Sunday, August 29, 2021

It is Finished - John Dees


After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. John 19:28-30

Jesus' dying declaration "It is finished!" described the finality of these four extremely important processes in our salvation:
1. Messianic prophecies had been fulfilled.
2. Jesus' sufferings had come to an end.  
3. Jesus' perfect obedience had been rendered. 
4. Jesus' atoning sacrifice had been completed.

Sunday, August 22, 2021

Lament: A Biblical Practice for Your Burdened Soul - Nathan Rages


All Christians are troubled with hurts, griefs, fears, and confusing questions.  The "Lament Psalms", such as Psalm 13, provide us a roadmap for communicating with the Lord about these weighty matters and thereby obtaining great help.   

Biblical lament includes these three elements:
1. Complaining honestly.
2. Asking boldly.
3. Trusting anyway.

The Psalms commonly considered "Lament Psalms" are 3,4,5,7,10,12,13,14,17,22,25,26,28,31,39,41,42,43,44,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,64,70,71,74,77,79,80,83,85,86,90,94,120,123,126,141, and 142.

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Christian, Your Obedience Truly Pleases God - Nathan Rages


A Christian's obedience, even though it is imperfect (and always *will* be imperfect in this life), is nevertheless *accepted* by God and genuinely *pleasing* to Him ... because of Christ.  This is confirmed by these twenty scriptures that describe various aspects of Christian obedience as pleasing to God or acceptable to God: Romans 12:1, Romans 14:17-18, 2Corinthians 5:9, Galatians 1:10, Ephesians 5:10, Philippians 2:12-13, Philippians 4:18, Colossians 1:10, Colossians 3:20, 1Thessalonians 2:4, 1Thessalonians 4:1, 1Timothy 2:3, 1Timothy 5:4, Hebrews 11:5, Hebrews 11:6, Hebrews 12:28, Hebrews 13:16, Hebrews 13:20-21, 1Peter 2:5, and 1John 3:21-22.

The sermon then answers some questions that may be raised by this teaching:
1. Doesn’t this somehow conflict with the doctrine of “justification by faith alone”?
2. How can God, whose standard is perfection, be genuinely pleased with my imperfect obedience?
3. Can I achieve God-pleasing obedience in my own strength alone?
4. If God is truly pleased with my current obedience, then what’s my motivation to grow?

Sunday, August 8, 2021

How to Pray for Preachers - Nathan Rages


“and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”  Eph. 6:19-20

1. Preachers need your prayers (desperately).
2. Preachers need you to pray for *specific* needs.
3. Preachers need *clarity* in their words.
4. Preachers need *boldness* in their content.

Sunday, August 1, 2021

Six Parts of a Powerful Prayer Life - Nathan Rages


“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” Eph. 6:18

1. Variety: “with all prayer and petition”
2. Frequency: “at all times”
3. Spirituality: “in the Spirit”
4. Alertness: “be on the alert”
5. Perseverance: “with all perseverance”
6. Inclusiveness: “petition for all the saints”