The Church at Antioch
What is a missionary? Isn’t everyone a missionary? How are missionaries made? Who sends missionaries? With this sermon we continue our short series, Going Global: Following Jesus to the End of the Earth. We will be in Acts 13–14 where we will get some answers to these questions.
No Other Name
In this sermon we are confronted with the simplicity and the potency of the gospel message. Under the pressure of the first run of persecution, Peter preaches the gospel: “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name …” (4:12).
To the End of the Earth
With this sermon we’ll begin with Acts 1:1–11, the table of contents for the book of Acts and the church’s work until Christ comes.
The Lord Came Down to See the Tower
Listen in to hear about man’s attempt to glorify their own names and God’s gracious blessing of humbling them.
The Lord Remembered Noah
Most people are able to tell the story of Noah. But how many of us know how to use the story of Noah? The account of God’s judgment and salvation in Noah’s day spans three chapters. Through this sermon we’ll walk our way through the account and consider how this cataclysmic event both warns us and comforts us.
East of Eden
Listen in to hear about the beginning of humanity’s exile and God’s plan for them. He has not given up on his creation.
Did God Actually Say?
What’s wrong with people? We ask that about other people, and on our honest days we ask it about ourselves. What exactly is wrong with people? In fact, what is wrong with the world, and is there a unifying explanation for everything that has gone so wrong, inside of us and outside of us? Listen in to hear the answer from Genesis 3.
Naked and Not Ashamed
Listen in to hear about a brief glimpse into a perfect world. All the conscience knows is innocence and all work is enjoyable. We know this is short lived, but it will inform us of how we were designed to live.
And Also the Stars
Listen in as we explore God’s purpose for creating the vast expanse that we live under.
In the Beginning
Listen in as we start at the beginning. The beginning of Creation and the beginning of God’s plan to bless the world through salvation. It all starts with a God who came before all things.
The God of a New City
With this sermon we close up our five-part series through the book of Isaiah. Here, the city that began in spiritual shambles is radiant, beautiful, and redeemed. They even get a new name, “you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken” (Isa. 62:21). This is what the work of the suffering servant has made possible, a renewed people, rejoicing in God forever. For believers today, these words hold out the certain hope of our final redemption at Jesus’ return.
The God of the World and History
With this sermon we begin a new five-part series through the book of Isaiah, A Vision of Two Cities. The Book of Isaiah includes a number of familiar lines. For example, it was Isaiah who said of Christ, “they will call His name Immanuel,” and that the Messiah would be “crushed for our iniquities.” But who was Isaiah and what was the whole of his message? Hearing these familiar lines in the context of the book’s overall message will add depth to our gospel and strength to our witness. The Book of Isaiah can be broken down nicely into five parts, and so we will work through Isaiah in five sermons.
The God of Unapproachable Holiness
With this sermon we begin a new five-part series through the book of Isaiah, A Vision of Two Cities. The Book of Isaiah includes a number of familiar lines. For example, it was Isaiah who said of Christ, “they will call His name Immanuel,” and that the Messiah would be “crushed for our iniquities.” But who was Isaiah and what was the whole of his message? Hearing these familiar lines in the context of the book’s overall message will add depth to our gospel and strength to our witness. The Book of Isaiah can be broken down nicely into five parts, and so we will work through Isaiah in five sermons.
Our Gospel Vision
Every human being is a treasure hunter, longing for something truly satisfying and truly lasting. Where can it be found? We’re the people who know. We’ve found treasure in Jesus Christ and the unsearchable riches of His gospel. As those filled with the fullness of God, we long to see people find what we have found. We long to see people truly find and treasure Jesus forever.
Our Gospel Mission
What is the church’s mission? Is it to preach the gospel among the nations? Is it to transform our communities through social good? Is it to alleviate suffering? Is it to glorify God? What is it? How we relate these things will depend on how we define “mission,” a term not explicitly found in Scripture. So, after some biblical spadework to define terms, we’ll turn to Ephesians 3, and specifically to verses 8–10 to consider how Paul expressed the church’s mission in personal terms.
Our Gospel Identity
In Acts 2:44, we read that, “all who believed were together and had all things in common.” The church’s faith was the foundation of her life. With this sermon we begin a three-part series reflecting on the question of the church’s identity, her mission, and her vision. This is a sermon titled, “Our Gospel Identity,” answering the question, who are we?
Finishing Touches
Listen in to hear our conclusion as we meditate on the ending of 1 Timothy and reflect on building healthy churches.
Fight the Good Fight
When Paul opened his letter, he charged Timothy to “remain at Ephesus” (1:3). Apparently there were reasons Paul suspected that Timothy might want to jump. But there are better reasons to stay. In this passage, nearing the close of his letter, Paul turns to a final charge. In this charge, Paul will deliver not only what Timothy needs to do, but the enablement he needs: a vision of an invincible, immortal, inaccessible, and invisible God. Nothing can stop him
Contentment, Work, and Wealth
Work and our wallets. These are two deceptively difficult dimensions of the Christian life. When we think of areas of temptation, these aren’t normally the first things on our mind. Yet these were areas on the mind of Paul, and he wanted them on Timothy’s mind as one shepherding the flock at Ephesus. And so this sermon will put these subjects on our mind. They aren’t easy subjects, for more reasons than one. There are some difficulties of historical context that we’ll need to consider. Even more difficult, the context of our own hearts. Abundant help is ours for every related challenge in the “sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Timothy 6:3).
Caring for Elders
Over the last few weeks we’ve looked at an important dimension of the church’s health: her care for her widows and, individually, her care for family. With this sermon we come to another important dimension of the church’s health: her care for her spiritual leaders, what the Bible refers to with three different terms: elders, or pastors, or overseers. From compensation to accusations, from the process for appointment to recognizing that even elders get indigestion, all of these go into ensuring a healthy eldership, and a healthy eldership is important for a healthy church.
Caring for Parents and Please God
Caring for aging parents is a burden. That’s what Scripture calls it (1 Timothy 5:16). But is it also a blessing? Yes, and understanding how is an important key to taking on this humble service. Some of us are in a position of needing care, others are in a position to care, and all of us will be in one of those places in a matter of time. Consider this: all of us are right now in a position to exhort and encourage one another in this hidden service, a service seen and smiled on by our Lord.
Honoring Widows
Widows are near to the heart of God, and so it is no surprise that the matter of their care fills a good portion of Paul’s first letter to Timothy. The early church invested great energy in the care of their widows. It is possible that in Ephesus the church’s generosity was unsustainable. Paul, in 1 Timothy 5:3–16, seems to offer needed regulation on how the church went about its care for its older widowed members. Many things have changed since the first century, but something clear remains: the church’s responsibility to its most vulnerable members. Some work will need to be done to reconstruct the historical situation, but once we do we’ll see a beautiful picture of how God cares for His people.
Baptism: A Sign of God’s Sovereign Work
Listen in to hear the story of a sister’s baptism from Acts 16:6–15. Her name was Lydia, and she was the first European convert to Christ. As Luke tells her story, we realize that there is more going on in our salvation than the preaching of the gospel and our reception of that good news. These are God’s gracious means. But God is at work behind the scenes to orchestrate every salvation, even opening our very hearts to hear and receive the Word. This account will put a story to the words, “Salvation belongs to the Lord” (Jonah 2:9).
Family Ties
Leadership in the church isn’t just about public up-front ministry, but life-on-life ministry. Which means we need both from God’s undershepherds in our life. We see that ever clearly in this passage, 1 Timothy 5:1–2, “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.” There’s something here for everyone and something for our good whenever we’re together.
Elders as Bible Men
The fourth chapter in Paul’s letter to Timothy addresses Timothy with what he must do in his role of spiritual leadership at Ephesus. Timothy’s job helps us grasp the nature and role of biblical elders in the life of the church. With this sermon we come to 1 Timothy 4:13–16, a passage with no less than six commands to Timothy concerning what he is to do with the Word: “devote,” “do not neglect,” “practice,” “immerse,” “keep a close watch,” and “persist.” Why such repetition and urgency? It’s because we need it.
Elders as Examples of Godliness
Fitness and physical training is and has always been the rage. That’s why Paul could say this to Timothy: “train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:7–8). That’s a very great promise. What is godliness, how do we get it, and why should we want it? And what does that all have to do with elders? Paul is, after all, writing to a young elder/pastor, Timothy.
Elders as Theological Watchdogs
Why do some among us fall away? We get one answer in 1 John 2:19: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.” When someone falls away they do so because they never belonged to us in the first place. But in 1 Timothy 4:1–6 we get another set of answers. Demons are involved, so are false understandings about God. How does God keep and protect His own? He does so, in part, though the vigilant labor of theological watchdogs, sheepdogs called, elders.
Heartbeat of a Healthy Church
We have reflected on the important roles of elder and deacon within the church. But if we’re inclined to think that elders and deacons are the important people and the rest of the church something else, then this week’s text will set our thinking right. The church, the new covenant community, is “the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). And this church has its origin in the womb of a virgin and the right hand of the Father. A healthy church knows who she is and whose she is.
Profile for a Church Deacon
We will look at a second office of the church, that of deacon, a term that comes from the word for servant. In God’s wisdom, He has ordered His church so that she would be led by qualified leaders, and that they and she would be joyfully served by a team of servants. Servanthood isn’t something for a few of us, of course, but for all of us. Jesus Himself “came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Through their service, our deacons model the kind of deaconing we all do in following Christ.
Profile for a Church Elder
1 Timothy 3:1–7 outlines the qualifications for the office of elder. Or, to use another biblical word, the role of pastor. This is the Lord’s check-list for how to identify those He would have lead His church. Put another way, this is how much the Lord loves and treasures His church, the very household of God.
Women of the Word
On any building site there’s a structure. There are beams that support other beams, workers that work with and under others, and a general orderliness that leads to a sound, safe, and beautiful structure. So it is in the church, the household of God. Christ is building His church and there is a certain design for her health, for her soundness. With this sermon we come to the subject of the women’s role in the context of the church’s gathered teaching ministry. Why don’t we have female pastors or public mixed-group teachers? That’s a good question. It shouldn’t be because we’ve adopted a previous generation’s cultural default. We should seek to operate out of Scripture.
Getting Ready for Church: Prayers, Hairdos, Modesty, Etc.
What happens when a church loses their vision of God in all of His majesty and mercy? We find out in this text, 1 Timothy 2:8–10. The topics that come up there will be familiar and well-worn in church life—prayer, modesty, etc. But these subjects take on depth when we understand why they come up here.
Prayer and the Wideness of God’s Heart
Timothy is a young pastor with an urgent task. He must deal with false teaching in the midst of the church which threatens to choke out her gospel life. But there’s another matter of great urgency: prayer. Timothy is to lead the church at Ephesus in prayer for specific people and for specific reasons. As we meditate on this call to prayer we find evidence of a subtle but strong current that runs through all of Paul’s letters and through this letter: the church’s gospel purity is for the sake of her gospel witness.
Taking Sides: Church Work in the War Zone
What images come to mind when you think about the church? Family is a good one. Perhaps a vine or a light on a hill. Those are biblical images that serve specific purposes. There’s another image we might use: a war zone. When Paul tells Timothy, a young pastor, how to go about the work of ministry, he says, “wage the good warfare.” What is this war, what is it for, and how is it fought?
Strength for the Grind from a Story of Grace
The foundation of a healthy church is the doctrine of conversion. Paul, charging Timothy with the hard work of building a healthy church, reminds Timothy of all they have in Jesus. Paul writes, “I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Tim. 1:16). That’s the kind of thing the church needs her elders to say of themselves. A healthy church starts with pastors who know themselves to be sinners, and know God to be lavish with grace.
Getting to Work on the Church
Paul tells us why he wrote to Timothy in 3:14–15: “I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” Paul can’t be there, and so it’s on Timothy to shepherd the church at Ephesus to health. That will involve a variety of things, and all of it as much for us today as for Timothy and the first century church.
Baptism: A Sign of Death and New Life with Christ
Listen in to hear about how Baptism signifies our burial with Christ and our participation in his resurrection.
Signing Off
The endings of the New Testament letters don’t usually strike us as interesting or needful. But that’s one of the great values of expository preaching. We actually come to the end of a letter, and are forced to ponder why it is there, what it is doing, and what God had in mind by His Spirit in inspiring the passage. What will we find at the end of Paul’s letter? Names, commendations, instructions, logistics, and more. Of what value is this for us? Listen in to find out.
Open Doors and Outsiders
Every healthy Christ-filled church has two movements. The book of Colossians has put most of its attention on the inward movement of the church, as we guard our doctrine, seek to live under the Lordship of Christ, and fulfill our various roles as husbands, wives, children, and parents. But there’s an outward movement that frames the entire book. In chapter 1 Paul spoke of the gospel which is bearing fruit throughout the whole world (1: 6), and now in chapter 4, Paul closes with a prayer request and instructions concerning the gospel’s advance (4:3–6).
Christ-Filled Prayer
Colossians opened with thankful prayer (1:3) and it ends the same way. In one simple verse, Colossians 4:2, Paul instructs us in what he has modeled: steadfast, watchful, and thankful prayer.
The Christ-Filled Home: Vocation and Authority
In this sermon we come to a passage that raises all kinds of questions in our minds. Paul will address first century bondservants and masters about how fullness in Christ transforms their roles and relationship. What was this institution? How does it relate with the institution of slavery practiced in America’s history? How does it relate with present day boss and employee relationships? With some careful listening we’ll find much profit in the shrewd and beautiful works of Colossians 3:22-4:1.
The Christ-Filled Home: Children and Parents
In this sermon we return to Colossians and to the household code for the Christ-Filled home. This time we address children and their parents. How does Christ, with all of His benefits, come to bear on our roles as children and on our roles as parents? That’s a question we want children to ask and to find an answer for in the Scriptures. In these matters of parenting much is left to wisdom, but Scripture gives us a clear framework and, in this text, two crucial points of instruction.
The Christ-Filled Home: Wives and Husbands
With this sermon things get even more practical in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Common in the first century were household codes. In Colossians 3:18–4:1 Paul outlines a household code for the Christian home. He addresses wives, husbands, children, parents, bondservants, and masters. Over the next three weeks we’ll work through these three pairs of relationships. We read this text at a distance of two millennia, so there will be at times some interpretive work do to. But it’s worth the work.
The Christ-Centered Community
There was a problem at Colossae in the form of false teachers promoting an externally oriented form of Christianity that denied the internal heart of Christianity, which is Christ. In this passage, Paul tells us how to put Christ in the middle of His church.
Clothes for the New Creation
In this sermon we will also return to our series through the book of Colossians, Fulness in Christ. In Colossians 3:12–14 Paul tells us what to “put on” as those who are joined to Jesus Christ, citizens of a new creation through the resurrection from the dead.
Baptism: A Sign of Entry into Jesus’ Kingdom
What is baptism, who should be baptized, who baptizes, and what does baptism do?
The God of Good News for Sinners
We have one deep problem with far reaching consequences: sin. We’re also helpless and hopeless to address this problem. If Isaiah’s prophecy has taught us anything so far in our series it is this. But God’s promises of great hope are in curious proportion to the escalating insanity of our sin revealed on the pages of Scripture. How will God do good on His promises when sin persists? In Isaiah 40–55 we get our answer. If you plan to read ahead and want to narrow your focus, read chapters 48–53. Here in these chapters we find the heart of the Bible, the heart of the gospel, and the very heart of God.
The God Who Can Be Trusted
In our last sermon from Isaiah we ended with a vision of a multi-national worshiping community (Isa. 19:19–25). For God’s people, threatened all around by imposing and wicked nations, this was a nice thought, but was it possible? Chapters 28–39 give us an answer: yes, because God is the God of promise-keeping power. How God will bring that about given His holiness and our sin remains for a future week. But with this text we will behold the saving power of God to do what He says.
The Victorious (and Violent) Christian Life
We’ve been told to seek the things that are above where Christ is seated. We’re joined to Him, and the orientation of our hearts is set aright. What does that look like in everyday life? Colossians 3:5–11 is the first part of the answer to that question.
Union with Christ, Power for Life
Listen in to hear the Word of God and how we are empowered by our union with Christ.
The Problem of Extra-Pure Christianity
This Sermon brings us to the close of chapter 2 in the book of Colossians, and with it the conclusion of Paul’s energetic, labored, and often sarcastic words against what we’re calling “add-on Christianity.” In the case of verses 20–23 Paul address what we’ll call “Extra-Pure Christianity,” an attempt to regulate God’s people to holiness through the control of external behavior. In the process, not only do we fool ourselves into thinking we’re making spiritual progress, but we neglect the deepest truths about ourselves in Christ
The Problem of Super-Spiritual Christianity
Here, Paul continues to address the subtle but dangerous problem of add-on Christianity. The kind he addresses here is that of false piety. The “super spirituality” of some can make us feel inferior, but has we hold fast to Christ Himself, and not the opinions of others, we have all we need for spiritual nourishment and growth.
The Problem of Ultra-Biblical Christianity
That gospel is captured nicely in five statements: salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, through the word of God alone, and the glory of God alone. This sermon will reflect this beautiful expression of our great salvation, the only gospel that saves.
The Problem of Add-On Christianity
Paul makes a turn in his letter to address a problem: the problem, as we sometimes call it, of legalism. If we have Christ, we have spiritual fullness in Him. And yet a spiritually litigious atmosphere can unsettle the firm faith of believers. It’s important for us to know what legalism is and how to handle it.
Are We Missing Something?
Except for our Bibles and the voices of Christian friends and leaders, we’re not going to hear the words, “Christ is sufficient!” In fact, we hear every day from every place “Christ is irrelevant.” So it’s no surprise that we may wonder if we are missing something. We may wonder if we need more than Christ for salvation or for life. But if Christ Jesus is the Lord we’ve read about in Colossians 1, then Christ is all we need.
What A Gospel Minister Wants
We’re a full chapter into Paul’s letter to the Colossians at this point. What is Paul after? What does he really want? Why is he writing? We come to a paragraph that will answer this in a focused way. There’s something glorious that he wants, and there’s something dangerous he wards off.
Into the Heart of Gospel Ministry
Listen in to this sermon to hear what the very heart of Gospel ministry is about.
The Total Package Gospel
In the previous sermon we considered the sheer magnitude of the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is preeminent in all things, and He is reconciling all things to Himself. Where do you and I fit in the grand scheme of Jesus’ plans? This week we explore that question in a sermon titled, “The Total Package Gospel,” from Colossians 1:21–23, where our salvation is as big and complete as Christ Himself.
A Poem for the Preeminent Christ
Listen in hear as we exposit the great Christ Poem which declares the all-surpassing excellence and preeminence of Christ.
Praying for What Makes God Happy
We don’t have to read far into the book of Colossians to find ourselves in the middle of Paul’s pray for his readers, and a model prayer of our church. In this sermon, “Praying for What Makes God Happy,” we’ll meditate on Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9–14, the next stop in our series, Fullness in Christ: A Study in Colossians.
Godward Thanks for Gospel Growth
In this sermon we will excavate a paragraph of Paul’s thankfulness. Paul, from a prison floor, was deeply thankful to God. What for?
In Christ at Colossae
We’ll get off to what may feel like a slow start, focusing this sermon on the first two verses of Paul’s letter. Yet in these two verses are an entire worldview needed for reading the rest of the letter.
A Vision of the Church Complete
With this sermon we close out our series, The Seven: Jesus’ Words to His Churches in Revelation. But this won’t be another one of Jesus’ letters. This is the conclusion of Jesus’ entire vision to John, a symbolic experience of the new creation itself from Revelation 21 and 22. Our text is Revelation 21:1–8, but we’ll be working through parts of these last two chapters together. Listen in for a taste of heaven in the text of Scripture. May our gracious Lord grant us to long for that day!
Lukewarm in Laodicea: Words for a Proud Church
You might recognize Jesus’ invitation: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.” That’s a promise held out by Christ in the text for this sermon, Revelation 3:14–22.
An Open Door in Philadelphia: Words for a Witnessing Church
This sermon brings us to a refreshing text, Revelation 3:7–13. We’ll be hearing Jesus’ words to the church at Philadelphia, a church that was enduring persecution with a sturdy witness to Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “I have set before them an open door.” In other words, this is church is a passageway for the world into heaven. For this faithfulness they have the assurance of the eternal and irrevocable presence of Jesus Christ forever. Listen in and join us as we continue our series, The Seven: Jesus’ Words to His Churches in Revelation.
Waking Up in Sardis: Words for a Near-Dead Church
With this sermon we’ll turn to Revelation 3:1–6 for Jesus’ letter to a church with a great reputation in the community. They probably have a beautiful building and polished, bustling programs. But they’re near-dead. How can that be? We’ll explore that question and heed Jesus’ warnings. Listen in as we continue our series, The Seven: Jesus’ Words to His Churches in Revelation.
Searching the Heart at Thyatira: Words for a Tolerant Church
Jesus writes to a church in a small industrial town called Thyatira. This town was a robust commercial center with trade guilds which included idolatry and immorality. This presented Christians with a problem: join the guilds and flourish economically or stay out and embrace poverty. The church at Thyatira was not entirely faithful, and Jesus issues some hard words.
Wielding the Word in Pergamum: Words for a Compromised Church
Jesus’ letter to the church at Pergamum, found in Revelation 2:12–17, will be the heart of this sermon. This church was located in the religious capitol of Asia, a church that had been faithful even to the point of martyrdom. Yet she was compromised in a deadly way. Listen in to find out her remedy in Christ.
Dying Well in Smyrna: Words for a Persecuted Church
In this sermon we will open up Jesus’ second of seven letters to seven churches, His letter to the church at Smyrna found in Revelation 2:8–11. This church was persecuted for her allegiance to Jesus Christ over Caesar, and the heat was about to get turned up further. The comforts of this letter are for all of us as we experience the cost of Christianity in this world, and as we prepare ourselves for what difficulty may lie ahead.
Loving Jesus in Ephesus: Words for a Distracted Church
In this sermon we will open up Jesus’ first of seven letters to seven churches, His letter to the church at Ephesus found in Revelation 2:1–7. This church was embedded in one of the ancient world’s most prominent cities. Under cultural pressure for doctrinal collapse, this church held strong in every important way, except one. Listen in and continue our series, The Seven: Jesus’ Words to His Churches in Revelation.
A Vision that Sustains the Church
The Book of Revelation is an often avoided part of our Bibles, by readers and by preachers alike. There are good reasons for this, including its obscure ancient history and its extinct apocalyptic genre. But with a little bit of work, this book will yield blessing for the church in this world—strength to endure in difficult times. With this sermon we begin our series, The Seven: Jesus’ Words to His Churches in Revelation. But before we get into the letters Jesus wrote for these first century churches, we need to behold Christ in majestic glory, a vision that sustains the church.
