This past Sunday I once again had the privilege of delivering the Sunday morning sermon, as a stand-in for our pastor. My theme this time was heaven, and the rest we can look forward to after our experience as strangers and pilgrims on this earth. Revelation contains a special blessing for those who read this book (Rev. 1:3), and I certainly felt blessed as I studied the book and especially my text, which was from chapter 7. I trust this message will be a blessing to you all.
If you don’t have time to listen to the entire sermon (46 minutes), please do look over my notes.
I again had the privilege of opening God’s Word and filling the pulpit yesterday. My theme was on joy in trials, something I have preached on before (see this sermon on James 1). The text this time was in 1 Peter in a section of verses that Charles Spurgeon described as a “string of pearls” (1 Peter 1:3-12). The bountiful blessings of salvation, in which we rejoice, are celebrated in these verses; and the joy we have is strong enough to endure all of life’s trials.
I hope by sharing this message, others may be blessed in their consideration of the trials of life and the unshakable joy we can have through them. If you don’t have time to listen to the entire sermon (46 minutes), please do look over my notes.
I recently had the opportunity to preach at our church again, and decided to focus on a text from the Gospels. I tried to tell the story of Lazarus as story, and the result was better than I expected. The suspense and despair at Lazarus’ sickness, and later the surprise and wonder at his resurrection really came through, as did the greatness of Jesus Christ our Savior. Also highlighted were the perspective of Lazarus’s sisters and their struggle to believe despite their questions and unmet expectations.
I hope by sharing this message, others may be blessed by the living story of Lazarus. If you don’t have time to listen to the entire sermon (48 minutes), please do look over my notes.
This past Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching for a special five-part series at our church. Each week a sermon has been devoted to one of the Five Solas of the Reformation. In English, the Five Solas are: Christ Alone, Scripture Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, and to the Glory of God Alone. This is also the order we are using for the sermon series. Our pastor has opened the series and will finish it, and two other men and I are privileged to contribute one of the messages for the set.
My sermon from this Sunday was on Sola Gratia, or Grace Alone. I was especially burdened by this topic which is so all-encompassing. My sermon highlighted the role of Grace in salvation — we are saved not on account of our works (praise God!). And I also emphasized how grace opposes legalism, in both its doctrinal and practical forms. Finally I was able to touch on Sovereign Grace just a bit as well.
My text was Titus 3, and I was pleased to discover that Martin Luther preached a pair of sermons on Titus 2:11-4 and Titus 3:4-7 for Christmas of 1522. Those sermons were epsecially pertinent to my theme and I included some quotations. (You can find Luther’s sermons on Titus here and here).
I’m sharing my sermon notes and audio in this post and welcome any feedback. You can also find all my recent sermons from The Heights Church, St. Paul, here.
If you don’t have time to listen to the entire sermon (52 minutes), please do look over my notes.
This Fall marks 500 years since the start of the Protestant Reformation. October 31, 1517 is the date that Martin Luther nailed his “Ninety-five Theses” on the church door in Wittenberg. His Reformation ideas quickly spread over all of Europe by means of the movable-type printing press… and the rest, they say, is history.
In honor of this anniversary, I am re-posting my teaching series entitled, “A Survey of the Reformation: Its History and Doctrine.”
I developed this teaching series in 2012 and have taught through it for adult Sunday School classes in two different churches. The audio files are primarily from 2012, but one of the lessons had corrupted audio and so I made a replacement recording in 2014 the next time I taught the material.
My goal in this series is two-fold: to introduce people to the history and ideals of the Reformation, and to give an introduction to the doctrine known as the five points of Calvinism or the doctrines of Grace. I have found that understanding and appreciating the doctrines of Grace is easier when one is led to understand the history of the Reformation as a whole. Also stressed in this study, are the Five Solas, and the Reformation emphasis on God’s sovereignty.
The Reformation doesn’t stand or fall with the doctrines of Grace, but that understanding flows directly from the heart of the Reformation. And while Luther may not have agreed on all the particulars of how the five points came to be articulated, he is in fundamental agreement on God’s role in salvation — as were all the original reformers.
Feel free to use the .pdf and .mp3 audio files freely, I just ask to be credited as the source of this presentation. May God grant the spirit of the Reformation and its doctrine, to continue to occupy a warm place in the hearts and minds of God’s people.
Why the Reformation Matters Today • No audio (see note below) ∼ View the Slides.
Note: You may notice that the audio deviates from the slides more and more as the lessons progress. This is due to the fact that the slides match the 2014 audio, which is unavailable. The 2012 audio files line up closely with my older slides available here.
I used a variety of resources for this series, but the four I recommend to my SS class are listed here below:
This past Sunday I once again had the privilege of delivering the Sunday morning sermon, as a stand-in for our pastor. My theme this time was heaven, and the rest we can look forward to after our experience as strangers and pilgrims on this earth. Revelation contains a special blessing for those who read this book (Rev. 1:3), and I certainly felt blessed as I studied the book and especially my text, which was from chapter 7. I trust this message will be a blessing to you all.