Introduction It was such a joy to get to baptize baby Wyatt today. What a wonderful reminder that God is still gathering a people for Himself. In baptism God places His covenant name upon His people. It is His sign and seal of the covenant, pointing us to His promises of mercy, grace, forgiveness, and…
Genesis 17:7-14 (ESV) 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the…
The Adamic Covenant and the Shape of Human Life God placed Adam into a covenant world with a calling to serve as priest, king, and son. Adam was commissioned to worship God, guard what was good, exercise dominion, and extend God’s righteous order throughout the earth. Adam stood as the covenant head of humanity, representing…
Covenant as Communion: One Covenant from the Triune God At the heart of our theology is covenant. A covenant is an oath-bound relationship, but more deeply, covenant is communion—shared life with God. God is eternally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, existing in perfect love and fellowship. Creation and redemption flow out of this eternal love.…
Romans 7:7-12 (ESV) 7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing…
Introduction Years ago, when I was a young Christian helping with the youth group, the leader at the time was teaching the Ten Commandments—and it made me furious. I protested, “Why are we teaching the law? Aren’t we under grace? Didn’t Jesus fulfill the law for us? Aren’t we New Covenant, gospel people? What do…
Introduction One time when I was sharing the gospel with someone, after walking them through the gist of the whole Bible, this person looked at me and said, “I think I believe everything you just told me.” And I said, “Great. Then surrender your life to Christ and become a Christian.” To which he responded,…
Introduction Most of you have heard of the puritan minister and Bible commentator, Matthew Henry. And whether you realize it or not, one of the reasons you’ve heard of him is because his father, Phillip Henry, sought to raise him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Often, whenever his children would misbehave, Phillip…
Introduction In Psalm 2:8 God the Father says to God the Son, “I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” In Psalm 110:1, the Father says to the Son, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” In 1 Corinthians 15:22-26 Paul echoes this…
Introduction Friday night Rachel and I went to a football game. And though I’m not a big sports guy, there’s something beautiful that happens sometimes in the game. You can feel it when it happens. The stadium has been silent, the home team behind, the fans weary and resigned to another loss. Then, out of…