Sermons

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Sermon of the Week: “The Bible’s View on Missions – Part 3” by Akash Sant Singh

We are pleased to offer the third of a series of messages on biblical missions from Pastor Akash Sant Singh, pastor of Community Bible Church in Reno, Nevada. As a missionary to West Africa, this sermon has spoken to my heart and it will be a blessing to you as well.

It is important to remember that every true believer is actually called to be on a mission for the Most High Sovereign Creator of heaven and earth. May Christ be exalted through the proclamation of His word and to each listening ear.

Church description – “The Bible’s view on missions – part 3 a Sunday school message by Pastor Akash – 1. God is self-centered – 2. God displays His glory through our sin – 3. The church is the goal – 4. The church is missionary – 5. We display God’s glory in everything we do.”

The Bible’s View of Missions – Part 3

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Sermon of the Week: “The Bible’s View on Missions – Part 2” by Akash Sant Singh

We are pleased to offer the second of a series of messages on biblical missions from Pastor Akash Sant Singh, pastor of Community Bible Church in Reno, Nevada. As a missionary to West Africa, this sermon has spoken to my heart and it will be a blessing to you as well.

It is important to remember that every true believer is actually called to be on a mission for the Most High Sovereign Creator of heaven and earth. May Christ be exalted through the proclamation of His word and to each listening ear.

Church description – “The Bible’s View of Missions – A Sunday School message by Pastor Akash – 1. Your missions field is wherever you are.”

The Bible’s View of Missions – Part 2

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Sermon of the Week: “The Bible’s View on Missions – Part 1” by Akash Sant Singh

We are pleased to offer the first of a series of messages on biblical missions from Pastor Akash Sant Singh, pastor of Community Bible Church in Reno, Nevada. As a missionary to West Africa, this sermon has spoken to my heart and it will be a blessing to you as well.

It is important to remember that every true believer is actually called to be on a mission for the Most High Sovereign Creator of heaven and earth. May Christ be exalted through the proclamation of His word and to each listening ear.

Church description – “A 20,000 ft high survey of missions – 1. It is all about God through Jesus Christ – 2. Jesus then gives it back to God the Father – 3. Missions=the entire creation we rule over – 4. It is all about bringing everyone together under Jesus.”

The Bible’s View of Missions – Part 1

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Sermon of the week: “Sovereign Election, Israel & Eschatology (a.k.a. Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Premillennialist)” by John MacArthur.

John MacArthur Your sermon of the week is Sovereign Election, Israel & Eschatology (a.k.a. Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Premillennialist) by John MacArthur. This is the message that caused a stir a few years ago when MacArthur delivered it at the Shepherd’s Conference.

Not all the contributors on this blog agree with MacArthur on this subject, but I wanted to make it available here for those who have not listened to it yet.

You may also want to hear the opposition’s position to the Premil view posted last week by ATG.

For a more in-depth examination of this subject, I highly recommend MacArthur’s six -part series found on this previous post. (I actually prefer MacArthur’s six-part series as he has more time to unpack his points, and makes a more convincing argument for the Premil position, than he does in today’s single message.)

You can download this week’s message by MacArthur by going to the page found on this link, or just right-click and save this link.

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Sermon of the Week: “What’s a Thousand Years Among Friends?” by Kim Riddlebarger

Dispensationalism? Premillennialism? The Rapture? A 1000 year reign on earth? Amillennialism? The kingdom is now? This age and the age to come?

What is this all about. Controversy and serious disagreements swirl endlessly around the study and beliefs of the End Times. In this lecture, Dr. Kim Riddlebarger poses a logical, Biblical, and literal argument for the Amillennial Two Age Model. With an honest listen, this should give all dispensational/premil folks reason to pause and examine their view a little closer. The Two Age Model is a LITERAL and BIBLICAL doctrine related to the End Times that overwhelmingly supports the Amillennial position and leaves dispensationalism looking for proof texts. Dr. Riddlebarger delivers this lecture in an enjoyable and understandable way with great respect and honor towards the Dispy brothers that he disagrees with. Enjoy!

Sermon Audio Link for Lecture here: What’s a Thousand Years Among Friends?

Dr. Kim Riddlebarger is pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, California. He is visiting professor of systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California and a frequent contributor to Tabletalk and Modern Reformation. Among his publications are A Case for Amillenialism: Understanding the End Times, and The Man of Sin. Kim also edits the Riddleblog devoted to Reformed theology and eschatology. Kim is also one of the hosts of the White Horse Inn Radio Program with Michael Horton, Rod Rosenbladt, and Ken Jones.

Kim’s blog:    www.riddleblog.com

White Horse Inn

Kim’s book

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What’s in a list of names?

If you are like me, you tend to not pay close attention to lists of names when you come across them in your Bible reading. Yes, those people are important to God, some lists demonstrate important lineages. There is a list which is not an important lineage – in Romans 16. This was the text for the sermon in my church yesterday, and I was (and still am) amazed at the richness of the Bible and the amazing grace and love Christ poured out for His people. May the Word of God dwell richly in you and may you love His people – because of His great love for you. That is the message of Romans 16:3-16.

For the glory of God and the good of His people.

 

 

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Sermon of the Week: “The Centrality of the Cross” by Alistair Begg.

As you browse the sermons available online, on the television, or on the radio, have you grown tired of the drivel that passes itself off for ministry of God’s holy, infallible, inerrant Word? Far too many so-called preachers of today are nothing more than wolves in sheep’s clothing, and they are seeking only to tickle the ears of men.

In my own ministry of the Word, I have appreciated what I have learned from Alistair Begg. This message is part of his available series entitled, “The Pastor’s Study, Volume 2.” While it is labeled as part of a series for pastors, this message is convicting and challenging for all true believers. Your sermon of the week for January 15th is The Centrality of the Cross.

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Sermon of the week: “Audacious Grace” by Akash Sant Singh.

Does God’s lavish, unexplainable grace offend you? Does it bother you that His grace can be extended to a wretch such as a serial killer, or is it only good for you?

I am happy to present another powerful and convicting message by Akash Sant Singh as your sermon of the week: God’s Audacious Grace.

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Sermon of the week: “Payday Someday” by R.G. Lee.

Your sermon of the week is an old-fashioned, southern-style preaching experience by R.G. Lee (1886-1978) entitled, Payday Someday.

I can’t think of a better way to begin 2012 than with this powerful sermon given many years ago, the likes of which are hard to find nowadays coming from pulpits across America.

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Sermon of the week: “Why We Believe and Others Reject” by John MacArthur

Your sermon of the week by John MacArthur explains Why We Believe and Others Reject.

As a side note, the day that DefCon posts its sermons of the week will change this week. Our sermons of the week will no longer post on Thursday mornings but will now post on Sunday mornings beginning this Sunday, January 1st.

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The Context of the Law

For the first time in my ministry, I have been studying in some depth the Ten Commandments. This has been a most profitable study in my own heart and life. I have been encouraged to share my notes, and while it is not the same as the message, I pray that someone might gain some profit from what is written. Lord willing, I will seek to share my notes on each message over the coming weeks. Please note these are the sermon notes I worked from, and do not contain the complete text of what I shared in the ministry of the Word.

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“The Context of the Law”

Text: Exodus 20:1-17, “And God spake all these words, saying, 2I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13Thou shalt not kill. 14Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15Thou shalt not steal. 16Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”

Intro: Our introduction to the Decalogue began by considering seven main points. We looked at their 1) Appearance summed up the law as the two great commands given by Christ, namely, a) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and b) Love your neighbor as yourself. With 2) Access we can understand that all are guilty because the law is written on the heart of mankind. 3) Authority tells us that God is the Giver and Fulfiller of the law. 4) Ability of the law is devastating in that it can only bring condemnation and separation from the holy, righteous God of heaven. 5) Assurance comes from the precious passage found in Psalm 19 and describes the perfect law of God. 6) Adversary of the law pointed directly to Satan. And 7) Acceptance of the law for a believer helps us love what provides protection. The main aspect we learned is that in order to live a life pleasing to the Lord we must learn to adore what God adores. He has given the law and it is in this law that we are to meditate day and night.

As with the purpose of every one of the 1189 chapters in God’s Word, the 20th chapter of Exodus is for the purpose of focusing on God. We do not need a chapter to show us how bad we are. Our depravity is always evident and even after salvation, the flesh can choose at times to revolt and bring dishonor to a holy God. This can and will result in discipline if the correction from God’s Word and the Holy Spirit do not bring changes to our heart and life.

Continue reading →

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Saturday sermon series: “The Gospel Demands Radical Abandonment (C)” by David Platt.

We conclude our eight-week series on the radical demands of the gospel by David Platt with the final message, The Gospel Demands Radical Abandonment (C).

To obtain the entire series (or watch the videos of these sermons) visit Disciple Making International.

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Sermon of the week: “How to Recognize True Repentance” by Don Green.

It has been awhile (too long) since DefCon last featured Don Green, but now we break that drought with today’s sermon of the week, How to Recognize True Repentance.

Here is an excerpt from this sermon:

“I fear that the strong opposition that you see in the Christian church sometimes to the opposition of society’s sins comes at the expense of real personal concern about our own sins, and that needs to be said. Jesus isn’t calling you to mourn over someone else’s sin, He’s calling you to mourn over your sin.”

I have really benefited from Don Green’s teaching over the years and am happy to feature him again.


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Sermon of the week: “Christmas Traditions” by Jim McClarty

Your sermon of the week delves into the origins of the Christ-Mass.

In this casual lecture entitled Christmas Traditions, Jim McClarty peels back the veil of our annual Christmas traditions to reveal the genesis of many of the practices of this holiday, which makes for a very interesting history lesson that you won’t want to miss.

If you’re looking for more information on this subject, you may be interested in the History Channel’s video on the origins of Christmas entitled Christmas Unwrapped.

You may also be interested in A radical approach to December 25th: Why we won’t be celebrating Christmas this year, (and its follow-up post found here), as well as A.W. Pink’s views on Christmas in the post Dreaming of a Pink Christmas.

HT: AiroCross

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Sermon of the week: “God’s view on Marriage and Divorce” by Akash Sant Singh.

If last week’s sermon on marriage by Albert Martin (found here) was a left hook, today’s message is an uppercut.

God’s view on marriage and divorce is a message that I strongly encourage DefCon readers to listen to whether you are married, divorced, widowed, or single (yes, that’s intended to be all-inclusive).

What a wonderfully convicting and encouraging message Akash brings from the book of Malachi. You won’t want to miss this one.

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Saturday sermon series: “The Gospel Demands Radical Giving” by David Platt.

We are in week five of our eight-week series on Radical. What makes today’s message, The Gospel Demands Radical Giving, so important is that in it David Platt answers many of the criticisms levied against him.

If you dislike the message Platt is delivering in this series and you refuse to listen to it because you think Platt  believes that Christians who give away more are better than those who don’t; you think Platt “guilts “people into giving to the poor (and keeping less for ourselves); you think Platt believes the rich man was in Hell because he had money and Lazarus was in Heaven because he was poor; you think Platt is advancing a works-righteousness gospel; or any of the other baseless judgments that have been levied against him for daring to touch American Christianity’s golden calf of affluence, then please listen to this message so you can better understand his heart and his message.

I don’t wish for the “controversy” surrounding Radical to overshadow the message Platt is giving, but the criticisms must be answered and in this particular message Platt does just that (most of which is done in the first 14 1/2 minutes of this message).

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Sermon of the week: “Marriage and Redemption” by Albert Martin.

Your sermon of the week is Marriage and Redemption by Albert N. Martin.

I greatly appreciate Pastor Martin’s willingness to go where so many pastors in America won’t. Whether it’s dealing with such taboo subjects in the church as the expectation of families to have family worship time and warning against the misuse of television (see here) or the subject of the rampant immodesty within the church (see here), Pastor Martin is not one to shy away from stepping on toes as he deals with subjects that most other pastors won’t touch for fear of alienating segments of the church or being labeled a “legalist.” 

In today’s message Pastor Martin takes the gloves off as he deals with the subject of marriage. This is no “ten steps to a better marriage” type sermon; expect to be challenged and convicted.