Sermons on Grace
2 Kings 5
Elisha, Naaman: “Wash and Be Cleansed!” Introduction: We are currently engaged in a series of messages on the kings and prophets of Israel. The last few Sundays we have been studying the life of the prophet Elijah, an amazing miracle-worker but also a person just like us. We understand that better after last Sunday, don’t we? Because today is Family Worship, we are skipping ahead a few chapters in our series to the life of Elisha, who was Elijah’s successor, and to a…
1 Kings 21
Ahab and Jezebel: “There Was Never a Man Like Ahab, Who Sold Himself to Do Evil in the Eyes of the LORD, Urged on by Jezebel His Wife.” Introduction: The epitaph I have chosen today is much too long to fit on most tombstones, but the whole things is necessary to tell the story of Ahab. Today is Father’s Day, and while Ahab (and his wife Jezebel) are not an ideal topic for such a noble day, there is a main character in…
2 Chronicles 33:1-20, 2 Kings 21:1-18
Manasseh: The King with a Nose Ring Introduction: The story of Manasseh, king of Judah, is an incredible story of rebellion, repentance, and restoration. Rarely has anyone fallen as far into sin and depravity as this man fell. Rarely has anyone been rescued and restored as thoroughly as this man. But it is also true that rarely have the lasting consequences of sin been so obvious as in the story of Manasseh, the King with a Nose Ring. We have enjoyed two very encouraging…
Romans 5:1-5
The Benefits of Justification Introduction: For the last several months I have been working on my house. I am getting ready to sell it. I live in a small house, just over 800 square feet, which is no big deal except that the eat-in kitchen is not much larger than a postage stamp. Recently we became a family of five. And when the youngest of us is ready to sit at the table, forcing us to move it away from the wall, Robin will have…
Romans 5:12-21
Ruin and Rescue Introduction: We come this morning to a very profound and difficult portion of Romans. That’s one of the reasons I enjoyed so much last week’s passage. The theme was so clear, the concept so simple—all we had to do was to drink in the truths that … God’s love is without cause. God’s love is without measure. God’s love is without end. Today we are faced with a very different kind of text. Its theme is difficult to understand and perhaps…
Romans 9:6-26
Let God Be God! Introduction: Romans, chapter 9, is the graveyard of many a well-intentioned Bible scholar and pastor. There are verses in this chapter which are among the most difficult in the Bible. Christians have choked on them for centuries, and otherwise capable expositors have performed interpretive abortions on them in a vain attempt to get them to say something other than what they say. In all honesty, I don’t think Romans 9 is all that difficult for those who are willing…
Matthew 15:21-28
Shocking Words from the Lips of Jesus Introduction: I doubt if anyone will argue with my sermon title this morning after we read our Scripture text from Matthew 15:21-28: Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged…
Acts 15
Great Church Fights Introduction: Leslie B. Flynn, a Conservative Baptist pastor, is one of my favorite leisure‑reading authors because of his quick wit and profound insight. The book of his that I have enjoyed the most is one entitled, Great Church Fights. In this book he humorously treats the friction over widows that resulted in the appointment of the first deacons in Acts 6, the knock‑down drag‑out between the two women, Euodias and Syntyche, at Philippi, the politicking behind Apollos, Paul, and Peter in…
Acts 29, 2 Tim. 4:6-18
Postscript on Acts Introduction: I’ve enjoyed our study of Acts so much that this week I had withdrawal pains. So, I decided to preach a postscript to the Book today. We noted last Lord’s Day that Acts is an unfinished book and intentionally so, because every generation of the church has a chapter to write concerning the acts of the Holy Spirit in their day. What I didn’t say, however, is that the NT itself gives us further information about what happened to the…
Proverbs 31
The Proverbs 31 Woman: Is She for Real? Our Scripture text today is most often taught to women–at retreats, in Bible studies, and so forth. But it has valuable lessons for men as well. In fact, it was written down by a man who learned important truths about women from his own mother. The first verse of Proverbs 31 says, “The sayings of King Lemuel–an oracle his mother taught him.” We don’t know who this King was nor when he lived. But we know that…
Galatians 1:11-2:10
Don’t Mess with the Messenger! Our last sermon was entitled, “Don’t Mess with the Message!” It was a hard-nosed, intolerant sermon based upon a hard-nosed, intolerant passage of Scripture. In essence the thrust was that anyone who adds to or subtracts from the Gospel message is playing with fire; in fact, he’s playing with hell-fire. Today I want to speak to you on a related topic, “Don’t Mess with the Messenger!” This, too, is going to be a hard-nosed, intolerant sermon based on another hard-nosed…
Galatians 3
How to Turn Legalistic Homes and Churches into Havens of Grace Jean Jacques Rosseau began his famous treatise, The Social Contract, with these famous words: “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” I would like to paraphrase that slightly: “Man is born‑again free and yet everywhere we see him going back to the chains that bound him before his conversion.” I see two common kinds of slavery among Christian people. One is a slavery to worldliness–materialism, sinful pleasures, and spiritual…
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