I Saw the Lord [Guest Speakers]

Tom Nieman

Isa 6

Our speaker for Thanksgiving Day (Monday, Oct 11) is pastor Tom Nieman, retired pastor of Galilee Baptist Church in Kent, WA. He preached two messages for us this morning as well.

Pastor Nieman’s first message comes to us from Isaiah 6, a passage in which we find Isaiah’s motivation for enduring in the ministry in the midst of a people whose hearts were far from God. Isaiah’s day was not unlike our day. Our motivation needs to come from the same kind of vision of God that Isaiah had. Our God is over all, evil shall not triumph in this world.

The Glory of the Son [Guest Speakers]

Tom Nieman

Jn 17

Pastor Nieman’s second message presents our Lord, having just washed his disciples feet, kneeling at His Father’s feet, praying for the restoration of his glory and the positioning of His disciples in Him – glorified by our position and exalted together in Him by His love. We are finding Pastor Nieman to be ‘the preacher of glory’, a theme that clearly has stirred his heart.

The Pastor’s Goal [1 Timothy]

1 Tim 1.5

Paul’s first instruction to the pastor is to command men not to teach false doctrine or foolish doctrine. If a pastor faithfully fulfills this instruction, he is often seen as negative, unloving, unpastoral. Yet it is this very command that has as its goal the production of mature Christian love out of the direct fruits of correcting error – a pure heart, a good conscience and unfeigned faith.

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Tomorrow promises to be a great day at our church – we expect several visitors. Pray that the service may go well and the Lord will work in hearts!

We’ll post tomorrow’s message sometime late in the day.

So Abraham Believed … So What? [Romans]

Rm 4

Our message today summarizes the arguments of Romans 4. We have been in this chapter almost 4 whole months, analyzing the argument in detail. But we don’t want to give the impression that Christianity is just a matter of having the right doctrine. Right doctrine is the foundation of right living. Abraham’s faith was the foundation for his spiritual life, just as our faith is for our lives as well.

Christ’s Teaching Concerning Sin (5) [Basic Theology]

We conclude our summary of Christ’s teaching concerning sin with this lesson. In it we see some of the consequences of sin, teaching concerning the forgiveness of sin, and a section called ‘the eschatology of sin’.

Perfect in Conduct and Person [Leviticus, Communion]

Lev 21

Our chapter this month provides some more specific rules concerning priestly qualification and conduct. The regulations imply the weakness of the Aaronic priesthood and call for the coming perfect priesthood of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

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We had an incident of vandalism at our church on Friday evening. Someone stole an excavator a contractor was parking on our property (temporarily). He used it to destroy our storage shed and dig huge holes in our back yard. Then he destroyed the fence between our property and the neighbouring school, finally halting when he broke part of the hydraulics by tangling himself up in some aluminum soccer goals. We are thankful that no serious damage occurred to our main building. The incident certainly illustrates the needy hearts that surround us every day.

In church, I had the joy of talking to a young lady who seems to have been born again recently. She was raised in a Catholic home, but the Lord has opened her eyes to the truth of the gospel and she has accepted the Lord as her only Saviour.

We also were visited by a man who has turned his back on the bike gangs and wants to follow the Lord. What a blessing to see him opening up to a couple of our men. He is taking steps to learn how to follow the Lord. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve him in teaching the Scriptures and extending the right hand of fellowship.

A great day in the Lord’s house, I’d say, in spite of the challenges the vandalism presents.

God’s Gospel [Romans]

Rm 4.25

The focus of this message is on what God did to Christ in order to accomplish our justification. The words of our text present a dramatic picture. God delivered over the Son [same word as ‘betrayed’ when used of Judas] because of our offenses [a word describing sin as a fall beside the road – but not just a little stumble, a collapse off the cliff]. God, in essence, threw his Son off the cliff because man threw God off the cliff long ago. And God raised his son because of our justification – to show that he was satisfied with the sacrifice and to enable the Son to intercede on our behalf.

What a God! What a Saviour!

Christ’s Teaching Concerning Sin (4) [Basic Theology]

In this lesson we conclude looking at some categories of sin and some sources of sin as taught by our Lord. The Lord’s teaching concerning sin is comprehensive and certainly mirrors all the apostle’s taught. The teaching of the apostle’s is not inferior and no less inspired since they were chosen by God to be God’s mouthpiece in the world after the Lord departed. But the knowledge that the Lord himself teaches in concert with the apostles bolsters our confidence in the entire Biblical theology of sin.

25 Surprising Marriages and Will Medicine Stop the Pain? [Book Reviews]

Another pastor mentioned to our pastor that he used one evening service a month for book reviews, in order to help his people find disciple-building material for themselves. Taking that suggestion to heart, this is our first attempt.

25 Surprising Marriages is a book that looks at 25 well-known Christians and their marriages. The focus is on the biography of the men and women as a couple. The benefit of this book is seen in its cumulative effect rather than in any one biographical sketch found in the book. Well worth reading and making some mental notes concerning what it took for these men and women to succeed (if they did) and then to make comparisons with one’s own marriage.

Will Medicine Stop the Pain? is a book that deals with problems in the inner man like depression, anxiety, brain disorders and cognitive problems resulting from head injury and the like. The book emphasizes that man is a two part being. We need to be sure that we are thinking right in our hearts. We need to be cautious about the use of psychiatric medicine because it can only deal with the emotional symptoms and can’t deal with the root spiritual causes of emotional pain.

Read the reviews in manuscript form.

Also published on oxgoad here and here.

Our Faith Compared [Romans]

Rm 4.23-24

As Paul draws to the conclusion of his lengthy discussion of Abraham as the model of justifying faith, he underscores the fact that Christian faith corresponds exactly to Abraham’s faith in its effect (imputation) and its object (life from death). If we believe like Abraham, we will be justified like Abraham.

Christ’s Teaching Concerning Sin (3) [Basic Theology]

In this lesson we continue our look at our Lord’s teaching concerning sin. Our object in this chapter is to show Christ’s view of sin and to encourage the hearer to adopt the same view.

Charge Certain Men [1 Timothy]

1 Tim 1.3-4

Our second message in the Pastoral epistles looks at Paul’s first instructions to Timothy. In these instructions, Paul authorizes Timothy to command the teachers of the church concerning both ‘other-doctrine’ and ‘foolish doctrine’. These prohibited activities are at best distractions of the Christian faith and at worst distortions of the Christian faith. Their presence can utterly debilitate a local church.

Abraham’s Faith Described [Romans]

Rm 4.18-22

Our passage describes in very careful detail what made up Abraham’s faith, both in how it looked beyond the reality of Abraham’s physical circumstance and how it relied unwaveringly on the promise and word of the Living God. Saving faith parallels Abraham’s faith exactly, and it is this faith that is counted as righteousness by the One who Judges all souls.

Christ’s Teaching Concerning Sin (2) [Basic Theology]

Our lesson today continues our look at our Lord’s teaching concerning sin. In this section, we are going passage by passage through examples of specific sins our Lord condemns.

My Son Timothy [1 Timothy]

1 Tim 1.1-2

This afternoon we begin a look at the Pastoral Epistles with a biographical message about Timothy, Paul’s son in the faith. We consider the apostolic concern for the coming generation and apply it to our need to be concerned about the growth of our coming generations in the local church.

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We had a good day in the services, but I was visited by a man before anyone else got there. He is going through some very deep waters and is a new believer. If you think of it, I would appreciate your prayers for him. He didn’t stay for the services and didn’t answer the door when I called after our afternoon service. I’ll be going back for another try later today.

How is Abraham our Father? [Romans]

Rm 4.16-17

One of the themes of Romans 4 is Abraham as the father of the faithful. Today we embark on a section of the chapter that highlights the fatherhood of Abraham as the head of a column relying on the sure promise of God. Abraham viewed God as one who could bring life from the dead and the NT believer does also. Abraham viewed God as one who could call things that are not in existence as though they are in existence. In that number, all the believers in God’s promise stand. In point of Abraham’s time, they are yet to be. In the eternal mind of God, they are.

Christ’s Teaching Concerning Sin (1) [Basic Theology]

In this lesson, we look at some of Christ’s specific and pointed teaching concerning sin. Most of our time involved a look at the Lord’s rebuke of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in Mt 23. We also considered the Lord’s rebuke of sacrilege in the second cleansing of the temple in Mk 11.

The Death Penalty [Communion, Leviticus]

Lev 20

Today we look at Leviticus 20, a compendium of laws against idolatry and immorality where the dominant theme is the death penalty. As we consider these laws and God’s view of sin, we realize that Christ and his death on the cross become the death of all sin and open the door for even sinners such as those condemned by Lev 20 to find cleansing, sanctification, and justification in Christ (see 1 Cor 6.9-11).

The Function of Law [Romans]

Rm 4.15

In this message we consider what it is the law does – it hems us in so we must turn to God. We are working on this proposition as the central idea of the message: The Law brings the individual to the crisis of conviction from which there is no way of escape except the grace of God.

The Biblical Concept of Sin (2) [Basic Theology]

In this lesson we conclude our look at the words used in the Bible for sin. From this we discuss a working definition of sin with a few additional comments worked in.

Facing the King of Heaven [Guest]

Rory Johnson

Dan 4

Our pastor’s son concludes his sermons for this summer with a biographical sermon on Nebuchadnezzar and his progress in knowing and submitting to God. All men must yield to the majesty and holiness of God. We should learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation if we would escape similar lessons ourselves.

The Works of Salvation [Romans]

Rm 4.14

Today we take a bit of digression from our exposition to consider a topic suggested by a footnote in William R. Newell’s commentary on Romans. Our verse says that if law-works were able to save, faith would be emptied of value and the promise of God ‘put out of work’. Newell comments that God hates works and calls on us to consider instead the work of Christ on our behalf.

Our message today compares the works men offer with the work Christ has done and yet will do. All that men offer … ritual, church attendance, offerings, good deeds to other men … compared to what Christ offers … incarnation, vicarious atonement, exaltation and post-resurrection ministry of intercession, redemption and more, and the yet future consummation of all things … which do you think is more effective at eternally redeeming souls?

The Biblical Concept of Sin (1) [Basic Theology]

In this session we turn from the doctrine of men to the doctrine of sin. We begin with a look at the biblical words used to describe sin. We covered the vocabulary of the Old Testament for sin and half of the New Testament vocabulary. The many words used to describe sin in the Bible give us a clear picture of what sort of corruption all men suffer under.

What Should You do with God’s Word?

Rory Johnson

Pr 3.1-12

Our pastor’s son preached a message on how to treat the Bible as more than a book of religious information. We need to remember the Word in our hearts, trust the Word in our daily lives and respond to the Word by living it out by acting on its precepts and commandments.