New D.A. Carson MP3 / audio sermons

1. What is the gospel? (At the Castle 2007)
   1. What is the gospel? (1 Cor. 15:1-19)
   2. Question and Answer session
      
2. Sermons on Jeremiah (At the Castle 2007)
   1. Jeremiah 1:1-3:5
   2. Jeremiah 3:4-4:4
   3. Jeremiah 11-15
   4. Jeremiah 30-31
   5. Jeremiah 37-39
   6. Questions and Answers

Why Christ includes Matt. 10:34-42 in sending out his disciples to evangelize

Matt. 10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Why does Jesus include this in a list of instructions as his disciples are going out to evangelize the cities of Israel?

1. If he came to save his people from their sins (1:21) and make disciples of all nations (28:19-20), then his defining what a disciple is or what a disciple looks like and what a disciple is not like is crucial in the task of making disciples.
2. It is important so that people don’t deceive themselves in thinking they are disciples when they really are not.
3. The true disciple, as described in this text is the type of disciple that abounds with joy in hard times and carries out the Great Commission with faithfulness and confidence in Christ.  Disciples who try to make others disciples, while valuing other things above Christ do not bear witness to Christ’s true worth, but in reality belittle it.
4. Regarding verse 40-42, Christ gives this portion so that when rejected (or received), they realize that they are not the ones ultimately rejected (or received), but Christ and God the Father are the ones who are ultimately rejected (or received).  This gives the disciples more incentive to be bold because the risk of them being ultimately rejected is not the case.

What is love? God answers the question from one significant angle.

God answers the question of how to love one another through the apostle John.  It may not be an answer that “Christians” like who don’t take the Bible seriously and seek to read and obey it carefully (yet not legalistically).

2 John 2:5-6 – “And now I ask you… that we love one another.  And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments.”

John goes on to describe deceivers and false teachers that will seek to deceive the church.  I’ve come across false teaching at my church where I was challenged that the church needed to be more “loving.”  I agree with their criticism.  I need to be more loving.  CFBC needs to be more loving.  But the people who criticize may also be the people who don’t define love as keeping all of God’s commandments in the power of the Spirit secured by Christ’s finished work.  They are right to say I need to love more, but their definition of love seems to say keep certain commandments of God to the neglect of all of them.  I don’t think I keep all of them, but I’m open to hearing all of them and asking God to give me and our church grace to obey them all.  I hope it’s the same for those who are quick to criticize churches that hold fast to the gospel and seek to teach the Scriptures clearly and authoritatively.

Selflessness and the husband’s headship in marriage

I’m reading Each for the Other by Bryan Chapell with Kathy Chapell for my pre-marital counseling with two of my friends who will be getting married in less than two weeks.  It is one of the best books I’ve read on marriage and it has convicted me of my failures and sins to God and my wife Frances several times.  Here’s a question I answered this morning that I hope edifies you husbands and aspiring husbands (and all who desire to love other like Christ did!).

Question: How is selflessness a resource for husbands to express headship in the home?

My answer: Selflessness is a resource for the husband to express headship because by thinking about and caring more for the wife’s happiness in God than his own preferences, he is freed to serve her and help her enjoy God without his preferences unnecessarily clashing with her need to see, savor, and enjoy Christ (no matter what the situation).  When we define the husband’s role as “having self-interest in the joy of his wife in God,” we define love and love is the resource for husbands to express Christ-like headship in the marriage.

Happy Lord’s Day everyone!  Christ is risen!  Maranatha!  Our Lord Jesus come!

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