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(AI Generated Summary) The sermon explores the theological necessity of the new birth by examining the human heart as the seat of intellect, affections, and volition. It argues that a person's deepest treasure determines the direction of their life, effectively coloring their perception and making their choices appear reasonable to themselves. Drawing from Romans 8, the message distinguishes between those who live according to the Spirit and those who live according to the flesh, noting that the latter are inherently hostile to God and unable to please Him. Using the metaphor of colored glasses and the eye as the lamp of the body, the text illustrates how valuing earthly things over God leads to spiritual darkness and a complete inability to see the Kingdom of God. The sermon concludes by affirming the hope of the Gospel, where God shines light into dark hearts to transform affections and enable a relationship with Him.

Barnabas and Saul are sent out by the Holy Spirit and by the church. As we follow them on this first missionary campaign, we simply observe where they went, what they did, who and what they found, what they said, and what the Lord God accomplished. Here is a tale of gospel opportunity and spiritual opposition, of the triumph of the good news of Jesus Christ.

I came to the book of Daniel prepared to preach Christ from the heroic prophetic feats of the title character. Surely he is the great type of Christ in his own book! And indeed, as we will see Daniel consistently acts as prophet and priest throughout his time in Babylon, with parallels to the Son of Man that are not to be taken lightly. But in chs. 2 & 4, much to my surprise, I have discovered that the great type of the Son of Man is not Daniel, but Nebuchadnezzar! The pagan monarch, the Babylonian tyrant, the destroyer of God's temple, the man who surely ought to be a one-dimensional villain — that man is like Christ in numerous ways. We saw in ch. 2 that he is called "kings of kings" and that he is the "head of gold," a description that overlaps the description of the Beloved in Song of Solomon 5. But those parallels are small potatoes compared to the narrative arc of Daniel 4, in which we see humiliation and exaltation, a cosmic tree cut down and then regrown. Yes, clearly Nebuchadnezzar is not Christ. But he is like Him in some key ways, ways that mark out the Babylonian as a foil character whose flaws highlight the perfections of the lion of the tribe of Judah. Particularly in his humiliation and exaltation, Nebuchadnezzar reminds us of the humiliation and exaltation of the Son of Man, and teaches us the lesson he learned: conformity to Christ requires humility.

Nothing happens by chance. We don't believe in luck, but in a Sovereign God who has a plan and purpose for us as we travel along this Christian journey. Hear Pastor Brian expound the story of the cows returning the Ark of the Covenant to Israel in the conclusion to this sermon about new beginnings, love, sacrifice, and the importance of carrying the message of the Gospel to a lost and dying world.

Who shut the door of the ark, Noah or the LORD, and what was left for the men outside when it closed? Read Luke 13:25 and ask what the master of the house says to those who stand without and knock: "I know you not whence ye are" (Luke 13:25). Then ask whether the men who had watched the ark built for all those years thought anything had changed that day. "And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in." (Genesis 7:16)

Nothing happens by chance. We don't believe in luck, but in a Sovereign God who has a purpose and plan for us. Hear as Pastor Brian relates the story of the cows returning the Ark of the Covenant to Israel, in this sermon about new beginnings, the Christian journey, and the burden we carry.

Berean Adult Sunday School class. A verse-by-verse study through the twelve minor prophets. This study centers on the book of Obadiah.