What does it mean to Believe? (Rm 3.22)

We are rejoicing in the concept of ‘without-law righteousness from God’, we know we can’t earn it, we know we don’t deserve it, we receive it by faith in Jesus Christ. But what does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ? What does it mean to believe? This message attempts an answer of these questions.

The Bible and Origins (3)

This session covers the Gap Theory – the main arguments for the theory and the weaknesses of those arguments.

The first threat to Christian Liberty (Gal 5.2-12)

In this message we show exactly what was troubling the Galatians and why they may have been tempted by it. The issue is adding religious works to the gospel so that you must do the work in order to be saved. We show how such an addition to the gospel utterly destroys not only the gospel but also Christian Liberty as well.

Here are our sermon summaries. We had a great day in the Lord in our services today.

The Righteousness from God (Rm 3.21-22)

After almost a year of sermons on the ‘sin-section’ of Romans, today we don’t move very far in our exposition. We just want to bask with delight in the new concept of without-law righteousness from God revealed in the work of Christ. By faith we are made new in Him.

The Bible and Origins (2)

We continue our discussion of what the Bible says about human origin. Our lesson touches on the Gap Theory. We will discuss it in a bit more detail next week, but begin its discussion this week

Keep Separated from Uncleanness (Lev 15)

Our chapter for communion is the last of the cleanness legislation (Lev 11-15). These chapters are leading up to the great cleansing ritual, the Day of Atonement, but even that ritual is not what we want to deal with our uncleanness. The best the law can do is neutralize the burden. We are looking for One who can eliminate once for all the uncleanness that perpetually afflicts mankind.

But Now! (Rm 3.21)

The gospel revolutionizes everything. There is no defense against the charges of the law. Nothing can be said… but incredibly there is a defense! A defense hidden through the ages in type and symbol, but witnessed by Law and prophets of a ‘without-law’ righteousness, now fully manifested and in full effect. But now! Delivered from sin at last!

The Bible and Origins (1)

We turn to the subject of origins according to the One Source of Truth, the Bible. Our faith in the inerrancy of the Bible is the essential presupposition that guides our study, and those facts that may be certainly known are those the Bible reveals. We begin with the first principles of creation: it is the work of the One Creator God, the God of Genesis 1.

Perseverance in Christian Liberty (Gal 5.1)

Christian liberty is the purpose of Christ’s liberating work. The Lord did not save us that we should any longer be in bondage, he saved us to live the full liberty of Christian life, the life of a Christian citizen of the Kingdom of God. The imperative of this verse calls us to persevere in our liberty, never again being entangled in bondage.

The Knowledge of Sin (Rm 3.20)

The sin section of Romans comes to its conclusion with this verse, which gives the cause, or reason, why no man has any defense or anything to say before God. The law cannot justify, it can only reveal the depth of human need and human sinfulness. The deeds of the law only prove yet again how much we need righteousness not our own.

Evolution and Origins (2)

In preparation for discussing the theology of Man, we continue a brief overview of evolution and its challenges. In this session we outline four areas where evolution has problems: mutations, natural selection, time, and the fossil record. Each of these areas represent weaknesses in the theory.

The Concept of Christian Liberty (Gal 5.1)

We continue our look at Christian living as taught by Paul in Galatians. This message is an introductory message intended to aid understanding of the concept of liberty. Men without God are in bondage three ways, according to the scriptures: to sin, to the law, and to death. The work of Christ liberates us from bondage, making us free to live in the Spirit, no longer bound by the flesh but bound to Christ.

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A good day today, several visitors, enough to mostly make up for our regulars who were away traveling or with sickness.

An excellent day today in our church. Here are the sermon links:

Every Mouth is Stopped (Rm 3.19)

The concluding verses of the ’sin section’ of Romans contains words reminiscent of a court-room setting. It as if the prosecution has completed its case. All eyes turn to the defence, but nothing can be said. Every mouth is stopped. The whole world is guilty before God.

Evolution and Origins (1) [Basic Theology]

We return to our survey of Ryrie’s Basic Theology with a look at the first part of his chapter on the doctrine of man. He begins the subject by dealing with the notion of evolution and some of the problems with the theory. Today we simply reviewed the definitions for the three possible alternatives: evolution, theistic evolution, and creationism.

Our Church, Your Lifestyle

What kind of life should Christians have? Our view is that Christians should pursue a simple Christian lifestyle that is conscious of the temporary nature of the world and eschews close association or familiarity with worldly things. Our church tries instead to encourage a biblically spiritual style of life.

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We had several visitors today. One is a family that has begun attending recently. Three times in a row is encouraging! Another is a fellow who contacted me recently as a result of our Creation Seminar. It was great to see him in our services for the first time. And last, a fellow who has attended a couple of times in the last year and a half returned today. He told me that he has definitely repented of his sin and turned to Christ and would be back. He seemed to have a new light in his countenance, something that has never been there before. Praise the Lord!

When Dying is Gain (Phil 1.21) Paul Johnson

Lois Herring is the wife of long-time missionary pastor Dennis Herring. Her husband is the pastor of Chase River Baptist Church in Nanaimo, BC. She has been his ‘right arm’ for over fifty years. We had the privilege of gathering today in our church to support our brother and to honour Lois’ life.

The meeting was a gathering of many churches from all over Western Canada. Visitors came from such places as Calgary, Alberta and Prince George, BC. One of our deacons was thrilled with how the crowd “made our rafters ring”. The service was a real blessing to all, and especially to bro. Herring.

The participants included our pastor with the eulogy, Pastor Gordon Conner of Greater Vancouver Baptist Church as our song leader, bro. Wayne Pelland and Pastor Jason Buechert with special music, Pastor Bill Carter of Capital City Baptist Church reading the Scripture and leading in prayer, Jon Konnerup, Mission Director of BBFI Missions with a testimony, and Pastor Paul Johnson of Grace Baptist Church of the Comox Valley with the sermon.

The message was a powerful exposition of Phil 1.21 that showed us just what it means to have a death that is truly gain. The death that is truly gain comes from the life that is lived completely sold out for Jesus Christ.

[Please note: this recording is of the entire service, including our congregational singing.]

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I encourage you to listen to our service, especially the sermon. It is one of the finest funeral messages I have ever heard. (And that’s in spite of the fact that it is my ‘little brother’ doing the preaching!)

UPDATE: If you would like to listen to the funeral message by itself, we have uploaded an audio of the sermon only at the link above.

As a Man Thinks (Rm 3.18)

depraved in every thought & impulse

Our message this morning focused on the simple text, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” This text is Paul’s final proof of man’s depravity, summing up all the rest. We can demonstrate this reality quite simply by taking examples from Scripture of people who had direct contact with God himself, yet acted fearlessly against God’s will. It is incredible that people with such experiences could do so, but their experience demonstrates the depth of depravity all men share. May God keep us a fearing people, ready to serve Him alone, not exalting our mind over his.

The Pilgrim’s Progress Page

We concluded our study of Pilgrim’s Progress with a testimony session where our people spoke about the themes, people, and places in Pilgrim’s Progress that meant the most to them. It was an encouraging time, but we had a recording malfunction and only got a bit of the session recorded. As a result we decided not to keep it.

Instead, we offer this post as a summary and link resource for all our Pilgrim’s Progress sessions.

Our Church, Your Ministry

(Heb 10.24-25; Eph 4.11-13, 16; 1 Cor 16.2; Jn 13.34-35)

Our message this afternoon focused on ‘every-member ministry’, but in the context of the covenant love that should characterize the local body of believers. This something we really try to emphasize in our church, with the goal of building a spiritual body among people of different ages, social/economic/ethnic backgrounds. We try to foster love for one another in our church, and we are sometimes successful!