Spirits on SermonAudio

There is only one way to live, and that is to live under the total lordship of Christ. We live in orientation to Jesus Christ, now enthroned, reigning with power for our salvation and the renewal of all things. He has already accomplished all that is needed. He is at the centre of all, above all, and the goal of all; He is the meaning of everything in the book of Hebrews. The tabernacle and the temple are about Him and His work. The priests and the ceremonies pointed to Him. The blood that was spilled day after day and year after year was about Him. The veil that was torn invites us into direct communion with Him. He is reigning as priest and king extending His reign on earth through His Spirit and through His church. All things are from Him, through Him, and to Him.

If Acts has two streams (the ministries of Peter and of Paul) then it also has three waves, as Christ's gospel spreads from Jerusalem, through Judea and Samaria, to the end of the earth. Here we are in Antioch, as the church separates Barnabas and Saul to the work of gospel preaching beyond the Mediterranean. We look at the men involved, the ministry they had, the motion of the Holy Spirit, and then the mission on which they were sent.

In "Joel: The Day of the Lord," a Sunday night overview of the Minor Prophets, Charles Sebold walks through Joel's three chapters around one refrain and one question: "The day of Yahweh is great and very awesome; who can endure it?" (Joel 2:11). Locusts and drought strip Judah so bare that the temple offerings cease, and the people are told to read it as Yahweh's own doing. Yet even now the door stays open: rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to a God who is gracious and merciful. Repentance does not manage God; it works because of who He is. Yahweh answers with restoration beyond recovery, repaying the years the locust ate, and then pours out His Spirit on all flesh, a new-covenant promise Peter saw breaking in at Pentecost and awaiting its fullness. The remnant whom God calls will call on His name (Joel 2:32; Romans 10:13). Chapter 3 turns dark in the Valley of Decision, where Yahweh mocks the nations by summoning them to beat their plowshares into swords, and Revelation 14 shows Christ treading the winepress. The only refuge from the day of the Lord is the Lord Himself, who tore the veil and opened the way.

The sermon explores the theological significance of Jesus' declaration in Matthew 16 that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church. Using the historical fall of Constantinople as an analogy for formidable barriers, the message presents hell as a prison where souls are bound by sin, blindness, and false religion. It emphasizes that Jesus Christ, as the founder and cornerstone of the church, has provided the gospel as the key to unlock this prison and set captives free. Listen along as Pastor Sargent outlines the church's purpose as a soul-rescuing mission, urging believers to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit and prayer to breach these spiritual barriers. The tone is both convicting and encouraging, calling the congregation to active participation in evangelism and missions to fulfill the divine promise of victory over death and darkness.

The sermon examines the central conflict in Galatians regarding salvation by works versus salvation by grace through faith. It highlights the example of Abraham, whose belief was accounted to him for righteousness before the sign of circumcision, establishing that justification is received through faith rather than legalistic observance. The message contrasts the inability of the law to justify, as it demands perfection and condemns sin, with the sufficiency of Christ, who redeemed believers from the curse of the law. It affirms that all who believe are part of Abraham's spiritual family, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and emphasizes that God's favor is unmerited grace available to all nations through Jesus Christ.

Sunday evening service, looking at the Heidelberg Catechism, or the Orthodox Catechism, Lord's Day 8 - #24-25 Q. HOW ARE THESE ARTICLES (THE APOSTLES' CREED) DIVIDED? A. Into three parts: the first is about God the Father and our creation; the second, about God the Son and our redemption; the third, about God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification. Q. SINCE THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD, WHY DO YOU SPEAK OF THREE: FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT? A. Because God has so revealed Himself in His Word, that these three distinct Persons are the one, true, eternal God.

A challenging and helpful message to help us understand what it means to fulfill the law of Christ.