Cited in sermons
Walter Chantry
8 sermons · All people cited
The Unity of the Church
Philippians 2:1–4 grounds the church's unity in the Trinitarian realities of consolation in Christ, the comfort of the Father's love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit — not in human sentiment. The passage moves through a commendation of unity (vv. 1–2) and a cultivation of unity (vv. 3–4), showing that selfish ambition and conceit are the precise enemies of the love and one-mindedness the apostle commands. The sermon concludes that humility, self-denial, and others-mindedness are not optional graces but the indispensable conditions for a church that advances the cause of Christ — and that none of these can be pursued apart from the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit.
The Faithful Christian Mother
Proverbs 31:28–30 sets forth a vision of the faithful Christian mother whose defining characteristic is the fear of the Lord — a fear that is itself the fruit of sovereign, effectual grace. Drawing on Proverbs, Titus 2, Leviticus, the fifth commandment, and the testimony of C.H. Spurgeon, this sermon identifies four dimensions of biblical motherhood: her condition before God (saved by grace and walking with the Lord), her God-given influence over her children, her God-given authority over them, and her fourfold responsibility to instruct, example, discipline, and love. The closing application calls mothers to constant dependence on Word and prayer, theological literacy sufficient to catechize their children rightly, faithful perseverance in a demanding and underappreciated calling, and daily recourse to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2 Samuel 23:8-39
2 Samuel 23:8–39 catalogues the mighty men who served David, and this exposition draws out four interlocking themes: the power of Yahweh standing behind every human exploit, the costly sacrifice of unnamed warriors who broke through a Philistine camp for a bowl of water, the particular exploits of Abishai and Benaiah as models of courage and resourcefulness, and the sobering placement of Uriah the Hittite at the list's end as a reminder that David's reign rested entirely on sovereign grace rather than personal virtue. The passage ultimately functions as a pointer toward David's greater Son, who will administer judgment and justice in utter perfection where David fell short, and the congregation is called to be faithful, courageous, and sacrificial in the kingdom of Christ.
The Fourth Commandment
The Fourth Commandment, as confessed in the 1689 London Baptist Confession chapter 22, binds all men in all ages to set apart one day in seven for the worship of God. This exposition of Deuteronomy 5:12–15 traces the Sabbath from its creation ordinance grounding in Genesis 2, through its Sinaitic rationale of creation and redemption, into its prophetic anticipation in Isaiah 56 and 58, and finally to its New Covenant fulfillment on the first day of the week as the Lord's Day. The sermon argues that the Sabbath's moral principle — one day in seven devoted to God — is permanent and continuous across the covenants, while the positive element (the particular day) shifts from Saturday to Sunday in light of Christ's resurrection. Hearers are called to receive the Sabbath not as a legalistic burden but as God's gift, and to guard equally against Pharisaic rigidity and antinomian dismissal.
The Payment of the Temple Tax
Matthew 17:24–27 records a miracle found only in Matthew's Gospel, in which Jesus instructs Peter to pay the temple tax from a coin found in a fish's mouth. The passage is not incidental: it is anchored between Jesus's second passion announcement (vv. 22–23) and the teaching on offense in chapter 18, connecting the temple tax — rooted in the ransom and atonement language of Exodus 30 — to the atoning work Christ will accomplish at the cross. Jesus's exemption from the tax declares his unique divine sonship ('the sons are free'), while his willingness to pay nonetheless teaches a principle of self-denying deference that Paul draws on explicitly in 1 Corinthians 8–9. The sermon calls hearers to behold Christ as sovereign Lord over nature, as the fulfillment of every Old Testament ransom-type, and as the one who paid a debt he did not owe for sinners who could not pay it.
The Christian Mother
What does it mean to be a Christian mother, and where does a mother's calling derive its power? Preaching from Proverbs 31:30, this sermon argues that a woman who fears the Lord is the only adequate foundation for the vocation of motherhood — not sentimentality, moral effort, or natural affection. Four aspects of the Christian mother are examined in order: her spiritual condition (she is saved by grace, not by good mothering), her influence (immeasurable and God-ordained), her authority (grounded in the Fifth Commandment itself), and her responsibility to instruct, model, discipline, and love her children in light of law and gospel. Mothers are urged to find their ultimate encouragement not in their own performance but in the righteousness of Christ imputed to them by faith alone.
The Throne Room
Revelation 4–5 presents the throne room of heaven as God's direct answer to the suffering and persecution of His church on earth: the Creator-God sits enthroned in unapproachable majesty, and the slain Lamb alone is worthy to open the scroll of judgment because He has redeemed a people to God by His blood out of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. The vision calls the church to twin responses of humility and praise, understanding that proximity to the glory of God slays pride and produces worship. Particular redemption is grounded in the new song of Revelation 5:9, which defines the 'world' of John 3:16 not as every sinner without exception but as the elect drawn from all peoples. The sermon closes by setting redemption and damnation side by side, urging unbelievers to flee the wrath of the Lamb by trusting in the cross of the Lamb.
The Focus of Matthew's Gospel
Matthew 1:1 is far more than a title line — it is the theological and covenantal framework for the entire Gospel, announcing in three compressed titles that the long-awaited Messiah has arrived. The sermon works through each designation — Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham — as three spotlights illuminating his messianic office, his Davidic kingship, and his role as the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant promise to bless all nations. Introductory matters concerning the author, audience, dating, structure, and purpose of Matthew's Gospel are treated before the exposition of verse one. The sermon closes by calling both believers and unbelievers to behold Jesus as Messiah, King, and surety of the covenant, and to ground their confidence in God's demonstrated faithfulness.