Friends with Jesus

Rev. Bruce Brown

May 24, 2020

John 15:12-17

I. Jesus’ Friends Love Sacrificially (verses 12-13, 17)

II. Jesus’ Friends Long to Obey the Word (verses 14-15)

III. Jesus’ Friends Live Out of Electing Love (verse 16)

“This is indeed a glorious privilege. To know Christ, serve Christ, follow Christ, obey Christ, work in Christ's vineyard, fight Christ's battles, all this is no small matter. But for sinful men and women like ourselves to be called "friends of Christ," is something that our weak minds can hardly grasp and take in. The King of kings and Lord of lords not only pities and saves all those who believe in Him, but actually calls them His "friends.”  ~ J.C. Ryle

Abiding in the Vine

Rev. Bruce Brown

John 15:1-11

May 17, 2020

I. Abiding Bears Fruit (verses 1, 2, 4, 5)

II. Abiding Brings Pruning (verses 2, 3)

III. Abiding Blesses God and Others (verses 6-11)

“The union between the branch of a vine and the main stem, is the closest that can be conceived… The union between Christ and believers is just as close, and just as real.  In themselves believers have no life, or strength, or spiritual power. All that they have of vital religion comes from Christ. They are what they are, and feel what they feel, and do what they do, because they draw out of Jesus a continual supply of grace, help, and ability. Joined to the Lord by faith, and united in mysterious union with Him by the Spirit, they stand, and walk, and continue, and run the Christian race. But every jot of good about them is drawn from their spiritual Head, Jesus Christ.”  ~ J.C. Ryle

A Legacy of Peace

John 14:25-31

May 10, 2020, Mother’s Day

Rev. Bruce Brown

I. Peace as a Deposit for a Heavenly King (verses 25-26

II. Peace as a Legacy in a Warring World (verse 27)

III. Peace as a Weapon Against a Raging Adversary (verses 28-31)

“Peace is Christ's distinctive gift--not money, not worldly ease, not temporal prosperity. These are at best very questionable possessions. They often do more harm than good to the soul. They act as clogs and weights to our spiritual life. Inward peace of conscience, arising from a sense of pardoned sin and reconciliation with God, is a far greater blessing. This peace is the property of all believers, whether high or low, rich or poor… And what He gives He gives into all eternity, and never takes away. He is ready to give abundantly above all that we can ask or think. "Open your mouth wide," He says, "and I will fill it." (Psalm 81:10.)”  J.C. Ryle

Another Comforter

John 14:15-24

May 3, 2020

Rev. Bruce Brown

I. Who Is the Holy Spirit? (verses 16-17)

II. The Work of the Holy Spirit (verses 18-24)

III. Empowered to Love (verses 15, 21, 23, 24)

“What could bring more security in this world than a deepening realization of the fact that the Holy Spirit is indwelling us, not just working alongside us, and that He puts potent spiritual truth to work in our lives...  What is our Helper like?  He is just like Jesus.  He comes alongside us, encourages and exhorts us.  He picks us up, dusts us off, and gets us going again… That is the remedy for troubled hearts.” ~ Kent Hughes

Greater Works

Rev. Bruce Brown

John 14:12-14

April 26, 2020

I. The Works Believers Will Do (verse 12)

II. How Believers Do Greater Works (verses 13-14)

III. Before the Throne of God Above (verse 12b)

“Let us learn that Jesus visible presence is not absolutely necessary to the progress of His kingdom. He can help forward His cause on earth quite as much by sitting at the right hand of the Father, and sending forth the Holy Spirit, as by walking to and fro in the world. Let us believe that there is nothing too hard or too great for believers to do, so long as their Lord intercedes for them in heaven. Let us work on in faith, and expect great things, though we feel weak and lonely, like the disciples. Our Lord is working with us and for us, though we cannot see Him. It was not so much the sword of Joshua that defeated Amalek, as the intercession of Moses on the hill. (Ex. 17:11.)”  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

The Victory Psalm

April 12, 2020

Rev. Bruce Brown

Psalm 22:22-31

I. The Risen LORD Leads Heavenly Praise (Vss. 22, 25)

II. The Risen LORD Seeks Your Praise (Vss. 23, 26)

III. The Risen LORD Proclaims Worldwide Praise (Vs.. 27-31)

“But there is this element too: those who believe will also be witnesses.  At the start of this section Jesus said that he would declare the name of God to his brothers.  But here, as the psalm closes, it is the future generations who will come to Christ who have become his witnesses:  “They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn.”  That is our task.  To trust and tell others – until Jesus comes again.”  ~ J. M. Boice

The Good Friday Psalm

Rev. Bruce Brown

Psalm 22:1-21

April 5, 2020

I. The Christ Forsaken by God (verses 1-5)

II. The Christ Despised of the People (verses 6-11)

III. The Christ Cursed in Crucifixion (verses 12-21)

“His (Jesus’) prayers are answered, but in accordance with the will and timing of the Father.  Was he delivered before death?  No.  Was he delivered out of death?  Yes.  Was he delivered on Good Friday?  No.  Was he delivered on Easter Sunday?  Yes.  It was a better time and a better way… There comes a time, when one is reading certain passages of God’s Word, that commentary must yield to contemplation.  May God impress deeply on your heart the profound reality that the Son did this for you.”  ~ Sam Storms

Sheltering In God Most High

Rev. Bruce Brown

March 29, 2020

I. Sheltering in the LORD (verses 1-2)

II. God’s Shelter Provides Peace (verses 3-13)

III. God’s Promise for Those Who Shelter in Him (verses 14-16)

“Try to envision God’s power as forging His love into a strong and impregnable fortress.  God doesn’t build us a shanty out of leaves and rotting wood.  God’s love is our shelter!  He Himself is our hiding place!  His presence is our peace, our protection, our refuge… God is our permanent refuge in whom we abide while at work or at school or wherever.  We never have to leave God and go home.  He is our home.  It is in Him and in His love that we live and move and have our being (cf. Acts 17:28).”  ~ Sam Storms

World-Changing Care

Rev. Aaron Gray

Philippians 4:10-23

March 22, 2020

I. The Picture of Christlike Care

II. The Heart of Christlike Care

III. The Power of Christlike Care

“The world thirsts for a different kind of neighbor—not the kind who deny their fellow man, take up their comforts, and follow their dreams—but the kind who deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow Jesus in his mission of loving a weary world to life.” - Scott Sauls

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Christian Confidence

Rev. Bruce Brown

Romans 8:28-30

March 15, 2020

I. The Bad is Always for the Good of God’s People (vs. 28)

II. A Christian’s Good Can Never Be Lost (vs. 29)

III. The Best is Yet to Come (vs. 30)

“Take a moment and contemplate what is being said here. Your present sufferings may be excruciatingly painful. These trials you carry are cross-shaped (cf. Matt. 16:18). But they are a mere trifle in comparison with what God has in store for you. If we find that difficult to believe, it is because our view of glory is out of focus. Spiritual shortsightedness robs us of gospel comfort that God desires us to enjoy.”  ~ Derek W.H. Thomas

Kingdom Matters

Rev. Bruce Brown

March 8, 2020

II Samuel 1:1-16

I. The Kingdom Brings Full Disclosure (verses 2-10, 15-16)

II. The Kingdom Calls Us to Sincere Grief (verses 11-12)

III. The Kingdom Operates on godly Fear (verses (13-26)

“Will you learn from what the young Amalekite learned (too late) about God’s king?  If you take God’s kingdom seriously, you must take righteousness seriously.  Jesus is King: do not imagine that any wrongdoing will every bring you a benefit worth having.  Jesus is the Christ!  To seek first the kingdom of God will mean to seek His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).”  ~ John Woodhouse

The End of An Era

March 1, 2020

Rev. Bruce Brown

I Samuel 31

I. The Tragedy and the Triumph (verses 1-2)

II. The Faithlessness and the Fulfillment (verses 3-7)

III. The Humiliation and the Honor (verses 8-13)

“In a sense, the whole of the history of God’s people and of the world, from the creation of the first Adam to the return of the second Adam, is captured in the tale of two kings that is the book of 1 Samuel.  We end with one fallen on his sword; the other poised to reign.  We end with one showing us the futility of disobeying God; the other pointing us to the most exalted, most humble, most wise and most loving King of God’s people – Jesus of Nazareth.”  ~ Tim Chester

Living in the Thick of It.

February 23, 2020

Rev. Bruce Brown

I Samuel 30:1-31

I. God’s Strength is Sufficient (verses 1-9)

II. God’s Deliverance is Decisive (verses 10-25)

III. God’s Gifts are Generous (26-31)

“In giving gifts to his people out of the treasure of his own spoils, David foreshadows the kind of king Jesus is to believers… Most marvelously, Christ’s gospel gift is such that when we give it to others we do not lose it but possess it more strongly and richly for ourselves. What an incentive for us all to strengthen ourselves in the Lord and start following his Word in renewed faith. Who can tell what God will do in and through any of us if we yield ourselves unreservedly to Jesus?” ~ Richard D. Phillips

God's Cliffhangers

Rev. Bruce Brown

February 16, 2020

I Samuel 29

I. God’s Presence is Almost Silent (verses 6 & 9)

II. God’s Ways are Often Surprising (verses 1-11)

III. God’s Grace is Always Stubborn (verses 7-11)

“Then there is some glad news for all Yahweh’s servants in this fainting fit of His chosen king.  God does not cast you off in your foolishness.  Our bungling does not evaporate his mercy.  It is yet full and warm – and stubborn, so stubborn it insisted on pursing David to Philistia… David’s jam and Yahweh’s deliverance shows that David’s success is due not to David’s savvy but only to Yahweh’s mercy.”   Dale Ralph Davis  

Without a Word of Hope

Rev. Bruce Brown

February 9, 2020

I Samuel 28:3-25

I. Desperate for a Word (verses 3-6)

II. Misdirected Desperation (verses 7-14)

III. A Message from the Grave (verses 15-25)

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

What a Mess!

Rev. Bruce Brown

February 2, 2020

I Samuel 27:1-28:2

I. In the Mess of Life Speak God’s Truth to Yourself (verses 27:1-3)

II. In the Mess of Life Learn to Apply God’s Wisdom (verses 27:4-28:2)

III. In the Mess of Life Hope in God’s Amazing Grace (verses 27:4-28:2)

“David would have done well to meditate on the Proverb: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6). In the end, it is not our job to save ourselves; as Jonah learned from within the great fish, “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” (Jon. 2:9). Proverbs does not tell us to abandon our own understanding, but it does tell us not to lean on our understanding. It is always God on whom we must lean, and if we are relying on the Lord to be our salvation we will find it easier to retain the wisdom of walking in the straight paths of his Word.”  ~ Richard Phillips

Taste and See the Lord's Goodness

Psalm 34

Rev. Bruce Brown

I. Testimony to the Lord’s Goodness (verses 1-7)

II. Living Out the Lord’s Goodness (verses 8-14)

III. Assurance of the Lord’s Goodness (verses 15-22)

"Note well: they look to "him," not just ideas or speculative theories about what he's like.  They settle for nothing less than the intimacy of spiritual eye contact.  The result is that they are never ashamed (vs. 5b).  When we seek God this way he promises never to shame us or humiliate  us or mock our feeble efforts.  God will never belittle or demean you for coming to him.  Just think of it: no shame for those who seek God!" ~ Sam Storms

The Grace of Confession

Rev. Bruce Brown

Psalm 51

January 19, 2020

I. Confession Relies on God’s Mercy (verse 1)

II. Confession Seeks Christ’s Cleansing (verses 2-7)

III. Confession Brings Spiritual Renewal (verses 8-12ff)

“Mercy is the sole basis of any approach to God by sinners. We cannot come to God on the basis of his justice; justice strikes us with fear and causes us to hide from him. We are not drawn to God by his wisdom; wisdom does not embolden us, though we stand in awe of it. No more does omniscience, omnipotence, or omnipresence. The only reason we dare come to God and dare hope for a solution to our sin problem is his mercy.” ~ James Montgomery Boice