Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

This sermon was preached on 28/3/2010 Chapter 2:30 contains an important principle. Those who honour God will be honoured by him, and those who despise him he will despise. We have all heard the story of Eric Liddell and of his refusal to run in the Olympic final on the Sabbath. Later that week Liddell ran in the 400 metres. As he left the hotel to go to the second race, one of his trainers gave him a note which said, ‘In the old book it says, He that honours me I will honour. Wishing you the best of success always.’ Liddell won the second race in a world record time. He honoured God and God honoured him. He was given a greater honour later on, when he gave his life for Christ in China, a degree of devotion that cost his health. Danger of imitation of worldly practices by the church The background to the choice of Samuel is a very dark one. The current priesthood is going to be judged by God because of their sins. First, Hophni and Phinehas had adapted the instructions that God...

This sermon was preached on 25/3/2010 In this chapter of his letter to the Romans, Paul is still answering the question he asked at the end of chapter 7 concerning the believer’s deliverance from the power of sin. So far, he has explained various aspects of the work of the Spirit in believers, such as mortification and the giving of assurance, that enable the believer to practically experience ongoing deliverance from indwelling sin. In addition to this form of God-given help, Paul is also reminding his readers that they should have a doctrinal perspective on their spiritual lives, particularly from the standpoint of God’s eternal purpose. In the previous verse, Paul has described the beginning and the goal of that purpose, and in this verse he gives further details of how God will accomplish his intentions. Predestination, as we saw in the previous chapter, is the term that is used to describe the aspect of God’s purpose that concerns the destiny of the people he has chosen. Between t...

This sermon was preached on 28/3/2010 The account of the conversion of Levi is found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. His other name was Matthew (Matt. 9:9). It was common at that time for a person in Palestine to have two names, with one indicating a Jewish origin and the other for use in areas of life outside Jewish demands. It is likely that his original name was Levi, that it would have been given to him by his parents, and since the giving of names was important in Jewish culture it could indicated they were pious people who wanted their son to be devoted to God (as the Levites were). His occupation was a tax-collector, employed by the Roman authorities to collect taxes of the Jews in Capernaum, and because of this he was hated by his fellow-Jews. His bench would have been located on the great commercial road that went from Acre on the Mediterranean coast to Damascus. Capernaum, located in the region ruled by Herod Antipas, was also situated on the border of the territory...

This sermon was preached on 14/3/2010 It looks as if some members of the Thessalonian church had died during the few weeks since Paul and his friends had been with them. In this passage Paul’s main concern is that his readers will understand the future experiences of their friends who have died. It seems that Paul had not been able to complete his intended teaching before he was forced to leave the city. There were aspects of the second coming about which the Thessalonians were uninformed, so Paul now makes up that defect. In passing we can observe that the troubles that affected the Thessalonians have worked out for our benefit. If Paul had been able to complete his full teaching, then he would not have had to include the details of this section in his letter. But since he was prevented, every Christian church since then has had the benefit of his teachings because they are now included in the Bible. So even in their troubles, God was working these events for our good centuries...

This sermon was preached on 14/3/2010 Mark informs us that Jesus had returned to Capernaum. Commentators speculate as to whose home he was in, with most opting for the house of Simon Peter. Yet since Matthew 4:13 says that Jesus went to live in Capernaum, I see no reason why the house mentioned here cannot be his own home. In any case, the news spread quickly and soon a large crowd appeared at the house in order to hear what he had to say. Among them were some scribes, and they must have come fairly early because they were able, as usual, to obtain the best seats. But they were to discover that the best seats may not be the most comfortable. The incident can be approached from different angles. For example, we could consider the miraculous power of Jesus and the reasons for performing such miracles – no doubt some comments made in this sermon will reflect this approach. Or we can see that this event contains the first signs of opposition to Jesus by the religious leaders, opposition th...

This sermon was preached on 11/3/2010 In this verse, Paul describes God’s eternal purpose for his people. He mentions God’s attitude towards them, his plan for them, and their relationship with Jesus in the eternal world to come. His attitude was one of love, his plan was glorification, and the relationship is one of brothers. Paul sweeps across the whole of eternity, focussing on what God was doing in the past eternity and what he is to do in the eternity to come. As we think about the details in this verse, we realise that we are reflecting on matters that we could never have deduced by ourselves. This is true of the sinful mind, which is blind to all aspects of God’s plan of salvation. It is also true of the spiritual mind because even regenerate sinners cannot discover the great plans of God by themselves. For example, think what would have happened if all they had been told by God was John 3:16. That verse highlights many important details and is sufficient as far as information r...

This sermon was preached on 3/3/2010 This is one of the best-known verses of the Bible, often mentioned in times of trial and distress. It is part of a passage in which Paul is reminding believers of their privileges as sons of God. We have noted, firstly, that they have the incomparable blessing of the indwelling Spirit enabling them to obey God, to overcome indwelling sin, to give a sweet sense of assurance, and to intercede along with them in their prayers. Secondly, they have a wonderful future, a future that includes the whole of creation for it is going to be delivered from its futility and it will experience, in its varied capacities, the fullness of the glory that will mark the sons of God when they are revealed when Jesus returns. Paul now mentions a third blessing that belong to believers, which is that nothing is wasted. He does not mean only that nothing that will happen to them individually is going to be pointless, nor does he mean that nothing that will happen to the ch...