A new MP3 sermon from Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details:

Title: The Kingdom of God Is at Hand (Dan. 2)

Subtitle: Daniel

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 12/10/2017

Bible: Daniel 2

Length: 42 min.

Overview: So Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. And his spirit is troubled. When we hear the dream later, we immediately realize why he is troubled- It doesn-t take a genius to figure out that this dream is about something powerful being destroyed- And he is the most powerful man in the world-----No one is so powerful as to be above all fear- When you are climbing the ladder of influence and power, you always fear those who are above you - lest they prevent you from climbing higher- But more dangerous still are those who are below you- Those who topple you from your exalted perch-----And that is the fear that we see in Nebuchadnezzar-s interactions with the wise men....

A new MP3 sermon from Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details:

Title: Grace and Truth Came Through Jesus Christ (Ps. 98)

Subtitle: Psalms

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 12/10/2017

Bible: Psalm 98; John 1:14-18

Length: 42 min.

Overview: -Sung Psalm- 98-----In the Hebrew, the title of this Psalm is simply- A Psalm.----But in the Syriac translation, they added, -Of the redemption of the people from Egypt.- In other words, already before the time of Christ, the Jews thought of book 4 both in terms of the return from exile - and in terms of the redemption from Egypt.

A new MP3 sermon from Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details:

Title: Eating and Learning: How to Live as a Christian in a Foreign Land (Dan. 1)

Subtitle: Daniel

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 12/3/2017

Bible: Daniel 1

Length: 48 min.

Overview: Every generation thinks that it is worse now than it has ever been. Lamentations was written so that each generation can weep and wail over their misery. Every generation also thinks that it is so bad now that this must be the end- Daniel was written so that each generation can see that it may not be time yet-----Lamentations and Daniel are very different books - but they share at least one thing in common.----In our Bibles they are placed among the prophets - while the Hebrew Bible placed them among the writings.----We saw that the book of Lamentations does not contain much that would be called -prophecy- - either in terms of predicting or in terms of preaching.----Daniel also does not read like one of the prophets. Sure, there are dreams and visions - but those are actually rather rare among the prophets. Daniel fits better in the genre of -apocalyptic- - something that you find at the end of Ezekiel, or in the book of Revelation.----But in spite of some of the strange features of the book, Daniel is not a difficult book to understand.----The point of the book is quite obvious.----Sinclair Ferguson puts it well- -The heart of the book-s message is-the good news of the kingdom of God. Nations and empires, thrones and dominions will rise and fall, but the city of God will endure. His kingdom will last forever, and the gates of hell shall not withstand it. The stone cut without hands will break into pieces the idols of man-s creation and ultimately grow into a mountain that will fill the whole earth.... The Christian who sees and believes this will soon learn how to sing the Lord-s song in whatever foreign land He places us in.- -19-

A new MP3 sermon from Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details:

Title: He Came to His Own (Ps. 96)

Subtitle: Psalms

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 12/3/2017

Bible: Psalm 96; John 1:1-13

Length: 39 min.

Overview: -Sung Psalm- 97-----John tells us that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.-----In the beginning, when God created all things - the Word was there. All things were made through him. Yes, the Father is one who created all things - but he created all things through his Word. The eternal Word of God - the second person of the blessed Trinity - is the one by whom and through whom the Father made all things.----Without him was not any thing made that was made.----John is highlighting the same themes as Book 4 of the Psalms- the Creator is our Savior. The one through whom the heavens were made is the one who has now come in our flesh.----And indeed, there is another theme here in John 1 that we see in Psalm 96- -He came to his own -place- but his own -people- did not receive him.- Remember the backdrop of the exile - how Israel had refused to hear the Word. And now Psalm 96 speaks of how the families of the peoples ascribe glory and strength to Yahweh.-----But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.-----The Psalmist clearly sees that the nations - the Gentiles - will worship the LORD in his holy temple- They will turn aside from their vain idols to worship the living and true God-----And that is what we celebrate this Advent-

A new MP3 sermon from Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details:

Title: Our Prayer (Lam. 5)

Subtitle: Lamentations

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 11/26/2017

Bible: Lamentations 5

Length: 46 min.

Overview: In some ways, Lamentations 5 does not fit the rest of the book - and yet, in other ways it fits perfectly-----It is not an acrostic poem. Each of the first four chapters consist of 22 stanzas - each beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And chapter 3 went beyond that - each stanza there contained three verses that all started with the same letter-----So Lamentations does not fit - it is not an acrostic. Yet, there are 22 verses-----Chapters 1, 2, and 4 all begin with the same word - a word often found at the beginning of a lament. And chapter 3 is so obviously a lament that it didn-t need that word-----But chapter 5 is not a lament. Also, there is no third person reference to God here - there is nothing about how he has done all these things to me or us. Chapter 5 is a prayer. It is all in the second person - addressing God directly.----And yet, it is all the same material that we have seen in the first four chapters.----Gone is the first person voice of the poet. -I- have nothing left to say. Lady Zion - dear sweet Jerusalem - is silent here.----Silent - but not absent. She is very present in this poem - in this prayer.----In the book of Judges, the literary structure of the book disintegrates as the people of God disintegrate. Even so, here in Lamentations, the tightly structured poetry dissipates.----The book of Judges had warned the people of God - Do not trust a king from Gibeah. Rather, look for a king from Bethlehem.----But now the king from Bethlehem has failed- What shall become of God-s promises-

A new MP3 sermon from Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details:

Title: Entering God's Rest (Ps. 95)

Subtitle: Psalms

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 11/26/2017

Bible: Psalm 95; Hebrews 3:7-4:16

Length: 47 min.

Overview: -Sung Psalm- 95-----Do you find Psalm 95 a little abrupt- There-s this great call to worship at the beginning, and then all of a sudden it launches into this terrifying warning- If you think about it, that's kind of the way the liturgy is shaped- There-s all this great gospel content - and then, in the sermon, there is often a warning-----And that-s the shape of Psalm 95.-----Indeed, that is also very much the shape of Israel-s history- God created all things - then Adam ignored God-s warning and died. God brought a New Creation as he created Israel to be his people - but Israel ignored God-s warning and died.----So - today, if you hear his voice - do not harden your hearts... like your fathers did-

A new MP3 sermon from Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details:

Title: Grace at the Feast

Speaker: Joel Irvin

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 11/19/2017

Bible: Isaiah 25:1-9; Luke 14:1-24

Length: 44 min.

Overview: Sermon Outline-----Proper Party Posture---- does not seek to exalt itself over others. -Humility---- identifies with the marginalized. -Hospitality---- sees that the days of book-keeping are over. -Hopeful-

A new MP3 sermon from Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details:

Title: Vengeance Is Mine, Says the Lord (Ps. 94)

Subtitle: Psalms

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 11/19/2017

Bible: Psalm 94; Romans 12

Length: 44 min.

Overview: -Sung Psalm- 94-----Do you struggle with a desire for revenge- -----Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.- The one who actually believes this is the only one who can live a life free from vengeance. If you are confident that God will make everything right, then you cn live your life peaceably with everyone -at least as far as it depends on you--.-----Let-s say that there is a powerful man who uses his position and status to murder a helpless orphan and take the orphan-s inheritance for himself. Will God do anything about that-----Yes- God will not let that slide- When those in power use their power to afflict the helpless God will bring justice - he will avenge the weak-----But we need to recognize that Psalm 94 is not just talking about a particular instance of injustice. Psalm 94 is talking about social structures of injustice. Psalm 94 is talking about how rulers have established a political-economic system in which the widow, the sojourner, and the orphan are helpless against those who would mistreat them.-----Notice verse 20 - -those who frame injustice by statute--.----In other words, those who are in control have established unjust structures.----After all, Psalm 94 is situated in Book 4 of the Psalter - in the context of the exile - or shortly thereafter - where there is no Son of David sitting on the throne. Judah lives under Babylonian or Persian rule. But Psalm 94 is not really talking about the distant rulers in Babylon. The problem is right here in our town. The problem is that -Babylon- has come to characterize Jerusalem.----And that-s why the song starts with a complaint to God. This is where we must start-

A new MP3 sermon from Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details:

Title: 'How the Gold Is Grown Dim' - Sodom, Jerusalem, and Us (Lam. 4)

Subtitle: Lamentations

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 11/12/2017

Bible: Lamentations 4

Length: 47 min.

Overview: Lamentations 4 is designed as a lament over the destruction of Jerusalem - but with a zinger at the end- A warning to the nations that your time - your end - is coming-----We live in a day of remarkable contradictions. Never before in human history has a woman been able to stand up against sexual harassment with such confidence that her story will be taken seriously- And that is a good thing------And yet - never before in human history has pornography been so widely available and accepted. And that is a bad thing-----No longer does the modern world care about good and evil - all that matters to our culture is consent.----But to God, there still is such a thing as iniquity and sin. And that is what brings judgment upon a people - upon a nation-

A new MP3 sermon from Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details:

Title: The LORD Reigns (Ps. 93)

Subtitle: Psalms

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 11/12/2017

Bible: Psalm 93; John 18:28-19:16

Length: 36 min.

Overview: -Sung Psalm- 93-----Zechariah 14-16 says that after the restoration of Jerusalem - after the restoration of the Davidic king - -Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.------Zechariah says that Tabernacles will be the major feast after the coming of the Lord. Not Passover -the feast of the Exodus-, nor Pentecost -the feast of the Conquest-, but Tabernacles - the feast that celebrated how the LORD dwelt with them in the wilderness.-----And Zechariah tells us that the centerpiece of the celebration of the Feast of Booths, is to worship the King, the LORD of hosts.----The fact that Psalms 93-100 all focus on this theme of the Lord as King has led some to suspect that they were written for the Feast of Booths. But whether they were written for that purpose or not, they fit very well here in Book IV - at a time when Israel has no king. The Son of David was exiled by the Babylonians. Now, after the exile, we are back in the land, but we have no king...----at least, no earthly king.----Nonetheless, in spite of the fact that there is no king on the throne in Jerusalem, there is a king who sits on his heavenly throne-----We certainly experience the tension that Psalm 93 is wrestling with. Yes, Jesus is King. We have a son of David who rules from his Father-s throne-----But we do not yet see everything under his feet. This is the point that Hebrews 2 makes so beautifully. Jesus is King - but his kingdom is still in process.