Confession on SermonAudio

The sermon emphasizes that a genuine relationship with God is built through intentional prayer rather than mere biblical knowledge, using the analogy of knowing facts about a person versus knowing the person themselves. It breaks down the Lord's Prayer from Luke 11 as a practical model for worship, submission to God's will, and honest self-reflection. The message challenges believers to move beyond transactional requests by cultivating a consistent 'God spot' and time for communion, while addressing the necessity of confessing sin and extending forgiveness to others. It concludes with a call to authentic faith and public confession of Jesus, urging a generation of men to lead their families and stand firm in their devotion to Christ.

In "Hosea: A Book of Reversals Part 2," Charles Sebold completes his overview of Hosea with chapters 8-14, tracing how Israel's spiritual adultery ripens into judgment and how God's covenant love overturns it. Having rejected God's king and worshiped the calf of Samaria, Israel sows the wind and reaps the whirlwind: paying tribute to foreign lovers, returning to "Egypt" in an Exodus reversed, eating bread for hunger alone without communion with God, and watching the bull of Beth-aven carried off to Assyria. Sebold traces a sobering progression from distrust of God, to a god of our own making, to trust in the world, to God hedging us in with thorns, to hardened idolatry. He links Israel's cry for the mountains to cover them with Christ's warning to the daughters of Jerusalem and the sixth seal of Revelation, for rejecting the Son is idolatry. Yet at the darkest point, God throws open His heart: "How can I give you up, O Ephraim?" His holiness, the very attribute expected to seal judgment, grounds His mercy, making exile discipline rather than annihilation. "Out of Egypt I called My son" points to Christ. Jacob the heel-grabber becomes the weeping beggar who will not let God go. Death is summoned against Ephraim, yet Paul turns Hosea 13:14 into the triumph of 1 Corinthians 15:55. At last God writes the repentance Himself, giving Israel the words to confess, healing their apostasy, and loving them freely as a freewill offering. Hosea closes with a call: the upright walk in the ways of the LORD, but transgressors stumble in them. Which one are you?

This Article appeals to the mind of men for it teaches that man has a duty to believe, a duty to have obedient faith and be penitent towards God. If man has a duty, then it is incumbent that he must also have the ability to fulfill that duty. Does this ability flow from the will of man? How is there a duty to perform without the means to perform it, unless we believe that every man has the means to believe to the saving of his soul. That in every man lies the spark of faith that can be ignited by preaching and by the fanning of the Holy Spirit to bring everlasting life to that man. Why, such thoughts are contrary to the Holy Scripture, for all men lie in darkness and have not the faith of Jesus Christ. Duty faith removes and need of GRACE!

Psalm 19:9–14 brings the psalm to its close as the psalmist moves from the character of God's law to personal petition, acknowledging both the perfection of divine revelation and the depths of human sinfulness. This sermon examines the psalmist's response to that revelation — his recognition of sin's subtlety, his plea for preservation from presumptuous transgression, and his final consecration of speech and meditation to the Lord. Main points: - the character and value of God's revealed law (vv. 9–11) - the confession of secret and hidden faults (v. 12) - the petition for preservation from presumptuous sins (v. 13) - the consecration of word and heart to God as strength and Redeemer (v. 14) Scripture references: - Psalms 19:1-14; 119 - Romans 7:7-25 - James 3:1-12 Free Grace Baptist Church — https://www.freegrace.ca Full transcript & sermon notes: https://sermons.freegrace.ca/sermons/sermon-psalm-19-the-psalmists-contemplation-on-the-revelation-3 Description generated by Tyrannus.ai: https://www.tyrannus.ai

1. The Supper is Holy 2. The Church is Responsible 3. The Members Have a Calling This sermon examines the theological basis for restricting access to the Lord's Supper by analyzing Ezekiel 44 and the Heidelberg Catechism. It presents the Lord's Supper as a sacred, covenantal meal between God and His people, emphasizing that allowing unrepentant individuals to partake constitutes a violation of God's covenant and invites divine judgment. The text outlines the church's responsibility to act as gatekeepers, examining both the outward conduct and inward confession of members to maintain the holiness of the table. Furthermore, it calls individual believers to exercise spiritual discernment through church discipline and rigorous self-examination. The central message is that the Lord's Supper is a holy meal reserved for those who are truly sorrowful for their sins and trust in Christ's forgiveness, requiring a guarded approach known as close communion.

John 11:17-27 — Four days is long enough for hope to give up. But Jesus doesn't ask you to wait for the resurrection. He says, "I am" it. This expository preaching message walks verse-by-verse through John 11:17-27, continuing our ongoing exposition through the Gospel of John at Pilgrim Baptist Church. If you've ever prayed, "Lord, if you had just shown up sooner," this passage was preached for you. Martha's brother is dead, and the one man who could have stopped it stayed away. This sermon sits inside that grief and asks the same question Jesus asked Martha: not what do you believe about the resurrection someday, but do you believe it right now, for the grave standing in front of you today. Working verse-by-verse through John 11:17-27, this expository preaching message traces Martha's half-believing faith — real, but "faith with a leash on it" — and shows how Jesus turns her theologically correct but distant confession ("he shall rise again at the last day") into a direct confrontation: "I am the resurrection and the life. Believest thou this?" This message covers: - Why four days was long enough for Martha's hope to give up - Martha's accusation: "Lord, if thou hadst been here" - The difference between doctrine you believe and faith you live - "The resurrection isn't a day on a calendar. It's a person." - Where's your Lazarus? — the evidence only Jesus can provide - Two halves of the promise: the dead in Christ and the living in Christ - Why Jesus doesn't scold Martha for giving the wrong answer - Part 3 of our 6-message expository study through John 11

This sermon concludes a series on the identity of Jesus by examining Matthew 16, where Peter confesses Christ as the Son of the Living God. The message clarifies that the church is built upon Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, rather than the apostle Peter, refuting common misinterpretations of the text. By contrasting the pagan history of Caesarea Philippi with the stability of God's truth, the sermon emphasizes that believers must anchor their lives in a firm spiritual foundation. It warns against the instability of relying on religious routines or human approval, using the Leaning Tower of Pisa as an illustration of weak foundations. Ultimately, the preacher urges the congregation to build their lives upon Jesus Christ, ensuring stability and security amidst the chaos of the world.

We are a Southern Baptist Convention church located in Shreveport, Louisiana, committed to the biblical doctrines and historic principles of the founders of the Convention. Thus, we fully subscribe to The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 (in particular) and The Baptist Faith and Message (in general).