Glorying in the Gifts of Our God and Savior

Rev. Shaun Hurrie

II Peter 1:1-4

October 11, 2020

I.    Glorying in a Faith of Equal Standing (verse 1)                                                   

      II.   Glorying in All Things That Pertain to Life   and Godliness (verse 3) 

     III.   Glorying in His Precious and Very Great Promises (verse 4)

I Peter 1:1-4 (ESV)  Simeon Peter, a servant  and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Called to Contentment

Rev. Bruce Brown

Exodus 20:1-2, 17

October 4, 2020

I.    How Do We Break This Command?  (verse 17: Romans 7:7-11)                                                   

      II.   What Does This Command Require?   (verse 17; Phil. 4:10-13; I Timothy 6:6) 

     III.   Enjoying God Forever.   (verse 17; Psalm 73; Rev. 4:11)

“We are all, of course, creatures of desire; God made us so… But desire that is sinfully disordered needs redirecting, so that we stop coveting others’ goods and long instead for their good, and God’s glory through it.  When Thomas Chalmers spoke of “the expulsive power of a new affection,” he was thinking of the way in which knowledge of my Savior’s love diverts me from the barren ways of covetous self-service, to put God first, others second, and self-gratification last in my concerns.  How much do we know in experience of this divine transforming power?” ~ J.I. Packer

Nothing But the Truth

Rev. Bruce Brown

Exodus 20:1-2, 16

September 27, 2020

I.      What Truth Forbids  (verse 16; Deut. 17; Matt. 15)

      II.   What Truth Demands  (verse 16; Psalm 51; Matt. 5:33-37) 

     III.   Becoming a More Truthful Person  (verse 16; John 18

"Lying insults not only your neighbor, whom you may manage to fool, but also God, whom you can never fool.  A truth telling, promise-keeping God who "cannot lie" (Titus 1:2; Numbers 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29) and who wants to see in us his own moral image, naturally "hates... a lying tongue... a false witness who breathes out lies" (Proverbs 6:16-19).  Lying is part of Satan's image, not God's, and we should not wonder that "every one who loves and practices falsehood" should thereby exclude himself from God's city (Revelation 22:15).  There is no godliness without truthfulness.  Lord, have mercy!"  ~ J.I. Packer 

Do Not Steal

Exodus 20:1-2, 15

September 20, 2020

Rev. Bruce Brown

I.     What Standard Lies Behind the Commandment? (verse 15; Matthew 25; Luke 16)

II.   How Do we Steal from God and Others? (verse 15; Deut. 25; Romans 13; II Samuel 15) 

III.  God’s Solution for a World of Thieves  (verse 15; II Corinthians 8:9; Luke 19:8)

“Now be honest. We have been stirring up thoughts about ways of stealing. Has it struck you that you yourself have been stealing in some of these ways?  If so, God calls you now to repent (which means, change) and make restitution to those you have defrauded. Zacchaeus, the artist in extortion, expressed his repentance by promising to restore fourfold all the money he had taken unjustly (Luke 19:8) … That showed spiritual reality. How much reality of this kind is there about us?” ~ J.I. Packer

Committed Faithfulness

Exodus 20:1-2, 14

September 13, 2020

Rev. Bruce Brown

I.     The Foundation of the Seventh Commandment  (verse 14; Genesis 2:18-25; Ephesians 5)

II.   The Function of the Seventh Commandment  (verse 14; I Corinthians 6; Matthew 5:27-32) 

III.  Flourishing in Obedience to the Seventh Commandment (verse 14; Revelation 19:6-8)

This is what a biblical understanding of marriage looks like: a relationship of sexual complementarity, the kind which (if all the "plumbing" is functioning) can produce children, a husband and wife showing forth the mystery of Christ and the church.  Once you have these building blocks in place, the seventh commandment makes sense as something more than divine decree.  There is an internal moral logic that renders every kind of adultery, fornication, bestiality, homosexuality, and prostitution a violation of the divine design."  ~ Kevin DeYoung 

Preserving Life

Rev. Bruce Brown

Exodus 20:1-2, 13

September 6, 2020

I.       What Does the Commandment Prohibit?  (verse 13; Exodus 21; Matt. 5:21-26)

II.   What Does the Commandment Promote?  (verse 13; Rom. 13; Duet. 22:8) 

III.  The Power of this Command in the Hands of Jesus. (verse 13; Matt. 5:43-48)

"As murder story writers assume, and as most of us learn in experience, we have in us capacities for fury, fear, envy, greed, conceit, callousness, and hate which, given the right provocation, could make killers out of us all... When the fathomless wells of rage and hatred in the normal human heart are tapped, the results are fearful.  "There but for the grace of God go I."  Only restraining and renewing grace enables anyone to keep the sixth commandment."  ~ J.I. Packer 

Honor to Whom Honor is Due

Rev. Bruce Brown

August 30, 2020

Exodus 20:1-2, 12

I. What is the Nature of this Honor?

II. Who is Due this Honor?

III. Why Do We Need this Commandment?

“Children need parental guidance more than they know and impoverish themselves by rejecting it.  The long life promised in Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16 to those who honor their parents is not guaranteed to any Christian, but it remains true that children who flout their parents suffer loss.  They forfeit a degree of human maturity and make it harder for themselves to honor a Father in heaven.” ~  J.I. Packer

Remember the Sabbath Day

Rev. Bruce Brown

August 23, 2020

Exodus 20:8-11

I.         The Reason for the Commandment    (verses 8, 11)

II.     The Restrictions of the Commandment   (verses 9-10

II.       The Revisions to the Commandment  (verses 8-11)                                         

III.      Remember the Sabbath Day    (Isaiah 58:13, 14; Matt. 11:28-29)

"The underlying principle is clear - namely, that we must honor God not only by our loyalty (first commandment) and thought - life (second commandment) and words (third commandment), but also by our use of time, in a rhythm of toil and rest; six days for work crowned by one day for worship.  God's claim on our sabbaths reminds us that all our time is his gift, to be given back to him and used for him."  ~ J. I. Packer 

No Greater Name

Rev. Bruce Brown

August 16, 2020

Exodus 20:1-2, 7

I. What’s in a Name? (Verse 7; Psalm 8, John 17)

II. Taking God’s Name in Vain (verse 7; Leviticus 24, Matthew 7, II Peter 2)

III. No Other Name (verse 7; Matthew 28, Acts 4:12)

If you want a simple summary of the third commandment – a New Testament exhortation putting in positive language all that is required of us – here it is: Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everyting in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17).  We obey the third commandment by living as Christians, by speaking and doing everything accord to the family name.  For when we do all that we do – and do it in Christ, for Christ, and through Christ – we show that his is the name we value, the name we love, and the name that is above all names.” ~ Kevin DeYoung

No Graven Images

Rev. Bruce Brown

Exodus 20:4-6

August 9, 2020

I.      The Commandment Frees Us from Wrong Images of God (Verses 4-5; Exodus 32)

II.     The Commandment Focuses on God’s True  Nature (Verses 4-5; John 4:21-24)

III.   The Commandment Forms Future Worship  (Verses 5-6; John 14:7-10)

“This (commandment) forbids, not worshiping many gods (the first commandment covered that), but imagining the true God as like yourself or something lower.  God’s real attack is on mental images, of which metal images are more truly the consequence than the cause… No statement starting, “This is how I like to think of God” should ever be trusted.  An imagined God will always be more or less imaginary and unreal.” J.I. Packer

No Other Gods

August 2, 2020

Rev. Bruce Brown

Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 6:4-9

I. The Intolerance of this Command (Exodus 20:3; Matthew 10:34-39)

II. The Importance of this Command (Exodus 20:3; Mark 10:17-22)

III. The Intensity of this Command (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

IV. The Intent of this Command (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

"The great commandment, the first one, said Jesus, is to love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind (Matt. 22:37).  Quoted in Deuteronomy 6:4ff., where it is introduced with a reminder that the LORD is "one," meaning "the only one"... this saying shows us what loyalty to God requires.  It calls for love, responding to God's love in making and saving you; and it demands total concentration of purpose, so that in everything you do there is just one thing you aim at - pleasing and glorifying the LORD."  ~ J.I. Packer 

The Role of the Law

Rev. Bruce Brown

July 26, 2020

Exodus 20:1-3 (and various)

I. The Law Grants Light (verses 1-2)

II. The Law Leads to Life (verses 1-2; Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:24)

III. The Law is Kept in Love (verses 1-2; I John 5:3; Matthew 22:37-40)

IV. The Law of Liberty (verses 1-2; James 1:22-25)

"Law-keeping is that life for which we were fitted by nature, unfitted by sin, and refitted by grace, the life God loves to see and reward; and for that life liberty is the proper name."  ~ J.I. Packer Growing in Christ

Jesus Prays for the Church

Rev. Bruce Brown

July 19, 2020

John 17:20-26

I. Jesus’ Request for Unity (20-23)

II. Jesus’ Desire of Glory (verse 24)

III. Jesus’ Commitment to the Church (verses 25-26)

“We do not see Christ now. We read of Him, hear of Him, believe in Him, and rest our souls in His finished work. But even the best of us, at our best, walk by faith and not by sight, and our poor halting faith often makes us walk very feebly in the way to heaven. There shall be an end of all this state of things one day. We shall at length see Christ as He is and know as we have been known. We shall behold Him face to face, and not through a glass darkly. We shall actually be in His presence and company and go out no more. If faith has been pleasant, much more will sight be and if hope has been sweet, much more will reality be. No wonder that when Paul has written, "We shall ever be with the Lord," he adds, "Comfort one another with these words." (1 Thess. 4:17, 18.) ~ J.C. Ryle

Jesus' Prayer for His Disciples

Rev. Bruce Brown

July 12, 2020

John 17:6-19

I. Jesus’ Prayer in Grace (verses 6-8)

II. Jesus’ Prayer of Protection (verses 9-15)

III. Jesus’ Prayer for Holiness (verses 16-19)

“The special intercession of the LORD Jesus is one grand secret of the believer’s safety.  He is daily watched, and thought for and provided for with unfailing care, by one whose eye never slumbers and never sleeps…. They never perish, because He never ceases to pray for them, and His prayer must prevail.  They stand and persevere to the end, not because of their own strength and goodness, but because Jesus intercedes for them.”  ~ J.C. Ryle

Jesus' Prayer for Glory

Rev. Bruce Brown

July 5, 2020

John 17:1-5

1. Glory in the Cross (verses, (1, 4)

II. Glory in the Heavenlies (verse 5)

III. Glory in the Church (verses 2, 3)

“As Jesus prays in the shadow of Calvary we learn what are his deepest concerns.  In fact, he has only one, and one that does not surprise us, the glory of his Father.  The means to that is his own glorification, ‘Glorify your Son’, since it is in his exaltation and obedience unto death that the Father will be supremely honored.”  ~ Bruce Milne

Peace in Jesus' Victory

I. Jesus’ Victory Provides Assurance (verses 25-28)

II. Jesus’ Victory Promotes Humility (verses 29-32)

III. Jesus’ Victory Promises Peace (verse 33)

Let us lean back our souls on these comfortable words, and take courage. The storms of trial and persecution may sometimes beat heavily on us; but let them only drive us closer to Christ. The sorrows, and losses, and crosses, and disappointments of our life may often make us feel sorely cast down; but let them only make us tighten our hold on Christ. Armed with this very promise let us, under every cross, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Let us often say to our souls, "Why are you cast down, and why are you disturbed?" And let us often say to our gracious Master--"Lord, did not You say, Be of good cheer? Lord, do as You have said, and cheer us to the end." ~ J.C. Ryle 

The Prodigal Father

Mr.Tyler Spry

Luke 15:11-32

June 21, 2020

I. The Father’s Love for the Shamed Rebel (verses 11-24)

II. The father’s Love for the Self Righteous (verses 525-32)

Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing

Rev. Bruce Brown

John 16:16-24

June 14, 2020

I. Mounting Sorrow in a Fallen World (verses 16-20)

II. Transformed Sorrow After the Cross (verses 20-22)

III. Joy for the Asking (verses 23-24)

 “If the disciples’ joy comes from a reunion with Jesus, their position in him, and his promises to them, then what weapons could the devil possibly level against their joy?... Jesus didn’t only conquer betrayal and persecution; he turned them into the agents that brought about the disciples’ joy.  And of course, the ultimate fear, the ultimate weapon, the ultimate joy stealer is death, but Jesus disarmed death.  Jesus conquered every enemy!  If we find our joy in him, we have nothing to fear.  Our joy is impervious to all attacks leveled against it.  Jesus’s resurrection guarantees he can never die again, and those who follow him will never experience separation from him in death.  We may leave our physical bodies, but Jesus will never leave us (John 11:25-26).”  ~ Matt Carter

The Spirit's Conviction

Rev. Bruce Brown

John 16:5-15

June 7, 2020

I. The Spirit’s Convicting Work in the World (verses (5-11)

II. The Spirit’s Convincing Work in the Church (verses 12-15)

 “The work of the faithful ministry is to do the very same [as the Spirit] – to lead weary souls to Christ – to stand pointing not only to the coming deluge, but to the freely offered ark – pointing not only to the threatening storm, but to the strong tower of safety – directing the sinner’s eye not only inwards to his sins, and misery, but outwards also, to the bleeding, dying, rising, reigning Savior.” ~ Robert Murray M’Cheyne

The Cost of Following Jesus

Rev. Bruce Brown

John 15:18-16:4

May 31, 2020

I. Following Jesus Provokes the World’s Hatred (verses 18-25)

II. Following Jesus Provides Spiritual Witness (verses 26-27)

III. Following Jesus Prepares Us to Persevere in Mission (chapter 16, verses 1-4)

Nothing is so mischievous as the habit of indulging false expectations. Let us realize that human nature never changes, that "the carnal mind is enmity against God," and against God's image in His people. Let us settle it in our minds that no holiness of life or consistency of conduct will ever prevent wicked people hating the servants of Christ, just as they hated their blameless Master. Let us remember these things, and then we shall not be disappointed. ~ J.C. Ryle