Envy: Proverbs 23:17-24:2
INTRODUCTION: Today I would like to speak to you about what has been called one of our ‘respectable sins’, envy. Envy, jealousy, coveting, illegitimate wanting, sinful desiring, etc.; this is a sin you and I are assaulted by every single day. You and I have the hearts of adulterers and adulteresses, ‘prone to wander.’ We need to be most aware of this sin and how it works in our hearts. We see coveting as idolatry as Paul tells us in Col. 3:5, but your government sees covetousness, your consumer desires, as the heart and soul of our economy and...
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2 Timothy 4:1-8: Teach us to number our days
2 Timothy 4:1-8 4 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for...
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2 Samuel 6: The Ark comes to Jerusalem
Outline The ark of the covenant The God of the covenant The king of the covenant Introduction The domestication of God, familiarity with God, trivialising God, underestimating God, these are the sins of our ignorant and sinful hearts. The holiness of God is something we will always insult by our conceptions, our worship and our actions. Until we see Him and are worshipping in a perfected state we will always fall short of the glory He deserves. 2 Sam. 6 is a chapter which shows David and Israel doing the same thing. They made light of God, they did...
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Jeremiah 2:1-3:5: God’s view of sin
Outline The nature of sin The deceitfulness of sin Introduction How would you feel if your husband or your wife committed adultery against you? This is probably one of the most difficult betrayals to come to terms with. That thought as painful as it is, helps us prepare to understand the nature of our betrayal against God, except we are worse. In our sins against God we have not merely committed adultery, we have gone off and become prostitutes not merely adulterers. This is the message of Jeremiah’s first sermon to Israel in Jer. 2:1-3:5. 3:1, ‘…you have played...
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1 John 2:28-3:9: Why Be Holy?
Outline So that we wont be ashamed on Judgement day Because it is a self evident truth As a response to immeasurable love Because of our identity as children of God Because one day we will be like Him The contradictory nature of sin to Christian submission The sin destroying purpose of Christ’s work The radical effect of regeneration Introduction Why be Holy? Holiness is our destiny, our identity, and it is a command. But this morning we will be looking at how the apostle John motivates his Church to be holy from the epistle of 1 John 2:28-3:9....
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Romans 12:3: Humility
Outline Psychology of pride Remedy of pride Introduction When I say, ‘Be holy!’ when you seek to apply that, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Paul has just told us to be holy, to be a living sacrifice giving our whole selves to God. In the rest of this section he moves on to tell us the specifics of what that looks like. What is the first thing Paul talks about? This question is very helpful for us to see what Paul prioritises. Paul is moving into a new section where he talks about our relationships...
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Romans 12:2: The importance of a renewed mind
Outline Enemies of the renewed mind Uses of the renewed mind Introduction Spiritual warfare is primarily a battle for the mind. In preaching the gospel you are seeking to bring the light of the Gospel to darkened minds, and in seeking to grow spiritually we are told here by Paul that this too is done through the mind being renewed. As Paul enters into this new section about living out the gospel he starts in the place of importance, by talking about the importance of the mind. Foundational to all the Christian living and the worship we seek to...
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Romans 12:1: Responding to the Gospel
Outline Paul’s appeal God’s mercies Our worship Introduction Why and how should we be holy? That is the question we are now concerning ourselves with as we reach the second part of Romans. The first part of Romans was ‘How does God save?’; now we are looking at how we are to live now that we are saved. If you can remember back to our first message on Romans we compared Paul’s letter to a giant meaty sandwich. The two slices of bread being the intro of 1:1-15, and the conclusion of the letter in chapter 16, and sandwiched...
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Ephesians 6:14b: Sanctification and the Breastplate of Righteousness
Outline Counterfeit holiness True holiness Introduction Western Christianity, of which we are a part, can best be described by Christ’s words to the churches of Sardis and Laodicea, Rev. 3:1b-5, ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not...
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Ephesians 6:10-11a: The Imperatives of Spiritual Warfare
Outline Be strong in the Lord Put on the whole armour of God Introduction Every Christian is caught up in the most powerful struggle in all time and the universe. Every Christian is called to be prepared and to play their part in this battle. Paul writes His letter to the Ephesians not to a pastor like Timothy or Titus, nor to an individual like Philemon, but to the whole church in Ephesus. His words on spiritual warfare are addressed to everyone in the church, not merely a select few. He writes to mothers, fathers, children, workers not only...
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The Spirit Filled Marriage 9: The Priority of Holiness
Outline Holiness in marriage Holiness by marriage Introduction When Lynn and I got married, we asked our pastor to not skimp on the preaching of God’s word and give us a full sermon. We still remember the points of that sermon. He spoke about the purpose of marriage and had 4 ‘P’s to answer. Marriage is for procreation, partnership, pleasure and perfection. It is this last purpose of marriage, perfection that we will be considering this morning. Paul has commanded husbands to love their wives, v25. This action is not self-determined and defined but Paul tells us Christ’s self-giving...
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The Spirit Filled Marriage 6: Headship
Outline What it isn’t What it is Introduction ‘I hate him. I hate him because he made me feel worthless, inadequate—like a nonperson, a slave. I could never do anything that made him happy. I always came short of the mark. I was always desperately working to win his approval. I hate him for the crummy way he made me feel about myself. I don’t know whether I will ever get over the hurt he caused in my life.’ These are the words of a wife whose husband has failed to be the loving head of the home. Today...
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The Spirit Filled Marriage 5: The Roles and Responsibilities of the Wife
Outline Definition of submission Attitude of submission Motivation of submission Example of submission Introduction The war of the sexes goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. In Genesis chapter 3 we see the fall of man in sin. We see the first sins of the first husband and wife. Adam tolerated the serpent questioning God, and passively allowed the serpent to mislead his wife failing to defend her. Eve presumptuously taught the serpent taking the lead not deferring to her husband’s authority. Adam failed to lead, teach, defend and punish. Eve failed to get permission, clarification...
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The Spirit Filled Marriage 1: The Spirit Filled Foundation for Marriage
Outline What Spirit filled is not How to be Spirit filled Introduction How can sinners make a marriage work? We can make cars that can reach 0-100 in 3 seconds but our flesh cannot produce pure compassion. We can produce a perfect image in a photograph but we cannot of ourselves produce the image of Christ in us. Here are some American statistics which are often representative of the western world situation. ‘In a little more than three decades, the marriage rate (defined as the number of married adults per thousand) has declined by a third; the divorce rate...
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Philippians 1:1-11: Love to abound and Holiness to increase
No manuscript is available for this sermon.
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