Airdrie, Alberta Canda
In this special message, Dr. Sproul narrates one of the children’s books he’s written, entitled “The Priest with Dirty Clothes”—a story of God’s love and forgiveness. It was written to help children understand one of the most difficult concepts of Christianity—how we are made acceptable to God through Christ’s righteousness.
This is a great story for adults as well as children. It’s about 20 minutes long.
Al Mohler writes:
One of the most amazing statements by the Apostle Paul is his indictment of the Galatian Christians for abandoning the gospel. “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel,” Paul declared. As he stated so emphatically, the Galatians had failed in the crucial test of discerning the authentic gospel from its counterfeits.
His words could not be more clear: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you have received, he is to be accursed!” [Gal. 1:6-7]
This warning from the Apostle Paul, expressed in the language of the Apostle’s shock and grief, is addressed not only to the church in Galatia, but to every congregation in every age. In our own day — and in our own churches — we desperately need to hear and to heed this warning. In our own time, we face false gospels no less subversive and seductive than those encountered and embraced by the Galatians.
In our own context, one of the most seductive false gospels is moralism. This false gospel can take many forms and can emerge from any number of political and cultural impulses. Nevertheless, the basic structure of moralism comes down to this — the belief that the gospel can be reduced to improvements in behaviour.
R.C. Sproul writes:
The late theologian Cornelius Van Til once made the observation that Calvinism is not to be identified with the so-called five points of Calvinism. Rather, Van Til concluded that the five points function as a pathway, or a bridge, to the entire structure of Reformed theology. Likewise, Charles Spurgeon argued that Calvinism is merely a nickname for biblical doctrine. These titans of the past understood that the essence of Reformed theology cannot be reduced to five particular points that arose as points of controversy centuries ago in Holland with the Remonstrants, who objected to five specific points of the system of doctrine found in historic Calvinism. Those five points have become associated with the acrostic TULIP: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints.
See also:
13 April 2014 — 10 AM Worship
| Scripture: | Exodus 20:4–6 |
| Sermon: | REVELATION, NOT IMAGINATION |
| Creedal Reading: | Shorter Catechism 49–52 [paraphrased into modern English] |
| SC 49 What is the second commandment? | |
| The second commandment is, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, . or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, . . or that is in the earth beneath, . . or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children . to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love . to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” |
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| SC50 What does God require in the second commandment? | |
| In the second commandment, God requires us . to receive, . to observe, . and to keep pure and entire . . all the religious worship and ordinances . . . that he has appointed in his Word. |
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| SC 51 What does God forbid in the second commandment? | |
| In the second commandment, God forbids us to seek to worship him . by images, . or by any other way that he does not appoint in his Word. |
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| SC52 What are the reasons God attaches to the second commandment? | |
| The reasons God attaches to the second commandment are . his sovereign authority over us, . his ownership of us, . and the zeal he has for his own worship. |
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| Hymns: | TH 100 — “Holy, Holy, Holy” |
| TH 253 — “There is a Fountain” | |
| TH 141 — “God, in the Gospel of His Son” | |
| Doxology: | TH 731 — “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow” |
13 Apr 2014 — 3 PM Worship
| Scripture: | 1 Samuel 18–19 |
| Sermon: | “Many Are The Plans In A Man’s Heart, But It Is the LORD’s Purpose That Prevails” (Prov. 19:21).” |
| Hymns: | Psalm 2 (Tune: Salzburg [Hintze]) |
| TH 138:4–5 — “Great Sun of Righteousness, Arise” | |
| Psalm 59 (Tune: Vox Dilecti) | |
| Doxology: | TH 312:4 — Psalm 72:18–19 |
David Murray writes:
Did Old Testament believers have any expectation of a Divine Messiah?
When I was recently asked that question, my instinctive reaction was to say “No.”
The Old Testament believers knew that the Messiah would be a man, that he would suffer, and that he would be glorified after his sufferings (Gen. 3:15; Luke 24:25-27; 1 Peter 1:11-13). But they did not know that he would be God.
Or did they?