"Baptized Into Christ" -- Galatians 3:36-4:7

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon

"Baptized Into Christ"

This Week's White Horse Inn (Updated Website)

Pluralism and the American Culture

What are the beliefs and assumptions of contemporary American spirituality? Why do so many people pick and choose religious beliefs based on that which makes them happy, rather than by evaluating truth claims? On this edition of White Horse Inn recorded before a live audience in Vail, Colorado, the hosts—along with special guest Greg Koukl—discuss these questions and more as they outline the characteristics of the American Religion (originally aired Nov. 16, 2014).

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"A God in Heaven Who Reveals Mysteries" -- Daniel 2:24-45

The Fifth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

King Nebuchadnezzar is in a rage and is threatening to execute his entire palace staff.  He had been awakened by a troubling dream which both confused and frightened him.  He then summoned his court magicians and wise men (“the Chaldeans”) to explain the meaning of what he had just dreamt.  But his Chaldeans cannot recount the details of his dream much less offer an interpretation.  No help in relieving the king’s anxiety, and upon seeing the king’s anger at them, the Chaldeans seek to stall Nebuchadnezzar, hoping he will forget about the dream and move on to other things.  Meanwhile, the young Hebrew servant Daniel, who has impressed the king from the moment he first appeared before the king in the royal court, offers the very thing the king’s magicians, sorcerers, and wise men cannot.  Daniel will recount the details of the king’s dream, and then give him an interpretation.  In the scene which plays out in chapter 2 of Daniel’s prophecy, we learn that YHWH has given his young servant Daniel the gift of wisdom, and also revealed to the prophet both the content and the meaning of the king’s dream.  In the contest between Daniel and the court magicians which follows, Daniel will easily win because the Babylonian “gods” are nothing but the figment of human imagination and superstition, while YHWH is the true and living God, who directs the course of history, who grants wisdom, who speaks, and who answers prayer.

We continue our series on the Book of Daniel and we are working our way through the 49 verses of chapter 2.  Last time, we covered the first two parts of this chapter.  In first part (vv. 1-13), we considered the king’s dream and his challenge to his court magicians to recall and explain meaning of it to him.  The second part of the chapter (vv. 14-23), describes God’s revelation of the dream to Daniel–the very thing which Nebuchadnezzar demands from his court magicians.  The third part of the chapter, which we will take up, includes Daniel’s God-given recounting and explanation of the dream to the king (vv. 24-45).  Then finally, we have the king’s very favorable response after Daniel interprets the dream for Nebuchadnezzar (vv. 46-49)–a matter to which we will return next time.

After the king blows the royal gasket, Daniel’s quick and decisive action saved the lives of the entire Babylonian royal court, all of whom are about to be killed because of Nebuchadnezzar’s outrage stemming from the fact that his Chaldeans can neither recount his dream nor interpret it.  Under threat of imminent execution, Daniel spoke directly to the captain of palace guard, the man assigned to put to death the “Chaldeans,” and all the court servants (including Daniel and his three friends).  As we read in verses 14–16, “then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.”  The king wants an interpretation to his dream, and if his court magicians cannot do so, then the king will see to it that the entire palace staff is executed.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

This Week at Christ Reformed Church (April 24-30)

Sunday Morning, 30:  We are continuing our series on Paul's letter to the Galatians.  This coming Sunday we will address Paul's discussion of baptism in Galatians 3:26-4:7.  Our worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Afternoon:  We come to the Heidelberg Catechism's discussion of the Roman mass (Lord's Day 30, Q & A 80).  Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study, 26, (7:30 p.m.):  We continue our series on personal evangelism entitled, "Telling the Truth in Love."  We will be considering various approaches to evangelism.

Academy, Friday, April 28, (7:30 p.m.):  We will be viewing and discussing Allen Guelzo's Teaching Company Course, The American Mind.  Our text for this series will be Hollinger and Capper, The American Intellectual Tradition.  Be sure to get a used copy!  They are much cheaper!

For more information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Info), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).

"Why Then the Law?" Galatians 3:15-25

Here's the audio from this morning' sermon:  Click Here

This Week's White Horse Inn (Updated Website)

The Story of Reality

Religion is often presented today as a kind of therapy. Find the treatment you like best—the one that meets your needs and warms your heart. That’s the point of religion. But is this the way that Christianity presents itself? Did Jesus offer himself as a kind of sage who could help us to cope with life’s difficulties, or did he come to tell about himself, our problem, and his solution? On this program Michael Horton and the panel discuss these questions and more with Greg Koukl, founder and president of Stand to Reason and author of The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important That Happens in Between.

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"Whose Dwelling Is Not With Flesh" -- Daniel 2:1-24

The Fourth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

The mood in the Babylonian court has completely changed between the time Nebuchadnezzar claimed the throne in 605 BC, and the scene which unfolds in Daniel chapter 2.  In the opening chapter of his prophecy, Daniel describes Nebuchadnezzar as an all-powerful king, bestowing favors on those servants who have successfully completed their transformation from captured youths into humble and efficient servants in the Babylonian court, young men who come from the various peoples defeated by the Babylonians, now dedicated to serve the king and worship his Babylonian “gods.”  But in chapter 2 (which takes place two years later in 603 BC), the king is troubled and frightened because he has had a dream–the meaning of which escapes him.  The royal court which seemed so dominant over its humiliated subjects is now depicted as a place of fear, helplessness, and brutality.  Whatever it was that the king had dreamed, coupled with the failure of Nebuchadnezzer’s magicians and astrologers to interpret the dream for him for him, at first leads to great peril for Daniel and his friends, but then becomes an opportunity for Daniel to ascend in rank and importance in the court.  This is because YHWH is Daniel’s shield and defender, and the source of both Nebuchadnezzaer’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation.

We resume our series on the Book of Daniel, and we now take up Daniel’s second chapter.  Chapter 2 contains a 49 verse story dominated by Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a bizarre statue composed of four different metals (which represent four different earthly kingdoms), which is then destroyed by a giant rock (which represents an eternal kingdom established by the God of Heaven).  The revelation given by the Lord to Daniel regarding the meaning of the king’s dream tempts us to focus entirely upon the sequence of future events revealed, for as we will see, the dream contains a remarkably accurate prediction of the rise of future empires and events.  Yet, we must not overlook the big picture purpose of the story of the king’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation of that dream.  Although the details of the vision which follows are interesting and important because the dream predicts the histories of the great world empires, this is not as important to Daniel’s message as the fact that only YHWH knows the future, because he is the author of the future.  It is YHWH’s kingdom, not any of the four which Nebuchadnezzar sees in his dream, which triumphs over all other kingdoms of the world in the end.

For the next several weeks we must deal with the tyranny of time.  The account in Daniel 2 of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation of it, is a single unit which is best covered in one sitting.  But this requires far more time than the half-hour or so we can spend on Sunday sermons.  So rather than skimming through the entire chapter and then just hitting the highlights (there are too many and the dream is too important for that), we will break the chapter in four parts and spend several Sundays going through the various parts.  The first part is the king’s dream and his challenge to his court magicians to recall and explain it to him (vv. 1-13).  The second part is God’s revelation of the dream to Daniel (vv. 14-23).  We will cover both of these sections this time.  The third part of the chapter is Daniel’s God-given explanation of the dream to the king (vv. 24-45), and then finally, we have the king’s very favorable response after Daniel interprets the dream for Nebuchadnezzar (vv. 46-49).

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

This Week at Christ Reformed Church (April 17-23)

Sunday Morning, 23:  We return to our series on Paul's letter to the Galatians.  Our focus will be, "why the Law?" (from Galatians 3:15-25).  Our worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Afternoon:  We will be considering Heidelberg Catechism (Lord's Day 29, Q & A 78-79).  Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study, April 19, (7:30 p.m.):  We continue our series on personal evangelism entitled, "Telling the Truth in Love."  We will be considering various approaches to evangelism.

Academy, Friday, April 21, (7:30 p.m.):  We will be viewing and discussing Allen Guelzo's Teaching Company Course, The American Mind.  Our text for this series will be Hollinger and Capper, The American Intellectual Tradition.  Be sure to get a used copy!  They are much cheaper!

For more information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Info), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).

"He Is Risen" -- John 20:1-18 (And Easter Week Audio)

Here's the audio from this morning's Easter Sermon:  "He Is Risen"

Here's the audio from Maundy Thursday "Love One Another"

 Here's the audio from Good Friday "They Will Look Upon Him, Whom They Have Pierced"

This Week's White Horse Inn (Updated Website)

Implications of the Cross

In the last program we took a look at Christ’s cross-centered mission, and in this program we want to ask what it all means. Why did Jesus have to suffer in our place, and what did his death accomplish? As they attempt to unpack this topic, the hosts spend some time defining important words and concepts that the New Testament authors use to describe the benefits of the cross such as redemption, atonement, propitiation, and imputation.

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