God's Invincible Embrace

Pastor Dan's sermon from 4/22/2007

Scripture Reference: John 14:15-26

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The Voice of the Shepherd

Pastor Dan's sermon from 4/15/2007

Scripture Reference: John 10:14-21

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Who is the Holy Spirit?

Take a look at the question..."who" not "what". We often think of the Holy Spirit as some kind of power rather than the person that He is. In doing so, we often, in our own minds, subordinate the Holy Spirit to the First and Second Persons of the Trinity. As a result, we may miss the blessing as we misunderstand who the Holy Spirit is.

As many of you know, I have been preaching through the teachings of the Reformed Faith. We began weeks ago with Total Depravity and have recently finished a two part series on the particular nature of Redemption. It hasn't been easy to get to this point for many. It is curious that the the doctrines of depravity, election, and redemption are often too much for people to bear. But everyone wants to hear about the invincibility of grace and the perseverance of the saints. The problem is that you cannot fully appreciate any of the points of the Reformed faith without also fully embracing and appreciating all of the other points. In other words, you can't have a party unless you are going to pay the band.

Tomorrow, I am supposed to begin preaching on Irresistible Grace. I started off this week by trying to answer two questions: Who is the Holy Spirit? and "What is the work of the Holy Spirit in Salvation?" Obviously, these two questions would be difficult to answer in 35 minutes (40 if I go long!). So tomorrow, I will begin preaching about who the Holy Spirit is.

Funny, most Presbyterians tend to ignore the Holy Spirit because of the charismatic abuses of the doctrines of the Spirit. I bet the Arminian would be happy if we would have done the same thing with the doctrines of election! We miss out on so much if we ignore the Holy Spirit and the teachings from Scripture. So this week, we will set out on a journey as we take a look at John 14 (where Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to the disciples and the Church). Who is this third Person of the Trinity?

Crucified with Christ - Were you there?

Pastor Dan's sermon from 4/06/2007

Scripture Reference: Galatians 2:20

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Chosen and Redeemed

Pastor Dan's sermon from 4/08/2007

Scripture Reference: John 10:11, 14-18, 24-29

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Insight on Two Sermons

There are always points that you can't get to when preaching a sermon. Either you forgot, you didn't have time, the Holy Spirit takes you in another direction or, like this morning, you skip to page three of your notes before preaching from page 2!

This past Friday, I preached from Galatians 2:19-21 which is Paul's rebuke of the Apostle Peter for disregarding grace and continuing to follow Jewish dietary laws. What I didn't mention which I really wished I had was that there is evidence that Peter did accept Paul's teachings. Check out II Peter 3:16 sometime. Peter, once again did turn from his ways and embraced grace once again.

This morning, I was preaching from John 10 on Limited Atonement. I didn't really get to that accept very briefly. I do plan to get to it next week. Notice that in John 10 Jesus calls HIS SHEEP and they and they alone hear his name. He also talks about laying down his life for HIS SHEEP. This passage is very exclusive. I do plan to get to this next week as we finish up particular redemption, what it means to your every day life as a Christian and what the Scriptures say about it. I know I mentioned it briefly, but thought it was worth noting for those who are interested.

John 10 is a very important passage for those who hold to the Limited Atonement of Jesus. Using the word "limited" can be decieving. That is why you will often hear a preacher saying "particular" redemption. Either way, whether you are Arminian or Reformed you are limiting the atonement. The Arminian limits the work on the cross by saying that Jesus died for all but did not actually save anyone. The believer makes a decision for Christ and in effect saves himself. It is also limited in that not every single person is saved even though Jesus died for them. This means that the atonement is limited in power.

The Reformed thinker limits the atonement in who it was intended for rather than it's actual power to save. It surely will save all of the Good Shepherd's sheep--every last one of them. That is why we say that Jesus only died for the chosen ones of God. More on this later--next week in fact.

In the mean time, have a Happy Easter and enjoy the time with your family and friends. Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

Preparing for Easter Sunday

As many of you know, I have been preaching a series about the major points of the Reformed perspective on salvation. The general skeleton has been the "five points of Calvinism". When I set out on this journey I didn't know how long the series would be and now that I am on "limited atonement" I still couldn't tell you when it will come to end. It has been a real joy.

This Sunday I am preaching on John 10:1-18. This passage is beloved by many Christians. Jesus proclaims himself to be the Good Shepherd. But what about Easter? Shouldn't I take a break from this series and preach a special holiday message? Not so much. Every sermon should be about the Risen Lord! This Sunday will be no different. After all the Good Shepherd is the only Shepherd that can not only lay down his life for HIS SHEEP (notice particular redemption!) but he also takes his own life back up again! This is the Easter message...Christ has risen!

On another note, my wife and I must give a prayer of thanks to the Lord. After a great worship service on Friday night with all of you, we came home and were preparing to relax. I was talking with my daughter on the top flight of our steps when I noticed my baby boy, Caleb, beginning to climb the last flight of stairs towards us. I thought in my mind that I needed to go grab him. We don't like seeing him on the steps. As soon as the thought entered my mind, Caleb began to fall down the tallest part of the steps--head over heels. I began to chase after him, screaming for him to stop, pleading for him to stop. I was helpless and just one step behind him the entire time. Just as I was about to reach him, Caleb hit the bottom step and floor. My wife was there on the spot. We just sat there and hugged him as he sobbed.

Here is the funny thing. Not a bruise on his body. Not a scratch. In fact as he was falling it was almost as if he was floating. He fell so softly and gently that it was as if an angel were lightly lowering him to his destination. We just praise the Lord that this weekend could have been so different but God chose to spare us any grief. Praise God for His love endures forever! See you this Easter!

Rescued by Sovereignty - II

Pastor Dan's sermon from 4/01/2007

Scripture Reference: Romans 8:28-30

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