Church of the Messiah, Ottawa Sermons: Recent Episodes
Church of the Messiah
Mark: Jesus is King
Introducing Jesus
Mark 1:1-13
- The Son of God, Jesus, stooped lower than low for you, so that you, stooped and broken by your sin, might stand whole and free as His new creation, before other people and the Triune God.
Enduring Grace: 2 Timothy
The Triune God Has Spoken
2 Timothy 3:10-17
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The Triune God is the ultimate author of the Bible. The words in it are the words He wanted in it.
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From each particular word in the Bible, to the Bible as a whole, and for every literary unit in between, the Bible is God's word written.
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The Lord's plan is surprising and humbling - the main way to understand His word written is by the teaching and example of ordinary christians and the church.
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Reading the Bible as the Triune God intended is a means of grace. Preaching and teaching the Bible as the Triune God intended is a means of grace.
Enduring Grace: 2 Timothy
The Bad News About the Human Condition
2 Timothy 3:1-9
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Life will always be difficult, so following Jesus and learning from Him as you walk with Him is wise.
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The word of God brings you the bad news that the human condition is bent and disordered, so life is difficult.
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Denying the truth of the human condition creates fertile soil for predators to prey on the weak and the vulnerable.
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When you understand the bad news, you understand your need for the good news.
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Teach and discipline to help people thrive in Christ, and to protect the weak and vulnerable.
Enduring Grace: 2 Timothy
The Importance of Truth
2 Timothy 2:14-26
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To become a Christian is to take the red pill.
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The Lord created and launched a movement of truth and love that builds communities of truth and love for the glory of God and the good of people.
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Since the truth matters, words and how you use them matters.
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To know the truth about God, the world, and yourself is a moral quest.
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Since people matter to God, people should matter to you. Therefore, seek to win the person for Christ, not the argument for your ego.
Enduring Grace: Second Timothy
The Gift and the Choice: to Suffer or to be Ashamed
2 Timothy 1:1-18
Verses 1-7
Verses 15-18
verses 8-14
Knowing God
Personal and Holy
Psalm 24:1-2.
Leviticus 11:45
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The true and living God is a Who, not a what.
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The true and living God made lots and lots of "what," but only made each human being a who.
Leviticus 22:31-33
- The Lord redeems you from doom; sets you aside for His Way and mission; as His treasured adopted child,
1 Peter 1:13-16
1 Peter 2:9-12
Knowing the Triune God
Knowing Him and Being Known
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Unless the Triune God revealed Himself, you could not know He exists.
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The Triune God reveals Himself to be known, and to know you, in a Covenant of love.
Matthew 11:25-30
- The person, words, and work of Jesus reveals the Triune God and redeems all who receive Him.
Luke 23:35-43
Knowing the Triune God: He is Good, Just, and Full of Mercy
August 15, 2021
- The Triune God is good.
Psalm 100
Mark 10:18
- The Triune God made all that exists good.
Genesis 1: 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31.
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The Triune God did not create evil. He is always and only opposed to moral wrongdoing.
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Your only hope is the Lord Jesus Christ.
John 1: 14-18.
Knowing God
The Uncreated Creator and Sustainer of All That Exists
- The uncreated Triune God created all that exists out of nothing. He alone sustains all that exists.
John 1:1-4
Colossians 1:16-17
Hebrews 1:1-3
Revelation 4:11
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The Triune God created all that exists out of nothing. He alone sustains all that exists.
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The Triune God created man and woman, male and female, in His image.
Genesis 1:26-31
Psalm 8
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The Triune God created man and woman, male and female, in His image.
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Out of his infinite love, the Father sent the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit, into His fallen creation, to turn the story of your life, from a tragedy to a comedy.
Psalm 103:15-16
John 1:9-14.
Knowing God
God is self-existent, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable (immutable)
Malachi 3:6, Psalm 90:1,2
Knowing God
God is sovereign, omniscient and omnipotent
Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 10:29–31
Knowing God
God is Triune
July 4, 2021
- Jesus taught that there is only one God.
Mark 12:28-34
- Jesus taught that He is different from God the Father.
Luke 2: 48-50
Mark 14:32-36
Mark 15:33-34
- Jesus taught and showed that He is God, the Son of God.
John 14:28-31
3A. Jesus taught that He and God the Father had the same nature.
3B. Jesus did not pray for God to act, He acted as only God can.
Mark 1:25-26
Mark 1:41-42.
3C. Jesus forgave sins, but only God can forgive sins.
Mark 2:1-12
3D. God instituted the Sabbath and its rules, and Jesus claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath.
Mark. 2:27-28.
3E. Jesus acted as only God can act to still the storm.
Mark 4:39-41
3F. Under oath, Jesus claimed He would sit on God's throne.
Mark 14:61-64
3G. Jesus accepted worship as He taught the truth of the Trinity.
Matthew 28:17-20.
- Only God can reveal Himself. Only God can provide the way to Himself.
Living and Praying: Gospel Life for God's People
The Ten Commandments
Deuteronomy 5:6-21
James: Practical Gospel Wisdom
Gospel Shaped Maturity
James 4:5-10
First Slide: Natural spirituality - Do better >>>> Do spiritual things >>>> Accepted by god.
Second Slide: The Gospel! - Accepted by Triune God >>>> Draw near to Him >>>> Do better.
James: Practical Gospel Wisdom
The Enigma of Being Human
James 3:1-12
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A human being is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma - how can we be both natural and unnatural?
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The biblical gospel is the only key that fits the riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside the enigma of the human condition.
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The biblical gospel provides the means of grace for humbly pressing on.
James: Practical Gospel Wisdom
Jesus and Prejudice
James 1:26 - 2:7
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The more real the biblical Gospel is to your heart, and the more real the Triune God becomes to your heart, the more you see the deep sinfulness of favoritism, partiality and prejudice.
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Lord, please help me to see the prejudice log in my own eyes before I see the prejudice speck in the eyes of other people.
Lamentations: The Lord Amidst the Ruins
Does God punish people today?
Lamentations 5:1-22
Lamentations: The Lord Amidst the Ruins
The Seed of Hope in a Pain-Filled Heart
Lamentations 4:1-22
Lamentations: The Lord Amidst the Ruins
Despair: A Moment or a Way of Life
Lamentations 3:1-66
Immanuel: God With Us.
The True and Greater Connection
Luke 2:15-21
TEXT OF Luke 2:21
MINIMOVIE: God with us
MINIMOVIE The wrong Christmas Story
- He was cut off, so that you can be connected into life with the Triune God.
MINIMOVIE: Spoken word Christmas
Immanuel: God With Us
Dwelling
Matthew 1:18-25
TEXT OF Matt. 1:18-25
MINIMOVIE: God with us
MINIMOVIE The wrong Christmas Story
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You were made to dwell at peace, in joy, with the Triune God and others.
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The Triune God cannot dwell with you without saving you.
TEXT OF Rev. 21:3-4
- Jesus, Immanuel, saved you to dwell with Him and others into eternity.
MINIMOVIE: Spoken word Christmas
Means of Grace: Colossians
The Bible and Slavery
Colossians 3:22-4:1
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Only the biblical Gospel makes slavery morally unthinkable.
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The biblical Gospel empowers and gives hope to the powerless.
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Both the powerful and the powerless need to receive the biblical Gospel.
The Means of Grace: Colossians
Christian Counter-Culture: Wives and Husbands
Colossians 3:17-21
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The Lord gives the wife the quest to submit to her husband, but the husband is not given the power to command. The Lord gives the husband the quest to self-effacingly love his wife, but the wife is not given the power to demand.
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Together the husband and the wife illuminate how God saves us in Jesus.
The Means of Grace: Colossians
A Life of Gratitude
Colossians 3:15-17
Gospel Growth A. Question: Will I grow ME or will the Lord grow me? (2:16-23) B. Set your mind on Christ crucified and risen. (3:1-4) C. Put off sin (as defined by the Bible). (3:5-11) D. Put on virtue (as defined by the Bible). (3:10-14) E. Let Christ rule in your heart and speak into your heart. (3:15-16) E. Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks. (3:17)
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You cannot be free and at peace if your relationship with the Triune God is broken.
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Only Jesus can make the peace you need to live the free and fruitful life you were designed for.
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The Lord cannot dwell within you without growing His rule within you.
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Lord, please speak and rule in all my heart - no area is out of bounds to you. I hold nothing back. Make Your home in me so I may live a grateful life for your glory.
The Means of Grace: Colossians
Put on the New Self
Gospel Growth
A. Question: Will I grow ME or will the Lord grow me? B. Set your mind on Christ crucified and risen. C. Put off sin (as defined by the Bible). D. Put on virtue (as defined by the Bible). E. Let Christ rule in your heart and speak into your heart. E. Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks.
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In light of His death upon the cross for you, set your mind on Christ in all His risen, sovereign, trinitarian glory.
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Given your destiny in Christ, put off sin - sin as defined by the Bible, not the world.
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Given your destiny in Christ, put on the biblical virtues.
Means of Grace: Colossians
Put Off Your Old Self
Col. 3:5-11
Gospel Growth
A. Question: Will I grow ME or will the Lord grow me? B. Set your mind on Christ crucified and risen. C. Put off sin (as defined by the Bible). D. Put on virtue (as defined by the Bible). E. Let Christ rule in your heart and speak into your heart. E. Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks.
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In light of His death upon the cross for you, set your mind on Christ in all His risen, sovereign, trinitarian glory.
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Given your destiny in Christ, put off sin - sin as defined by the Bible, not the world.
The Means of Grace: Colossians
The True and Better Authentic You
Colossians 3:1-4
Gospel Growth A. Question: Will I grow ME or will the Lord grow me? B. Set your mind on Christ crucified and risen. C. Put off sin. D. Put on true virtue. E. Let the Triune God rule in you and His word dwell in you. E. Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks.
- In light of His death upon the cross for you, set your mind on Christ in all His risen, sovereign, trinitarian glory.
The Means of Grace: Colossians
Who Grows You?
Colossians 2:16-23
(16) Therefore don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat and drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. (17) These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
(18) Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying that they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud. (19) They have lost connection with the head, from Whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
(20) If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive to the world, do you submit to its regulations - (21) "Do not handle," "Do not taste," " Do not touch," (22) Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. (23) These rules seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person's sinful desires.
The Means of Grace: Colossians
Antifragile
Colossians 2:8-15
"We are balloons filled with feelings in a world full of pins."
"We are just balloons filled with feelings on a world full of pins."
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You are like a vapour, yet you bear the image of the Triune God, and He has put eternity into your heart.
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In Christ you are antifragile.
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Apart from Christ you are a cut rose.
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Christian, you walk in the dying days of the doomed dragon, so remember - you have been filled in Christ, in Whom the whole fullness of deity dwells.
The Means of Grace: Colossians
Hope and Suffering
Colossians 1:21-29
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You are farther from the Triune God, and more hostile to Him, than you realize.
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Jesus is your perfect representative, penitent, and “price-payer.”
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Christ in you, the hope of glory will shape your lesser hopes.
General Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we Your unworthy servants do give You most humble and hearty thanks for all Your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all people. We bless You for our creation, preservation and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for Your inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech You, give us that due sense of all Your mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we show forth Your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to Your service, and by walking before You in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom with You and the Holy Spirit be all honour and glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Means of Grace: Colossians
Who is Jesus, Really
Colossians 1:15-20
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The Triune God created all things and sustains all things.
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It was through Adam and Eve that sin entered creation, and sin has bent all things to at least some extent.
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The creator and sustainer of all things entered His creation to shed His blood for the redemption of all who will receive His gift with penitence and humility.
The Crucified Messiah
The Cross of Christ is a Victory
Colossians 2:13-15
The cross of Christ opens the way to forgiveness and defeats demonic powers
- The cross of Christ opens the way to forgiveness
- The cross of Christ defeats demonic powers
The Crucified Messiah
God Made Visable in Christ
John 1:18
- God was made visible in the life of Christ
- God's character was made visible in the death of Christ
The Crucified Messiah
Jesus Bore My Curse
Galatians 3:10-14
1) In the world, curses flow from hatred and a lust for power.
2) For the Triune God, His "curse" is spoken out of His great, great love for you and His desire to bless you.
3) The Bible warns you that pursuing religion or spirituality is like peddling down a hill thinking it is the way to the top of the hill.
IMAGE 1
4) The Triune God broke into the real world, to do for you what you could never do for yourself. This is offered to you as an unmerited and humbling gift.
5) Jesus offers to trade places with you. On Him, all that shames, diminishes, and punishes you; and all that you have done to deserve that shame, diminishment, and punishment. On you, His sinless, loving, sacrificial, risen life of union with the Living God.
IMAGE 2
6) In Christ Jesus, every curse against you is swallowed up in life and blessing that is real today and continues into eternity.
A Letter From Quarantine: Philippians
Autonomy and Money
Philippians 4:10-23
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You need the Lord's strength to handle plenty and abundance.
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Your true "autonomy project" is only found in Jesus, in His saving work, in His grace, in His generous strength.
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Overflowing and unending generosity is the very nature of the Triune God who created you, sustains you, and who alone can redeem and glorify you.
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The Lord's strength is His generous gift to you, and His strength is the strength to become generous and free.
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Only the Gospel answers the true longing of your heart to be you, to be free, to be loved, and to hear "Well done my child!"
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Lord Jesus Christ, I reject my autonomy project. I reject my belief that I am owed. Thank You that You died upon the cross for me, and for the saving grace that You offer. Jesus, please come into my life and be my Saviour and Lord. I hold nothing back. Thank You that You will never let me go or leave me. Help me to stay close to You every day. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. AMEN
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Lord please grip me with the Gospel and fill me with Your strength. Please help me to put money's power in my life to death, and grow in me a great generosity for the Gospel ministry of my church and your people, all for God's glory. AMEN.
A Letter From Quarantine: Philippians
Thinking?
Phil. 4:8-9
"Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me - practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. "
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The Lord commands His children to think.
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The Bible reveals that since your thinking is too narrow, incomplete, short-sighted, and unrealistic, it needs to be redeemed, reformed and renewed.
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In the real world, where the Triune God claims every square inch and every split second in the universe, only the cross of Christ can redeem, comfort, and propel you to live free in His creation.
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Lord, please transform me by the renewing of my mind.
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Lord, as I read your word written cover-to-cover, please help me to meditate deeply on the Gospel and the whole counsel of God.
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Lord when I am afraid of Your total claim upon my life, please grip me deeply with the truth and beauty of the Gospel.
A Letter From Quarantine: Philippians
Privilege?
Philippians 3:12-21
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If you think it is wrong for someone to use their privilege against you (or others), why is it alright for you to claim privileges against the Triune God?
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The Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself fully, utterly, unreservedly, lovingly, and effectively for you.
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Lord Jesus Christ, as I press on to answer Your call to me, deliver me from my amnesia and help me to live knowing You have made me your own.
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Lord Jesus Christ, as I press on to answer Your call to me, help me to put to death my addiction to claiming privileges against You.
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Lord Jesus Christ, as I press on to answer Your call to me, connect me to others who are self-effacingly answering Your call to them.
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Lord Jesus Christ, as I press on to answer Your call to me, fan into flame within me a longing to be completely with You as Your child in Heaven.
A Letter From Quarantine: Philippians
A Good Person?
Philippians 3:1-11
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"Christian" is not a synonym for "good."
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To live wisely and well you need to both flee and pursue, reject and embrace.
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The Gospel reveals that you are far worse than you ever realized, and far more saved and loved than you can ever imagine.
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By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, I am made right, grow right, and end right.
A Letter From Quarantine: Philippians
Grumbling
Phil. 2:14-30
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The "narrow way" of Jesus brings you into the worldwide expanse of freedom.
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Since you live beyond death, even the smallest sin in your life can grow to consume you.
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Since you cannot leave yourself, you cannot deliver yourself - you need a Saviour who knows and loves you.
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The Gospel shows how the Triune God has acted to unbend all human pride and atone for it - especially yours.
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Loving Father, help me to put all my grumbling and self-righteous thinking to death, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, help me to hold fast to the word of life, so I will live free to love like my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. AMEN.
A Letter From Quarantine: Philippians
Personal Growth
Philippians 2:5-13
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Almighty God, if the turning point of human history, is the sacrificial life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, then in Him, may it be the turning point of my whole life, and my life each day.
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Almighty God, since for the good of others the Lord did not cling to His advantages, then in Him, neither will I.
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Almighty God, since for the good of others the Lord humbled Himself, then in Him, so will I.
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Almighty God, since for the good of others the Lord was obedient to You, then in Him, so will I.
A Letter From Quarantine: Philippians
Humility
Phil. 1:27-2:11
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You enter the Jesus way "alone," but you walk the Jesus way with Jesus and others.
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Jesus will lead you to walk towards, and through, hard things.
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Jesus rescued you for a fullness of joy..
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On the Jesus Way, the problem is not different insights, the problem is selfishness and pride.
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Pride and selfishness give temporary pleasure, but rob you of joy.
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You cannot escape pride. You need to be rescued.
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The Gospel is the good news that the Triune God has acted to rescue you.
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It is a rescue that shapes you, draws you, and brings you into a new relationship with the rescuer.
A Letter From Quarantine: Philippians
To live is Christ, To Die is Gain.
Phil. 1:19-26
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Spiritualities and religions require the diminishment and even the death of people. The Good News is that the true and living God diminished Himself and died for the good of people.
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Every human being is fearfully and wonderfully made, and bears an unsurpassed dignity and worth.
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In seeking to become like God, with the true God under us, humans became bent, and death became the doom of every human being.
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Jesus is the Triune God's provision. Life itself took flesh and lived and died, so that the sin that dooms you to death, and your life itself, would be swallowed by eternal life.
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By faith in Christ, the Triune God unites you to Christ, and you become regenerate, a new creation.
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For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Phil. 1:21)
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You will be delivered "naturally," supernaturally, or eternally.
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The Holy Spirit flows in and through you for your good, the spread of the gospel, the good of people, and the glory of the Triune God.
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With new creation life, you can always go farther up and further in.
A Letter From Quarantine: Philippians
Envy
Phil. 1:12-18
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Envy is corrupted, poisonous aspiration.
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Envy is zero-sum.
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It is a short walk from envy to hatred.
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Envy creates and sustains fear.
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Envy gives no pleasure.
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It is hard to see envy in yourself, easy to see in others.
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You matter to the Triune God, so He convicts of sin to connect with you for your good.
Letter From Quarantine: Philippians
Cynicism and Grace
Philippians 1:1-11
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Lord, please grow in me a humble, trusting, remembering of Your gift of grace and peace to me.
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Lord, by Your grace, help me to die to cynicism and instead, grow in thankfulness to You.
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Lord, by Your grace, help me to put to death my confidence in my work, and instead, grow in me great confidence that You work in me for my eternal good.
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Lord, by Your grace, please teach me and help me to pray for others.
Pandemic Easter
A Sure and Certain Hope
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
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Good news! Just outside of Jerusalem, in the spring of 30 or 33, Jesus died by crucifixion on a Friday, and was resurrected on Sunday.
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Good news! By trust in Him, the Lord Jesus Christ will enter into a union with you, that even death cannot break.
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Good news! In union with Christ, you will be resurrected body and soul.
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Good news! If the end of your story changes, the whole story of your life changes. In Christ, the end of your story is now the Father smiling, welcoming you, His redeemed child.
Pandemic Holy Week
Forsaken? Shamed?
Psalm 22
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David predicted the death and resurrection of Jesus Messiah 1000 years in advance.
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Jesus is the Messiah who was forsaken and died to give ordinary people who trust in Him a new, eternal status - His sister, His brother.
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He was forsaken to save you, so He will never forsake you.
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He was forsaken to save you, so when you are shamed, mocked, and abandoned, you can pour out your heart to Him.
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He was forsaken to save you, so in Him, your suffering will have meaning.
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He was forsaken to save you, so no matter how hard life gets, the final word about you will be LIFE!
Judges: Messy People, Faithful God
The Need for Justice
Judges 19:1-21:25
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"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of Triune God." (Rom 3:23)
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You have a yearning for perfect justice and mercy, goodness and love, truth and strength, in some place with some One, not in this world.
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In the death of Jesus upon the cross, yearning became fact.
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You have a yearning to be with others, at home in the Garden, walking with the Triune God, in the cool of the day, naked and unashamed.
Judges: Messy People, Faithful God
To Strong to Fail?
Judges 16:1-31
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Being blessed with great power can make you arrogant, foolish and contemptuous of the Triune God who is the true source of blessing.
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You easily believe that you are too powerful to collapse.
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Jesus is the true and greater Samson.
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The Lord takes no delight in the death of a sinner - He delights when you turn and call on Him to redeem you as His own.
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In the real world, the Triune God is present, powerful, active, sovereign and never needs a contingency plan.
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Samson is God's monkey wrench in Israel's plans.
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The Lord is saving Israel despite Samson and despite Israel.
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The Lord saves you despite you!
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In the whole counsel of God, the end never justifies the means.
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Cheap grace whitewashes and baptizes selfishness and sin.
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God's grace invades you, revealing selfishness as selfishness and sin as sin, while working for your true good in redemption and amendment of life.
Judges: Messy People, Faithful God
Big Mess, Bigger Grace
Judges 10:6-12:7
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In true and wise repentance, you are sorry for the wrong that you have done, not the personal consequences of wrongdoing.
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In true and wise repentance, you put away the sin, and replace it with the good.
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Doing what is evil is never acceptable worship in the eyes of the Triune God.
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The Lord delivers Israel despite Jephthah's vow, not because of his vow.
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Two things the fallen mind believes. A. "First be good, then be heard, then be one (with "god"). B. The world is divided between good people and bad people.
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Every human being is a bent treasure who wears a crown.
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Religion does not work. But there is a power from the Triune God that is pure grace and is offered to the undeserving as a gift. When received by faith in Jesus, God makes: the dead alive, the blind have light, the shameful have honour, the slave free, the condemned acquitted, the lost saved, the poor rich, the alone adopted, the impure pure, the sinful righteous, the doomed possess a sure hope, the far off brought near, the hostile reconciled, the guilty forgiven, the demonized filled with the Holy Spirit, the loveless loved, the dweller in the domain of darkness transferred to dwell as a citizen in the Kingdom of the Beloved Son.
Judges: Messy People, Faithful God
The Success Trap
Judges 8:1-10:5
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Success can be your downfall. It tempts you to boast over God and exalt yourself.
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If both success and failure keeps you from the Triune God, then only He can act to save you.
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You will have to struggle with the world, the flesh and the devil till you die.
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By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone you have both the certainty of eternal security and the certainty of help for the daily struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil.
Judges: Messy People, Faithful God
Taking God at His Word
Judges 6:1-40
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It is not true that all paths lead to God. It is true, that the Triune God uses many paths to bring people to Himself.
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Unlike idols, the Triune God is love, and He loves ordinary people like you.
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Power kills to protect itself. Love will die for the beloved.
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Idol worshippers go to great lengths to "save" their idols. But the Lord went to great lengths to save and deliver you.
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While you were still giving yourself to idols, Messiah Jesus died for you.
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The more that idols grip your heart, the harder it is to believe that the Lord keeps His word.
Joshua: Messy People, Faithful God
The Problem of Self-Centeredness
Judges 4:1-5:31
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Godly faith desires to listen to what the Lord says in every facet of life.
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A Christian is a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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No human being can escape being judged by the Triune God.
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On the cross, Jesus took the punishment you deserve.
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Your doom on me; My destiny on you; come to me; be mine; follow me. Jesus.
Messy People, Faithful God
God Unexpected
Judges 3:7-31.
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The Lord has proper anger at evil. He is never overwhelmed by anger or anger driven. He is mercy.
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The Lord is faithful, reliable, and sovereign. He is never tame.
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The Lord will keep His word, His way, in His time, for your good, and His glory.
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You long for a left-handed God to provide a left-handed Saviour who saves you in a left-handed way,
Judges: Messy People, Faithful God
The Presence of Idols
Judges 2:6-3:6
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The Lord longs for you to be fully human, fully free, fully whole, fully His, therefore, fully idol-free.
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As a creature made in the image of God, you are hardwired to give homage and fealty.
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Idols seem full of promise, but really only plunder you.
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In light of your idol problem, you need the true and greater Joshua.
Judges: Messy People, Faithful God
Holy War?
Judges 1:1-2:5
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The Book of Judges does not teach "Holy War" (as it is generally understood).
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The Lord's goal? His covenant people in His land living under His care and His rule in such a way that the whole world would know - and seek Him.
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Judges foreshadows judgement day.
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Judges points to your need for His grace.
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Judges calls you to live Proverbs 3: 5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."
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Our problem with living Proverbs 3:5-6 is not that we can't, but that we won't. Trusting and obeying the Lord is always possible.
Isaiah: The Light Has Dawned
An Authority That Frees
Isaiah 9:1-7
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Christmas is the beginning of the answer to a riddle wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
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Christmas is the beginning of the answer to a riddle wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
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"For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
Isaiah: The Light Has Dawned
God With Us
Isaiah 7:14
- Fully knowing the mess, the good and untameable God, took on human nature, was born of a virgin, lived a human life, died for you, to live with you, so God's call to you, will become real in you.