Sermons

Luke 1:5-25

Big Idea: Our Hope Is Enduring Because God’s Character Is Unchanging And His Faithfulness Is Unending

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain … “
- Hebrews 6:19

God Is Faithful!:

1) He meets us in our brokenness (v. 5-17)

When tempted to lose hope:
1) Keep worshipping because God is still worthy (v. 8-11)
2) Keep praying because God is still working (v. 8-13)
3) Keep serving because God is still worthy (v. 6-11)

2) He always keeps His promises (v. 13-25)

3 reasons to trust God today:
1) Because God always fulfills His promises (v. 16-17; 20)

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
– Malachi 4:5-6

2) Because not doing so has significant consequences (v. 18-20)
3) Because God always accomplishes His eternal purposes (v. 16-17; 20)

3) He lovingly renews and restores us (v. 13-25)

Two hope-giving realities:
1) Our best is never good enough
2) God’s grace is always enough

Romans 5:12-21

Big Idea: The Power And Consequences Of Sin Are Great, But The Grace Of God Through Jesus Christ Is Much More

1. The conflict: man’s sin brought death (vs. 12-14)

“For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
- I Corinthians 15:21-22

2. The contrast: Christ’s sacrifice offers life (vs 15-19)

Contrast of man’s sin versus Christ’s sacrifice:
a) Trespass and Gift (vs 15)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
- Ephesians 2:8-9

b) Condemnation and Justification (vs. 16)
c) Death and Life (vs. 17)
d) Disobedience and Obedience (vs. 18,19)

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
- Philippians 2:5-8

3. The Conclusion: man’s sin is great, but God’s grace is much more (vs. 20-21)

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
- Romans 6:1-2

Romans 5:1-11

Big Idea: The Gospel Always Gives Us A Reason To Rejoice

Since we have been justified by faith:

1) We have peace with God (v. 1)

2) We stand in and through the grace of God (v. 2a)

3) We hope in the glory of God (v. 2b)

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He (Jesus) appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.”
– 1 John 3:2-3

4) We know our suffering will accomplish the divine purposes of God (v. 3-5)

The school of sanctification through suffering (v. 3-5):
Suffering -> Endurance -> Character -> Hope

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
– Hebrews 12:1-3

5) We experience reconciliation and salvation through the gospel of God (v. 5-11)

Romans 4:1-25

Big Idea: We Are Justified By Grace Through Faith Into God’s Family Of Faith To Live Daily By Faith

It Depends On Faith:

1) Belief: Receive God’s righteousness through faith (v. 1-8; 23-25)

3 Must Know Facts About Justification By Faith:
1) God always has, and always will, justify a person by their faith (v. 1-3; 23-25)

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.”
– Romans 3:23-25a

2) God’s righteousness is credited to us by faith (v. 3-5)
3) Righteousness credited by faith means our sins are forgiven, covered, and not counted against us (v. 6-8)

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And you forgave the iniquity of my sin.’”
– Psalm 32:1-6

2) Belonging: Become a member of God’s family through faith (v. 9-17)

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
– Romans 1:16-17

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness about our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”
– Romans 8:14-17

3) Behavior: Live daily by faith (v. 17-25)

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. …. And without faith it is impossible to please Him (God).”
– Hebrews 11:1, 6a

Am I living by faith?:
1) Am I hoping against hope? (v. 18-19)
2) Am I wavering with unbelief? (v.19-20)
3) Am I growing strong in my faith? (v. 20)
4) Am I giving glory to God? (v. 20)
5) Am I fully convinced that God is able to do what He promised? (v. 21)

"He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Romans 3:21-32

Big Idea: Jesus Saves!

1) The when of the gospel: Salvation in God’s perfect timing. (21)

2) The what of the gospel: Justification for all who believe. (22-24a)

“Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which He (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in His sight.”

Justification is when God makes my record just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned.

3) The how of the gospel: Redemption through Jesus Christ alone. (24b-25a)

“Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who consider that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
- Isaiah 53:4-12

4) The why of the gospel: Demonstration of God’s righteous character. (25b-26)

5) The now what of the gospel: Transformation for the glory of God. (27-31)

3 “now what” gospel questions:
1. Have you been humbled by the gospel? (27)
2. Have you been saved by the gospel? (28-30)
3. Have you been changed by the gospel? (31)

Romans 3:1-20

Big Idea: Apart From Jesus We Are All Unrighteous Sinners Who Have Earned God’s Wrath, But Through Faith In Jesus We Can Experience Salvation Because Of God’s Grace

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”
- Romans 1:18

Why We All Need The Gospel: None Is Righteous:

1) Answering the questions (v. 1-8)

Answering the questions:
1) What advantage does the Jew/religious have (v. 1)?

“And the Father who sent me has Himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, His form you have never seen, and you do not have his Word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom He has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
– John 5:37-40

2) Does the faithlessness of the Jew/religious nullify the faithfulness of God (v. 3)?

“If we are faithless, He (Jesus) remains faithful - for he cannot deny Himself.”
- 2 Timothy 2:13

3) Is God unrighteous/unfair in any way in inflicting His wrath on the Jews/religious (v. 5)?
4) If our sins allow God to display His good and glory, shouldn’t we sin more so that God’s glory is displayed even more (v. 7-8)?

2) Examining the evidence (v. 9-18)

6 evidences and effects of sin in our lives:
1) Our legal standing before God (v. 9-10)
2) Our thinking (v. 11a)
3) Our pursuits (v. 11b-12)
4) Our words (v. 13-14a)
5) Our relationships with others (v. 15-17)
6) Our relationship with God (v. 18)

3) Rendering the verdict (v. 19-20)

Romans 2:1-29

Big Idea: Religious People Need The Gospel Just As Much As Unreligious People

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”
- Romans 1:18

The Self-Righteousness Detector:

1) Am I looking down on others or getting low in repentance? (v. 1-5)

2) Am I pursuing my own glory or God’s glory? (v. 6-11)

Fruit of a heart right with God (v. 7):
1) Patience and persistence in well-doing
2) Seeking the glory of God

Fruit of a heart not right with God (v. 8):
1) Seeking the glory of myself
2) Persistence in disobedient and unrighteous living

3) Am I just hearing God’s Word or am I obeying God’s Word? (v. 12-16)

4) Am I anchoring my identity in a religion about God or a personal relationship with God? (v. 17-29)

“In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.”
– Colossians 2:11-12

3 false hopes for salvation for the religious:
1) My birth certificate (v. 6-11; 17)
2) My theological information (v. 12-16; 17-24)
3) My spiritual resume (v. 17-24)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

– Matthew 7:21-23

Romans 1:16-32

Big Idea: The Choice Is Yours: Believe In God And Receive Salvation And The Righteousness Of God Or Reject God And Experience The Wrath Of God

God’s Wrath:

1) The reason for God’s wrath: our rejection of God (v. 18-23)

​“both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written, ’None is righteous, no, not one.’”
- Romans 3:9b-10

“For the wages of sin is death …”
- Romans 6:23a

​3 ways the ungodly and unrighteous reject God:​
1) Suppress the truth about God (v. 18-20)

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.”
- Psalm 19:1

2) Refuse to honor and thank God (v. 21)
3) Foolishly and futilely exchange their worship of God (v. 22-23)

3 foolish and wrath-inducing worship exchanges:
1) Am I exchanging worshipping the Creator for the created? (v. 23; 25b)
2) Am I exchanging God’s absolute truth for the world’s lies? (v. 25)
3) Am I exchanging natural relations for unnatural relations? (v. 26-27)

2) The revelation of God’s wrath: God giving man over (v. 24-32)

God gives the ungodly and unrighteous up:
1) To the impure lusts of their hearts (v. 24-25)
2) To their dishonorable passions (v. 26-27)
3) To a debased mind to do things that ought not to be done (v. 28-32)

3) Our rescue from God’s wrath: the gospel of God (v. 16-17)​

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- Romans 6:23

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
– 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Romans 1:8-15

Big Idea: A Shepherd’s Heart Beats In Time With The Gospel

3 characteristics of a shepherd’s heart:

1) A thankfulness for God at work. (8)

2) A longing for spiritual growth. (9-12)

3) An eagerness for gospel advance. (13-15)

Romans 1:1-7

Big Idea: The Gospel Provides A New Identity In Christ And A New Purpose For Christ

The new gospel identity and purpose:

1) Saved through Christ (v. 1)

“But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’”
– Acts 9:13-17

2) Slave of Christ (v. 1)

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
– Galatians 2:20

“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. ... But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”
– Romans 6:17-19, 22

3) Sent by Christ (v. 1)

“For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when He who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles ...”
– Galatians 1:11-16

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come ... “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
– 2 Corinthians 5:17, 20-21

4) Set apart for the gospel (v. 1-6)

3 facets of the gospel:
1) The promise of the gospel (v. 2-3)
2) The person of the gospel (v. 3-4)
3) The power and purpose of the gospel (v. 4-6)

5) Strengthening the saints (v. 6-7)

5 gospel sources for daily strength:
1) The doctrine of the gospel (v. 2-6)
2) Our belonging to Jesus (v. 6)
3) The unconditional love of God (v. 7)
4) The enduring grace from God (v. 7)
5) The supernatural peace from God (v. 7)