Series: Ephesians

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 22nd March 2026

Series: Ephesians

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 15th March 2026

Series: Ephesians

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 8th March 2026

Passage: Ephesians 4:17-32

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 1st March 2026

Series: Ephesians

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 22nd February 2026

Series: Ephesians

Speaker: Dov

Sunday Morning

Date: 15th February 2026

Passage: Ephesians 4:7-13

Series: Ephesians

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Date: 8th February 2026

Passage: Ephesians 4:1-6

Series: Ephesians

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 1st February 2026

Passage: Ephesians 3:1-21

Series: What Pleases God?

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 20th January 2026

Series: Ephesians

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 18th January 2026

Passage: Ephesians 2:1-3:10

Series: Ephesians

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 11th January 2026

Passage: Ephesians 2:11

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 23rd December 2025

Passage: Ephesians 1:1-6:24

Series: Outgrowing Anxiety

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 23rd December 2025

Passages:

• Ephesians 1:1-23
• Colossians 1:1-24
• Hebrews 5:1-14
• Revelation 5:1-14

Series: Outgrowing Anxiety

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 23rd December 2025

Series: What Pleases God?

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 16th December 2025

Series: The Final Adam

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 14th December 2025

Passage: Colossians 2:1-23

Series: The Final Adam

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 7th December 2025

Passage: Romans 5:12-6:4

Series: 1 John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 30th November 2025

Passage: 1 John 5:1

Series: 1 John

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Date: 23rd November 2025

Passage: 1 John 5:1-5

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Loving God's Commandments

Series: 1 John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 16th November 2025

Passage: 1 John 3:11

Series: 1 John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 9th November 2025

Passage: 1 John 3:1-18

Series: 1 John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 3rd November 2025

Passage: 1 John 3:1

Series: 1 John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 26th October 2025

Passage: 1 John 2:18

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1 John 2:18

Series: 1 John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 19th October 2025

Passage: 1 John 2:1-29

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 18th October 2025

Series: 1 John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 5th October 2025

Passage: 1 John 2:1-5

Series: Outgrowing Anxiety

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 25th September 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 23rd September 2025

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Classical Biblical Sufficiency Article referenced: https://tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/by-good-and-necessary-consequence-2019-06/

Manuscript:

I wanted to quickly differentiate between the classical (and proper) definition of biblical sufficiency and some of the less refined versions of this doctrine floating around.

The Westminster Confession of Faith Article 1.6 provides protestants with the classic definition:

"The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word: and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed. " - Westminster Confession of Faith 1.6

This definition is excellent because it provides three important clarifications, at least two of which are typically lacking in more modern and general definitions of biblical sufficiency:

In addition to scripture, there are principles derived from scripture that are to be held as part of God’s counsel. The WCF refers to these principles as things deduced from scripture that are “both good and necessary” implications. You can read more about this idea in this excellent article from Tabletalk Magazine.

The use of scripture depends on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As the WCF puts it, “Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word.” When the confession speaks of the “saving understanding” of the revealed word, both salvation and sanctification are included.

Finally, let’s consider the biggest distinction between carefully defined classical sufficiency and some of the other definitions that while well-meaning, are less thought out. The confession concludes, “there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.”

As you can see, this is an important detail. The true laws of nature (often discovered via observational science) are never to be understood as a competitor to God’s revealed word. This important wrinkle in the confession’s doctrine forces us to contend with a couple of problems:

Scientists who malign God’s natural law.

Like all human endeavors, the sciences are filled with individuals who hate all of God’s laws (including natural law). In an ideal marketplace setting, scientists who hate natural law would quickly be out of businesses. For the basic definition of science requires the recognition of and submission to a fixed order of nature that is to be discovered via scientific efforts. Unfortunately, we live in a corrupted world that will, from time to time, incentivize and subsidize erroneous science. Again, my definition of erroneous science would begin with the rejection of natural law.

A good example of this kind of thing would be all of the confusion surrounding gender. In a more ideal world, any scientist that denies the existence of two genders, each with observable distinctions and roles, would be immediately rejected as a bad scientist. But there is currently enough corrupt funding within the scientific community that keeps disqualified people employed.

Scientists who misidentify God's natural laws.

In addition to the real problem of disqualified scientists (those who reject natural law), we have another problem. Since we are fallen human beings, we will, even with the best intentions, make mistakes. The scientific world is full of false conclusions which stem not so much from hostility to God’s law, but rather plain old human error. The scientific data surrounding the role of cholesterol in heart disease is one example. In that case, classic confusions over causality and correlation combined with interests from drug companies created a momentum to misapply real scientific findings.

The truth is that sin creates all sorts of potential misunderstandings of real data. Take for instance the data regarding suicidal ideation amongst people with gender dysphoria. For a number of years, this legitimate data was used to argue for “transitioning” children. Certain sinful presuppositions kept scientists from seeing that by definition, a child with gender dysphoria is extremely high in character trait neuroticism and is therefore far more likely to experience suicidal ideations.

Scientists who misapply their findings.

The classical protestant position on epistemology states that the Holy Spirit is needed to illuminate both of God’s books to various degrees. So in addition to needing the Holy Spirit to produce a saving and sanctifying understanding of the scriptures, the Holy Spirit is needed to properly apprehend and apply certain truths we discover in the natural world.

It is one thing to discover real data in the natural world, and it is another to possess the wisdom necessary to know how to apply it properly.

Going back to our example with gender, a scientist might correctly discern the differences and notice that the average woman has about a third of the upper body strength of the average man. This correct finding might lead to the incorrect determination that rape is encoded in the laws of nature (there are scientists who hold this position). One of the more common examples has to do with male monogamy. In some sense, there is a great deal of observable science that indicates men are not built for monogamy. In both of these examples, scientific failure emerges from a kind of materialistic interpretation of data that disregards the clear teaching of scripture.

Key Takeaways:

The classical position on scriptural sufficiency includes a godly use of natural law.

The main problem with so-called integrationism is not so much the use of external data as it is the three problems outlined above.

The Puritans are the best example of a healthy integration of both natural and special revelation. In the average Puritan sermon or book, you will find true shepherding of souls that stands resolutely on the unique authority of the scriptures while also utilizing basic principles that support human flourishing as found in the light of nature.

It would be common for instance to see a Puritan prescribe “getting fresh air and sunlight” as a means of grace. This is very similar to what we see modeled in 1 Timothy 5:23 where Paul tells Timothy to “take a little wine for your stomach.”

Antidotes to harmful integrationism:

A reverential respect for the majesty of God’s word. Every counselor must embrace the essential gratitude and honor for the bible as displayed in Psalm 119. The majority of integrationist errors stem from a dismissive attitude toward God’s glorious scriptures.

A clear understanding of God’s word. The average integrationist, while well-meaning, is often tragically limited in the amount of bible they know and understand. This i...

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 23rd September 2025

Series: Outgrowing Anxiety

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Seminar

Date: 23rd September 2025

Passage: Philippians 4:6-7

Series: 1 John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 21st September 2025

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Date: 7th September 2025

Passage: Psalm 121:1-8

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 31st August 2025

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 24th August 2025

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Seven Habits of Highly Successful Sufferers

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 17th August 2025

Passage: Psalm 103:1-22

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 10th August 2025

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Sunday Morning

Date: 3rd August 2025

Passage: Psalm 4:1-8

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 27th July 2025

Passage: Psalm 128:1-6

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 20th July 2025

Passage: Psalm 19:1-14

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 13th July 2025

Passage: Psalm 73:1-28

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 6th July 2025

Passage: Psalm 72:1-20

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 29th June 2025

Series: Psalms

Sunday Morning

Date: 22nd June 2025

Passage: Psalm 110:1-7

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 15th June 2025

Passage: Psalm 91:1-16

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 8th June 2025

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Luke 24:44-47, “Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

So wherever we are in the bible, our main purpose is to see and savor Christ.

The severity of pain you experience in your next trial will really come down to how precious Jesus is to you.

It would be much better for you if you treasured him before the next trial.

ADVENT

Aseity (complete self-sufficiency, no needs) Descent (incarnation) Virtue (his perfect obedience and moral excellence) Execution (cross) New Life (resurrection) Throne (rule and reign)

A = Aseity God is independent of all things. He is perfectly self-sufficient, not depending on anything outside himself for anything, and is therefore the eternal, foundational being, the source of life and sustenance for all other beings. He is self-existent, having life in and of himself (Exodus 3:14; John 5:26), and he existed before all things, and through him alone all things exist (Psalm 90:2; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11). He is the source of everything (Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 45:5–7; 54:16; John 5:26; 1 Corinthians 8:6) and he depends on nothing; all things depend on him (Romans 11:36). He needs nothing, being all-sufficient (Job 22:2–3; Acts 17:25).

John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Hebrews 1:1-3 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

John - All things were made through him Hebrews - He upholds the universe by the word of his power. Colossians 1:15-16 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Aseity in the Psalms

“Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting” (Psalm 93:2)

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2)

“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain” (Psalm 102:25-26)

Psalm 33:4-6, “For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.”

D = Descent

The next letter in our acronym is D for Descent (Incarnation). And it usually connected in the NT to his Aseity. This great God who needed nothing and is over everything took on flesh and walked among us.

John says, “the word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Hebrews says, “God made him a little lower than the angels.” Philippians 2:6-7 says, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Descent in the Psalms

““The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage’” Psalm 2:7-8

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,” – Psalm 8:3-6

Hebrews 10 tells us that the phrase, “I have come to do your will, O God” from Psalm 40:7-8 is actually Jesus speaking to the Father.

The whole creation, in all its excellency, cannot contribute one mite unto the satisfaction or blessedness of God. He has it all in infinite perfection from himself and in his own nature.How magnificent is the humility of the Son of God in taking on the role of mediator! The divine nature is so perfect and infinitely distant from all creation, and God is so completely self-sufficient in His eternal joy—lacking nothing and needing no addition—that any attention He gives to His creatures is an act of humble condescension from His supreme position. What heart can grasp, or words describe, the glory of the Son’s condescension, when He freely took on our human nature, making it His own, to serve as our mediator and represent us before God? – John Owen (Chris’ Paraphrase)

As Thomas Watson said, “it would be more fitting for God to make all of the angels into worms, than for him to become like a man.”

V = Virtue

Philippians 2:5-8

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient… to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Virtue in the Psalms

Psalm 15, “Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly” (1-2)

Psalm 24:3-4, “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.”

Only Jesus can say Psalm 119:22, “I have kept your testimonies.”

E = Execution

Execution in the Psalms

When you read Psalm 3, “O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” — see Christ first and foremost.

When you read Psalm 6 – “I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.” (6-7), think first and foremost of Christ.

The Great Exchange: How to see Christ in the Psalmist’s sin

Psalm 51, “my sin is ever before me.”

2 Corinthians 5:21, “He who knew no sin became sin so that in him we might become the righteousn...

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 1st June 2025

Passage: Psalm 1:1-6

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Seminar

Date: 28th May 2025

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Sunday Morning

Date: 25th May 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Date: 23rd May 2025

Series: Psalms

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 18th May 2025

Series: John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 11th May 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Seminar

Date: 5th May 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Seminar

Date: 4th May 2025

Series: John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 4th May 2025

Passage: John 20:1-31

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Seminar

Date: 4th May 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Seminar

Date: 4th May 2025

Series: John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 27th April 2025

Passage: John 19:1-42

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Title: The Wisdom of God on Display in the Cross // The Cross: God’s Most Painful Proverb Text John 19

In 1 Corinthians 1:22-24 Paul says, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

The cross is both the power and the wisdom of God. Earlier in 1 Corinthians 1, Paul says that the cross is the power of salvation to those being saved. We tend to think of the cross mostly as a means of salvation. But Paul says the cross is also the wisdom of God.

That’s what I want to lock in on this morning. The wisdom of God displayed in the cross. I think the cross is a basically God’s greatest and most painful proverb.

A proverb is a very condensed saying, a very dense collection of words, that yields innumerable moral lessons as you meditate on it. A single proverb is something like a chunk of coal. Highly compressed carbon that contains a massive amount of energy in a small package. You can take a proverb and put it in the furnace of your heart/mind and get a large amount of light and heat from that little dense nugget.

That is why I think of the cross as God’s greatest proverb. On the one hand, it is a very compressed moment in time, all taking place on a Friday morning/early afternoon. But there is unlimited light and heat to be gained from this single event. And the more you meditate on the cross, the more light and heat it bears.

Here’s something I just noticed this year as I studied John 18-19

The Cross and Your Career

Jesus was crucified by a group of people who were “just doing their job.”

As chief priest, it was Ciaphas’ job to keep the religious purity of Israel. And to generally look out for her welfare. In John 11, he sets the arrest, accusation, and crucifixion of Jesus in motion by saying,

“If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” (John 11:48-50)

So Jesus is arrested and handed over to Pontus Pilate who again just did his job. It was Pilate’s job to keep the peace in Jerusalem – to prevent and or put down riots. So even though he said three times that he found no guilt in Jesus – he nonetheless crucified him because he was just doing his job.

And finally, it was the Roman soldiers who crucified him. These soldiers had nothing against Jesus. They simply had a job to do. They reported to Pilate. Questions of guilt were above their paygrade. So when Pilate ordered that Jesus be flogged, they flogged him. And when Pilate ordered Jesus to be crucified, they nailed him to the cross. They too were just doing their job.

And you could apply this in all sorts of ways. It is possible to be vocationally fruitful and spiritual faithless. It is possible both to do a good job in the eyes of man and do an evil thing in the eyes of God.

And then you could compare the work of these men with the work of Jesus. Jesus’ work looked absolutely foolish, fruitless, a total and complete waste.

My point is that the cross seems to have something to say about everything. Even the evils of mindless professionalism. And that whenever a big question about life and conduct emerged in the early church, the first Christians could look to the cross for wisdom.

The Cross and the Sovereignty of God

So let’s read some of the text for today. Let’s look at John 19, beginning with the end of vs. 16

So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

“They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

The Sovereignty of God

In terms of wisdom, one of the greatest bits of insight we can gain from meditating on the cross is that God is perfectly in control. While the book of Proverbs carries a wide variety of lessons, the central matter is the sovereignty of God.

Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”

Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”

Proverbs 16:33 “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.”

Proverbs 20:24 “A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?”

The cross offered early Christians undeniable evidence that this is true. Whatever man is up to, no matter how rebellious or evil or misguided… whatever man is doing of his own free will, the God of the universe orders his steps.

The sovereignty of God is a central lesson of the cross.

In Acts 2:22-24, Peter says – ““Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

One example of this has to do with the way the rulers of that time and plac...

Series: John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 20th April 2025

Passage: John 18:1-20:31

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Good Friday

Date: 19th April 2025

Passage: Colossians 1:1-4:18

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 15th April 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 14th April 2025

Series: John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 13th April 2025

Passage: John 16:31-17:25

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 11th April 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 9th April 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 6th April 2025

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The sermon starts with the preacher discussing his recent physical pain and how it led him to think about people in his community who are also struggling physically. He introduces the concept of teleology, using the example of a coffee mug's design implying its purpose. He shares an anecdote about his mother's tendency to decorate and her unusual habit of using a butter knife as a hammer, illustrating how things can be used for purposes they weren't designed for. The sermon centers on 1 Corinthians 6:13-20, specifically the line "The body is for the Lord and the Lord for the body." He addresses those struggling with sexual sin, arguing that the body isn't meant as a "playground" for endorphins and dopamine, even though it might seem to "work" for that purpose. He stresses the body's true purpose is to glorify God. He then speaks to those struggling with physical ailments, emphasizing that the body's primary purpose isn't personal happiness, productivity, or wealth, but glorifying God. He argues that focusing on what one can do to glorify God, even in sickness, is the key to finding joy, peace, and contentment. He uses the analogy of a car with optional features, such as a crock pot, to illustrate that even if a body lacks certain functions, it can still fulfill its main purpose of glorifying God. He then explores the phrase "the Lord for the body," suggesting it signifies a mutual relationship, like marriage. He posits that Christ took on a body to be crucified and resurrected, paving the way for believers to receive new, perfect bodies in glorification. He offers comfort to those with chronic illnesses, emphasizing that the Lord has a plan for their bodies and they will one day be completely healed. He reiterates that sickness doesn't hinder the body's primary purpose of glorifying God. The sermon encourages listeners to repeatedly surrender their bodies to the Lord, focusing on what they can do to glorify Him, even in the midst of suffering. It concludes with the hopeful promise of future healing and glorification, where the body will be fully aligned with its divine purpose.

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 6th April 2025

Passage: John 14:1-16:33

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Some of the greatest preaching and teaching in the history of the church was polemic in nature. That is to say it was oriented toward correcting heresy.

An example would Irenaeus’ work: Against Heretics. Spurgeon did this when he opposed Marxism. One of the best sermon’s I’ve ever heard was preached by the baptist great WA Crisswell who preached a sermon at the Southern Baptist Convention aimed directly at theological liberalism.

Today I’m going to be talking about the Holy Spirit. And I’m going to attempt to preach a polemical sermon. Meaning, I’m going to preach against something. Namely, the errors related to the Holy Spirit that are at work in the hypercharismatic movement.

By hypercharismatics, I am mostly referring to the movement known as New Apostolic Reformation. IHOP was part of that, as is Bethel. And there are several other groups loosely connected. This appears to be a growing movement.

In 2015, there were about 3 million American Christians connected to NAR churches. Some estimates put that number at 33 million today. Whatever the number, we can say:

A lot of these folks live in Kansas City. And due to the IHOP stuff, a lot of them are rethinking all of this. In one sense, this sermon could help you help them. And obviously, I am eager to protect from their errors as well.

Three things about polemical preaching.

Firstly, it needs to be firm. Titus 2:11-15 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Secondly, it needs to be gentle. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 says, And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

So we won’t be offering these critiques in a particularly spicy way.

Thirdly, it must use the error to proclaim and clarify the truth. While we do hope that some people will receive correction, the real value of polemical preaching is that it offers a kind of “not this but that” format that winds up clarifying key truths and further edifying believers who aren’t themselves in error. Today, we’re going to use the errors at work in the New Apostolic Reformation movement as a kind of contrast to the truths we see taught by Jesus in John 14-16

Three problems with the hyper-charismatic movement as it relates to their functional relationship with the Holy Spirit.

A failure to distinguish the apostolic age from this current age A false division between the spirit and the word A failure to emphasize Christ

Apostolic Uniqueness

The NAR error on this account amounts to their insistence of total continuity between the apostolic age and our current age. They think the office of apostle continues today as it did back in the early church. The traditional view, which I think is the correct view, says otherwise.

Think of it this way, as we’ve studied the words of Jesus, given primarily to the apostles, there’s a kind of elephant in the room.

Are these promises directed at the apostles or to all believers?

There is a sense in which the apostles are just like us. Peter calls himself a fellow shepherd. The apostles refer to themselves as brothers and co-laborers with the other Christians.

But there is another sense in which they were special. They were given unique apostolic authority and anointing. They performed miracles of unique quality, quantity, and predictability. Most importantly, they wrote the scriptures.

The apostles are like us in that we all are saved the same way. They are unlike us in that they held a unique place in the development of the church.

That’s what we believe. That the apostles were a unique group of men who existed for a specific period of time. They had two qualifications:

they were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ (Acts 1:21-22; 1 Corinthians 9:1) they were directly commissioned by Jesus to speak and write with foundational authority for the church (Galatians 1:1; 2 Peter 3:2).

This aligns with Ephesians 2:20, where the church is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets," a foundation we see as being laid once for all in the first century.

This affects how we view Jesus’ words, especially during his farewell discourse. Here’s how I would propose you think about this.

For the apostles, Jesus gives particulars. For the rest of us, Jesus gives patterns.

Perhaps the most obvious example of this has to do with the Great Commission. The apostles literally did go from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the outermost parts. For the church at large, that same text serves as a more general pattern.

In John 16:1-4, we see another example:

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

That literally happened to the apostles. It figuratively or metaphorically happens to all disciples (you will be excluded and persecuted).

Here’s another example. Look at vs. 12

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

When directed toward the apostles, this promise predicts the formation of the New Testament. They received divine revelation from the Holy Spirit as they wrote the books of the NT. They were carried along by the Holy Spirit writing inspired inerrant divine revelation. That’s the particular fulfillment of Jesus’ words.

But there’s also something there for us. Something more like a pattern. When directed toward us, the idea moves from being revelation to illumination. For the apostles, the Holy Spirit gave them the words of Christ to write (which is revelation). We are be...

Series: John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 6th April 2025

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As we move out of Jesus’ farewell discourse, we have at least one topic that we need to cover. Namely, Jesus’ teachings about the Holy Spirit.

Salvation (16:1-11)

In verses 1-3, Jesus touches on a problem that all people have prior to conversion. They have a broken understanding of who God is and therefore have a broken understanding of what pleases God.

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”

Here Jesus is speaking specifically about the Jews. For the rest of the New Testament, going all the way into Revelation, the Jews are singled out as the primary antagonist to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The majority of persecution that happens in the New Testament comes at the hand of the Jews. This is because they have what Paul calls, “zeal without knowledge.”

Romans 10:1-2, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”

And that’s exactly what we see from Jesus in John 16:3, “they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”

So the early, distinctly Jewish opposition to the gospel of Jesus Christ is merely an expression of their fundamental ignorance about the nature of God. Paul himself is an example of this. He was of course, a persecutor of the saints. He kept on breathing murderous threats against the church until Jesus showed himself to him. At which time he went from being a leading opponent of the gospel to a leading advocate for it. The change came about simply through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And that is what the Holy Spirit does for us in salvation. 2 Corinthians 4:4-6,

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

That’s the real problem. They do not see Christ. And thus walk around with wrong ideas about God and do wrong things in response to their wrong ideas. The cure? They need to see Christ. And so Paul continues in 2 Corinthians,

“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

This is not a problem for the Jews alone. Their situation is especially tragic because God had given them the holy scriptures. And to whom much is given, much is required. But their spiritual condition is not unique at all.

We see plenty of instances in the New Testament where the pagans suffer under the same problem.

In Acts 17, Paul is walking through the city of Athens, which is absolutely littered with idols to various gods. Paul is stirred up in his spirit over this painful reminder about the problem all people everywhere have. They do bad things thinking they are doing good things. And this error all stems from their ignorance of Christ.

In vs.22-28 Paul says,

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

From there he moves on from a general discussion of God to a specific reference to Christ.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”– Acts 17:30-31

The big idea I am trying to communicate is that the main problem with humanity has to do with a lack of understanding the nature of God as revealed in Christ.

The Jews, the Muslims, the Hindus, the Buddhists, and even the Satanists all have the same problem. They do not see the truth of God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.

And so they sin, not in spite of their religious beliefs but rather because of their religious beliefs. This is also true of all the people who consider themselves non-religious. That’s a lie. We live in a world of informal and individualistic religions. Where everybody does what is right in their own eyes. These people are, in reality, no less religious than the average Shiite Muslim.

Its just that their own sensibilities, thoughts, feelings, and desires serve as a highly individualized kind of Shariah law.

Look back at John 16:1-3

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”

The Jews acted on their ignorance in a particular way. The gentiles acted on their ignorance in another way. The problem is universal. A false view of God will lead to a great confusion whereby people sin greatly against God all the while thinking they are being good people who are pleasing their false god.

So that’s one problem. Human beings have wrong ideas about God that lead to wrong actions.

And Jesus has another problem in mind. Namely that his disciples are about to be sent into a full of spiritual darkness.

Think for a moment about how it would’ve felt to be a very early adoptor to the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Jesus is speaking these words, the number of faithful followers could fit in a single room.

They early church was like a little fishing boat set out into a global sea of self-righteousness. How would they ever survive?

Well look at vs. 4

But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerni...

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 4th April 2025

Passage: Romans 8:29

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 4th April 2025

Series: John

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Sunday Morning

Date: 30th March 2025

Passage: John 15:1-27

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 28th March 2025

Series: John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 23rd March 2025

Passage: John 14:1-31

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 21st March 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 19th March 2025

Passage: Psalm 127:1

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 15th March 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 14th March 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 14th March 2025

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 13th March 2025

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What do we make of the newly formed pro-Trump accelerationist coalition? What is God up to this time?

Series: John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 16th February 2025

Passage: John 9:1-41

Series: John

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Sunday Morning

Date: 9th February 2025

Passage: John 8:1-59

Series: John

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Sunday Morning

Date: 2nd February 2025

Passage: John 7:1-53

Series: John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 26th January 2025

Passage: John 5:44-6:71

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Text: John 5:44-6:71 Title: The Menu is Not the Meal

Introduction:

This is Not a Pipe (Ceci n'est pas une pipe) Rene Margritte. 1929 Treachery of Images

The Map is Not the Territory Alfred Korzybski

The Menu is Not the Meal Allan Watts

Signifier / Signified distinction Words that represent the real thing

This is very adjacent to the way the bible talks about earthly things vs. eternal things.

In CS Lewis’ The Great Divorce, “They have thought of their world as the “real” one, the one with substance, while thinking of heaven as the less substantial spirit world. They learn, or those with eyes to see learn, that they had it backwards. Heaven is the land of substance, earth the land of shadow. Earth is full of not only shadows, but illusions and pretentions, Heaven is reality itself.” – Randy Alcorn

That’s what we believe right? That this world is more like menu than a meal? It is telling us about what’s to come.

This is also the way the bible talks about the Old Covenant in relationship to the New.

Hebrews 10:1 – “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities…”

When you confuse the menu with the meal, you invariably wind up making too much of the creation and too little of the creator.

The gospel of John seems written to deal with this issue. When this gospel was written, the majority of Jews had rejected Jesus and remained committed to Moses. They had rejected the meal in favor of the menu. They mistook the map for the territory. One key to understanding the book of John is to see how he constantly compares Moses with Jesus.

Moses As A Character in The Fourth Gospel Prophet-King: Moses Traditions and the Johaninne Christology Moses in the Gospel of John

I scanned through those resources this week. Here’s a basic sketch of how Moses appears in the gospel of John:

Genesis / John 1

Firstly, you need to note how the gospel of John begins like Moses’ first book begins. John is clearly repeating the creation story in Genesis.

Christ:

"The darkness comprehended it (the light of Christ) not... the (Jewish) world knew him not" (John 1:5,10).

Moses:

"Israel" understood not" the work of Moses (Acts 7:25).

Christ:

"He came unto his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11).

Moses:

When he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren... he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them" (Acts 7:23,25). Therefore Moses in the court of Pharaoh = Jesus working in Nazareth until age 30. Was Moses's "surprise" at Israel's lack of response reflected in Christ (cp. Is. 50:2-7; 59:16)? Despite his own righteousness, did Christ think too highly of the potential spirituality of Israel (Lk. 13:9; 20:13 cp. his high regard of others' spirituality: Mt. 8:10; 11:11; 15:28)? If the Lord respected others so much - shouldn't we have deep respect for each other? The pain of Moses' rejection = Christ's; although he was rich, Moses had become poor for their sakes.

And then in 1:17, we have our first explicit reference to Moses,

“The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

And then in 1:18, we have another implicit connection to Moses,

“No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

Another implicit one in vs. 19, “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

And then in vs. 45, we have another explicit reference.

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

One thing to bear in mind is that plenty of people got the connection between Jesus and Moses right off the bat. Phillip had that part squared away from day 1.

The next explicit reference to Moses is in John 3:17, where Jesus says to one of these teachers of the law, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

I could go on and on.

Woman at the Well / Moses meets Zipporah. The man paralyzed for 38 years. The exact length of time Israel floundered in the wilderness. In John 5, Jesus says he can do nothing of himself. In Numbers, Moses says something very similar.

And all of this leads us back to what Jesus said in chapter 5

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” – Jn 5:44-47

And plenty of people grasped this – at least at some level.

After feeding the 5000, the people said –

So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” (Jn 6:13-14)

That’s a reference to something Moses said in Deuteronomy 18:15-19

15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

Moses was the menu, Jesus is the meal. Moses was the map, Jesus is the territory.

Initially, the people seem to be dialed into this reality.

After Jesus feeds the people, he leaves. The people follow. They find him and ask for more food. Jesus shifts the focus from physical bread to the bread of life…

Moses is intertwined with all of this:

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses...

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Podcast

Date: 21st January 2025

Series: John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 19th January 2025

Passage: John 5:1-29

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Introduction: Children’s Hospital, Beauty & Brokeness

Everything that takes place in Jerusalem is like that. Especially what we see today in 5:1-2

“After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.”

This was somewhat architecturally impressive. But the purpose of these pools appears to have been for the purpose of washing, of being cleansed from ceremonial uncleanness, etc… Rabbinc law at the time stated that the water used for purification had to be “living water” – water that moves. So the best understanding of this pool is that the top was a reservoir and then at certain times, they would open the top reservoir, which caused the bottom reservoir to move, bubble, etc… So there’s already the uneasy truce between beauty and brokenness. And then of course we see in vs. 3 that its worse…

“In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.”

The image of Jesus walking among a multitude of physically broken people is bracing for a number of reasons. The God who walked with man and woman in their glorious state is now walking with them in their fallen state.

See what sin and sorrows our father Adam has left for us. – Spurgeon

It seems important to me that while in the gospels, and in our daily lives, we try to view the world through the eyes of Jesus. He is the only human being to ever walk the earth who was not a native to sin. He isn’t desensitized to sin or to the damage it inflicts.

II. The Depravity of Man

Theologians describe what he saw as “total depravity.” There’s some confusion about what this doctrine means. Total depravity does not mean that all men and women are as bad as they possibly could be. Rather, total depravity means that all aspects of human life has been damaged by sin.

Here’s a good definition written by pastor Bill Sasser,

“Every human being has been infected and affected by sin in every part of the body, soul and spirit. The whole, or total, being has been invaded by sin. Thus, "total depravity" means that every faculty of man's being, every activity of his life, and every sphere of his existence has been permeated by sin.”

We see this doctrine displayed quite clearly in chapter 5.

Physical (3)

“In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.”

Psychological (4-6)

“One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?’”

Social (7)

“The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.’”

Riotous competition when the water was stirred No help from anyone outside Religious (8-10)

Mankind is a fundamentally religious being (including those who say “I’m not religious”). Sin has infected and affected his religion as much as any other part of him. One example…

The KJV includes the following, “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.”

None of the oldest manuscripts include this. So most modern translations do not include it either. This comment appears to be what is known in the translation world as marginalia – comments by the transcribers that eventually found its way into the actual text. And we know about this because there are so many manuscripts of John. So we’re able to see what is original and what is not.

And as we move on, we see another example of religious perversion. Look at vs. 8-10

“Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.’”

Here we see a primary way sin has affected religion. These Jewish leaders are confusing the tradition of man with the commandment of God. We were just in Exodus. So we know that God had indeed commanded the people that for six days they will do their work but on the 7th they will rest. But you won’t find anything forbidding carrying one’s mat after having been healed from a 38 year long disease that left you languishing in a public place as a beggar.

Where did that come from? Well, over time, people began to define work. I doubt any of those definitions were malicious. I bet that 9/10 times, if these Pharisees saw a man carrying a bed on the sabbath, he would indeed be breaking the commandment. I don’t think we need to fault the guys for asking. But we must fault them for this foolish, ideological myopia. His answer should’ve had them renegotiating their own interpretation of the law. Which of course is not what occurs.

II. The Divinity of Christ

Now look at vs. 11-16

But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ ” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

Notice the phrase “doing these things” – this implies a pattern

Jesus is not completely blameless here. Meaning, he is not going out of his way to avoid controversy. All he had to do was wait until Monday. If all he wanted to do was heal people, he could get plenty done on the other 6 days a week. He’s up to something.

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Only God Works on the Sabbath

This little phrase is one of those spots where the preacher gets his job security. You have to do a fair bit of digging to realize that the same dudes who came up with the rules about carrying mats on the sabbath, also asked a more important question. Does God himself abstain from all work on the sabbath? And the answer was, no – God upheld the universe, he governed creation, so forth. Rabbinical tradition up to this point had reached that consensus. God works on the sabbath.

So you see what Jesus is doing with these Sabbath provocations? He’s telling them that he is God. It is right for God alone to work on the Sabba...

Series: John

Speaker: Dov Cohen

Sunday Morning

Date: 29th December 2024

Passage: John 2:1-25

Series: Podcast

Speakers:

• Chris Oswald
• Dov Cohen

Podcast

Date: 23rd December 2024

Series: John

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 22nd December 2024

Passage: John 1:12-13

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Today we’re beginning 21 weeks in John.

The chapter begins with an emphasis on the cosmic Christ.

1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

1:9-10, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.”

And then in vs. 14 we see that all of this cosmic power is compressed into one creature, one man – Jesus of Nazareth.

The way John writes about the incarnation reminds me of that quote from Alladin, “unlimited cosmic powers, itty bitty living space.”

Or as Queen Lucy put it in The Last Battle, “In our world too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world.”

Now in the material world, a bunch of energy compressed into a small space is often an explosion waiting to happen.

And in some sense that’s what would happen…

What started out with a baby in a manger wound up converting over half the Roman empire by the third century. Today around 2.6 billion people claim to be Christian. That number is expected to be north of 3 billion by 2050.

So maybe the term “explosion” is appropriate.

Look at John 20:30

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” – John 20:30

So there you have the purpose of the book. “That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

We will deal with that more in a moment. I actually wanted to draw your attention to the first line, “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples…”

Now turn to John 21:25

“Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” – John 21:25

Is that literally true? If someone were to have written down everything Jesus ever did – would that library really overflow the world itself?

Jonathan Edwards thought that the word “did” ought to be translated as accomplished. He said in that way, John’s statement is literal.

If here, by the “things that Jesus did,” be not only meant the actions of Christ, but the things done or accomplished by those actions, we may suppose it to be literally true, that if they were written every one, the world itself is not large enough to “contain the books that should be written.” There are other things that belong to what Christ did, besides merely the external action that was immediately visible to the eye, or the words that might be heard by the ear, which we must suppose are included in what the Evangelist means by the “things that he did.”

The apostle John in this history mentions some of them, but to mention all would be to write a declaration of all the glorious wise purposes and designs of God’s wisdom and grace, and the love of Christ, and all that belongs to that manifold wisdom of God, and those unsearchable riches of wisdom and knowledge in the work of redemption that we read of in the Scripture, which, if they should be all written, ’tis probable the universe would not contain the books.

The point being, the creator of the world – becoming a creature – unlimited cosmic power // itty bitty living space – that was ground zero for a kind of world altering explosion.

Krakatoa

Four times as much force as the most powerful thermonuclear weapon ever detonated. People 3000 miles away heard the explosion – which witnesses first assumed was a canon being fired. (due to the speed of sound, they heard it 4 hours after the actual blast) The eruption is estimated to have reached 180 dB – the loudest sound in history. The acoustic shockwave traveled around the entire world three times. It killed around 40,000 people Created multiple tsunamis with 100 foot waves The ash started a volcanic winter in the Northern Hemisphere California had record rainfall. The sky was darker than normal for years afterward Vibrantly red sunsets for the same period The jet stream was discovered due to Krakatoa. People were able to visibly identify it due to the movement of the ash. White moonbeams shining through the clouds emerged blue and sometimes green. People also saw lavender suns In 2004, an astronomer proposed the idea that the red sky shown in Edvard Munch's 1893 painting The Scream is an accurate depiction of the sky over Norway after the eruption. (10 years after the eruption)

So that’s the effect of a considerable amount of compressed energy exploding into the world. In vs. 12, we see the main thing Jesus has accomplished:

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

This is the main idea of the gospel. Every other aspect of the gospel is, in some way secondary to this. The whole point of Christ’s coming was to do this – to bring many sons and daughters to glory.

In his classic book Knowing God, JI Packer states:

Everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God. Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption in Christ….If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much they make of being God’s child, and having God as our Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls their worship, prayers, and whole outlook on life, they do not understand Christianity very well at all (J. I. Packer, Knowing God).

You’ll notice that Packer is using the word adoption to describe all of this. Which of course is a word that the bible uses repeatedly. But that word isn’t used in our text. Instead we have the word born.

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

That’s an important distinction to note. The word adoption does a good job of describing many of the glories of conversion. Adoption indicates transfer from one family to another. Adoption indicates a legal status. It indicates God’s free choice to make a people out of those who were not a people. But the one thing the word adoption doesn’t communicate very well is a fundamental change of nature. To describe that aspect, the bible uses the word...

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 15th December 2024

Passages:

• Psalm 2:8
• Matthew 28:18-20
• John 17:16
• Ephesians 2:17-22

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Title: Christmas & the Church Text: Ephesians 2:17-22

No hoops! No hoops!

That was the message given to the women attending the debut performance of Handel’s Messiah on April 13, 1742. Specifically, the women were asked to not wear hoops in their dresses – so as to make more room in the packed concert hall.

‘The Ladies who honour this Performance with their Presence would be pleased to come without Hoops, as it will greatly encrease the Charity, by making room for more company’

As it will greatly increase the charity…

The concert was a fundraiser. Tickets were about $45 in today’s money. Adjusted for inflation, the concert raised approximately $100,000. The proceeds went to two local hospitals and towards the debts of many men who were currently in debtors' prison. Some reports suggest that as many as 142 prisoners were bought out of debtor’s prison with the proceeds of this single concert.

That is quite apropos. The first lines of the Messaiah, taken from Isaiah 40

“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

At the time of this performance, Handle himself was in significant debt. He had been considered a childhood prodigy in line with Bach and Beethoven, and had various flirtations with greatness. But Handle didn’t play the patronage game very well at all. He was rarely found in the places men like him needed to be to get the funds men like him needed. Money was always tight, the specter of his own potential haunted him – like it does so many young men of great promise.

In another movement, Handle cites Isaiah 53, “He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” In the summer of 1741, Handle was experiencing a taste of that.

And then inspiration struck. One of the most edifying and God glorifying pieces of art ever created was finished in just 23 days. During that time, Handle hardly ate or slept; he was completely engulfed in the creation of this music—and he felt that he wasn’t alone. When he got to the Hallelujah chorus, his assistant found him in tears, saying, “I think I did see heaven open, and the very face of God.”

With the piece written, Handle started looking for singers. Whilst smoking a pipe in a local coffee house, Handle inquired…

“whether there were any choirmen in the Cathedral who could sing at sight, as he wished to prove some books that had been hastily transcribed by trying the choruses which he intended to perform in Ireland.”

A bass, a printer named Jansen, was recommended to him and a rehearsal took place at the hotel where Handel was staying. Jansen failed miserably to cope with ‘And with his stripes’ from Messiah at which, Handel, ‘after swearing at him in four or five different languages, cried out in broken English: “You shcauntrel, tid you not tell me zat you could sing at sight?”.

“Yes sir”, says the printer, “and so I can, but not at first sight”

As displeased as he was with Mr. Jansen, Handle found a soprano that he said, “pleases extraordinary.” That was Ms. Susanna Maria Cibber. Like Handle, her personal life was a bit of a mess. Ms. Cibber had fled the city of London to escape the scandal of an adulterous affair.

It is said that when she finished singing “He was despised and rejected by men” – that a local minister in attendance stood up and said, “woman, all thy sins are forgiven.”

One final detail. The music for the Messiah was all Handle. But the lyrics, which is simply the arrangement of X scripture passages, came from the hand of Mr. Charles Jennens.

A close friend of Handle, Jennens was a member of the “Society for the Propagation of the Gospel” and a passionate evangelical believer. He believed that putting the gospel to music would communicate its truth, not just intellectually, but at a deep heart level.

From zealous Jennens, to the depressed and indebted Handle, to the disgraced soprano Ms. Cibber – the whole story is a demonstration of truth and beauty in community. A group of people, brought together by God’s wise providence, assembled together just so – producing a monument of truth and beauty to the glory of God.

Emblematic of the Church

Technically speaking, that first performance of Messiah was not the church. But it is emblematic of the church. A wide variety of people brought together to proclaim the excellencies of him who called them out of darkness and into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2)

For the next two weeks, we’re going to think about the church as the goal of Christmas. The church as the goal of Christmas. Specifically, the church as a gift from the Father to the Son.

We saw a hint of that last week in John 17:6

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.”

And this is something clearly announced in the first messianic Psalm (Psalm 2).

“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

And we know that Jesus did ask for the nations. In Matthew 28:18-20

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Christmas is gift giving season. This practice is partially an echo of old Saint Nicholas, who was an avid defender of the bodily incarnation of Jesus and a very generous man known for giving gifts.

And the practice of gift giving is also in some respects, an echo of the wisemen from the east who brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus.

But most fundamentally, Christmas is the initiation of a gift exchange between the members of the trinity. The Father has given the son a people – extracted from every nation, tongue, and tribe, and time.

Hebrews 10:5 cites the greek translation of Isaiah 40…

“Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,...

Series: Podcast

Speakers:

• Chris Oswald
• Dov Cohen

Podcast

Date: 12th December 2024

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 10th December 2024

Series: Exodus

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 8th December 2024

Passage: Exodus 40:12-15

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Text: Exodus 40:12-15

“Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

The OT priesthood is central to Christianity all the way into the New Creation. If you’re a Christian, God has big big plans for you. And those plans are intertwined with the priestly role.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Revelation 1:6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Not only that, but Jesus is called the Great High Priest. To understand Christ, we need to have some understanding of the OT priesthood.

So what shall we say about the priests? There’s a lot of material here, and even more in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Three basic ideas represented in three words:

Priority, Protection, Presence

Priority – They were uniquely the Lord’s.

Deuteronomy 18:1-2 “The Levitical priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.”

Protection – They were to guard and keep the temple.

It would not be surprising if, when thinking about a priest, to find your mind going to some kind of effeminate man in a collar. But the Levites were chosen by God explicitly because that particular tribe had a history of violence. As the great patriarch Issac issued blessings to each of his 12 sons, Levi was singled out as being a man of war.

Zach Garris writes, “The Levites were not just priests—they were warrior-priests. Their priestly origin is based in righteous violence. But God put the violent nature of the Levites to good use. Not only would the priests among them slaughter animals on a regular basis for sacrifice, but also all the Levites would guard the tabernacle/temple and the cities of refuge. Yahweh ordained and scattered the Levites throughout Israel in order to guard His worship.”

Numbers 3:5-10 “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

Presence – They were responsible for entering the presence of the Lord. Which, under the old covenant, was a very risky mission. They were appointed to do the very thing the rest of the people feared to do. Remember Exodus 20

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”

When you search the word “die” in Exodus you wind up with a bunch of instructions for the priests:

Exodus 28:35 – And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the LORD, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.

Exodus 28:43 – and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they bear guilt and die.

Exodus 30:20 – This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the LORD, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die.

Echos of Eden

While we’re thinking about these things, I want to take a bit of a side quest into once concept I feel it is important for you to understand….

I don’t think most Christians understand that the tabernacle/temple were in some respects, designed by God to be an echo of Eden.

Work & Keep

I mentioned a moment ago that the Levites were supposed to guard and keep the temple. The phrase in the Hebrew is “‘ābad and šāmar” – which is exactly what Adam was charged with in Genesis 2:15: “And the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

Eden was the place of God’s localized presence. The place where God dwelled among men

Flaming Cherubim

The tabernacle/temple was exactly that. And as the high priest went beyond the great veil hung at the entrance to the holy of holies – he would pass two flaming cherubim embroidered in the veil. Which brings to mind Genesis 3:24, when after the sinned, God drove out Adam and Eve from the garden (from God’s localized presence) and “...He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”

Clothed in Jewels

When the high priest entered the holy of holies, he was made ceremonially sinless – he took on Adam’s original splendor. In Ezekiel 28:11-14, God, in a round about way, tells us how he viewed Adam before the fall…

Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.

That description maps on pretty well to the priestly garments prescribed in Exodus 28.

28:2 – And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 28:15-20 – “You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it—of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and ...

Series: Exodus

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 1st December 2024

Passages:

• Exodus 35:1-36:38
• 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15

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Title: Money & The Mission of God Text: Exodus 35-36, 2 Corinthians 8-9

One great privilege of preaching through the Old Testament is that we have the New Testament.

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus talked about a scribe trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of the house, bringing out of his treasure both what is old and what is new. (Matthew 13:51-53)

That’s what we’ve been doing throughout Exodus. We’ve been taking hold of a text there and then running around the rest of the scripture, pulling out other things that go with it. Today, we have two main texts:

Firstly, Exodus 35-36 Secondly 2 Corinthians 8-9

Both having to do with generosity.

Exodus 35-36 The context: building the tabernacle and really the entire physical infrastructure of their worship.

Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD’s contribution… (35:4-5)

And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the LORD. (35:20-22)

And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more. (36:2-7)

Now 2 Corinthians 8-9 The context: Paul spent a considerable amount of his ministry raising funds for the saints in Jerusalem who were undergoing a famine and also extreme persecution.

Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be. Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. (9:1-5)

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! (9:6-14)

Some fundamental truths about generosity that shine through both texts:

God has chosen to advance his mission through expressions of financial faith.

Illustration: Josephs in the Bible

I was thinking about some of the Josephs in the Bible. OT Joseph Joseph the father of Jesus Joseph of Arimathea Joseph in Acts — which was Barnabas’ given name

How each of them were essential to particular moments in God’s unfolding mission.

In both covenants, the emphasis is mainly on voluntary generosity. Of course, the tithe was written into law in the OT. But even in the OT, the vibes lean much more toward volition and non-compulsion. We see that in this particular text.

35:5,21,22,29 & 36:2 – willing heart, free will offering

35:5 - Generous heart 35:21 — Everyone who’s heart stirred him, everyone who’s spirit moved him 35:22 — All those of a willing heart 35:29 — All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD. 36:2 — And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning…

Even in other passages dealing with the tithe, there is a clear sense of God honoring human reason and will.

Take Malachi 3:8-10. God says, Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Now how does he speak to them about obedience? Look at the way he talks to them. This is reasoning, enticing, not simply “because I said so.” Look at vs. 10, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

When we turn to the New Testament passage, we see the same emphasis on free...

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 24th November 2024

Speaker: Steve Whitacre

Sunday Morning

Date: 17th November 2024

Passage: Psalm 78:1-72

Series: Podcast

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Podcast

Date: 13th November 2024

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How can a Christian experience what Martin Luther called "comfortable certainty" regarding the reality of their salvation?

Series: Exodus

Speaker: Chris Oswald

Sunday Morning

Date: 10th November 2024

Passage: Exodus 32:1-35

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Title: Aaron’s Failure of Nerve Text: Exodus 32

The Golden Calf story is a leadership story. Everything pivots around the action/inaction of Aaron and Moses.

While we can clearly see that the people hold significant responsibility for their actions, Aaron is singled out as uniquely responsible.

In vs. 21, “And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?”

In vs. 25, “And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies),”

Some of you are positional leaders. All of you are relational leaders. Somebody out there looks to you.

Some of you are positional leaders: Husbands, fathers Mothers, household managers Leaders at work, or in the church…

All of you are relational leaders in one degree or another. If nowhere else, you are supposed to be leaders in this local church.

Pastor Jonathan Leeman says the following to those who join his local church:

“Friend, by joining this church, you will become jointly responsible for whether or not this congregation continues to faithfully proclaim the gospel. That means you will become jointly responsible both for what this church teaches, as well as whether or not its members’ lives remain faithful.”

Now if you absolutely refuse to think of yourself as a leader, I still think this sermon can help. Because by the end of it, you’ll have learned a great deal of detail about the fear of man — which the bible says is a snare — and which experience says is a very very common snare.

The Basic Problem

When it comes to leadership, the main problem is something the poet Milton called Effeminate Slackness.

“The real problem of leadership is a failure of nerve. Leaders fail not because they lack information, skill, or technique, but because they lack the nerve and presence to stand firm in the midst of other people’s emotional anxiety and reactivity.” – Bob Thune

That’s exactly right. That’s the situation Aaron has found himself in.

Aaron has found himself leading in what Edwin Friedman would call an unhealthy emotional system. Among other things, Friedman was a family therapist and over time he observed that the families who had the most troubles had certain things in common:

Unhealthy emotional systems are marked by reactivity. Unhealthy emotional systems are marked by a herding instinct. Unhealthy emotional systems are marked by blame displacement. Unhealthy emotional systems are marked by a quick-fix mentality; relief from pain is more important than lasting change.

In these kinds of highly charged environments, a leader is greatly tempted to sin in one of two directions. He either becomes…

The bully The bullied

The Bully

Our primary focus will be on #2. That’s the loss of nerve. That’s effeminate slackness. That’s the sin of Aaron.

But as is often the case, there is a ditch on the other side of the road. I want to ensure that nobody responds to this message by saying, “yes, Aaron lost his nerve, and in order to avoid that, I plan on becoming a grade A jerk.”

There are instances of that kind of thing in the bible and even in the Exodus story. That has something to do with the sin that disqualified Moses from the promise land. Where he let his anger get the best of him.

That’s found in Numbers 20. The passage begins like many others – with the people grumbling about the lack of something – this time water.

Moses does what he normally does. He goes to the Lord. God tells him to go to a rock and speak over it – and that when he does that – the rock will split and water will come forth.

But on his way back to the people and rock, something happens in Moses’ heart. His anger gets the best of him.

“Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.” – Numbers 20:10–11

God had his back. In his mercy, he caused the water to flow. But privately, God told Moses in no uncertain terms that he had sinned.

And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” – Numbers 20:12

Many of you are leading something. A wife, a home, a team at work, a church – watch your anger. Don’t let the sins of those you lead – lead you into sin. Whatever we mean by backbone, nerve, etc… must be harmonized with 2

Timothy 2:24-26

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Ok, that’s the other ditch. When the people sin, when the environment is highly charged, some leaders become the bully. Don’t do that. The Bullied

Don’t become the bully. But also, don’t become the bullied. I would say that problem, of becoming the pushover is the deeper biblical problem of leadership. That’s what we see in…

Saul (1 Samuel 15) Peter (Antioch) And many others.

Look at Exodus 32:1-2

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” Baptizing Unbelief: Failure of Nerve & Sin Management

Now I want you to notice one feature of Aaron’s failure. Namely that he attempted to split the difference between the people’s pagan urges and true religion.

When the 2020-21 race riots took place all over the country. Plenty of prominent Christian leaders tried to baptize the sin of rioting, looting, etc… by appropriating biblical categories of social justice.

When the government massively overstepped their authority, shutting down churches, mandatin...

Series: Exodus

Sunday Morning

Date: 27th October 2024

Passage: Exodus 20:17

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Our text for today is the 10th commandment which reads:

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Coveting could be defined as “an inordinate, ungoverned, selfish desire for something.”

Someone once said that all too often, we want the wrong thing, in the wrong way, at the wrong time, and for the wrong reason, and this is what the tenth commandment rules out.

I’m really more interested in what it commends rather than what it forbids.

The Westminster Larger Catechism explains this command:

The duties required in the tenth commandment are, such a full contentment with our own condition, and such a charitable frame of the whole soul toward our neighbor, as that all our inward motions and affections touching him, tend unto, and further all that good which is his.

What are the sins forbidden in the tenth commandment? Answer: The sins forbidden in the tenth commandment are, discontentment with our own estate; envying and grieving at the good of our neighbor, together with all inordinate motions and affections to anything that is his.

I want to focus on contentment for a number of reasons:

Pastorally, I know some of you need it now and all of you will need it eventually.

Culturally, we live in a world that runs on discontentment and consumerism. The media you consume is designed to stir up discontent and sell you things.

And oh my do we have enough things.

In his book “Self-Renewal,” John W. Gardner wrote that if happiness could be found in the comforts and pleasures money can buy, then “the large number of Americans who have been able to indulge their whims on a scale unprecedented in history would be deliriously happy. They would be telling one another of their unparalleled serenity and bliss instead of trading tranquilizer prescriptions.”

Textually, the story of Exodus ends with its finger on the final commandment.

Almost all of them wound up being disqualified from entering the promised land. And not for breaking the 5th or 6th or 7th commandments. But for breaking the 10th.

They were constantly grumbling and believing the worse about God. They were constantly pointing out what God hadn’t done for them.

But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. – Numbers 14:20-24

Friends, contentment is key to finishing well.

We’re in this period of time where we see leaders dropping like flies – and it is always related to a lack of contentment.

Some men cannot be content with their own wives – and so they take on sinful relationships. Some cannot be content to endure the disfavor of the world – so they take on false doctrines. Some cannot be content with what they have – so they take what doesn’t belong to them.

And it isn’t just leaders. How many deconstruction stories could be summarized as:

“I used to be a faithful Christian until God did something I disagreed with. Then I freaked out, threw myself down an internet rabbit hole custom built to fan the flames of my anger with God”

God did something I disagreed with. God took something that I wanted. Or God refused to give me something I wanted.

Discontentment is exceedingly dangerous. It will take you into places you’d never thought you’d go. And may, in the end, disqualify you from receiving the promise.

Contentment is a prerequisite for finishing well.

Let’s spend the rest of our time considering Christian contentment.

It is a difficult virtue to obtain:

Turn in your bibles to Philippians 4:10-12

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

The language here shows that this was a difficult lesson. The word for learned means “initiated” or “graduated” — like he had enrolled in a school of contentment.

The word secret further emphasizes that this lesson is not one that comes easy.

When he says in vs. 12, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” — that’s not the kind of thing you say when you’ve just done something relatively easy. You don’t bend down and tie your shows successfully and say, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

It is different than other versions of contentment:

Christian contentment is not like the Buddhist version.

When you talk to adult converts to Buddhism, they will often tell you the main feature, the thing that drew them was the idea taught in Buddhism that nothing really matters.

Buddhism teaches that nothing in the universe is essential, and that everything is in a constant state of change and impermanence. This concept is called śūnyatā, and it means that all things are empty of intrinsic existence.

Buddhists believe that everything comes to an end, and that things are constantly changing. They say that human suffering is caused by our attachment to impermanent things, but that it can be freeing to know that suffering is changeable.

Those who understand impermanence detach themselves from all that exists and stop seeking anything.

That’s not Christian contentment. The same Paul who wrote, “I have learned the secret to contentment” wrote “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

Thomas Watson writes:

A true Christian is a wonder; he is the most contented—and yet the least satisfied. He is contented with a morsel of bread, and a little water in the cruise—yet never satisfied with his grace; he pants and breathes after more.

Indeed you will not be able to grow in Christian contentment without some significant appetite for God and for growth in godliness.

The book of James tells us to count it all joy when you face various kinds of trials. Why?

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you kno...