What are you after? The Spirit or the Flesh?

Lord's Day 7 1. The joy of true faith 2. The work of true faith 3. The declaration of true faith

Dr. Schmidt examines the life-changing power of God's Word and the necessity of every Christian being biblically literate.

In this sermon Pastor Rockhill takes up Jesus' parable of the wicked vinedressers, preached in the shadow of the religious leaders' demand to know by what authority He acted. Pastor Rockhill shows how the Lord answered their challenge not with argument but with a story that laid bare their hardened hearts, revealing that their rejection of Christ simply repeated their fathers' rejection of the prophets God had so graciously sent. The central burden of the message is the peril of knowing the truth yet refusing to bow to it. Pastor Rockhill traces the vineyard imagery back to Isaiah 5, unfolding God as the patient owner, Israel as the vineyard, the prophets as the beaten servants, and Christ as the beloved Son cast out and killed. Here the doctrine of Christ's divine authority stands central, together with God's covenant faithfulness, His just judgment, and His sovereign grace in extending the gospel to the Gentiles. Drawing on Psalm 118 and Romans 11, Pastor Rockhill warns that the stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, breaking all who fall upon it. He cautions hearers against presuming upon covenant privilege, since natural branches were cut off and others grafted in. The sermon closes with a tender appeal to humble the heart, acknowledge the authority of Christ, turn from sin, and trust in Him alone for salvation.