Have you taken up your cross?
Matthew 16 verse 24
- Come after Me
- Deny self
- Take up your cross
- Follow me
- Lessons
Jesus said … "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.
Have you taken up your cross?
Matthew 16 verse 24
David’s Song (also recorded as Psalm 18) is first and foremost a prophesy of the coming Messiah, as it says things which cannot be said of any ordinary man.
However, it is also a summary and reflection of the life of David, who sang this song “in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” And thus we consider the great drama of the life of David with it’s many ups and downs, and see how through it all, David was faithful to the LORD (despite his many sins and shortcomings), and the LORD rewarded David and delivered him from his enemies.
All of this serves to place David as a witness for us to the faithfulness of God. Why should we believe this prophesy of a faithful Messiah who is delivered from His enemies…? Because David was a faithful man whom God delivered from his enemies.
David’s life is the perfect testament to the faithfulness of God towards those who serve Him
Once you were, but now you are – Ephesians 2: Part 1
Verse 1-10: Once dead – now alive
Verses 11-22: Once strangers – now fellow citizens
Lessons:
Doubt can hit us at anytime. It normally hits us when we believe we don’t have the capacity to properly deal with a given circumstance, whether that’s having the knowledge or the experience of the circumstance. In todays sermon we look at Peter and the boldness he exuded when he was brought before the Jewish religious leaders to give testimony of the ‘good deed’ which was done to the lame man. You would think that this man never suffered from doubt but that isn’t he case. This confidence he had came from many failures over the years spent with the greatest of teachers to walk the earth. What can we learn from him, the religious leaders and the Lame man about doubt? Please join us to find out.
Ephesians chapter 1 is what I would describe as “the blessings chapter”!
• After the introduction to the letter to the Ephesians (1:1,2),
• Paul lists many of the blessings which (the Ephesian) Christians have in Christ (1:3-14),
• and then prays that they may be enlightened about all these blessings (1:15-23).
Hannah was married to Elkanah, but had been barren her whole life. But through much prayer, she was granted a child by the LORD, and so she became the mother of the child who was to become the prophet Samuel.
She had promised the LORD that once weaned, the child would be given over to the temple in Jerusalem to be raised there: surely a sad day for Hannah. But Hannah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, sings a song of thanksgiving to the LORD, which sets out her gratitude and exaltation in the LORD for this great blessings, and sets the scene for the coming events in the books of Samuel: evil men brought to destruction, the humble and good raised to glory, sin punished and wisdom rewarded.
Hos. 4:1-2 Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel, For the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no faithfulness or kindness Or knowledge of God in the land. 2 There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.
Prov. 6:20-23 My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother; 21 Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck. 22 When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you. 23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life
Heb. 5:11-14 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
• Such ignorance leads to a lack of discernment = knowing right and wrong (v. 14)!
o Sadly, people can then fall back into “situation ethics” (i.e., allowing circumstances to justify
breaking God’s commandments).
• Are we growing spiritually as we should? If so …
o Eph. 4:14-15 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
Jesus gave two important principles:
• Mk. 4:24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it
will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.
• Lk. 8:18 “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”
• After all, it was completed almost 2,000 years ago.
• And society has changed and progressed so much, even in just the last 50 years (calculators,
computers, phones, internet, etc.)!
• We certainly know that modern textbooks are constantly being updated!
God never intended the OT to be permanent:
– Gal. 3:19 Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.
– Gal. 3:24-25 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Heb. 7:12 For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.
-1Cor. 10:5-6 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. 6 Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.
– Lk. 24:25-27 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
2Tim. 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
– 1Co 14:37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.
= Jude 1:3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
Ecc 7:20 Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. Eccl. 12:13-14 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
Is the Bible out of date?
• This has not changed today.
• i.e., Every person needs God’s commandments!
• God’s commandments for us today, as we have seen, are in the NT (new covenant).
• Our need for the word of God has not changed!
Rom. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
• Mankind still needs salvation today.
• The gospel is still the only “power of God for salvation” today.
We continue our look at part 2 of the topic of Respect through the historical event of Cain and Abel. We see how we should respect ourselves, those we come in contact with (our neighbours) and finish with how Jesus showed respect to God and his neighbours, even though he was faced with difficult circumstances.
Roe v. Wade reversed
The argument “my body, my choice” is not valid
The physical horrors of abortion
(i) Gen. 25:21-26
(ii) Job 10:18,19
(iii) Ps. 139:1,13-16
(iv) Jer. 20:14-18
(v) Lk. 1:41,44; 2:12
(vi) Ex. 21:22-25