Post Category: Sermon Summary

Considering the recent death of George Floyd and the increasing tension across the nation and in our own city, God's Word must inform how we, as believers, are to feel and act in response to such events. For the original audience, Micah 6:8 addresses many injustices that were taking place in Israel at the time. CJ points out that the three commands in verse eight are evide...

Preceding the commands given by these verses, we must consider Christ's atoning work, contending these commands are not done by human will. First, the Christian should "rejoice always," which is grounded in the fact that God is always acting for their good. Second, he called the listeners to "pray without ceasing." Although this command on the surface seems to be a burden,...

Peter helps us to discern the true cause of our anxiety and apply the biblical remedy so we can find peace. C.J. addressed how external circumstances were the occasion for the original audience's anxieties but not the cause, namely pride. God opposes the proud but encourages us that he gives grace to the humble. This humility is the acknowledgement of one's need for grace ...

James 4:13-17 encourages us to adopt one specific way of living as we go back to regular life (post-quarantine): "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." In this passage, James addresses two things: 1) what people say, and 2) what people ought to say. People were planning their lives without regard for the brevity of life, the certainty of death, and their to...

In this passage, Paul rejoices in the gift the Philippian church has sent, not because of what he has physically received but because of their concern for him, and then reveals the secret to true contentment. C.J. drew our attention to these 3 facets of Paul's contentment: It was learned, it was not dependent on circumstance, and it was found in Christ. Through many severe...

John 11:1-44 displays God's provision and solution for death in the person of Jesus Christ who is the resurrection and the life. Like Lazarus, Christians have the joy and privilege of identifying as those who are loved by Jesus. In the midst of suffering and delay, God always has a divine purpose as he works all things for our good and for the glory of the Son. Jesus' love...

In his sermon on James 1:2-4, CJ highlighted the reality of trials, their divinely designed purpose, and our God-glorifying response. Trials are an inevitable part of life, but rightly understood, they are meant to test our faith and to produce steadfastness. God is present in our trials, and He is "getting work done." CJ encouraged us to let our trials have their full eff...

Overview of Sermon: This passage begins by showing Jesus' kindness and intention to never mislead the twelve regarding his true messianic mission, and so hurried them into the boat. While Jesus stayed behind to dismiss the crowd and spend time in prayer, the disciples hit a great headwind while rowing to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As the gale began to cause the...

In the book of Habakkuk, the prophet cries out to God; lamenting the nation's apostasy and that the wicked were afflicting the righteous. Far from sitting idly by, God informs Habakkuk that He is aware and is using the Babylonias to punish Israel. The Lord assures him that the righteous will continue to live by faith, and the Babylonians will surely be judged for their own...

Psalm 121 addresses how we can trust in God when what we take for granted is jeopardized. It also tackles our anxieties by asking where we are looking for help and comfort in the midst of our fear. This Psalm assures us that the Lord is our constant personal keeper who will be our help and protection. Rather than teaching that we will not face hardship and suffering, this ...

In Exodus 24:12-18, God's glory comes down and rests on Mount Sinai as a cloud and as a devouring fire. God summons Moses up into the cloud; a gracious invitation that Moses and the people did not deserve. However, even as God's appointed mediator, Moses spends six days preparing his heart for the imminent encounter. Through this meeting, God prepares his people for when h...

Each text in the Bible has both a meaning and a tone and a sermon should capture both. Our passage begins with a solemn ceremony and ends with a sublime meeting with God. In verses 3 through 8, we see the people of Israel are bound by the book and the blood. It's a solemn moment. Then, in verses 9 through 11, we see an amazing scene where God appears to Moses and the elder...

God's saving promises of his presence and our inheritance fuel a life of faith-filled loyalty to God. In Exodus 23, God manifested his presence through an angel who would go before the Israelites and whom the people were to obey. The inheritance that God gives is a blessed land; a place for his people to come and worship him. Throughout the Old Testament, the people of Isr...

In this past Sunday's sermon on Exodus 21:1-23:19, C.J noted the confusion we can experience when we read about slavery in the OT. Numerous resources exist to help us understand this topic, both in its original setting as well as how it functions in the storyline of Scripture. If you're interested in exploring this further, here are some resources we would recommend: Is...

Sermon Summary: Jesus, the Master of masters teaches us how to pray. In this sermon, C.J. shows us that the structure and substance of the Lord's Prayer influences and showcases our priorities in prayer. The first three petitions are God-centered and stand as a reminder that His glory takes precedence before our needs. The last three petitions remind us that God is not in...

We seldom consider our own mortality, but occasionally we are confronted with the reality of death. The author of Ecclesiastes insists that we make eye contact with the inevitability of death in order to experience its transforming effects for the present. Death demands that we properly prepare for God's appointed judgement of our sin by examining our hearts and considerin...

Wearing winter hats on our heads and swaddled in warm blankets, we devoted our attention to the world's most famous prayer. This prayer is intensely personal and the model for how we are supposed to approach God. There are six requests in this prayer: the first three relating to the advancement of God's glory and the last three addressing our daily needs. However, the focu...

In chapter 11, Isaiah continues to proclaim how God meets our needs within our broken world of sin through the promised Messiah. Instead of trusting in man's strength and wisdom, the perfect ruler is empowered by the Holy Spirit and delights in the fear of the Lord. In perfect righteousness, he rules and judges without bias toward the rich or powerful. You cannot avoid, br...

Psalm 133 is meant to "charm us into imitation" as it opens with the extraordinary effect of the God-given gift of unity. David's use of the word 'good' to describe brotherly accord takes us back to the refrain used during the creation account in Genesis, and 'pleasant' is the felt effect of this unity in the souls of the Lord's chosen people. C.J. used this psalm to remin...

In this passage, Jesus sees the crowds of hopeless sinners in Israel, and their lost state evokes deep compassion in him. He responds by instructing his disciples to pray for the lost sheeps' rescue through the sending of laborers into the harvest. Michael encouraged us to look into the world and see the crowds of desperate sinners as Christ sees them. He challenged us to ...

Glad service honors God! John Piper wrote, "Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead." By the grace of God, our church is filled with cheerful servants who serve in our church full of love for God. Psalm 100:2 should fan into flame the gift that God has already given to our church in the form of glad-hearted giving. Serving the Lord with gladness is a biblical dist...

In this week's sermon, we looked at how the church in Macedonia experienced God's grace and generosity amidst their trials and afflictions. As Jeff unpacked this text, we saw three aspects of gospel generosity. First, we saw the source of generosity as it comes from grace, which Paul described as undeserved favor and divine enablement. Second, we saw three marks of generos...

In Matthew 9:35-10:4, Jesus sees the needs of the crowd as they were unable to free themselves. Seeing them as sheep without a shepherd, Jesus was deeply moved by a warm, compassionate response to their need (and ours). Jesus' compassion is the supreme motivation for our mission. The first means of accomplishing that mission is to urgently pray to the Lord of the harvest f...

In last Sunday's passage, the Israelites heard the voice of God, and they were afraid. They asked Moses to be their spokesperson with God, and the Lord responded graciously to their fear. In this week's passage, God graciously provides instructions for a simple altar that can be constructed anywhere to allow the Israelites to draw near to Him. Out of his abundant kindness,...

Immediately following their deliverance from the bonds of slavery, the Lord institutes the annual observance of the Passover Meal; a night to remember God's faithful protection over the people of Israel. As CJ has noted throughout this series, the Passover Meal and the Feast of Unleavened Bread was to be a sign for all future generations, forever reminding God's people o...

In this week's sermon on Matthew 2, CJ both further helped us connect the gospel to our study of Exodus and encouraged us towards greater affection towards Jesus in light of that. First, we examined the Magi. This mysterious band of Gentiles from the East knew little about Scripture, had to travel a remarkably long distance, and gave precious valuables to the baby. What...

This past Sunday, C.J. explored the opening scenes of God's confrontation with Pharaoh and the idols of Egypt. While the stage was previously set for Moses and Aaron to take the Lord's message of deliverance to the king of Egypt, we are now given a prelude, of sorts, for the impending larger conflict. In Exodus 7:8-13, God commissions Moses and Aaron to stand before Phara...

This post is based on CJ Mahaney's sermon,Divine Reassurance, given on November 25, 2018. In this Sunday's sermon, CJ helpfully applied Exodus 6:28-7:7 by encouraging us towards greater confidence in God's sovereignty and to further faithfulness to the gospel. Redemption is a work of God alone through the gospel alone. God reissued his call to Moses when he was 80 years ...

Introduction The book of Psalms should be treasured Spurgeon thought the Psalms were undervalued in 1882how much more today! You will experience no emotion that has not been expressed in the psalms. This psalm was chosen with Rebecca Stephenson in mind. Rebecca's husband Wade Stephenson passed away three weeks ago. It is a Song of Ascents Psalms 120 134...

What about 16:9 20? What is textual criticism? Textual criticism: the science of studying all the known copies of a document to discover what the original said. A science that clearly shows God's generosity to us in preserving his word. Far more manuscripts exist of the NT than of Tacitus (3 manuscripts) and Josephus (120 manuscripts), and the manuscripts of the NT ...

Sermon summary from Bob Kauflin's sermon on Revelation 5...

On Sunday, C.J. preached from 1 Corinthians 3:18-4:5, in order to address the recent graduates of the Sovereign Grace Pastors College as well as the church body as a whole. Below is an outline and summary of his sermon, The Only Assessment that Matters....

This Sunday we had the immense privilege of hearing from Shawn Woo, a graduating student in the 2014 class of the Sovereign Grace Pastors College. Shawn preached from Ephesians 2:1-10, highlighting the good news that God saves hopeless sinners to display his sovereign grace. Below is an outline and summary of his sermon entitled, Saved by Grace....

This Sunday, C.J. preached from Mark 7:1-13, where the motif of hostility escalates between the religious leaders and Jesus. Below is an outline and summary of the sermon, "A Defining Moment"....

A summary of Mack Stiles message on 2 Timothy 2:14-19...

A summary of C.J.'s sermon on Mark 6:45-52...

A summary of C.J.'s message on Isaiah 53...

A summary of Jeff Purswell's sermon on Mark 6:6b-30...

Summary of CJ Mahaney's sermon on 1 Corinthians 4:6-13...

Summary of CJ Mahaney's sermon on Mark 6:1-6...