Last week I preached on Exodus 32 (Israel’s worship of the golden calf), and just a few weeks before I preached on Exodus 28 & 29.  In the midst of the sermon on Exodus 28 & 29, I encouraged the gathered congregation to positively find their identity in Christ.  As Christians, we want to worship and serve the Creator rather than created things.  We want to worship and serve Christ instead of our jobs.  We want to worship and serve Christ instead of our gifts.  We want to worship and serve Christ instead of people.  Finding our identity in our employment, talents, or in how we stand in relation to other people is another form of idolatry.  I found the video below a helpful restatement of the biblical truth that the goal of the creation is the worship and glory of Christ.   Watch, enjoy, be encouraged, and challenged.

HT: Challies

The Apostle John tells us that love for God is obedience to his commands (see 1 John 5:3).  As fallen human beings, we are prone to two errors.  On the one hand, there is the danger of being a hearer of the Word and not a doer of the Word.  We are prone to fall into this error because we want to avoid being self-righteous Pharisees.  On the other hand, there is the danger of being a grace-less doer of the Word.  We are prone to fall into this error because we hope that through our works we might obtain God’s favor.  Both of those extremes are errors.  They both fail to fully apprehend God’s grace to us in Christ, and if we want to avoid both extremes then we must take this counsel:

“All our obedience, every resolve to do good, and every work of faith is ‘by his power’ and so that the Lord Jesus would be glorified because of the grace he gives. Yes, we must pursue obedience, but that obedience must always be cruciform, formed by Christ’s cross. We must seek to obey because of the cross, find the grace to obey because of the cross, and live free from condemnation whether we succeed or fail in the light of the cross. The cross must be our only story, as Paul boldly proclaimed: ‘For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified’ (1 Cor. 2:2)” [Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson in Counsel from the Cross (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2009), 171-172].

HT: Thabiti

Scripture: Exodus 32:1-35

Speaker: Mike Law Jr.

Series: Exodus

Location: Grace Baptist Church of Arlington

Download (mp3)

Given that we hope to celebrate the Lord’s Supper again this coming Lord’s Day, it’s important that we reflect on the aim of the meal that we intend to celebrate.  The Lord’s Supper is a means of grace that encourages believers as they persevere in the faith, or as J.C. Ryle puts it,

“The Lord’s Supper is not a converting or justifying ordinance, and those who come to it unconverted and unjustified, will go away no better than they came, but rather worse. It is an ordinance for believers, and not for unbelievers, for the living and not for the dead. It is meant to sustain life, but not to impart it – to strengthen and increase grace, but not to give it – to help faith to grow, but not to sow or plant it. Let these things sink down into our hearts, and never be forgotten.”  (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1985], 310, 311.)

HT: Erik

By God’s grace our congregation is filled with those who long to work hard to the glory of God.  That being said, we’re all fallen and from time to time our hearts pursue our own ambitions rather than the Lord’s ambitions.  We need to be constantly reminded of how we are to work to the glory of God.  John Starke offers a wise reminder to us all on a Christian work ethic.  Here’s a portion of what he said:

1. You cannot accomplish everything – only God can.
2. The universe does not rely upon your accomplishments – only God’s.
3. We are only the means to what God accomplishes, not the source.
4. We are only the means to what God accomplishes, not the culmination of God’s accomplishments.

I would encourage you to read all of John’s post, and you can do so here.

Scripture: Exodus 30:1-31:18

Speaker: Mike Law Jr.

Series: Exodus

Location: Grace Baptist Church of Arlington

Download (mp3)

Over at the Gospel Coalition Blog, Chris Tomlinson has a number of good reflections on the centrality of the cross in our faith.  Tomlinson argues that the cross matters to our faith because at the cross we see several things.  He writes that at the cross…

…We see God’s sovereignty—reigning with absolute control over humanity’s greatest sin.
…We see God’s purpose—making known the mystery of His will prepared before time.
…We see God’s plan—to unite all things, on heaven and on earth, in Him.
…We see God’s judgment—requiring recompense for guilt.
…We see God’s holiness—demanding the perfect sacrifice.
…We see God’s power—crushing the Son of God according to the purpose of His will.
…We see God’s wrath—punishing the wretchedness of sin.
…We see God’s sorrow—wailing as only a forsaken son can.
…We see God’s mystery—the Son, as God, separated from the Father, committing His Spirit to God.
…We see God’s compassion—pleading to the Father to forgive the ignorant.
…We see God’s gift—His one and only Son, bruised and broken on our behalf.
…We see God’s mercy—making unrighteous sinners righteous.
…We see God’s love—Christ dying for sinners.
…We see God’s rescue operation—delivering us from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His Son.
…We see God’s proposal—pledging Himself to His bride forever.
…We see God’s revelation—the Word of God speaking His last so He might speak on behalf of many.
…We see God’s victory—disarming His enemies, putting them to shame, and triumphing over them.
…We see God’s glory—the name of the Father being magnified for the sake of all peoples.

Tomlinson has offered a wonderful meditation on the Cross of Christ, and I’d encourage you to read the whole post here.

I’m delighted by much of the work of the folks at The Gideons International. The Gideons distribute God’s Word all around the world.  God’s Word is powerful and active, and he uses it to bring himself great glory in the lives of sinners and saints.  For an organization that mainly focuses on distributing the Bible, I’m delighted to see that they have a solid description of what the Bible truly is.   Here’s their description:

THE BIBLE contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.

It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Here Paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.

CHRIST is its grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God its end.

It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

I’d encourage you to meditate on that description, along with the description of the Bible in our church’s statement of faith.  It’s my prayer that our theology of the Bible would increasingly be brought to bear on our lives each day as the Lord shapes us through his Word by the power of the Spirit into the likeness of his Son.

HT: DG Blog

Scripture: Exodus 28:1-29:46

Speaker: Mike Law Jr.

Series: Exodus

Location: Grace Baptist Church of Arlington

Download (mp3)

Juan Sanchez over at the Gospel Coalition Blog has a good post on understanding the nature of sin.  What is the nature of sin?  Sanchez answers that sin is “deceptive, divisive and destructive.”  Here are a few important points from the article:

Sin is Deceptive:

Satan deceives us into thinking that what we are doing is not sin (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Sin is Divisive:

“ Sin is divisive in that it separates us from God (1 John 1:1) and from each other (1 Corinthians 10:17).”

Sin is Destructive:

“We see everyday how sin destroys people’s lives…David’s life testifies to this fact (2 Samuel 11-24).”

Perhaps most importantly, Sanchez concludes on this note:

“You see, the Christian life is not about a list of dont’s; it’s about a gift given to us in which we are to delight: Jesus Christ, the beloved Son.”

I commend the entire article to you.  You can read the whole thing here.