Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church

Today we come to sermon number 35 in our Suggested Topics Sermon series. This is the first sermon in the category of Christian Living in the Home. The suggestion we will be taking up today was very general in nature-it was a request for a sermon on Marriage, Parenting, and Children. I am taking this in very much of an overview fashion- How to Build a Christian Family.

Today in our Sermon series in Hebrews, we have come to chapter 11. Here we have set out to us examples from the Old Testament of persons who had faith. Having learned in Hebrews about Jesus Christ as the beautiful and excellent object of our faith, these examples will help you to understand how to live out your faith. In the passage we are looking at today, we have an introduction to the whole subject. The emphasis here is not so much to define faith, but to speak of how it transforms the way we live. It makes us thrive and flourish in our walk with God-

The Suggested Topic for today's sermon can be summarised like this- -On Helping Your Brothers Thrive.- The Bible presents us all as brothers -includes all church members- because we have God as our Father, and we are constantly urged to have brotherly love. As we get into it, let's think about the basis for our brotherly responsibilities. We have this gracious caring Saviour who has gone all out in His care for us, and He has called us to extend His care to each other.

Today we are going to look at the role of faith -or confidence- when it comes to endurance. God has revealed to us great things about Jesus Christ as the One He sent to save. When God has given such a wonderful testimony of Him, we ought to believe it. We ought to have strong confidence in this Saviour that God has appointed.

The requested subject is -Depression-Suicide Due to Much Despair in the World.- Certainly, we see a lot of people giving up on life. Now that so many have accepted the lie that man is not made for God in the image of God, it is in all honestly quite logical to terminate your life if you aren't enjoying it. As believers, we urge people not to do that. Rather than escaping their miseries, they will only make them worse and unalterable. If you want to die, die to sin and self and turn to Christ that you might live for God- There is no hope apart from that.

Today, we are returning to our sermon series in Hebrews. We are at Hebrews 10-26-31. It is clear that our text today -Hebrews 10-26-31- ties in directly with this. It begins with the word -for-- showing us that it is connected to what is before. It is a warning about rejecting the beautiful way that Christ has opened for us by which we have communion with God. We are to go on living in that communion through Christ. There is real danger that some of us will drift away and even end up renouncing Christ.

What a week it has been. Nova Scotia. Wildfires- Where is the Lord in such times-- Does He see what is going on-- Why doesn't He do anything-- Does He care-- Today I am going to break from our regular sermon series to answer these questions. If you really want to know the answer, it is revealed in the Bible. Turn to Matthew 23 and I will show you. Here we have our Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, we are able to see what God Almighty is like as a human. What is the attitude of this man when He sees things like destructive fires come upon us-- In Matthew 23, we are shown how He looks on such calamities.

Today we come to sermon number 31 in our Suggested Topics Sermon series. This is the tenth of fourteen sermons in the category of Christian living. This is the topic that was added later at the request of the elders. Group Prayer- Its Mandate, Nature, and Importance.--I will begin by reading two scripture passages that I chose that speak to group Prayer. Earlier, we read Isaiah 56, a chapter in which God says that when He blesses His people, His house -where His people gather- will be a house of prayer for all nations.

This week our suggested topic is- What is Spiritual Warfare-- The person who asked this question comes from a background where spiritual warfare was looked at in a very narrow way-pretty much restricted to rebuking demons or casting them out. She wanted to get a more comprehensive view. I will endeavour, with God's help, to look at all the main aspects of spiritual warfare.

The part of Hebrews that we have come to-Hebrews 10-19 to the end of chapter 12-is an encouragement to continue trusting the Lord in the midst of the battle. Today, we are going to take up a song for us as we go through this part of Hebrews. Psalm 31 is found in the collection of the 150 songs that our Lord gave His people to sing-the songs that are found in our Bibles that are given by inspiration of His Spirit. This song is an expression of the faith of Jesus and His people in the battle for our souls.

This week we come to our 29h sermon in our suggested topic sermon series. It is the ninth of fourteen in the category of Christian Living. The requested topic I am preaching on today is- Amusing Ourselves to Death versus Our Mission from God-Ploductivity. The person who requested this topic wants me to look in particular at how amusement interferes with our Christian service-our mission from God.

In this entire epistle, one of Peter's main themes is that God has given us a glorious inheritance, reserved for us in heaven, but that until we are brought to glory, it will be necessary for us to patiently respond to suffering with humble dependence on Christ. In 1 Peter 5, He applies this theme to church leadership and those under their leadership. In short, He tells them how to walk together as shepherds and sheep in the grace of God.

Truly, we need to give thanks to the Lord for restoring us to the faith that was once delivered to the saints by our Lord through His faithful Apostles and Prophets. But in giving thanks, we must also beware that we do not become arrogant about our heritage. To do so is to betray what our heritage teaches us-that salvation is a work of God.