March 9, 2025 - Sunday Morning Service - 1 John 1:5-10 - Part 7

(BONUS EPISODE) March 2, 2025 - Pastor's Prologue for Communion with Peter D. Jones III - Whom Shall I Send

March 2, 2025 - Sunday Morning Service - 1 John 1:5-10 - Part 6

(BONUS EPISODE) February 23, 2025 - Sunday Evening Bible Study with Larry Walker - The Book of Mark

February 23, 2025 - Sunday Morning Service - 1 John 1:5-10 - Part 5

The Roles of the Promised Holy Spirit

John 16:4b-15

The Importance of the Ascension

Very often when we hear the life of Jesus Christ summarized, it contains these major milestones:

● Incarnation

● Ministry

● Crucifixion

● Resurrection

The ascension of Jesus is often left out. We don’t have any major church holidays celebrating it. Often, the next milestone on the timeline is His return. However, in our passage and underlying the entire Upper Room Discourse, the departure of Jesus is a major point on His mind. Recall that at the start of our study of John 13-16, we noted that the trials, abuse, crucifixion, abandonment by the Father, and ultimate death of Jesus are remarkably absent. Instead of focusing on His suffering which is mere hours away, Jesus is focused instead on the needs of His disciples. It is clear that He wants to prepare them for the coming trial of their faith during which they will be sorely tempted to abandon Him. As the Good Shepherd, He is preparing them for this danger by forewarning them of what lies ahead, both in terms of His resurrection and ascension, and also the world’s response to their witness. In so doing, Jesus is giving them hope that will carry them beyond the darkness and despair of the next few days and in the years to come.

A significant part of this hope is that Jesus is going away for a while. This may sound like a contraction to our ears as it certainly did to theirs. After all, what better way to build the church and usher in the Kingdom of God on earth than for its Chief Shepherd and King to remain here on earth in His glorified body to lead the progress of the Gospel? If we were writing the script for this story, we would likely go that direction. But as He often does, God has an unexpected means of accomplishing His ends. As we will discover, Jesus says that actually it’s to their (and our) advantage that He goes back to the Father Who sent Him. This means that the ascension of Jesus has the same importance as the other milestones mentioned earlier.

In a very real sense, it could be said that the ministry of Jesus is continuing to this very day. He didn’t go to heaven to take a well-deserved vacation and unplug from all that is happening here on earth. Quite the opposite is true. Here are some of the advantages that Scripture discloses that come to His people because of His departure to the right hand of the Father:

● Intercessory/mediatorial role as our High Priest (Rom. 8:34, et al.)

● Triggers the sending of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7)

● Oversees the preparations of our eternal home (John 14:2-3)

● Oversees the building of His church here on earth (Matt. 16:18)

● Secures our future inheritance (Eph. 2:6)

● Welcomes us to the eternal state (1 Thess. 4:16-18)

The lesson for us is that the ascension of Jesus, though unseen by us, is nevertheless very important in the timeline of God’s Grand Plan of Redemption. In fact, the entire NT book of Hebrews is essentially devoted to stressing how important this aspect of Jesus’ ministry on behalf of His church is. Throughout the church age, believers have benefited greatly from the ascension. In it, our hope of safely reaching the acceptance by God into Heaven is anchored. Let us not ignore or minimize this important doctrine!

Outline

1. Jesus directs the disciples’ inquiry back to the importance of His ascension (vv. 4b-6)
2. Jesus expounds on the roles of the Holy Spirit (vv. 7-15)
   1. Towards the world (vv. 7-11)
   2. Towards the church (vv. 12-15)

(BONUS EPISODE) February 16, 2025 - Sunday Evening Service with Bruce Walker - The Book of Ephesians

(BONUS EPISODE) February 16, 2025 - Sunday Morning Service with Larry Walker - Being Transformed

(BONUS EPISODE) February 9, 2025 - Sunday Evening Bible Study with Larry Walker - The Book of Mark

Introduction to Ephesians

Originally created: August 30, 2023

Series at BRBC started: February 2, 2025

1. Structure
   1. Doctrine - the eternal/heavenly perspective of God’s Grand Plan of Redemption (ch. 1-3)
      1. Salutation (1:1-2)
      2. The Father’s eternal plan for our inheritance (1:3-14)
      3. Introduction of Paul’s purpose for writing (1:15-19)
      4. Display of God’s power
         1. Through Christ (1:20-23)
         2. Through the Church (2:1-22)
      5. Revelation of the mystery of the inscrutable riches of God in Christ (3:1-21)
   2. Application - how to walk in this temporal world in light of the eternal gospel (ch. 4-6)
      1. Challenge to live up to this eternal call of God (4:1-6)
      2. Edification: Christ’s means of building up His church (4:7-12)
      3. Maturity: Christ’s goal for building up His church (4:13-16)
      4. Putting off the old and putting on the new (4:17-32)
      5. Responsibility of believers to walk in light (5:1-20)
      6. Roles of believers as we walk in light (5:21-6:9)
      7. Spiritual warfare in the power and supply of God (6:10-20)
      8. Closing (6:21-24)
2. Main Message and Supporting Themes
   1. Main point: God is bringing glory to Himself by showing His ability to accomplish what seems impossible or unimaginable to both angelic and human races (i.e., sovereignty). Seeing the greatness of God’s glory displayed in His love, grace, mercy, and power through Christ and dispensed by the Holy Spirit transforms us both now and in the ages to come.
      1. Key verses are 1:18-19
         1. HIP = hope, inheritance, power (God’s power carries the rest of the epistle)
      2. Key phrase is “in Christ,” and variations like “in Him.”
   2. Supporting themes
      1. Eternal view of the gospel (as opposed to Romans’ temporal view of the gospel)
         1. 1:3-5,10
      2. God’s glory on display (He is showing off)
         1. Love (1:4; 2:4; 3:17-19; 5:1-2; 6:23)
         2. Riches of His Grace (1:7,18; 2:4,7; 3:8,16)
         3. Ability to get things done that nobody thinks is possible (1:19; 3:20-21)
            1. Means
               1. Power/energy/ability/strength
               2. Authority (grace)
            2. Accomplishments
               1. Blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ (1:3)
               2. Raised Christ and seated Him in the heavenlies (1:20-22)
               3. Raised us spiritually and caused us to be exalted with Christ (2:1-6)
               4. Unites people who normally don’t get along (2:11-18)
               5. Sustains us through the “ages to come” (2:7)
               6. Brings us out of darkness to light (5:8-15)
               7. Forgives our sins (1:7)
               8. Matures us to be more and more like Christ (4:11-16; 5:1-2)
      3. Mysteries - “Sacred Secrets” of this present church age (1:9; 3:3-10; 5:32; 6:19)
         1. Gentile believers are co-heirs of the temporal and eternal covenants of God along with believing Jews (3:6)
         2. The church is the body and bride of Christ (1:23; 2:16; 3:6; 4:4,12,16; 5:29-32), a doctrine completely unheard of in the Jewish Scriptures
      4. Faith (2:8-9)
      5. Prayer (1:16-19; 3:14-19; 6:18)
      6. The importance of the Body of Christ
         1. For maturity
         2. For exposing the lies and deeds of darkness
         3. For supporting each other in the spiritual war
         4. For bringing glory to God in the eyes of the world