Fork of The Broad/Sermons from Carlton Baptist Church

In offering comfort to His disciples as they learn that Jesus is about to leave them, a most interesting phenomenon occurs - One member of the Trinity (the Son) teaches about another member of the Trinity (the Holy Spirit).  The Holy Spirit convicts, or convinces us concerning sin, righteousness, judgement, and guides us toward truth.  In this episode, Jesus offers comfort to His disciples and to us by reminding us that the ruler of this world (Satan) is judged, and the power of his greatest weapons, sin and death, are effectively nullified through the power of the cross and the empty tomb.

Often, Christians treat the Holy Spirit the same way we treat that green jello salad at potlucks - We don't know quite what to do with it, so we leave that for someone else to deal with, right?  But in discounting or ignoring the work of the Spirit, we lose a tremendous source of comfort and truth.  In today's sermon, we discuss the role of the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit’s role is to rescue us from our state of being spiritual orphans and bringing us into a forever home with God. He reveals truth about ourselves by continually pointing us to the truth of Jesus and the Bible, and in that truth, we can enjoy a deep and abiding hope that transcends our circumstances and our sinfulness.

In this episode, Pastor Lee unpacks the implications of John the Baptist's statement upon seeing Jesus, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"  Jesus' death on the cross paid covered the penalty for our sins - but not just those sins we committed before knowing Christ as Saviour.  Jesus' forgiveness is present, active, and continual.  That's Good News!

"The Witness, The Adoption" - John's introduction to his writing is rich with language that reminds us of courtrooms.  In this discussion, the testimony of witnesses - the Apostle John, John the Baptist, and Jesus Himself is unpacked; and a legal adoption of those who trust in their testimony is explained.

Our series on The Book of John continues with a look at John 1:14-18, where John encapsulates major truths about the person and work of Jesus - In this text, John establishes the divine nature of Christ - He was 100% man, and 100% God; and also examines the work He does for us - He is 100% grace in action for those who trust in His truth and in His love, "grace upon grace".

The central idea of the Book of John can be found in John 20:30-31 - Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (that’s Who Jesus is), and that by believing you may have life in his name (that’s His goal – that’s what Jesus is about).  This sermon kicks off an expository look at The Book of John by exploring two ideas - Jesus is the Word (the eternal God) and Jesus is the light (the one who saves us from our sin and death).

The third in a series on the "Five Solas" of the Protestant Reformation, "Grace Alone" teaches us that it isn't confidence in our own goodness that gets us in good with God; instead, it's confidence in God and His goodness that allows us access to Him.  A look at Ephesians 1 and Ephesians 2 reveals that God had a plan to adopt us as His children before time even began, and gives us that free, undeserved gift through Jesus Christ, dying on the cross to pay the price for our sins.

The second in a series on the "Five Solas", we discuss justification by faith.  William Barclay wrote that this little phrase, “justification by faith”, answers the ultimate questions of life: How can I be in a right relationship with God? How can I feel at peace with God? How can I live my life not fearing death, not fearing being face to face with God, face to face with His judgment? Good moral behavior won't save you; only faith in Jesus Christ can free us from our sins. (Note: There was a technical difficulty at the end of the recording, and a portion of a closing quote by Brennan Manning was lost. The full quote is as follows: “Justification by grace through faith” is the theologian’s learned phrase for what Chesterton once called “the furious longing of God.” He is not moody or capricious; He knows no seasons of change. He has a single relentless stance toward us: He loves us. He is the only God man has ever heard of who loves sinners. False gods–the gods of human manufacturing–despise sinners, but the Father of Jesus loves all, no matter what they do. But of course this is almost too incredible for us to accept. Nevertheless, the central affirmation of the Reformation stands: through no merit of ours, but by His mercy, we have been restored to a right relationship with God through the life, death, and resurrection of His beloved Son. This is the Good News, the gospel of grace.” - Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel)

The first in a series on The Five Solas, the central beliefs of the Protestant Reformation.  In this sermon, we discover the answer to the pivotal question Jesus asked His disciples in Matthew 16:13-17 - "Who do you say that I am?"  The answer - "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." It's vogue to say that "Jesus never said He was the Son of God", but this idea entirely disagrees with the New Testament, and Jesus' own words in John 5. Jesus Christ alone is the only mediator between God and man. It is through His work and His work alone on the cross that man can be reconciled to God. Salvation is exclusively available to man through the blood of Jesus Christ.