Luke 20:1-8: The Authority of Jesus
OUTLINE The question of Jesus’ authority The question of John’s baptism INTRODUCTION It is Wednesday in the passion week, and this is a day of conflict and controversy. Just look down at chapter 20, notice v19, ‘the chief priests sought to lay hands on Him at that very hour.’ This chapter has several encounters of conflict. It begins with the leaders of the people questioning Christ’s authority, v1-8; v9-18 has the parable of the wicked tenants a hard hitting parable that condemns the rejection of the Messiah and the judgement that will follow; then we see Jesus questioned over...
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Malachi 2:13-16: Divorce: Part One
Introduction Marriage in NZ is under attack. 2020 saw some of the lowest amounts of marriages in NZ recent history. There were only 16 380 marriages.1 The statisticians add a further 403 same sex marriages and civil unions, but as Christians who have a biblical view of marriage, we cannot admit the same sex unions are marriage, it cannot be a marriage in God’s eyes unless it is between one natural man and one natural woman. Likewise civil unions are legal realities that defy being defined by the Bible, they refuse to define themselves as a marriage and...
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Ephesians 6:14b: The Armour of God: Part Two
The various parts of the armour seem well suited to the parts of the body they attach to. The word of God is well suited to be a sword because of its ability to penetrate the heart. The helmet of the hope of our salvation is well suited to protecting our heads. The gospel of peace prepares us for all of our Christian actions and is well suited to the shoes of gospel peace readiness. The truth makes us well prepared as a belt. And righteousness is well chosen to protect our hearts as a breastplate. Sin is a...
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Ephesians 6:10-12: Spiritual Warfare
What is the biggest problem facing the world today? Covid 19? Strong-handed governments who are taking too many of our freedoms to keep us safe? Islam? War with China? Global warming? Critical Race Theory? The new gender ideology? Big Tech? A leftist media? These are big problems but they are only symptoms of the biggest problem that we face, we are in a spiritual battle with the devil. To say this is to provoke laughter from anyone who thinks after the New Atheist school. Here in the West we are afflicted with the problem of naturalism, I don’t mean...
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Ephesians 5:26-27: Glorify Your Wives
When Lynn and I got married we asked for a full sermon to be preached. Our pastor at the time, Leigh Robinson preached a four point sermon on the purpose of marriage. Marriage is for partnership, marriage is for procreation, marriage is for pleasure, and marriage is for perfection. One of the main goals of marriage is holiness. This is a distinct perspective that Christianity brings to the issue of marriage. For many marriage is about not burning, or not being lonely, or having kids, these are true but a major part of marriage is God’s purpose to make...
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Ephesians 4:31-32: Virtues Replacing Vices
How can you tell if someone is a Christian? We will not be able to know 100% because we cannot see the hearts of others but there are several tests you could apply that could make an informed opinion. God knows the heart completely; you can know of your own salvation, but knowing about others will run the risk of error. Firstly, there is the test of orthodoxy. If someone is taught by the Spirit they will believe certain truths and reject certain errors, they cannot deny the Trinity, or the way of salvation for example. Secondly, there is...
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Ephesian 4:30: Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit
If I were to ask you ‘why shouldn’t the Christian sin?’, ‘what makes a sin wrong?’ we would likely hear a number of different arguments. Today many feel that a certain action is inappropriate because it is not culturally acceptable, it is a taboo, it is not a societal norm and this is what makes an action wrong. This betrays a more post-modern way of thinking where we are trying to live with the premise that everyone has their own truth and that our morality is a societal construct. You will also hear the more pragmatic view that says...
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Ephesians 4:25: No More Lies
A British survey in 2008 reported that people lie on average 4 times a day, which is at least 1460 times a year and 88,000 times in 60 years. In 2002 a study done by a university concluded that 60% of people cannot have a 10 minute conversation without telling a lie, averaging 2-3 in a ten minute period. In a 2014 survey of 1,200 adults 76% said it was ok to lie sometimes. Lying is a destructive sin that dominates the human heart and has been the source of wars, divorce, murder, suicide and many more instances of...
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Ephesians 4:17-24: A New Creation in Christ, Part Two: The New Man
Last week we began to look at Ephesians 4:17-24. We said that this is Paul’s call for the Christian to stop living as though dead but to be alive as they are in Christ. Paul is about to set off on a long list of how to live the new life, in this section he gives us the rationale for that. Because we are not dead but alive, because we are in Christ not Adam, because we are in the Spirit not the flesh, because we have put off the old and put on the new, we must no...
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Luke 6:17-26: Jesus Teaching on Blessing: Part Two
In the Sermon on the Plain Jesus divides the world into two different types of people, they serve two different Gods, bear two different types of fruit, and have two different types of eternal destinies. The beatitudes and the woes lists for us the characteristics of these two groups, those who love God are those who are poor, hungry, weeping and hated; but those who love the world are those who are rich, full, laughing and loved. Jesus is using paradox and loaded images to convey important spiritual truths. Jesus employs some typical biblical caricatures to distinguish these groups,...
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Luke 5:33-39: One Greater Than Fasting is here
Solus Christus, Christ Alone! This was one of the heart cries of the Reformation. It was a statement which spoke about the sufficiency of Christ as a Saviour, that His works alone and not also ours were enough, that His mediation and not that of Mary, the Saints, or the angels was enough. It was a rejection of all Christ-and… ideas. This challenge of Christ alone is still with us today. In light of Post-Modernism which doubts all exclusive truth claims, to insist that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no one can come to...
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Disciplines of Grace: Introduction: Philippians 2:12-13
Let me begin with a statement, this generation of Christians in the West is the most informed and least godly generation of Christians that has ever been. I am not only talking about the fact that Christians are no longer recognizable as different from the world, nor am I referring to the many instances of public sin that Christian leaders and Christians in general are caught in. No, in our modern age with all of it conveniences, and all of its media and distractions we have lost our inner disciplines and spirituality. We are a people who are prayerless,...
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Colossians 1:24-29: Suffering, the Gospel, and Holiness – How to Identify a Faithful Christian Minister
Many of you all will have heard this verse and felt very warm and smug and contented inside. James 3:1 says: ‘Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, as you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness’ You may be breathing a big sigh of relief in your hearts as I often have, comforted by the thought that the church elders, those who preach here up the front, will be judged with a higher standard, and you may have thought that perhaps God will let those of us sitting in the pews off...
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Romans: Final Overview
Introduction: You have heard the saying, ‘I can’t see the forest for the trees.’ Some of you may feel this way as we come to the end of the book of Romans, it is the longest of all Paul’s letters, and the most theological. If I had to ask you to give me a quick rundown of Romans could you do it? Are you familiar with its content and the development of its argument or is it a maze? Romans is a long development of the theological twists and turns of the gospel of God. So it is my...
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1 Peter 3:15-16: ‘…Being Prepared to Make a Defence…’
Introduction: Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor talks about these times of late modernity we live in as the twilight of the idols and the gods. Contrary to every prognostication and resistant to every attempt faith and religion continue to haunt us. The age of Christendom has come to end and the privileged position of unchallenged supremacy is lost to us. However, contrary to the hopes of the New Atheists religion is still with us. However, we now live in an age where there is no doubt without faith and no faith without doubt. This presents us with a double challenge....
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1 Kings 6:19-38: Holy and Glorious God
Introduction: No Israelite apart from the priests would be able to enter the temple, and no priest but the High priest could enter the holy of holies, and that only once a year. For this reason 1 Kings 6 would have been of special fascination to the Israelite. Never seeing it with their own eyes they would hang on the verbal descriptions. Recognising the importance of the house and how each part had significance, the Israelite could ponder each part to gain more information about God. They would have picked up on the fact that more attention os paid...
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