Philippians 1:6-8 - All of Grace

What does perseverance mean? Does the Bible teach "once saved always saved"? In Philippians 1:6 Paul has made a bold statement and given us what has been described as the very definition of what it means to be a Christian. Here it is:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 

Does this mean that everyone who professes faith in Christ will be saved? What does it mean when we say that our salvation is all of grace? We cover this and more in the fourth in our series on the book of Philippians. Take a listen and grow in your understanding of this great work of salvation that God is working in us through Christ. Our prayers are that you will grow in grace and be blessed.

Click here: Philippians 1:6-8

Psalm 18 - David's Victory Psalm

Psalm 18 is fifty verses long. Most of the psalms are shorter than this, but David, in his exuberance over God having given him victory over his enemies, just keeps going and going and going giving God the glory. We could take a lesson from that to speak little about ourselves and much about Christ.

Rather than try to cover every verse of this psalm one verse at a time, I tried to give an overview of it and deal with its main themes. What does David's worship say about our worship? How do we in the New Testament look at some of David's themes like vengeance and war? How is Christ winning the victory for us? The MP3 audio file is at the link below. Clicking will open up a new window and take you to the page at Soundcloud where you can stream the sermon or download it for later listening.

Click here: Psalm 18 - David's Victory Psalm

Philippians 1:3-6 - The Fellowship of the Gospel

As Christians, we belong to something grand, something larger than ourselves. Our lives have purpose. We are a part of God's great redemptive work in the world.

Paul writes to the Philippians and tells them that he thinks about them often, thanking God for them, and praying for them. Then he mentions that his prayers are always joyful because of their partnership, or fellowship with him in the gospel. In this study we talk about what this means, what it meant for them and what it means for us. Already in this letter Paul has given us a motif, not only for this letter, but for all of life. Check out the link below and stream the audio for yourself. Or you can download it to listen later. May God wonderfully bless.

Click here: The Fellowship of the Gospel

Psalm 17 - A Prayer For Help

David has been falsely accused and he turns to God for help. Is God here for us when we need him? What is God's single defining attribute in relation to his people? How has he shown that to us? What is the gospel about and what is the end game? All of this and more in the sermon I preached this morning at the Winnsboro Reformed Church from Psalm 17.

Is God on the side of his people? How has he shown that to us? What does it mean for us? This is a wonderful Psalm with some powerful truths meant to comfort and encourage God's people and give us something to look forward to. Take a listen.

Click here: Psalm 17 - A Prayer For Help

Psalm 15 - The Necessity of Holiness

Some psalms are encouraging. They speak of hope in God, of God's faithfulness. They remind us that those who trust in God will be delivered, that though bad times come we have a glorious future promised us in Christ. Some of the psalms speak directly of Christ and what he has done for us. Themes like redemption and mercy and the steadfast love of the Lord come up over and over again as we flip through the pages of the Psalms. And then there are psalms like this one.

Psalm 15 starts by asking a poignant question.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?

Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

Then it responds in the next four verses:

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right

and speaks truth in his heart;

who does not slander with his tongue

and does no evil to his neighbor,

nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

in whose eyes a vile person is despised,

but who honors those who fear the LORD;

who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

who does not put out his money at interest

and does not take a bribe against the innocent.

And if we look at these verses honestly and then look at ourselves honestly we don't get a very hopeful picture, do we? What are we to make of this? What is holiness and why is it import? And what if we can't meet God's standard? Is there anyone who has?

Click here: Psalm 15 - The Necessity of Holiness

Introduction to Philippians

The book of Philippians is a tiny little book in the New Testament, just four chapters, yet packed full of good gospel and Christian living. D. A. Carson called Philippians "Basics For Believers" and so it is. What is life about? What does the Christ-life look like? Who is Jesus anyway? What can I expect from making Christ my life? What does the pursuit of Christ look like? Will God take care of me? All of these questions are addressed in Philippians.

I have taught through the book of Philippians for several years now, both as pastor of a church and in my capacity as a hospice chaplain in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. I am currently teaching through it in our Wednesday night Bible studies at the Winnsboro Reformed Church. This audio link will take you to a page on Soundcloud where you can listen to the introductory lesson in this series. It was/is a very informal setting and following the introduction to the book there was a group discussion that centered on evangelism and what that looks like in a Reformed context. The study itself consisted mostly of an overview of Acts 16.

Here is the audio from that session: Intro to Philippians

I hope you will follow the example set by Paul and Silas and the others as they sought to glorify Christ in the world they lived in. God is always at work. Proclaim the good news. Go and make disciples.

Psalm 14 - Depravity and Hope

"The fool hath said in his heart there is no God."--Psalm 14:1a KJV

The classic anti-atheist verse, right? Or is it? What is the Psalm really talking about and what does it say about our human condition? Is there hope in it anywhere?

This is the first sermon I delivered as pastor of the Winnsboro Reformed Church--preached on Sunday, May 1, 2016. Psalm 14 is a classic law and gospel psalm, declaring our guilt and then pointing us to Christ. To listen to the sermon just click the link below. It will take you to a page with an audio recording which you can either stream or download for listening later. God bless and may you be blessed by God's great grace.

Here is the sermon: Psalm 14 - Depravity and Hope