Living Hope
Living Hope Peter 1:1-9
Rev. Bruce Brown
I. The Hope in our Situation (verses 1-2)
II. The Hope with our Sorrow (verses 3-6)
III. The Hope of our Sincerity (verses 7-9)
“He {Peter} calls it a living hope. Why? It is a living hope because it is grounded on the living Word of God (1 Peter 1:23) and was made possible by the living Son of God who arose from the dead. A “living hope” is one that has life in it and therefore can give life to us. Because it has life, it grows and becomes greater and more beautiful as time goes on. Time destroys most hopes; they fade and then die. But the passing of time only makes a Christian’s hope that much more glorious.” ~ Warren Wiersbe
LORD and Promise
“LORD and Promise”
Rev. Bruce Brown
II Samuel 7:1-12
I. The LORD of the Promise (verses 1-11)
a. He is a Humble LORD (verses 5-7)
b. He is a Gracious LORD (verses 8-1
II. The Promise of the LORD (verses 12-17)
a. It is a Forever Promise (verses 12-13, 16)
b. It is a Steadfast Promise (verses 14-15)
“The same eternal security attends all of God’s covenant promises, including those that guarantee eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Since Jesus is the Son of God born to reign as King on David’s throne, those who believe in him may enter his forever kingdom of salvation. Jesus said: “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. . . . For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:37, 40). This is God’s forever covenant with you, a promise that neither death, nor sin, nor an eternity of time will ever break, if you will believe on Jesus, the offspring of royal David and the Son of the God of grace." ~Richard D. Phillips
Christmas Kindness
Rev. Bruce Brown
Titus 3:3-7
December 15, 2019
I. The Kindness of God the Father (verses 3-4)
II. The Grace of God the Son (verses 4, 6-7)
III. The Renewal of God the Holy Spirit (verses 5-6)
“So, Christmas is about love appearing in the form of kindness. The kind Son of God took our flesh, shared our nature, expressed His love for us, and died our death. And when He rose, He was no less kind. He has been kind to us in our sin and need. That kindness is intended to “lead you to repentance” says Paul (Romans 2:4). That is what it did to Saul of Tarsus (Paul)… Perhaps you also saw that kindness in someone, and it has drawn you to the love of Christ.” ~ Sinclair Ferguson
The Power of Grace
Rev. Bruce Brown
Titus 2:11-15
December 8, 2019
I. God’s Grace Brings Salvation (verse 11)
II. God’s Grace Enables Godliness (verses 12, 14-15)
III. God’s Grace Fuels Perseverance (verses 13-15)
“Grace should make us so in love with God that we cannot stand whatever in our lives resoils us and offends Him. Biblical grace makes us intolerant of evil in our lives. The apostle here underscores this truth, saying the grace of God “trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions” (vss. 11, 12). Grace – rightly perceived – compels holiness.” Bryan Chappell
Wholehearted Gratitude
Rev. Bruce Brown
Psalm 138
December 1, 2019
I. Gratitude Produces Godly Courage (verses 1-3)
II. Gratitude Lives in God’s Mission (verses 4-5)
III. Gratitude Accomplishes God’s Purpose (verses 6-9)
“Our hope of final perseverance is the final perseverance of the God we love and serve. Because His mercy endures for ever, His work in and for us will continue until we are perfected when we see Him in all His perfection.” Herbert Lockyer
Discipleship Together
Rev. Bruce Brown
Titus 2:1-10
I. Learn Gospel Life Together (verse 1 and overview)
II. Live Gospel Life Together (verses 2 - 10)
III. Love Gospel Life Together (verses 2 - 10)
“Prayer, praise, instruction, fellowship and the service of the church do not fulfill their purposes if we do not function in community. There is always the temptation to privatize our faith. We tend to make decisions about whom to hear, what to do, and where to serve largely based upon what will be good for us. But Paul’s instructions to Titus prick our consciences in order to make us sense the importance of being responsible for others.”
~ Bryan Chapell
The Flourishing Church
The Twenty - Fifth Stated Meeting of Catawba Valley Presbyterian
Prosperity Presbyterian Church
September 24th, 2019 - 8:00 AM
Acts 13:1-12
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting,the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Paul Hahn, a native of Lakeland, FL, is now in his third year as Coordinator of Mission to North America (MNA), the Presbyterian Church in America’s (PCA) agency giving leadership and direction to church planting, church renewal and missional partnerships in the United States and Canada.
Do You Not Know These Things?
Rev. Bruce Brown
Luke 24:13-35
Jesus Seeks Us In Our Confusion (verses (13-24)
Jesus Opens Blind Eyes With the Word (verses 25-31)
Jesus Moves Our Hearts With Resurrection Hope (verses 32-35)
“This very moment Christ knows where we are. He knows the geography of our lives inside and out. He knows the temperature of our souls. He knows whether there is ice or fire. Whatever our state, his method is the same – to meet us where we are with his own person framed in the beautiful context of His Word… He delights to bring fire to cold hearts.” R. Kent Hughes
Who Has Believed Our Message?
Pastor Bruce Brown
Isaiah 53:1-12
I. The Cross is Shocking Because of Who is Suffering (Vss. 1-3)
II. The Cross is Shocking Because of Why He Suffers (Vss. 4-6, 10)
III. The Cross is Shocking Because of How He Suffers (Vss. 7-9)
“Why did God bruise His Son and bring Him to grief? … It was not for His own sin that the Father bruised him. I was becuase he wanted to show us mercy. He wanted to forgive and heal and save and rejoice over us with loud singing. But he was righteous. That means His heart was filled with a love for the infinite worth of His own glory. And we were sinners, and that means that our hearts were filled with God-belittling affections. And so to save sinners and at the same time magnify the worth of His glory God lays our sin on Jesus and abandons Him to the shame and slaughter of the cross.” ~ John Piper
Is There Another Way?
Pastor Bruce Brown
Matthew 26:36-46
I. The Cross Was Necessary to Provide a Suffering Priest (Hebrews 2:17)
II. The Cross Was Necessary to Show God’s Righteousness (Romans.3:24-26)
III. The Cross Was Necessary to Reveal the Glory of the Father (John 17; Ro. 8:32)
‘“The Wonder of the love of Christ for His people is not that for their sake he faced death without fear, but that for their sake he faced it, terrified. Terrified by what he knew, and terrified by what he did not know, he took damnation lovingly.”’ ~ Donald Macleod
Growing in Grace
Pastor Bruce Brown
1 Samuel 26
I. Growth in Grace Brings Patience in Obedience (verses 1-12)
II. Growth in Grace Receives Signs of Reassurance (verses 12-16)
III. Growth in Grace Feels Anguish Away from Home (verses 17-24)
“David will not always be an example of faith. But at least in this text, he is convinced of God’s guidance, even if he does not have immediate confirmation… As we grown and mature in our faith, we also become more confident about God’s guidance, and we spend less time seeking constantly for evidence of his moving.” ~ Bill T. Arnold
Restraining Grace
Pastor Bruce Brown
1 Samuel 25:1-39
I. A Ruthless Response to Abuse (verses 1-13)
II. The Rescuing Grace of Wisdom(verses 14-35)
III. God’s Righteousness Displayed (verses 36-39)
“No man stands a moment longer than divine grace upholds him. The strongest are weak as water immediately the power of the Spirit is withdrawn; the most mature and experienced Christian acts foolishly the moment he be left to himself; none of us has any reserve strength or wisdom in himself to draw from: our source of sufficiency is all treasured up for us in Christ, as soon as communion with Him be broken, as soon as we cease looking alone to Him, we are helpless.” ~ A.W. Pink
What a Chance!
Pastor Bruce Brown
1 Samuel 24
I. A Test of Circumstances (verses 1-7)
II. Trust in the LORD’s Righteous Ways (verses 8-15)
III. Truth from an Unlikely Source (verses 16-22)
“Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.” ~ Psalm 37:34
“Are you tempted to justify worldly means because the outward results will come more easily? May God grant us the power, along with David, looking at the crucified and resurrected Jesus, never to lay our hands on the blessings God has promised in a manner contrary to the will of God in his Word. Let us, instead, commit to receive whatever blessings God has for us from God’s own hand or not all.”
~ Richard D. Phillips
Help in Every Trouble
Pastor Bruce Brown
1 Samuel 23
I. The LORD Provides Divine Guidance (verses 1-13)
II. The LORD Provides Devoted Encouragement (verses 14-18)
III. The LORD Provides Delivering Providence (verses 19-28)
“With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you, I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good. For he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.” ~ Psalm 54:6-7
“If it is God’s purpose to deliver you, He has thousands of unseen methods, to any one of which He may resort, when, to the eye of sense, there seems not the shadow of a hope.”
~ William Blaikie
When Evil Rises
Pastor Bruce Brown
1 Samuel 22:6-23
I. Evil Rises When Truth is Rejected (verses 6-16)
II. Holding On When Evil is Unleashed (verses 16-19)
III. A Refuge Remains (verses 20-23)
“David and Saul illustrate two types of people… David illustrates the person who responds to God’s call and begins the lifelong process of transformation. Saul is the contrast. He shows the natural and inevitable consequences of refusing God’s call. In this text, the two are going in opposite directions. The narrator has driven a wedge between Saul and David, and the distance is greater with each passing chapter.” ~ Bill Arnold
Desperate Times Call for Gracious Aid
Rev. Bruce Brown
1 Samuel 21:1-22:5
I. Provision for the Destitute (verses 1-9)
II. Praise for the Panicked (verses 10-15)
III. Prophecy for the Wandering (chapter 22:1-5)
“Do you find yourself under a heavy load of worry and cares? Do you sometimes think you will crumble under the pressure? Look, then, to God’s daily provision and remember that just as God did not cast off David in his folly and sin, God will remain faithful to His children.” ~ Richard D. Phillps
Loving God; Loving Neighbor
Luke 10:25-37
January 20th, 2019
I. A Calculated Question About Eternal Life (Vss. 25-29)
II. The Parable That Reveals God’s Desire (Vss. 30-35)
III. Of Love and Sacrifice (Vss. 36-37)
Pastor Bruce Brown
“Let us not forget… to prove our own selves. Do we love God with all our heart, and soul, and strength, and mind? Do we love our neighbor as ourselves? Where is the person that could say with perfect truth, “I do?” Where is the one that ought not to lay his hand on his mouth, when he hears the questions? Truly we are all guilty in this matter! The best of us, however holy we may be, come far short of perfection. Passages like this, should teach us our need of Christ’s blood and righteousness. To Him we must go — if we would ever stand with boldness at the bar of God.” ~ J.C. Ryle
A Congregation of the PCA
Established in 1789
5533 PPC Drive, Charlotte, NC 28269
All Are Welcome - Come Join Us for Worship!
Persevering Prayer
Luke 18:1-8
January 6th, 2019
I. The Purpose - We Give Up on Prayer (Vs. 1)
II. The Parable - Correcting Through Contrast (Vss. 2-5)
III. The Power for Our Prayer Life (Vss. 6-8)
Pastor Bruce Brown
“But many are still discouraged by God’s seeming silence. We desperately need to learn that in the silence our loving God is answering, whether we see his working or not, for he delights to answer His children’s prayers.” ~ R. Kent Hughes
A Congregation of the PCA
Established in 1789
5533 PPC Drive, Charlotte, NC 28269
All Are Welcome - Come Join Us for Worship!
Spirit-Empowered Prayer
Ephesians 3:14-21
December 30th, 2018
I. The Spirit’s Power (Vss. 14-16)
II. Christ’s Indwelling (Vss. 17-19)
III. The Glory of God (Vss. 20-21)
Mr. Steve McCullough
“14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rootedand established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” ~ Ephesians 3:14-21
A Congregation of the PCA
Established in 1789
5533 PPC Drive, Charlotte, NC 28269
All Are Welcome - Come Join Us for Worship!
A Plan for Sucess
October 21, 2018
Ezra 8
Rev. John Zeller w/ SCORE Intl
I. Ezra Had the Right People Who Came Together (verses 2-24)
II. Ezra Started Right (verse 21)
III. Ezra Stays With the Right Perspective Through Problems (verse 22)
IV. Ezra Had the Right Attitude of Gratitude (verse 35)
With the right people, right start and right attitudes God’s people can accomplish God’s purpose.
PROSPERITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WORSHIP IS SUNDAY AT 10:00 AM, 5533 PPC DRIVE, CHARLOTTE, NC. 704-875-1182