The Impartial Judgement of God (Rm 2.9-11)

Our message today was devoted to one central theme, the impartial judgement of God. Our Lord is no respecter of persons. There is no hoping in any privilege of one’s circumstances, even if it include such privileges as being one of the chosen people of God.

The Slough of Despond

We are beginning our study through John Bunyan’s classic. Our first session covered Bunyan’s Apology for this book and Christian’s meeting with Evangelist and falling into the Slough of Despond on his way to the Wicket Gate.

Mine Eyes have seen the Glory (Lev 9) – Communion

Our communion message this afternoon comes from Leviticus 9, the chapter where Aaron takes on his duties after the ordination of chapter 8. After all the sacrifices were offered, the glory of the Lord appears, consuming the sacrifices on the altar. Though the Lord does not visibly appear at every worship service in the OT and in none in the church age (since the tongues of fire), still we should look for a real communion with our God every time we worship.

A bit of a challenging Sunday for us this week… Our attendance was down, several out sick, some out… who knows why? And a miserably difficult day of preparation the day before as the sermon just wouldn’t come together in my mind. I think the final effort succeeded in getting across the message I wanted, but the energy level was lower than I wanted it to be.

Nevertheless, the word of God is rich and powerful and lifts our spirits if we are devoted to it. I hope these might offer a blessing to you in some way.

Judged by Deeds (Rm 2.6-10)

Our second message from this passage focuses not on man’s destiny, but the issues man faces at the judgement bar of God: his deeds. Any man who assesses himself honestly will admit that he cannot meet God’s standard, no matter how hard he tries. The message of grace, as we learn elsewhere, is that One Man met the standard and willingly exchanged places with us so that in him we could pass muster in God’s judgement and share in His eternal life.

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Our sermon summaries for today:

Destinies of Men (Rm 2.6-10)

Our message today looks at the chiastic structure of Rm 2.7-10, which reveals the two destinies of men: eternal life or wrath and indignation, but puts the focus on the destiny of those who do evil: wrath, indignation, tribulation and anguish. The moral man must become aware of this, God’s special revelation to him. The moral man (the man who condemns others) agrees with God that sin must be judged, but is seemingly unaware that the judgement of God’s wrath is abiding on him… and awaits him.

The Activity of Demons

In which we consider the ways in which demons operate in their opposition to God and as the emissaries of Satan.

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A good day, with a visiting pastor from Holland. We also had some visits from some young people our kids have worked with at McDonalds. Today is the last Sunday for our boys to be home before they head off to school. We had a testimony service in the afternoon followed by fellowship as a farewell to our youngest son, heading off for the first time.