Lake Wylie Baptist Church: Recent Episodes
Jonathan Homesley
Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving to God for the Philippians teaches us about Christian assurance; that no one who God redeems in Christ will fall away from Christ because they are kept in faith by God’s power. They may fall into temptation but cannot fall away from Christ and lose their salvation.
He is not too glorious to become a shepherd. He is not too powerful to care for the weak. His glory may be great, but his head is not swollen.
The joy of this season has its feet planted firmly on the ground, where beggars stand on street corners, hospitals beds are full, and families fight. We need a joy that goes down underneath all of the sorrows of this world, so that it can then lift us up into the heavens.
This Thursday, we’ll all gather around tables with friends and family to celebrate a supremely Christian feast. And it matters not that Thanksgiving as a national holiday isn’t commanded in the Scriptures. Christianity alone can account for and support the tradition. If there is no God, who is there to thank? So, as we prepare to roast turkeys and set tables, as we polish crystal goblets and bake pies, Psalm 21 is here to teach us how to also prepare heaping mounds of joy and gratitude.
Why is it critical to pray for national leaders? Because national leaders represent the people. They stand in for the people. They lead the people. How they conduct themselves doesn’t simply reflect on the people; it actually takes the people somewhere.
Paul says our mission in life is to make the manifold wisdom of God known to spiritual authorities in the heavenly places. And how do we do that? “Wives, respect your husbands. Husbands, love your wives. Children, obey your parents. Parents, raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
For the next three weeks we’re preaching a series called Parenting Tune Up for two important reasons: First, because God has blessed our congregation with many new families with young children. We want to equip and encourage you parents in the role God has assigned you.
Second, we live in a world that is pursuing high-handed rebellion to God as our Creator, designer, and purpose-giver. And in that war on the authority of God on of the hottest battlelines is that of the family. Our culture is desperately trying to redefine what the family is in such a way that anything can be a family, and eventually nothing will be a family.
Here, at the end of the book, Solomon helps us think about aging. And the headline of his teaching is this: a wise person prepares for the end from the beginning. Life is short, so how can we make the most out of it?
God is the God of Fortune 500 companies and he is the God of cleaning the dryer lint. Joy in work isn’t calibrated towards the size of the work, but the size of the Lord who has called you to the task.
We live in a world of complexities and conundrums, so must resist falling into an “all or nothing” mentality. The kings of the Bible aren’t neatly divided between good and bad. It’s filled with great kings who are adulterers (David) and evil kings who bless the people of God (Cyrus). This means that political battles must be kept in perspective.
Flexibility and prudence are not the same things as cowardice.
As we seek to understand who God is, what this world is and what is our place in this world, Solomon warns of some practical barriers which impede our understanding. Surprisingly, the first potential barrier to understanding God is worship—if you are not worshipping rightly.
We ought to think of Ecclesiastes 2 as a series of highly sophisticated and calculated experiments. Solomon begins with the words, “I said in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you…” Solomon wants to find meaning in life and he’s going about his quest in a thoughtful manner.
In his novel, When Nietzsche wept, Irvin Yalom writes, “Despair is the price one pays for self-awareness.” In other words, don’t look deeply into life. If you begin to think deeply about the world, wealth, work, and wisdom you’ll despair. And yet, God, through the author of Ecclesiastes spends 12 chapters forcing us to think deeply about all these things.
A talk given by Theron Willis at the 2022 Christian Education Event held at Lake Wylie Baptist
Psalm 19 is the Psalm of 3 words. First, we hear words about God from the heavens. (v. 1-6) Then we hear words from God found in the law of Scriptures. (v. 7-11) Finally, in response, we speak words back to God. (v. 12-14) It’s also been called the book of the three laws: the law of nature, the law of God, and the law of the conscience; each of them teaching us who God is, who we are, and what is required of us.
Disclaimer: This audio series summarizes the central arguments of Carl Trueman’s book, Strange New World and was created for the purpose of teaching a 4-week discipleship course for Lake Wylie Baptist Church. Much of the material consists of copied text from Trueman’s book, often edited for the sake of condensed presentation to a live audience. Please do not distribute without permission.
Psalm 18 is the first long Psalm in the Psalter and is quoted in 2 Samuel 22 with a few minor differences. The fascinating part is that 2 Samuel 22 presents Psalm 18 as David’s last words. Looking backward over a lifetime of warfare, David praises God’s deliverance from his enemies, especially from King Saul. It is therefore, a Psalm of thanksgiving as well as a royal psalm.
Disclaimer: This audio series summarizes the central arguments of Carl Trueman’s book, Strange New World and was created for the purpose of teaching a 4-week discipleship course for Lake Wylie Baptist Church. Much of the material consists of copied text from Trueman’s book, often edited for the sake of condensed presentation to a live audience. Please do not distribute without permission.
Disclaimer: This audio series summarizes the central arguments of Carl Trueman’s book, Strange New World and was created for the purpose of teaching a 4-week discipleship course for Lake Wylie Baptist Church. Much of the material consists of copied text from Trueman’s book, often edited for the sake of condensed presentation to a live audience. Please do not distribute without permission.
If we tracked our prayers for an entire month and created a pie chart to visualize what we prayed about, the largest pieces of that pie would be prayers for health, prayers for family, and prayers for our work. The medium-sized pieces might be prayers for the missionaries and the lost, or prayers for our nation. But how big, or small, would the slice be for praying against our enemies?
There are 150 Psalms, and the word “enemy” occurs 104 times. That’s because when the people of God seek to honor God in their homes, their work, and their nation, Satan hates it, the world hates it, and the enemies of God hate it. And God wants you to learn how to pray about your enemies.
Psalm 16 begins, “A miktam” of David. Miktam is related to a Hebrew word meaning, “an engraving.” It could be that Psalm 16 was inscribed on plates or walls of homes or businesses. It’s a profound Psalm that is full of instruction on putting your confidence in the Lord in the midst of difficult times.
Disclaimer: This audio series summarizes the central arguments of Carl Trueman’s book, Strange New World and was created for the purpose of teaching a 4-week discipleship course for Lake Wylie Baptist Church. Much of the material consists of copied text from Trueman’s book, often edited for the sake of condensed presentation to a live audience. Please do not distribute without permission.
Who can be God’s friend? Who can come into his presence and enjoy table-fellowship with him? Psalm 15 has been referred to as a “liturgy of entrance.” As pilgrims came to worship in Jerusalem, before they entered the place of worship, they asked a question: “Who can come in?” The answer is, “Only those who mirror the character of the one they’ve come to worship.”
As we will see, verse one asks who can “sojourn” or “camp” with God, but by the end of the Psalm we’re told that those who mirror their God will not be temporary aliens in his house, but children who are welcomed to an eternal and unshakeable home.
David begins with a description of practical atheism. Three words for “fool” in Hebrew all relate to moral orientation rather than intellectual beliefs. This denial of God isn’t philosophical atheism, but rather, pragmatic deism. The fool, therefore, is anyone who lives as if God doesn’t exist. (v. 1) For this reason, instead of the word “fool,” one commentator chose the word, “scoundrel.”
And, how bad off is the world of men? So bad that when God opens the window of heaven and peers down, not even divine omniscience is able to find a single person seeking after God. (v. 2) God looks down to see if anyone is looking up.
Psalm 13, written by David, neatly divides into three stanzas. First, David asks a question, then he makes an accusation, and finally he resolves to sing. The first stanza consists of 5 lines, the accusation is 4 lines, and the song is 3 lines. As one commentator put it, Psalm 13 “casts up constantly lessening waves, until it becomes still as the sea when smooth as a mirror.”
The Psalm begins with a one-word request. Save! Help! Why? Because the people of God are surrounded by liars and those who are loyal and faithful to their word are nowhere to be found. (v. 1) Everyone is lying and their lies manifest themselves in flattery and speaking with a double heart. Literally: they speak with a heart and a heart. (v. 2)
Paul’s final appeal includes both a positive and negative command. First, Timothy must keep safe the deposit that Paul has made with him. And what is the precious treasure that Timothy is to guard? It is none other than the teaching of Paul’s letter. The Scriptures are valuable treasures that must be kept secure. We guard the gospel, not by tucking it away in a safe deposit box and never speaking of it. No, we put it on display, and defend it from attack and defacement. (v. 20) As he displays the gospel by his teaching and the example of his life, Timothy must avoid potholes in the road. Turn a deaf ear from godless chatter and false knowledge. Don’t even listen to empty teaching. (v 20) The voices you listen to are leading you somewhere, and godless voices lead you into the ditch. Timothy will not be able to do this in and of his own strength: he will require divine and enabling grace along this road. This parting note has no verb. Literally: grace with you. And it’s plural. Timothy isn’t an island. He’s a member of a congregation. (v. 21)