1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 2: Paragraph 3: The Trinity: Part Five
OUTLINE Union Communion INTRODUCTION Today we want to conclude our look at the doctrine of the Trinity. There are many aspects of the doctrine we have not explored. This is indeed one of the deepest doctrines we could ever hope to encounter as we are dealing with the triune nature of God. There are complexities here which can occupy the Christian for eternity. But we want to look at the practical value of this doctrine before we leave it. The doctrine of the Trinity is not just a mystery to occupy the intellectually curious, not it is the very...
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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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Being the Local Church and the Government Restrictions
Introduction It has been announced that on the 3rd of December all of NZ will enter the new Traffic Light situation. Along with many mandates affecting all areas of society, the church has not been left unaffected. We have been locked down and unable to meet; we have been told who can and can’t enter our buildings with and without vaccination certificates, and recently it has been mandated that all church staff who are not vaccinated will make the church liable for a $15 000 fine, whether you are asking for certificates or not. Our ability to meet, who...
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Vaccine Mandates and the Unity of the Church
(Apologies for the audio cutting off at the 43 minute mark. Please download the sermon manuscript if you want to read more.) On the 21st of October 2021 Jacinda Ardern announced that NZ will be moving away from the Alert Level system to the Traffic Light system. Some of the stated goals by the government are to update the countries response in light of a majority vaccinated population, and to limit lockdown situations to relevant areas and not make them country wide. Our message today is not going to focus on the political, medical or economic logic behind these...
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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 4:11-16: Growing the Church with the Word: Part 2
‘Every member ministry.’ Have you ever heard this phrase? This phrase is used to describe a movement in the modern church where every Christian is encouraged to know their gifts and use them in service to God. We welcome such an emphasis as biblical, 1 Cor. 12:7, Eph. 4:16. However, this emphasis has often come at the sacrifice of the formal ministries of the church. If every Christian is a minister then why do we need pastors and preaching? We are in the midst of Eph. 4:11-16 which talks about both leaders and laity, formal gifts and informal gifts,...
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Ephesians 4:1-6: The Unity of the Body
We have reached the half way point in the letter to the Ephesians and Paul does a typical thing that happens in most of his writings. In chapters 1-3 he laid out the doctrine of the church, now in 4-6 he lays out the proper practice flowing from these truths. This pattern is gospel shaped, it starts with what God has done, and then focuses on what we should do. In technical terms we say that the imperative is rooted in the indicative. Our doing is only possible because of God’s doing. Paul begins the exhortational part of the...
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Being and Doing Church
Introduction: When Hitler was trying to enthuse the German nation to get behind his expansionist programs he told them that the German race was the Ubermensch, the Beyond-man/Hyper-man. He understood the psychology of action, we do as we believe. If we think we are better than others we will happily walk over their heads. We have also given the name slave mentality to a state or mind that acts out of the way it sees itself. This is a life of subservience and submission that thinks of itself as less. Activity follows identity. We see this everyday in life,...
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Romans 16:17-19: Fighting for Unity
Introduction: A pastor has a certain number of things he must do. He has to teach, he has to encourage, as well as rebuke. But he also must warn the flock of God of the various dangers that they will encounter. Paul as a faithful shepherd is wearing his warning hat when he speaks in Romans 16:17-19, ‘I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by...
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Romans 16:3-5a: Prisca and Aquila
Introduction: If I were to ask you to think of 24 names in a church you have never visited, could you do it? Could you name 24 people in the names of one of our sister Reformed Churches you have not visited? We come to now to the Greetings section of the letter where Paul greets 24 people in the Church in Rome. First mentioned are Prisca and Aquila. Apart from Timothy mentioned in 16:21, these would be the best known to us that Paul greets. Acts 18 as well as Paul’s ministry in Ephesus in Acts 19 give...
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Romans 15:6-9: The Purpose of Unity
Introduction: The Supreme reason why everything exists is the glory of God. The greatest motive to which all others must submit is not human happiness or sustaining this creation, but the glory of God. All endeavours are judged for their rightness or wrongness by whether they work towards the glory of God. Is. 48:9-11, ‘”For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For...
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Romans 15:5-7: A Prayer for Unity
Introduction: One of Christ’s desires for His church is unity, John 17:20-21, ‘”I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.’ The Spiritual unity that Christ is asking of the Father here was given on the day the Spirit was poured out on Pentecost. Every Christian receives in the gospel a uniting with Christ...
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Romans 12:15-16: Sympathy, Harmony and Humility
Sorry, no audio recording is available for this sermon. Outline Sympathy Harmony Humility Introduction Our oneness in the body of Christ is not a reality that we create but rather a reality that we recognise; it is not something that we work towards but rather something that we live out of. Our unity with Christ and one another is not our accomplishment but a gift. Our task as believers is to realise what we are and live out what we are, the burden of creating unity is not laid upon us, merely being what we are in Christ. This...
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Romans 12:10: Love one another
Outline Family love Family respect Introduction There are four words in the ancient Greek language for love. These words are agape; storge; philos and eros. Agape is usually used of God’s love, a love we are called to imitate in 12:9. Storge usually has to do with family affection. Philos is often used of the love of friendship. Eros over time came to be associated with lust. The bible only uses agape, storge and philos, but avoids eros, probably because of the associations it collected. In fact in Romans 12:9-10 all three of the Greek words used in the...
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Romans 12:9: Genuine love
Outline The proof of love The essence of love The source of love Introduction ‘What the world needs now is love, sweet love….’ ‘All you need is love….’ The world knows that the human heart is full of hate and crying out for love, yet it cannot fix itself. Every independent attempt to build a human society has resulted in a loveless self-destructive catastrophe. The Communisitic egalitarian agenda; the Hindu caste system; our secular humanistic self-defining humanity, no matter what it is, every attempt will end in human unhappiness and us destroying not loving one another. Think of the...
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1 Corinthians 12:12-13: Baptism into the body
Outline Unity of the Spirit Baptism of the Spirit Drinking of the Spirit Introduction What is baptism? For some it is a cultural tradition which goes along with your nationality. For some it is a private devotional moment that becomes subject to personal taste and timing. For others it is something irrelevant you don’t have to worry about, an optional extra like a fashion accessory. For some it is baby insurance applied to babies as a type of protection. There are many things we could say about baptism but today we want to focus on baptism as a command...
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