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

Title: Elders and Judges (Ex. 18)

Subtitle: Exodus

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 4/23/2017

Bible: Exodus 18; 1 Timothy 5

Length: 42 min.

Overview: -Sung Psalm- 72-----We often speak of Exodus 18 as the place where elders were first appointed. But of course, we have seen elders all through the first part of Exodus. Moses and Aaron went to the elders at the end of chapter 4, when they first told Israel of the coming salvation. Likewise, we see the elders of Israel here in chapter 18 before the appointment of chiefs and judges.----This is because the term -elder- can be used in two different ways. In Exodus 4 and 18, -elder- is used to speak of the -older men of the community.- Perhaps it would be best to call them -tribal elders.-----Here in Exodus 18, the tribal elders do not have a role in deciding cases. And when you listen to Jethro's advice, Jethro does not tell Moses simply to give the tribal elders more authority. Certainly I would imagine that many of the tribal elders would have been selected as chiefs and heads in Exodus 18 - but the criteria that Jethro uses focuses more on character.

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

Title: You Shall Not Kill (WSC 67-69)

Subtitle: Shorter Catechism 2nd

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 4/23/2017

Bible: Genesis 4, Luke 11:29-54

Length: 40 min.

Overview: Q. 67. Which is the sixth commandment-----A. The sixth commandment is, You shall not kill.--------Q. 68. What is required in the sixth commandment-----A. The sixth commandment requires all lawful endeavors to preserve our own life, and the life of others.-------Q. 69. What is forbidden in the sixth commandment-----A. The sixth commandment forbids the taking away of our own life, or the life of our neighbor unjustly, or whatsoever tends thereunto.

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

Title: The Holy Mountain (Ex. 19)

Subtitle: Exodus

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 4/30/2017

Bible: Exodus 19; Hebrews 12

Length: 48 min.

Overview: -Sung Psalm- 81-----Israel is preparing to do what God had called them to do- worship God at his holy mountain.----They had left Egypt to offer sacrifices to the LORD in the wilderness.----Now it is time.----So the first thing that they must do is consecrate themselves - prepare themselves - to come into the presence of God himself.----In the days of Moses, they really didn-t have much of a tradition of doing this. After all, this is the first time that Israel has ever worshiped God together. -At least, this is the first time that scripture records such a worship service-.----But over time, Israel develops patterns and traditions of how to prepare for worship. One of those traditions is the way in which the Psalms would train Israel how to prepare for worship...

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

Title: You Shall Not Commit Adultery (WSC 70-72)

Subtitle: Shorter Catechism 2nd

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 4/30/2017

Bible: Proverbs 6-7; Matthew 5

Length: 42 min.

Overview: We live in a culture that does not prize -sexual discipline.- Our culture encourages -free expression- of sexuality.----We sometimes forget that our culture is not especially different from other cultures. The reason why we have Proverbs 5 is because ancient Israel was so much like us-----God-s commands are not burdensome. Jesus calls us to take his yoke upon us - for his yoke is easy and his burden is light. When we walk willingly in God-s ways, then we find out how easy it is- But when we grumble and rebel - then we find out how heavy and burdensome disobedience can be-----God-s law is not a straitjacket to bind you, but the path of true freedom and contentment.----The seventh commandment is an excellent example of this.----The sexual revolution promised freedom and happiness to all. All manner of sexual sins-from adultery to homosexuality to fornication - have been encouraged and rewarded. But what has it produced- Has it produced joy and peace- Far from it. It has reaped the harvest that it sowed.----The self-indulgent quest for pleasure invariably reaps a harvest of pain and anguish. Divorce rates have skyrocketed -and while sometimes divorce is necessary, no divorce is ever pleasurable--, and sexually transmitted diseases have brought both fear and death. Unwanted pregnancies have resulted in a meteoric rise in the abortion rate as well. In order to hide from the consequences of breaking the seventh commandment, people are frequently breaking the sixth commandment as well, murdering the unborn, hoping to escape from the consequences of their sins. Sin produces fear, misery, and death.

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

Title: Bread from Heaven (Ex. 16)

Subtitle: Exodus

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 4/9/2017

Bible: Exodus 16; John 6

Length: 44 min.

Overview: -Psalm 23-----God doesn-t explain everything in advance.----When Israel left Egypt, I suspect that at least some of the people asked Moses, -What are we going to eat- Where are we going to find water-- The wilderness is a big, empty place.----In other words, God does with Israel what he did to their father, Abraham. Go to the land that I will show you.-----Just do it. No, I-m not going to tell you where - or when. Just go. Trust me.----Seriously- Who among you would have left Egypt to follow a God like that-----Let-s go march out into a dry, parched wilderness - in April - as summer is beginning, -and let-s take our wives, our children, our flocks.----All of you would be asking- -What are we going to eat- Where are we going to find water------ You don-t need to know.-- You need to trust me.----What is God doing here- God is teaching his people. He is teaching you to learn how to listen to his voice - to trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Because if you rely on yourself and your own understanding, you will not follow that lunatic, Moses, out into the desert-

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

Title: Finding Rest (WSC 60-62)

Subtitle: Shorter Catechism 2nd

Speaker: Joel Irvin

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 4/9/2017

Bible: Deuteronomy 5:1-21; Matthew 11:25-12:14

Length: 43 min.

Overview: Q. 60. How is the sabbath to be sanctified-----A. The sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days- and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God's worship, except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy.----Q. 61. What is forbidden in the fourth commandment-----A. The fourth commandment forbids the omission or careless performance of the duties required, and the profaning the day by idleness, or doing that which is in itself sinful, or by unnecessary thoughts, words or works, about our worldly employments or recreations.----Q. 62. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment-----A. The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment are, God's allowing us six days of the week for our own employments, his challenging a special propriety in -claiming a special ownership of- the seventh, his own example, and his blessing the sabbath day.

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

Title: That Rock Was Christ (Ex. 17)

Subtitle: Exodus

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 4/16/2017

Bible: Exodus 17; 1 Corinthians 10

Length: 38 min.

Overview: -Sung Psalm- 95-----The Amalekites have the dubious distinction to be the first people who attacked the nation of Israel.----The Amalekites are descended from a grandson of Esau - Jacob-s brother. Esau had recognized that Jacob had a rightful inheritance in the Land. But his descendants repudiate their father and now seek to kill Jacob-s heirs.----Here in Exodus 17, God says that -The LORD will have war with Amalek for generation to generation.-----The LORD will tell Israel when they come into the land, that they are to blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.-----So, when Saul becomes king, the LORD calls Saul to destroy the Amalekites. But Saul failed. He took the King of the Amalekites, Agag, captive - and took lots of plunder -claiming that it was for sacrifice to the LORD-. Because Saul refused to obey the voice of the LORD, the LORD removed him from being king.----It is important to see that David does what Saul failed to do. David is the one who blots out the Amalekites.----Indeed, after the time of David, the Amalekites drop out of the biblical narrative. Only one Amalekite is named later in biblical history.-----Remember how Saul failed to kill Agag, the king of the Amalekites- In the book of Esther, many centuries later, Saul-s kinsman, Mordecai, will encounter the last of the Amalekites- Haman, the Agagite -Agagite means -of the family of Agag--. Mordecai will finish what his ancestor failed to do.----Truly, -The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.-----It-s worth remembering that the LORD does not come begging people to repent. He commands all people everywhere to repent.

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

Title: The LORD Goes Before You (Ex. 13:17-14:31)

Subtitle: Exodus

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 3/26/2017

Bible: Exodus 13:17-14:31; 1 Corinthians 10

Length: 46 min.

Overview: -Sung Psalm- 18-----The story of the Exodus is the foundational story of the Old Testament. It is as central to the OT as the cross of Christ is to the NT.----You cannot read very far in the OT without finding references and allusions to the Exodus. Many of the Psalms retell the story of the Exodus - or the Triumph of the LORD at the Red Sea.----But many others use the imagery of the Exodus to speak of other events. For instance, Psalm 18 is a Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.- Plainly Psalm 18 is not a song about the Exodus. It is a song about how God rescued David.----But listen to how David describes this rescue- --The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. And he sent out his arrows and scattered them- he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. -Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of your nostrils. He sent from on high, he took me- he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.-----This language is drawn in part from the song of the Sea - the Song of Moses in Exodus 15.-----When David wants to talk about what salvation means, he naturally thinks about God-s great victory at the Red Sea. And so he tells his own story in language that echoes the story of the Exodus.

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

Title: God's Holy Name (WSC 53-56)

Subtitle: Shorter Catechism 2nd

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 3/26/2017

Bible: Deuteronomy 14; 2 Corinthians 5:16-7:1

Length: 37 min.

Overview: -You shall not boil a young goat in its mother-s milk.-----Haven-t you always wanted to hear a sermon on that-----Deuteronomy 14 includes at least 20 commands. But none of them apply directly to the Christian. Jesus explicitly repeals the food laws in Acts 10, and the laws about tithing all presuppose a central sanctuary - the tabernacle - and later, the temple in Jerusalem.----So why do we still have Deuteronomy in the Bible- What does it mean to have large sections of Holy Scripture that are not supposed to be taken literally------I think that we often just ignore most of the Old Testament. -That was for Israel way back then.- We don-t know how to connect it to our lives today, so we just ignore it.----What we do with this-----It-s important to remember that this is God-s revelation to his people. And God-s revelation always comes in history. In Jesus, God came in the flesh as a first-century Jew. God-s revelation comes to particular people at particular times. Paul-s letters were written to particular churches facing particular problems.------Deuteronomy 14 was dealing with an ancient Israelite context. The particular details may not be directly applicable to us, but the principles are.

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

Title: The Song of the Sea (Ex. 15)

Subtitle: Exodus

Speaker: Peter J. Wallace

Broadcaster: Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Event: Sunday Service

Date: 4/2/2017

Bible: Exodus 15; Revelation 15

Length: 38 min.

Overview: -Sung Psalm- 66-----Some people have doubted the authenticity of the Song of the Sea on the basis that no one could spontaneously produce a poem like this.----Are you familiar with freestyle rap battles- You know - rap music - that fast-talking rhythmic style with complex rhyme schemes. You get two rappers improvising together - back and forth -usually insulting each other-.----Think of the Song of the Sea as Moses- freestyle rap in response to Pharaoh. As we saw last time, it is likely that Moses knew about the Battle of Kadesh - and the poem that celebrated Ramesses great victory. The Song of the Sea has a handful of verbal parallels with Ramesses- song - and that-s the way a rap battle works. You take a few of your opponent-s lyrics and throw them back in his face- - weaving them into a very different story that up-ends the narrative of your foe.----Now, I don-t doubt that the song was edited when it got written down. The point is not that this is a verbatim transcript of the exact words Moses sang. Rather, this is the song that Moses and the people of Israel sang. When it got written down and placed in the book of Exodus it was written in a form that Israel could continue to sing for centuries.----Think of it this way- the annual Passover celebration was not intended as a historical reproduction of the first Passover- in the same way, the Song of the Sea was not intended as a verbatim transcript of the Song that Moses sang - but a version for Israel to sing and remember for all history.