Northpointe PCA Sermons

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Northpointe PCA Sermons episodes

May 26, 2024The Emotional Life of Our Lord
Scripture: John 11:28-38
Order of Service
Call to Worship — Psalm 134
Hymn — O Bless Our God with One Accord
Prayer of Invocation
Confession of Sin
Assurance of Pardon — Romans 10:9-10
Scripture Reading — Psalm 8
Hymn — Give to Our God Immortal Praise
Pastoral Prayer
Offering
Hymn — O Sacred Head Now Wounded
Sermon
Hymn — For All the Saints
Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14
Sermon Title: The Emotional Life of Our Lord
Scripture: John 11:28-38
I. The Internal Emotions of Our Lord
A. Martha summons Mary privately, telling her the Teacher is calling for her
Jesus's willingness to instruct women was counter-cultural; Mary had already sat at his feet as a disciple (Luke 10)
Mary echoes Martha's words: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died"
B. Jesus is met by Mary and a company of mourning Jews — likely professional mourners, consistent with wealthy Jewish funeral custom
C. Jesus is "deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled" (John 11:33)
The Greek word translated "deeply moved" is extremely strong — most commonly used of a snorting horse; when applied to persons it conveys indignation, outrage, and anger
His question "Where have you laid him?" reveals what provokes this outrage: the horrific reality of the Fall and the devastation death leaves behind
This is not outward ritual mourning but a disturbance of his innermost being — righteous indignation against death and the sorrow it brings
As the agent of creation (John 1:3), Jesus sees his crown of creation weeping over death and declares inwardly: this is not what man was made for (cf. Psalm 8)
II. The External Emotions of Our Lord
A. "Jesus wept" — the shortest verse in Scripture, yet enormously significant (John 11:35)
The Greek word for Jesus's weeping differs from that used for Mary and the Jews; theirs denotes loud, ritual wailing; his denotes a sudden, uncontrollable burst of tears — better translated "Jesus burst into tears"
Psalm 56:8 — David cries out that God keeps his tears in a bottle; here God in the flesh pours out those very tears through physical eyes
The shortest verse in the Bible is the guarantee that God sees your tears and weeps them with you and for you
B. Jesus weeps more deeply than those around him
A man born into poverty is accustomed to his condition; a rich man who loses everything feels the sting of poverty far more acutely
Christ has come down from the riches of glory and eternal life; the contrast between that glory and the tomb before him horrifies him more than those who have grown up in death's shadow
Christ weeps with you, weeps for you, and weeps more than you
III. The Saving Emotions of Our Lord
A. The onlookers rightly perceive Christ's love: "See how he loved him" (John 11:36)
B. Others question his power: "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" (John 11:37)
This refers back to the healing of the man born blind in John 9
Their doubt may add an element of outrage over unbelief to his indignation in verse 38
C. Jesus is "deeply moved again" as he approaches the tomb (John 11:38) — the same word of outrage and indignation
This time the inner turmoil does not produce tears but action — he advances to raise Lazarus
B.B. Warfield (The Emotional Life of Our Lord): "It is death that is the object of his wrath, and behind death him who has the power of death... his soul is held by rage and he advances to the tomb, in Calvin's words, as a champion who prepares for conflict"
The raising of Lazarus is not an isolated marvel but an open symbol of Christ's conquest of death and hell
D. The same zeal that drove Jesus to cleanse the temple (John 2; cf. Isaiah 9:7) drives him now toward the cross
God in his anger saves you — his righteous hatred of sin and death is the very motive of the atonement
1 John 4:10 — God sends his Son as a propitiation; his love and his wrath against sin are not opposites but united
Isaiah 53:10 — it was the will of the Lord to crush the sin-bearer out of fury over sin
As John Owen expressed it, Christ advances to the cross to put death to death out of zeal for our life
31 min
May 26, 2024May 26, 2024; Sunday Evening Worship
Scripture: 1 John 5:1
Order of Service
Call to Worship — Psalm 145:10-13, 21
Hymn — O Worship the King (#219)
Prayer of Invocation
Confession of Faith — Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 10, Section 1
Hymn — The Apostles' Creed (#560)
Pastoral Prayer
Scripture Reading — 1 John 5:1-5
Sermon
Hymn — Not What My Hands Have Done (#435)
Benediction
Sermon Title: The Fruit of Regeneration
Scripture: 1 John 5:1-5
I. The Fruit of Faith
A. The Greek construction of verse 1 is key: "believes" (present tense) flows from "has been born of God" (perfect tense — a past definitive act with ongoing effect)
Regeneration precedes faith — the new birth enables belief, not the reverse
Cf. John 3:3 — unless one is born again, he cannot even see the kingdom of God
B. The Westminster Confession affirms both realities: God enlightens the mind and renews the will, so that the elect come "most freely, being made willing by his grace"
Calvinism does not deny free will — it affirms that regeneration restores proper affections so that the believer runs freely to Christ
The gospel is the means by which the Spirit regenerates; it must be freely proclaimed to all
C. The passage is bookended by faith with objective content (1 John 5:1 and 1 John 5:5): faith that Jesus is the Christ / the Son of God
The church's victory is not philanthropy or good works, but the good confession: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"
Commentator Alfred Plummer: John emphasizes not the victorious person but the victorious power — it is the new birth from God that conquers
William Tyndale: upon the rock of this faith, no sin, hell, devil, or lie can prevail
II. The Fruit of Love
A. 1 John 5:1b — "everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him": regeneration brings adoption into God's household
Adoption, like justification, is a legal declaration — union with Christ means entering the family of the Son
Love for the brethren flows organically from adoption
B. The defining model of this love is 1 John 4:10 — propitiation: the Father pours out wrath on the Son for us
This is cross-shaped, vulnerable, costly love — not comfortable or philanthropic
C.S. Lewis: to love is to be vulnerable; a heart locked away becomes unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable
C. Cultural "love" is rest-stop philanthropy — praised, painless, and moveable; it carries no vulnerability and no cost
The declining marriage rate and birth rate reflect a culture avoiding the cost of committed love
Christ at Gethsemane is the model: "not my will, but yours" — vulnerability placed into the Father's hands for the sake of his people
The Lumineers: "It's better to feel pain than nothing at all — the opposite of love is indifference"
D. Cross-shaped love on earth anticipates painless, glorified love in heaven — suffering gives way to glory
III. The Fruit of Obedience
A. 1 John 5:2-3 — love for the children of God is demonstrated by loving God and keeping his commandments
Biblical love is not primarily emotional but moral — love and commandment-keeping belong together
The organic trickle-down effect: regeneration → faith in Christ → love for God and his law → love for the brethren
B. The tenth commandment (Romans 7) exposes the need for a heart change — covetousness reveals that commandment-keeping requires the new birth
Obedience to the full law (love of God in the first commands; love of neighbor in the last) requires regeneration
C. His commandments are "not burdensome" — a closed canon of Scripture provides clarity, stability, and direction for love
Open-canon, culture-driven love is ever-changing and extraordinarily burdensome
The closed canon is the instruction manual — ignoring it produces confusion and self-inflicted burden
The commandments of God, received through Christ by the Spirit, are an easy yoke and a light burden (Matthew 11:30)
D. Closing paradox: the cross — the cruelest instrument of death — is not a burden, because behind it is the power of God written on the heart by the Spirit
Cross-shaped, closed-canon, obedient love overcomes the burdensome world
Paul's example: the love of God in Christ made even death no burden — "I have Christ"
32 min
May 19, 2024Resurrection and Life
Scripture: John 11:1-27
Order of Service
Announcements
Opening Hymn — Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Call to Worship — Isaiah 9:2-7
Hymn — Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Prayer of Invocation
Confession of Sin
Assurance of Pardon
Baptism of Macy All
Prayer
Hymn of Response — Marvelous Grace of Our Loving Lord
Pastoral Prayer
Offering
Hymn of Preparation — O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
Sermon
Closing Hymn — Just As I Am
Benediction
Gloria Patri
Sermon Title: Resurrection and Life
Scripture: John 11:1-27
I. The Purpose of the Resurrection and the Life
A. Lazarus's illness is explicitly said to be "for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (John 11:4), paralleling the healing of the man born blind in John 9
B. Jesus deliberately waits two days before going to Bethany, arriving when Lazarus has been dead four days
First-century Jewish belief held that the soul lingered near the grave for three days; by the fourth day all hope of natural restoration was considered lost
Jesus deliberately acts at the point of greatest hopelessness to maximize the display of God's glory — as with Gideon's 300 (Judges 7), God is seen to get the glory precisely when human resources are exhausted
C. Jesus describes Lazarus as merely "asleep" (John 11:11), using the word from which the English "cemetery" (a Christian's place of sleep) is derived
This points forward to Christ's own resurrection — and to ours: those who die in the Lord are simply sleeping, awaiting the day of bodily resurrection
The raising of Lazarus is the seventh and final miraculous sign in John 1–11, strategically placed as Jesus turns toward Jerusalem and the cross, signposting that Good Friday will give way to Resurrection Sunday
II. The Person Who Is the Resurrection and the Life
A. Two predominant views of resurrection existed within first-century Judaism
The Sadducees denied any resurrection
The Pharisees affirmed a future bodily resurrection at the end of the age — an eschatological Last Day event; this is the view Martha holds in John 11:24
B. Jesus does not deny the future resurrection but goes radically further: "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25) — present tense
He is not merely the agent who brings resurrection; he is resurrection and life in his own person
The raising of Lazarus is a sign pointing beyond itself — Lazarus will die again; Jesus rises never to taste death again
C. Jesus is the eschatological Last Day reality breaking into the present
Richard Gaffin (Westminster Theological Seminary), commenting on 1 Corinthians 15: "In his resurrection, the resurrection harvest that belongs to the end of history is already visible. His resurrection is the guarantee of the future bodily resurrection of believers — not simply as a bare sign but as the actual beginning of the general, epochal event."
To be united to Christ by faith means that though you die, yet shall you live — Christ tasted the full curse of sin at Calvary and rose victorious, so that believers will never experience death as the manifestation of God's curse
The challenge of John 11:25-26: "Do you believe this?" — not merely a future hope but a present reality for those united to the risen Christ
III. The Partakers of the Resurrection and the Life
A. Thomas, often remembered only as "doubting Thomas," here exemplifies cross-bearing faith
Not fully understanding what Jesus is doing, he nevertheless says "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16) — the response of a disciple called to take up the cross and follow Christ
B. Martha, often remembered negatively from Luke 10:38-42, here runs to meet Jesus and makes the great confession
"Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world" (John 11:27) — echoing Peter's confession, the rock on which Christ builds his church
It is Martha, not Mary, who stands firmly on the good confession here
C. The faith being deepened here is not conversion faith (as with the man born blind in John 9:35) but the ongoing, deepening faith of those already in Christ
Leon Morris: "There are new depths of faith to be plumbed, new heights of faith to be scaled. The raising of Lazarus would provide their faith a content that it did not have before."
Believers live on this side of the cross and the empty tomb — a privilege the Old Testament saints longed for but did not receive (Matthew 13:17; Hebrews 11:39-40)
We are to live as raised-up men and women in Christ, running the race in the light of resurrection life and not wasting the privilege of living after the first fruits of the resurrection harvest have been raised
31 min
May 12, 2024A Spiritual Test
Scripture: 1 John 4:1-6
Order of Service
Call to Worship — Psalm 93
Hymn — The Lord Reigns Over All (#93)
Prayer of Invocation
Confession of Sin — Psalm 51
Assurance of Pardon — Romans 8:1
Hymn — Praise Jehovah, O My Soul (#560)
Pastoral Prayer
Scripture Reading — 1 John 4:1-6
Sermon
Hymn — In Christ Alone (#265)
Benediction
Sermon Title: A Spiritual Test
Scripture: 1 John 4:1-6
I. The Test of the Confession (1 John 4:1-3)
A. Believers are commanded to test the spirits — not every spirit is from God, and many false prophets have gone out into the world
B. The true confession: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God
The confession is a bold, public profession of faith in the person of Jesus Christ
The Greek construction should be read: Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh — not a mere man upon whom Christ descended and then departed
C. The heresy of Docetism arose early in the church
From the Greek dokeō ("to seem") — Jesus only seemed to have a physical body, due to Greek dualism (material = evil; immaterial = good)
Cerinthus taught that Jesus was born of Joseph, that Christ descended at his baptism, but departed before the crucifixion
Irenaeus (disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John) directly combated Cerinthus and wrote that John composed his Gospel to refute this error
The Apostles' Creed counters this heresy by publicly confessing the full incarnation, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ the God-man
D. Any teaching that denies the God-man Jesus Christ is the spirit of Antichrist
The Antichrist has a future, consummated fulfillment — but the spirit of Antichrist is already in the world
The "already / not yet" reality applies to both the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness
The Holy Spirit is the link and guarantee between the kingdom now and the kingdom not yet (see 1 Corinthians 1 — the Spirit as the down payment of our inheritance)
In Matthew 12, Jesus says his works by the Spirit of God demonstrate that the kingdom has come upon his hearers
II. The Test of Character (1 John 4:4-5)
A. John states an indicative: the recipients of this letter are from God and have overcome the false teachers
He who is in you (the Holy Spirit) is greater than he who is in the world
1 John 2:18-19 — the antichrists went out from the church, proving they were never truly of it; the true believers remained
B. Holding the good confession and remaining in the church produces godly character; abandoning it corrupts character
Those who let their ears be tickled by popular philosophies often see both their confession and their character change
Doctrine always begets lifestyle — what we believe shapes who we become
C. Biblical examples of doctrinal departure leading to moral ruin
Saul — began well, then abandoned obedience, and became capable of slaughtering the priests at Nob
Judas — John 12:6 reveals he was a thief throughout Jesus' ministry; final apostasy led to suicide
Apostasy is destructive to body and soul
D. Pastoral application: the question is not primarily whether you have failed, but whether you are genuinely making the good confession and your life's trajectory is oriented toward it
III. The Test of the Commanders (1 John 4:6)
A. John's use of "us" refers to the apostles; whoever listens to the apostles is from God; whoever does not is not from God
B. Listening to the apostles means receiving their word as the fully inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God — all of it, not selectively
Like a child truly listening to a parent: doing everything the parent has commanded, not only what seems logical or agreeable
Irenaeus: "We have known the method of our salvation by no other means than those by whom the gospel came to us… which gospel they delivered to us in the scriptures to be the foundation and pillar of our faith"
Athanasius, after listing the New Testament canon: "In these alone is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness. Let no man add to these, neither let him take any away"
C. Sola Scriptura was not invented at the Reformation; the Reformers were recovering what the earliest church fathers had always affirmed
D. The greatest threat today is not outright rejection of Christ, but the selective embrace of apostolic teaching — accepting what fits cultural taste and discarding what does not
This is the spirit of error, not the spirit of truth
The unbroken line of faithful witnesses — John, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Ignatius, Athanasius, Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Owen — all held to Scripture alone as the rule of faith
E. Hold fast to the good confession, to the full apostolic teaching, and to the Spirit of Christ rather than the spirit of Antichrist
26 min
May 12, 2024The Oneness of Father and Son
Scripture: John 10:22-42
Order of Service
Hymn — Hallelujah, Thine the Glory
Call to Worship — Psalm 47
Hymn — Hallelujah, Thine the Glory
Prayer of Invocation
Apostles' Creed
Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 34:11–24
Hymn — He Leadeth Me
Pastoral Prayer
Offering
Prayer of Dedication
Hymn — Children of the Heavenly Father
Sermon
Hymn — How Deep the Father's Love for Us
Benediction
Sermon Title: The Oneness of Father and Son
Scripture: John 10:22–42
I. The Son's Works Are the Father's Works
A. Jesus appeals to his works as testimony from the Father about who he is (John 10:37–38)
B. The healed blind man of John 9 illustrates the proper reception of Jesus's miraculous works
Before saving faith, he correctly assessed Jesus's works as a demonstration of divine power (John 9:32)
This proper assessment prepared him to believe when Christ came to him
C. The words and works of Christ are a package deal — there is no "half-Christ" option
Beginning in the 19th century, many Mainline churches accepted Christ's teaching while rejecting his miracles
J. Gresham Machen in Christianity and Liberalism: "Without the miracles we should have a teacher; with the miracles we have a Savior"
The miracles are the Father Yahweh visiting his Sheepfold with the power necessary to save dead souls from sin (Matthew 1:21)
II. The Son's People Are the Father's People
A. The sheep belong equally to the Son and to the Father (John 10:26–30)
The sheep hear the Son's voice because the Father gave them to the Son
No one can snatch them from the Son's hand; no one can snatch them from the Father's hand
B. Salvation is monergistic — God the Father goes all the way through the Son to his sheep
The sheep persevere because both Father and Son by their power will not allow the evil one to snatch them
Eternal life is a grace-gift decreed by the Father and given through the Son
C. The intercession of Christ guarantees the security of the sheep even in failure
Luke 22:31–32: Jesus prays for Peter before Peter's threefold denial, showing Christ intercedes for tomorrow's failures today
Philip Melanchthon's experience: "Old Adam is too strong for young Philip" — the believer's security rests not in personal strength but in the strong Shepherd
III. The Son Is God as the Father Is God
A. Jesus's declaration "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30) echoes the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4, causing the Jews to take up stones for blasphemy
B. Jesus responds by arguing from the lesser to the greater, quoting Psalm 82:6
Three interpretations of "you are gods" in Psalm 82: corrupt judges, angelic powers, or Israel at Sinai receiving the law
Most likely interpretation (favored by the rabbis): Israel as God's corporate son (Exodus 4), who received the law and failed to uphold it
Argument: if Israel can be called God's son, how much more is the one consecrated and sent by the Father the Son of God
C. The word consecrated (Greek: the same root as "dedication") links Jesus's claim directly to the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah)
Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the temple in 167 BC; the Maccabean Revolt led to its rededication
Jesus is the true and greater Temple — the place where Yahweh now dwells (Colossians 1:19; John 10:38)
The blasphemer is not Jesus but those who reject the consecrated Son who tabernacles among us
D. Application: To misuse the name of Jesus Christ is to blaspheme Yahweh, the Covenant God of Israel — honor the name of Christ in word and conduct
30 min
May 05, 2024May 5, 2024; Sunday Evening Worship
Scripture: 1 John 3:11
Order of Service
Call to Worship — Psalm 100
Hymn — All People That on Earth Do Dwell (#100b)
Prayer of Invocation
Confession of Faith — Westminster Shorter Catechism Q. 42
Hymn of the Month — The Apostles' Creed (#560)
Pastoral Prayer
Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:11–24
Sermon
Hymn — O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (#463)
Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14
Sermon Title: Love Is All You Need
Scripture: 1 John 3:11–24
I. Love One Another Knowing the Distinction Founded by Love
(verses 11–18)
A. The passage is framed by the command "love one another" — stated in 1 John 3:11 and 1 John 3:23, and echoed as an imperative in 1 John 3:18
B. The hating way of Cain — 1 John 3:12; Genesis 4
Cain and Abel each brought offerings; God regarded Abel's but not Cain's
Hebrews 11 explains Abel's offering as offered in faith; no faith of Cain is mentioned
John identifies the root cause: Cain "was of the evil one" — his deeds were evil while Abel's were righteous
Cain's hatred, nursed and allowed to fester, resulted in murder
Cain serves as a pattern for the unbelieving world — those who go on hating their brother abide in death (1 John 3:14–15)
Jesus teaches that murder begins in the heart; ongoing hatred makes one a murderer in his heart
C. Application from the way of Cain: do not be surprised when the world hates you (1 John 3:13)
Death hates life; the way of Cain and the way of Christ are of completely distinct stuff
The world's hatred of believers follows the same pattern as Cain's hatred of righteous Abel
Jesus himself said they will hate you because they hated him first
D. The loving way of Christ — 1 John 3:16
Seven words define love: "He laid down his life for us"
Whereas Cain rose up to murder his brother, Christ laid down his life for another
Christ's love is not merely a model to imitate — it is first a means, the instrument that energizes loving activity in his people
We can love because God loved us first; his love gives life and produces love in return
E. Application from the way of Christ: love others like him (1 John 3:17–18)
Love begins with seeing — attentiveness to the pressing physical and spiritual needs of brothers and sisters
Having seen, Christlike love acts; it does not close the heart against a brother in need
Love is expressed not only materially but in encouraging words and any act that eases another's suffering
John Stott: love seeks the other person's good even to the point of self-sacrifice
Calvin: willingness in small acts of love prepares us for greater acts; the one who will not meet basic needs is unprepared for heroic sacrifice
Small acts of love are like drill weekends — keeping us sharp, fit, and ready
II. Love One Another Knowing the Destination Fortified by Love
(verses 19–24)
A. Loving in truth connects the believer to the truth of God and brings reassurance of heart (1 John 3:19)
The fruit is evidence of the vine on which it grows — one who keeps God's commandments (love of God and neighbor) shows that he abides in God
John calls us to inward self-examination: examine the heart to see the evidence of love growing there
B. The goal is confidence before God — but confidence is not built on the quality or quantity of our love (1 John 3:20–21)
When the heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows everything
Knowing the depths of our sin and our failure to love, God still sent his Son as the propitiation for our sins
The Spirit drives us again and again back to Christ and to his love: "He laid down his life for us"
Final assurance rests on Christ's merits alone applied to our account — his love bears all the weight of salvation; our love bears none of it
Stott: our love is an accessory — a prop or inferior aid to faith, not a foundation on which it rests
Small evidences of love's growth give us some degree of certainty that we have passed out of death into life (1 John 3:14)
C. Confidence before God overflows into confident prayer (1 John 3:22)
As the Spirit works a new will in us — willing after the will of God — we ask according to his will and receive
The destination is assurance from God, fortified by the imperfect love growing upon the vine of Christ's perfect love
D. The command and its assurance summarized (1 John 3:23–24)
His commandment: believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another
The one who keeps his commandments abides in God and God in him
We know he abides in us by the Spirit whom he has given us
35 min
May 05, 2024The Good Shepherd
Scripture: John 10:1-21
Order of Service
Hymn — To God Be the Glory
Call to Worship — Romans 11:33-36
Hymn — To God Be the Glory
Prayer of Invocation
Confession of Sin
Assurance of Pardon — Ephesians 1:7
Scripture Reading — Isaiah 52:13–53:12
Pastoral Prayer
Offering
Hymn — The Lord's My Shepherd
Sermon
Lord's Supper
Words of Institution — 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Hymn — Fairest Lord Jesus (verses 1–2)
Prayer of Consecration
Distribution of Bread
Distribution of Cup
Hymn — Fairest Lord Jesus (verses 3–4)
Benediction — 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
Doxology
Sermon Title: The Good Shepherd
Scripture: John 10:1-21
I. The Distinguishing Marks of the Good Shepherd's Enemies
A. The Pharisees as the thieves, robbers, and false shepherds
Set in context of John 9: after healing the man born blind, the Pharisees excommunicate him rather than rejoice
They are thieves who steal souls by burdening people with the law while turning eyes away from Christ, the only door to heaven
Calvin: "Christ is the end of the law and the gospel… he is the mark which all heretics aim and direct their arrows"
B. The hired hand as a false shepherd
The hired hand flees when danger arises, leaving the flock to wolves (John 10:12-13)
False shepherds serve only while comfortable; the true Shepherd serves unto death
Application extended to under-shepherds (ministers and elders) and all disciples: the call of Christ is not a job but a vocation unto death
Illustration: Calvin's reluctant calling to Geneva under the rebuke of William Farel — he served despite fear, calling it "a cross on which I would perish a thousand times every day"
II. The Distinguishing Marks of the Good Shepherd's Sheep
A. Two sheepfolds: Israel and the Gentiles
John 10:1-6: within Israel, the true sheep are those who hear the shepherd's voice and follow him
John 10:16: "other sheep not of this fold" — the Gentiles, brought into one flock under one Shepherd
1 Corinthians 1:23-24: Christ crucified is a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to the called — both Jews and Gentiles — he is the power and wisdom of God
Within both groups there is a cacophony of false voices, but a remnant has ears to hear the one true Shepherd
B. The sheep are those whose souls long for what only Christ can give
Zwingli's 67 Theses, thesis 15: "Our salvation lies in faith… all truth is clear in Christ"
Augustine: Plato and Cicero offer wise and beautiful sayings, but none of them say "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" — only Christ speaks peace to the soul
John 10:9: "I am the door… he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture"
Leon Morris: "go in and go out" simply indicates free and secure movement — a life of freedom, not merely a conversion
Luther: "A Christian is perfectly free, Lord of all, subject to none; a Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all"
Psalm 119:45: "I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts" — Christ liberates us into obedience
III. The Distinguishing Marks of the Good Shepherd's Service
A. The intimacy of the Son's knowledge of the Father is the source of the sheep's redemption
John 10:14-15: "I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep"
The eternal love between Father and Son is made incarnate and displayed most fully at Golgotha
The atonement is not cosmic child abuse: John 10:17-18 — "I lay down my life of my own accord… this charge I have received from my Father"
B. The Covenant of Redemption (pactum salutis)
The Father gives the Son all the sheep he is to purchase with his blood
The Son agrees to lay down his life for them
The Spirit agrees to call, draw, and work faith, union, and communion in the sheep
All three persons act not under compulsion but out of the sheer love of the Triune God
C. The cross is the fullest display of the character of God
The Lord's Supper is an Agape Feast — a love feast — where we feast on the Triune love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
The early church rightly called the Supper a love feast: in the bread and cup we encounter the heartbeat of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit for his sheep
29 min
April 28, 2024I Was Blind But Now I See
Scripture: John 9
Order of Service
Hymn — Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates
Call to Worship — Psalm 24
Prayer of Invocation
Confession of Faith — Westminster Shorter Catechism
Scripture Reading — Malachi 4
Hymn — Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty
Pastoral Prayer
Offering
Prayer of Dedication
Hymn — Amazing Grace
Sermon
Prayer
Hymn — Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26
Doxology
Sermon Title: I Was Blind But Now I See
Scripture: John 9
I. The Light of the World That Opens the Eyes of the Body
A. The blind man's condition — born blind, relegated to begging, with little support from parents or neighbors
B. Jesus heals the man by making mud with saliva, anointing his eyes, and sending him to wash in the Pool of Siloam (John 9:6-7)
C. Jesus's method of healing is not uniform throughout the Gospels
In Mark 8 he spits on a blind man's eyes
In Mark 10 he heals Bartimaeus with a word
In John 4 he heals the official's son from a distance
The variety of methods points away from mechanism or magic and toward Jesus's divine authority as the God-man
D. The mud carries theological significance within a passage about Jesus as the light of the world
John's prologue connects Christ as light with the original creation
Adam (adam) was made from the ground (adamah); after the Fall, the ground works against man
In Christ the reversal begins — as with lepers made clean by his touch, the ground now works to bring light out of darkness
E. The Pool of Siloam ("Sent") was part of Hezekiah's water system; its waters were used during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7–8) for the water-pouring ceremony at the altar
F. This physical healing is temporary — the man will die — but it is a foretaste of the complete and eternal healing Christ's people will experience at his return
Joni Eareckson Tada: "The best we can hope for in this life is a not-yet-whole peek at the shining realities ahead. Yet a glimpse is enough."
This miracle is not a guarantee of physical healing today, but a guarantee that all physical maladies will be fully removed when Christ returns as the light who never leaves
II. The Light of the World That Closes the Eyes of the Heart
A. The physical miracle functions as a sign pointing to a deeper spiritual reality — the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees (John 9:13-41)
B. The Pharisees are concerned that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, breaking their man-made tradition — as in John 5 with the healing at the Pool of Bethesda
C. The formerly blind man proves to be a better theologian than the Pharisees
He reasons simply: no one born blind has ever been healed; God does not hear sinners; therefore this man must be from God
His famous words expose the Pharisees' failure: "Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know: though I was blind, now I see."
D. Jesus explains the judicial dimension of his coming (John 9:39-41)
"Those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind"
The Pharisees' guilt remains because they claim to see yet refuse the light
This is a special category of sin — eyes-wide-open rejection of God's clear display of glory — akin to the unforgivable sin in Mark 3 where the Pharisees attribute Christ's works to Satan
E. The root of the Pharisees' blindness is pride and self-made religion
They expect Messiah to confirm their traditions and validate their righteousness
They have become their own messiah; the true Messiah must look like them
Contrast: the blind man has been trained his whole life in utter dependence — the very posture Christ calls his people to
F. Application: It is easy for any believer to treat Christ as a confirming witness to one's own opinions rather than as Lord; we all have "a little Pharisee" within
III. The Light of the World That Opens the Eyes of the Heart
A. Jesus seeks the man out — the man does not cry out to Jesus as Bartimaeus does in Mark 10
B. Jesus corrects the disciples' assumption that suffering always results from specific sin (John 9:1-3)
In John 5 Jesus did attribute the paralyzed man's condition to his sin — sin can be a cause of suffering
Here, however, the man's blindness has a different purpose: "that the works of God might be displayed in him"
Unlike the Pharisaic schools, Jesus does not make this a hard-and-fast rule
C. The charge to work while it is day (John 9:4)
The days are short; believers are called to get busy doing the works of God
David in Psalm 6 pleads for deliverance, noting that in death there is no praise — the chief aim of life is to glorify God while breath remains
D. The progressive growth of the man's knowledge of Jesus is the climactic work of God on display
John 9:11 — "the man called Jesus"
John 9:17 — "He is a prophet"
John 9:38 — "Lord, I believe" — and he worships him
The opening of his physical eyes was ordained so that the eyes of his heart might be opened to see and worship Christ as Lord and King
E. God's sovereign purpose in suffering — Romans 8:28
"For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose"
This blind man is one called according to God's purpose; his suffering was the instrument God used to bring him into the joy of salvation
For every child of God, physical, mental, and spiritual suffering is held in the sovereign hand of the Lord to draw his people into the blessed light of the Son
F. Illustration: Hymn writer Helen Lemmel was struck blind at the height of her fame; her husband left her; friends abandoned her — and out of that blindness and heartache she wrote Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, testifying that the light of Christ's glory causes the things of earth to grow strangely dim
35 min
April 28, 2024April 28, 2024; Sunday Evening Worship
Scripture: 1 John 2:28-3:10
Order of Service
Call to Worship — 1 Chronicles 16:8-10
Hymn — Now Thank We All Our God (#181)
Prayer of Invocation
Confession of Sin
Assurance of Pardon — John 19:30
Hymn of the Month — God of Abraham, Praise (#234)
Pastoral Prayer
Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:28–3:10
Sermon
Hymn — Blessed Are the Sons of God (#461)
Benediction
Sermon Title: What It Means to Be Children of God
Scripture: 1 John 2:28–3:10
I. The Children of God Are Dependent on the Father's Love
A. John addresses believers as "little children," evoking the image of an infant utterly dependent on a parent — a prayerless Christian is therefore an oxymoron
In Mark 10, Jesus contrasts the self-confident Rich Young Ruler with his disciples, who are wholly dependent on God for salvation
"With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible" — salvation belongs entirely to God
B. Before issuing any imperative, John grounds obedience in identity: 1 John 3:1 — "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God"
John Yarbrough's commentary identifies three lapses infiltrating the church: theological (denial of Christ's humanity), ethical (1 John 2:4, 2:16), and relational (failure to love the brethren)
John's corrective is to remind believers who they are before calling them to what they must do
C. The Heidelberg Catechism's third section (Gratitude) reflects the Reformers' and Puritans' conviction that true obedience flows not from slavish fear but from gratitude for God's grace
True obedience flows from swimming in the fountain of the Father's love, not from standing fearfully at Mount Sinai
"To know" in verse 1 carries the Hebrew sense of intimate, loving relationship — as in Romans 8:29, those whom God foreknew (fore-loved) he predestined
D. Practical application: do you sit often at the cross and marvel at the Father's love? That wonder is the incentive for a life of obedience
II. The Children of God Are Dependent on the Son's Example
A. 1 John 3:4 defines sin with unusual clarity: sin is lawlessness — the deliberate breaking of God's law
Romans 5:12–21 — sin was in the world before the Mosaic law, yet death reigned, because all humanity sinned in Adam, our corporate head
Romans 2 — God's law is written on every image-bearer's heart; conscience either accuses or excuses, proving all are lawbreakers
Sin is not a slip or a mistake — to sin is to be a felon, a law-breaker
B. The gospel is not only that Christ died for sins and grants eternal life; it is also liberation from the dominion of sin in daily life
Verse 8: the Son appeared to destroy the works of the devil — liberation means a new trajectory away from sin
Verses 2–6 emphasize looking like the Son: we shall be like him (1 John 3:2); we purify ourselves as he is pure (1 John 3:3); in him there is no sin (1 John 3:5)
C. Christ is not only our Liberator — he is our role model, our elder brother
As joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8), we are like younger siblings longing to imitate the elder brother
The indicative grounds the imperative: when he appears we will be like him in glory; therefore we now purify ourselves in hope of that appearing
Moses glimpsed only God's back and his face shone; when Christ returns, our entire being — body, mind, and soul — will be glorified like him
III. The Children of God Are Dependent on the Spirit's Presence
A. 1 John 3:9 — "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him"
Drawing on John 3:6 ("that which is born of the Spirit is spirit"), the "seed" is most likely the indwelling Spirit, who implants a new nature that perpetually opposes sin
B. This is not sinless perfectionism — 1 John 1:8 already rules that out: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves"
The ESV rightly captures the present continuous force of the Greek: "cannot keep on sinning"
The Spirit's presence produces the internal warfare Paul describes in Romans 7 — the children of God see the heinousness of sin, confess it, and endeavor after new obedience
As the Dutch theologian Wilhelmus à Brakel illustrates: a child dragged along against his will moves his feet only to resist falling — so the child of God, when overwhelmed by indwelling corruption, resists every step
C. The Spirit is more perseverant and more powerful than the flesh
Seasons of backsliding never bring true joy or delight — there is always internal chaos; God will always open the prodigal's eyes to the filth he is feeding on and draw him back
The Father runs to embrace returning children; the angels celebrate
D. These realities do not produce complacency — they incentivize human effort
The new principle of life implanted by the Spirit drives believers to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12)
Practical test: for a true child of God, sin brings only misery — righteousness, holiness, and purity are where true joy is found
32 min
April 21, 2024Is God Your Father?
Scripture: John 8:48-59
Order of Service
Announcements
Hymn — Come, We That Love the Lord
Call to Worship — Psalm 149
Hymn — Come, We That Love the Lord
Prayer of Invocation
Confession of Sin
Assurance of Pardon — Micah 7:18-19
Profession of Faith / Reception of Communing Member (Joe Marro)
Prayer
Hymn — Father, I Adore You
Pastoral Prayer
Offering
Prayer of Dedication
Hymn — The Lord's Prayer
Scripture Reading — John 8:47-59
Sermon
Prayer
Hymn — The God of Abraham Praise
Benediction
Doxology
Sermon Title: Is God Your Father?
Scripture: John 8:48-59
I. Introduction: The Doctrine of Adoption
A. The passage as a whole concerns adopted children and their marks
The exchange between Jesus and the Jews in John 8:48-59 is fundamentally a debate about who is a true son of God
Those who believe in Jesus at the start (John 8:30-31) end by attempting to stone him, divided by the doctrine of Christ's divinity
B. The doctrine of adoption has been underemphasized in church history
Westminster Shorter Catechism Q. 34: Adoption is an act of God's free grace whereby we are received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God
Though adoption is entirely God's free monergistic grace, there are visible fruits and evidences that mark a true child of God
C. Central question: How can you know that God is your Father?
When you honor the Son who honors the Father
When you obey the word of the Son as he obeys the word of his Father
When you rejoice in the life of the Son who shares in the life of his Father
II. Adopted Children Honor the Son as He Honors the Father
A. The Jews charge Jesus with being a Samaritan and having a demon (John 8:48)
The Samaritans were mixed-heritage descendants of the northern kingdom of Israel who intermarried with Gentiles after the Assyrian conquest
They held only to the Pentateuch and claimed to be the true offspring of Abraham
Accusing Jesus of siding with Samaritans was equivalent to accusing him of being satanic
B. Jesus responds: "I honor my Father and you dishonor me" (John 8:49-50)
Jesus presents himself as the perfect fifth-commandment man — kavod (honor/glory/weightiness) given fully to the Father
The Father in turn glorifies and honors the Son
To dishonor the Son is to dishonor the Father; to honor the Son is to honor the Father
C. Application: There is nothing more distasteful to the Father than disrespect for his Son, and nothing more attractive than giving solemn weight and glory to the Son
III. Adopted Children Obey the Word of the Son as He Obeys the Word of the Father
A. Those not born of God cannot hear the words of God (John 8:47)
This is regeneration language — only those born from above (cf. John 3) can hear and receive the Son's word
B. Jesus knows the Father and keeps his word (John 8:55)
The Father's word now comes through the obedient Son, who is greater than all previous spokesmen (prophets, Abraham)
C. The promise: "If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death" (John 8:51)
Primarily concerns spiritual death, but physical death underlies it as well
Disobedient Adam → immediate spiritual death → eventual physical death (Genesis 3)
Obedient Son → immediate spiritual life → eventual future physical life (resurrection)
The double amen ("truly, truly") signifies that eternal life is firmly fixed for those who receive the Son's word
Paul speaks of death as "sleep" and of dying as going to be with Christ (Philippians 1:21-23)
D. Application: The Son comes as our representative and declares the Father's word of freedom — "Daddy says we can"
IV. Adopted Children Rejoice in the Life of the Son as He Shares in the Life of the Father
A. The Jews' accusation that Jesus is greater than Abraham exposes their unbelief (John 8:52-53)
Unbelief is a contentment with the miseries of this world; a failure to rejoice in the life of the Son
C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory: "We are far too easily pleased"
B. Abraham rejoiced to see Christ's day — he saw it and was glad (John 8:56)
Galatians 3:8 — the gospel was preached beforehand to Abraham
Genesis 15:6 — Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness
Genesis 15 — God puts Abraham to sleep and passes through the covenant animals as a smoking fire pot and flaming torch (the Great I AM taking the covenant curse upon himself)
C. The setting: the Feast of Tabernacles and the imagery of light
Pillars of fire and torches illuminated Jerusalem, commemorating Yahweh as the pillar of fire in the Exodus
The Great I AM — the pillar of fire — appears first to Abraham in Genesis 15, foreshadowing the incarnate Christ
Christ is the pillar of fire incarnate, cursed at the cross for our covenant-breaking
D. "Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58)
The ego eimi construction identifies Jesus with Yahweh of Exodus 3 — "I AM WHO I AM"
Used earlier in John 8:24 and John 8:28 but reaches its fullest declaration here
The Jews understand the claim perfectly and attempt to stone him for blasphemy
E. Application: Through Christ's death and resurrection, the light of the Son draws the offspring of Abraham from the ends of the earth into the life shared by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
33 min

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Weekly expository preaching from the Lord’s Day morning and evening worship services at Northpointe Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Meridian, Mississippi.

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