Ephesians 6:15-16: The Armour of God: Part Three
What do we need to be effective for the spiritual war we are in? So far Paul has told us that we need God’s truth, this makes us ready, and helps us against the father of lies. We need to guard our hearts with righteousness, firstly with the truth of our justification; and secondly with a love for holiness as we pursue sanctification. Today we want to look at the next two pieces of armour Paul places before us, the shoes and the shield, v15-16, ‘and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the...
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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 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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Romans 14:17-19: Why we should never be a stumbling block
Introduction: Never be a stumbling block to another Christian, this is the point Paul has just been making, we carry on with Paul in 14:17-19 where he talks about why we should not be a stumbling block, ‘For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.’ Our portion begins with the word ‘for’ indicating its connection with what Paul...
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Colossians 3:1-17: Fixing our minds
INTRODUCTION: If you want to be a better Christian, you need to (fill in the blank). What is it that you think you need to do? What is it that some voices are telling us we need to do? Many tell us how we can be successful in our Christian walks. There are many fads that take advantage of our sincere hunger for holiness and obedience, and as a result there are many quacks with their quick fixes. ‘In order to live the victorious Christian life you need Christ and Christian psychology; Christ and inner healing; Christ and casting...
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Colossians 1:28: Healthy Churches Have Gospel-Grounded Identity: Part Two
Outline Faith Sanctification Church Glorification Introduction Healthy Churches have a Gospel-grounded identity. What we are hoping to show today is that in order for a church to be healthy, it must be grounded in the gospel, and in particular to see its identity grounded in the gospel. To try and get at this topic I would like us to read Colossians 1:28-29 together, ‘Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.’
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Colossians 1:28: Healthy Churches Have Gospel-Grounded Identity: Part One
Outline Introduction Election Justification Adoption Introduction Healthy Churches have a Gospel-grounded identity. What we are hoping to show today is that in order for a church to be healthy, it must be grounded in the gospel, and in particular to see its identity grounded in the gospel. To try and get at this topic I would like us to read Colossians 1:28-29 together, ‘Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.’
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Ephesians 6:17: The Sword of the Spirit: Part Two
Outline The sword that dispels darkness The sword that answers temptation Introduction ‘The word,’ acts 6:4; ‘the implanted word,’ James 1:21; ‘the prophetic word,’ 2 Pet. 1:19; ‘the word of God;’ ‘the word of Christ,’ Col. 3:16; ‘the word of His grace,’ Acts 14:3; ‘the word of truth,’ Ps. 119:43; ‘the word of righteousness,’ Heb. 5:13; ‘fire,’ Jer. 23:29; ‘hammer,’ Jer. 23:29; ‘sweeter than honey,’ Ps. 19:10; ‘lamp,’ Ps. 119:103; ‘meat,’ Heb. 5:14; ‘milk,’ 1 Pet. 2:2; ‘water,’ Eph. 5:25; and ‘sword’ Eph. 6:17. These are just a few descriptions of the word of God, the Sword of the...
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Ephesians 6:15: The Shoes of Gospel Peace-readiness
Outline Ready to stand Ready to run Introduction It was Napoleon who said, ‘An army marches on its stomach,’ as true as that is, it is also true that an army marches on its feet. This truth was especially felt during WWI. There was a condition called trench foot, due to the cold, wet and insanitary conditions the feet would go numb swell and begin to blister. Gangrene could set in and amputation would have to happen. The soldiers were ordered to change their socks several times a day to prevent this condition. In one war in Alaska it...
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Ephesians 6:14b: Justification and the Breastplate of Righteousness
Outline Interpreting accusations Interpreting circumstances Introduction At different times, with different audiences I have had to adjust how I have preached the gospel. When I was involved in high school ministry I usually started with my testimony sharing something of my background to gain come common ground with the kids and then move towards the gospel usually stating evidences for Christianity. When I did street evangelism I would encounter those who had no knowledge of Christianity and so not only have to preach Christ as Saviour but God as Creator as well covering the story line of the bible....
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The Spirit Filled Marriage 8: The Power of Words
Outline Words of Christ Words of the heart Words of power Introduction Words have power! With words Martin Luther King could persuade many to turn from racism. With words Winston Churchill gave courage to a nation being ravaged by war. With words a child’s self-image can be shaped for life. With words husbands and wives can build one another up. With words we can make people feel worthless and drive them towards suicide. With words we can undermine and trivialise a person’s life work. Words start wars, order executions, define perceptions, convey love, can be weapons of hate, and...
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Romans 3:21-31: The Righteousness of God in Jesus Christ
No manuscript is available for this sermon. Outline: Righteousness required by sin, Righteousness provided in Christ, Righteousness given by Grace, Righteousness received by faith.
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James 2:14-16: Faith without works is dead: Reconciling James and Paul
Introduction: ‘The Bible is full of contradictions’ is one of the many things that unbelievers throw in our faces. My standard response is, ‘Show me one.’ This usually calls their bluff and reveals that they are only repeating things they have heard and using them conveniently as arguments but have no proof. It reveals an unwillingness to believe the truth and a willingness to believe anything against Christianity. And it also reveals a basic faith commitment to believing things without proof, which contradicts the naturalistic approach they supposedly disprove Christianity with. However, one of the things that some have...
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Romans 10:10-13: The Universal Results of Faith
Introduction: What is faith? One of my favourite ways to define faith is to look at faith’s opposites, what is the opposite of faith? Firstly, the opposite of faith is unbelief. When Christ was walking on this earth proclaiming who He was and attesting these declarations with miracles, there were those who did not believe what He said. Secondly, the opposite of faith is fear. Hebrews talks about faith being the assurance of things hoped for, faith does not doubt whether this promise is true but finds God trustworthy and is full of confidence not fear and doubt. The...
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Romans 10:2-4: Religion that cannot save
Introduction: In the west we are becoming less religious and more religious at the same time. Christianity is on the decline and atheism on the increase, but ironically as Christianity is cast off other religious worldviews are rushing in to take their place. This growth in religion can be put down to many different things. Our increasing knowledge of the world has turned the many isolated countries into a single global village where we have been confronted with others cultures and faiths, this has caused many to re-evaluate their own Christian heritage in the West and opt for an...
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