Brick Lane Community Church - Audio Sermons

Psalm 119:33-40:
Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees,
that I may follow it to the end.
Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law
and obey it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.
Fulfill your promise to your servant,
so that you may be feared.
Take away the disgrace I dread,
for your laws are good.
How I long for your precepts!
In your righteousness preserve my life.

Sermon Outline

1. Introduction

Interruptions

Main point: Walking in delight in the Lord means training what we see

2. There is gravity to our gaze

An imperative to sin

A connection between gazing and desire

3. There is triviality in our time

Empty things with exciting appeal

Looking for life in all the wrong places

4. There is life in God's law

Asking God for spiritual CPR

Hearts hankering for God

5. Our salvation is a spectacle

1 Peter 5:6-11: Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Sermon Outline

1. The hand of God has a proper time

2. The roaring lion has a little while

3. The God of all grace is forever and ever

“We come dear Jesus to thy Throne, to open all our grief;
Now send the promised mercy down, and grant us quick relief.
Though Satan rages and flesh rebel, and unbelief arise,
we'll wait around his footstool still, for Jesus hears our cries”
— attributed to Helen MacKay MacDonald

1 Peter 5:1-5: So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Sermon Outline

1. The plan of God for the flock of God

2. The Son of God leads the church of God

3. The Spirit of God and the hand of God

1 Peter 4:12-19: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And

“If the righteous is scarcely saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Sermon Outline

1. The love of a faithful creator

2. The presence of a faithful creator

3. The judgement of a faithful creator

“I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” — Charles Spurgeon

Sermon Outline

1. A deliberate posture of prayer

2. A cultivated community of grace

3. A passion for God’s glory

“Prayer and praise are the oars by which a man may row his boat into deep waters of the knowledge of Christ.” — Charles Spurgeon

1 Peter 4:1-6: Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

Sermon Outline

1. The suffering of starving the flesh

2. The sorrow of spiteful treatment

3. The solemnity of facing death

1 Peter 3:17-4:1: For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

Sermon Outline

1. Introduction

Flavors of human experience

A new way for Peter's readers to categorize how they feel

2. A better way to suffer

Suffering for righteousness' sake

God's will is always at work

3. A living proof in Jesus

His priestly sacrifice

His prophetic role

His kingly rule

4. A Mature Way to Think

“The world sneers at religious profession. It refuses to believe that it is genuine. It defiantly asserts that what is called Christian principle is only selfishness, and that it would not stand severe testing. Then, godly men [and women] are called to endure loss, suffering, or sorrow, not because there is any particular evil in themselves which needs to be eradicated — but because the Master needs their witness to answer the sneers of the world.” — JR Miller

“A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means… I cannot understand and I cannot explain it. And there has been no one who has explained it” — Martin Luther

1 Samuel 8:1-9: When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

Sermon Outline

1. A human rejection

2. A human solution

3. A divine rejection

4. A divine solution

Colossians 1:1-8: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your[c] behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

Sermon Outline

1. Introduction

2. Two truths

Truth #1: The gospel has already changed you

Faith in Christ

A love for all the saints

Hope

Truth #2: The gospel is changing people all over the world

Everywhere the gospel goes, it brings salvation

God doesn't begin with our weaknesses; he begins with his strength

The gospel has already changed you, and it's changing people all over the world

3. Applications

Remind yourself over and over what God has done for you

Be thankful

1 Peter 3:8-16: Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,

“Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Sermon Outline

1. A call to tenderheartedness

2. A reminder of God’s attentiveness

3. The result is gospel preparedness

“There’s more glory under the eye of God, in the sighs, groans, and mournings of poor souls filled with the love of Christ, [pursuing] after the enjoyment of him according to his promises — in their fervent prayers for his manifestation of himself unto them — in the refreshments and unspeakable joys which they have in his gracious visits and embraces of his love — than in the thrones and diadems of all the monarchs on the earth.” — John Owen, The Works of John Owen (1850)