God's Faithful Promise (Hosea 1:10-2:1)

It seems that the Lord's purpose has failed. His people that he has promised to redeem he calls not his people. They are no longer the Lord's special people where the Lord communes in their midst as the Lord promises to send them into exile. If the prophet Hosea ended at verse 9 we would have a hopeless story of redemption. However, the Lord remembers his promise. The Lord teaches that his people need to be born from the heavenly reality. The Lord needs to bring in a new creation so that his people have life. The Lord vows to rename Hosea's children assuring us that the Lord's purpose is not complete.

#hosea #hoseaseries #expositorypreaching #oldtestamentsermon #oldtestamentstudy

Established on Greater Promises (Heb. 8:1-13)

We can think that Christians do not have a priest. We can think that we do not have a tabernacle. However, Hebrews assures us that we do have a priest and a tabernacle. Our problem is that we do not see them literally before our eyes so we assume we have neither. The joy we need to have is that our Lord is our priest and he presides in the heavenly tabernacle.

#hebrewssermons #hebrewsseries #expositorypreaching

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Fasting to Feasting (Zechariah 8:18-23)

The prophet tells us about the promise of eternal life. The prophet makes a very pregnant promise that the Lord's people will be from the nations. The Lord's great feast will be an international community joining together as a new Israel. The Lord truly has wrestled and the Lord has prevailed to bring his people into his rest.

The Same Old Covenant (Romans 3:25; RE 4, 5)

How Find Comfort after Infant's Death? (1 Cor. 7:14; 2 Sam 12:23; COD 1:17)

As human beings we have a tendency to be sentimental and make our judgements based upon our own bias. We can think that cute infants are unstained from sin because they are too adorable to be sinful. The harsh truth is that we are all sinners from conception. We are all estranged from God because of Adam's rebellion in Eden. If this is true, then how can we take comfort in the tragedy of infant death or a miscarriage? If infants are sinners before the Lord does that mean they are condemned to hell if they die in infancy? How does the covenant of grace give us rich comfort to console us in the midst of infant death?

Worship Elements: Pleasing to the Lord (Colossians 3:18-4:1)

The apostle Paul exhorts fathers, wives, and bondservants to live out their lives before the Lord’s face.  The Lord does not only exhort adults to life a life pleasing to the Lord, but Paul also exhorts children.  Why would Paul exhort children to obey their parents for that pleases the Lord?  Could there be implications in this exhortation for baptism?  

Repent! (Job 18:1-21)

Job has made a passionate speech about someone taking his case to the heavenly courts.  He is done with the counselors for they are not taking his case seriously.  Bildad has heard these words and he responds to Job.  Will this man, who is most likely a grandson of Abraham, respond with the promises of the Gospel?  Will they come together and realize that maybe the Lord’s purpose is bigger than their understanding?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Successor (Genesis 27:1-41)

The Lord has bound himself to work in the context and the confines of the covenantal line.  This means that the promise made to Abraham must have a successor to receive that promise.  Isaac is getting old, he has two children, but the Lord has chosen one child to be the heir of the promise.  Isaac does not want to confer the blessing to the younger, but to the older.  Is the Lord still able to establish His Sabbath people?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Savior

We can think of the Lord being in the midst of his people as a New Testament promise.  We think about Pentecost with the Holy Spirit being poured forth showing conclusively that the Lord is in the midst of His people.  Is it true that this is only a promise for the New Testament Church or is this promise truly rooted elsewhere?

Christmas is Coming! (Numbers 23:25-24:11)

Balak is beginning to realize that he cannot control the Lord.  However, he still tries by bringing Balaam to the Lord’s enemy territory.  The diviner follows Balak’s lead by going to the enemy territory.  Is Balaam able to curse the people of God even as they are camping in the wildness?  Is Baal able to overpower our God?  How does our God  make clear that the Lord will establish the true Christmas day?

Christmas’ Covenantal Confidence (Numbers 23:1-27)

The Lord has made a promise to his people that he will bring them to glory.  His people have messed up really bad, and so does the Lord really desire to establish His people?  How do we know that the Lord can and will do this?  How strong is the Lord? Is there a god, a prophet, or another power that can derail the Lord’s promises?  Balaam and Balak think they can, but can they?

Waiting on the God of My Salvation (Micah 7:1-7)

Knowing that the Lord is sovereign over all things is something that should give us comfort.  The challenge in finding comfort in knowing the the Lord is sovereign over all things is that we cannot control this God.  We have to wait upon our God.  How do we know that waiting on the Lord is good?  How do we know that the Lord is going to be faithful?  What is the basis of the promise where we can ground our hope and peace in the Lord?  Why wait upon the God of my salvation? 

The Christmas Wrestler (Genesis 32:22-32)

We can understand that Jacob is afraid to meet his brother Esau because Esau vowed to kill Jacob which is why Jacob left his home.  So, we can understand Jacob’s angst as he is about to meet his brother.  So, why would God take the time to wrestle with this poor guy rather than simply defeating Esau?  What does this wrestling teach Jacob?  What does this wrestling teach us?  What does this wrestling declare about Christmas?

The Christmas Covenant (Genesis 15)

As protestants we champion the promise that we are justified by faith.  Justification by faith is a wonderful promise because we can be assured of enteringinto the presence of God by faith in Christ.  So, how did this blessing come to be?  Is this merely a New Testament promise?  What precedent do we see for such a promise?

God's Holy Household (1 Corinthians 7:1-16)

So why do we baptize infants? Is this a sign of faith or is it the precedent that has been set in the Old Testament? As we consider Paul’s language we see that he is using the Old Testament language and applying it to the church. The logical conclusion is that as infants are part of God’s household of faith in the Old Testament so they are part of the household of faith in the New Testament.

Hosea 1:10-11

Dr. Don Collett opens the book of Hosea

Hosea 1:1-9

Dr. Don Collett opens the book of Hosea.

Raising the Half Child (1 Corinthians 7:14; LD 27)

As the church is growing and existing it is just a matter of time before the church encounters a problem.  The problem is what do you do in a marriage where one spouse is a Christian and the other spouse is not a Christian?  How is the family to conduct itself? Are they to stay married and divide the house so one spouse lives on one floor and another spouse lives on the sinner’s floor?  What is more, how do the spouses view their children?

Circumcised and Baptized in Christ (Colossians 2:11,12; LD 26)

We continue to consider the themes of the catechism and the issue of baptism.  In many ways it is tempting to say that circumcision is associated with the Old Testament and baptism is associated with the New Testament.  This could mean that the application of these signs are radically different.  What can we see in Scripture that shows us that these signs might have more continuity than discontinuity?  Ultimately, what should these signs be communicating to us that can be missed in the context of our discussion on infant baptism?

Receiving the Seal of Righteousness (Genesis 17:11; Romans 4:11; LD 25)

Normally when we think about the sign of circumcision being instituted we think of Moses.  We are also quick to think of this sign as being something that is tied to the flesh with a land promise with very little Spiritual significance.  The sign of Baptism on the other hand we may think has great significance in terms of Spiritual blessings.  Is this fair?  Is this what Paul, Moses, and Abraham would have us take away from this sign?