Sermon: The Old, Old Story

“The Old, Old Story” Romans 4:1-8 April 2, 2017 Every child loves a good story. It was not uncommon that when the girls were still living at home — even when they were in high school — they would ask at the dinner table, “Daddy, tell us a story.” And with a little prompting about […]

How do we use the OT Law?

My wife and I have entered another new phase of life. We have been told by our children when they have returned home (more than once!), “Dad, I don’t do that they way you and mom do…” It seems the “house rules” that we established when they were young don’t all apply when they’ve gotten […]

Sermon: The Christian and the Law

“The Christian and the Law” Romans 3:31 March 19, 2017 If you’ve ever been frustrated with other drivers on the road — people going to fast or too slow or weaving too much or not getting out of the way, here are some traffic laws that are sure to frustrate you even more! These are […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Questioned (Pt. 2)

“God’s Righteousness Questioned” (Pt. 2) Romans 3:29-31 March 12, 2017 We have been talking much about justification by faith. Are we over-emphasizing this doctrine? So does justification still matter? The answer must be a resounding yes. Nothing matters more than justification by Christ alone through faith alone.… Many attempts have been made to move the […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Questioned (Pt. 1)

“God’s Righteousness Questioned” (Pt. 1) Romans 3:27-28 March 5, 2017 This week several of us attended the Shepherds’ Conference. Over four days, we listened to 16-18 sermons. And all the sermons were around the theme, “We Preach Christ.” It might seem remarkable to listen to so many sermons on that one theme. How can you […]

The gospel in six words

This year our church is actively working to create a culture of evangelism — regularly looking for opportunities to teach the gospel with the intent to persuade. One of the basic components of teaching the gospel is that you have to know what the gospel is. There are many different biblical ways to articulate the […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 4)

“God’s Righteousness Revealed” (Pt. 4) Romans 3:25-26 February 12, 2017 It doesn’t take much for even a believer in Christ to become aware of his past sins and the shame and guilt associated with those sins. Though the sin might have been confessed both to the Lord and the one we sinned against, too often […]

Can we talk too much about justification?

For several weeks we have considered the passage in Romans that one writer has called “the most important paragraph ever written.” It is Romans 3:21-26 and it is perhaps the most concise explanation of the doctrine of justification — how unrighteous men are declared to be righteous before God. Taking four weeks to look at […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 3)

“God’s Righteousness Revealed” (Pt. 3) Romans 3:24-25 February 5, 2017 This is the third week that we’ve looked at this passage that one commentator said “is possibly the most important single paragraph ever written.” [Morris, 173.] Why are we taking so much time and going so slowly through this passage? Because this may be the […]

Salvation and Sola Fide

In his great text on the doctrine of justification, Paul notes that it is acquired only by faith — “the righteousness of God [is] through faith in Jesus Christ.” He will reiterate the necessity of faith several times in this passage: God displayed Jesus Christ “publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith” (v. […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 2)

“God’s Righteousness Revealed” (Pt. 2) Romans 3:21-23 January 29, 2017 Sometimes things are just not as they seem. Three years ago a 100-year-old woman only known by her first name, Eisha, died in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia, leaving behind an estate worth approximately $800,000. Her wealth included gold coins, jewels, and a real estate portfolio that […]

Sermon: God’s Righteousness Revealed (Pt. 1)

“God’s Righteousness Revealed” (Pt. 1) Romans 3:21-22 January 22, 2017 Martin Luther had a problem. Listen to his words: “I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in my way but that one expression, ‘the justice (righteousness) of God,’ because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is […]

Expect persecution

In America, we feel entitled. We have a constitutional right to life, liberty, and happiness, we believe. The constitution actually says, “the pursuit of happiness,” but in this day, we believe that to mean that we should have happiness (and ease) without having to labor for it. We should not have trials, difficulty, suffering, or […]

When civil disobedience is permissible

When the Scriptures speak about the Christian’s relationship to the government, the emphasis is consistently on the civil obedience, not civil disobedience. For instance: The believer is to pray for his civil authorities (1 Tim. 2:1–3) The believer is to submit to his civil authorities (Rom. 13:1; 1 Pet. 2:13–15) The believer is to obey […]

Sermon: Essential Reminders About Our Responsibility to the Government

“Essential Reminders About Responding to Government” Romans 13:1-7 September 18, 2016 Last week we began talking about “Election Essentials” — understanding what the Bible has to say about politics, the church, and you. We began that series by thinking about the role of government and the authorities in government — what is the role of […]