Sunday Sermonette

April 30, 2017 Christ the Foundation “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11)   The only sure and lasting foundation for either a Christian institution or an individual Christian life is the Lord Jesus Christ. No other foundation will endure in that coming day when “the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is” (v. 13).   It is vital, therefore, to build on the foundation that Christ Himself has laid. This is laid in three courses, each of which is essential for its permanence. First of all, we must acknowledge with the apostle that “Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands” (Hebrews 1:10). He is the Creator of all things, and therefore Lord over all.   Second, we must acknowledge with Peter that we have been “redeemed . . . with the precious blood of Christ . . . who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:18-20). His foreordained work of redemption thus was foundational even to the foundation of the world!   Then there is the Word of God, which is foundational to everything beyond creation and redemption. “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them. . . . He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock” (Luke 6:47-48).   The Lord Jesus Christ is the true foundation, for He has Himself laid every sure foundation. He created all things, His shed blood is the price to redeem all things, and His written Word, by His Holy Spirit, reveals all things needed to build a beautiful, fruitful Christian life or ministry. No other foundation will last, and “if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3). HMM h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Last Sunday

My apologies for not posting last Sunday. I was travelling and not well!

Resurrection Day Sermonette

April 16, 2017 The Resurrection and the Believer “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18)   The resurrection of Christ is no less crucial to the gospel than the death of Christ. If He did not rise from the dead, then we who believe in Him “are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).   Christ’s resurrection assures us, first of all, of our justification. Speaking of Abraham’s faith and the imputation of God’s righteousness to him, Paul writes, “For us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:24-25).   God imparts to us the power to serve Him effectively through the resurrection, “that [we] may know . . . what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead” (Ephesians 1:18-20). As the passage continues, Paul declares that through the resurrection Christ is now “the head over all things to the church, which is His body” (vv. 22-23 and also in our text).   In His resurrected and glorified state, Christ continues His ministry to us. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens. . . . Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14, 16).   Finally, Christ’s resurrection assures us that we too will one day be resurrected, if we should die before He returns. “He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:14). JDM  h/t: J D MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

April 9, 2017 Judgment Is Coming “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12)   There is only one thing that is absolutely sure to happen to every person—everyone will have to face God some day. Not even “death and taxes” are certain for every one, but meeting God for an accounting of one’s life is certain!   Therefore, as the prophet Amos warned some 2,500 years ago: “Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel” (Amos 4:12). “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).   To the Christian believer, of course, there is no need to fear hell, for there is “now no condemnation [that is, ‘judgment’] to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). The Lord Jesus has paid for our sins and purchased our redemption with His shed blood. He “was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:25).   Nevertheless, we as Christians still “must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10), where “the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide . . . he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15).   Those who die in unbelief, however, not having trusted Christ as their Savior, will face a different meeting with God. John describes the awesome scene as he saw it in his prophecy. “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12). But no one can ever be saved by his works (Ephesians 2:9). Therefore, “whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). HMM h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

April 2, 2017 Health and Wealth “If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.” (Job 8:6-7)   Bildad was reflecting the half truths and logic Satan used with Eve (2 Corinthians 11:3). When theology or philosophy differ from Scripture, the choice is either one or the other. Attempting to amalgamate the differences always leads to error. The prosperity gospel often taught today is an extension of that error.   Satan refused to understand that some of the human race were “perfect and upright” like Job (Job 1:1) and loved and trusted God for their eternal destiny. Such godly people cannot be bought by possessions or circumstances. As Job later said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15).   Satan’s original lie to Adam and Eve was that they could obtain the power of God by grasping the “secret” of evil. As the human race grew more despicable, embracing Satan’s lie, Satan began using the duplicity of angelic power and human procreation (Genesis 6:1-4) to attempt his coveted coup (Isaiah 14:13). That was destroyed by God with the great Flood.   Satan tried again with Nimrod at Babel and was defeated when God confounded human language. Lucifer then attempted to “trick” God into taking away His blessing on Job so Satan would have an example to show of God’s capricious care. All Satan got for his efforts was the testimony of this great man enshrined in Scripture to encourage the rest of humanity. “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:11). HMM III h/t: HENRY M MORRIS III, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH