It is not possible to exhaust all the truth expressed in Paul’s defense of the gospel in our Lord’s Day expositions of Galatians. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest revelation of God’s glory, greater than creation, and the main subject of the whole counsel of God. The church displays the glory of the gospel by living in gospel holiness, defending gospel doctrine, and proclaiming the gospel message to repent and believe. When the Puritan, John Owen, describes the true nature of a gospel church, he begins with her leaders, who have the responsibility as shepherds to preach and preserve the doctrines of the gospel without compromise. Paul describes such accountability in Galatians between himself and the other apostles. Regardless of Satan’s attempts to twist or deny the gospel by worldly opposition, false brothers, or heretics, the church must maintain the integrity of the gospel passed on to us by the apostles. We are accountable to God and one another for holding fast the Word of truth.

In Paul’s effort to persuade the Galatians to forsake the false gospel of the Judaizers, he explains how the gospel he preaches was received by a special revelation from Jesus Christ, how the gospel transformed his life and mission, and how Peter and the apostles at Jerusalem corroborated and affirmed that he was preaching the same gospel as they preached.

Paul writes Galatians to save these young congregations in Asia Minor from apostasy. A group of false teachers had arrived in southern Galatia and were teaching a different gospel. They mixed law and grace. While they taught that you could be saved by trusting in Christ’s death and resurrection, they added “you must also keep the Law of Moses,” including be circumcised, keep the Sabbath, observe the festivals, and practice the dietary laws. This is why the theme of his letter to the Galatian churches is salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to God’s glory alone.

Justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to God’s glory alone is the heart of the gospel; and it is at the heart of the controversy between Paul and the Judaizers in the book of Galatians. Justification means “to declare righteous,” and it is the foundation of our righteousness before God, our forgiveness of sins, and our assurance in the Day of Judgment. If we lose the doctrinal article of justification by faith alone, we have lost the gospel, and if we lose the gospel, then we have lost the church. Martin Luther said that the doctrine of justification is the article on which the church stands or falls.

Psalm 150 ─ Here we sing the final Doxology! The momentum of the Psalter reaches its climactic conclusion, calling the people of God and all living things to praise the Lord! Psalm 150 describes our primary purpose for existence, PRAISE! ─ to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The imperative of praise appears 13 times in 6 verses. The great fourth century Trinitarian theologian, Athanasius, wrote, “I believe that a man can find nothing more glorious than the Psalms; for they embrace the whole life of man, the affections of his mind, and the motions of his soul. To praise and glorify God, he can select a Psalm suited to every occasion, and thus will find that they were written for him.”

Knowing the Lord our God leads us to unceasing praise.

God the Father has exalted Jesus Christ as King and Priest; He possesses all authority and is the author of our eternal salvation. This Psalm calls us to humbly trust in Him, to cheerfully surrender our lives to Christ the Lord.

Only Christ can save us from a meaningless existence.

Martin Luther writes with empathy for the wretchedness of a guilty sinner expressed in Psalm 130. “These are noble, passionate, and very profound words of a truly penitent heart that is most deeply moved in its distress. In fact, this cannot be understood except by those who have felt and experienced it. We are all in deep and great misery, but we do not all feel our condition.” Only God can speak peace to our conscience. He alone offers forgiveness of sins. He speaks this restoring message in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord speaks forgiveness to a repentant sinner.

Don’t be deceived by the earthly prosperity of the wicked.

June has been dedicated by our world to proudly displaying moral corruption, perverse desires, and rebellion against a holy God. But Psalm 42-43 arrives at just the right time to shore up our faith. These Psalms share a common theme of the believer living in and under an anti-God culture. The world oppresses us with their hatred for God and their absurd notions of morality. We grow weary of hearing wrong proclaimed as right. The psalmist too laments the harassment of the adversaries of his faith jeering, “Where is your God?” The promotion of perverse ideas, rooted in self-worship, distress us; but, like the psalmist, we must urge our souls to hope in our triune God, for we will yet praise Him.

On this special day, we give thanks for the gift of mothers and motherhood. Psalm 113:9, “He givesthe barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!”

In Matthew 20:20-27, the mother of James and John asks Jesus for the privilege of her sons to sit at His right and left hand in His coming kingdom. Jesus explains that His kingdom is not like the kingdoms of this world. Being leader in His kingdom means suffering rejection and serving with self-denial. He reminds them that even the Son of Man “came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” In 1 Samuel 29-30, David experiences rejection from the world and suffering with his people. Unlike Saul, David provides an exemplar of the Servant-Shepherd King, pointing us to Jesus Christ the Lord. As you prepare for worship, meditate on 1 Samuel 29-30 in connection with Matthew 20:20-27. Pray for the coming of Christ’s kingdom, when the Son of David will replace the selfish rule of earthly leaders with His reign of wisdom, justice, peace, and righteousness.

King Saul serves as a warning of living in rebellion against the Lordship of Christ.

Our desperation to escape painful situations can lead us to abandon our trust in God.

Like our Lord, the church receives and offers His blessing for little children.

The King Glorified - preached from John 20:19-31 on Resurrection Sunday 2023.

Jesus is the crucified King, crucified in weakness

When tempted by doubt we must cling to truth to avoid falling in unfaithfulness.

The Lord God continues to work through all the circumstances of David’s life to grow his faith, prepare him for what is ahead, strengthen his authoritative role as King, and weaken Saul’s grip on the throne. There are many parallels between the two stories of David sparing Saul’s life in chapters 24 and 26. But chapter 26 gives evidence of the godly influence of Abigail on David’s faith. He exhibits clarity about what must be done and confidently stands upon the reality that the Lord is King.

The Lord raises up the poor from the dust; He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them He has set the world. 1 Samuel 2:8 May He deliver you, exalt you, and preserve you forever. Psalm 37:40, 34, 28. Preached 3/12/23 by Pastor Bob St. John

Only the Christian is a realist, because only those who embrace the worldview of the Bible can understand and interpret our world correctly. Skewed views of reality result in misinterpretations of life. Those who embrace naturalism and reject supernaturalism always misinterpret the world and human significance. Most naturalists ultimately draw the dismal conclusion that we all are “killing time until we die.” In Samuel, David exemplifies the persevering, overcoming faith in God sovereignly working out His purposes through everything that happens to us. God is David’s reference point for understanding the universe. How do you interpret your world and your experience? Do you believe that the story of Scripture reveals “the one and only real world”?

The books of Samuel present kingdoms in conflict; but it is not just the hostilities ofthe Philistines that confront David. The kingdom of God is the rule of God, and all who confess that the Lord is King belong to His kingdom. The stories in the books of Samuel show us the spiritual struggle of the flesh versus the Spirit, and the children of God versus the children of the devil. In chapters 21-22, the writer further exposes King Saul as an enemy of God’s kingdom, His people, His priests, and His king. Confessing our Lord as King and submitting to His Word will always bring us into conflict with the kingdom of darkness.

Jonathans example of the believers loyalty to Christ, preached on February 5th, 2023 by Pastor Bob St. John from 1 Samuel chapter 20.

A sermon by Pastor Carlton Weathers on 1 Corinthians 16:13-14. Sunday, January 15, 2023.

Pastor Bryan Sullivan preaches on Isaiah 6. Sunday, January 8, 2023