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INTRODUCTION: Conservative Christians know and understand that we deserve to be brought low. We know the law of God, we know our own sinfulness, and we know that the holiness of God casts us down. This is all good, as far as it goes, but we need to follow God’s purposes all the way out. God humbles us,…

INTRODUCTION: This Lord’s Day is the first after our Thanksgiving holiday, and is also the first Sunday in Advent. Because we want to stand against what might be called morbid penitentialism, we want this season to be suffused with a glad anticipation. The only conviction we want to awaken would be a…

INTRODUCTION: The last description of Christ’s resurrection appearances is found in the very first part of Acts. As we celebrate His resurrection, we want to take care that we learn everything that the Scriptures teach us about it. THE TEXT: /“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that…

INTRODUCTION: We sometimes try to cultivate the right heart attitude by denying the obvious challenges and perils in the world around us, and we sometimes try to pretend that we see the “real world” by adopting a cynical and artistic posture toward it all. We think that in order to have an enjoyable…

INTRODUCTION: As we celebrate the various holidays of the church year, we generally know what they are about. Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, and Easter His resurrection. And even if you didn’t know what Ascension Day was about, you could probably guess from the name—in a “who’s buried in Grant’s…

INTRODUCTION: Holidays are frequently times when people get trapped by the expectations game. Because everyone around you assumes that the day is going to be “really good,” “special,” or “fantastic,” and is constantly telling you to have a “merry” one, it is easy to assume that having a merry Christmas…

INTRODUCTION: Last Lord’s Day, the message was brought to us from the conclusion of Isaiah 40, and we learned from that message that there are two kinds of waiting. There is a waiting that causes our strength to dissipate, and there is a waiting that gathers our strength for us. There is a waiting that…

INTRODUCTION: In the verses immediately prior to our text, we see the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The people received Him gladly in the name of the Lord (vv. 12-13). It is common for preachers to expand on the fickleness of crowds by contrasting this reception with the mob yelling “crucify…

INTRODUCTION: We have many times addressed how much we need to learn how to define our days in Christian terms. The salvation that Jesus Christ brought to the world was a public salvation. He was crucified in the public square, and His resurrection was not done in secret. Connected to this, we have to…

INTRODUCTION: We have many times addressed how much we need to learn how to define our days in Christian terms. The salvation that Jesus Christ brought to the world was a public salvation. He was crucified in the public square, and His resurrection was not done in secret. Connected to this, we have to…

INTRODUCTION: This part of the Christmas story is not a stand alone story. In the narrative, we find a type of how all the rulers of this world will eventually come to kiss the Son. THE TEXT: /“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from…

Introduction: One of the great difficulties that modern Christians have is that we do not let the two testaments inform one another. Because of this neglect on our part, we miss many visions of coming glory that the Old Testament prophets set before us. The Text: /I saw in the night visions, and, behold,…

INTRODUCTION A commonplace in Christian circles understands the events surrounding the first Palm Sunday to be demonstrating the “fickleness of crowds.” But there are good reasons for questioning this common assumption. THE TEXT 12On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard…

Introduction One of the most obvious symbols of the Christmas season is the star of Bethlehem. Countless Christmas cards have portrayed it, our carols sing about it, and we tell one another the story associated with it every year. In this, we frequently just skim over the surface of what we actually…

INTRODUCTION We are in Advent, and we look forward to celebrating the birth of the Messiah. But we must do so as biblically based Christians—always building on the bedrock of the Word. THE TEXT: /Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the…

INTRODUCTION: On Pentecost Sunday, we rejoice in the fact that the Comforter has been given, poured out upon us, so that the world might be prepared for the final consummation. This is a central role of the Spirit in the world, and it ties in directly with the purposes of God for this world that we have…

INTRODUCTION: The first Easter occurred at the time of Passover, which is when the first fruits of the barley crop were presented to the Lord. Pentecost, soon to follow, is when the first fruits of the wheat harvest were presented. As we consider the importance of the resurrection, we need to think of…

INTRODUCTION We always mark and commemorate what we believe to be important. From birthdays to anniversaries, from independence days to holidays, we will take note. The issue, therefore, is what we find to be important. Attempts to banish this reality will only have the effect THE TEXT 6When they therefore…

INTRODUCTION Isaiah is very concerned with the importance of names. We have seen that he named his two sons with the future of Israel in mind, and they were both types of Immanuel. And Matthew tells that the Messiah was named Jesus because He was named Immanuel. And now we come to a glorious pinnacle…

Introduction: We are fast approaching the five hundredth anniversary of the glorious Reformation. The history of the Church is always tangled, and we can never approach it in a simplistic fashion. But with all such allowances made, the Reformation was a great work of the Holy Spirit, and we are right…

Introduction: We are fast approaching the five hundredth anniversary of the glorious Reformation. The history of the Church is always tangled, and we can never approach it in a simplistic fashion. But with all such allowances made, the Reformation was a great work of the Holy Spirit, and we are right…

Introduction: It is characteristic of the Holy Spirit that He draws attention away from Himself. Sometimes, the Spirit of God is neglected because of a deficiency in theology. But other times this happens precisely because He is active and doing His work. The Text: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth,…

INTRODUCTION There is a difference between preaching the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and simply preaching about the resurrection. It is important for the Church to never forget how to tell this story. This shape of the story is how we find it in the synoptics; additional texture is found in the gospel…

Introduction: We are seeking to recover a Christian sense of time, and in some sense this means a recovery of the Church year. But though we are seeking to escape a secularized calendar, we must never forget that we got this secular calendar (in part) because of a reaction away from the problem of “saints…

INTRODUCTION In the Triumphal Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, we see that the cross is very much in view. At the same time, it is a triumphal entry because the resurrection is equally central. We might even say that the death of Christ is surrounded by resurrection. THE TEXT: 12On the next day much people…