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Gen 12:1-9 – The call of Abram – sermon notes

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It was the adventure of a life-time. Sure, by modern standards, Abraham’s journey from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran and on to the land of Canaan was a fairly modest undertaking. Many of us will have travelled further distances in taking our summer holidays this year. But then we have all the benefits of mechanised travel, of reliable maps, and of bridges and made-up roads. For Abraham this was a journey into the unknown, and was to turn out to be one of the most important journeys ever undertaken by anyone.…

What good shall men get by hearing of sermons?

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Here’s a Puritan answer to this question:-

  1. The Holy Ghost is here given, Acts 10:44
  2. Men’s hearts are here opened, Acts 16:14
  3. The fear of God doth here fall upon men, Acts 13:16
  4. The proud and stony heart of men is here tamed, melted and made to tremble, Isa 66:2
  5. The faith of God’s elect is here begotten, Rom 10:14
  6. Men are here sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, Eph 1:13
  7. Here the Spirit speaketh to the churches, Eph 1:13
  8. Christ here comes to sup with men, Rev 3:20
  9. The painful distress of the afflicted conscience is here or nowhere cursed by hearing, the bones that God hath broken receive joy and gladness, Ps 51:8
  10. What shall I say, but as the Evangelical Prophet saith?
…

How to evangelise badly

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Many of us can sympathise with Krish Kandiah when he says that he has more experience in doing evangelism badly than in doing it well.

Here are four ways to evangelise badly:-

1.  The mime artist.

St Francis of Assisi is supposed to have said: ‘Preach the gospel.  Use words if necessary.’  Many Christians today think that the gospel can be proclaimed by our deeds, and that words are at best an optional extra.  But although Christian behaviour is an essential accompaniment to the gospel, the gospel itself must be made known using words, or it will not be made know at all.  …

Re-imagining TULIP

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Anyone who has a smattering of theological knowledge will have heard of the TULIP acronym:-

T = total depravity
U = unconditional election
L = limited atonement
I = irresistible grace
P = perseverance of the saints

As a summary of Calvinistic beliefs, it is pretty inadequate.  For one thing, it is couched in terminology that almost entirely negative, and therefore does not lend itself to the heartfelt doxology that good theology should always engender.  For another thing, it was never intended as a summary of Calvinism, but rather as a response to the ‘five points of remonstrance’ that the followers of Arminius had previously raised against the prevalent Protestant theology of the day.  …

Education in Israel

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1. It was God-centred and God-commanded, Gen 18:19; Ex 10:2; 12:26-27; 13:14-16; Deut 4:9-10; 6:7,9; 11:19; 32:46; Isa 38:19; etc.

2. Its content and purpose centred on the fear of the Lord, Pr 1:7; 9:10; Ec 12:13.

3. It was home-based.

4. Children were required to honour and obey their parents Pr 1:8; 6:20; Ex 20:12; 21:15-17; Le 20:9; Deut 21:18; Pr 30:17; cf Eph 6:1-3.

5. Children were viewed as sinful by nature, Ps 51:5.…

Before the creation of the world

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1. The Son shared glory with the Father, Jn 17:5.
2. The Father loved the Son, Jn 17:24
3. God purposed to call us and save us by grace, 2 Tim 1:9.
4. God destined a secret and hidden wisdom, 1 Cor 2:7.
5. Eternal life was promised, Tit 1:2.
6. The sacrificial death of Christ was destined, 1 Pet 1:20.
7. God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless before him, Eph 1:4.…

Godly parents

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  1. Abraham, Gen 18:19
  2. Joshua, Jos 24:15
  3. Job, Job 1:5
  4. Lydia, Acts 16:15
  5. Lois, 2 Tim 1:5
…

Motives for obedience

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Wayne Grudem comments that Christians sometimes fail to appreciate the range of NT teaching regarding motives for obedience to God:-

  1. A desire to please God and express of love to him, Jn 14:15, 21; cf. 1 John 5:3.
  2. The need to keep a clear conscience before God Rom. 13:5; 1 Tim. 1:5, 19; 2 Tim. 1:3; 1 Peter 3:16.
  3. The desire to be effective in the work of God’s kingdom, 2 Tim. 2:20–21.
  4. The desire to see unbelievers come to faith in Christ through observing our lives, 1 Peter 3:1–2, 15–16).
…

N.T. Wright on ‘dikaiosune theou’

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‘I became convinced many years ago, and time and exegesis have confirmed this again and again, that Paul always uses this phrase to denote, not the status which God’s people have from him or in his presence, but the righteousness of God himself. This is not to say that there is no such thing as a righteous status held by believers. There is. It is to deny that this is the referent of Paul’s phrase dikaiosune theou.main…

Adoption – questions for self-assessment

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To help us realize more adequately who and what, as children of God, we are and are called to be, here are some questions by which we do well to examine ourselves again and again.

Do I understand my adoption? Do I value it? Do I daily remind myself of my privilege as a child of God?

Have I sought full assurance of my adoption? Do I daily dwell on the love of God to me?…