Sermons

Don Carson - Matthew 2:1-12 

Matthew 2:1-12 | EV Church | 16/12/2012 | Don Carson

Don Carson reflects on the wise men's visit to Bethlehem and the insights for the gospel of Matthew. 1. Jesus is King 2. Gentiles are included in the gospel.The pagan wise men were Gentiles, as was Ruth (see genealogy in Matthew 1), right through to Matthew 28. 3. Evil forces will try to kill Jesus.Not only Herod, Satan etc. 4. The world Jesus comes to is evil. (Slaughter of infant boys 2 and under in second part of Matt 2) 5. God sometimes uses strange means. (Use of pagan wise men, plus numerous other examples throughout Matthew) 6. The coming if Jesus fulfills scripture. 7. God in His so sovereignty preserves (escape to Egypt, Matt 8:23) 8. At select points in history God intervenes more immediately. (The birth of Jesus includes 5 miracles - God is saying LOOK AT THIS! ) 9. Jesus is worthy of all worship. (The wise men and on the day of judgement 'All knees will bow' ) Pray that you will recognise the Lordship of Jesus, worship Him as our saviour.

Romans 7:14-25 

Romans 7:14-25 | EV Church | 11/08/2013 | Tim Baldwin

Tim Baldwin preaching on Romans 7:14-25 Change is hard! Paul acknowledges this in this passage. Christians are no longer slaves to sin, but live with the presence of sin. Is Paul reflecting on his present state or at his state before conversion? Evidence for Present State - tense of the sentences - v8 desire to obey the law - v22 delight in Gods law - v25 thanks to God for delivering Jesus This can lead to complacency in dealing with sin. Evidence for Paul referring to his state before conversion - Consistency with Roms 6:6 - v17 sin living in me alive and kicking - v18 good itself doesn't dwell in me - v21 law still at work in him - v23 a prisoner to the law of sin - v25 slave to the law of sin - Roms 8:2 we are set free from the law of sin - Context of Rom 7 is Paul talking primarily to Jews who knew the law - v7 reflecting back to the time before the law (which must be pre-Moses) Gal 5:17 Paul acknowledges Christians struggle with sin. Key message of the passage is that life under the law is frustrating. Law refers here to the 10 commandments and the expanded version of laws in the first 5 books of the Bible. Rom 2:12-15 says that even Gentiles have moral law in their conscious. Law brings out sin in us, and helps us see sin. Sin is the problem, so what is the solution? More laws? No, the solution for sin is to let the Law humble us, so that we see our need for a saviour! v 25 - the answer is Jesus, his righteousness can be credited to us, making us right with God.