Trinity Bible Church Sermons

Session 04: Not One Word Lost | Manny Pereira

The God who breathed out the prophetic and apostolic writings has not allowed His Word to be lost, destroyed, or to fade away. Through the ordinary providence of copying, circulation, translation, quotation, preservation, discovery, and careful comparison, He has given His church abundant witnesses by which the "competently exact" wording of God-breaded Scripture is known with warranted confidence. The church today holds a text so abundantly attested that the very evidence exposing its scribal blemishes is the evidence securing its confidence.

The Strength of the Church | Acts 15:36-16:5 | Manny Pereira

The church can look surprisingly fragile when viewed up close. Trusted brothers can sharply disagree. Wise leaders can make painful judgments. And just when sound doctrine seems certain to produce smooth fellowship, real life reminds us that Christ is still sanctifying His saints. This important passage refuses to airbrush that reality. Yet the surprise here is not that strong Christians sometimes look weak, but that the church remains strong because her strength was never in them to begin with. The church is not finally held together by flawless leaders, frictionless relationships, or perfect circumstances. The lesson to be learned in this passage, through strokes of irony, is the true source and substance of the strength of the church.

Session 03: The Books God Gave | Manny Pereira

How did the church receive the Bible it now holds in its hands? Session 3 turns from the divine character of Scripture to the recognition of the canon, tracing how God’s people came to identify the books that bear His own authority. We will consider why the church did not create the canon but received it, how councils and confessions served that recognition, and why the authority of Scripture rests ultimately in God Himself rather than in ecclesiastical decree. The result is a doctrine of canon that is neither individualistic nor institutionalistic, but providential: the Shepherd speaks and His sheep recognize His voice.

A People For His Name | Acts 15:12-35 | Manny Pereira

Acts 15 features an epoch-making event in the progress of the church. The Jerusalem council grappled with the gospel and confirmed it with clarity: salvation is in Christ alone, through faith alone, by grace alone. The chapter moves from confirming the gospel to confirming its people. The gospel does more than save individuals. It creates a people for Christ’s name. Though several significant and far-reaching matters are touched in this passage, the fellowship of Christ’s redeemed is its central feature. The grand goal of fellowship is the pleasure of God in the unity and charity of a people for His name.

Session 02: Every Word Is True | Manny Pereira

Every word of God-breathed Scripture is true. Because the God who speaks is Himself true, faithful, omniscient, and incapable of deception, His written Word is wholly true and unfailing, bears His own supreme authority, and is sufficient and clear for every saving and sanctifying purpose for which He gave it.

Grappling with the Gospel | Acts 15:1-11 | Manny Pereira

At the center of Acts stands a chapter with no miracles, no spectacular events, no conversions, no visions, no fulfillment of prophecy, no missionary breakthrough, and no new revelation. Yet, it is widely recognized as the most crucial chapter in the whole book. Why? Because in it the church, in her first official council, grapples with the gospel most directly, precisely, and applicably. The chapter stands between Paul's first and second missionary journeys, settling the stir caused by the gospel going to the nations. The question is no longer whether Gentiles can be saved, but on what terms anyone is saved at all. At the theological center of Acts, the church realizes that the gospel cannot tolerate admixture of any kind. The future of missions, the unity of the church, and the hope of every sinner all stand on the same glorious truth: Christ is enough.

Session 01: God Has Spoken | 2 Timothy 3:14-17 | Manny Pereira

God Has Spoken: Divine Revelation and the Inspiration of Scripture

The living God graciously makes Himself known and has breathed out His written Word through genuine human authors so that we may know Christ, be transformed to honor His will, and to make Him known with certainty, clarity, and confidence. This first session in the series seeks to establish the source of Scripture before treating its perfections, canon, preservation, translation, interpretation, and use.

The Measure of Missions | Acts 14:21-28 | Manny Pereira

The church’s first missionary journey in history reaches its goal and the narrative presents a measure. How is missionary success measured? How do you measure a mission? By converts counted, dangers endured, or the advancement of better living conditions? Here, Scripture quietly overturns the usual scorecard. The church is central throughout. The report, when it comes, names no strategy and no hardship of their own. It weighs the labor in churches established, in a sending church gathered to listen, and in a door that God alone had opened for His church. Then the missionaries rest. Scripture’s scales weigh a mission not the way men do. May we be attentive to this most relevant and helpful measure.

Overcoming the Dark | Acts 14:8-20 | Manny Pereira

The light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ shines forth to penetrate the dark and overcome it in grace and truth. This is the first scene in Acts where the light of the gospel shines forth into a completely pagan setting—no synagogue, no Scripture, no God-fearers. Yet the powers of darkness cannot extinguish the light of Christ. His restoring power reaches into the ruin of the fall, His truth exposes false worship, and His grace sustains His witnesses when faithfulness results in affliction. Christ is the light to the nations, and He is worth trusting, worth turning toward, and worth suffering for, come what may. The darkness is formidable. The glory of the gospel is greater.

Humbly Submitting to God’s Sovereign Rule | 1 Peter 5:6-7 | Noe Legaspi

Peter teaches that the Christian life is lived under God’s mighty hand. Because God will exalt His people in His appointed time, we are to humble ourselves under His sovereign rule and entrust the whole weight of our anxious care to Him. The hand that rules over our lives is the hand of the Father who cares for us.