Recent Sermons

John 1:35-51 (NASB)

35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you seeking?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day; it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

43 The next day He decided to go to Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets also wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Christology 101: 2 Days, 5 Disciples, and 7 Titles of Jesus that reveal His glorious identity to us

1. “the Lamb of God” (1:36)
2. “Rabbi” (1:38)
3. “the Messiah” (1:41)
4. “Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph” (1:45)
5. “the Son of God” (1:49)
6. “the King of Israel” (1:50)
7. “the Son of Man” (1:51)

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John 5:18-24 (NASB)

18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. 22 For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Four claims that Jesus makes about Himself that are clear declarations of His Deity:

Claim #1 – He is equal with God in all His works (5:19-20)
Claim #2 – He is equal with God in His sovereign power (5:21)
Claim #3 – He is equal with God in His divine judgment (5:22)
Claim #4 – He is equal with God in His exclusive honor (5:23)

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John 2:13-25 (NASB)

13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And within the temple grounds He found those who were selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 And He made a whip of cords, and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away from here; stop making My Father’s house a place of business!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written: “Zeal for Your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as Your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and yet You will raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking about the temple of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name as they observed His signs which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, because He knew all people, 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify about mankind, for He Himself knew what was in mankind.

Three important clues to observe about Jesus that subtly reveal His Deity to us

1. His Holy Reverence (2:13-17)
2. His Matchless Resurrection (2:18-22)
3. His Divine Recognition (2:23-25)

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Jude 24-25 (NASB)

24 Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen.

True Christians are assured they can persevere in faith in the Gospel to the end, because God is the One preserving them through all of life’s toils and snares, for the glory of His name.

1. God keeps true believers from stumbling (v. 24a)
2. God will make true believers stand blameless with great joy (v. 24b)
3. God alone receives all glory (v. 24-25)

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Jude 17-23 (NASB)

17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

Three Imperatives that will help the Church battle together for the faith in an era of false teachers:

1. Recall the previous warnings (v. 17-19)
2. Remain in the love of God (v. 20-21)

• “building yourselves up on your most holy faith”
• “praying in the Holy Spirit”
• “waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord…”

3. Reach out to various others (v. 22-23)

• The Doubting
• The Burning
• The Dangerous

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Jude 17-23 (NASB)

17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

Three Imperatives that will help the Church battle together for the faith in an era of false teachers.

1. Recall the previous warnings (v. 17-19)
2. Remain in the love of God (v. 20-21)

• “building yourselves up on your most holy faith” (v. 20)
• “praying in the Spirit” (v. 20)

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Jude 17-23 (NASB)

17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

Three Imperatives that will help the Church battle together for the faith in an era of false teachers.

1. Recall the previous warnings (v. 17-19)
2. Remain in the love of God (v. 20-21)
3. Reach out to various others (v. 22-23)

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Jude 12-16 (NASB)

12 These are the ones who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, churning up their own shameful deeds like dirty foam; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever.

14 It was also about these people that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord has come with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

Theme: The Church must beware of false teachers by recognizing their clear denunciations and their deserved destination.

Denunciation #1 – Pictures from Nature (v. 12-13)

Denunciation #2 – Pattern of Heart & Mind (v. 16)

Destination Deserved: Prediction of Future Damnation (v. 14-15)

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Jude 8-12 (NASB)

8 Yet in the same way these people also, dreaming, defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak abusively of angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these people disparage all the things that they do not understand; and all the things that they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have given themselves up to the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are the ones who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted.

Theme: Believers in the Church must be on the lookout for what false teachers do and what they are like.

1. They Scorn Supernatural Beings (v. 8d-10)
2. They’re Marked by Murder, Money, and Mutiny (v. 11)
3. They Deceive to Destroy (v. 12a)

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Jude 5-8 (NASB)

5 Now I want to remind you, though you know everything once and for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling place, these He has kept in eternal restraints under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these angels indulged in sexual perversion and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

8 Yet in the same way these people also, dreaming, defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak abusively of angelic majesties.

Theme: Deceptive, immoral false teachers are headed for God’s eternal judgment, and true believers in the Church must be alerted not to follow or fall for them.

Three examples of arrogance and immorality that bring God’s wrath and condemnation.

1. Unbelieving Israel (v. 5)
2. Arrogant Angels (v. 6)
3. Sordid Sodomites (v. 7)

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