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Showing posts from October, 2017

Oct 29 - Liturgy

Hope - Oct 29 1. Welcome 2. Your Grace is Enough 3. Grace Alone 4. OCC Promo / Scripture 5. Forever Reign 6. The Stand 7. Greeting / Sermon 8. Communion 9. Elder Announcements GCC - Oct 29 1. A Mighty Fortress is Our God 2. By Faith 3. It's Your Grace (Sovereign Grace) 4. Ancient Words (Michael W Smith) 5. In Christ Alone SIBC - Oct 29 Preparation Music 1. I Greet Thee Who My Sure Redeemer Art  --  a hymn by John Calvin 2. Speak, O Lord  -- Sola Scriptura After Prayer of Praise 3. The Solid Rock  -- Solus Christus 4. A Mighty Fortress  -- A Hymn by Martin Luther After Prayer of Confession 5. Not What My Hands Have Done  -- Sola Gratia 6. By Faith  -- Sola Fide After Prayer of Petition 7. Reformation Hymn (Bob Kauflin) Response 8. All Glory Be to Christ  - - Soli Deo Gloria CORNERSTONE - Oct 29 Welcome & Announcments & Preparation Call to worship: Antiphinal Psalm 46:1-11 A Mighty Fortress is Our God The Church's One F

Thoughts on Assurance

This is likely going to be a long post.  Recently Theocast has popularized the notion that your Christian experience should not be used in the assurance equation. They have some historical support for this, to be sure.  So we'll consider the historical traditions surrounding this, modern day theologians, and of course the testimony of scripture. Historical Traditions Luther. "God could be the most foolish of all beings if he had given his Son and Scriptures and the Prophets and, in spite of these gifts, wanted us to remain uncertain and in doubt about our salvation.  This notion is the work of the devil; its purpose is to make unbelievers and doubters out of us." (Martin Luther, WLS, 1:457 [Taken from Allison] Luther on Ecc. 9:1: "The Catholic Church explains this passage in this way: 'Even though a person is holy and righteous, he does not know whether he is in favor or in disfavor with God, but everything remains uncertain until the future, that is,

Oct 22 - Liturgy

GCC, Oct 22 O Worship the King Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted His Robes for Mine         Church Works Media & Stonebriar Community Church The Glories of Calvary         Sovereign Grace Music, Norton Hall O Come and Mourn [Sandra McCracken]         Indelible Grace Music (For all the Saints: IG III) Cornerstone, Oct 22 Announcements Preparation for Worship Call to Worship (Antiphonal Psalm 146:1-10) Invocation Praise and Adoration Come Christians Join to Sing Satisfied (Clara Williams 1875, 1997 Karl Digerness) Scripture Reading: Psalm 130:1-8 From the Depths of Woe (Psalm 130, Christopher Miner) Missions Moment Pastoral Prayer Offertory Preaching of Rom 8:18-25 (Wilson A Shirley) On Jordan's Stormy Banks Benediction Mevo, Oct 28 Welcome - Vid Your Love Never Fails Jesus Thank You Scripture Reading - Isa 29:13-14 Give Me Faith (Chris Brown) You Came to My Rescue Greeting / Sermon Let There Be Light (Hillsong) Announcments

Oct 8 Sermon - Law and Gospel - Commentary

A few thoughts Assurance [Picking up at 46:00]  Very often we turn and leave the gospel when it comes to issues of our assurance.  We think, ... "How will I know that I'm a Christian?  How do I know that I am saved?"  If you asked me that years ago, do you know what I would say?  I would rattle of a list of the things that I have done. " Here are the habits that I keep.  Here are things I've accomplished this week.  These are the good things I have done. " What happens when that flips the other way?  I'll tell you what happens: People come into my office and they say "I don't know if I'm saved".  If the assurance of your salvation rests on you, then I'm going to guess that you've mixed up the law and the gospel.  Some say that what the reformation recovered was the doctrine of assurance.  Because it took us from looking at the interior of our Christian life and it turned us outward and it said "Look at Christ". T

Oct 8 Sermon - Law and Gospel (Transcript)

[0:00] We're going to head back into our series this month as we go look at the reformation. This morning we're going to look at a distinction that may not be familiar to you "trust in the gospel not only for your salvation but also for your sanctification" Prayer [1:00] Lord, I'm grateful that that relationship, that connection is really given to us because of Christ.  And I pray this morning that as we seek to understand Your word more clearly, as we seek to understand what Your word says and demands of us, and we seek to understand the gospel of grace, Lord that those would be held in their proper place, that we would be those who trust in You and Your righteousness.  And we thank You that Your word is powerful and that Your Spirit is able to do what I am unable to do. [3:00] WWJD, for many of you, probably thought it originated in the 90s.  If you thought it originated in the 90's actually it didn't.  It originated in 1856.  It was a book t

Oct 1 Sermon, Mevo, Salvation = Justification?

Oct 1 sermon : [26:21] Man's solution to this then, was, through the church, really, you gain salvation by this equation: Salvation was God beginning a work, which they called "Justification", and you completing it. It was, to put it in theological terms,  Salvation equals  Justification  (God getting you across the line)    Plus   Sanctification  (you doing your part) This justification, putting you in this state, state something they thought happened when you were baptized as an infant, and his grace was infused, or placed into you.  And now it was up to you to be a good spiritual gardener.  To use an analogy, this grace was implanted in you, but now it was up to you to water it and to make it grow. [31:27] This problem with a holy God would only be solved by God himself.  In fact, if I were to write a new equation, what Luther developed is  Salvation does not equal , as he had been taught,  justification  a work that begins in you and is infu

Oct 1, 1 Sermon (II Peter: Moo vs A)

September 24, Mevo, Sermon, *A Going back 2 weeks ago since Oct 1 sermon isn't online yet.  Starting at 45:25: And so I don't think he is calling here in verse 14  for us to go after and be better and to be holy and righteous , because the language that he uses here is a language that I would put in the category of what I can never attain.  He says ' be diligent to be found  not just good or pursuing God but  to be found spotless and without blemish .  Those kind of categories are big kind of categories of really perfection. And he couples it with this idea of being at peace.  Now, if I thought he was seeing this as something that we are to go and do, something that we are to become, something that we are to work at, then putting together "without spot and blemish" and "at peace" are not something I can couple together.  Because I know myself too well and you know yourself too well.  If you think you are without spot or blemish or you think you hav

Stricken Smitten and Afflicted

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Oct 15, 2 Liturgies

[Keeter] By Faith (Getty) Jesus, We Love You (Live) - Bethel A Debtor to Mercy - Bob Kauflin Hymns [Mevo Oct 15] In Tenderness This is Amazing Grace Psalm 32 scripture reading In Christ Alone What a Beautiful Name Greeting Sermon

The gospel / sanctification retreat

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Color code: Speech quote   Text quote Narration without evaluation [ Evaluation ] "A*" refers to the speaker. ------- The Gospel Continues " The gospel sanctifies us "  Quotes the verse that says " by which you are being saved ", and says " this is a continual movement... this continues to affect you " [ Here he uses salvation in the dynamic sense, while using the word in the static sense in the reformation sermon .] His gospel breakdown was:   (1) God  (2) Man (image) (3) Sin (commission, omission: failure to give glory cf Rom 1), (4) Jesus Life death resurrection, (5) Faith. Later on A* quoted the two most quoted texts about how Christians still need the gospel: Romans 1 where Paul says he will preach it to "you", i.e. the Christians there.  and the passage in Galatians 2 where Paul says that Peter was out of step with the gospel. Justification and Neutrality Says " our justification just makes us neutral

Oct 8, 2 Liturgies

Mevo Oct 8 "liturgy":  - I love You Lord  - The Lord is Good  - As the Deer  - Our God (Tomlin)  - Great is Thy Faithfulness  - One Pure and Holy Passion Again, the sermon hasn't posted online yet, so we'll cover the [Cornerstone Liturgy from Oct 8] Welcome and Announcements Preparation for Worship (Galatians 5:25) Antiphinal call to worship (Psalm 124, 1 Cor 5) O Worship the King God be merciful to me Colossians 3:5-7, 12-17 Beneath the Cross of Jesus Pastoral Prayer + Offertory Sermon (Romans 812-13 The Gospel Song Apostles Creed Lord's Supper (Behold the Lamb) Doxology

Oct 1, 3 Liturgies

#1   Oct 1 2017, Hope Church, Liturgy No welcome, no prayers, no scripture readings. "Your Love Never Fails" - Jesus Culture "Always" - Kristian Stanfill "Holy Holy Holy", sung slowly, no drums, no accapella, acoustic all 4 times "The Great I Am" Phillips Craig and Dean Communion. #2 WSBC Liturgy,  3.19.2017 Preparation Song: Here is Love Welcome Scriptural Call to Worship : Lamentations 3:22-23 Hymn O Worship the King Hymn Across the Lands Prayer of Praise Scripture Reading Exodus 34:1-9  antiphonal Prayer of Confession: Scriptural Assurance of Pardon: John 11:25-26 Hymn I Hear the Words of Love Hymn What Wonderous Love is This Pastoral Prayer and Prayer of Petition Hymn How Sweet and Awful is the Place Prayer of Thanks  / Offertory Hymn Victory in the Lamb Benediction  Cornerstone Oct 1, Liturgy Welcome & announcements Call to Worship (antiphinal) Psalm 105 Prayer Come People of the Risen King By Faith Scri