Theological term
Earthen Vessels
4 sermons · All terms
Bible Study - Exodus 4
Exodus 4 continues the call narrative begun in chapter 3, tracing Moses' repeated reluctance to accept the commission to deliver Israel from Egypt and God's patient, sovereign response to each objection. God confirms Moses' authority through three authenticating signs — the rod becoming a serpent, the leprous hand, and water turned to blood — not as ends in themselves but as instruments to authenticate Moses as God's spokesman, consistent with the function of signs throughout Scripture. The chapter's second half traces Moses' return to Egypt, including the judicial hardening of Pharaoh's heart as an act of divine justice rather than injustice, Israel's identification as God's firstborn, and the concluding scene of Israel's elders bowing in worship upon receiving Moses and Aaron's testimony. The sermon calls hearers to find comfort in the absolute sovereignty of God over nature, disease, human speech, and pagan rulers, and to let that knowledge shape reverent, joyful corporate and private worship.
The Sermon in Solomon's Porch, Part 1
Peter's sermon in Solomon's Porch (Acts 3:11–21) opens with a pointed denial: the healing of the congenitally lame man was not accomplished by apostolic power or godliness, but by the name of Jesus Christ, the glorified servant of Yahweh announced throughout the Old Testament prophets. The sermon works through three considerations in verses 11–16 — the God who glorified the servant, the sinners who rejected him, and the servant who healed the lame man — showing that Peter's staccato recitation of Jerusalem's guilt is not cruelty but evangelism: men must know the weight of their sin before the call to repent and be converted carries any urgency. The healing itself illustrates the completeness of Christ's saving work — perfect soundness, public and undeniable — and the authority he exercises from the right hand of the Father is the same authority by which sinners are saved today.
The Healing of Naaman
The healing of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 is exposited as a portrait of sovereign, free, and humbling grace that reaches beyond Israel to a Gentile enemy — a Syrian military commander who is not only cleansed of leprosy but converted from idolatry to the living God. The sermon traces God's providential orchestration through a nameless captive servant girl, Elisha's deliberate absence from the healing, and Naaman's progression through fury, submission, confession, gratitude, and resolution — all paralleled with the offense and power of the New Covenant gospel. The contrast between the converted pagan Naaman and the perverted Israelite Gehazi underscores that Yahweh's grace is free and cannot be bought, bartered, or manipulated. Hearers are called to recognize in Naaman's conversion the marks of genuine saving faith: humble confession, gratitude, and a sensitive conscience toward the one true God.
Free Grace Baptist Church - November 19, 2017 PM
This expository sermon on 2 Kings 5 traces the threefold structure of Naaman's healing: the providence of God working through a nameless Israelite servant girl, the conversion of a Gentile enemy of Israel, and the judgment upon the covetous Gehazi. The sovereign Lord is shown to govern Syrian politics, military affairs, and the destinies of servant girls alike, so that his free grace — which cannot be bribed, manipulated, or earned — reaches even those outside the covenant community. The congregation is called to see in Naaman's conversion a pattern of genuine New Covenant salvation: humility under the gospel, confession of the one true God, gratitude expressed in worship, and a sensitive conscience regarding ongoing sin.