Living for the Day of the Lord
II Peter 3:10-13
I. What Does the Future Hold? (verses 10-13)
II. What Kind of People Should We Be? (verses 11-12)
III. How Can We Speed the Coming of the Lord? (verses 12-13)
"Christians need to remember the ultimate, “bottom-line,” purpose of ‘end times’ passages: to make us better Christians in the here and now. Careful study of ‘end times’ passages in the Bible is, of course, appropriate and necessary. And our own human curiosity naturally leads us to speculate about just how and when the events those passage teach will actually take shape in history. But we must not study the ‘end times’ for its own sake or for the gratification of our curiosity. Christians bitten by the ‘end times bug’ usually end up with vision problems - a tunnel vision in which all they see is the ‘the last days.’ We must never forget, as Peter makes clear in verse 11, that biblical eschatology is to stimulate in believers a holy and godly lifestyle. In fact, you will find no passage in the New Testament on the last days that does not have that kind of specific, practical focus." ~ Douglas Moo
A Closer Look at the Tomb
Rev. Bruce Brown
John 20:1-10
April 4, 2021
I. The Personal Touch of the Tomb (verses 1-2)
II. The Eyewitness Details in the Tomb (verses 3-8)
III. The Foundation of our Faith (verses 9-10)
“Today we need not think of Jesus as the vulnerable Jesus of history. Jesus died, but he died once for all. He was buffeted and spat upon and cursed, but that will not be repeated. We pray today to a powerful Lord, to an exalted Lord. And this Lord will return one day to take his own to be with him in glory.” ~ James M. Boice
I Thirst
Rev. Bruce Brown
John 19:28-30
April 2, 2021
I. Thirsting in Fulfillment of Scripture (verse 28-29)
II. Thirsting as a Curse (verses 28-30)
“Jesus was proved to be really man, because he suffered the pains which belong to manhood. Angels cannot suffer thirst. A phantom, as some have called him, could not suffer in this fashion: but Jesus really suffered, not only the more refined pains of delicate and sensitive minds, but the rougher and commoner pangs of flesh and blood.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
“Friends though fallen humanity is burning up with thirst. Though we look for broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jesus offers us rivers of living water. He says in John 6:35 - “whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Will you seek His refreshing stream? Because He thirsted for us, He is the only one who can satisfy your thirst.” ~ Anonymous
The Faithful One
John 18:12-27
February 14, 2021
Rev. Bruce Brown
I. Jesus Bound: Apparent Failure (verses 12-14)
II. Peter’s Denials: Actual Weakness (verses 15-18, 25-27)
III. Jesus’ Trial: Amazing Strength (verses 19-24)
"One thing at any rate is very clear. The love of Christ to sinners is "a love that passes knowledge." To suffer for those whom we love, and who are in some sense worthy of our affections, is suffering that we can understand. To submit to ill-treatment quietly, when we have no power to resist, is submission that is both graceful and wise. But to suffer voluntarily, when we a have the power to prevent it, and to suffer for a world of unbelieving and ungodly sinners, unasked and unthanked--this is a line of conduct which passes man's understanding. Never let us forget that this is the peculiar beauty of Christ's sufferings, when we read the wondrous story of His cross and passion."
~ J.C. Ryle
Comfort for Troubled Souls
Rev. Bruce Brown
John 14:1-11
I. Comfort for the Silent (Vss. 1-4)
II. Comfort for the Skeptic (Vss. 5-7)
III. Comfort for the Stranger (Vss. 8-11)
“Let us however take comfort in the simple truth, that Christ is very God of very God; equal with the Father in all things, and One with Him. He who loved us, and shed His blood for us on the cross, and bids us trust Him for pardon, is no mere man like ourselves. He is "God over all, blessed forever," and able to save to the uttermost the chief of sinners. Though our sins be as scarlet, He can make them white as snow. He that casts his soul on Christ has an Almighty Friend--a Friend who is One with the Father, and very God.”
~ J.C. Ryle
A Prayer for Living and Dying
April 10, 2020
Rev. Bruce Brown
Luke 23:46
I. Jesus’ Full Control In Life and Death
II. Jesus’ Devotional Life Prepared Him for His Death
“I lay down My life that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” ~ John 10:17-18
Mature Ministry
Rev. Bruce Brown
Titus 1:1-4
November 3rd, 2019
I. The Goal: The Faith of the Elect (verse 1, verse 4)
II. The Context: The Truth of Godliness (verses 1b-2)
III. The Method: The Proclamation of His Word (verse 3)
“Life must conform to doctrine. The message is the same for leaders and servants, parents and children, male and female, young and old: Grace should produce godliness.”
Bryan Chapell
Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Applying Wisdom in Our Relationships
Rev. Shaun Hurrie
Proverbs
October 20th, 2019
I. Applying Wisdom Against Gossip (Proverbs 11:13; 16:28; 20:19; 26:20)
II. Applying Wisdom by Listening (Proverbs 12:1; 15:32-33; 29:1)
III. Applying Wisdom in Conflicts (Proverbs 14:21; 17:19; 24:29; 17:9)
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.
Loving Like Jesus
Pastor Bruce Brown
John 13:31-38
September 22nd, 2019
I. Jesus’ Love is Glorious (verses 31-32)
II. Jesus’ Love is Gentle (verse 33)
IV. Jesus’ Love is Our Goal (verse 34-35)
III. Jesus’ Love is Gracious (verse 36-38)
“The command to ‘love’ is called a ‘new’ commandment, not because it had never been given before, but because it was to be more honored, to occupy a higher position, to be backed by a higher example that it ever had been before. Above all, it was to be the test for Christianity before the world. “By this shall men know that you are my disciples if you have love one to another.” … The very people who care nothing for doctrine, and know nothing of the Bible, can appreciate love. It arrests their attention, and makes them think. For the world’s sake, if for no other cause, let us follow after love more and more.” ~ J.C. Ryle
Fragrant Devotion to Christ
August 4th, 2019
Rev. Bruce Brown
John 12:1-11
Devotion on Display (verses 1-3, 7-8)
Devotion Defied (verses 4-7, 9-10)
Devotion Defended (verses 7-8
“She did it under the influence of a heart full of love and gratitude. She thought nothing to great an good to bestow on such a Savior... Greatly loved, she thought she could not show too much love in return. Having freely received, she freely gave.”
Why Have You Forsaken Me?
Pastor Bruce Brown
Matthew 27:45-54
I. At the Cross Jesus Experiences Social Rejection (Vss. 27-31; 35-37; 39-43)
II. At the Cross Jesus Suffers Emotional Desertion (Psalm 22)
III. At the Cross Jesus Enters into Spiritual Abandonment (Psalm 27; 2 Cor. 5:21)
“The pain that Jesus endured went beyond the pain that any other human being has ever endured. It may be that others have experienced equal or greater physical pain. But no other human being has ever been sinless like Jesus was. No other human being has ever known the fellowship that Jesus had with His Father in heaven before He came to this earth. So, no one else has ever felt the shock that Jesus felt, in His innocence, when He was forsaken by God.” ~ Phil Ryken
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