To Die Is Gain (Acts 7:54-8:5)
The newest sermon audio from New Covenant Presbyterian Church is now online. The text was Acts 7:54-8:5 and the title, "To Die is Gain." You can listen to and download it here....
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Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs
The signs and seals of the New Testament are rooted in the symbolism of the types and shadows of the Old Testament. Taken together, we come to see more clearly the Christ to whom the sacraments point. ...
The Word of His Power and the Power of His Word
Those who have the highest esteem for the word of God––affirming its inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility––can sometimes fail to recognize the power of the word when it is accompanied by the working of the Holy Spirit. Scripture is not merely a religious text to be defended, it is God’s living revelation that works in the lives of God’s people. The written word is the inspired revelation of the living Word, Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is accompanied by all of the divine power with which it is invested. This is true in God’s ad extra works of creation and redemption. The word of God’s power is manifest in His work of creation, and it is made known in the preaching of Christ crucified in the work of redemption....
Praying for Pastors
Pastors need the saints’ prayers because they are ever the object of the flaming arrows of the evil one. In addition, the world is eager to run them over at any opportunity. As one of my seminary professors so illustratively put it, “Ministers have a bull’s eye on their back and footprints up their chest.” Sadly, this is even a reality for pastors within the context of the local church....
Singing the Word of Christ
When we think of the many calls in Scripture for the people of God to be singing joyful praises to the Lord for His majesty, as well as for His redeeming mercies and providential care, we should long to do so thoughtfully. We should meditate on the words of the Psalms, making them our own. We should think carefully about the words of the hymns we sing, ensuring that we are singing them "with grace in our hearts to the Lord" (Col. 3:16). We shoudl care far more about what we are singing in worship than how these songs are being performed. It is incumbent on us to think about how we are teaching and admonishing other believers with the word of Christ in our songs, and how we are singing those words from our hearts to the Lord. What a powerful means of imparting grace to one another through the ministry of singing the words of Christ together. ...
When God Swears to God. . .
May we be strengthened to hold fast to the promises of God by trusting fully in the unchangeable God of promise. If He has promised, has bound Himself to that promise by covenant oath, and has fulfilled those promises in Christ, then we have every reason to believe that He will bring those promises to fruition throughout our lives and for eternity. ...
David's Greater Son
The entire life of David was a series of typological deaths and resurrections until he was delivered and exalted. The whole of Christ’s life was one of suffering followed by resurrection glory. Jesus is “the root and the descendant of David” (Rev. 22:16), the One “who has the key of David” (Rev. 3:7). Christ has been exalted to the right hand of God to rule on the throne of David (Luke 1:32). The crucified, risen, and exalted son of David rules forever over the kingdom of God in righteousness, truth, and grace as the new David....
The Usefulness of the Westminster Standards
If we treated the quest for unity in our marriage as being more important than the quest for truth, duplicity, deceit, and infidelity would run rapid and ultimately destroy any and all unity. It is unimaginable that any Christian would desire anything less than loving unity in truth with his or her spouse. How equally zealous ought we to be for loving unity in truth in the Church of God, the bride of Christ which He purchased with His own blood!...
Christ's Victorious Obedience
Jesus' victory over the evil one surfaces at three periods of his Messianic ministry––at the beginning of his ministry when he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, at the point of Peter's confession of Christ's messianic identity at Caesarea Philippi, and at at the close of his ministry in the garden and on the cross. While we often meditate on how Christ overcame Satan by his obedience to his Father in the wilderness and in his ultimate victory over the evil one on the cross, it is possible that we have not given adequate attention to the fact that Jesus was conquering the devil with every conscious act of obedience to the will of his Father. ...
The Star, the Magi, and the Christ
As we consider anew the divine activity in the lives of the wise men, we are met with the reality of God's sovereign grace to those who were once far off from God. We are reminded of the way in which God chooses and calls pagans to trust in His Son. We are warned that we can have a deep knowledge of the Scriptures yet no grace in our hearts. We are motivated to believe in Christ despite any visible miracles or outward displays of glory. We are taught to trust in Jesus even when others around us show deep disinterest. And we are encouraged to give of our time, possessions, and persons to the King of Kings and the advancement of His kingdom--especially when the work of His kingdom seems to be lacking in outward impressiveness....
Digital Hirelings
A digital hireling is an individual who has set himself up online with self-promoting interest. Like the evil shepherds of Ezekiel’s day, the digital hireling feeds himself, doesn’t truly care about the sick, weak, or injured, doesn’t seek the lost and wandering, and deals harshly with the sheep. The digital hireling opportunistically sets up himself or herself up for self-aggrandizement and financial gain....
Australia's Sons of Korah
My wife and I love the music of the Sons of Korah, the Australian band which has set many of the Psalms to modern tunes. What do they sound like? Think of an Australian version of Shane Shane with more lyrics, more harmonization and more of a 70's rock influence. You can listen to some of their music here and here. I especially like the album Redemption Songs. The band ha...
Keep ReadingEric Alexander on Stephen's Martyrdom
In his 1981 address at Urbana, Eric Alexander made the following observations about Stephen's martyrdom and the fruit it bore: We see that Stephen's death was for the glory of God. There are clearly two sides to the fact of Stephen's death. There is on the one hand the wrath and hatred of the people as they gnashed their teeth against him (v. 54). That, I suppose,...
Keep ReadingD.A. Carson's Advice to Pastors on Marriage Situations
Back in December, the Gospel Coalition posted a helpful summary of D.A. Carson's advice to church planters with regard to difficult questions about marriage. You can read it here....
Keep ReadingHow to Enjoy the The Virgin-Born Christ
Matthew 1:23 Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). Luke 1:27 To a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. Christ was born of a virgin mother. This is unique in that He was the only human conceived in this manner; and it is differe...
Keep ReadingA Biblical Stategy for Church Growth
One of my mentors and friends, Rev. Roland Barnes, has written a very helpful pamphlet for the Savannah River Presbytery (PCA) on biblical church growth. I would encourage every minister and seminarian to read it. You can download it here. Roland notes the two indispensable keys to growing churches: There are two major or fundamental elements of ministry upon which the Ch...
Keep ReadingHerman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics: The Bear
When looking for the origin of emotion, William James asked, ‘do we run from the bear because we are afraid’ or is it the other way around? For James the bear was not the source of fear but the physical response to the situation was the cause of the emotion. While it’s not exactly ‘case closed’ for James one thing is sure: human beings resp...
Keep ReadingPhil Ryken's Final Series at Tenth
As the time approaches for Phil Ryken to close one chapter of his life and start another, our readers might want to download the audio from his final sermon series preached at Tenth Presbyterian Church. What more fitting way to end a fruitful pastorate than by preaching on one of the most spiritually rich chapters in the Bible--Romans 8? These sermons will only be availabl...
Keep ReadingA Defense To Die For (Acts 7:1-60)
The latest audio and video from New Covenant Presbyterian Church is now online. The sermon text was Acts 7:1-30 and the title was "A Defense to Die For." You can find the audio here. You can watch the video below.
The Continuing Acts of Jesus
The audio and video for the first six chapters of New Covenant Presbyterian Church's sermon series "The Continuing Acts of Jesus" are online....
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