South City Reformed Baptist Church

South City Reformed Baptist Church

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CHRISTIANITY

To Know Christ and Him Crucified

4D AGO

You shall not covet

Ex 20: 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.” Phil 4:10 “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” In 1648, Jeremiah Burroughs wrote a famous book on contentment called “The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment” noticing even in his day how rare this jewel was; perhaps it is true to say it’s even rarer today. He defines contentment as “That sweet, inward, quiet, and gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.” How does one find this find of contentment. How does one learn the "secret" that Paul learned, through many trials? Burroughs says: “A Christian finds satisfaction in every circumstance by getting out of himself and into Christ. He finds that he has enough in Christ to make up for all his lacks in the world . . . This is a mystery to a carnal heart . . . but a gracious heart says ‘If I have not these things, I have the God of these things; I have the Christ of these things; and in Him I have all.” There are four things we can do to learn the secret as Paul learned it, or find the jewel that Burroughs is talking about: Repent, Remember, Rejoice, and Reconnect. 1. We must repent of our discontentment, remembering that we are sinning when we are discontented, breaking the 10th commandment and charging our God with negligence or foolishness in His Fatherly care of us. 2. We must remember that God is sovereign and good, and is committed to working all things together for our good, “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also together with Him graciously give us all things?” 3. We must rejoice! Paul rejoices all through the book of Philippians. The most famous passage being Phil 4:4 “rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” 4. We must reconnect. We need to learn how to pray in a way that doesn’t just fill time but fills our hearts. We must learn how to read the word in a way that doesn't just fill our minds, but fills our souls. God commands you to be content. And He has made a way for you to be content by sending his own Son to the cross to suffer extreme discontentment as His fellowship with the Father was interrupted and wrath was poured out on Him. He did this so that we might never suffer this extreme discontentment, but instead find perfect satisfaction in Him!

37 min
FEB 8

Nicene Creed Lesson 2

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets; and we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen

36 min
FEB 8

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour

The sermon was on the ninth commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.” The power of the words of a person who bears witness against his neighbour is sobering. If two or three witnesses could say with confidence that another person was guilty of murder, then their words would have him put to death, and they would cast the first stones in the execution. If these witnesses are found to be false then they would receive whatever punishment they were seeking for the person they were accusing. Witnessing and especially witnessing falsely was a life or death matter. The Bible says much about the power of our words. Perhaps the paramount passage in the tongue is James 3:1-10 “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” Why does God want us to tell the truth? Is it just because He wants society to function well? Or is there a deeper reason? Consider Col 3:9-10 “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator.” It would seem that for Paul a major reason for not lying is that we have been made new and are being renewed in the image of our Creator. He is the one who holds perfect knowledge and is truthful in all that He is. So to tell the truth is in fact part of being like God and being renewed in His image. We can also say that telling the truth is part of being truly human and being renewed in our humanity, since being in the image of God is what it means to be truly human. Why do we lie and how do we stop? It would seem the reason we lie, more often than not, is to protect our reputations and make others think better of us than they ought. To overcome this we need to exchange man’s false opinions of us, that are often based on lies we’ve told, for God’s true opinion of us that He declares over us in Jesus Christ. We need to hear a true word of absolute acceptance from God, that our sins are forgiven and cast into the sea, for there we have no need to lie about them anymore. It is the truth of the gospel that we need to overcome lying, and it is the truth of the gospel that the world needs to be saved from death and given life in the truth.

34 min
FEB 1

Nicene creed Lesson 1

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets; and we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen

31 min
FEB 1

You shall not steal

The sermon was on the 8th commandment “You shall not steal”. There are many ways we can steal. We can steal people’s time by wasting it. We can steal from our employers by slaking off; we can steal from our employees by underpaying them. We can steal from our clients by false advertising; we can steal from merchants by driving down the price too much. We can steal from landlords when we abuse their rental property; we can steal from our tenants when we overcharge and are slow to fix things as needed. We can steal from our parents when we make messes and don’t clean them up or when we wait to be asked five times to do our chores. Worst of all we can steal from God when we fail to give Him all the praise, gifts, and obedience He calls for. But there is another way to steal, and that is by failing to be generous with our money. Surely implied in the negative command “Do not steal” is the positive command to use our money and other resources to help those in need. In Eph 4:28, Paul gives practical instructions for how to obey three of the ten commandments, to not lie, to not murder, and to not steal. He writes: "Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need." Paul’s application of “Do not steal” is not simply to respect other people's stuff, but to work and to contribute. Let’s use what God has given to us for the purposes for which it was given, to give and give generously. How do we do this? We do this by remembering the One who died on a cross between two thieves. Who died in the place of thieves. Who “though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor 8:9) May the grace of Christ move you to live simply and give generously of what God has given you.

43 min
JAN 26

What God thinks of polite rejection

Acts 17:32-18:1 Rejecting of the gospel is not always loud or hostile. In this text we see some in Athens openly mocking the message of Jesus and the resurrection, but others respond with a promise to listen again. This session explores God’s views of both responses, how the resurrection forces every listener to make a real decision, and why delayed obedience is not neutral in God’s eyes. The passage confronts the danger of hearing without action and reminds us that exposure to the truth increases responsibility.

43 min
JAN 25

The Elephant in the Text

Acts 17:22–34 This is widely considered the proof text for contextualisation in evangelism, but this session wrestles with the reality that something far bigger is going on. While Paul clearly speaks in ways the Athenians can understand, the centre of his message is not technique, strategy, or culture, but God himself. As Paul proclaims who God is, what he is like, and what he has done in Jesus, we discover that contextualisation may help people listen, but only a big, true vision of God can bring real conviction and lasting change. This passage challenges us not to shrink the gospel to fit our culture, but to lift our eyes to the God who stands at the heart of it. Discussion Questions 1) John Stott said the gospel often appears trivial because God has been made small. What needs to change about the way you share the gospel so that it doesn’t appear trivial? 2) Paul’s sermon is packed with theology, not just technique. If you were explaining Christianity to a non-Christian friend, what truth about God do you most need to grow in confidence talking about? 3) What questions or methods have you found effective for ‘getting under the skin’ of friends and neighbours?

39 min
JAN 24

The God who Redeems and Blesses

1. The Lord displays his lovingkindness in and through the lives of his people. 2. The Lord demonstrates his lovingkindness by richly blessing his people.

38 min
JAN 24

The God who Saves and Provides

1. The Lord demonstrates his lovingkindness by drawing sinners to himself. 2. The Lord demonstrates his lovingkindness by protecting and providing for his people.

57 min
JAN 24

Some Things Never Change

Acts 17:17–21 Paul engages with the ideas that shaped life in first-century Athens. Surprisingly, these ways of thinking are still alive and well today. As Paul meets Epicureans, Stoics, sceptics, and curiosity seekers, we see recognisable worldviews, predictable reactions to the gospel, and a persistent human tendency to reach for meaning apart from God. The passage reminds us that cultures may change, but the core ideas people live by often do not, and it points us again to the one message that speaks to every age and every mindset: Jesus Christ and the resurrection. Discussion Questions 1) When you share something about Jesus, do you encounter more ‘hedgehogs’ or ‘labradors’ and how do you usually respond? Do prickly reactions discourage you, frustrate you, or tempt you to back off? 2) Paul preached the same simple gospel regardless of whether the culture was curious or hostile. Where are you tempted to adjust, soften, or complicate the message? 3) If the gospel is simple but powerful, what is one clear, ordinary opportunity God may already be giving you to speak it?”

38 min

10 Episodes

To Know Christ and Him Crucified

Creator

South City Reformed Baptist Church
Years Active

2022 - 2026
Episodes

10
Rating

Clean
Copyright

Copyright © South City Reformed Baptist Church
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South City Reformed Baptist Church