Matthew 2-3 – True Repentance (pt4 of 4)

By on May 15, 2012 in Sermons

We’ve been hearing messages about repentance for several weeks now. What have you done with those messages? Has it caused you to go home and make adjustments? Have you simplified your life and said no to many things that are eating up what little free time you have? Have you pruned things that are choking the spiritual life out of you? Have you pulled up weeds and broken up the rocks? Do you expect the Sunday mornings to be a time when the bulldozer comes out and demolishes all the crooked paths so that you can thrive spiritually without doing your part?

What have you done this past week to repent and to struggle over old habits and die to self? If you are stuck in your spiritual life… Continue reading

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Matthew 2-3 – True Repentance (pt3 of 4)

By on May 15, 2012 in Sermons

3) What is the only sign of repentance that counts?

How do you know whether or not you’ve actually repented? And related to that, how do you know if you actually were saved or born again?

One word – fruit. Fruit. Not church attendance. Not sincerity. Not tears. Not an emotional experience. Not reciting a sinner’s prayer. Not agreeing with the 4 spiritual laws. None of these are conclusive evidence that we have repented. Not commitment to a church. Or loyalty to other Christians. These can be part of genuine repentance, but they are not the clincher. Only fruit counts as the final arbiter in matters of repentance and salvation.

Fruit bearing, or in other words, a changed life. I see 3 evidences of concrete change in… Continue reading

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Matthew 2-3 – True Repentance (pt2 of 4)

By on May 15, 2012 in Sermons

We make snap judgments. And in that brief 2 second assessment, we divide people into 1 of 2 categories in relation to ourselves: either I feel superior to you or I feel inferior. We live in a world where the strong survive and the the weak are trampled over. So we have to fight for ourselves constantly. Everyone is a competitor. If your arena is academics and you are the valedictorian of your high school, you feel superior. Your pride is sailing high. Then, you go to college, a place like Caltech or for me Cal, and you realize, I am just an average student. The bell curve where it peaks and where the majority of the people are at, that’s me.

It’s just like Herod. When he is… Continue reading

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Matthew 2-3 – True Repentance (pt1 of 4)

By on May 15, 2012 in Sermons

Happy Mother’s Day! Hope you had a chance to thank your mom today. Husbands, I trust that you’ve been extra nice to your wife. If you haven’t already, take her out to a nice dinner. Cook, do the dishes, laundry, give her a break. Being a mom is very hard and often a thankless job. So all the mom’s out there, thank you for all that you do.

Read Matt 3 responsively.

It’s neat to see God at work in recent Sundays through the preaching. 3 preachers teaching from 3 different texts, but there has been an amazing overlap recently. Bro. Daniel preached from Psalms and King David’s sin and his repentance. Last week, Pastor John spoke from 1 Samuel about the Philistines hardening their hearts toward God… Continue reading

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Lord’s Supper – 1 Cor 10

By on May 15, 2012 in Lord's Supper

Read 1 Cor 10:14-22

Paul talks at length about the Lord’s Supper in chapter 11, which is the primary text that is read whenever this ordinance is observed, but here in chapter 10, he introduces the topic of Communion. And the context is idolatry. The point being, can you partake in the Lord’s Supper while still bowing down before an idol? An idol doesn’t have to be a wooden statue or a piece of marble. If you are a non-believer, there are things in your life that you are still bowing down to, whether it be ambition or money or respect or self-glorification, there is something other than Jesus Christ that you are placing at the center of your heart. We’ll be partaking in the Lord’s Supper in a… Continue reading

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Vision for the Church: Fellowship (pt4 of 4)

By on May 1, 2012 in Bible Studies

Elements of a Biblical Culture
What is biblical culture? What are the non-negotiables? I’ve identified several elements of a biblical culture: 1) truth, 2) love and 3) unity.

First, truth.
Without truth, there is no true fellowship. Christianity begins with the truth that we are sinners. This is our starting point. We can’t have the same level of fellowship with non-Christians as we can with other Christians because we don’t have the same starting point. There is a fundamental difference between Christians and non-Christians when it comes to our self-identity.

Christians, we don’t believe that truth is relative. If God is the Creator, then there is only one truth. Truth is exclusive and so when the Bible says, for all have sinned and fallen short of the… Continue reading

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Vision for the Church: Fellowship (pt3 of 4)

By on May 1, 2012 in Bible Studies

One Body – One Level, Not Two Levels
I am not sure if this is how you conceive of fellowship, or a church. You may be hearing all this talk about one body and being interconnected and prioritizing church and you’re thinking to yourself, this doesn’t apply to me. I am here to be served. The servants are the pastors, the elders, the leaders, the staff, not me, I’m just a member. Or another way to put it, on Sundays, you guys put on the show, you guys cook the food, clean the tables, give rides and I am here to be a passive spectator.

Catholics – Two Levels (Clergy/Laity)
It is not surprising that many conceive of fellowship or church in this way. Catholics view church as being… Continue reading

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Vision for the Church: Fellowship (pt2 of 4)

By on May 1, 2012 in Bible Studies

1) Fellowship – Fellowship is where we put into practice what it says in God’s Word.

You’re a member of LBC, now what?

What Fellowship is Not
We fellowship, right? Eat, play games, eat some more? How many Christian groups do you know that have the word “fellowship” in it? Many churches have “fellowship” in their name.

In our day and age, fellowship is a very diluted word. It’s more than gathering together and hanging out and opening the Bible once in a while. It’s more than going bowling together on Friday nights because you are lonely and want to hang out with your friends. The church is not a frat, it’s not a social club. The church is not a company with a mission statement where… Continue reading

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Vision for the Church: Fellowship (pt1 of 4)

By on May 1, 2012 in Bible Studies

I want to give you about 5 minutes to read the verses on the handout.

What should a church be about? I’ve been racking my brain for an analogy for church and two came to mind. One is a Tootsie Roll lollipop in reverse.

You know a tootie roll lollipop – hard candy exterior and a gooey tootsie core. Many churches are like Tootsie roll lollipops – solid exterior – rigid program and highly structured but when you get to know them and see what’s driving the whole thing, the core is kind of gooey, it’s a bit hard to pin down because there is not much substance at the center. I think the church should be the complete opposite – solid core and gooey and… Continue reading

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Quote from Malcolm Muggeridge

By on April 28, 2012 in Quotes

“We look back on history and what do we see? Empires rising and falling, revolutions and counter-revolutions, wealth accumulating and wealth dispersed, one nation dominant and then another. Shakespeare speaks of ‘the rise and fall of great ones that ebb and flow with the moon.’

“In one lifetime I have seen my own fellow countrymen ruling over a quarter of the world, the great majority of them convinced, in the words of what is still a favorite song, that, ‘God who’s made the mighty would make them mightier yet.’ I’ve heard a crazed, cracked Austrian proclaim to the world the establishment of a German Reich that would last a thousand years; an Italian clown announce that he would restart the calendar to begin his own assumption of power. I’ve… Continue reading

Read full story • Comments { 0 }