Forget the Channel » Bible talks

God’s Word versus the Kingdom (1 Kings 21)

Lionel — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:42:04 +0000

This sermon is part 3 in a 3-part series on 1 Kings 17-22.

Outline:

The manic street preacher
Who rules Israel? (vv. 1-16)
God’s word versus the king (vv. 17-29)
God’s word, God’s kingdom and us

God’s Word versus the Prophet (1 Kings 19)

Lionel — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:41:00 +0000

This sermon is part 2 in a 3-part series on 1 Kings 17-22.

Outline:

Looking for a revelation?
Things fall apart (vv. 1-3a)
Elijah: back to the Fathers (vv. 3b-7)
Elijah: back to Moses (vv. 8-14)
Elijah: back to work! (vv. 15-18)
Looking for a revelation?

God’s Word versus Religion (1 Kings 17-18)

Lionel — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:47:34 +0000

This sermon is part 1 in a 3-part series on 1 Kings 17-22.

Outline:

What do you need?
Scene 1: God’s word alone meets Elijah’s needs (17:1-7)
Scene 2: God’s word alone meets the needs of his enemies (17:8-16)
Scene 3: The man of God’s word brings life (17:17-24)
Scene 4: Obadiah is afraid (18:1-16)
Scene 5: God’s word versus Israel’s religion (18:17-40)
Scene 6: God’s word alone meets Israel’s needs (18:41-46)

God’s word, God’s people (Romans 11)

Lionel — Tue, 10 May 2011 19:00:31 +0000

Part of a series on Romans 9-11

Outline

When God lets you down…

God’s word is being preached (Rom 11:1-4)
God’s word has not failed (Rom 11:5-10)
God’s word will achieve greater things (Rom 11:11-15)
God’s word cannot be taken for granted (Rom 11:16-24)
God’s word will be fulfilled (Rom 11:25-32)
God’s ways are greater than we can imagine (Rom 11:33-36)

Doing, Believing and Preaching (Romans 10)

Lionel — Mon, 09 May 2011 21:00:03 +0000

Part of a series on Romans 9-11

Outline

The doorknocker
The gospel that is preached (Rom 10:1-13)
- Israel’s problem (Rom 10:1-3, Rom 10:5)
- Christ is the end of the law (Rom 10:4, Rom 10:6-8)
- Believing and speaking (Rom 10:9-10)
- For everyone who calls (Rom 10:11-13)
The preachers of the gospel (Rom 10:14-21)
- Paul’s success (Rom 10:14-18)
- Israel’s failure (Rom 10:19-21)
Problem solved?

God’s plan, Israel’s failure (Romans 9)

Lionel — Sun, 08 May 2011 23:01:36 +0000

Part of a series on Romans 9-11

Outline

Paul’s anguish (Rom 9:1-3)
Israel’s privileges (Rom 9:4)
Israel’s purpose (Rom 9:5)
Israel’s existence constantly depends on God’s calling (Rom 9:6-13)
Israel, an instrument in God’s hands (Rom 9:14-23)
Israel’s existence constantly depends on God’s calling (Rom 9:24-29)
Israel’s failure and God’s plan (Rom 9:30-33)

Doctrines Under Threat 3: Nowism

Lionel — Sun, 08 May 2011 01:00:38 +0000

See also my articles: Nowism and Countering Nowism.

Doctrines Under Threat 2: Union with Christ

Lionel — Sat, 07 May 2011 03:00:14 +0000

Outline

(Reading from Romans 6)

Intro: Faith and Works

Union with Christ in Philippians 3
- Righteousness by law is rubbish (2-7)
- Knowing Christ (8a)
- Gaining Christ (8b)
- Being in Christ (9a)
- Righteousness through faith in Christ (9b)
- Living in Christ (10-11)
What is Union with Christ?
- Fundamental
- To be loved by God as Sons
  
  For strictly speaking, the love with which God loves us is none other than that with which he loved his Son from the beginning, so as to make us acceptable and lovable to him in Christ. . .
  
  we are (so far as we are concerned and apart from Christ), hated by God and he only begins to love us when we are united to the body of his beloved Son
  
  It is an inestimable privilege of faith that we know that Christ was loved by the Father for our sake, that we may be made partakers of the same love and that for ever. . .
  
  For as the Father cannot look upon his Son without at the same time having before his eyes his whole body, so, if we wish to be beheld in him, we must truly be his members
  
  Calvin, Commentary on John 17:26
- To be righteous
- To be a new creation
- To have a sure hope of our bodies being raised
- To be saved from judgment
What Union with Christ isn’t
- A mystical experience
- A credit union
- Imitation
How does Union with Christ happen?
- The Holy Spirit
- The Word of the Gospel
- Faith
  
  We embrace Christ, crucified for us and raised from the dead… I maintain that it is only after we obtain Christ himself that we come to share in the benefits of Christ. And I further maintain that he is obtained, not just when we believe that he was sacrificed for us, but when he dwells in us, when he is one with us, when we are members of his flesh, when, in short, we become united in one life and substance (if I may say so) with him. For Christ does not offer us only the benefit of his death and resurrection, but the self-same body in which he suffered and rose again.
  
  Calvin, True Partaking
What does Union with Christ involve?
- Repentance
- Prayer
- Hope
- Joy
Faith, works and union with Christ

We do not, therefore, contemplate [Christ] outside ourselves from afar in order that his righteousness may be imputed to us but because we put on Christ are engrafted into his body—in short, because he deigns to make us one with him.

Calvin, Institutes 3.11.7
Are you in Christ?

Doctrines Under Threat 1: Nothing’s Right without Justification

Lionel — Fri, 06 May 2011 05:00:22 +0000

I preached this three-part series recently at a church weekend away for those in their twenties and thirties.

Thanks to Sandy Grant for the title and idea for the series.

Outline

Martin Luther—”The Doctrine by which the Church stands or falls”

Righteousness and Justification in the Bible
- Righteousness (Psalm 7:8-9, Proverbs 24:24)
- To justify = “declare righteous” (1 Kings 8:31-32)
Justification of the ungodly
- The God who justifies the unrighteous! (Psalm 14:1-3, Isaiah 59:12-14, Luke 18:14)
- By the death of Jesus (Isaiah 53:11, cf. 2 Cor 5:21)
Justification by faith (Galatians 2:16, Romans 5:1, etc.)
- “Faith” = “trust”
- Justification by faith alone
Justification by faith alone—under threat
- Peter’s problem (Galatians 2:11-16)
- Justification by membership in the community? The ‘New Perspective on Paul’
- Justification by right actions? (Gal 2:17-21)
- Justification by ministry?
Conclusion

Is God Green Part 2: God and the Future of the World

Lionel — Thu, 05 May 2011 07:00:46 +0000

I’m grateful to Byron Smith who made a few critical comments about a previously published version of this sermon (in five parts: #1, #2a, #2b, #3a, #3b) and helped me to speak more clearly and helpfully in this subsequent version.

Talk Outline

The story of the world so far…
- Creation
- Curse
- Christ
The future of the world
- Judgment (2 Peter 3)
- Renewal (Revelation 21-22, Romans 8:18-25)
- What will remain?
While you wait
- Eager expectation (Romans 8:18-23)
- Active waiting (2 Peter 3:9-14)
- The greatest labour in the Lord

Is God Green Part 1: God, the World and Jesus

Lionel — Wed, 04 May 2011 09:00:06 +0000

I’ve preached this series a number of times over the years – here’s the latest edition (this time with a slightly croaky voice). Before you listen to the talk, you might find it helpful to read this introductory piece which contains the things I didn’t have time to include in the sermon.

Thanks to Sandy Grant for providing the idea for the title – and his encouragement for me to put this series together in the first place.

Talk Outline

The Broken Image of God (Genesis 3)
Jesus is The Man (Hebrews 2:6-10)
The true Image of God (Colossians 1:15-20)
The renewed Image of God (Colossians 3)

Isaiah in 7 hours – Isaiah 56-66

Lionel — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 07:00:32 +0000

In September, 2010, I gave a series of 7 talks on the book of Isaiah at “Word Works”, a conference organised by the Malaysia Gospel Growth Fellowship. The aim of the talks was to give an overview of Isaiah with a view to helping people read this part of the Bible for themselves.

Here is talk number 7, an overview of Isaiah 56-66