Trinity Bible Church Sermons

Unsuspecting Sovereignty | Acts 16:16-40 | Manny Pereira

With the thought that salvation belongs to the Lord still echoing, a new scene opens in Philippi showcasing a sovereignty that no one suspected, working through people who never suspected it. Between demonic divination and unjust stocks, who would have suspected that salvation was drawing near? The Lord who opened Lydia’s heart now carries His gospel into the darkness through persecuted men who sing. Greed, hostility, and injustice cannot frustrate Christ’s saving purpose. Even the most unsuspecting agents must serve His sovereignty. This passage conveys the profound power of the Lord to overcome every obstacle to salvation while reminding the redeemed to live in the certainty of faith and not by sight.

Session 06: An English Voice | Manny Pereira

For centuries, the Scriptures were effectively silenced to the English-speaking world. Then God, in His gracious and marvelous providence, unsilenced them largely through the faith, scholarship, courage, and costly suffering of one man. That man was William Tyndale. Though kings opposed, churchmen condemned, and authorities burned his work, he persevered to the end, giving his life to give the English God’s voice. Commemorating the 500th anniversary of Tyndale’s New Testament, An English Voice traces his remarkable life and legacy, the development of the English Bible, and its world-shaping influence. More than a celebration of history, it is a summons to spiritual stewardship of sacred Scripture—now unsilenced.

God-Breathed Grace | 2 Timothy 3:14-4:4 | Manny Pereira

Sacred Scripture is a gift of grace. This message celebrates that gift in concert with commemorating the five hundredth anniversary of the New Testament in English. The third chapter of Second Timothy plainly states that the sacred writings come from God, lead sinners to salvation in Christ, expose falsehood, and equip God’s people for faithful living. William Tyndale labored so that the “sacred writings” might be placed before English readers to this end—plainly translated, openly read, and allowed to exercise their God-breathed authority. This message seeks to open the essences of this passage, illustrating it with the life and labor of William Tyndale, for the promotion of Christ, to God’s glory and man’s joy.

Session 05: The Word In Our Tongue | Manny Pereira

God gave His Word to be understood, believed, and obeyed—not confined to ancient languages or hidden from ordinary people. In this session, we explore how faithful Bible translation serves the gospel, carries God’s truth across linguistic boundaries, and builds up the church. Tracing the remarkable history of the English Bible, we discover a priceless inheritance secured through centuries of scholarship, sacrifice, and providential grace. We who have God’s Word should steward it with gratitude, trusting and treasuring it with renewed devotion.

Salvation Belongs to the Lord | Acts 16:6-15 | Manny Pereira

Paul’s second missionary journey commences. The opening scene is marked by an unusually dense concentration of divine agency. Attention is drawn to the sovereign leading and purposes of the Lord. Clearly, this mission belongs to Him and no other. It moves from closed roads to an opened heart. Sovereign grace, then, is seen not as cold machinery but purposeful mercy. This passage strips away every illusion that salvation finally depends upon the strategies of the messenger, the readiness of the hearer, or the accident of circumstance. Salvation belongs to the Lord.

The Glory to Come | 2 Peter 1:12-21 | Kelly Abbott

Anticipating his death, Peter labors to remind his beloved flock of essential truths to live by, he presents evidence for the certainty of prophecy in an age when the second coming of Christ was mocked and dismissed, and he affirms the source and trustworthiness of scripture that he compares to a lamp shining in a dark place. His purpose is to exhort believers to remain faithful in anticipation of Christ’s return and to live for his glory rather than the allurements of this passing world. Twenty centuries later not much has changed in the secular worldview. We too must heed these timeless Apostolic reminders if we are to stand fast for Christ in our day.

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.