A congregation of the PCA in Franklin, NC

Category: Sermons (Page 2 of 9)

Jesus the Faithbuilder

John 11:1-16 (ESV)

For His Glory

1: Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2: It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3: So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4: But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

For His Work

5: Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6: So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7: Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8: The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9: Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10: But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

For Our Faith

11: After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12: The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13: Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14: Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15: and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16: So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

When God Breaks In – December 17, 2023 Rev. Jim Phillis

Luke 1:5-25 (ESV)

5: In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6: And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

7: But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

8: Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,

9: according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

10: And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

11: And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

12: And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

13: But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

14: And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,

15: for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

16: And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,

17: and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

18: And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

19: And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

20: And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

21: And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.

22: And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.

23: And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

24: After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,

25: “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

The Shepherd and the Door December 10, 2023

John 10:7-21 (ESV)

Redemption through the Door

7: So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

8: All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

9: I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

The Sacrifice of the Shepherd

11: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

12: He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

13: He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14: I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

15: just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

The Nature of His Authority

16: And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

17: For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

18: No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Reason and Conclusion

19: There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.

20: Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”

21: Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

The Importance of a Door December 3, 2023

John 10:1-6 (ESV)

The Authority of Access

1: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

The Nature of Recognition

2: But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

3: To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

The Trust in Submission

4: When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

5: A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

The Grace of Understanding

6: This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Foils and Aids for Our Faith November 12, 2023

John 9:8-23 (ESV)

The Neighbors: Doubt

  • 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”
  • 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.”
  • 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”
  • 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.”
  • 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

The Pharisees: Accusation

  • 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
  • 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
  • 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
  • 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
  • 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

The Parents: Fear

  • 18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight
  • 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
  • 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
  • 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.”
  • 22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.
  • 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

Of Purpose, Work, and Glory November 5, 2023

John 9:1-7 (ESV)

The Glory of God’s Work

1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

The Completion of God’s Work

4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

The Trial of Obedience

6 Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud

7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

True Freedom and True Bondage, October 15, 2023

John 8: 31-38 (ESV)

Freedom and Truth

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Freedom and the Son

33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Bondage and the slave

37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.
38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

The Laws Letter and Its Spirit September 24, 2023

John 7:53 – 8:11 (ESV)

“The Law Enforcer”

53 They went each to his own house, 8:1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst

4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.

5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”

6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

“The Law Keeper”

7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

A Portrait of Reprobation September 17, 2023

John 7:40-52 (ESV)

Division

40 Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, said, “This really is the Prophet.”

41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee?

42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”

43 So there was a division among the people over him.

Deception

44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?”

46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”

47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived?

48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?

49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”

Derision

50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them,

51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”

52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

A Picture of Redeemed Refreshment. September 10, 2023

John 7:37-39 (ESV)

The Well of the Heart

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

The Fruit of Completion

39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

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