NorthCookeville, TN 38506sovereigngracebaptist.org
The prophet Amos continues speaking as God's voice of judgement against the Northern Kingdom (Israel). God speaks judgment by acknowledging the failures of Israel to honor HIS WORD, failure to honor HIS Glory, failure to honor HIM in worship. There are both spiritual and social failures at fault here. God says here that 'because' of these failures, God's protective hand will withdraw leaving Israel vulnerable to her enemies.Further, Amos 3:7 has been used by the Church of Latter Day Saints as a proof text to justify the 'secrets' of God to HIS prophets ... particularly the false prophet Joseph Smith. But the context of this warning of God shows that Amos 3:7 does not speak of any 'secret' knowledge of God that is hidden.
The efforts of Jesus in preparing the citizens of HIS kingdom are much like the efforts of a good gardener in preparing for an early Spring crop. Thoughtful preparation yields thoughtful production. A smart Gardner intentionally prepares the ground and plants the seeds. He/She does not passively wait for the seeds themselves to ask to be planted nor do the plants volunteer to produce vegetables or fruit. But all this labor is in vain if the gardener is not confident of a productive harvest.The interaction between Jesus and a fig tree on the Tuesday and Wednesday of Jesus’ final week at the Passover in Jerusalem teaches us much about Jesus’ expectations for HIS disciples. Just as a fig tree does not demand of its creator when it will produce fruit, so too a disciple of Jesus does not demand of Jesus when he/she will be a disciple or obey the master.What do we make of Jesus’ interaction with the barren Fig Tree?Instead of breaking down the details of the proper growing season for figs vs the hunger of Jesus’ human nature, let’s look instead at the expectations Jesus has for his disciples. This is the deeper lesson here.Notice Jesus’s response to the disciples’ question about the withered fig tree. He did not answer about the natural aspect of the tree’s growing season … instead Jesus answers the question about a fig tree with the declaration about confident faith.v 21 “Truly, I way to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.”
Jesus came to establish the TRUE Temple. He is the Temple. The dwelling of God. The one who ushers in the Spirit of God with HIS people. The one who sacrificed all so that we no longer carried the burden of sacrifice. The one who atoned for our sins so we would no longer have to offer atonement. The Temple is purged.Yet so many cannot hear the praise of the outcasts who praise HIMWhy? Because they are focused on their own control of their own lives … of their own sin.This is why the chief priests and scribes could not hear the praise of Jesus without indignation. It is the humble. The children. The ones with no hope gifted from other men who worship the ONE gift worth expressing thanks. Jesus is the gift with a Magnificent Name. Who are we to worship HIM? Who are we that Jesus would be happy to hear our praises?Jesus gladly accepted the praises of the children … gladly accepted the praises of the crowds rejected by the elite. Can you hear the praise of Jesus? Or are you indignant at the thought of HIM?
The humble shepherd and orchard farmer was called to speak the LORD's judgment to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The prophet Amos was from Judah and God sent him to the enemies of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The prophet was a master rhetorician by beginning his message to the king Jeroboam II with God's judgment against Israel's enemies. But God's warning of judgment to Israel is coming next.
All four gospels speak of this 'cleansing' of the temple of commercial corruption and desecration. I personally hold to the argument that Jesus only cleansed the temple one time. I do not see that the gospels show conclusively that Jesus cleansed the temple twice. Although we cannot ignore the fact that the gospels clearly show us that Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover many times in his life.Yet of all the times Jesus came to the Jerusalem temple in his life, was the temple always pure and a House of Prayer?By driving out all 'who sold and bought' Jesus publicly proclaimed his authority to do so. This authority came from God the Father to the Son. God had conferred upon Jesus, the Son, the office of priest with authority and responsibility to purify the temple and at the same time to declare to all witnesses that the worship of God had become corrupted by a disgraceful abuse of apathy and convenience.
Matthew 21 begins the final days of Jesus’ ministry. Matthew’s gospel has shown us who Jesus is by showing us his miracles and sharing his greatest teachings. All of Matthew’s gospel describes the kingdom of heaven. Remember that Jesus began his ministry by preaching the message to the people of Capernaum [in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali … a dark territory] … “From that time Jesus began to preach saying ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [Matt 4:17]And then again Matthew tells us that Jesus “went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom …” [Matt 4:23]The theme of the kingdom climaxes in chapters 21 to 28 of Matthew. Today, Matthew shares with us the day that Jesus enters Jerusalem. He had been in the city many times throughout his ministry, but he enters a different way this time. Today he enters in a grand performance … with purpose … declaring his royal authority. The final chapters of Matthew’s gospel will focus on Christ’s authority, the challenges to his authority, HIS teaching on authority through parables, and his warning to the arrogance of authority in the Pharisees and Scribes and to a barren fig tree.If it had not been for Zechariah’s prophecy, then surely Jesus would have only been a laughing spectacle for all to see.Only Matthew’s account connects the event of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem to Zechariah’s prophecy. Mark and Luke’s account speak of the day from different perspectives.Here in Matthew 21:5, the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 is shown as the Old Testament evidence of Jesus’ authority and reason for riding a donkey on this day.The intentional choice of riding on a donkey was God’s way of publicly declaring once again the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. God’s kingdom is built on humility and carrying the burden of all sin for us.Just as a Donkey is a lowly and humble animal, the beast also carries the burdens placed upon it, Jesus likewise is a humble king who carries the burdens of all sins willingly … HE places the burden of sin upon himself … no one sets that burden upon HIM. He then sits upon this beast of burden carrying salvation with him.
Bad theology [dare I say heretical theology] has often reduced the mysterious birth of Jesus to a distortion of the true nature of the Grand Miracle of Christ's Incarnation. Heretical thinking describes the Incarnation as a mere manifestation of God's presence in a human life rather than a real incarnation in human flesh.I think this is important for us to ponder as we too often reduce the gift of salvation to 'asking Jesus into our hearts' as if Jesus is merely an appendage.Instead it is important to consider the theological truth that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. Scripture speaks of the incarnation as God 'assuming' human flesh. This means not just a physical body but ALL that human flesh is. Jesus Christ who is God incarnate, whose very identity is dependent upon God the Father, not an independent personality, takes human sin upon himself because we cannot give our sin to God the Father. He assumes our weaknesses. He assumes our sin and inability to come to God upon himself … into himself.In a time when the Virgin birth of Christ is increasingly ignored, replaced by secular distortions of the meaning of Christmas, when the virgin birth of Jesus is a mere mythological religious fable, it is important for the Christian Church to defend this doctrine to give valid and compelling reasons for this belief.I will close with this exhortation.IN the age where Christmas movies ask us all whether we truly believe in Christmas … whether we truly believe in Santa Clause … whether we truly believe in and have the Christmas Spirit … all so that Santa’s sleigh will have the magic power to travel around the world and give presents to all children … all in one night …… I think Christians should ponder whether we truly believeBut Christians believe in the Incarnation and all its implications for our sinful state.God HIMself assumed our sin. His Son Jesus Christ sits today at the right hand of the Heavenly Father as a risen and incarnate Savior. He possesses a new and resurrected body.All of this happened because God the Father loves us.All of this is TRUE because God the Son lived, ministered, laughed, suffered, died, and rose from the grave, ascended into heaven … for the Father’s glory and our salvation.Do you Truly Believe?
“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God” … just as the Heavenly Host did in Luke 2:13Remember that these shepherds were terrified at first. Now they take lead from the Heavenly Host in how they responded to the birth of Jesus. The Heavenly Host ‘praised God’ by saying loudly and boldly … ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’I believe the praise of these shepherds was the same. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” God brings goodwill to men of goodwill here. The answer to the promise had arrived!! The long anticipated Messiah was here!! The longing for the gift was over!! Now do you see why God took a long time to send Jesus? Now do you see why the long anticipation was necessary? These shepherds now adored God for what HE had shown them!!!
What does the Heavenly Host mean by ‘peace’? It is part of their Adoration and Praise.They certainly do not speak of an outward peace negotiated by men. They declare peace when men have been reconciled to God and enjoy an inward peace in their minds toward God.We obtain peace with God when he begins to be gracious toward us. We obtain peace with God when HE takes the guilt of our sinful state away. We obtain peace when we rely on God’s Fatherly love, and we call upon him with full confidence and faith, and we boldly praise him for the salvation which he promised to us.What is YOUR Adoration and PRAISE today? What is YOUR ADORATION AND PRAISE in this Christmas Season?Are you fully confident and do you truly believe that the salvation offered to ALL humanity is also offered to you?To be a ‘man of good will’ is to be ‘whom he is pleased’. God is pleased with the heart of repentance and of bold declaration that JESUS CHRIST is LORD of ALL and Savior of sinful men.This passage is not about whether or not we ‘accept’ God’s peace. It is instead about the source of God’s peace.God’s Grace is the source of all peace. The message of Adoration and Praise from the Heavenly Host teaches us that ‘good will’ or ‘God’s pleasure’ is the source of peace. This peace is a free gift and flows from the pure mercy of God, the MOST HIGH.And we rightly proclaim to God our Father, to Christ our Savior, that we ADORE YOU LORD!!!Let us learn from this Heavenly Host how to properly ADORE HIM.“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men of good will’ … with whom HE is pleased”
Gabriel’s announcement to Mary describes how this GRAND Miracle resulted in Jesus’s divine nature and human nature both as HIS essence.The theological idea is known as the Hypostatic Union. It is important for us to remember this truth of the incarnation as we seek to worship during this week of Christmas celebration. Gabriel explains to Mary the GRAND Miracle of Christianity is this very real truth of Mary’s conception.Rather than Mary’s conception being the result of two people uniting as a husband and wife do, the child Jesus Christ comes into this human existence by the ‘power of the Most High’.“And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; … ‘The skeptic of Christ’s incarnation questions how any human being born of a sinful woman could ever be sinless and above the curse of the fall? [Gen 3] The first words of Gabriel in Luke 1:35 shows us that the Holy Spirit that comes over Mary brings the power of ‘the Most High’ to ‘overshadow’ Mary’s sinful nature which is the state of all human nature. Remember that the Grand Miracle involves the descent of The Most High, God Almighty, into nature … more particularly the fallen nature of humanity. The true miracle is defined as that event which cannot occur by natural means. Any event that claims to be a miracle but can be explained by natural means is not a miracle.
This first Sunday of Advent is the Sunday morning tha begins our Advent/HOPE/Anticipation of the celebration of the birth of our Savior on December 25th. The brokenness of God’s fallen creation at last sees hope in the miraculous incarnation of God’s Son. Today’s text will give us a glimpse into the mysterious yet revealed truth of the Incarnation of God himself as he steps into humanity – resulting in the birth of the Son of God who is holy.
This week we will focus on Luke 1:26-33 Next week will will conclude this scene with Garbriel in Luke 1:34-38
Let’s read today’s passage [Luke 1:26-33] … the divine message of God through the angel Gabriel to Mary the Virgin mother of our Lord.
What is the most important point to remember is the fact that the virgin conception and birth of Jesus Christ is a miracle … but not just any miracle … It is what C. S. Lewis calls “The Grand Miracle”
“One is very often asked at present whether we could not have a Christianity stripped, or, as people who ask it say, ‘freed’ from its miraculous elements, a Christianity with the miraculous elements suppressed. … But you cannot possibly do that with Christianity, because the Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion being that what is beyond all space and time, what is uncreated, eternal, came into nature, into human nature, descended into His own universe, and rose again, bringing nature up with Him. It is precisely one great miracle. If you take that away there is nothing specifically Christian left. There may be many admirable human things which Christianity shares with all other systems in the world, but there would be nothing specifically Christian.” — C. S. Lewis [The Grand Miracle; an essay in God in the Dock, 1970] p. 80
Matthew climaxes this chapter that focuses so much on greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven with Jesus’ greatest of attributes, compassion. The interaction with two blind men (Mark 10 & Luke 18 refer to one man) is in stark contrast to the pride illustrated in the parable of the laborers of the vineyard, the self-serving request of the Sons of Zebedee, and the indignant jealousy of the Apostles. Where Jesus corrected selfish pride in the other scenes, here at the end of chapter twenty Jesus honors humility by taking the time to respond to requests of mercy. The twelve apostles witness this scene, and it must have had great impact since all three of the synoptic gospels relay this miraculous healing. They would be forever impacted by Jesus’ compassion while on his way to Jerusalem. Jesus was never too busy to be insensitive to the suffering of the humble and meek. The Apostles would learn this lesson eventually as these five verses portray one of the most beautiful examples of our LORD’s loving compassion. These five verses portray TRUE Greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven. Let’s read Matthew 20:29-34 together.
Where are you in the eyes of our LORD? Are you humble, a servant, a slave to righteousness, looking to Christ alone for all your salvation?
Or are you Prideful in your self-righteousness, your prideful ambition? Is ‘The GREAT Sin’, as C. S. Lewis calls the vanity of pride, still the genesis of all other vices? All other sin in your life?
Come, be the last so that Christ will be honored as the first. Come, serve as the least so that Christ will be served as the Greatest.
Following Jesus is always more difficult to do than the Christian could imagine. A more dangerous struggle faces the veteran Christian because of the sin of Pride and Arrogant Ambition. This scene of Matthew 20:20-28 is only repeated once more in Mark’s gospel [Mark 10:35-40]
Here is how C. S. Lewis describes “The Great Sin” “There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others. The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility.” [‘The Great Sin’: Mere Christianity; Book III.ch. 8, p. 109]
Chapter twenty of Matthew’s gospel reinforces the teaching of Jesus about the Kingdom of Heaven in response to Peter’s naïve pride from his question in 19:27 “Look! We have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” … the spirit of that interchange between Jesus and his twelve is that of earning one’s kingdom reward.
But just as it is true that “With man this [salvation] is impossible, but with God all things are possible” [19:26] so is it true that “with man earning eternal reward is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
the choosing of the laborers in the vineyard is about the one who calls and chooses the laborers. HE alone declares that those who were first in point of time have no bragging rights. Nor do they have the right to belittle the ‘latecomers’ … eternity is the point … being first in line.
The LORD chooses whomever and whenever he pleases. He may call those whom he pleases and may establish whom he pleases in whatever status or rank that he pleases. The LORD may disregard whom he pleases and may embrace whom he pleases. He may choose to make the last of whom he calls the first in eternal glory.
Many who feel that they are last, and are seen by many as inferior, will be welcomed first on the great judgment. The Day of the LORD, the great judgment day, will be a day of surprises.
Eternal Life is the eluding question that haunts the human condition. We all know innately that we have a part of our being that can never die like our physical body. What happens when the physical body ceases? Does this immaterial part of ourselves die with it? Innately we all know without fully knowing why that the immaterial part of ourselves can and will live on. The question we all seek an answer to is how?
Possession seems to be the fundamental flaw of this man’s inquiry. Parallel passages to Matthew’s account [Mark 10:17-31 & Luke 18:18-30] show us the same flaw but other details too.
Are we too willing to hold on to our security blankets? Our pacifiers? Our worldly comforts? Over the harsh realities of obedience to the gospel? Obedience to Christ Jesus?
Jesus himself suffered many things for our eternal security. Yet too many look for the ‘greasy grace’ the ‘easy believism’ that tickles the ears and brings us security and hope in our own free-will efforts to ‘do good’
The interaction by this young man with the King of the Universe shows that eternal life is not easy to ‘obtain’ … it is not obtainable at all for it is not a possession. Eternal life is a journey with Christ. It is the goal by which we long to end as we walk with Jesus in his suffering. The road to ‘perfection’ is the road of pruning and shaping and trusting.
The verses following will carry this theme of worldly possessions and the rich entering the kingdom of heaven to a deeper understanding of “Who then can be saved?” It is obvious that this rich young ruler could not save himself because the commandment that he sought turned out to be too hard to bear.
What burden is holding you back from fully embracing Christ Jesus and HIS gift of salvation and eternal life?
At the heart of Matthew 19:13-15 is a theme important enough to the kingdom of heaven that the gospels of Mark and Luke both include this scene. Furthermore, this passage has birthed traditions and conflict in the history of the Church around infant baptism, also known as paedobaptism. It also causes us pause in our deeper understanding that salvation is not for the adults to determine. Jesus blesses. Jesus imparts the gift of salvation, not to the rational adult alone, but also to the child with a mind and heart yet to mature. Actually, it is the heart and mind of a child that Jesus praises above the rationale of the adult mind … ‘for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven’ [19:14]
Why then do we wrongly impose the mind of an adult who can reason the guilt of their sin and need for salvation upon a child who openly and ‘like a child’ runs to Jesus? Can adults accept that the reason of a child’s mind is actually more acceptable to Jesus than the reason of an adult’s mind? Actually, Jesus and the Apostles (particularly Paul) propose strong arguments against the reason of men … the vain philosophies of men. If we fail in this responsibility to bring little children to the feet of Christ, we will then suffer HIS indignation due to our hindering their path to Christ [Mark 10:14] “But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant … “
But then we must also not hinder the joy of a child from coming to Jesus either. So may I encourage us all, parents and adults in this body of believer alike, to eagerly point children to Jesus. To eagerly join them in their child-like excitement for Christ. And not to impose an over thought reason to discern whether or not one is called. We are all called in the General Revelation of God’s truth. It is the Particular Calling of the individual heart that we can overthink.
The call to singleness is a call to spiritual chastity and once again the twelve disciples ask the wrong question about divorce and remarriage. The interaction between Jesus and HIS twelve concerning the call to chastity does reveal the divine purpose of love and relationships. The striking takeaway from Jesus’ words is that to not be married is a gift. If this is so, then why do single adults, particularly those who have never been married before, see the single life as a burden? Why do Evangelical Christians speak of the single life as a curse? Is their conclusion that it is better not to marry praiseworthy by Christians? or blameworthy?
We could state this question from the disciples another way. In their view, marriage must surely be a trap, a snare of adultery, rather than a blessing. Marriage is dangerous. What if she burns the biscuits? What if she turns out to be a shrew? Marriage should be better avoided altogether.
Chastity, not singleness, is a gift that only a few can make room for in their lives. A life of genuine chastity means just that. No πορνεία (porneia) … sexual immorality [Matt 19:9]. No immoral bonds outside of marriage. No adultery as a single person.
The Biblical description of Love (God's Love) is not the same as a Lifetime Movie or Hallmark Christmas Romance story. Although God prophecies through Hosea to 'love again' the adulterous wife (prostitution). Chapter 3 of this prophecy will show us God's expectation, His Chastisement, and His redemption of wayward people.
This passage reminds us of a teaching on divorce that Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:31-32 I originally preached on those verses on Aug 30, 2020 So I do not want to repeat too much of that sermon today. If you wish to learn more on the various passages of Scripture concerning divorce and the traditional interpretations then I wish to direct you to the Sermon Audio archive on our church website or even in podcast archives in Apple, Google, Spotify, and other podcast sources. Today, I wish to focus on the words of Jesus in his response to the Pharisees' question, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?" (Matt 19:3) Jesus said to them 'Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so," (Matt 19:8) So as we seek the Lord's voice through this passage today, I think the point in this lesson from Jesus is on the origin of Marriage, relationship between men and women, as HE created it . .. as HE intended it.
The simple meaning of Jesus’ seventy-times-seven (verse 22) is that just as God does not give up on anyone, neither should we. God’s forgiveness is limitless therefore, why do we hold on to our sin? Why do we not approach the throne of grace with a heart of repentance?
Furthermore, the multiplied number of seventy-times-seven illustrates a larger point of ongoing forgiveness. Our Lord does remit the guilt of our sin once for all on the cross and admits us into HIS kingdom, but by the same means of remittance, the cross, his forgiveness is ongoing as he preserves and defends us over and over and over again. For what value is God’s pardon if afterward there is no evidence? Therefore, the forgiveness of sin occurs repeatedly and is ongoing. The mercy of our Lord would be worthless if only granted once and never again. For certainly HE has compassion on the many iniquities that we carry and continue to collect throughout our lives of sinful struggle. No one could continue in the kingdom, or the church, if forgiveness only occurred one time and for that one time only.
No, our LORD is teaching Peter, and us, in this passage that forgiveness of sin is perpetual and ongoing and often repeated and most importantly, is always ready.
All of Chapter 18 has been built to this lesson. This is a parable on its own, or a continuing illustration of the parable of the Lost Sheep, that serves as the corrective aspect of the lessons in the first half of the chapter about correcting the self. It is a hypothetical story, if/then, that teaches the lessons of the Parable of the Lost Sheep. The twelve apostles must learn to correct their own selfish pride … their childish desire for greatness BEFORE they are able to lovingly correct a ‘little one’ who is caught in an habitual sinful life. Discipline of the self involves obedience, modesty, and gentleness.
The context of Jesus’ words imply a situation in the body of believers when a ‘brother/sister’ [ἀδελφός (adelphos)] sins … but not just any sin … sins against you, a fellow brother/sister. The context is clear and Jesus intends this instruction to be for the relationships between the ‘children’ of his Church.
This action of ‘sins against you’ implies an habitual sinful lifestyle … an ongoing & unrepentant offense or mistreatment. Remember that the foundation of Christian fellowship and family is the eager ‘bearing with one another’ [Colossians 3:13]. We are to willingly endure with other believers despite differences and frustrations. We love & forgive one another despite our quirks.
This teaching is for the restoration of a ‘brother’ in Christ … this is the evangelism of a Christian. The person ‘won’ or ‘gained’ is not an evil pagan, but ‘your brother’. An important and often neglected part of evangelism is to win Christians to Christianity, to disciple disciples, to win the Church to Christ.
Now Jesus continues his teaching to the twelve apostles about their soon to come responsibility in the Church ... the Kingdom of Heaven. These future leaders must focus on, and value as the greatest, the little ones as illustrated in this parable of the lost sheep.
The 'others' are valuable to our LORD so much so that HE will spare no expense in searching for 'one' who has strayed from the flock. One could glean from this parable that the disciples would have to chase after a wayward sheep someday. But let's remember that this illustration of the lost sheep echoes the greater gospel truth.
If God the Father sends HIS Son after the wayward sinners of humanity, then too we who will be the faithful of the flock must chase after those in our midst who stray from the flock.
The previous verses of this chapter gave us the scene of Jesus’ twelve asking a childish question concerning who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus knew the genesis of this question to be self-serving. He saw the immaturity of his twelve and brought a child in the midst of them to make a point about humility in the Kingdom of Heaven. Verse 4 "Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Now verses 5 & 6 are words of warning from our LORD. There is an eternal consequence to receiving or harming the ‘little ones’ who come to the Kingdom in their trusting humility. There is a dire warning here. Verses 7-9 explain the woeful consequences that temptation brings … especially the temptations that misdirect the ‘little ones’
Theme of chapter 18 is the humility and innocence of ‘little ones’ : how Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven
How often do we struggle with greatness? Whether we are truly the greatest person alive or not, the struggle of ambition is at the center of all sinful hearts. We long to be better/greater than our peers … greater than who we truly are. It seems then that the desire of all of us is to be someone other than who we currently are. What better direction to long for than to be the greatest.
Today’s passage then must focus on the question that the disciples pose and the profound answer given from our LORD. The Kingdom of Heaven is full of irony. The least, the weakest, the most humble of humanity are elevated to the highest and greatest status in the Kingdom of Heaven.
As Matthew's account of Jesus's journey to Jerusalem and the crucifixion continues, we now follow Jesus and his disciples on their journey back to Galilee from Caesarea Philippi. Most likely, they returned to Peter's home in Capernaum where Jesus often rested and launched out again in ministry. Per Jesus' usual methods, HE uses common events to teach his disciples great lessons about the Kingdom of Heaven. The lesson in this passage concerns one's citizenship in Heaven. This lesson comes through an expression of Divine Ability to provide for a tax debt.
If Jesus can miraculously pay for a tax debt that he is not really bound to pay, certainly then HE can miraculously pay for a sin debt for all sinners that he is not really bound to pay. This scene with tax collectors foreshadow the sacrificial sacrifice of our LORD for all sin.
The lesson from Jesus in this encounter with the father of a demon-possessed boy is faith. The Father shows tremendous humility by placing his faith in Jesus as THE CHRIST. The disciples failed to serve this family (verse 16) because their faith in Jesus fell short. But let's remember that this passage has been used to support the idea that if only our strength in Christ was powerful enough, we could be like God, with the literal power to move mountains. If nothing is impossible for the possessor of great faith, then does Jesus have a role to play as THE CHRIST? THE Healer of the demon-possessed?
Imagine what it would be like after a great and miraculous event occurred like Jesus' transfiguration. The Divine revelation described in this narrative was overwhelming to mere men ... Creatures of the Creator. The revelation was so overwhelming that men's hearts panicked .. their bodies collapsed in the abnormal beating of their chests.
Today's passage will take us further into the after effects of the grand vision of Jesus' glory. Jesus now teaches his disciples what the results of HIS revealed glory will be. HIS church will testify to the glory of the LORD but will do so in ways contrary to the expectation of men. Jesus will further be revealed through HIS suffering. Likewise, HIS church will participate in this revelation as God's means to further reveal HIS glory in its suffering. The Church will share in Christ’s suffering and this shared suffering will be God’s means for further divine revelation of HIS glory to the world.
The second scene of our Lord's Transfiguration focuses on Divine Revelation and Authority. The reaction of the three disciples shows us how powerful Divine Revelation is. Jesus' instruction to the disciples to not share this moment with anyone shows that Divine privilege decides when, how, and where God speaks. The takeaway from Christ's Transfiguration moment is that Divine revelation causes human surprise and shock. Because of this Divine Privilege, men & women will react to God’s revelation in a humbling and prostrate manner. Perhaps one may not physically fall to the ground in terror before God when HE shows his Sovereign Grace in regular circumstances, but certainly one’s heart will be prostrate before HIS Divine Glory.
Furthermore, this passage speaks to the role of the Church to continue the witness of the gospel and is privileged to be a part of God’s further Divine Revelation.
Matthew now takes us to the pivotal revelation of Jesus's glory as the Son of God, the fulfillment of God's covenants with Adam, Moses, Israel, David, and the proclamations of the prophets. In this passage, Jesus is 'Transfigured' from the appearance of a normal man to the appearance of divine glory. God the Father has a purpose in this moment.
What we will see in this encounter between his disciples, Elijah, Moses, and The Father in Heaven is what is called a 'vision' in verse nine; yet this 'vision' is much more than an effect on the imagination. There is something very real in this passage that is so real that we cannot fathom the significance of the Divine revelation of this Transfiguration of our LORD.
Just as Jesus The Christ must suffer, die, and resurrect, so too will the faithful disciple experience the same. All true disciples of Jesus are described as fellow Men of Sorrows who taste death, both of themselves, their self-serving passions, and literal death of the body. But the promise from our LORD is that none of this suffering and death will go unnoticed. It is God's promise through HIS Son, that all who taste death for the sake of Jesus Christ will see an eternal reward that outshines any lost earthly/worldly treasure. The encouragement is that the true disciple will be encouraged in this reality ... this promise. And who better to keep his promises than our LORD. God is a covenant keeper. So we are covenant people.
The genuine disciple of Jesus may seem to lose much but the truth is that the true disciple gains more. This is Jesus' promise and comfort. We do not deny ourselves with the intent of earning an eternal promise. Instead the true disciple denies himself for no reward at all ... denial of self, death of self, is for the sake of Jesus Christ. The point is not OUR reward. The point is THE LORD, Christ Jesus. If Jesus is glorified through HIS suffering and death, then he pours out HIS glory upon those who empty themselves for HIM.
Jesus came to be Isaiah’s Suffering Servant, bearing the sins of the whole world vicariously. For Jesus, the title of “the Christ” and “Suffering Servant” do not contradict. These two titles actually merge very well. Jesus is the Suffering Christ who bears the sins of the whole world. This great truth is what the Christian Community, HIS Church, must learn from him. Matthew takes us from the question of ‘who’ is ‘the Christ’ [Matt 16:1-20] to “How” Jesus will be the Christ. This ‘how’ is suffering.
The ‘how’ Jesus is ‘the Christ’ will be settled from this paragraph all the way to the cross. It will only be after the resurrection that the ‘who’ and the ‘how’ questions will be settled in the minds of the disciples.
Peter teaches us that it is not enough to point to Christ. This is indeed the first act that makes the Church a Church. But it is just as important that the Church follows Christ’s clear teaching … follows Christ’s WORDS. In other words, we have two requirements as Jesus’ followers.
‘Point to Christ!’ He is the rock of the Church. ‘Follow Christ!’ This is the cement of the Church, the substance that joins us to Christ, the cornerstone to form the building of God … THE CHURCH.
It is possible to be Christ-Centered without being Cross-Centered. Any faith that points to Christ without embracing the Crucifixion does not fully follow Christ and is in fact a ‘hindrance’ to Christ … is a scandal in THE CHURCH.
The experiences within Church fellowship and worship can be a distraction from the origin of this experience with “the assembly of the called” … the Church … ekklesia εκκλεσία. The right order of understanding how THE CHURCH is to gather and is to focus corporate worship must glean from passages of Scripture such as Matthew 16:17. The purpose of gathering as the Church can be thought of as not a time to transmit a Christian experience … notice the warning against ‘experience’
Instead the purpose of gathering for worship as THE CHURCH is to serve as the proclaiming … the heralding .. of the Word of God. The WORD of GOD is that which has been revealed to us in the WORD (Christ Jesus). This WORD is embraced by the faithful/the called and does involve worshipful experiences … but these experiences do not precede the DIVINE Revelation that God the Father delivered through HIS Son and imparted by HIS Holy Spirit “once for all delivered to the saints.” [Jude 3]
Here Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah … the longed for one that the prophets mentioned in the ‘they say’ response in verse fourteen. Christ (Christos) is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Messiah. God’s predicted and long-awaited deliverer of Israel.
Peter confesses not that Jesus is merely another in the long line of prophets and teachers proclaiming and longing for the coming Messiah … but that Jesus IS the Christ the supreme ‘Anointed One” … THE Messiah … the long-awaited promised Savior.
Jesus’ response points to the key biblical doctrine of divine revelation. Not just of who Jesus is but of who God reveals himself to be. A key doctrine is revealed here … the doctrine that we cannot know God apart from God giving us the ability to know Him.
Particular/Special Revelation of God is Jesus Christ himself. This is why we are now at the interaction between Jesus and Peter in Matthew 16:16. Peter acknowledges who Jesus is … THE CHRIST … the Messiah who saves … the SON of the living God.
It is impossible for fallen men to see God through reason alone. It is impossible for fallen men to know God through ‘natural revelation’ alone.
Matthew now takes us into a Segway as the end of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and turns attention to Jesus’ final days leading to Jerusalem. The theme of ‘HIS Church’ will now dominate the remainder of the gospel. Today’s passage will emphasize the origin of Revelation as all people, saved or unsaved, believer or non-believer, heathen or Jewish, Hindu or Orthodox, Muslim or Christian, must answer an important question.
The setting in this passage is in a Gentile region, on the northeast border of Israel. Caesarea Philippi rests literally between Israel and ‘the world’. Jesus’ interaction with his twelve clearly points to the world-missionary significance of the Church. Verses 13-28 have traditionally been studied with a focus on Peter’s confession and rebuttal of Jesus. However, today I think it important to see that this text has less to do with Peter [as his confession should be our confession] and more to do with the Divinity of Jesus himself. Furthermore, the text will show us that one’s confession of the Divine Jesus can only come through Divine revelation, both General and Special. In the next two weeks we will see how this Divine revelation carries into the practical obedience of the Church after the Crucified Christ.
Matthew now segways from the temptation from the Pharisees & Sadducees for Jesus to do a very great thing … a good thing. “Bring us a sign from heaven, Jesus.” We often consider temptations to be for bad things such as drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, viewing images no one should view, stealing, etc. But Jesus met the temptation from these religious elites with the authoritative assertion that the only sign necessary for the ‘evil and adulterous generation’ would be Jesus’ own death, burial, and resurrection. The cross and the resurrection are the only signs that the Church requires. No other ‘signs from heaven’ can compare.
Now let us read Matthew’s Segway to the interaction with his 12 disciples. This is a repeated pattern in Matthew’s presentation of Jesus’ ministry. Confrontation with evil arrogance followed by a teaching moment with the 12 Apostles.
This passage shows us a warning against adding to the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross. The doctrine of the Church showcased here is Solus Christus … in Christ Alone … or In Christo solo … it is one of the five Solae that summarize the Protestant Reformers’ basic belief that salvation is by faith in Christ alone.
The temptation from the Pharisees and Sadducees is an all-too-common temptation that has plagued the Church from the very beginning. Yes, Christ Jesus has all authority to save … but … he needs our help … we must assist him with proving that Jesus Saves … that Jesus is who he says he is.
Jesus points out an amazing thing in this passage in regard to the blindness of Pharisees and Sadducees. These learned men of the Torah, who battled one another for political control of Israel, could see the beauty of the physical sky … the heavens … but were blind to the beauty of God’s Sovereignty … blind to the presence of holiness in their midst. They demanded “a sign from heaven” but could not see the truth of Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven right before them.
The Sign of Jonah is Jesus' final death, burial, and resurrection. The only sign that these Pharisees and Sadducees would see is Jesus coming out of the grave after three days. But their interpretation of Heaven missed the truth. They were blind to the reality in front of them.
It is unfortunate that many people struggle with the same spiritual blindness today. We often focus on the everyday reality in front of us, but totally miss the voice or hand of God when it is plain that HE is doing a great thing right in our line of vision. We miss the truth of salvation and of Jesus's Authority because of his death, burial, and resurrection.
God reigns from his holy temple in heaven and the sign from heaven that HE gives is the death, burial, and resurrection of HIS Son. The sign he gives from heaven is the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven in the humble and repentant hearts of sinful humanity.
Matthew now recalls a second great feeding miracle in this region of the Decapolis, the region of Tyre & Sidon & Magadan (v. 39) ... the home of Mary Magdalene. Lest we forget, Matthew tells us about a feeding miracle to 5,000 men [plus women and children] only one chapter prior [Matthew 14:13-21] The record of this second great feeding miracle indicates that the first miracle with the 5,000 was not an exception. Jesus repeated any miracle that he wished at any time. Jesus shows mercy upon these 4,000 + people by feeding their physical needs while feeding their souls. You see ... the only way for any soul to be truly satisfied is in Christ Jesus alone. These 4,000 men + women and children were hungry. Jesus knew this. He had compassion, mercy, upon them. He did not care that they were Gentiles apart from the chosen people of Israel. They were not God's people in that sense, but all humanity is God's. All of us are made by him for HIS glory. So, God the Father, HIS Son Jesus Christ, and God's Spirit provide for us. Jesus provides here in the way that only God can.
"And they glorified the God of Israel." We see Jesus's gentleness and kindness to the distressed in this passage and the result of this is that God's glory is restored to ALL nations ... not just the chosen of Israel. Now the chosen are the humble in spirit, who wonder at Jesus's great nature, at his gentleness and kindness that opposes the vile nature of the fallen world. Because they were ignorant of the goodness of God who visited his people, the Gentiles wondered at why God was present among them. The Gentiles would have also been misled by the Pharisees [remember the beginning of this chapter?] feeling left out ... unwanted ... But Jesus showed them things that they desired to see. Not just the physical healings, but more so the divine presence of God. The misleading of Pharisaical legalism, and pagan sacrifice, were the Satanic devices to distance all people from God's presence. The wisdom of God was destroyed by foolish people/leaders.
Therefore, to the glory of God Jesus made the ability to see, to hear, to speak, to walk, and also to be healthy. For these were signs of life that God alone could give. Remember the Prophet Isaiah that gave theme to Jesus's admonishment in Matthew 13 parables? The idea of the blind and the deaf? "You will indeed hear but never understand, you will indeed see but never perceive?" [Matthew 13:14 .. Is 6:9-10] Now these Gentiles saw and believed, they heard and obeyed because their wonder saw the glory of the God of Israel revealed. "But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear." [Matt 13:16] The Gentiles suffered the curse of Satan in a way unique from the chosen children of Israel. Satan darkened the glory of God in his image by divine allowance, rendering humans blind to the spirit, mute to the confession, lame to the spiritual walk with the Lord, deaf to the truth of God's commands, and weakened of spiritual strength. Christ therefore is the restorer of God's glory!! He makes the mute able to speak praises of God the Creator. He makes the deaf able to hear the beautiful sound of God's voice. He makes the blind to see the beauty of God's glory. He restores the health of the spiritually sick to divine wonder and healthy relationship with the Father. This glory is seen by the blind Gentiles and praised by those abandoned by the Pharisaical ritual. Matthew helps us to see that the message of the Kingdom of Heaven is not the establishment of a new place. The Kingdom of Heaven is not what we do … our vain persistence and action establishes nothing. Instead the Kingdom of heaven is a power ... a divine truth that restores all sinful hearts through faith from the heart. All nations, all peoples experience the wonder and glory of the LORD. The elect are no longer just a specific nation (Israel) . The elect are now ALL humble hearts regardless of nation or creed. Regardless of background or ideology. Jesus's compassion is laid out for all destitute humble hearts to receive.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Following the previous passage concerning the hypocrisy of the Pharisees over Jesus’ disciples and the piety of washing hands, today’s passage continues the theme into a parable. The crowds present at this encounter with the religious elite needed clarification from our LORD on what the greater spiritual point was. Just as a refresher, the Pharisees were more concerned about pious appearances than the true Spirit of the Mosaic Law. They took the concept of washing much further than God’s Law intended. Rather than cleaning the inner man, the soul, the Pharisees took the commands of cleanliness to an unintended end. Wherever they went, these ‘blind’ leaders wanted to be seen as obedient to the Mosaic Law. They washed their hands, not for sanitation, but for religious piety.
Now in verses 10-20, Jesus addresses the greater spiritual truth of the cleanliness of the soul. What is the TRUE nature of cleanliness in the gospel? What is the true aspect of cleansing the soul of sin? And how does one avoid polluting the soul? Jesus gives glorious wisdom in this passage.
Hallelujah! Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!!
The final chapter of Matthew’s gospel is the most important truth for the Christian faith. This chapter begins with the narrative of the resurrection of our LORD and the response to its revelation to the Roman guards and to the two Mary’s. Both of these witnesses reacted in fear of the supernatural event. But only the disciples of Jesus, both these women and the twelve to come later, would respond with the mix of fear AND joy. This fearful joy leads to the final scene of Jesus with his eleven disciples and all other witnesses who are commissioned by the Risen Savior to:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:19-20]
On this Lord’s Day, this Resurrection Sunday, walk with me through these passages in Matthew 28 to see the impact of our LORD’s resurrection upon HIS followers and upon HIS church.
The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem marks Jesus’ last week before his crucifixion and resurrection. It is marked with layers of royal imagery and disappointed expectation. This event is recounted in all four gospels, but Matthew’s account alone references two animals brought to Jesus, a donkey and a colt, as a more direct citation of Zechariah’s prophecy [Zech 9:9 / Matt 21:5]. Yet what we will see in this story is the divine orchestration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The Old Testament references reassert the kingly image, not just from the prophet Zechariah but also from the history of the Kings of Israel. These connections between the two testaments point to the divine hand of God guiding all of human history to this final week of Jesus’ life. This week of passion, this week of suffering, death, and resurrection is the pivotal week of all human history. This is the week of salvation, the week when God the Father ushers in the restoration of his fallen creation through the blood of His Son, Jesus.
Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of the Pharisees 'from Jerusalem' in this text. They charge Jesus of breaking the 'tradition of the elders' and Jesus reveals that they break God's great command to honor mother and father by caring for them in their golden years. The hypocritical know-it-alls actually did not know the true meaning of God's Law since they did not practice it with pure hearts. Jesus demanded that pure worship, not the focus of washing hands, conformed to the spirit and truth of God the Father. In other words, Jesus expects that we bring our experience of worship into conformity with what is true about God the Father, true about Jesus the Son, and to let our spirits to be authentically awakened and moved by that truth.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Jesus taught his 12 disciples many things that would prepare them to carry on the ministry of the gospel after Jesus departed. In this passage, Jesus commands all events to occur from sending his 12 disciples in the boat to go across the Sea of Galilee to sending away the great crowd of 5,000 and more, to the high winds and waves that the disciples fought. Jesus does this to show HIS 12 to depend upon HIM in all circumstances. The broken condition of the world, God's creation, the struggle that these 12 fought headstrong, is the result of human sin and rebellion. The winds and waves distracted the 12 disciples from Jesus who is always nearby. Jesus Christ is always visible if our eyes are willing to see Him. His voice is always audible if we are willing to listen. The first distraction that will blind us and deafen us to HIS presence and to his voice. Jesus teaches us to look for him, to hear from him. When we cannot see our LORD, he can see us.
This text records the single greatest miracle that Jesus performed in his ministry. The feeding of the 5,000 is recorded in all four of the gospels. No other miracle of Jesus is testified in all of the gospels. This account of Jesus and His disciples feeding 5,000 is the only miracle of all of Jesus' miracles recorded in all four gospels. This IS important. This miracle is located at the climax of Jesus' ministry in all of the gospel accounts.
A feast occurs in the wilderness. As the dark sin of all souls wanders in the wilderness, Jesus offers his broken body to reconcile fallen humanity in the graces of the Father in Heaven.
This scene in Matthe 14 of the death of John the Baptist shows us that the gospel will always face persecution from evil. This text reveals to us that there is a guilt that evil will face when those who conduct evil come against the gospel. But the servants of the Kingdom of God will be glorified in Christ as they endure even martyrdom.
This passage tells us more about the insecurities of the evil mind of Herod Antipas than anything else. The insecurities of this evil mind in relation to the glorious truth of the gospel whos us that the evil mind will seek to hide his sin in the face of illuminating truth. Jesus reminds Peter, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail again it." [Matt 16:8]
As the Russian military invades Ukraine this week, the secular world could only express sympathy by saying, "Our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people." But how does the Church respond to the events of this past week? How does the church, full of God's people, respond to horrors of war? We do not merely keep the suffering of innocents in our 'thoughts' ... WE PRAY. We call upon God to intervene on behalf of the innocents who suffer today from the destruction of combat and war. We pray for the leaders of our nation and other nations who must decide how to navigate the troubling waters of War.
War is not a necessary thing but is an inevitable thing.
The Church has responded to war in three main ways in its history. 1. Pacifism 2. Just War Theory 3. Crusade
The Treasure of the kingdom of heaven is that which is old and new at the same time. The medieval Christian Scholars argued that the mention of the old and the new treasure in Matthew 13:52 referred to the Old and New Testaments of the bible. But there is much more than that. Jesus is not telling these teachers in training that they have only the treasures of the old covenants and the new covenant with Jesus to share to a fallen world.
They have a truly new message that is truly old. All of the covenants of God in the Old Testament point to the final New Covenant in Jesus.
The Parable of the Net in verses 47-50 teaches of the future & final judgment of the Kingdom of Heaven as a time of separating two groups of souls. Parables of this kind are not spoken by Jesus to satisfy the curiosity of those who desire to know about the end times prophecy. Jesus teaches this parable (and other judgment parables) to alter life in the present. Jesus told parables to confront people with the character of the Kingdom of Heaven and to invite them to participate in it and to live in accord with it.
This parable teaches the final separation between the good and the bad fish ... separation of the rotten and vile souls from the good and fresh souls.
The spiritual net of the Kingdom of Heaven drags the souls of the world to gather up all in its path. Nothing escapes this drag net. Nothing will escape the Kingdom of Heaven as judgment comes. We are all right now caught up in this dragnet. No one is free from its depth.
In this final lecture, Dr. Brand explains the history of the mission's movement in Baptist History as the foundation of Baptists in America. He eloquently explains the issues that Baptists in America faced that lead to the establishment of regional Baptist Conventions, primarily the Northern American Baptist and the Southern Baptist Conventions.
The Kingdom of Heaven deserves our attention, Yet Jesus does not pronounce that the 'hidden treasure or the 'pearl of great value' will be valued by everyone. Many, many souls will never care enough about the Kingdom of Heaven. So, for them, the Kingdom has no value at all. But for the broken and the contrite heart [Ps 51:10] the Kingdom of Heaven has more value than they could ever buy. This is the state of mind that Jesus speaks of in these parables.
The words of value in these parables denote the knowledge of faith. The Kingdom of Heaven is seen of no value by the man of the world. The secular minded man does not perceive the invaluable treasure that Christ offers.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Although Jesus cleansed the church with his own blood, that it may be without spot or blemish, without corruption, as long as the Church functions within this evil and fallen world, it will inevitably be stained from time to time.
The parable of the weeds (or the tares) is Jesus' way of showing the truth of the Kingdom of Heaven within the fallen world that we have. The enemy will sneak in and sow corruption amidst the Church.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Jesus wants us to know that the Kingdom of Heaven begins and grows in ways that are hidden ... mysterious. The analogy of a mustard seed and the natural ways of its growth reflect the truth of Natural Law. God orders all of the natural world and likewise, HE orders the fertilization and growth of HIS kingdom. He needs no help. Our role is to simply cultivate what God has initiated and has given us to steward.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
The theme of the parable of the sower focuses upon the differences between how the preaching of the Kingdom of Heaven is received. The Kingdom of Heaven, according to Jesus, is like seed being down for a crop. As Jesus and his disciples preach the Word of God, the Word is sown like a farmer sowing seed. The nature of the Kingdom is cast like seed, beginning small, and then growing as the Kingdom roots take over the soil.
The Sower of Seeds is the preacher of God's Word (Jesus, Apostles, Disciples) The Seed is God's Word The Soil is the human heart, either tilled & ready, or filled with obstacles that need to be removed.
Parables test us. The attitude of the heart shows whether one is within the kingdom of heaven or not.
Why parables? The twelve disciples inquire of Jesus as to why his teaching methods involved parables (v. 10). Matthew's account implies that Jesus instructed his twelves with different, more direct, teaching methods. Otherwise, the twelve would not notice a stark difference in how Jesus instructed the crowds.
Before we can understand Jesus' parables, we must listen to Jesus' reasons for speaking in parables. His methods are for grander purposes ... purposes that non-believers outside of Jesus' circle were mostly too blind to see or too hard of hearing to understand. But we will also see what hinders most from seeing and hearing the Kingdom of Heaven.
This morning following the celebration of our Lord’s birth in Bethlehem, I felt it appropriate to reflect upon the Providence and Sovereignty of God. This hymn of praise urges God’s people, those whom God chooses to be his own, to trust and to worship HIM alone. We are reminded as we read this wonderful hymn that God alone is worthy of our deepest devotion. No other god and no other worldly distraction is worthy of our devotion. These are merely idolatrous replacements for the one true God who is our maker and our redeemer. He truly does whatever HE pleases.
Secondly, and most important … not only is God in the heavens, he does ALL that he pleases. This truthful statement reminds us that God is not relegated to the heavens and isolated from the earth … isolated from us. God does ALL that he pleases both in the heavens AND in the earth.
The Christmas worship around the Incarnation drives this point home.
Psalm 98 is clearly a song of JOY and celebration, a remembrance of God’s faithfulness while also prophesying the future fulfillment of salvation by our LORD God. This is a psalm of JOY for salvation that has arrived and will come someday.
One theologian said of Psalm 98: “This psalm is to be understood prophetically of the redemption of the world by Jesus Christ.”
So why does the psalmist call for us to ‘sing to the LORD a new song’? It is because the LORD has done a marvelous new thing although HE repeatedly and faithfully does marvelous things. He redeemed his people Israel from slavery in Egypt. He rescues HIS people Israel from captivity in Babylon and later from the Persians who overtook the Babylonians.
Yet there was to be another more marvelous thing … a wonderful victory that would be above all victories. God has [and will] ‘work salvation’ by his mighty arm and his powerful right hand.
This fourth Sunday of Advent is the last Sunday morning before we celebrate the birth of our Savior on December 25th. The brokenness of God’s fallen creation at last sees hope in the miraculous incarnation of God’s Son. Today’s text will give us a glimpse into the mysterious yet revealed truth of the Incarnation of God himself as he steps into humanity – resulting in the birth of the Son of God who is holy.
This passage is the divine message of God through the angel Gabriel to Mary the Virgin mother of our Lord.
What is the most important point to remember is the fact that the virgin conception and birth of Jesus Christ is a miracle … but not just any miracle … It is what C. S. Lewis calls “The Grand Miracle”
We are reminded on this third Sunday of the Advent season of the JOY that Christ’s redemption of our sinful state brings. Today’s passage of the encounter between the Heavenly Host of angels with the lowly Shepherds will show us the contrast between two states of the human dilemma.
We must look at these shepherds and their encounter with God’s heavenly host of angels & God’s glory as the divine intervention within the human dilemma of sin and depravity. But instead of these shepherds becoming happy, they received a greater gift … JOY!
Joy is the delight of the new soul in Christ. If Christ is in us, there is a delight in Christ!!! Joy is not the same as happiness. Joy is a love for Christ. Joy is a delight in Christ.
The distance from Jerusalem to Bethlehem is about six miles. Herod's scholars sent the Magi to a particular house in that same town. Now if the bible is the Word of God, without error in all that it affirms, then stars are not what we have all been quietly assuming them to be.
The STAR was a heavenly object (or being) that obeyed the Father in Heaven in order to show HIS glory by bringing faithful pagan mystics to the feet of Christ himself.
What was once good is now corrupt. The free will choice of the first man and the first woman to exchange God’s presence with the voice of Satan set them into a bondage of the will. Their willful decisions enslaved them and the subsequent generations to come. All who carry the Imago Dei now carry the curse of this original sin. There is no hope in our own will. There is no hope in our choices. God cursed the seeds of the Serpent and the seeds of Man. [Gen 3:14-20]
But in the midst of this curse is the first Christmas sermon. The first promise of HOPE. In the midst of the fall … in the midst of the curse of God … is God’s promise of HOPE. A seed would come that will crush the head of the Serpent ... who will return the ADAM to his place of steward of God’s image and glory in this created place? So, the story of Christmas does not begin in the gospel narratives of Christ’s miraculous birth. Christmas begins in Genesis during the curse from God upon rebellious creatures.
The Humble Spirit of Giving Thanks:
Romans 1:7-15 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 Ephesians 1:15-17 Philippians 1:3-6 Colossians 1:3-8 1 Thess 1:2-5 2 Thess. 1:3-4 2 Tim 1:3-5 Philemon 4-7
What does Jesus mean in Matthew 12:50 that his brothers, and sisters, and mother are those who "do the will of my Father in heaven"? They are whom God chooses with genuinely contrite & broken hearts, who are intimately connected with HIM< who are repentant and forgiven and redeemed and regenerate. Jesus' true family are not those who are family by birth or legal standing. Jesus' true family are those who have the Spirit of God's Son in their hearts. Whose hearts are renewed to depend upon the Father in heaven as a small child depends on a father and cries out to him 'Abba!' .. Daddy! just as Jesus, the Son of God, does the same.
The warning from Jesus in this passage refers to the blind understanding that one's soul is clean when one purges immoral action from one's life-style only to stand back and admire the great work unaware of the dangerous enemies lurking outside looking for an opening to re-occupy the spiritual house (the soul) again. The second messy occupation of demons is worse than the first possession.
After all of the signs and miracles that Jesus did in the presence of these religious elite, and after HIS harsh rebuttal of their stubborn and blasphemous hearts, the Scribes and Pharisees who had been rebuked by Jesus for blasphemy had the audacity to ask for a sign from Jesus to prove to them who he was ... a sign to prove to them that Jesus himself was not blasphemous, not from Beelzebub.
How Jesus responds to these men reveals much about how Jesus is always LORD ... even when more is demanded of him.
Words matter. The consistent theme throughout scripture is that the only way to salvation is by God's grace manifest in man's faith. What Jesus means in these final verses of the passage is that words will be reliable evidence of the reality of salvation. While our LORD knows the hearts of men better than we do, the speech of the redeemed person will be different because the renewed heart is different. A new heart in Christ will produce speech that is praising of our LORD, it will express pure and wholesome speech. Words from the redeemed heart will honor Jesus Christ.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable because the avenue to forgiveness is rejected ... slandered. In attributing the work of the Spirit of God to the person of Satan, the Pharisees are guilty of opposition to the Spirit of God ... the only Spirit that can change the will ... who can draw the unrepentant to repentance. These Pharisees rejected the very thought of repentance. Their willful unbelief was the final denial of the offer of grace.
A recent survey by the American Worldview Inventory 2021 from Arizona Christian University reveals some troubling realities. Out of 176 million Americans who identify as Christians, just 6% hold a recognizably Christian worldview. The majority of those surveyed as self-identified born again Evangelical Christians do not believe in the Holy Spirit as a "real, living being." Instead they identify the Holy Spirit as a mere "symbol of God's Power or presence". Is this also blasphemy?
In this passage we see Jesus' confrontation against the charges that he was under the power of Beelzebul (or Satan). Jesus shows in his action of casting out demons is that HE is LORD over the spiritual. But we also see that the demonic forces are invader of God's creation. The HOLY Spirit is at work as Jesus heals and as exorcises demons. If all of the created order is under the control of God the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, AND the Holy Spirit, then to condemn Jesus for casting out demons by the power of Satan is blasphemy against not only Jesus, the Son, but also the Holy Spirit.
In this passage Jesus heals a man of demon-possession and his blindness and his inability to speak. These physical ailments were certainly the result of demon possession. While all of the crowd around him were amazed, the Pharisees were not. They slandered the Holy Spirit by slandering Jesus who confronts the Satanic forces at work in this scene.
Greater than Jesus' miracles of healing is the prophecy of him as the gentle and meek servant. Matthew includes the prophecy of Isaiah 42:1-4 in this intermission within the 12th chapter of the gospel as the greatest evidence that Jesus was/is the Messiah. Jesus never allowed the opposition of the Pharisees to hinder the ministry that God the Father placed upon him. In no way was the prophesied Beloved Servant of the Lord looking for attention or accolades from the people. Instead Jesus controlled the ministry to the suffering by withdrawing from the hinderances thus showing his Sovereign power as the Christ. He never allowed the political discourse to interfere or dominate the Kingdom of Heaven.
The point of Jesus' actions on the Sabbath was to show who HE was. Jesus is LORD of the Sabbath and is LORD of the Law of God. Jesus shows in this passage that the true purpose of his ministry was to restore fallen humanity to the original state of wholeness in relation to our Creator. By restoring the suffering hand of this poor man with a withered hand, Jesus shows that HE restores all things back to the state of where they ought to be. His compassion restores the health of this suffering man in the synagogue just as Jesus restores the soul of sinful men to the state of where it ought to be.
This passage speaks more about Jesus' authority that it does the proper definition of Sabbath. If Jesus is the authority spoken of in the Prophets, then how much more authority does HE possess over our hearts & lives? Jesus is our rest. HE is the authority over all the commands to work for six days and rest on the seventh. All of God's redeemed are to rest one day out of seven. Yet this day is our LORD's Day, not ours. All that is good is appropriate for our LORD on HIS day. So let us seek to do the good that HE calls us to. Let us be in Christ, the authority over the Lord's Day and over HIS law ... the Word of God, the Scriptures.
The first thing that we see in Jesus' conclusion of the discourse in eleventh chapter of Matthew is that those who come to him will share in the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who come to Jesus are those who are humble in hearing what Jesus chooses to reveal. Jesus calls all to unite with him in celebrating the hidden things of God that are now revealed. No one can come to faith on their own morality or intellect; only by the mysterious illumination of the Holy Spirit and by faith in Christ's atonement of sin can one be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus' yoke of salvation is light and gentle. Our LORD removes the penalty of sin from us and shares in the burden of the journey in this fallen world. This yoke is one of learning from Jesus how to release the burden of sin, to embrace the yoke of salvation from Jesus. HE will come alongside us and will carry the load with us while also taking the burden from us. Jesus is gentle. Jesus is humble.
Jesus and John the Baptist both preached truth during their ministries in Galilee and there were many, many people who did not join them. Some ridiculed. Most did not care. They did not come to him because they refused to acknowledge him. They were indifferent. Why did the passion for righteousness not drive the citizens of Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin to embrace Jesus when they were privileged cities in witnessing his miracles and his teaching? The reason was that apathy and indifference are worse than the blind passion of sinful desire. The sinful men of cities like Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom saw judgment from God for certain. But the indifference and apathy of the citizens of cities where Jesus lived and worked and taught saw harsher judgment than the most vile of pagan cities. How do you think about Jesus? Are you passionately in love with the grace offered? or are you indifferent ... apathetic to the whole affair?
We first prayed for the Church in Afghanistan on this Sunday morning. The brave Christians live in the midst of evil. Yet many are bold and loyal to Christ. They are not fickle and bored children who do not wish to join the wedding feast of the Lamb. Please pray for the Church in Afghanistan.
Jesus praised John the Baptist and then challenged the crowds with him who followed after John's ministry of repentance. Jesus now explains further that there are two types of people who hear the truth of the gospel. Those who humbly come into the righteousness of God or those who pridefully misapply the wisdom of God. This passage in Matthew 11 is a parody of how a rabbi would teach and Jesus speaks directly to the prideful religious teachers in the crowd. The analogy in Jesus' lesson is meant to show that God sees those who pridefully reject salvation as fickle, bored, and spoiled children.
This passage of Matthew's gospel has Jesus turning to the crowds that were with him learning from his activity and his teaching. They witnessed and interaction between Jesus and some of John the Baptist's disciples. Now Jesus prepares to teach them something about who John the Baptist was. At the same time Jesus teaches them something about themselves; how they search for the truth about God. By showing them that John the Baptist is the Elijah prophesied to return, they find out who Jesus is as they discover who John the Baptist is.
Doubt is a believer's Journey, not an unbeliever. Because if faith is the gluw that binds us to the truth of redemption through Jesus Christ, then doubt is the test of that bond. Without genuine faith in Christ, there will be no opportunity to second guess the bond. John the Baptist sits in prison and sends two of his disciples to Jesus to confirm that Jesus is the 'One to come' as prophesied in the writings of the Old Testament Prophets and sung about in the Psalter. If John the Baptist, the greatest of all men and the greatest of all prophets doubts, then Christian, do not fear doubt. Allow doubt to direct you to Jesus over and over and over again.
Pastor Vijay Meesala shares the Holy Passion that the Apostle Paul had to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ "not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation" [Rom 15:20]. Paul's ambition was for anyone who had not heard of Christ to hear the TRUTH of salvation in Christ alone. What an ambition!
These final three verses of Chapter 10 returns to the theme of hospitality toward messengers of the gospel. (Matt 10:11-14). The point here is that rejecting the message that the Apostles bring is rejecting God's will. Likewise, embracing the message that the Apostle's bring is embracing God's will. those who embrace the Apostles, those who embrace the disciples of Christ (Christians) also embrace the message that they have been entrusted with. Embracing the righteous bearer of the gospel message is embracing the author of the gospel himself. There is reward in caring for the needs of God's people/messengers. There is also judgment for rejecting the needs of them too. [Matthew 25]
Whoever loves their family more than Christ does not love Christ. Jesus sets the tone in the life of a disciple that if the love of one's passions, one's wants and desires, outweigh one's love of Christ, then the disciple must resist that urge despite the war that comes. Let us remember that the nature of the gospel is peace. The nature of man is war. When the gospel is lived out truthfully and faithfully, the reaction from others, from our closest relationships, and even within our personal emotions, may be war-like. Jesus is the peace that calms the hostility between fallen humanity and the loving Creator God. It is the fallen nature of humanity that will react aggressively to the gospel of peace. Therefore causing the message of salvation in Christ alone to be one that is as divisive as a sword against enemies.
St. Augustine speaks about fear: "Let us fear, that we may not fear; that is, let us fear prudently, that we may not fear vainly." The words of Jesus in this passage reminds his disciples (that means the church too) that to fear what other men may do against the preaching of the gospel is vain in comparison to the trust that we have in God the Father who values us and protects our very souls. Rather than being afraid of those who can harm our body, or harm our reputation, we re to fear our Father in Heave, our Creator, who can end both our lives and our souls. Jesus emboldens his disciples to not fear that which stands against the TRUTH.
"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master." This lesson from Jesus to his 12 Apostles reminds them (and us) that the level of authority in the Christian journey is that of a teacher to a student, or a lord to a servant. A student will learn to be like the teacher, whether that teacher is good or not. As Jesus is the highest good teacher, then his disciples will learn to be like him. Yet Jesus also teaches an important lesson in that the evil in the world persecutes the good teacher, Jesus, and will likewise persecute those who are like him, his disciples. The call to preach the gospel message is never promised to be easy or comfortable. Satan (or in this passage Beelzebul) will accuse students of Jesus Christ of being students of Satan. The Accuser twists truth to his benefit, even if it means lying about a Christian disciple of Christ being a disciple or student of Beelzebul. So, watch for the attacks of Satan while living the gospel.
Jesus challenges his Apostles in sending them out in a ministry that is full of danger. However, in no way does Jesus call his Apostles to behave like little satans but instead they are to practice the shrewd wisdom of caution, or strategy in their dove-like innocents. There seems to be a balance in that as preachers of the gospel, these Apostles were to be shrewd yet innocent in their mission. They were not to bring reproach upon themselves nor on the name of Christ when challenged by the kings and the religious elite. When the Apostles are attacked for their message and for their allegiance to Christ, they are to depend upon the Spirit of God the Father for their defense. There is no need to behave as the savage sinner when defending the gospel. The Apostles are once again commanded to depend upon the source of their salvation for the defense of their evangelism.
World Evangelism requires that the laborers that are called and sent by our LORD must depend fully on Christ alone for all that is said, all that is heard, and for all that is required. The 12 Apostles are commanded by Jesus not to depend upon their own provisions but to instead accept with gratitude that which God provides on the preaching journey. Eat what is given to you. Stay with those who accept the message. Bless the home and the city where the gospel message is proclaimed. But if the message is rejected, shake the dust from your feet and take heart that the rejection is not of the messenger but of the one who sends the messenger.
Jesus called to himself 12 special disciples who were granted the authority of apostles. These 12 men learned directly from the Incarnate God. No one else in history has had that privilege. Yet Jesus called these men to a ministry of hardship, difficulty, persecution, and martyrdom. They willingly followed and served.
Jesus' miracles seem to contradict the laws of nature ... and they do. But let's realize what Jesus does when he 'breaks' the laws of nature. The natural order is a pattern to which every event must conform and all events must obey the law-giver himself. The greatest miracle evident in Jesus' miraculous healings is that the LORD of nature orchestrates all events to produce these miraculous moments. The single greatest revelation of miracles is that Jesus has compassion for the helpless and harassed fallen creation. His genuine pastoral heart is at work when miracles occur. Lastly, the great commission given in verses 37-38 is related directly to this compassion. All Christians are called to the great harvest of souls for the kingdom [verse 37] but this harvest work begins with compassion and prayer.
Matthew records in this text two miraculous events. One is the raising from the dead of a twelve-year-old girl. The second is the healing of a woman who had a feminine issue of blood for twelve years. These miracles shake people to the point of submission before the authority of Christ. There is hopelessness without Christ and these states of death and sickness reflect that hopelessness. Christ's healing show HIS compassion and hope! Death and sickness do not have the last word ... Jesus does!
The OLD WINESKINS were not the teachings of the Old Testament but were instead the rabbinical traditions of the Pharisees that had come to overshadow (and often contradict) the divinely revealed truths of the Old Testament Law. Jesus’ new and internal gospel of forgiveness and cleansing cannot be attached to the old and external traditions of self-righteousness and ritual. Jesus shows mercy upon his disciples through his presence and guidance. The disciples were like new wineskins unable to fully hold the richness of the new covenant of the Kingdom of Heaven. The only suitable container for new wine is a fresh wineskin. The old skins become too brittle and dry to hold new wine.
Matthew includes his encounter with Jesus as a witness for all to see that Christ extends mercy to the undesired ... the outcasts ... the diseased with sin who need a physician Savior. While the Pharisees condemned Jesus for being with Matthew and his sinner friends, Jesus reminds these learned Doctors of the Law to refresh their memories of Hosea's prophecy. God speaking through Hosea calls the wayward people of Judah to his mercy rather than to sacrifice. Kindness for the sinner is what Jesus expects. God's mercy is better than man's sacrifice or religious ritual.
Faith is known by God alone. This miracle story of the healing of the paralytic is one of the most profound of Jesus' miracles. There is much more to see here than a miraculous healing. We see the forgiveness of sin more than anything else. We see that Jesus has the authority alone to forgive. No one else. This story also reminds us that salvation is not what one 'chooses'. Instead this narrative reminds us that Jesus will forgive based on the faith of the heart rather than the words of the supplicant. Jesus knows all hearts ... both the evil hearts ... and the faithful hearts ... and he forgives the faithful.
For Jesus to redeem the earth & reverse the curse [Genesis 3], he would have to overcome and have total power over Satan & his demon hosts in his human condition. Jesus’s divine nature was always in power & control of Satan and the evil spiritual world. There is a strong Jewish tradition that tells us of a spiritual battle/war that began long before the first words were spoken by God in creating the earth & the universe (the material cosmos). Here Jesus shows that his divine/supernatural nature is truly in power over the supernatural just as he was truly in power over the natural. Two men from Gadarenes are freed from the evil forces that possessed them mind, body, and spirit. Jesus frees the sinner from the overwhelming control of the demonic.
Jesus taught throughout his ministry that delay in following him was sin. Many who heard Jesus' teaching and witnessed his miracles responded with "I will follow you ... wherever you go." Yet we see in this text that Jesus would often respond with 'Are you sure?' ... 'Do you know what you are agreeing to in following the Son of Man?'
The truth of the heart will always reveal itself when Jesus speaks to us. Far too often we declare that we will follow Jesus ... with a caveat. "I will follow you Jesus ... but ...."
Jesus will reveal any hint of delay in our spirit that would hinder full faithfulness to the Savior. Following Jesus means following him to the end ... suffering and death on the Cross. The genuine Christian life is one of difficulty and abusive opposition and the declaration to follow means following to death.
Hallelujah! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! The resurrection of the crucified Christ Jesus is the turning point of the New Testament and at the heart of the Christian faith. All of the gospel centers around the death of death. This passage in Matthew's gospel shows us that there are two reactions to this miraculous event. Fear is at the heart of the responses to the earthquake inducing resurrection.
1) The Roman guards trembled in fear like dead men. 2) The faithful women disciples were encouraged not to fear but to proclaim the resurrection to the male Apostles and to the world.
By faith the women received comfort amidst their fear. Through sinful skepticism, the Roman guards received the consequences of their unbelief.
Which way to you respond to the resurrection of the crucified Christ Jesus?
The gospels tell us of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas for several reasons. First that Jesus' death was necessary and the betrayal was a part of this end. But most importantly, Judas Iscariot's end is a warning to the Church. An apostle of Jesus Christ ... one of the twelve ... became apostate. Although Judas was destined to this end, it was prophesied by the Prophets that this would occur, he is still accountable. By his own will Judas became the friend of Satan and abandoned his friendship with his Lord Jesus. Evil merely begins with a thought. What are you thinking? Do you turn these thoughts toward Jesus? or to Satan?
Let's all ponder how valuable Jesus truly is. How do we view the suffering and sacrifice of our Lord ... for us ... because of our sin. This passage in Matthew's gospel shows us the beginning of Jesus' final days. There are two differing ideas about Jesus here. Some valued Jesus as nothing more than a political nuisance. Even his disciples were 'indignant' over an extravagant act of worship. But Mary saw the genuine sacrifice and suffering that Jesus was facing and she anointed HIM from head to toe.
The story of Jesus healing Peter's elderly mother-in-law depicts an illness not caused by a demon or by sin ... it is a showcase of what it means to be human ... the troubles of being an elderly woman. The gospels are clear that Jesus healed many ... too numerous to count. He also cast out demons and did many miraculous things. But the purpose of the signs and wonders were not an end in themselves. Jesus did not come merely to establish a healing ministry. All of these signs and wonders point to the participation in the perfection of heaven that only salvation can bring.
Today's sermon text reminds us that self-serving faith is not faith in Christ ... resulting in an eternal condemnation in the outer darkness.
"I tell you, many will come from east and west, and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." -- Matt 8:11-12 --
Jesus acknowledges the faith of a Gentile ... a Roman Centurion ... a Pagan outsider ... and honors his request to heal a favored servant. While the failures of human class and race structure hinder the universality of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus shows us in this encounter that race and class do not matter ... only the heart of faith. Jesus responds to the faith of the Centurion who recognized the proper order of authority between himself and Christ. How do you approach our Lord Jesus Christ? Do you acknowledge HIS divine authority? Do you recognize your own unworthiness?
Jesus has all authority to forgive, to heal, and to teach. How do you respond to Jesus? Are the words he speaks merely good advise? Do we see HIS words only as that ... words? Or are we astonished?
At the heart of the story of two men who build two houses is the genuine reconciliation of the sinner with the Father in Heaven. How one approaches the offer of forgiveness and a new life in Christ is the lesson from Jesus' Parable. The genuine Christian and False Christian are portrayed side-by-side in this concluding parable from Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount.
Loving God and loving his commandments are the genuine signs of a genuine Christian. The foundation is in the love of Christ. It is the love of the Father on which the genuine Christian depends. Jesus will establish this foundation and the wise Christian will build upon this foundation ... not his own.
Today's sermon text reminds us that the work of God's will involves humility and sacrificial service. Whereas the mighty works of the prideful are not of God's will but man's will. [Matt 7:21-23]
The eternal battle from the curse at the Garden of Eden is at odds with the Heavenly Kingdom that Jesus establishes. Jesus wants to protect his Church from the punishment that waits for the devil & his angels. Let's remember that just because a 'Man of God' is eloquent and charming does not mean that the words from his mouth are of God.
We are responsible to know the difference between the sweet & good fruit of Christ and the horribly bad & rotten fruit of the serpent. The path of truth is narrow & difficult. The path of destruction is wide & easy.
God always knows the perfect gift to give to those who petition HIM for their needs. The gift of salvation awaits all who ask, seek, and knock. In order to know the sin, one must be convicted and made aware. In order to ask for forgiveness, there must be a seeking for that forgiveness. In order to ask, one must seek the proper door to knock upon in order to ask for help. God is always good and He knows what to give those who ask.
Jesus teaches us in this passage of the Sermon on the Mount not to avoid judging other, but rather how to judge. Let us judge the events of 2021 not by our personal standards but by God's standard.
"For the LORD is our judge, The LORD is our lawgiver, The LORD is our king; He will save us -- "
[ ISAIAH 33:22 ]
"No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground, ... "
The birth of Jesus as the Salvation of the world put an end to the curse of sin upon God's creation. Let us not forget the significance of this special and Holy Night ... the night that Christ was born!
This section of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount addresses a far too common problem among the citizens of the kingdom of Heaven. Not only do the lost and sinful suffer anxiety and worry about their lives, Christians too fall into the common problem of worry and anxiety. The words of Jesus make it clear that the control of anxiety and worry is the problem of a lack of faith. Anxiety often feels like a choking or strangling of the soul and what is at stake is the eternal state of faith and trust in our Lord rather than our own selves.
The message from Christ today is to be HIS disciples in every aspect of one's life. To be a genuine Christian is to seek the kingdom and HIS righteousness above all else (Matthew 6:33). It means that Jesus is the treasure and joy of one's heart. Genuine Christians truly believe that their needs will be met. The security that God provides is greater than anything that the world can give us.
The idea of the eye being a light for the body is the image of the Spirit of Christ in one's heart pointing the way in which to go. When Jesus calls the eye the light of the body, he charges that it is not the hands, or the feet, or the belly which directs the body to walk. Instead it is the mind or the soul that inspires action. No part of the human body can operate without that the mind acted first. Therefore, as the heart goes, so does the body. If the heart is dark, then the actions of the body will follow. But if the heart is in the light of Christ, then the actions themselves will be illuminated in the brightness of God's eternal glory!
Jesus makes a very strong, but important, point in this text. Those whose hearts are focused on submission to God's rule will gain riches in heave, the riches of HIS kingdom. Those whose hearts are focus on their own wealth, status, and possessions will gain the failed treasure of this world ... and nothing more.
One's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
Jesus focuses now on the gift of fasting, a spiritual discipline, that God gives to his people. The model prayer that Jesus instructs is accompanied by the act of fasting. Not all prayers must include fasting, but the biblical mandate of fasting will always be accompanied by prayer.
As the hypocritical Pharisees and religious elite fake devotion to the Lord, Jesus continues his theme of genuine dependence upon the Father in Heaven over performance religion. His expectation is that the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven will fast. "When you fast" [verse 16]. But when we fast, we do so with a purpose and that purpose must be in alignment with God's will.
Sometimes fasting is for the purpose of repentance and forgiveness. Sometimes fasting is for the purpose of discerning God's will.
But fasting is always the avoidance of whatever we find ourselves over indulgence. Self indulgence is the enemy of thankfulness. It is the enemy of dependence upon God himself. When we deny our cravings, we depend upon God to fulfill our needs.
Trials and temptations are tests of our character, tests of our faith, tests of our worthiness. Our faith in Christ's atonement for sin is either matured because of the trial or we fall because of our failure in succumbing to temptation. In this last of the six petitions that make up the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches a very real aspect of the life of the redeemed. Although salvation is assured for the elect, we also live in a tension between the kingdom of heaven that is already established by Jesus Christ in the hearts of the faithful and is not yet fulfilled. As such we remain as stewards of the mysteries of God [1 Cor 4:1] in a fallen world; participants in a spiritual warfare where Satan and his demons cause temptation for the purpose of bringing down the redeemed in Christ. Jesus teaches us to express our dependence upon God the Father in everything. To petition the Heavenly Father to be active in our lives; to protect us from the plots of Satan himself.
"lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" [Matt 6:13]
The bible is clear that when we pray God desires a genuine heart of dependence within the supplicant. Jesus teaches in this petition that forgiveness is granted through a prayer of a sincere heart with repentance and a faith that God will actually forgive. Without trust in God's grace and mercy one can speak the words asking for forgiveness, but without a genuine faith that God will forgive, the prayer is void.
"And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." [1 John 5:15] "This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth." [1 Timothy 2:3-4]
Whatever the precise emphasis on the Lord's Prayer concerning daily bread, the petition is a powerful expression of trust and dependence. We are commanded to pray that God would give us what we need, not what we want, or even what we desire, but what God sees as our actual needs. The more material needs are in view, the clearer the implication that God is concerned for the provisions of these needs.
God commands us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" so that we will be dependent upon him for all of our physical needs. Without that simple level of dependence, we can never depend upon God for the need for Christ who is the "bread of life" [John 6:35].
The first three petitions of Jesus's model prayer call upon God's holy name to establish HIS kingdom as HIS heavenly will is done on earth.
This petition of the Lord's Prayer is actually a prayer of evangelism. God's kingdom is not a political overthrow of opposition parties in the government. Instead God's kingdom is established in the hearts and lives of sinners. The prophecies of Jeremiah and of Daniel call for a future kingdom that will be more powerful than any earthly kingdom. This kingdom is God's kingdom of heaven established in the hearts of sinful humanity.
God's kingdom comes partly through the preaching of HIS Word and partly by the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit.
Please remember that the Lord's Prayer is a fervent prayer of reverence and of evangelism. May God's will be done as he establishes the kingdom of heaven in the regenerate hearts of his people. Amen.
Jesus teaches that the model prayer should begin with a genuine faithful heart of reverence toward God [to whom we are praying]. This is in stark contrast to the methods of the hypocrites and the pagan idol worshipers who have no genuine reverence for their god to whom they pray.
The genuine prayer of the faithful heart is one that acknowledges at the outset of the prayer who is being addressed. Since God the Father is the holy and almighty God the supplicant (the one praying) is to address HIM as He reveals himself to be. "Our Father" is a term of familiarity and trust. It is a relational title that contradicts the false prayers of the pagan idol worshipers and hypocritical performance prayer.
God is due honor. His name is holy. His name is to be hallowed. All prayer must begin with genuine humility and reverence even to the familiar loving God who reveals himself as Father.
Jesus' teaching in this section of the Sermon on the Mount repeatedly emphasizes that the depraved state of the human heart keeps us from coming into God's presence. Likewise, the same depraved nature keeps us from genuine prayer. The only path to genuine prayer is the same path to genuine salvation. It is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ himself that we can know how to pray.
We are reminded in Psalm 34:45 that "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry." Since God's ears are open to only the cries of the righteous, it is then imperative for the heart of genuine prayer be that of righteousness. Faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ is the only path to righteousness.
Jesus emphasizes in this passage of scripture that the hypocrites pray with 'vain repetition.' But we must also admit that the faithful Christian can sill fall into this trap of vain words in prayer. When one prays in this manner, it is evidence of a lack of genuine faith that our Father in Heaven is actually listening much less will reply with an answer. Instead, Jesus calls upon the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven to pray in such a way as faith directs the dependence upon God for the words and the heart necessary for genuine prayer.
The final words of Jesus in the fifth chapter of Matthew speak to an impossible standard for all Kingdom Citizens to meet. Jesus commands that all Kingdom citizens "must be perfect." This is of course impossible to do. So what does Jesus expect of His people? The wisdom of God in this call to perfection is similar to the command in Leviticus 19:2 for Israel to be holy as God alone is holy. In order for the sinner to be perfect requires that one repent and surrender to Christ's atoning work on the cross. The perfection that Jesus calls for is that faithful dependence upon Christ because Christ alone is perfect. God alone is Holy.
This final passage of the fifth chapter of Matthew's gospel concludes with the final teaching of how to love one's enemy as a neighbor. Why do the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven love this way? It is for the same reason that God loves his enemies ... and those enemies are every one of us. As we are all born under the sin of Adam, we begin our lives as sinful enemies of God; also known as the doctrine of total depravity. Jesus addresses the truth of God's Law that every human being is our neighbor and should be treated as such. Love of neighbor applies especially to our enemies as we are all under God's common grace (Matthew 5:45). It is Saving Grace that grants the redeemed as citizens of the kingdom of heaven the ability to love all ... even enemies. So, which enemy can you love today?
No one likes to be attacked. It is an evil that brings with it a justified response. Yet Jesus is teaching a radically approach to injustice. Jesus reminds his disciples that it is the governing authorities that have the responsibility and right to dole out justice and to protect the people. In no way does God permit His people to take God's law (Leviticus 24:17-20) into their own hands. Instead Jesus reminds his disciples that although judges and governing authorities have the right to seek justice, we are to wait patiently with the injuries suffered in attacks from another. Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven are to allow God's rightful justice to be issued as needed rather than for individuals to take God's Law into their own hands.
Jesus saw a problem with the casual way in which grand promises were made that had no intention of being kept. He directly addressed the dramatic way that eloquent people would promise many grand things for the purpose of impressing or persuading people. The most dangerous aspect of this was that the oaths were simply foolish talk by foolish people out to be more important than they really were. Jesus in essence is saying, "Don't let this foolishness ever touch you."
So, let your yes be yes and your no be no. Never swear by God as your witness as God is not to be reduced to a co-signer on a flamboyant promise that will never be kept.
Jesus clearly sees divorce as a tragedy. Divorce is therefore a failure of divine purpose as the marriage covenant has a direct connection to God's covenant. So divorce is extremely difficult to advise or to condone for the Christian while Matthew's gospel does include what has been termed "the exception clause" (except on the ground of sexual immorality). Jesus addressed the extreme distortion of God's Law by the rabbinic tradition even in his discussion on divorce. Divorce is so horrendous that God hates any hint of it (Malachi 2:16). Yet the religious leaders of the rabbinic tradition had so expanded the exceptions for divorce from Deuteronomy that divorce had become ridiculously easy and abusive, especially toward women. Jesus makes his teaching clear and precise. If adultery is so horrendous, and used as a reason for divorce, then consider the consequences. Divorce makes the parties of the marriage adulterers. More importantly, divorce breaks the most sacred of vows taken before God. As God witnesses this holy union, God witnesses the sinful consequences of breaking the marriage vow.
In this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses a very common but very serious sin. Adultery is a sin of breaking the marriage covenant. Far too often men get away with the exploitation of women through lustful acts that are hidden. The abuse of the female body in this way is an abuse of the image of God. Likewise, the body and the spirit are not separate things at all. What damages the body also damages the soul.
The sin of perversion is the origin of adulterous behavior. Jesus clearly reminds the religious among us that it is not the literal obedience to God's law that matter. Literal interpretation of acts can also be corruptly interpreted for sinful ends. It is the Spirit of God's Law that changes the heart. Thoughts of the heart are the foundation of actions. Therefore, if adulterous acts occur, it is the adulterous heart that causes them.
Jesus explains very clearly that murder is the result of anger toward one another. While murder is unapologetically horrible, it is the anger within one's mind toward another that literally murders the image of God that is in all of humanity. The right way to obey the Law of God is to reconcile with someone whom we have anger toward. In doing so, we imitate Christ and imitate the true gospel. Just as we forgive and reconcile with one another, God first reconciled us to Himself through Christ and forgave us therefore putting away HIS wrath against our sin.
The Sermon on the Mount from Jesus teaches about what the true citizenship of the Kingdom of Heaven is. In this text, Jesus begins to explore the damage that the extra-canonical teachings of the Rabbinic Law has done to the original and purest intent of God's Law. The "you have heard that it was said" passages are partly from the Decalogue of Moses (10 Commandments) and also from the Levitical law of the Old Testament Pentateuch. Jesus now takes the literal expectations of obedience imposed by the Rabbinic teachers and uncovers God's design that the Law was to lead to a change of the inner heart.
It is unfortunate that so many who come to Christ for salvation are misled by false teaching that claims that the Mosaic Law and the words of the Old Testament Prophets are worthless to the Christian. This false teaching leads to a heresy that teaches that the Christian is free from the obligations of obeying God's Law.
Jesus addresses this false understanding of God's Word and the Gospel. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes it clear that His message is not one of Antinomianism (anti-law) but instead is a proclamation that the Law and the Prophets were right and that He (Jesus) fulfills all that was taught and prophesied in the Old Testament. The teaching of false prophets argue that the Christian is no longer obligated by legalism or standards of morality. But instead, Jesus clearly calls all who are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven to obey God's Law as a matter of willing desire instead of overburdened obligation.
A disciple of the kingdom of heaven who does not live like a citizen of the kingdom, is worth about as much as tasteless salt or invisible light.
As long as the world remains in its fallen state, there will be plenty of opportunity for the persecution of the Church. Furthermore, as long as the world is in its fallen state, there will be plenty of opportunity to proclaim the gospel despite persecution. Jesus teaches in the Beatitudes that one of the most difficult attributes of citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven is that of persecution by the fallen world. But, God's children are promised a blessing and reward of eternal life despite persecution that might even lead to death.
Jesus now explains brilliantly that acts of mercy are an essential aspect of the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as God pours out mercy upon all of sinful humanity - an act of kindness toward us in our dire circumstance - citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven likewise act mercifully toward others in their sinful circumstances. "And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire: to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh." [Jude 22-23]
Jesus masterfully uses figurative language to teach the vast truths of the spiritual desolation that all face outside of the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as food is necessary for physical life so is God's Righteousness necessary for spiritual life. Hunger is a great motivator that drives the sinner to the only satisfaction ... the Grace of God through Jesus Christ.
The Sermon on the Mount by Jesus teaches what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like. Those who are citizens of this kingdom are those whom God has redeemed through the blood of His son, Jesus. The redeemed are therefore the possession of the greatest power and authority over any earthly power or government. Therefore, the redeemed live meekly in the world as the possession of the greatest strength. Biblical meekness is the greatest power.
Jesus's Sermon on the Mount continues to connect the idea of the broken spirit to the grieving spirit. Those whom God chastens are those who will experience a Godly grief, a grief that will reveal the Kingdom of Heaven. The Apostle Paul describes the type of mourning that Jesus teaches about: "For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter." [2 Corinthians 7:10-11]
Jesus begins his greatest sermon with the instruction of what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like. It is not insignificant that the first of the "Beatitudes" is that a poor spirit is necessary to see and be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. The humble and contrite heart is the condition of the poor in spirit. For in order to be a part of God's kingdom, only God's righteousness must be present. Therefore, the one who is impoverished spiritually is one who is not righteous but must depend on God's righteousness. "God's grace is more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus." [1 Timothy 1:14]
To be blessed is to be happy. Only God's righteousness through Jesus Christ brings true blessedness.
God speaks through Isaiah 43:16-21 to tell HIS people that HIS act of deliverance from horrible circumstances (especially sin) is not a single event of the past. Rather deliverance is an ongoing act of God that points to the supreme deliverance through Jesus Christ. As the children of Israel will go into exile under Babylonian captivity, so will they be delivered.
The prophecy of Isaiah calls for God's Servant to be a Witness for the TRUTH of God's glory. Chapter 43 now shows how God will challenge the pagan idol worshippers who will be the captors of Israel to compare witnesses. Israel will be God's faithful witness amidst the false testimonies of the Babylonian idols.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church http://sovereigngracebaptist.org
God's servant Isaiah relays words of comfort to God's people who remain faithful. When miseries overwhelm us, God reminds the faithful of who they belong to and of who God is. While we often neglect the covenant we have in Christ, God the Father never waivers from his commitment to HIS people. "Fear not, I have redeemed you, you are mine." "Fear not, for I am with you."
Disruption in our normal life can bring anxiety and fear. More importantly, when God orchestrates a 'new normal' in the lives of his elect something wonderful is taking place. The general principle in Scripture is that patient and praying believers are blessed by God through the building of faith. The wisdom of God is unsearchable and when a 'new normal' emerges, God exhibits compassion for His people as he grants them the strength to endure the trial. God does not faint or grow weary and that strength can be for the believer who trusts in God's unsearchable wisdom.
During this time of uncertainty amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, many churches in the Cookeville, TN Community, and around the country must avoid gathering. While we must not meet in person, we can study God's Word together while staying at home.
Please visit sovereigngracebaptist.org to learn more about Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Cookeville, TN.
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Anxiety and waiting are common to most of us in this season of the COVID-19 stay-at-home circumstance. But waiting on God is not uncommon in scripture. David's psalm of lament teaches us how to honestly express sorrow and impatience to God while also remembering God's loving presence in the midst of grief.
During this time of uncertainty amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, many churches in the Cookeville, TN Community and around the country must avoid gathering. While we must not meet in person, we can study God's Word together while staying at home.
Please visit sovereigngracebaptist.org to learn more about Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Cookeville, TN.
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The hope of Christ's resurrection is the hope of the Christian's resurrection. The Apostle Paul teaches the truth about resurrection of the dead in 1 Corinthians 15. That as the flesh ceases, a new body (or form) is granted to the redeemed through Christ. The hope of the Christian is that upon death, the redeemed are in the immediate presence of our Lord. This interim state is a state is conscious and active awaiting the final Day of the Lord and the fulfilled resurrection body. Much in Christian theology has been written on this topic and much has been incorrectly taught. 1 Corinthians 15 ensures that we know the truth.
Today is Resurrection Sunday ... a day of celebration for Christians that sin is now forgiven and that death no longer dominates. 1 Corinthians 15 describes in beautiful detail the gift of the resurrection to the Christian. As Christ conquered death, likewise the faithful will receive the joy of eternity. It is a promise of the gospel.
During this time of uncertainty amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, many churches in the Cookeville, TN Community and around the country must avoid gathering. While we must not meet in person, we can study God's Word together while staying at home.
Please visit sovereigngracebaptist.org to learn more about Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Cookeville, TN.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Today is Palm Sunday ... a day of rich significance to the Church when Jesus's triumphal arrival in Jerusalem is remembered. In this season of isolation and social-distancing, we desire an end to the separation ... and end to the anxiety. The hope of the Christian in the midst of forced "stay-at-home" orders is that we can once again come together in joy and celebration ... Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem was a joyous conclusion to generations of waiting.
During this time of uncertainty amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, many churches in the Cookeville, TN Community and around the country must avoid gathering. While we must not meet in person, we can study God's Word together while staying at home.
Please visit sovereigngracebaptist.org to learn more about Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Cookeville, TN.
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Jesus' ministry began in Galilee and Matthew's gospel summarizes the Kingdom impact of the years that Jesus spent in this region. Matthew 4:23 tells of three main aspects of Jesus's ministry. First, he was busy going about to the 240 + villages and towns in this region of 3 million people. Secondly, he focused on teaching in the synagogues which were the center of their lives. He proclaimed forcefully and boldly the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven. Which was showcased practically as Jesus healed EVERY disease and affliction. EVERY disease. Wow.
In this time of COVID-19 pandemic, we can take comfort in the truth that Heaven will have no more disease or affliction. Jesus preached (heralded) the good news of the kingdom of heaven and through his healing and miracles gave a glimpse of what the Kingdom of Heaven was truly like.
As Jesus begins his ministry, Matthew's gospel recalls that these fishermen were preparing to work by restoring the integrity of their equipment. Jesus finds them "mending nets". Likewise, Jesus calls us to follow him today as well. In the process, Jesus knows that we need to be mended too. Are these times of uncertainty being used by God to restore, prepare, or mend something in us? If so ... what is the calling that Jesus is preparing us for in this season of isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
As Sovereign Grace Baptist Church follows the guidelines of our governing authorities to limit in-person gatherings, this video recording is made available for not only our congregation, but for all who seek solace in God's Word.
In the midst of uncertainty, our country and world is facing a time of unexpected turmoil due to the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, feelings of abandonment and despair can overwhelm many. But it is not an accident that Jesus begins his ministry from a place known for darkness and despair. The area in Galilee surrounding Capernaum was historically seen as a place of darkness. The prophet Isaiah declares Zebulun and Naphtali were to be brought into distress, darkness and anguish in 8:22 through 9:2. But this place of darkness was never intended to be permanent, rather it was God intended purpose to bring from this region the greatest light and hope that humanity could every dream. Jesus is that 'great light' that the people in darkness see. What a joy it is to walk with Jesus in times of uncertainty and despair.
On March 3rd, 2020, Cookeville, TN suffered the worst natural disaster in its history. A tornado destroyed nearly 400 homes and took the lives of 18 people. This sermon is in response to that tragedy. Our community was suffering and many questions were left unanswered. Yet, the bible reveals to us God's sovereignty in the midst of sorrow.
God's greatest power in the midst of sorrow is HIS power to love us. Although God is the cause of all of the laws of nature, HE is not limited by those laws. God does not cause evil, but does act in the midst of evil to bring good out of evil. All events are under HIS control.
The second of the temptations of Jesus mentioned in Matthew's gospel focuses on the temptation of self-protection with is truly a test of God's faithfulness. As Jesus rebutted Satan's first temptation with Scripture, Satan now twists Psalm 91 to tempt Jesus. But Jesus responds again with Scripture from Deuteronomy 6. What we can take away from this temptation to jump from the tower of the temple in Jerusalem is that sensationalism is no substitute for God's faithfulness and promise to protect and to provide.
The Spiritual Basics of the Faith require a substitute for our sin. Jesus is that substitute who endured and suffered the penalty for us.
Matthew's gospel describes in greater detail the forty days of temptation that Jesus faced at the hands of THE TEMPTER, Satan. These days of temptation and suffering were directed and led by the Holy Spirit as a significant part of preparation for Jesus' ministry. Matthew 4:1-4 references how Satan took advantage of Jesus' hunger following days and weeks of fasting. What Satan tried to distort, Jesus refused through Scripture. Christ's hunger in the wilderness, while truly physical hunger, was more so a hunger for God's Word. His temptations successfully fulfilled what sinful humanity failed to accomplish in the Edenic Garden. Furthermore, as the Children of Israel failed to enter faithfully into the Promised Land and wandered for 40 years in the wilderness, Jesus successfully navigated forty days of temptations.
The Apostle Paul now lays out the proper response to the Gospel as God's will alone causes salvation. As the sinner is called to repentance, God the Father changes the sinful will to a repentant will. This change causes the sinner to believe. Believe and be saved.
The call by John the Baptist to repent was not a manipulation on emotion. Rather, John the Baptist was the voice of God, the last of the prophets. What God speaks is always reasonable. Come, let us reason together.
John the Baptist is called by God as the last prophet whose ministry of preparation heralded the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. The King (Jesus) had arrived to forgive sins. Matthew 3:1-3 is John's call to repentance, not admission or confession of sin only. Biblical repentance is not merely a change of mind, but is more accurately a change of necessity through contrition (or sorrow). Godly sorrow or grief over sin is a work of the Holy Spirit and John the Baptist's message was to repent as Godly sorrow enables one to seek God's mercy.
God speaks to a young virgin girl, Mary, through the angel Gabriel. This important message relayed God's favor for Mary. As Mary did not desire this calling of bearing the Son of God, the Messiah, we can glean the significance of God's sovereign calling and Mary's faithful submission to God's will. God wanted Mary to be the Theotokos, the "mother of God". Gabriel's final words of comfort for Mary are in Luke 1:37, "For nothing will be impossible with God."
The prophecy of Micah of the promised Messiah points directly to the peace that only Christ can provide. Yet the prophet speaks for God by pointing to two groups of people. Those who suffer and those tho cause the suffering. The Peace of Christ is promised in Micah's prophesy for the faithful, not to the oppressors.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
God has the freedom to be God. Yet far too often humanity elevates free-will above God's sovereignty. The Book of Proverbs reminds us that by wisdom, God determines all ends and all purposes. Yet somehow in this divine freedom of God, humanity also has the free-will to have the desire to make choices and to plan for the future. The Divine Sovereign Freedom of God and humanity's free-will are somehow compatible. God is weaving a tapestry of lives from his people, and the wicked too, into a grand display of HIS glory.
The Wisdom of Solomon's Proverbs repeats a common theme between the righteous who embrace Godly wisdom and the foolish who act rashly. This passage compares the 'simple' with the 'prudent' and the cause and effect of each perspective. The simple will inherit folly for lack of thoughtful discernment. The prudent will be rewarded with the crown of knowledge for insightful caution in ordering steps to the highest end of Christ's redemption and glory.
The appeal from wisdom personified is the ultimate sanction of life and death. The voice of wisdom is a promise of the Savior. Likewise, the Wisdom of God is that which is blessed. Listening to important words of wisdom is imperative to the blessed life of righteousness.
The love of Wisdom brings life. The hate of Wisdom brings death. In light of this reality, would Wisdom, which is more precious than rubies, make the list of the 10 most important things in your world?
Wisdom is that which God possessed and established before the beginning of the world. It was "the first of his acts of old." If Christ and God the Father are one, then as God the Father always was and is, likewise so is Christ. The first chapter of Hebrews reminds us of that fact. All that exists is for him and by him. Wisdom, therefore, is that which always was and is and comes directly through Christ.
The wisdom of Solomon now points to how Wisdom dwells with the Righteous of God. Just as Christ dwells with the elect, so does wisdom dwell with the righteous. This indwelt wisdom shapes the character (or essence) of the child of God granting the power to make wise choices. The Spirit of Christ dwells in the body (being) of the righteous. Therefore, the righteous in Christ live a life of prudence as Christ (and wisdom) dwells within us.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
The Wisdom of God cries loudly to be heard over the noise of secular worldviews and busyness. The words of Solomon reflect the voice of Christ as he speaks noble things that all inwardly desire.
The book of Proverbs tells us that wisdom is honey for the soul. TA common theme throughout the Old Testament Prophets connects the speaking of God's Word to the consuption of God's Word as one consumes honey. Wisdom, God's wisdom, is like honey for the soul. As honey nourishes the body, God's wisdom nourishes the soul. In order to benefit from the honey, one must first digest the honey. Digesting God's word into our souls results in speech which is rich and fourishing for God's glory. "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good." Ps. 34:8
Jesus teaches us how to pray, not as a liturgical form of prayer but rather with an attitude of God as sovereign, worthy to acknowledge and of whom we must depend. Rather than praying for 'me' we pray to 'HIM.'
The Wisdom of Solomon in the Proverbs speaks more to the salvation in the Messiah that merely life lessons to follow. While living life or moral righteousness does produce a prosperous life, wisdom is clearly a gift of God. Just as Christ is God's gift of salvation, wisdom which leads to the righteous path is one's salvation from the path of evil.
The wisdom of the Proverbs is that which God himself teaches. Very often there are two paths that a Christian faces. One is the path of fools which leads to death. The other is the path of righteousness which leads to life. But far too often, the path of fools is more enticing since it promises great wealth with little effort. While all fail in this discernment, Jesus Christ offers redemption. If Jesus himself grew in wisdom and stature, so can we who are bought by his blood.
The wisdom of the Proverbs centers on the call for God's Love and Faithfulness to be written on the tablet of one's heart. Apart from this important change of soul, one can never fulfill one's obligations to the covenant of grace. Proverbs 3:1-8 reminds us all that in order to be a blessed child of God, a blessed covenant-keeper, then a change of heart, a change of soul, must occur. This change can only happen in the saving grace of Christ.
The Scriptures give examples of how to pray on behalf of others. The Prayer of Intercession is a gift that God has given the Church to bring change to others through the work of God's Holy Spirit. The examples of Moses and Jesus show us how to properly pray for others. Moses prays that God would relent of his wrath against HIS people. Jesus prays that God would protect the Christians to follow and use them in ways greater that Christ was in the kingdom.
God's servant David cries out to his Lord in this Psalm amidst the pressures of his surrounding enemies. This cry climaxes in Psalm 27:4 with a desire above all else to behold the beauty of his Lord. This beauty is a pleasant presence of God rather than a romantic alluring. David's prayer to see God's face is ultimately answered in the arrival of the God-Man, Jesus Christ.
David the Psalmist sings praises to the Lord for how HIS perfect word is audible to everyone. The glory of God is seen in creation, the holy scripture, and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This psalm sings praises to God for HIS law. For the right-minded in Christ, the law is joyful. For the opponent to God, the law is terrifying. The law of the Lord is perfect, bringing wisdom to the simple, wisdom which leads to understanding salvation through Jesus Christ.
David's hymn of praise acknowledges that God's word is trustworthy. By recounting his many times of rescue by God, David shows that God's wors has been tried with success, that his word is perfection and is trustworthy. Therefore, God can be depended upon to rescue again. God's promises will always be fulfilled as the memory of God's faithfulness proves.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
The Psalmist David expresses God's promise of a messiah through this beautiful lyrical form. What the prideful kings of nations raise up, God laughs at because THE KING, Jesus, the Son, is begotten, not made and is stronger than any nation.
The Apostle Paul describes the freedom in Christ through the New Covenant ushered in through His death and resurrection. This New Covenant was also foreshadowed in the Covenants of God in the Old Testament. When looked at closely, all of the biblical covenants point to the covenant with Christ realized in the New Testament age of Grace.
This Wednesday night teaching focuses on the Spiritual Discipline of Prayer in seeking God's formation of our souls.
Paul closes his letter to the Ephesian Church with a plea for prayer. A prayer of supplication is a specific request of God for another. Therefore, Paul encourages the Church to pray for him as a weapon in spiritual warfare.
The Apostle Paul closes his exhortation to the Church to Imitate God by walking as Christ walked. The Children of Light who belong to Christ are those who stand firm in God's strength. By putting on God's armor, one is able to stand against Satan's demons and the principalities of darkness. A spiritual ware wages and God calls all Christians to stand in the strength of peace and righteousness, not in the darkness of Satan.
Paul completes his instruction on how to Imitate God by being Children of Light as the world witnesses the Christian household. The household of First Century Greece and Rome consisted of Masters and Slaves, Husbands and Wives, and Parents and Children. Christian households were to imitate God's grace toward one another ... including the household relationship between masters and slaves.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
The fifth chapter of Ephesians provides wisdom in how to present oneself as a Christian to a fallen and sinful world. Christians are to watch how they walk as the light of Christ and be prepared for opposition to the gospel.
Christians are encouraged by Paul to imitate Christ as Children of Light. They are to avoid deceptive speech from those who seek to manipulate people to worship them. Christians seek out that which is right and true.
The Apostle Paul exhorts the Ephesian Church to live lives of morality as Christ lived purely. His caution is bold in that the kingdom of God has no room for sexual immorality, impurity, filthy language, or crude-joking. As Christ loves all people as they are made in God's image, likewise the Church is to love all people by thinking of and speaking of them as they are in God's image. Sexual immorality transfers what God as made into an object of covetous desire. God says that there is no room for this type of thinking or behavior in his Kingdom.
The Apostle Paul exhorts the church to always imitate God this way; as Christ loved us and sacrificed himself for us, we are to love each other. Just as God causes the sun to shine on the good and the bad, we too are to love our neighbor, the good and the bad.
At the end of the first day of Christ's resurrection, Jesus commissions his disciples to carry out the purpose of the gospel. As witnesses of Christ's authority to forgive, all Christians can assure the sinner that forgiveness is possible because of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Two attitudes exist toward Jesus Christ and his crucifixion. Either one is humble and repentant toward Christ or one remains in sin through arrogance and entitled pride.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Paul enforces the teaching to the churches in Ephesus that in order to be unified as the body of Christ, the love of Christ must connect each part. Therefore, to speak truth in love is to strengthen the body. Christ's love is the glue which holds the Church together. Rather than hunting heretical teaching, the love of Christ builds the body of Christ so that the focus is on Christ-like love. If this is the case, false teaching will be seen for what it is. There is no need to hunt heresy. Love each other instead.
Paul reminds the Churches at Ephesus that Christ poured out the Gift of Salvation as a means to equip the building of God's Kingdom. Salvation is the primary gift that results in further edification of gifts to the Church for the means to build the kingdom by engaging in evangelism and ministry.
The unity of the Church depends upon the Oneness of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As the body of Christ is one in spirit, likewise the gospel is proclaimed as one voice. Individual Christianity is not true Christianity.
The Apostle Paul exhorts the Gentile Christians at Ephesus to now live out the love of Christ that is poured out in them. The Christian is to walk out the life of Christ as Christ's love is poured into them. As the Greeks did not have a concept (or word) for humility, Paul describes humility as only that which Christ initiates.
Paul prays for the church at Ephesus in chapter 3. This prayer focuses on the desire that the Love of Christ would transcend all other knowledge for these dear saints. Since human knowledge appeals to the spiritually curious, Paul prays for what only Christ can offer in how to understand the mystery of the gospel. Without Christ's love, the interpretation of scripture is impossible. Without Christ's love, understanding of God as Father is impossible.
Paul encourages the Gentile Christians at Ephesus that their inheritance in God's Grace is just as valuable as the Jewish Christians. The mystery of Christ is that salvation for all people is an eternal promise. Eternity is beyond our understanding, therefore salvation in Christ is a mystery to those who do not know the gospel. Yet even those in the salvation embrace of Christ still face much mystery. This is why salvation requires faith in the unknown.
The importance of church membership requires a biblical understanding of covenant. Paul's letter to the churches at Corinth emphasizes the importance of genuine commitment to Christ and to each other as the church. This is required as the genuine way to participate in the Lord's Table.
This recorded sermon includes a public reading of the Church Covenant for Sovereign Grace Baptist Church. This is an example for future members as our Lord brings new people to faith and to be a part of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Algood, TN.
The Apostle Paul reminds the Gentile Christians in Ephesus that they inherit Eternal Life as Christ promised. This inheritance is greater than the inheritance of the Sons of Abraham making all who believe in Jesus Christ receipients of the inheritance through the New Covenant by Christ's blood.
The writer of the book of Hebrews cautions the Christians not to neglect the gathering together for worship. Because Jesus purchased the church with His blood, the Church honors that covenant together in fellowship. Likewise, Moses and the people of Israel covenant together under the word of God and through the blood of covenant (Exodus 24:3-8).
In today's sermon Dr. Bill Barenkamp preaches from Ephesians 1:3-14 with a message titled, "Identity in Christ."
Paul reminds the Ephesian Church that Christ bought the Church with his own blood. God the Father obtained the Church by bringing in the outsiders into his household.
The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy in the proper ordination of Church leaders. This passage compares a Good Leader (after Christ the Good Shepherd) against the false leaders that crept into the churches in Ephesus.
As the Jerusalem Church expanded in number, tensions rose as will always happen when people learn to be together. The 12 Apostles of Jesus listened to the complaints of the Hellenists and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, deacons were ordained. The deacons then served tables while the Apostles served the Word.
The Apostle Paul instructs Titus in ordaining qualified men as elders of the churches on the island of Crete. From this comes guidance for the modern Church in following the biblical model of Church leadership.
Jesus confronts the false shepherds (the Pharisees) by describing himself as the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the model shepherd for the pastoral role in today's church.
God calls certain men to the role of Elder/Pastor of the Church. This is especially important in times of persecution of the faithful when a strong leader of the faith can point the Church to Christ.
The effect and role of suffering varies between the Godly and the UnGodly. The Righteous (God's elect) face suffering as God's chastisement in order to grow in faith. The Unrighteous (those who disobey the Gospel) face suffering as God's punishment for disobedience.
In the midst of difficult circumstances, God is directing all things for His Glory. The Christian is blessed with the gift of salvation in Christ and as such, is called to be that beautiful light to a fallen world for God's glory. The duty of the Church is to speak as God speaks and to serve as Christ serves.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
The Apostle Peter closes this section of Scripture (1 Peter 3:1-7) with an admonition for Christian Husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the Church. In so doing, the hostility of the world opposed to the gospel will see Christ in the marriage of a Christian husband.
The Apostle Peter gives practical advise to the Christian family living in a world hostile to the Church and to the gospel. Christian families are a witness to those who oppose the gospel by living in the harmony that is expected in a life of the Christian.
The apostle Peter gives hard to hear advice for the quiet and peaceful wife who lives with a non-believing husband. But the glory of Christ is the source of beauty for the Christian wife and the salvation of the lost husband.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Peter shares words of encouragement to the Church in exile during the first century to live an honorable faith by respecting authority.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church is located in Cookeville, TN. Our desire is to honor Christ by loving the fallen world as Christ loved us. We learn how to love the world from God's Word by studying, growing, and applying God's Word in our lives and in our worship. We firmly believe that hearing God's Word is the path to understanding and experiencing salvation in Christ alone.
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church 2523 Hwy 111 North Cookeville, TN 38506 sovereigngracebaptist.org