Teaching on Sermons (Page 49)
The Marks of Christian Gratitude
Ephesians 5:20 For this morning, I just want to inform your Thanksgiving as you come before family, friends, however you are going to celebrate Thanksgiving, and give you some things to think about with regard to your reasons for gratitude, why we give thanks to God. This week all through the country, we’re celebrating Thanksgiving and we’re happing to consider this subject from a biblical perspective, to get some clarity on the subject. Probably no greater way to demonstrate our…
The Birth of Jesus Christ, Part 2
Luke 2:4-7 We are in Luke Chapter 2 this morning, so you can open your Bibles to Luke Chapter 2. Last week we entered into the nativity story, just breaking ground there, looking at the entrance of Jesus Christ into the world as a newborn baby. And that involved, I’ll admit, a bit of a history lesson. I had to take you back to the times of Caesar Augustus, back to the time of Quirinius as he was operating in…
The Birth of Jesus Christ, Part 1
Luke 2:1-3 Well, we are into Chapter 2 of Luke’s Gospel, so please turn in your Bibles there. As we look at Luke Chapter 2 starting in verse 1, it’s fitting here at the end of the year as we’re looking ahead to another Christmas season that we come into this portion of Scripture. We’re going to end the year celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and I’d like to begin this morning by just reading…
Tender Mercy in the Rising Son
Luke 1:78-80 Well, listen, as we turn our attention to God’s Word this morning, go ahead and open your Bibles to that final section in Luke’s Gospel, chapter 1. We’re going to be wrapping up. Hey, believe it or not, we’re going to be wrapping up Chapter 1 today. Yes! It’s been such a joy. There’s a sense, really a sense for me—I don’t know about you—but it’s a sense in which if it weren’t for what’s coming next, which…
Plowing Fallow Ground
Luke 1:76-77 We’re getting into God’s Word this morning. Open your Bibles to Luke’s Gospel once again. We are at the end of the first chapter where we’ve slowed down just a bit to focus our attention on Zechariah’s Song. What we’re about to study as we get into Chapter 2 and following, throughout the rest of Luke’s Gospel, is quite weighted. It’s holy. And our society, our culture, our American culture—we’re not used to weighty. We’re not used to…
The Significance of New Covenant Salvation
Luke 1:72-75 Go ahead and turn to Luke’s Gospel. Luke, Chapter 1 and we’re in that section from verses 67 to 80, the last part of the chapter. On the first of this month, October 1, 2015, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly. Some of you may have read that speech or read about it, or even watched the short little video clip there of Mr. Netanyahu’s 44 seconds of silence, which was a protest…
Blessed Be God the Savior
Luke 1:68-71 Luke chapter 1, verse 68—there’s a design in the text as we talked about last week, the intention of the Holy Spirit to cause us to slow down and linger a little while on Zechariah’s Benedictus, his song of salvation, a prophetic word. Last week we used the hour to get an overview of this rich, very, very profound doxology, a song of blessing and praise. We’ve called this Zechariah’s Gospel Doxology because the song highlights gospel themes.…
Zechariah’s Gospel Doxology
Luke 1:67-79 As we continue in Luke’s Gospel, we’re coming to the final section in this massive first chapter—eighty verses. That’s like four chapters in any epistle. So, eighty verses, good job. We’ve come through it; we’re getting to the end here. And this is Zechariah’s song. It’s also known as the Benedictus. This is the longest of all the canticles, all the songs, in Luke’s Gospel. As you can see there, it runs from verse 60 to verse 79.…
When God Shows Favor
Luke 1:57-66 We’re back in Luke’s gospel this morning, and I am rejoicing at that. So, turn in your Bibles to the first chapter of Luke. And we’re in Luke 1, verse 57. We’re coming into the final narrative scene of chapter 1. Which is, as you know, set at the time of the birth of John the Baptist. We, we were last in the text when Mary visited Elizabeth at the urging of the angel Gabriel. Elizabeth was in…