Topic
Missions
2 sermons · All topics
Christ's Precious Gem Collection
What does it mean that God's elect are described throughout Scripture as precious stones being gathered into a temple? This sermon traces the biblical-theological thread from the Garden of Eden through Solomon's temple, the Babylonian exile, Isaiah's restoration promises, and into Revelation 21, arguing that Christ — the greater Solomon and last Adam — is building his church by gathering his elect from among all the scattered nations. The identity of the precious gems is God's chosen people; their location is every tribe, tongue, and people; and the means of their gathering is the gospel of Christ, who has already bound the strong man and now commissions his people to mine for treasures in the darkness.
Church Reports
Pastoral reports from seven Reformed Baptist churches and church plants across western Canada and one international context form the substance of this Lord's Day gathering. Congregations in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario — ranging from newly constituted works to established churches of over a hundred attendees — report on membership growth, expository preaching programs, confessional development, and the ordinary means of grace sustaining church life. A detailed report from a pastor in Guadalajara, Mexico describes a three-pillar theological education ministry (seminary, publishing house, and bookstore) aimed at raising up the next generation of confessionally Reformed pastors and theologians for Latin America. The gathering is framed by Psalm 133, prayer, and a closing doxology, expressing the covenantal vision of churches dwelling together in associational unity for the glory of God.