Theological term
Doctrine of Creation
5 sermons · All terms
A Time for Everything
Ecclesiastes 3:1–15 confronts the tyranny and perplexity of time by showing that God has ordered every season of life — from birth to death, weeping to laughter, war to peace — according to his sovereign decree. The preacher of Ecclesiastes does not resolve the tension between life's absurdities and God's purposes, but holds them in juxtaposition: God has put eternity in the heart of man, yet man cannot find out the work God does from beginning to end. The sermon draws two obligations from this: enjoy the good gifts God gives in time, and fear the God who governs all of time — including the appointed moment of Christ's incarnation, the moment of each sinner's effectual calling, and the appointed day of final judgment.
Live Stream - January 08, 2023
Ecclesiastes 8:10–17 confronts the believer with one of the sharpest enigmas of a fallen world: the wicked die unpunished, the righteous suffer unjustly, and God's judgment appears indefinitely delayed. The preacher argues that Solomon's response is not philosophical resignation but two concrete imperatives — fear God and enjoy what God gives — grounded in covenant trust rather than in sight. The sermon closes by pressing the theological significance of God's delayed judgment: without it there is no gospel, no day of grace, and no salvation for elect sinners who would otherwise have perished in their first sin.
What is Good for Man?
Ecclesiastes 7:1–14 poses the question raised in 6:12 — who knows what is good for man in this vain, shadow-like life? Working through the 'better than' sayings of the chapter, the sermon argues that what is genuinely good for man is often the very thing he instinctively avoids: sorrow, rebuke, and adversity. These are not ends in themselves but instruments by which God cultivates wisdom, exposes the emptiness of riches, and teaches his people their creaturely dependence, so that their hope is ultimately anchored not in temporal blessing but in the incorruptible inheritance secured by Christ.
The Prayer of the Church
Acts 4:23–31 records the first corporate prayer meeting of the apostolic church, gathered under threat from the Sanhedrin. The sermon traces three movements in the prayer — invocation of God as Creator and sovereign, exposition of Psalm 2 as prophetic preparation for the rage of nations against Christ and His people, and supplication not for the removal of threats but for boldness to preach the Word. The central argument is that a robust theology of creation, scriptural authority, and divine sovereignty is the necessary foundation of faithful prayer, and that the church's primary calling — confirmed by what the early church actually asked of God — is the bold proclamation of the gospel.
The Throne Room
Revelation 4–5 answers the suffering and persecution catalogued in the letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2–3) by drawing back the curtain of heaven to reveal the throne room of God. Chapter 4 grounds worship in the doctrine of creation, while chapter 5 grounds it in definite atonement — the Lamb who was slain has redeemed a people to God by His blood out of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. The vision presses the church to respond to earthly trial not with despair but with humility, worship, and mission, because the Lion of the tribe of Judah has already prevailed.