BBC Sermon Cast

Jeremiah 11:18–12:4 is the first of a series of intimate conversations between Jeremiah and Yahweh about Jeremiah’s struggles (see 11:18–12:6; 15:10–21; 17:14–18; 18:18–23; 20:7–18). These are known as “Jeremiah’s Confessions.”

The first of these Confessions arose from a threat against the prophet’s life from the residents of his hometown. Jeremiah was made aware of the plot, turned to God in prayer, and received both and encouragement of future judgement for his enemies and an exhortation to persevere in the face of even greater hardships to come.

Lying is one of the most endemic sins of our age—in fact, of any age. Psalm 120 speaks to the issue of lying. Some lies affect us in a direct way; others less so. Psalm 120 helps us to know how to deal with the lies that are sometimes maliciously cast our way.

It is important for Christians to understand the gospel. We must know what the gospel did for us, but also what the gospel can and will continue to do for us. We see something of this in Titus 3:4–8.

It is an observable fact that churches that stop believing the gospel stop sending and supporting missionaries. This makes sense, for if you don't believe the gospel there is no good news to share. But Paul urges us in 1 Thessalonians 2 to keep believing and proclaiming the gospel.

Ephesians 3 shows that the mystery of the gospel was fully revealed to the new covenant church. This text also shows us at least four important implications of the role of the local church in the Great Commission.

Gaius loved missions because beloved the truth. Diotrophes hated missions because he loved the pre-eminence. Demetrius rejected evil and chose what was good. Together, they teach us what it means to live the gospel without self-interest.

One of the most basic essentials of the church’s commitment to the Great Commission is to be able to define missions—to understand what the mission of missions is. We learn about God’s design for missions in the Great Commission as recorded by Matthew.

The society in which we live is anything but peaceful—and in the very area that Paul addresses in Ephesians 2: hostility between peoples; conflict between people groups; angst over ethnicity. But, because Jesus is the Prince of Peace, we have opportunity, by means of the gospel of peace, to make a difference.

In this study, we return to Ephesians 2 with particular focus on vv. 14–18. Our goal is to gaze on the Prince of Peace in three of His peaceful capacities: Jesus as Peacemaker; Jesus as Peace-seeker; and Jesus as Peacekeeper.

Martin Luther once wrote of Psalm 118: “This Psalm has been of special service to me. It has helped me out of many great troubles, when either Emperor nor kings nor wise men nor saints could help.” The more I have read and reflected on this psalm, the more I can appreciate Luther’s partiality. This psalm is full of hope, because it is full of promise—all because it is full of Christ.

Racism has long been, and ever is, a blight on humanity. John MacArthur correctly notes, “It is a part of sinful human nature to build barriers that shut out other people.” Paul reveals that these barriers can only be removed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:13). The blood of Jesus Christ is stronger than any and all barriers produced by sinful man.

Unfortunately, Christians, who should hold tenaciously to this truth and therefore who should be at the forefront of proclaiming, practising and promoting reconciliation often respond unhelpfully.

So what is the solution to ethnic disharmony, to the evil and ugly barriers that humanity, in sin, has constructed between people and between peoples? We find it in Ephesians 2:11–22.

Paul asserts that it is the blood of Jesus Christ that is able to cure the world of hostility. In the case of the cross of the Christ, blood is thicker than hatred. The blood of Christ is stronger than the sinful barriers of man.