Gospel Essentials #3: This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, April 27, 2011.
Monthly Archive for April, 2011
An exposition of Romans 5:1-11. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Resurrection Morning, April 24, 2011.
Gospel Essentials #2. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, April 20, 2011.
Gospel Essentials #1. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, April 13, 2011.
A Wednesday-evening Bible study from Genesis 50:15-21. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on April 6, 2011.
A report from Mercy Hill Church, and exposition of Colossians 1:9-14. This message by guest preacher, Rev. Steve Harden was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, April 17, 2011.
How can you pray for us at Mercy Hill?
- Be filled
- Be strengthened
- Be thankful
Gospel of John #22: An exposition of John 8:12-20. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, April 17, 2011.
Intro:
It was a bold announcement and it made a some folks uncomfortable. They were wondering what they had gotten themselves into. They made a beeline to me immediately after church. “Do you know what your son did?” It was our first Sunday at the church and he was in the nursery! “No, what did he do?” “It was during play time he stood in the middle of the nursery and shouted, ‘Belly up to the bar boys, drinks are on me.’” I apologized and said, “That’s my fault, I shouldn’t take him with me.” Fortunately everyone had a good laugh and I explained he loved watching the Davy Crocket videos and that was a scene from Mike Fink: Riverboat Captain. But ever since I’ve been leery of public statements. They can be inflammatory. They can lead to misunderstanding. Then again they can be a straightforward declaration of eternal truth.
It was during the “Feast of Booths.” He had already made one great pronouncement. Interrupting the water ceremony he declared, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” That pronouncement caused quite a bit of controversy. The religious establishment already sought to arrest him. They were determined to be rid of the trouble-making Galilean. Now, days later, he is at it again. This time he is in the temple treasury which is in the Court of Women. It is here the people come to pay their temple tax. There are 13 large vessels labeled for the various taxes. It was a crowded area especially during this mandatory feast. It was here in the treasury the 2nd great ceremony of the feast took place. It was called, The Illumination of the Temple. The ceremony featured four large candelabra. Every evening the torches would be lit, the temple orchestra would play and righteous men would dance before the flames until dawn. The light from the torches filled the temple and spilled out into the city of Jerusalem. It was a glorious sight. It was meant to symbolize the pillar of fire that led the Israelites during their wilderness wandering. It was here, before the charred candelabra, that Jesus boldly declared, “I am the light of the world.” Our text this morning is found in John’s Gospel chapter 8 beginning at verse 12.
Text: John 8:12-20
Booths or Tabernacles is the most popular of the 3 mandatory feasts.
It was in celebration of the grape and olive harvests but also commemorated the wilderness wandering.
Two rituals were at the heart of the celebration.
The first - drawing water from the Pool of Siloam signified the water from the rock in the wilderness. (Recount the ritual) This symbolized life and God’s gracious provision.
The second was called The Illumination of the Temple which I described earlier.
What is clear from our text is this…
Thesis: Submission to Christ grants the believer spiritual light while the rejection of Christ dooms the unbeliever to spiritual darkness.
Life and death; light and darkness are themes that run throughout John’s Gospel. This statement in verse 12 is unmistakeable. Given the location and context of this statement you would have to work at not understanding it. This is a bold public declaration of deity. The days of “laying low” are over. He had begun his march to the cross. I want to point out just two things as we look at verses 12-20.
- Submission to Christ produces spiritual light and insight. (8:12) This verse begins with an extraordinary claim.
- The second half of verse 12 makes a wonderful promise. The rejection of Christ ensures spiritual darkness. (8:13-20)
Conclusion:
Jesus is the light of the world and you will find light in him or you will not find light at all. To submit to Christ is to enter into light. To reject him is to be plunged into eternal darkness. I plead with you - come to the light.
1 Corinthians #18: An exposition of 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, April 10, 2011.
Intro:
I’m sure it is something that all the fallen children of Adam struggle with, but I think it is a more intense struggle for Western believers especially American Christians. We’re a fairly stubborn, independent bunch. Add to that we are Baptists and it just gets worse. We are big on freedom and not too keen on responsibility. We like to demand our rights but are not always concerned about those whose rights are trampled. Like spoiled children we tend to pout when we don’t get our way. All that is so foreign to what the Scripture demands of us. Yes there is freedom in Christ. A glorious, wonderful freedom but it’s not without limits. We are not free to do as we please. We’ve been granted freedom not license. I’m comforted by the fact we are not the only ones who struggle with what Christian liberty is all about. It’s been a problem within the church from the beginning. Paul’s been talking about it for two and a half chapters already and tonight we will consider the second half of that third chapter. Our text is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
Text: 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1
Paul told the Galatian believers, “It is for the sake of freedom that Christ has set us free.”
He insisted that they not allow themselves to be subject to a yoke of bondage.
But Christian liberty always carries with it responsibility.
In Chapter 8 we are reminded that Christian liberty is limited by love.
In Chapter 9 Paul gives a personal example concerning how he limited his own freedom.
In the first part of chapter 10 Paul warns of the danger of abuse on our own souls.
Now he comes to sum up his message on freedom.
I would sum up his message in this way…
Thesis: While there is incredible freedom in the Gospel, the mature believer is not enamored with his rights, rather he is captivated by the glory of God.
We are not to be protective of our rights.
We are not to demand our rights.
We are to concern ourselves with God’s glory.
Our goal, our aim is to see the name and fame of our God grow and expand.
It’s not about us - it is about Him.
It’s not our will - but His will that matters.
There are two basic points that sum up Paul’s position on this whole matter.
- Christian liberty is determined to avoid even the appearance of evil. (10:14-22)
- Christian liberty eagerly submits to a higher priority. (10:23-11:1)
While there is incredible freedom in the Gospel, the mature believer is not enamored with his rights, rather he is captivated by the glory of God.
Gospel of John #21: An exposition of John 8:1-11. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, April 10, 2011.
Intro:
I couldn’t help myself. Passion takes over and guys just can’t control themselves. The impulse is just too strong. Little boys throw rocks. I knew it was wrong but it felt so good. I had made a beautiful shot with the first one. I picked up the second and said, “Watch this.” Everyone was gone. Suddenly I felt a tug on my right ear. I can still hear her voice, “Young man you are going to find out what happens to little boys who throw rocks at school!” I was caught. My mind was racing, trying to find some excuse, some rationale but there was nothing. I was caught. The rock was in my hand. I still remember the terror that came over me as I sat outside Mr. Layton’s office. It was documented. Mr. Layton had an electric paddle. No one knew what it looked like. I imagined some sort of harness and a table but I wasn’t sure. Folklore around Robertson Elementary told of kids who went into that office and were never seen or heard from again. But the greatest pain was the shame of being labeled, “Rock Thrower.”
Have you ever been caught? I don’t mean that you were eventually “found out,” I mean caught in the act? Caught. The very word brings embarrassment and shame. Shame is the inevitable result of being caught. When dealing with your children when they have been caught doing something that you’ve told them not to do, you have to say, “Look at me.” The last thing they want to do is look into the face of the one whose law they have just violated. But let’s move beyond a child’s shame and consider what happens when we break the law of the sovereign God and we stand before him, having been “caught in the act.” What happens then? What happens when we as “caught sinners” stand before a holy, righteous, all knowing and all powerful God? The answer may surprise you. To answer the question, I want us to consider the message of John 8:1-11. Here we find a story of failure, abuse, shame and grace.
Text: John 8:1-11
This is a “disputed” text. You may well have a note in your Bible that says something like, “The earliest manuscripts do not include John 7:53-8:11.” In biblical scholarship there are two types of criticisms directed toward the Scripture. There is “higher criticism” which focuses on the content of the Bible and “lower criticism” which seeks to reconstruct the original text of Scripture as accurately as possible. This text is disputed by they second form. The earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of John do not include this section. Further some of the language and structure differs significantly from the rest of the book. Early commentators do not refer to it. However it has long been associated with John’s Gospel. Further everything that happens in this text is consistent with what we know of Jesus and the surrounding circumstances. Thus, while it may not be part of John’s original writing, I believe it is worth dealing with and granting it biblical authority.
In this text we find the drama of redemption. We find sin, failure, wickedness, guilt and forgiveness. The drama plays out in three acts. I want us to look at each act and then draw a conclusion.
- Act 1 - A monstrous, yet ingenious plan. (8:1-6a)
- Act 2 - A simple, yet profound response. (8:6b-9)
- Act 3 - An astonishingly gracious act. (8:10-11)
What’s the point of all this?
Thesis: The simple truth of the Gospel is that God graciously offers forgiveness and life to helpless sinners caught in the act.
Place yourself in this story.
Are you like the crowd - witnesses of forgiveness but not partakers?
Are you like the religious leaders - sins who walked away never hearing the message of forgiveness?
Are you like the woman - a hopeless, helpless sinner touched by God’s astonishing grace?
1 Corinthians #17: An exposition of 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, April 3, 2011.
Intro:
Have you noticed that there is something within each of us that wants to see just how much we can get away with? And it starts so early! Now I have the sweetest, most wonderful grandchild in the world - that is without questions but even sweet miss Em shows signs of depravity! When she moves toward something she’s not supposed to have and you say, “No, Emma.” She stops looks at you. Smiles. Then goes right for it! I will admit when she does it I laugh - not exactly the same reaction as I had to my children when they did the same thing. That’s my depravity showing. My point is it is bred into us to see what we can get away with. How close can we get to it without getting in trouble? The speed limit is 55? Oh, that means they give you 60. “It’s just about quitting time. I leave at 5:00 so I start shutting down at 3:30. When I get “away with it” - it just gets worse.
The apostle Paul is talking about “freedom.” Specifically our freedom in Christ. But Christian liberty is not without limits. It is not the freedom to do as you please. According to 1 Corinthians 8 I limit my freedom out of love. My love and concern for others and their spiritual health causes me to set aside my freedom if it causes them to stumble. I will not enjoy my freedom at the expense of damaging their spiritual development. The example used in chapter 8 is that of eating meat sacrificed to idols. Now, the mature in Christ know that and idol is nothing. It is a piece of word or stoned fashioned by a man and it has no power but I’m not going to use my knowledge if it harms those who are less mature. If my eating meat causes them to suffer spiritual I’ll never eat meat again. In chapter 9 the apostle gives a personal example of how he sets aside his rights in order to further the work of the Gospel. Then in chapter 10 he attempts to show how our use of freedom might damage our own spiritual growth. Our text this evening is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
Text: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
As we work our way through this text we will discover that:
Thesis: The mature believer guards against his faith in God degenerating into presumption upon God.
Israel serves a great example.
They are a reminder to us (10:6) - so that we do not repeat their mistakes.
What we have in this passage is a solemn warning.
I want to call your attention to three principles:
- Identification with God does not provide immunity from the consequences of sin and rebellion. (10:1-5)
- Presumption upon God always leads to disaster. (10:6-10)
- Faith in God assures you of strength and victory in the face of temptation & struggle. (10:11-13)
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