God Became Flesh - A Christmas Sermon

Many wonderful passages in the Bible came about as a result of controversy. The Epistle to the Galatians, for example (quite possibly the first New Testament book that was written) came about as a result of controversy. Think of a wonderful passage like this one:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.--Galatians 4:4-5

Were it not for controversy that verse would not have been written. The same is true for our text this morning. The First Epistle of John came about through controversy. Written toward the end of the first century, the writer (who does not name himself in the book at all, but whom tradition names John the Apostle) is writing because of error which has crept into the Church.

The error he addresses was an early form of Gnosticism known by the name of Docetism. It was the idea that Jesus had not really come in the flesh, but that he had been some sort of spirit-being. The reason for this divergence was because of the influence of Greek thinking in Christian circles. It was believed by many Greek thinkers that everything physical or material was inherently bad and that only that which was spiritual was good--because the 'spiritual', to them, was a higher mode of being than the 'physical.'

When this thinking infiltrated the Church it manifested itself in this way: people began to deny the humanity of Christ. He wasn't really human, you see, because that would have made him physical and material and that was bad. He must have been just a spirit-being who only appeared in human form, but wasn't actually human.

John saw this as an insidious error that, in effect, destroyed the heart of the gospel. God indeed became human, he affirmed. God took on flesh. God was manifest in the flesh. We apostles are witnesses of these things. Theologians call this concept--that God became flesh--the Incarnation of Christ.

The Incarnation is what Christmas is all about. John wrote in his gospel:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.--John 1:14

Below you will find a link to the sermon I preached on Christmas morning about the Incarnation. The text was 1 John 1:1-4. I hope you will listen and rejoice in the good news that God became flesh one dark night two millennia ago that he might save us from our sin.



Click here:  1 John 1:1-4 -- God Became Flesh



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Galatians 1:6-9 - A Warning of Apostasy

Something important is missing from this epistle. There is no prayer of thanksgiving after the salutation.

There is no description of their state of grace or who they are in Christ. There is no thanksgiving given for what Christ has done and is doing in them. For those who are familiar with Paul's letters the absence of this thanksgiving is remarkable. It is the only one of his epistles from which it is missing.

This is because the Galatian churches are descending into apostasy.

There is a mistaken notion in some of our modern American churches, evangelical and otherwise, that it is somehow wrong or ungraceful to ever question the salvation of individuals who profess to be believers in Christ. Yet, in the first century this was done all the time. Questioning the genuineness of the professions of faith of the Galatian churches is what Paul is doing right now.

Not only that, but because we preach a gospel which produces an eternal salvation, and because we believe rightly in the eternal security of the believer, we have de-emphasized the threat of apostasy as if apostasy is impossible. 

Understand that apostasy is impossible for those who are genuinely in Christ. Nevertheless there are genuine warnings throughout the New Testament of the dangers of falling away from Christ. Those warnings are important and deserve to be emphasized, not dismissed or downplayed. The warnings are given to all professing believers, or those who 'claim' to be Christians. It is clear that not all those who claim to be Christians genuinely are.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’--Matthew 7:21-23

The worry that these Galatian churches have abandoned the gospel is what has prompted this passionate epistle from Paul. He is making his plea to them to come back to the genuine gospel and thus to come back to Christ.

False professors are a fact. They have always been around and always will be until Christ returns. That is one reason why we emphasize the gospel so much in every worship service even when we have no visitors. It is also why we should strive to maintain the integrity of the church roll, looking for outward signs of apostasy from the faith and seeking to restore such ones. But those who will not be restored should be removed.

Moreover we should always be checking ourselves.

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.--1 Peter 1:10-11

Some do leave the faith. What are we to make of that, especially in light of what we believe about eternal security, or as it is more properly called, the perseverance of the saints? John writes:

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.--1 John 2:19

Special note should be taken that these specifically to whom John refers left the faith over theological matters. They departed from the faith theologically. In other words, they questioned, then doubted, then rejected essential Christian doctrine. In 1 John that doctrine concerned the nature of Christ, specifically his humanity. In Galatians, that apostasy is a departure from the gospel, or what has come to be termed as 'justification by faith alone,' as we shall see as we go further into the Epistle.

God has entrusted us with a sacred message. We dare not mishandle it. We dare not change it in any way. In this sense, maintaining the purity of the message becomes just as important as proclaiming it. The gospel is God's. We must be very careful to preach it in all its fullness and all its glory and all its simplicity, not 'paring down its rough edges' (as Spurgeon put it), not encumbering it with extra-biblical garbage, not changing it in the slightest.

The gospel is that God came down in Christ to save us. It includes all the truth about Christ and what he did. All who believe that message and embrace Christ are saved. Those who reject it are not.

Below you will find a recording of this informal Bible study which I taught at the Winnsboro Reformed Church three nights ago. I hope you will take the time to listen, investigate for yourself, and be confirmed in your faith. Just click the link below. God bless.



Click here:  Galatians 1:6-9 - A Warning of Apostasy



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Psalm 41 - Be Gracious To Me, O Lord!

Most people have never noticed, but the book of the Bible we know of as "Psalms" is divided into five parts, or books. The division goes like this:

Book 1:  psalms 1-41
Book 2:  psalms 42-72
Book 3:  psalms 73-89
Book 4:  psalms 90-106
Book 5:  psalms 107-150

Psalm 41 completes the first book of the Psalms. It begins, like Psalm 1, with a 'blessed.'

Blessed is the one who considers the poor!

In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;

Looking at the First Book of the Psalms as a whole we realize that it can be looked at, at least in part, as a tutorial on how to live the 'blessed' life.

Blessed are those whose lives are saturated by the word of God. --Psalm 1:1-2

Blessed are all those who take refuge in God.--Psalm 2:12

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.--Psalm 32:1

Blessed are the chosen people of God--Psalm 33:12

Blessed are those who trust in God--Psalm 34:8

Blessed is the one who makes the LORD his trust--Psalm 40:4

And now blessed is the one who considers the poor.

But what does it mean to 'consider' the poor? It means to help them in their time of need and not to take advantage of them. Those who use their abundance to help others in time of need will find that they, too, will be helped by the Lord in their time of need.

In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;

Notice that the promise is not that days of trouble will never come. Rather the promise is that when the day of trouble comes the Lord will deliver him. Christians ought not be misers. Christians ought to be generous.

The old proverb says:

"There was a man, and some did count him mad,

The more he gave away the more he had."

But Psalm 41 is more than just a sermon on generosity. It is a prayer for God's grace. David is going through a time of trial and he is calling upon God to forgive his sin and heal his condition. Then, after pleading with God for grace he begins to expound upon the un-grace of those who around him. This un-grace builds and builds with each verse until it culminates in verse 9:

(9) Even my close friend in whom I trusted,

who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

Although we cannot say for sure, it is likely that in these lines there is an allusion to Ahithophel, the close confidant of David who betrayed him in the rebellion of Absalom (2 Samuel 15-17). Ahithophel joined sides with Absalom and when the tide turned against Absalom, Ahithophel went out and hanged himself. What a picture that is of Judas and his betrayal of Jesus and how afterward he went out and hanged himself. Jesus himself pointed back to verse 9 in John 13 and called it a prophecy of that betrayal.

This was the last of my sermons from the book of Psalms for a good while. I will perhaps take up with Psalm 42 at a later date, but until then this is it. I hope you will take the time to click the link below and listen to the sermon found there. It was preached yesterday at the Winnsboro Reformed Church. I hope you will find it a blessing.


Click here:  Psalm 41 - Be Gracious To Me, O Lord!



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Galatians 1:1-5 - For What Did Christ Die?

There is controversy in the early church and it is controversy over matters of theological import. So important is this controversy that in Acts 15 the Apostles call together the first Church counsel to resolve the matter. The controversy is over the nature of the gospel and its relation to the Law of Moses. More specifically it is centered around these Gentile converts and what to require of them in order for them to be received into full fellowship with the Church. At the heart of the matter are the covenants, both Old and New (and Abrahamic) and how they relate to each other. Paul writes this letter to the churches of Galatia in order to correct some false teachers.

In our last look at this opening salvo/salutation we focused on what Paul had to say about his authority as an apostle and what that meant for us and to us today. In this next lesson we point out two other noteworthy items from this salutation, one that is stated explicitly, and one that is not.

The first point is the non-controversial way in which Paul refers to the deity of Christ. Paul clearly believes that Jesus is God. We point that out and then talk about the ramifications of that truth to some more modern controversies in the Church today as well as some recurring heresies brought to the fore through modern pseudo-scholarship.

The second point we spend more time on, and it stems from the language Paul uses to describe the death of Christ in verse four and what Christ intended to do through that death.

Clearly, to Paul, the very death of Christ and what he intended to accomplish through it should be enough to silence the arguments of his opponents who are trying to seduce the Galatian churches. Here he mentions it briefly, making a clear opening statement. Later he expounds on it in a greater way as we shall see when we get to passages like 2:20 and 3:13-14. But for now we point out the meaning of the words Paul uses to describe the death of Christ and what that tells us about what his death accomplished on behalf of those for whom he died.

Sometimes you will see people get hung up on arguing over the question of "for whom did Christ die." Did he die for every single person who ever lived or did he die for his elect people only? Instead of tackling that question we focus on the question of "what did Christ's death accomplish for those for whom he died." Answer that second question correctly and you will have the answer to the first.

I hope you will take the time to listen and think about the passage and what it means. This is not a sermon, this is an informal lesson in a small-group setting. I also invite questions so if you have them feel free to ask using the comments below. Most of all I pray that the Spirit of God will use the word of God to drive home the truth of God to your heart so that you will grow in grace and continue to experience all of the blessings we have in Christ Jesus--spiritual blessings purchased for us by Christ at the cross. Just click the link below to listen.


Click here: Galatians 1:1-5 - For What Did Christ Die?



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Galatians 1:1-3 - On Final Authority

These Wednesday night studies are not sermons, per se. They are informal, small-group studies where we take the time to dissect the text and try to explain it piece by piece while not losing sight of how it fits into the whole. This is the second lesson from the book of Galatians and there is much to absorb and apply. While we kind of sort of cover three or four verses in this study, we have by no means exhausted it and will be returning to it in the next lesson. But here we get a good start.

Paul is in the midst of a great controversy. In fact, it is the first controversy that the early church faced and it is happening within twenty years of the crucifixion of Christ. This letter that Paul writes to the churches of Galatia is addressing that controversy. There is a group of people whom Paul names enemies of the gospel who have come preaching "another" gospel which Paul says is no gospel at all. Knowing that their message contradicts Paul's message they have attacked Paul personally and made the claim that Paul is no real apostle. They attack his authority to speak on these matters and claim for themselves that authority. So Paul begins his letter by defending his apostleship and his authority and he does so from the opening verse. Paul has come out swinging.

But there is much more to be gleaned from this than just understanding the matter at hand. There are implications that we discuss in the lesson--implications about authority and truth and how God speaks and has spoken. There are also implications about who Christ is in relation to his nature and the nature of the Trinity. These are not tedious details but vitally important concepts that address our day to day lives as Christians and modern-day controversies within the Church. Here is an excerpt which will serve to illustrate that:

"There is another pernicious view circulating in some Christian circles today which we can and should address here as well. That is the view that what the apostles wrote was good for them, but not to be considered authoritative for us. God speaks to us also, only in different ways. This teaching robs the Bible of its authority and renders the office of apostle irrelevant."

There is nothing new under the sun and Satan's attacks on God's truth and the gospel are present in every age. Let us endeavor to be zealous for these truths and the gospel so that the same truths that Paul preached and defended will be preached in our day and in the generations to come.

Below is a link to this Bible study. I hope you will take the time to listen and to ponder these things and may God bless you as you seek his face.


Click here:  Galatians 1:1-3 - On Final Authority



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Psalm 40 - Glad News of Deliverance

Psalm 40 was a joy to prepare and preach because it is so full of Christ and the gospel. From beginning to end it is a song of deliverance. The psalm was fitting to be preached during this time of year--the Advent season--because that is what Christmas is all about. It is about our salvation. It is about our deliverance. And this psalm speaks of Christ's obedience to the Father and his taking on flesh to come give himself on the cross to deliver us. The psalm even points to the resurrection--and our resurrection in Christ, both spiritually and one day, physically.

Here is a short excerpt from the middle of the sermon:

"Have you ever thought about how patient God is? See him in his might and his majesty. I know that's not possible now, but try to imagine it. Here is this magnificent God, the all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of the universe. See him as he delivers small, insignicant David. Why does he do it? Well, because he loves David. Let that sink in. But then contemplate this. Why does he love David? Because that's who he is.

Here we have a whole world of people created in the image of God who care nothing about him, know nothing about him, care nothing about seeking him. Why should he stoop to deliver David? Why should he stoop to deliver any of us? Especially in light of the fact, as we shall see, he is rescuing David from some trouble that David has gotten himself into by his own sin. But he does. And he stooped to deliver you. And he stooped to deliver me. And that is his plan.

Many will see and fear,

and put their trust in the LORD.

And here we are faced with the cross again. Why do we make much of the cross? Why are we always talking about sin and forgiveness and death and resurrection? Because the cross is the centerpiece of God's glory. It is the work of redemption and it is the place where our redemption took place. When God delivered Christ from the cross by raising him from the dead he delivered us as well."

Psalm 40 reminds us that we are to make much of Christ and the gospel. I hope that you will. I hope that it will become the focus of your life. And if you don't know Christ and you haven't experienced his grace, may he turn your heart today toward him. O taste and see that the Lord is good!

(Below is the link to the sermon.)


Click here to listen:  Psalm 40 - Glad News of Deliverance


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Introduction to Galatians

Galatians! What a fabulous book! What a fascinating read! Galatians is arguably the most important book in church history and quite possibly the first New Testament book that was written. If we give it the early date, assuming that Paul was writing to the churches he started on his first missionary journey in Acts 13 and 14, and that it was written before the council in Jerusalem which takes place in Acts 15 as seems likely, that puts the date of its writing around 48 AD, less than twenty years after the death and resurrection of Christ.

Galatians is an epistle, in other words an open letter that was intended for public reading. The Epistle to the Galatians is a polemic--an argument. It was written to combat an early false teaching that was being promulgated by certain Jewish converts to Christ and it contends earnestly for the gospel as delivered by Christ. It is a passionate letter written by a passionate hand. In fact, it may be the only of Paul's letters written by his own hand.

Less than twenty years after Christ and in the midst of its early expansion the Church experienced its first controversy. Knowing the history of events after Christ ascended to heaven and having an idea of the history and culture of the Jewish people from the intertestamental period into the first century helps give a clear understanding of how this controversy took place and what was at stake in it. In this Bible study I endeavor to set the table for us to get a deeper understanding of this book. We are about to go on a journey verse by verse through Galatians and I hope you will join us as we do. This opening lesson went a little longer than I expected, but we hope to take smaller bites as we proceed. I hope that you will take the time to click and listen. God bless you.


Click here:  Introduction to Galatians


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Psalm 39 - A Complaint to God

Have you ever been angry with God? David is and Psalm 39 is the written record of his complaint to God. It is one of the darker of the psalms and it reminds us that life is sometimes very dark as well. About what is David angry? It appears as if David is angry over some rough chastisement he has received at the hand of God because of some sin that he has committed. See his complaint?

Remove your stroke from me;

I am spent by the hostility of your hand.

When you discipline a man

with rebukes for sin,

you consume like a moth what is dear to him;

surely all mankind is a mere breath.

Psalm 39:10-11 ESV

What David says here about the span of our lives is profound. We need to be reminded of it. God is eternal and our lives are very short indeed. While God is taking the long view, ours is but a very short horizon. God does eternal things, who are we to question what we are not even capable of comprehending? Look at verse 5:

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

and my lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!

Charles Spurgeon wrote about this verse:

“Think of eternity, and an angel is as a newborn babe, the world a fresh blown bubble, the sun a spark just fallen from the fire, and man a nullity. Before the Eternal, all the age of frail man is less than one ticking of a clock. Verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity. This is the surest truth, that nothing about man is either sure or true. Take man at his best, he is but a man, and a man is a mere breath, unsubstantial as the wind. Man is settled, as the margin has it, and by divine decree it is settled that he shall not be settled. He is constant only in inconstancy. His vanity is his only verity; his best, of which he is vain, is but vain; and this is verily true of every man, that everything about him is every way fleeting. This is sad news for those whose treasures are beneath the moon; those whose glorying is in themselves may well hang the flag half mast; but those whose best estate is settled upon them in Christ Jesus in the land of unfading flowers, may rejoice that it is no vain thing in which they trust.”

Think of the vanity and emptiness that sums up almost all human activity. We live our short, dramatic lives for what? At the end what is there to show for it? What is its purpose? Most lives are lived purposelessly.

Knowing this, knowing how weak and frail and insignificant we are apart from God, who are we to question him or become angry with him over anything? But David does. And oftentimes so do we.

Below is a link to an audio recording of the sermon I preached from Psalm 39. I hope you will take the time to click and listen. And I hope you will take inventory of your own life. What do you consider valuable? Are you okay with God being God?

Click here:
Psalm 39 - A Complaint to God



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Psalm 38 - Sin's Burden Lifted

Psalm 38 is a penitential psalm. These are psalms of repentance and were included in the liturgy of the Old Testament in order to teach God's people the importance of repentance in their lives and in their worship. As Christians we are a people who repent and believe habitually, as a matter of course, but also genuinely as God does his work of grace in us to rid us of sin.

In this psalm David describes what appears to be a physical illness from which he is suffering. There is disagreement about whether David is describing an actual physical malady or just using the metaphor of physical suffering to describe the distress he is enduring. Either way, David is miserable as his sin festers. Sin is like a cancer in the soul. It destroys. It brings us down. It ruins us. It makes us miserable.

And so we find it true of ourselves as Christians that we can never be happy in our sins, but that conscience and the word of God will make us miserable until such time as we turn to God for healing. Better to be made miserable by God who loves us and is using that misery to rid us of the cancer of sin than to just be made ruined and miserable by the sin itself, with no hope for a cure.

But repentance is not the only thing we find in this psalm. We also find Christ. When we read this psalm looking for him, placing it in his mouth, we see how wonderfully it fits there, pointing to the redemption, our redemption, which he purchased for us at Calvary.

1 Peter 3:18>>For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 

This is the sermon I preached from Psalm 38 at the Winnsboro Reformed Church. You will find the audio at the link below. Just click and it will open up a new browser in your window where you can stream the MP3 recording of the sermon. I hope you will listen and be blessed.

Click here: Psalm 38 - Sin's Burden Lifted

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Psalm 37:30-40 - Salvation is from the LORD

The wisdom of this world always falls short because it does not begin with the fear of God nor does it look at life from the perspective of eternity. We are not merely some species whom Chance evolved into being, wandering without purpose through life, destined only for nothingness. We are created in the image of God, by God, for the purpose of bringing glory to God. The purpose of this life is not ourselves, but God. The fact that we fail to understand this, or reject it, is Exhibit A of our fallen nature.

Ours is not a pragmatic religion. We aren't in this for what we can get out of it. If we truly believe in Christ then our hope is tied to something far beyond this world. If you're looking for something to help you achieve what you want out of life, then Christ is not for you. Jesus did not come to give us what we want or what we think is best for us. Jesus came to call us away from such foolish thinking. He made it clear that those who follow him must expect to lose their life--for his sake and for the kingdom. The irony and the beauty of this calling is that it is a calling back from ruin to eternal joy. Following Christ and finding our purpose in him is part and parcel of being restored, being made again into what God intended us to be. No human being will ever be satisfied with anything less.

When Jesus calls us to lose our life for his sake and the kingdom, he is really not calling us to lose anything at all, for there is no life in the pursuit of self, no joy, no satisfaction--only ruin. Life, joy, completeness, these can only come from Christ. True life, the life that leads to eternal life, only comes through Jesus Christ.

Psalm 37 teaches wisdom from the perspective of our pursuit of God by faith, our trusting him, and our living in the light of eternity. In this sermon I finished up our series in Psalm 37, the conclusion of which is that salvation is from the Lord. I hope that you will take the time to listen and be blessed. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.


Click here: Psalm 37:30-40


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Philippians 4:20-23 - Final Words

Paul closes his letter to the Philippians in typical fashion. First, a doxology:  To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

The idea of God as "Father" originated with the Exodus out of Egypt. When God called Israel out of Egypt he called him as a son.

When Israel was a child, I loved him,

and out of Egypt I called my son.--Hosea 11:1

When Jesus gave his disciples the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 there was nothing new or radical about referring to God as "Our Father." It is important to note, however, that the title denotes a covenant relationship. Only God's children by covenant are invited to call him "Father."

To our God and Father--he is God by nature and God over all, but he is Father by covenant to his children.

And just as the Christ hymn in chapter 2 describes the humiliation and the exaltation of Christ and the culmination of redemptive history when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. . . .

So Paul ascribes glory to our God and Father at the end of his letter.

But before Paul ends his letter he drops this little bombshell:  All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.

As for why this is such a bombshell and its significance to us as 21st century Christians I invite you to listen to the audio recording linked below. There is a lot more to this concluding section of the book of Philippians than meets the eye. Take a listen and be blessed.

(This concludes the verse by verse exposition of Philippians. There were 29 of them and you will find them all linked here in this blog. Our next series on Wednesday nights will be a verse by verse exposition of Galatians.)

Click here:  Philippians 4:20-23



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Psalm 37:12-29 - The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted

Psalm 37 is a wisdom psalm. In the Hebrew it is divided into 22 stanzas, each one pertaining to one of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. For some reason this acrostic form was not carried over into our English translations, where we find the psalm divided into forty verses. Because of its length I divided the exposition of it into three sermons. I covered the first eleven verses in the first sermon. In this second sermon I covered verses 12-29--ten stanzas in the Hebrew.

The first part of this exposition deals with the hatred that the wicked have for the righteous.

(12) The wicked plots against the righteous

and gnashes his teeth at him,

Our theology, our truth claims as Christians, is offensive to the sinful world. The gospel itself is an offense. If we genuinely believe the gospel and seek to live the gospel we will be hated. Sound harsh?

Understand that I'm not talking about Christians behaving in purposely offensive and obnoxious ways. There are plenty who do that in the name of Christ. No, I'm talking about genuine Christian belief and practice. Ours is to love and to speak the truth--but to speak the truth in love. And to live the truth we profess to believe. If we do so there will always be opposition. This is the norm in the New Testament. If we have not experienced that in our short lives living in the western world it is because we are an anomaly.

The second theme this particular passage takes up is that of wealth.

(16) Better is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked.

The Bible has much to say about wealth and to get a balanced view of it would take more time than I had to put into that sermon. But what will help us to understand this passage and passages like it is to know that David is addressing ill-gotten gains. He is speaking of wealth accumulated by oppression. He's not addressing wealth gained by virtues such as hard work and wise investment. Abraham was wealthy and godly. Job was wealthy and godly. Even David himself, the writer of these verses, was wealthy. Profit is the reward of virtue and that is a truth that has been neglected in our day.

To the contrary, we live in a society where class envy is abused for political advantage. Envy is as wicked as oppression and it is possible for the powerful to use envy and greed to their advantage and take advantage of the poor by inciting them to envy the wealthy. This is why the Bible teaches us contentment. As Christians we should not be motivated by envy or greed in any way, but rather the pursuit of righteousness and Christ's kingdom.

Whatever God gives us in terms of material wealth we are to be content with it and use it for the furtherance of the gospel. But never, if we should find ourselves in a position of not having much, should we be envious of unrighteousness wealth, nor should we ever succumb to the temptation to seek wealth in an unrighteous way. That is what is being addressed here.

There is more to this sermon than this, including allusions to Christ and the gospel. I hope you will take the time to listen to it and be blessed. The sermon is about 30 minutes in length and you can listen to it by clicking the link below. God bless.

Click here:  Psalm 37:12-29

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Philippians 4:14-19 - On Giving

At the end of Paul's letter to the Philippians he thanks them for the gift they sent for his relief in prison and has a few words to say about giving.

There is much bad teaching out there about giving and in this Bible study I tried to correct some of that. For example, you have probably heard it said that "the tithe belongs to the Lord," and you may have been taught to look at giving like a debt. This teaching is based upon a failure to understand what the tithe was and what it was for in the Old Testament. The tithe was the flat tax of the Old Covenant theocracy. We live under the New Covenant and we understand that it all belongs to God, everything we have and everything we are belongs to God. In the New Covenant we do not give by constraint, but willingly. Giving to gospel ministry is a part of living the gospel. Giving to gospel ministry is worship. Giving to the Lord's work is an investment in Christ's kingdom which pays dividends now (as the fruit of righteousness in our lives) and in the hereafter. We invest in the kingdom now because the kingdom is where our heart is.

Moreover, the Philippians gave generously at a time when they were blessed with the means to give. Later, when they were in poverty, they still gave generously. Look at Paul's words about them in 2 Corinthians 8:

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

Giving is grace. It is an act of grace and it is done in response to God's grace. We are willing to give what we have because he gave his all for us. When we give we are imitating Christ.

You will find the audio to this bible study linked below. I hope you will take the time to listen to it and grow in your understanding so that you might excel in this act of grace also, as Paul says above.

Click here: Philippians 4:14-19 - On Giving

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Psalm 37:1-11 - The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

Psalm 37 is a mini book of Proverbs within the Psalms. It reads like the book of Proverbs, but it is less encompassing. It is wisdom centered around a particular theme--that of comparing and contrasting the righteous with the wicked.

All biblical wisdom starts with the fear of God. Being wise, according to the Bible, is coming to terms with God as he is revealed in the word and ordering one's life accordingly. We begin by acknowledging God and fearing him, then everything else builds on that.

Psalm 37 begins by reminding us that although the wicked often prosper in the short-term, it is the righteous who will prevail in the long run, for God is on their side. We look around us and we see that nice guys often finish last. We see that unscrupulous people often prosper. We see that ungodliness is often great gain in this world. And we are tempted to be frustrated by that. We are tempted to be envious of those who wantonly violate God's laws and unabashedly live wicked lives and seem, from our vantage point, to be enjoying themselves immensely, while we pine away on the straight and narrow. "So long, suckers!" they say as they pass us by on their way to some Bible-forbidden enjoyment. But, David says,

Fret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not envious of wrongdoers!

For they will soon fade like the grass

and wither like the green herb.

We need to keep eternity in our perspective. If this life were all there were, it would make sense to "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." But for the Christian this life is not all there is and the only life that makes any sense is the one lived with eternity and God'S promises in view. We don't have to fight for what is already promised us. We don't have to fret over people who are soon to be judged. We long for liberty and justice and rights and human welfare and a world without war and poverty and on and on and on. And none of these things can be brought about through the politics of Babylon. But all of these will be set in place by the King when he arrives. And he will be arriving soon. And that is when the meek, you and I, shall inherit the earth . . .

In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;

though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

But the meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in abundant peace.

At the link below you will find an audio recording of the sermon I preached from these first eleven verses of Psalm 37. Just click and a new window will open in your browser taking you to the page where this and other sermons are stored. I hope you will listen and be blessed.

Click here:  Psalm 37:1-11 - The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth


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Philippians 4:10-14 - Contentment In Christ

Philippians 4:13 could possibly be one of the most misused verses in the Bible. Most people use this verse as if Paul is giving us a blanket promise that we can be or do anything we dream, and that Christ is there to help us achieve our dreams.

 He's not. As the old saying goes, "A text without a context is a pretext," and there is no greater proof of the truth of that statement than the blatant misuse and abuse this verse gets in our American evangelical culture.

Philippians 4:13 is not about Christ helping us achieve our dreams and goals. In context, it is about God giving us the strength to be content no matter what his providential hand brings into our lives. Here is the context:

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I
am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.--Philippians 4:11-13

The focus of this passage is the virtue of contentment and the secret to contentment is resting in Christ. Paul can be faithful to Christ and satisfied with Christ no matter what his outward circumstances look like. He possesses Christ and that possession of Christ is more valuable than anything in this ever-changing world. We would do well to learn this sort of contentment and we will learn it just as soon as the focus of our lives becomes not ourselves or the things of this world, but Christ.

Below you will find a link to the Bible study I taught on this passage. I hope you will take the time to listen to it and be blessed. Just click below.


Click here: Philippians 4:10-14


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Psalm 36 - God and Man Contrasted

Psalm 36 is instructional. It teaches us about ourselves, our human nature, and then contrasts our nature with God's nature. Then it concludes with a prayer. Thus David shows us that orthopraxy only comes from orthodoxy. Or, in other words, sound Christian conduct and practice--in this case prayer and worship--only comes from sound theology.

Our problem is a heart problem. It is a desire problem. We desire sin in our hearts. We desire our own way. We desire autonomy and independence from God. While truth may speak to our minds, as human beings our reaction is to push away the truth because in our hearts we desire transgression. We desire our own way. I'm speaking, of course, of human beings in our natural state.

There is no political solution to this problem. Law, for example, cannot change it. What law does is expose it and what the state or government does is help keep it in check. So laws are good, assuming those laws are just and right. But laws at best can only curb human behavior by threat of force. They cannot cure what is wrong with us. We human beings are wicked to the core and that wickedness is what is wrong with the world. We love transgression.

David phrases it this way:

Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;

there is no fear of God

before his eyes.--Psalm 36:1

And so David goes on describing the character of man until we are left feeling helpless and hopeless. 

Then he begins the contrasting picture of the great character of God. In verses 6-9 he says:

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

your judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you save, O LORD.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light do we see light.

And it is in this latter portion of the psalm where we begin to see the cross. At the cross God's providential hand is seen working in a way we would never have thought. Israel's promised messiah came and was rejected? How does that make sense? And through that rejection comes the deliverance of all God's people.

Think of the story. God becomes man. Creator becomes creation and creation kills him. Through death comes an end to death. Through cursing comes an end to the curse. Through pain and suffering come an end to all pain and suffering.

At the cross God's righteousness and salvation meet and become one. It is at the cross where God is shown to be both righteous and merciful at the same time. And here's the beautiful thing. God becomes a refuge for all who run to him.

Below you will find a link to the sermon I preached from this psalm. The link takes you to SoundCloud where you will find an MP3 recording of that sermon and many more. I hope you will take the time to listen and be blessed.

Click here:  Psalm 36 - God and Man Contrasted

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Philippians 4:8-9 - Think About These Things

In Paul's final words to the Philippians he does something that is unique in all of his epistles. He sends them to the well of culture to draw water.

He has previously reminded them on several occasions that while they are in the world, they are not of the world. In fact, it is abundantly clear that the world around them, the culture in which they live, is opposed to them. While Paul tells them not to be afraid of those who oppose them he also tells them to walk worthy of the gospel, or to be gospel citizens. He later reminds them that they are citizens of heaven--and that their Savior is not Caesar but Christ--and that Christ is Lord of all, not Caesar.

But now he tells them to look around them at that same culture and if there is anything virtuous to be found to "think about these things."

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.--Philippians 4:8-9

This list of virtues is so Roman that it looks like it could have been written by Cicero. And yet it is not Cicero, it is Paul. In this Bible study we look at this list and talk about its significance in the Philippians' lives and also our own. We also talk about such concepts as common grace and natural law. I hope you will take the time to click the link below and listen to the study. My prayer is that you will grow in grace and that God's word explained clearly will prove to be a blessing in your life. Just click below.

Click here: Philippians 4:8-9


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Psalm 35 - Another Prayer for Victory

Psalm 20 was a prayer for victory prayed over the king before he went into battle. Psalm 35 is actually a prayer for victory, too--or rather three, for there are three distinct prayers within this psalm. So that's what I called it: A Prayer for Victory II, or Another Prayer for Victory.

Psalm 35 is more than just a prayer for victory, though. Psalm 35 is an imprecatory psalm where David calls on God to defeat his enemies. Rather than covering Psalm 35 verse by verse as I have most of the other psalms, I instead treated it more in a topical manner and talked a little about the nature of an imprecatory psalm, the difference between the Old Testament and the New, and what the nature of the Christian's warfare is.

Here is the outline I used:

I. An Imprecatory Psalm and What That Means.

 II. The Christian and His Enemies.

III. The Nature of Christian Warfare.

 IV. What Victory Means in Our Lives.

  V.  What the Psalm Teaches Us About Faith.

 VI. When Ultimate Victory Comes.

VII. Where Jesus is in the Psalm.

I think you will find the sermon informative and challenging to your daily Christian walk. I want to encourage you to click and listen. The link below will take you to SoundCloud where the audio file for this and all my sermons and bible studies are to be found. May God richly bless.

Click here: Psalm 35

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Psalm 34 - A Psalm of Praise and Thanksgiving

Psalm 34 is another of the acrostic psalms. Each of the 22 verses pertains to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is likely that it was used as not only a psalm of worship within the liturgy of he Old Testament church but also as a teaching aid or aid to memorization for young Hebrew children growing up in the faith. The Rev. Charles Spurgeon divided the psalm into two parts. Verses 1-10 he saw as a hymn and verses 11-22 as a sermon. I liked that division and used it in my sermon from this chapter, a sermon that is linked below.

Here is an excerpt from the sermon:

(19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

"This is a most realistic picture of the Christian life. The righteous in this world suffer, but they have hope in the midst of suffering, because they have a redeemer who came and suffered for them and in suffering made an end of all suffering and guaranteed us a place in a world where suffering would be no more. Do you know sorrow? He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Do you know pain? He knew it well. Do you know loss? He cried out to God, "why have you forsaken me?" He was afflicted that he might deliver us from all affliction.

(20) He keeps all his bones;

not one of them is broken.

No permanent hurt will ever afflict God's people. Here in these verses we see Christ, for John's gospel teaches us to do so. Verse twenty looks not only forward to Christ, but backwards to the Passover lamb which prefigured Christ--the lamb that was slain and consumed and according to the commands of God this was to be carefully done in a way so as not to break even one of the bones. That lamb and this verse point us forward to the lamb of God, whom John the Baptist said was to 'take away the sin of the world.'"

I hope you will take the time to listen to the sermon and that it will be a blessing to you. Just click he link below and it will take you to SoundCloud where you can stream the audio file. God bless you.

Psalm 34 - A Psalm of Praise and Thanksgiving

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Psalm 33 - In Praise of God's Word and Power::

In the Bible the word of God is often used synonymously with God's decrees. In other words, what God says will happen will happen and, conversely, what happens is what God says will happen. We see this in the creation story of Genesis chapter 1. God speaks and the worlds come into existence. Psalm 33 echoes that creation account:

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

Psalm 33:6

God's decree not only brought the worlds into existence, but the decree of God sustains their existence. God's sovereignty extends over all of creation, including the creatures made in his image.

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

The counsel of the LORD stands forever,

the plans of his heart to all generations.

Psalm 33:10-11

In Psalm 33 David is praising God for his word and his power. In support of this praise he points out God's creating the worlds out of nothing, working his sovereign will over the nations, and choosing a people for himself.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Psalm 33:12

Who these people are and what that heritage is I delve into in more detail in the sermon. I hope you will take the time to listen and think about what God was saying through David in this psalm. Some of my conclusions are quite challenging to the modern American church. I don't back away from controversy here. But what I speak I speak in love. The audio is linked below.

Click here: Psalm 33 - In Praise of God's Word and Power

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Philippians 4:4-7 - Good Citizens of Heaven

At the end of Philippians chapter 3 Paul reminds the Philippian believers of where their true citizenship lies. Yes, they are Roman citizens and, yes, that citizenship grants them certain rights and privileges. But that Roman citizenship has a darker side as well. Roman opposition to the faith is growing. The Philippians are experiencing opposition both from the culture at large and more and more from the government itself. The kingdoms of this world are never what they're cut out to be.

Paul has been working throughout this entire letter to prepare the church at Philippi for the persecution that is coming. There was a lack of focus. He has reminded them that life is Christ. There was a temptation to adapt Jewish ceremonial and cultural laws as Christian mandates. He has reminded them of what the gospel is and encouraged them to pursue Christ. There was division in the church. He has corrected that disunity by recommending to them the mind of Christ--that of humility. And now that Caesar has turned against them he has reminded them of where their true citizenship lies and that Caesar is not Lord. Christ is Lord.

So we come to verses 4-7 of chapter 4 and we read some of the most beautiful words in the letter.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication 

with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In perilous times Christ offers peace. In the midst of opposition and persecution Christ offers freedom from anxiety. In a world of tragedy and sorrow Christ offers joy. Our hope in this world is not anchored in politics or free markets or a social safety net. Our hope is in Christ. He is our joy. He gives us the peace that surpasses all understanding. He is attentive to our prayers and grants us all our needs. He even tells us how best to communicate the glorious gospel message that those who oppose us so desperately need to hear.

This is the second lesson taken from chapter 4 of Philippians. I hope that you will listen to it and that it will be a blessing to you. The style is that of an informal, small group setting and sometimes there is discussion involved. So don't think of this as a sermon, but a lesson. Just click below and be blessed.


Click here: Philippians 4:4-7

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Psalm 32 - The State of Grace

I call this psalm "The State of Grace" because of the wonderful condition David describes in the first two verses.

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,

and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

How is it that my sins are not counted against me? How can a just God not count our sins against us? And if he does not count them against, how does he remain just? He remains just by counting them against a substitute, himself, who stood in our place, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Charles Spurgeon said when commenting on this passage:

“Pardoning mercy is of all things in the world most to be prized, for it is the only and sure way to happiness. To hear from God’s own Spirit the words, “absolvo te” (I absolve you) is joy unspeakable. Blessedness is not in this case ascribed to the man who has been a diligent law keeper, for then it would never come to us, but rather to a lawbreaker, who by grace most rich and free has been forgiven. Self righteous Pharisees have no portion in this blessedness. Over the returning prodigal, the word of welcome is here pronounced, and the music and dancing begin'

This forgiveness comes at a price. That price was paid by Christ at the cross. This is what we mean by free grace.

But there is more to the story than that, and more to this psalm. Below is a link to the audio file recorded when I preached this sermon on October 2. Just click the link to listen to the sermon. May you know the blessedness of being forgiven.

Click here: Psalm 32 - The State of Grace


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Philippians 4:1-3 - Stand Firm

Paul is reaching the conclusion of his letter and some of the things he's been hinting about prior to this he gets explicit about in these verses. There has been disunity in the church and it needs to stop because there is something more valuable going on than the petty differences which often divide us. The gospel is at stake.

We could take lessons from that. In tumultuous times, indeed at all times, but especially in tumultuous times we need to focus on the gospel. It starts like this:

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, 

my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

--Philippians 4:1

Being faithful to the gospel is of paramount importance in the face of opposition, whether it's the scorn cast against the gospel in our day, or the opposition faced by the Philippians coming from the Roman culture and government. When opposition comes we are tempted to abandon the gospel for safety. The gospel is more important than safety. The gospel is more important than our avoiding the shame and contempt associated with believing something so scandalous to the world around us. We are not called to conform to this world. We are called to stand firm.

Now Paul tackles the disunity. He calls people by name. He entreats them in a loving way, without taking sides, to "agree in the Lord." Then he asks for others in the church to step in and work for reconciliation.

This is the Bible study I taught on Wednesday, October 12, 2016. I hope you will take the time to listen and be blessed by it. Just click the link below and it will take you to SoundCloud where you can stream it or download it for later listening. God bless.


Click here: Philippians 4:1-3

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Philippians 3:17-21 - Citizens of Heaven

As modern American evangelical Christians we are far too wrapped up in the political affairs of this life.

Part of the reason for Paul's writing this letter to the Philippian church is to encourage a people who are facing opposition from the Roman government. They are facing this opposition, not as strangers or foreigners, but as citizens of Rome, and in spite of that citizenship.

So Paul is reminding them of who they are and where their treasure lies. He is reminding them of which kingdom they serve and are loyal to. And he is also reminding them of who their king really is.

But our citizenship is in heaven, 

and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 

who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, 

by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

--Philippians 3:20-21

As the people of God, redeemed by Christ, we are awaiting the consummation of all things. We are looking forward to the eschaton, the return of Christ and the kingdom in its fullness. Our hope is not in perfecting this world. We look to the world to come. Here we are strangers and sojourners. There we will reign as kings and priests.

This is the audio from the Bible study we did on Wednesday, October 5, 2016. I hope you will take the time to listen to it and be reminded of where, as Christians, our hope lies. Just click below and be blessed.

Click here: Philippians 3:17-21

Philippians 3:12-19 - Spiritual Maturity

The Philippian church is soon to be facing persecution and they're not ready. There is disunity. There is a temptation to give in to legalism in the form of the Judaizers. Paul is focusing them. The focus is on Christ and the glory of God through Christ. It is a gospel focus. He has been giving them theology, and this theology is the most practical thing in the world. So now he gets practical. Now he applies what he has been teaching.

Let those of us who are mature think this way, 

What is Christian maturity and how does it manifest itself in us? There is a play on words Paul is using in this passage and an irony. Maturity may not be what we might imagine. What he says about Christian maturity also points us back again to chapter 2 and the hymn to Christ. 

Again, Paul focuses on Christ and points us back, not to rules, but to relationship. How is your relationship with Christ? Are you pursuing it? How? How is your walk? All of this and more is discussed in this study from Philippians 3. I hope you will take the time to listen and be blessed. Just click the link below to stream the audio.

Click here:  Philippians 3:12-19

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Philippians 3:7-14 - Pressing Forward

For what do people live? For what does the Christian live? What if living for Christ costs us greatly? Is it worth it? Paul thinks so.

Much of what Paul is saying in chapter 3 of Philippians is amplifying what he asked the Philippians to do in chapter 2--which is to have the mind of Christ. What Jesus does in the hymn to Christ (Philippians 2:6-11) is mirrored by Paul's description of himself here in this chapter. Just as Jesus had everything, but gave it up to come to earth for the glory of God (and our benefit), so Paul who once had much gain, counted it loss that he might gain Christ. Was it worth it?

Indeed, I count everything as loss 

because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. 

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things 

and count them as rubbish, 

in order that I may gain Christ--Philippians 3:8

Here's what Paul knows. He was chosen by God. Christ Jesus claimed Paul, apprehended Paul, made Paul his own for the purpose of making Paul into the image of Christ--the glorified man. The same is true for all of us who are in Christ. And Paul won't be satisfied until he is what Christ has chosen him to be. Are you? How eager are you to grow in grace, to become more like Christ?

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, 

but I press on to make it my own, 

because Christ Jesus has made me his own.--Philippians 3:12

As Christians, a glorious future awaits us. One day we will be shed of this sinful nature. One day all the frailties, infirmities, weaknesses brought about by sin will be done away with. We will live in a world free of sin, free of pain, free of sorrow, and free of death. Christ is preparing us for that place now. Shouldn't we, like Paul, eagerly embrace that?

This is the fourth of our Bible studies covering chapter 3 of Philippians. I hope you will take the time to listen and grow in your understanding of God's word, and in so doing grow in grace and become more like Christ. The link below will take you to a page on SoundCloud where you can stream the MP3 recording of this bible study. God bless.

Click here: Philippians 3:7-14

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Philippians 3:7-11 - That I May Know Him

Philippians 3 is one of those transcendent passages in the New Testament. Grasp it and you will understand who Paul was and what made him tick. Grasp it and you will understand what the Christian life is all about. Understand this passage and you will begin to understand why you are here, what your purpose is, what God is doing in you and what God is doing through you. It is also some of the more beautiful writing in the New Testament.

We get caught up in this idea in our culture that Christianity is about a set of moral values. Large portions of the Church have bought into this notion, too, and while the values may differ slightly in detail and emphasis it is hard to escape the notion that American Christianity is a set of rules to keep. Paul knows nothing of this sort of Christianity and rejects it.

Oh, yes, of course, our faith includes rules. It includes God's moral standards and precepts. But these are not the center of our faith. The center of our faith is Christ. And Christianity is not about rules, it is about relationship.

that I may know him 

and the power of his resurrection, 

and may share his sufferings, 

becoming like him in his death, 

that by any means possible I may attain 

the resurrection from the dead.

These are the words of Paul in verse ten and they summarize what the Christian life is all about. It is about knowing Christ and pursuing that relationship with Christ through the gospel all our days. It is about taking up our cross daily and following him. It is about embracing his gracious will for our lives, including suffering. It is about having our eyes set, not on this world, but on the next.

This is the third lesson from chapter 3 and is part of a larger study that covers every verse of Philippians from beginning to end. I hope you will take the time to listen and be blessed in doing so. Just click the link below.

Click here:  Philippians 3:7-11


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Philippians 3:4-7 Gains and Loss

God's favor is something each of us should covet. As Christians we desire God's blessings both in this life and the next. How is God's favor obtained? Is pedigree important? Are we God's people due to physical lineage? Do we earn his blessings by meticulously keeping his law? Or, more to the point, must we become Jews in order to become Christians?

While that last question may not be something that occurs to us Gentile Christians in the 21st century, it was foremost on the minds of 1st century believers as they wrestled with the teachings of Christ and the gospel and how that fit into what they already knew from the Old Testament. What Paul teaches the church at Philippi here in Philippians chapter three is that anything that we might think of as valuable, whether it be pedigree, or religious accomplishments, or anything else we might bring to the table, is of no value in earning God's favor. That favor is simply bestowed upon God's people in Christ.

Once Paul discovered this, he saw the value of Christ and that's when he understood the comparative worthlessness of all those things which he had previously considered gain. In comparison to Christ all else was street rubbish and he was happy to count it loss in order that he might gain Christ.

This is the Bible study I taught on these verses on Wednesday, September 7, 2016. Just click the link below to listen:


Philippians 3:4-7

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Psalm 31 - God is a Rock and a Refuge (Part 2)

Ten minutes of sinful pleasure, or just once giving in to our angry impulses or our covetous desires, can cost us years of sighing and a lifetime spent with sorrow. Our heart is deceitful. Our flesh is destructive. We are our own worst enemies. And David knows this first-hand.The beauty of the Bible is that it doesn't hide the flaws of its major characters. It paints their portraits warts and all. And David's sin causes him much sorrow and misery and heartache. Ours will do the same. It is the nature of the beast.

The second part of Psalm 31 is about sin and repentance and grace. In other words, it hits us right where we live. David is in despair over the temporal consequences of his sin. He cries out to God for mercy. What happens? And is God still a rock and a refuge to us even when we bring our troubles upon ourself?

This is the second of my two sermons from Psalm 31. I have linked the audio below so that you can listen. God's word, read and expounded, is the chosen means by which God works his grace in our hearts. I hope that you will take the time to listen and I pray you will be blessed as you do so.


Click here: Psalm 31 Part 2

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