INTRODUCTION:This Lord’s Day is the first after our Thanksgiving holiday, and is also the first Sunday in Advent. Because we want to stand against what might be called morbid penitentialism, we want this season to be suffused with a glad anticipation. The only conviction we want to awaken would be a spirit of penitence for …
Cheerful Hearts and Good Words
INTRODUCTION: We need to begin with the obvious, which is that Scripture teaches that our words affect how we are doing, not to mention t hose around us. But this “obvious” truth can, if unattended, deteriorate into the vagaries of generic uplift. When we speak the good word, it must be a word that is …
Dealing With Discouragement
INTRODUCTION:Although the occasions can be many, there are two basic reasons for discouragement—internal and external. The internal occurs when for some reason we have given way to sin, and the external occurs when we are buffeted by circumstances, as Job was, but without sin. And, of course, it is possible to get discouraged in both …
Refugees and Apostles
INTRODUCTION: As we seek to live our lives as faithful Christians, informed by the Word of God, we soon discover that it is not a simple process. It is not as though the Spirit gave us a rule book, in outline form, fully indexed. He gave us laws, principles, stories, and parables, strewn across various …
Father of Mercies
INTRODUCTION: Under the direction of God, in recent years we have been led to redouble our efforts and emphases on what we call mercy ministry. Whether it is a continuation of our labor in the Ivory Coast, or a new field for mercy work in Myanmar, or locally through Sabbath House, we have been given …
A Sermon for the President
Ascension Sunday 2009 This Lord’s Day is Ascension Sunday, the day we have set apart to commemorate the exaltation of Jesus Christ to the right hand of the Ancient of Days. This was the day upon which He was given universal and complete authority over all nations and kings, when He was given all rule …
Post Tenebras Lux
INTRODUCTION: The title of this message is a phrase that has been used to describe the great work of the Spirit in the Reformation, and that Latin phrase means “after darkness, light.” It is the purpose of this sermon to focus on one particular manifestation of that transformation, which was the musical transformation which occurred. …
The Hand of God, Wall Street, and You
INTRODUCTION: When God shakes the nations, or we think He is about to shake the nations, He does so in order that we might return to the basics. THE TEXT: “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as …
Reformed Evangelism
INTRODUCTION: And we need to begin with the strong assertion that the title of this message—Reformed evangelism—is not an oxymoron. Sharing our faith with others is not optional. But at the same time, the way we understand that faith does have an impact on how we go about evangelism. THE TEXT: “Finally, be ye all …
Strange Contentment
INTRODUCTION: Rightly understood, contentment is impossible to understand. A preacher who sets himself to explain it is therefore heading into treacherous waters. He needs to take care to explain only those aspects of it that are laid out in the Word, and then leave the the Holy Spirit to His work in bringing about contentment …