Sermons – Covenant Grace Baptist Church Covenant Grace Baptist Church

It is hard not to get angry at the way the world is going today.  As Christians we know what the truth is; we know what right and wrong are; we know how people are to live their lives as married couples, parents, in holiness and truth.  We know that God is to be acknowledged and worshipped.  We know what the laws of the Land ought to be when it comes to things like homosexual marriage, euthanasia, abortion, etc.  But what are we seeing?  The Christianity that used to shape our society is now marginalized, no worse than that it is blamed for all sorts of problems and perceived problems in the past, it is aggressively rejected.  In fact anyone who associates with it becomes part of the problem and public enemy number one.  More than that we are seeing big government; big education; big pharma; big business; big tech; big social media; big main stream media; big Hollywood; big sports all leaning in a leftist direction.  We are seeing the influence of critical theory, transgender ideology, soft forms of communism and many other insidious ideas take over the voices that are heard in the public square and worse than that are now after our children.  It is very hard not to get angry in a world like ours.
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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, CBT, is a modern method used in psychology to treat things like anxiety and depression. As with any school of psychology, there is a lot of truth in it. Anytime, anyone studies God’s world, they will inevitably see true things about it. It is true because God made it to be so; all truth is God’s truth. Yet also with the various schools of psychology, because they are not working within the framework of the Biblical worldview they will get many things wrong. In fact any truth embedded in a false worldview becomes an untruth. CBT explores the relationship between what we think, how we feel, and how we act. It understands the fact that thinking right can make us feel good and act constructively; and how good behavioral patterns can impact good feeling and thinking. These three aspects are interrelated. From a pastoral point of view I have seen some of the value in these things, but when presented in a godless worldview, when we are merely reducing these truths to techniques that are not done in the context of glorifying God, or in light of the reality of our sinfulness or our fallen world, and with no dependence upon the Spirit, it can become a deceptive counterfeit that draws people from God not to Him. because from a theological perspective self-improvement is a contradiction in terms, we can only be improved by God. What is so wonderful about the psalms is that an exploration of the mind and emotions and actions of a human being are put on display. They predate our schools of psychology and anticipate the various techniques that people come up with today, but in the right worldview. And instead of a cold and abstract technique of pushing buttons to get right... Read More
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I can remember those times as a young Christians when I was confronted with cults like theSeventh Day Adventists; and the International Church of Christ, how unsettled I felt whenall that I thought to be true was being challenged. The teachings of these groups made itfeel like the salvation that I was thought I had was not real. Did I have the 666 of the bookof Revelation because I did not keep a Saturday Sabbath; did I need to get rebaptized withtheir baptism so that I could be truly saved? I did not yet have a full understanding of howGod saves us by grace alone; through faith alone; in Christ alone. I did not have the joy ofmy salvation that comes from the assurance of my salvation. At times I would believe thepromise that if I believe I have eternal life but there was so much I did not know and sowould flounder. I was wide open to be intimidated and manipulated through guilt and mydesire to be saved. I would read their books, listen to hours of their teaching, and would bewilling to do all sorts of things just to get the salvation I longed for. I have since learnedthat the greatest defense against false teachings and false gospels is the joy of my salvationthat comes from a proper grasp of the gospel of grace. The joy of salvation is our greatestdefense against temptation; against trials; and false gospels
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500 slaughtered for their faith in Nigeria ( www.persecution.org/slaughter/ , accessed June 10, 2010). On the 21 st of January 2010, “A crowd of at least 1000 people burned down two Protestant churches last night in Sibuhuan (district of Padang Lawas, North Sumatra). The blaze was the culmination of tension between the faithful and the local Islamic community, tired of seeing ” too many faithful and too many prayers ” in a place not registered as a church.” ( www.asianews.it/news- en/North-Sumatra,-two-Protestant-churches-burnt , accessed June 10, 2010). On the 9 th of January 2010, ‘The Australian’, reported that 3 Malaysian Churches were attacked with petrol bombs. ( www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/malaysia- churches-burnt/story , accessed June 10, 2010). On and on we could go giving stats about the Church being persecuted, added to that we could give a long list of anti- Christian legislation that has been gaining ground in the area of prayer in schools, abortion, censorship, homosexuality, and many other topics. For example, on the 18 February 2022 the NZ government passed the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022. We could speak of the growth of Islam as the fastest growing religion in the world at the moment according to birth rates, and the cults. The increase in sin in society for example, for the first time in NZ history more babies were born to unmarried parents than married in 2022; the weakness of the Church where only 9% of the NZ population go to Church. By all appearances Christianity is losing its influence, under attack, and on a seeming retreat. What is our response to all this?
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Soldiers returning home from the battlefront can be a time of conflicting emotions. There is the joy of having loved ones back, but there are also a number of other issues. Is a soldier returning under a cloud like so many American soldiers after Biden basically pulled out the American forces from Afghanistan, 73% felt betrayed by their country; and 67% felt humiliated. 1 If they return home early before their tour is up is it because of injury or have they disgraced themselves. Many soldiers have risked their lives and those back home are unaware of their sacrifice and they can feel disconnected and unappreciated; not to mention the PTSD that many soldiers experience. Homecoming can be difficult. Epaphroditus is a returning soldier who has risked his life on the front line. He has represented those who sent him and is now coming home early. He has been injured in the line of duty and rumours of his death were rampant. Paul, the field general is sending Epaphroditus home and the verses before us give an outline of his service record and the reason for the home assignment. 2:25-30, ‘I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all... Read More
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We are continuing on with our study of anthropology from the 1689, and today I want to direct your attention to what it says about us being made in the image of God. ‘After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, rendering them fit unto that life to God for which they were created; being made after the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness.’ I am passing over the immortality of the soul for now to direct our attention to the info on the image of God. Let’s begin with an exercise. Let us answer this question, in what way are we made in the image of God? I have written three umbrella categories on the whiteboard, Constitutional (what we are); functional (what we do); relational (who we relate to). I will ask you to call out any number of characteristics that you think make up the image of God and you will see that they will likely be able to be put in one of these categories.
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