Topic
Christology
1,353 sermons · All topics
A Ruler's Daughter and an Afflicted Woman
Matthew 9:18–26 presents two intertwined miracles — the raising of Jairus's daughter and the healing of a chronically afflicted woman — as Matthew's climactic demonstration of Christ's authority over death and disease. The passage exposes the nature of saving faith: not its strength or emotional intensity, but its object, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both willing and omnipotent to save. Whether the petitioner is a prominent synagogue ruler or a marginalized, impoverished woman, Christ receives all who come to him in faith, regardless of social station. The sermon closes with a call to venture on Christ in faith, and a pastoral plea for parents to pray that their children would be brought to saving knowledge of him in their youth.
Deuteronomy 33
Moses' final blessing over the tribes of Israel in Deuteronomy 33 frames every tribal blessing within a theology of God's incomparable glory, covenantal faithfulness, and gracious love for his people. The chapter opens with a theophany at Sinai — God appearing as king accompanied by his heavenly hosts to give his law — and closes with Israel's confession of Yahweh's uniqueness. The study moves verse by verse through Moses' farewell instructions (32:48–52) and the blessings on Reuben, Judah, Levi, Benjamin, and Joseph, showing how the structure of the chapter (introduction, blessings, conclusion) mirrors the pattern of covenantal blessing and how the Levitical office of teaching and sacrifice foreshadows the mediating work of Christ.
The Resurrection of the Bridegroom
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not a peripheral doctrine but the very ground of Christian hope, justification, and assurance. Working through John 20:1–23, this sermon examines three successive narratives — the empty tomb, the appearance to Mary Magdalene, and the appearance to the disciples — demonstrating through eyewitness detail, fulfilled Old Testament prophecy, and apostolic interpretation that the risen Lord is none other than the crucified sacrifice. The resurrection vindicates Christ's atoning work, secures the believer's justification, and commissions the church to proclaim the forgiveness of sins as its primary and irreplaceable task.
The Gospel Committed to Paul
What does it mean that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners? Expounding 1 Timothy 1:15–17, this sermon traces the faithful saying of verse 15 from its roots in the eternal decree of God through the covenant of grace to its historical execution in the incarnation and atoning work of Christ. Paul's own conversion is examined as a paradigm of sovereign mercy — not a unique case, but a pattern establishing that even the chief of sinners may obtain grace — and the sermon closes with Paul's doxology as the only fitting response to the gospel of free and sovereign grace.
The Thankfulness and Conversion of Paul
Paul's digression in 1 Timothy 1:12–14 contains a compressed account of his own conversion that he offers not as autobiography for its own sake but as living proof of the gospel he preaches. The sermon works through three elements: Paul's thankfulness to Christ who enabled and appointed him to apostolic ministry, the three actions and two conditions that characterised his pre-conversion state (blasphemer, persecutor, insolent man; ignorant and an unbeliever), and the exceedingly abundant grace that overwhelmed and reversed every one of those conditions. The central application is that no sinner stands beyond the reach of a grace that is, by Paul's own coinage, super-abundant — and that the same Christ who staffs his church by sovereign appointment, not human aspiration, has furnished everything requisite for salvation through faith and love in Christ Jesus.
The Crucifixion of the Bridegroom
John 19:16–24 records the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom Matthew 9:15 identifies as the Bridegroom taken away from his people. This exposition works through four elements of the passage — the setting, the crucifixion itself, the charge written over the cross, and the division of Christ's garments — to show that every detail fulfills the predetermined plan of God and the prophetic word of Scripture. The cross is not a scene for sentimental passion mysticism but the place where the Son bore the wrath of the Father as the substitute for sinners, and where sovereign grace, human depravity, and the glory of Christ are simultaneously on display. Believers are called to worship and marvel; those outside of Christ are called to look and live.
The Joy of the Messianic Kingdom
Why did Jesus' disciples feast while John's disciples and the Pharisees fasted? In Matthew 9:14–17, Jesus answers with the image of the bridegroom: mourning is incompatible with the presence of the long-promised Messiah. Drawing on OT prophecy (Isaiah 54, 62; Hosea 2; Zechariah 8), the sermon argues that the joy of Christ's disciples is not carelessness but the only fitting response to the dawn of the messianic kingdom. The two parables of unshrunk cloth and new wineskins reinforce the same point: fasting and mourning in the presence of the bridegroom is as incongruous as patching old cloth with new fabric, and the disciple of Christ is called to a joy that is consistent, deep, and grounded in forgiveness and imputed righteousness.
Deuteronomy 30
Deuteronomy 30 is not merely a conditional exhortation at the edge of Canaan but a programmatic prophecy of what God would accomplish through exile, return, and ultimately the new covenant in Christ. The chapter's pivotal verse — the circumcision of the heart in verse 6 — is shown to be the fountainhead of the same promise later amplified by Jeremiah and Ezekiel and fulfilled in the regenerating work of the Spirit. The sermon traces five realities embedded in the future blessing (verses 1–14): the certainty of exile, the return to Yahweh, the divine initiative in restoration, the obedient response of the renewed heart, and the empowerment that Paul draws on in Romans 10 to describe the righteousness of faith. The practical summons in verses 15–20 — "choose life" — is then heard not as bare moralism but as a call to embrace the God who is himself the life and length of days of his covenant people.
The Calling of Matthew
The calling of Matthew in Matthew 9:9–13 is not merely a biographical interlude but a deliberate theological display of Christ's authority to save notorious sinners. Matthew's own spare account of his conversion — omitting Luke's detail that 'he left all' — directs every eye to the power of the Son of Man rather than to the sacrifice of the disciple. The sermon traces Jesus's three-fold response to the Pharisees' complaint — proverb, prophet, and purpose — showing that the physician goes to the sick, that Hosea's call for mercy over mere cultic observance still indicts externalism, and that Christ's stated mission is to call sinners, not the self-righteous, to repentance. The hearer is exhorted to respond as Matthew did: immediately, totally, with thankfulness, and with a desire to bring others to the Savior.
Christ and the Paralytic
The forgiveness of sins, not physical healing, is the central miracle of Matthew 9:1–8. Christ's pronouncement to the paralytic — 'Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you' — exposes sin as the problem worse than paralysis and declares the primary mission of Matthew's Gospel: Jesus saves His people from their sins. The scribes' charge of blasphemy is answered not refuted by argument but by the visible healing of the paralytic, which serves as public proof that the Son of Man possesses on earth the divine authority to forgive sins. The proper response to this authority is the response of the multitude: marvel and fear that together fuel genuine worship and praise.
The Nature of the Gospel
Galatians 1:1–5 is not merely a conventional greeting but a compressed doctrinal statement of the gospel that Paul deploys as the foundation of his polemic against the Judaizers. Working through five truths embedded in verses 4 and 5, the sermon demonstrates that Christ's death was voluntary, substitutionary, and divinely ordained, that it delivers the elect from this present evil age, and that it exists ultimately for the glory of God. The doctrines of penal substitution, divine sovereignty in salvation, and the deity of Christ are examined in detail, with supporting texts drawn from across both Testaments. The doxological response of Revelation 4–5 is held up as the pattern for how a right understanding of the cross necessarily issues in worship.
Christ and the Demoniacs
Matthew 8:28–34 presents two men so thoroughly dominated by demonic forces that no human restraint could subdue them — yet Jesus casts out an entire legion with a single word. This exposition works through the description of the demoniacs, their confrontation with Christ, the exorcism itself, and the city's fearful rejection, arguing that the passage is Matthew's sustained demonstration of Christ's absolute authority over the powers of hell. The demons' own testimony — confessing Jesus as the Son of God and acknowledging a coming day of judgment — stands as a rebuke to all who withhold that confession. The sermon closes by calling hearers to flee to Christ rather than away from Him, pointing to the restored men clothed and in their right minds as a picture of what sovereign grace accomplishes.
Author, Recipients, Greetings
Paul's opening two verses of 1 Timothy are not a mere literary formality but a carefully constructed theological foundation for the letter's entire argument against false teaching. The apostle's self-identification establishes his divine commission by the commandment of both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, marking a sharp contrast with the self-appointed teachers troubling the Ephesian church. Timothy is presented as Paul's legitimate representative — his "true son in the faith" — whose authority the congregation is bound to receive. The threefold greeting of grace, mercy, and peace names the indispensable resources that every minister, congregation, and unbeliever stands in need of, resources that flow from the Father and the Son and are grounded in justification by faith alone.
Deuteronomy 28
Deuteronomy 28 sets out the covenantal sanctions of the Mosaic economy: comprehensive blessing for obedience and devastating curse for disobedience, with the curses dwarfing the blessings in scope and detail. The chapter's structure mirrors ancient Near Eastern treaty form, and its predictive detail concerning plague, exile, siege, and national reversal has been dismissed by naturalistic interpreters who deny Mosaic authorship — a denial the sermon firmly rejects. The curses, including cannibalism during siege and the reversal of every Abrahamic promise, are traced through Israel's history from the wilderness to A.D. 70. The sermon closes by directing the hearer to praise God for the new covenant, in which Christ as covenant surety rendered the personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience Israel never could, bearing the curse of the law so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon His people.
Christ and the Storm
Matthew 8:23–27 presents Christ stilling the storm on the Sea of Galilee as a revelation of his divine identity and unrivaled authority over creation. The sermon traces three movements: the real danger confronting the disciples on the sea, Christ's rebuke of their little faith and his sovereign command over the wind and waves, and the disciples' resulting awe. While discipleship themes run through the passage — the inevitability of trial, the displacement of fear by faith, and the call to pray 'increase our faith' rather than simply 'make this stop' — the primary burden is Christological: Matthew is unveiling the God-man, Israel's Messiah, whose word over the sea echoes the divine prerogative of Yahweh throughout the Psalms and Prophets. The sermon closes with a direct appeal to flee to this Christ, the only one able to address the far greater crisis of sin.
Deuteronomy 27
Deuteronomy 27 marks the transition from the stipulation section of Israel's covenantal constitution to the sanctions section, where blessings and curses are attached to covenant faithfulness or breach. This exposition works through the future covenant renewal ceremony at Mounts Ebal and Gerizim (vv. 1–10) and the twelve maledictory curses pronounced upon covenant-breakers (vv. 11–26), showing that the curses addressed both external conduct and the secret intentions of the heart. The self-maledictory 'amen' sworn by Israel on Ebal anticipates the curse Christ bore as covenant head and mediator, whose personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience fulfills what no Israelite could render. The law's function, then, is to expose human sinfulness and drive the covenant people outside themselves to the Redeemer.
The Cost of Discipleship
Matthew 8:18–22 presents two case studies in discipleship: a scribe who too eagerly volunteers to follow Jesus without counting the cost, and a disciple who hesitates, asking to bury his father first. Working through the first case, this exposition presses the meaning of Christ's self-identification as the Son of Man — drawing on Isaiah 53 and Daniel 7 — to show that discipleship entails not earthly prosperity or ease but rejection, deprivation, and willing loss of temporal goods. The sermon closes by locating the ground of discipleship in the indicative of the gospel: God accepts sinners through Christ, and it is from that acceptance that the costly call to follow flows.
The Priorities of Discipleship
Matthew 8:21–22 presents the second of two discipleship case studies: a man who asks permission to bury his father before following Christ. Jesus' reply — 'Let the dead bury their own dead' — is not a dismissal of filial duty but a radical assertion of the absolute priority Christ claims over every legitimate and illegitimate concern. The sermon traces this demand of total allegiance across the Decalogue, the Shema, Joshua 24, and Matthew's own Gospel, demonstrating that undivided devotion to Christ is not a new imposition but the consistent heartbeat of biblical religion. The call is to repent of the 'let me first' attitude and to pursue Christ as the supreme priority, sustained by the surpassing value of His kingdom.
The Demonstration of God's Love
Romans 5:8 encapsulates the entire gospel in a single verse: God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This sermon works through Romans 5:6–11 to establish that the objects of God's redeeming love were helpless, ungodly, sinners, and active enemies of God — leaving no ground for human merit in salvation. The demonstration of that love at Calvary is the sole foundation of justification, reconciliation, and assurance, and it calls the redeemed to a joy that fuels genuine gospel holiness rather than moralistic striving.
Christ, the Woman, and the Multitude
Matthew 8:14–17 presents Jesus healing Peter's mother-in-law and then a multitude at evening, and Matthew's theological concern throughout is not merely miraculous spectacle but the identification of Jesus as Isaiah's servant of Yahweh. The sermon addresses two errors: the Roman Catholic elevation of celibacy against Peter's demonstrated married life, and the charismatic and prosperity-gospel misreading of Isaiah 53:4 as a promise of physical healing secured by the atonement. Matthew's citation of Isaiah 53 is a Messianic identification — behold the servant of Yahweh — whose primary burden is spiritual healing, the forgiveness of sins, not the removal of physical infirmity. The application is direct: come to a Savior who unites pity with omnipotence, who heals with immediacy and efficacy, and who forgives sins by faith alone.
Christ and the Centurion
Matthew 8:5–13 presents a Roman centurion whose faith surpasses anything Jesus has found in Israel, and whose encounter with Christ becomes a theological announcement: the Abrahamic promises are now being fulfilled in the inclusion of Gentiles and the judgment of unbelieving ethnic Israel. The centurion's approach to Christ models three marks of genuine faith — a plea grounded in misery rather than merit, profound humility before the Lord's authority, and unshaken confidence that Christ's spoken word alone is sufficient to heal. The sermon calls hearers to examine whether they stand in faith or unbelief, and to rest entirely in Christ's authority and grace rather than any personal worthiness.
A Brief Survey of Covenant Theology, Part 3
Why is the New Covenant necessary? This session of a three-part survey of covenant theology works backwards through redemptive history to answer that question with six interlocking reasons: the Mosaic Covenant was temporary and could not save; the Abrahamic Covenant promised but did not present Christ; Genesis 3:15 gave only the first promise of a mediator; Adam's failure as covenant head made Christ's obedience necessary; Adam broke the covenant of works God placed him under at creation; and the entire plan was purposed by God before the foundation of the world. The argument culminates in the claim that the New Covenant does not restore believers to Adam's pre-fall probationary state but brings them, through the last Adam, to the glorified status Adam forfeited and Christ secured.
The Son-Tilted Focus of All Things
Colossians 1:16 presents the Son of God as the author, agent, and goal of all creation — not merely its first product, but its sovereign Lord. The sermon argues that 'firstborn of all creation' (Col. 1:15) carries the Old Testament sense of preeminence and rank, not ontological origin, so that the Son is the Creator and not a creature. From this text the preacher traces a 'Son-tilted' architecture running through creation, providence, and redemption, showing that all three are oriented toward the glory of the eternal Son. The sermon closes with the gospel call: the same Son who made all things assumed human nature, suffered, rose, and now brings many sons to glory — a glory in which believers will stand blameless before God with great joy, solely on the ground of Christ's righteousness.
The Ultimate Reason for All Things
Romans 11:36 declares that all things are 'from him, through him, and to him' — asserting that God is the creator, sustainer, and ultimate end of everything that exists. This sermon works through Paul's doxology in its context of divine sovereignty over the withholding and dispensing of mercy, showing that the universe exists not for man's comfort but for the glory of God alone. The three prepositional phrases of the text ground the aseity and providence of God against any notion that man counsels, precedes, or rivals him. The sermon applies this by calling sinners to Christ as the only way guilty creatures return to a God-centered universe, and by pointing believers to the comfort that all things — including suffering — are governed by a God whose mercy dispenser never runs empty.
A Brief Survey of Covenant Theology, Part 1
What is a divine covenant, and why does 'covenant theology' accurately describe the Bible's own architecture? This lecture — the first in a three-part survey — defines divine covenants as relational arrangements sovereignly initiated by God for man's benefit, with ways and means established by God alone to obtain the designated blessings. Drawing on Nehemiah Cox, 2 Samuel 7, Exodus 19, and Hebrews 10, the speaker demonstrates that both Testaments are covenantally structured documents: the Old Testament is the covenantal record for old covenant Israel, and the New Testament is the covenantal record for the new covenant church, both centering on Christ in his sufferings and glory. The lecture concludes that covenant theology is not an alien grid imposed on Scripture but the organic, Christocentric shape of biblical revelation itself, best interpreted by allowing the New Testament to illuminate the Old.
The Covenant of Redemption
The Covenant of Redemption (pactum salutis) is the eternal, intra-trinitarian pact in which the Father gave a definite people to the Son, the Son covenanted to serve as their surety and mediator, and the Spirit proceeds to apply the accomplished redemption — forming the unchanging foundation upon which the Covenant of Grace rests in history. Working through key texts in John, Hebrews, Ephesians, Philippians, and Acts, the sermon demonstrates that Christ's obedience, death, and exaltation were not afterthoughts but the execution of a pre-temporal divine agreement. Because salvation rests on the Father's eternal purpose and the Son's perfect obedience rather than on the believer's performance, the doctrine of the Covenant of Redemption is presented as the primary ground of lasting Christian comfort, peace, and perseverance.
A Lofty Confession of Faith
Thomas's refusal to believe the apostolic witness to the resurrection exposes a posture common to all people: dictating the terms by which they will believe. Yet Christ condescends with sovereign grace to meet Thomas in his obstinance, drawing from him the highest Christological confession in the fourth Gospel — 'My Lord and my God.' John's purpose in recording these events is stated explicitly: that readers would believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so receive life in his name. The sermon presses every hearer to ask whether they can claim Christ with Thomas's personal possessive — 'my Lord and my God' — and warns against every attempt to negotiate terms with God before believing.
The Whole Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10–20 calls believers to put on the whole armor of God not as a passive ideal but as an urgent, daily discipline in genuine spiritual warfare against principalities, powers, and the wiles of the devil. The sermon works through three structural observations: the two commands of verses 10–11 (be strong in the Lord; put on the armor), the reason given in verses 11–12 (the nature and reality of the enemy), and the armor described in verses 13–20 (five defensive elements and one offensive element). Each piece of armor — truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word, and prayer — is shown to direct the believer away from self-reliance and toward Christ as the captain of salvation. The central application is that theological grounding, not spiritual showmanship, constitutes genuine spiritual warfare, and that apart from Christ no believer will stand in the evil day.
Jesus was Born to Reign
What does it mean that the eternal Son of God was born? John 18:37 places the incarnation in its most demanding context: Jesus, exhausted and on trial before Pilate, declares with quiet certainty, 'For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world.' This sermon exposits the Roman trial narrative of John 18:28–38, arguing that Christ's birth must be understood not sentimentally but regally — he was born to reign as King of Kings, bearing witness to truth as the instrument of his conquest, and ruling a kingdom whose origin and character are altogether unlike any earthly empire. The hearer is called to examine whether they hear Christ's voice as subjects of his kingdom, and to rest their standing before God not in their own righteousness but in the righteousness that comes through faith in him.
The Devil's Defeat
Revelation 12 presents a cosmic conflict between the dragon and the people of God, explained through richly layered Old Testament imagery. The chapter identifies the woman as the true Israel of God, the dragon as Satan, and the male child as the Lord Jesus Christ whose ascension signals the inauguration of his universal reign. The devil is defeated not once but four times — failing to destroy Christ, failing against Michael's angels, failing to destroy the church in the wilderness, and failing against the offspring of the woman. This theology of suffering equips the persecuted church to endure, knowing that the rage of the dragon is itself the consequence of his defeat, and that Christ's people are kept safe in the hand of the triumphant Lamb.