Outline Preparations for sin Anatomy of sin Multiplication of sin Introduction There are only a handful of very famous sins in the bible, the fall of Adam and Eve, the betrayal of Judas, the denial of Peter, and right up there is David and Bathsheba. I feel like I cannot emphasise the importance of this chapter. David is one of the great saints of the bible, the man who earned the accolade, ‘a man after God’s own heart.’ Of all the authors of the bible, it is David’s prayers and praise that are recorded more than any other for a model for God’s people. He is the benchmark king by which all other kings are judged, the best king Israel ever had, and a type for Christ. But for all of that he is a sinner like us. It is very important for us to see the great heroes of the bible as sinners. We can often hero worship and put ourselves under false impressions. But these men and women of the bible are recorded for our instruction. We should approach this chapter with a quiet humility as we observe that sin is able to take the very best of us. As we observe this episode with David and Bathsheba we will want to make a study of sin. The text lays out the sin before us in three main parts. Firstly, there is the preamble and preparation that leads to sin; secondly, we note the nature of the sin itself, and then thirdly we see how sin is not content to stay small and quiet but it grows and multiplies.

Outline Rejoice in hope Patient in tribulation Constant in prayer Introduction ‘But man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward,’ these are the famous words of Job 5:7. Suffering is the inevitable portion of every child of Adam. This suffering is a result of the fall, all of God’s creation was put under the curse but a promise was given of a Saviour who would make all things new. In the OT when God wanted to point forward to that New Creation He would suspend some of the effects of the fall. He did this for the nation of Israel, promising them blessings for their obedience. They would be fertile, fruitful, prosperous, at peace, and healthy. However, as NT believers we are living in a different era where God is no longer manifesting His kingdom through types. The Kingdom has come in the Incarnation, the death and resurrection of Christ. He has ascended to the right hand of God and is ruling over all creation. However, the full arrival of that new day is being delayed while God gathers a people from all nations. And so our portion is one like Christ’s. As goes the King so goes the Kingdom, and so as Christ has the time of His humiliation and then His glorification, we follow the Master through humiliation being hated and treated as He was. We suffer along with the rest of the world, we get cancer, lose our jobs when the economy fails, and share in the common lot of man; but with the added suffering of being Christians. Knowing how to cope with suffering then is necessary. Our text this morning assumes this reality of suffering and gives us a little suffering survival kit, Romans 12:12, ‘Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be...

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Outline Hanun’s rejection Ammon’s defeat Joab’s faith Introduction 2 Samuel 10 reads like just another chapter out of the wars of the Ancient Near East. However, this chapter plays an important role in the life of David as well as the life of the believer. These two chapters of 9 and 10 where David is honouring promises and human life are a backdrop for the coming catastrophe with Bathsheba and Uriah where David dishonours the covenant of marriage and human life. The Ammonite wars are the historical situation for these events. But for the believer who is in a constant spiritual war of which God’s people in all ages have been a part this chapter reminds us of some important points we need to remember in our own fight.

Outline Zealous fervour Spiritual fervour Directed fervour Introduction Try and read Romans 12:11 through a 21st century mindset. Think of the pluralistic political correctness that has to insist that all views are equally valid. Think of the new militant and vocal left that is deconstructing traditional Christians truths and norms. Think of the post-9/11 allergy to religious fervour. Now hear this verse, ‘Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.’ Our age cannot hear this verse without hearing an endorsement for radicalism; fundamentalism; stabbings and shootings at night clubs and concerts. This verse would be held up as one of the most wrong things you could do. This idea is violently resisted and shouted down today. Instead of laying the blame for human suffering at the foot of our own sinful hearts they blame the thing we are made for: serving God. And instead of directing their zeal into serving God’s will, they picket, blog, write articles and put pressure on politicians to enshrine and legalise autonomous human will; the right to kill myself, the right to kill a baby in my womb, the right to redefine my sex and marriage. We are witnesses to a religious zeal in society today but it is in the service of being anti-religious and for the god of self. But there is another enemy to true religious fervour today and that is Western secularism. A lifestyle where human desire defines right and wrong, and you can do what you want. We are submerged in a fog of brain numbing conveniences and pleasures. Think of the leftist militarism and the seductive secularism as a carrot on a stick. On the one hand we are being beat upon by the stick to be pressured from our service of God by...

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Outline David’s faithfulness Mephibosheth’s blessing Introduction If you had to pick the highlight of David’s life, what would you choose? Some might choose David as a young man slaying Goliath in defence of God’s honour; some might choose David’s desire to build God a temple. I would choose 2 Samuel 9 where David keeps a covenant and shows covenant love to Mephibosheth. It is not David’s bravery, or wit, or military strategy, or good looks, or riches and success; it is not even his faith, but his mercy to Mephibosheth that is put on display. This chapter stands out because it gives a tremendous picture of the gospel greater than any other in the life of David. The king of Israel points to our Saviour King in his grace, mercy and faithfulness. The two points of our text revolve around the two main characters. We want to look at David’s faithfulness, and Mephibosheth’s blessings.

Outline The ant The garden The cartoons Introduction One of the seven deadly sins is sloth/laziness, or as the Latin has it, acedia. Why is it called a cardinal or deadly sin? We see that in the parable of the talents the wicked servant buries his talent in the ground and does not serve the Lord because he is lazy, and results in him being cast into the outer darkness, Matt. 25:26, ‘You wicked and slothful servant!’ It is this word slothful that is found in the verse we are considering this morning in Romans 12:11, ‘Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.’ Paul is in the midst of a list of our Christian duties, v10 had two one another commandments which related to how we ought to treat one another like family, v12 has three exhortations all aimed at how we serve God generally. Our focus this morning is something we all need to consider, the first part of v11, ‘do not be slothful in zeal.’ None of us gets this right, we play at our work and work at our play. We have the proper view of rest and work on its head. We do not rest to work, we work to rest. We do not treasure our various activities for God, the six days of our labour as our primary goal, we live for the weekend. The word slothful means lazy, and the word zeal can mean one of two things, usually it includes both, and that is diligence and eagerness. So we could translate it, ‘don’t be lazy in diligence.’ Paul is most likely speaking generally about our activity. It is not specified as to whether Paul is talking about our vocations, our wok in the church, looking after our...

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Introduction A few weeks ago a number of conservative evangelical leaders came up with the Nashville statement. It is a manifesto intended to summarise the traditional, biblical view on sexual identity. About 150 prominent evangelicals signed it, such names as R. C. Sproul; John Macarthur; Al Mohler; Rosaria Butterfield; John Piper; Wayne Grudem; J I Packer, and many others. It has created quite a stir and drawn a line in the sand. There have been many so called ‘Christians’ who have responded against it, it has brought the ‘progressives’ out of the woodwork in condemnation and is forcing Christians to choose between the traditional view, which is based on a careful understanding of scripture, as it has been understood on these issues for 2000 years, and the more culturally accommodating view of today. The statement has been criticised for fixating on one issue when so many other matters related to social injustice are not spoken to. However, this critique says more about the value system of the critic than the statement. Some have tried to knit pick on one or two points essentially failing to see the importance of the things affirmed. Today I would like us to have a look at it. It is a gift of clarity and definitions in an age of shifting definitions. It is a good example of biblical faithfulness in an age of capitulation. It is not viewed as being perfect, nor is it being proposed as being adopted as a formal document for our church, but it is immensely useful for reflection in an age of confusion. The document contains a preamble, and 14 affirmations and denials. I will try and highlight the key notes being struck that need to be struck in our day as we seek clarity for our age. ‘“Know...

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Outline Family love Family respect Introduction There are four words in the ancient Greek language for love. These words are agape; storge; philos and eros. Agape is usually used of God’s love, a love we are called to imitate in 12:9. Storge usually has to do with family affection. Philos is often used of the love of friendship. Eros over time came to be associated with lust. The bible only uses agape, storge and philos, but avoids eros, probably because of the associations it collected. In fact in Romans 12:9-10 all three of the Greek words used in the NT are used. ‘Let agape be genuine…; philos one another with storge.’ We return then in Romans 12:10 to the notion of loving one another. As you look at v10-13 it gives a long list of Christian duties. V10 has two exhortations to love one another. V11 has exhortations with regard to our service. V12 has 3 exhortations with regard to suffering. And v13 has two exhortations about meeting one another’s physical needs. So today we want to focus on loving each other, but the text directs us to a particular flavour of love – family love. As we do this we want to look at the nature of family love and then at the honour we are to have for each other.

Outline David’s victories David’s worship David’s rule Introduction 2 Samuel 8 is one of those chapters that you would find unmemorable except that it might violate your modern sensibilities. Sandwiched in between the great chapters on the Davidic covenant and David’s mercy to Mephibosheth it gets very little air time. But this chapter plays an important role in that it is the final part of the long ascent of David to the throne. If you were to divide the life of David up into two parts, you would have David a servant after God’s heart from 1 Sam. 15-2 Sam 8; and then David a servant under God’s rod beginning from chapter 9. In other words the summarising nature of the chapter is pulling together much of what has happened up until this point, and the story changes in tone dramatically from this point on. One commentator speaks about how this chapter is a partial glimpse of the kingdom because all the basic ingredients of a manifestation of God’s kingdom are present. As we go through this chapter we want to note David’s victories worship and rule. Each part theologically rich and helping us to see the nature of God’s future kingdom.

Outline David’s promise David’s praise Introduction One of the key things the covenants of the bible do is manifest the grace of God. To a greater or lessor extent God’s glorious grace is put on display. And in this chapter we have the Davidic Covenant presented putting forward another glorious glimpse of our gracious God. This is one of the most important chapters of the bible because it is one of the major steeping stones in the lead up to the coming of Jesus as the Saviour of the world. As you move through the OT you see a development that moves from the vague to the clear. In Genesis 3:15 you see that God’s response to the devil and sin is to promise a man born of a woman who will crush the head of the serpent. In the Abrahamic covenant you see that this man will be born to Abraham and bring blessing to all nations. Under Moses we see in the various administrations of the tabernacle and the priesthood the principles of an innocent Passover lamb saving God’s people from the Angel of Death, and many other lessons. Well now in the glorious chapter we have another piece of the puzzle added, we see that David will have a son who will be king forever. From this point on the Messiah will be known as the Son of David. This chapter falls into two parts, firstly, David’s desire to build God a house to which God responds with promises to David; and secondly, David’s response of praise to God.