Introduction: What we know as orthodoxy is of course taught in the Bible. But that does not mean that every orthodox truth is found everywhere in the Bible, or that every verse that is used to defend an orthodox truth is being used appropriately. This means we should look at familiar passages carefully, making sure …
The Apostles Creed 4: Maker of Heaven and Earth
Introduction: We confess the absolute authority of God, and there are layered reasons for doing this. He has authority over us in the first instance because He created us, and in the second because He redeemed us from our sins. We will come to the issue of redemption shortly, but we must begin where the …
The Apostles Creed 2: God the Father
Introduction: So we begin the Creed with the statement “I believe.” Believe in what or whom? We do not believe in a generic deity, with details to be filled in later. We begin with the confession that we believe in a personal God, identified by name, and revealed in His Son. I believe in God …
The Apostles Creed 1: I Believe
Introduction: Most of the sermons preached at Christ Church are expositional, and seek to unfold and apply the meaning of a text of Scripture. Sometimes the messages are topical, and various passages of Scripture are brought to bear on the selected theme. This is a bit different. It is an expositional message on an uninspired …
The Mines of God Go Deep/Pentecost 2017
Introduction: Last week we marked Ascension Sunday, the crown of the objective gospel. When we point to the objective gospel, we are talking about those elements of the gospel that would have been true had you or I never been born. But an objective gospel by itself saves no man—there has to be application. And …
A Series of Coronations
Introduction: On Ascension Sunday, we mark the departure of the Lord Jesus into Heaven, where He was received in great glory, and where He was crowned with universal dominion. This is our celebration of His coronation proper. But there were a series of glorifications prior to this, each one building on the last—at each stage …
Decluttering Your Marriage II
Introduction: In the message last week, we addressed the problem of how pride and a lack of self-reflection compounds the problem of cluttered relationships. In this message we are going to focus on some practical steps that will help you get things picked up, and will help you keep it that way. As things stand …
Decluttering Your Marriage I
Introduction: Many of you have been married for quite a number of years now. This can be wonderful, like aging wine, but before anyone says awwww, it can also grow seriously un-wonderful, as bad spiritual habits compound with interest. Marriages can get badly cluttered, like a neglected garage, attic, or basement. And when things get …
Good Friday Homily 2017
As we meditate of the death of the Lord Jesus, as we consider what He has done for His people in this glorious substitutionary sacrifice, one of the things we may reflect on with profit is how many times Scripture juxtaposes blood and water, and on the different ways it does so. One of the …
Crowds of the Heart/Palm Sunday 2017
Introduction: You have often heard here that we have no real reason for assuming that the crowd that welcomed Jesus in the Triumphal Entry and the crowd that was gathered to scream for His crucifixion were made up of the same people. Those two events, just days apart, are often pointed to as evidence of …