Sermons

Submit to Your Own Husband

In this portion of 1 Peter, he calls Christian wives to a radical and countercultural idea: to be submissive to their own husbands as an expression of their faith in the Lord. This submission is never a call to endure abuse, but it is a voluntary act of hope in the Gospel. The meek, Christlike conduct of a believing wife can be a powerful testimony that may lead to an unbelieving husband's salvation. Christian wives are also called to find their worth, not in cultural standards or appearances, but in their identity as one who is chosen, beloved, and precious in the sight of God, with an imperishable inheritance in Jesus.

Following Jesus in Submission

Christ's people are called to live in submission to earthly authorities, sometimes even enduring unjust suffering. In this part of his letter, Peter writes to household servants, urging them to submit to their masters, whether kind or harsh, out of reverence for God. Our submission mirrors Jesus, Who is the ultimate example of enduring unjust suffering. Just as He bore our sins without sinning Himself, believers are to endure wrongs, trusting in God's justice and ultimate vindication. Through His substitutionary atonement, Jesus redeemed us from our sins and calls us to follow His footsteps. When we endure suffering for His sake, we testify to the world of His grace, and we hold fast to the hope of eternal life, knowing that our Savior has walked this path before us.

Fear God - Honor the King

In this passage, Peter addresses the challenging concept of submission to authority, urging believers to submit to all lawful civil authority for the Lord's sake. Although submission may seem countercultural to our society that values freedom and independence, our submission is not merely to human authorities; it is an expression of our faith in God's sovereignty. Peter also provides four pillars of Christian conduct: honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the king. While submission to the governing authorities has limits – especially when we are called to obey God rather than men – we as Christians are called to be witnesses to the Gospel through our integrity and peaceful submission. Jesus Himself exemplified this, submitting to human authorities even unto death, which ultimately accomplished our salvation. By following His example of submission, we trust in God's higher plan and bring glory to His name in a watching world.

7 Views - Church & State

This historical theology lecture was adapted from Andy Naselli's article "What Is the Spectrum of Major Views on Political Theology? A Proposed Taxonomy of Seven Views on Religion and Government."

The Deacon's Heart

This sermon on 1 Timothy 3:8-13 examines the character and role of deacons, emphasizing integrity, humility, and faith. Deacons are called to serve with godly character, holding fast to the Gospel and modeling Christlike love in their actions. Their service strengthens the church and glorifies God.

For this purpose I have come

Jesus' primary purpose during His earthly ministry was to preach the Kingdom of God. Although He did perform miracles and cast out demons, His mission centered on proclaiming the good news of the Gospel. He moved from town to town, spreading the message of the Kingdom in synagogues, on mountainsides, and by the sea. As J.C. Ryle noted, "Until the time when He died as a sacrifice for our sins, His daily and almost hourly work was to preach." In our modern day, preaching is often undervalued; yet preaching is central to both our conviction of sin and our growth in grace. Through preaching, God enlightens, comforts, and sanctifies us, calling us to a deeper relationship with Christ. When we hear the Word of God preached, we encounter Jesus' offer to draw us closer to Himself!

Deacons: Servants of God

This sermon, based on Matthew 20:20-28, emphasizes the role of deacons as servants who follow Christ's example. True greatness in God's kingdom comes from humility and service, reflecting Jesus' love and sacrifice. Believers are called to serve others with compassion and selflessness.

RPCNA Deacons

Deacons

Honorable Conduct

This sermon, focusing on 1 Peter 2:11-12, addresses the Christian's identity as sojourners and pilgrims on earth, engaged in spiritual warfare. The battle, primarily against fleshly desires within, calls believers to abstain from sin and live honorably among unbelievers, so that by their good works, God is glorified.

A Spiritual House

As believers, our identity is secure in Christ. He is our cornerstone; and since we are built upon Him, our lives are meant to reflect that identity. As the cornerstone sets the standard for the alignment of the rest of the building, our lives must be aligned with His. We are living stones that He is using to build us up into a spiritual house – a spiritual temple where we are a "holy priesthood" that is called to offer up spiritual sacrifices to Him. He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light, in order to be His own special people. And when challenges arise in our lives, we can go to Christ, our cornerstone. We don't have to bear the weight of our entire life! Jesus does, because He is the firm cornerstone that doesn't move.

Taste - the LORD is Gracious

In this passage in 1 Peter 2, we are called to put aside the sins that hinder our spiritual growth and love for one another, and instead, to desire the pure milk of God's Word so that we can grow spiritually. Peter urges us, as believers, to lay aside malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking because these sins disrupt Christian community and are incompatible with our identity in Christ. Just as newborn babies crave milk, we must intensely desire God's Word – not out of legalism, but from a genuine hunger to be nourished by the truth. When we have tasted the goodness of the Lord, it transforms our hearts and compels us to grow in love and holiness. Are we feeding on His Word daily?

Love Endures - Love

Because we have been born again and redeemed, we are called to love others in the same way that God loves us. We're called to love each other fervently – not because it's easy, but because the Lord's great love towards us has been displayed in Jesus Christ. As we are sanctified and purified more and more, and as the Gospel takes root in our hearts, the love of Jesus changes how we love others. Jesus Himself modeled this sacrificial, fervent love by not coming to this earth to be served, but to serve, and to ultimately lay down His life to redeem us. Have we been born again? If so, are we showing it by following Christ's example and loving each other fervently?

The Foundations of Holiness

God has called us to be holy. Our Father in heaven is the One Who judges without partiality; and when we think of that, we realize we're doomed. But the Lord has graciously redeemed us with the precious blood of Jesus – the Lamb who willingly shed His blood for our sins. We were slaves to sin and death, but Jesus bought our freedom so that we could live holy lives. The King of the Universe has adopted us as His sons and daughters to live as His royal children. That doesn't mean we won't have struggles with sin anymore while we still live on this earth. But our hope and strength to battle that old slavemaster is found in Christ. Because we've been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, we may call on God our Father, and walk as His blood-bought, Spirit-filled, heaven-bound children.

Hope Fully, Live Holy

Holiness isn't about us trying harder to do all the right things; it's about what God is doing in us, which then plays out in our daily lives. Holy living must be rooted on the hope that we have in Jesus, or otherwise it's legalism. Nevertheless, it's hard mental work because we need to take every thought captive unto the obedience of Christ. Everything in our lives has to be put through a Biblical worldview to see if it helps us hope more in Jesus' grace. Without our hope in Him, we have no motivation to pursue holiness. Holy living is a transformation that starts with our hope and works outward into our everyday conduct. Are your actions today reflecting the holiness of God? Hope wholly in Jesus and live a holy life because He has called you to be holy.

You are blessed to live NOW

What a privilege Christians have in knowing the full revelation of God's salvation plan through Jesus Christ! His life, death, and resurrection fulfilled the promises that were once a mystery and could only be glimpsed at during the Old Testament times. The saints of God in those days did not fully understand all the details of what was to come, and angels have longed to understand the mysteries of salvation; but these are now fully revealed to us in the Gospel. We are indeed uniquely blessed, and we ought to rejoice in this knowledge of this glorious salvation that is freely offered to us!

Joys in Trials

We as Americans often like shortcuts. We like all the good stuff without all the pain that is required along the way. But hard things aren't necessarily bad things. And Peter shows us in this passage that even the hard things that we suffer in this life have a purpose as God is using them to transform us into the type of person He wishes for us to be. He refines us in the fire of afflictions to purify us. And when we have gone through those various trials, we only have one thing left that gives us ultimate joy: God Himself. We must also remember that these trials aren't forever; the Lord will only make them last as long as they need to be there for us to understand that His grace is sufficient for us. But as long as they are there, He is teaching us something – including how to have joy even in the midst of our trials. If our greatest joy is the Lord Jesus, no person or circumstance can take that away from us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Are we hoping in Him? Are we loving Him? Are we rejoicing in Him?

Move Toward Christ

Christ, our Good Shepherd, understands and knows our sorrows and afflictions by His own experience. Psalm 28 shows us that He is our Rock that does not wither or fade, and we are reminded that He went down to the pit so that we would never have to. When He speaks, we may rest assured that He has spoken the truth. He surrendered Himself and died as our sacrifice, washing and cleansing us; and now He announces a blessing on us as we take up our cross and follow Him. Let's take a step closer and come nearer to our Good Shepherd today!

Jesus the King of the Church

Heavenly Inheritance

We have a lot to praise the Lord for. In fact, all good theology should lead us to doxology, or else we have missed the entire point. Among the many gifts that God has given us, we have an inheritance that is reserved for us in heaven. It is uncourruptible and undefiled, and it does not fade away. But in order to enjoy this inheritance, we must be born again and in a saving relationship with Christ. This assurance of our heavenly inheritance gives us hope when we are having hard days, because we know that this world is not all we have. And we can praise the Lord for that! Praise the Lord for the new life He's given you. Praise Him for our inheritance in heaven. And praise Him that even on the Last Great Day, we know that we will be able to stand without fear when He returns to judge the terrified world!

Great Commission - Assurance

Do we have a narrow view of what evangelism is? Some of us may feel timid about sharing the Gospel message with others. But God gives is the assurance, multiple times in Scripture, that He will be with us. He's not waiting for us to muster enough strength to be a superhero. As believers, He has already given us His Holy Spirit; and through Him, we may enjoy confidence and strength. Our hope and assurance is that Jesus' presence is with us, even today; and that's wht we want to tell others that God has made a way for them to be reconciled with Him. Be confident that your God is with you as you evangelize!

Go Teach!

Once somebody becomes a disciple of Jesus and they're baptized, they need to be taught. But what is the substance of what we ought to teach? If we aren't telling people about the Gospel of Jesus, then we're missing the point. We must tell people about Him because there's nothing in this world that's going to satisfy anyone ultimately unless they have Jesus Christ. If we are a believer in Jesus, then we have a place to teach others, either formally or informally. There are all sorts of opportunities that the Lord will give us to disciple others if we spend time with one another and live life together. The Great Commission is for us. Will we go, disciple, baptize, and teach all that Jesus has commanded? Are we praying that God will lead people into our lives that we can talk with about the Gospel? This is why the church is alive and continues to grow. But it happens by ordinary Christians taking this Great Commission to heart, and obeying this important command of Jesus Christ.

Baptism - Theology Sermon

Why do we baptize people? Because Jesus commanded us to. That's the simple answer. Baptism signifies a solemn admission into the visible church – Christ's Body. And it is a sign and a seal confirming the Lord's promises to us in the covenant of grace. It's not an automatic guarantee of salvation, but it does represent the fact that our sins have been dealt with and washed away if we have faith in Jesus Christ. It represents our being born again and becoming a part of God's family – "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5).

No Excuses - GO!

Jesus has given us a job to do, and it's not just to sit in a pew and keep our Christianity to ourselves. The Great Commission tells us to go and make disciples, proclaiming the good news of the Gospel message: Jesus died and rose again to save sinners! The scope of the Gospel is global; God's plan is for all the nations to praise Him and confess that He is Lord. Will you go and take that good news and herald it to the nations? Will you make disciples with those people in your community who need to hear the Gospel? Will you tell your children that there is good news for them if they believe in Jesus Christ? Will we, as a Christian congregation, take the Great Commission seriously?

Authority and Discipleship

This passage – the Great Commission – is the heart of why the Church exists. Our Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ, has all authority; and if we want to become a His disciple, it means we're going to have to give up the things that we may like. To be Jesus' disciple means that the absolute foundation of everything is His authority. And in this authority, He gives us a command to go and make disciples of all nations. We're not expected to be Jesus; but as His disciples, we are expected to imitate Him. If we call ourselves His disciples, who are we teaching? Who are we investing in? To whom are we passing down the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ?