Hope Presbyterian Church In Winston-salem Sermons

Series: Worship in Spirit and TruthScripture: Genesis 15:1-8; Genesis 17:4-10; Acts 2:38-39 “A sacrament is an outward sign by which the Lord seals on our consciences the promises of His good will towards us in order to sustain the weakness of our faith, and we in turn attest our piety toward Him in the presence of the Lord and of His angels and before men . . . A sacrament is never without a preceding promise but it is joined to it as a sort of appendix, with the purpose of confirming and sealing the promise itself, and of making it more evident to us and in a sense ratifying it.  By this means God provides first for our ignorance and dullness, then for our weakness … as our faith is slight and feeble unless it be propped [up] on all sides and sustained by every means, it trembles, wavers, totters, and at last gives way.” —John Calvin “Sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness.” —Galway Kinnell Q: What is baptism? A: Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the washing with water, in the name of the

Series: Worship in Spirit and TruthScripture: Psalm 19:7-14; Luke 24:25-27, 31-32; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 2 Timothy 4:1-4 “Christians feed on Scripture. Holy Scripture nurtures the holy community as food nurtures the human body. Christians don’t simply learn or study or use Scripture; we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love, cups of cold water, missions into all the world, healing and evangelism and justice in Jesus’ name, hands raised in adoration of the Father, feet washed in company with the Son.” —Eugene Peterson, Eat This Book, 18 “God speaks to us: not only to move us to do what he wants, but to enable us to know him so that we may love him. Therefore God sends his word to us in the character of both information and invitation. It comes to woo us as well as to instruct us; it not merely puts us in the picture of what God has done and is doing but also calls us into personal communion with the loving Lord himself.” —JI Packer, Knowing God, 110 “How

Series: Worship in Spirit and TruthScripture: Daniel 9:1-19 Like a flash of lightning, prayer exposes for a nanosecond what I would prefer to ignore: my own true state of fragile dependence. —Philip Yancey Prayer I do not control the action; that is a pagan concept of prayer, putting the gods to work by my incantations or rituals. I am not controlled by the action; that is a Hindu concept of prayer in which I slump passively into the impersonal and fated will of the gods and goddesses. I enter into the action begun by another, my creating and saving Lord, and find myself participating in the results of the action. I neither do it, nor have it done to me; I will to participate in what is willed. —Eugene Peterson The Contemplative Pastor America is the land of pioneers and possibilities. We blaze our own trails and control our own destinies. I take care of myself and think that taking care of you is your job. This  attitude infects the American church, where we all too easily overlook the significance of the

Series: Worship in Spirit and TruthScripture: Malachi 3:10; 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 and 9:6-15 “If we are not giving away our money in remarkable portions, we have not grasped (or we are not currently remembering) Christ’s generosity in saving us. Let’s put it even more starkly: you will always give effortlessly to that which is your salvation, to those things that give your life meaning. If Jesus is the one who saved, your money flows out easily into his work, his people, and his causes. If, however, your real religion is your appearance, your social status, your pleasure, and your security, your money flows most easily into those items and symbols . . . To give largely and liberally, not grudging at all times, requires a new heart – an old heart would rather part with its lifeblood than with its money.” —Tim Keller “The trouble with being rich is that since you can solve with your checkbook virtually all practical problems that bedevil ordinary people, you are left in your leisure with nothing but the great hum

Series: Worship in Spirit and TruthScripture: Psalm 32:1-7; Romans 2:4; Hebrews 10:19-25 “The certainty and completeness of God’s mercy [is] the magnet of confession . . . we run to his arms with our sin-sick hearts because we know there is grace sufficient, boundless, and free already there. We repent because we are forgiven, not to gain forgiveness . . . we are forgiven because he was forsaken, not because our contrition is adequate . . . we are cherished children of God despite our constant waywardness and the inevitable inadequacy of our confession.” —Bryan Chapell   “Absolution is neither a response to a suitably worthy confession, nor the acceptance of a reasonable apology. Absolvere in Latin means not only to loosen, to free, to acquit; it also means to dispose of, to complete, to finish. When God pardons, he does not say he understands our weakness or makes allowances for our errors; rather he disposes of, he finishes with, the whole of our dead life and raises us up with a new one.  He does not so mu

Series: Worship in Spirit and TruthScripture: Psalm 96:1-4; Zephaniah 3:14-17; Colossians 3:15-16; Revelation 7:9-12 “To Christ the Lord let every tongue Its noblest tribute bring. When He’s the subject of the song, Who can refuse to sing? Survey the beauties of His face And on His glories dwell. Think of the wonder of His grace And all His triumphs tell. Since from His bounty I receive Such proofs of love divine, Had I a thousand hearts to give Lord, they should all be Thine! A thousand men could not compose A worthy song to bring, Yet Your love is a melody Our hearts can’t help but sing!” —Samuel Stennett “Words and music did for me what solid, even rigorous religious argument could never do, they introduced me to God, not belief in God, more an experiential sense of God.” —Bono “Chant down Babylon with music!” —Bob MarleyThe post Joining in God’s Song first appeared on Hope Church PCA.

Series: Worship in Spirit and TruthScripture: Psalm 100 “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD!’” —Psalm 122:1 “Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! I come! Just as I am, Thou wilt receive, Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!” —Charlotte Elliott “The entire message of the Gospel is not usually verbalized in the call to worship, but its features inevitably glisten. By a scriptural call to worship we understand that God welcomes us into his presence and invites us to participate in his purposes. Though we are weak, he is welcoming; though our iniquities are great, he remains inviting. The call to worship necessarily and simultaneously commends God’s worthiness and consoles us in our unworthiness. We can come to him; he wants us; and, he delights in our praise.” —Bryan ChapellThe post God’s Call to Worship first appeared on

Series: Worship in Spirit and TruthScripture: Psalm 115 “Every man becomes the image of the God he adores. He whose worship is directed to a dead thing becomes dead. He who loves corruption rots. He who loves a shadow becomes, himself, a shadow. He who loves things that must perish lives in dread of their perishing.” —Thomas Merton “False gods destroy and devour lives, health and resources; they distort and diminish our humanity; they preside over injustice, greed, perversion, cruelty, lust and violence.  It is possibly the most satanic dimension of their deceptive power, that in spite of all this, they still persuade people that they are the beneficent protectors of their worshipers’ identity, dignity and prosperity, and must therefore be defended at all costs.  Only the gospel can unmask these claims.  Only the gospel exposes the cancer of idolatry.  Only the gospel is good for people.”  —Christopher Wright “Worship is the strategy by which we interrupt our preoccupation with ourselves and attend to the p

Series: Seven Deadly SinsScripture: Proverbs 4:18-19; Matthew 5:4, 8; Colossians 3:1-17 “Greed, gluttony, lust, envy, and pride are no more than sad efforts to fill the empty place where love belongs, and anger and sloth are just two things that may happen when you find that not even all seven of them at their deadliest ever can.” —Frederick Buechner “I am a riddle to myself; a heap of inconsistencies.” —John Newton “Come with thy heart hard, dead, cold, full of wickedness; come as a blood-red sinner; this is the way to come to Christ.” —John Bunyan “Though sin wars, it shall not reign; and though it breaks our peace, it cannot separate from his love. Nor is it inconsistent with his holiness and perfection, to manifest his favor to such poor defiled creatures, or to admit them to communion with himself; for they are not considered as in themselves, but as one with Jesus, to whom they have fled for refuge, and by whom they live by faith.” —John Newton The post Putting Deadly Sin to Death first appeared on

Series: Seven Deadly SinsScripture: Genesis 2:24-25, Proverbs 5:15-20, Matthew 5:27-30 “The fire of lust’s pleasures must be fought with the fire of God’s pleasures.  If we try to fight the fire of lust with prohibitions and threats alone – even the terrible warnings of Jesus – we will fail.  We must fight it with a massive promise of superior happiness.  We must swallow up the little flicker of lust’s pleasure in the conflagration of holy satisfaction . . . Our aim is not only to avoid something erotic but also to gain something excellent.” —John Piper “The monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside marriage is that those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one kind of union (the sexual) from all the other kinds of union which were intended to go along with it and make up the total union. The Christian attitude does not mean there is anything wrong about sexual pleasure, any more than about the pleasure of eating. It means you must not isolate that pleasure and try to get it by itself, any more than you

Series: Seven Deadly SinsScripture: Isaiah 25:6-9; Isaiah 55:1-3, 6-7; Philippians 3:17-21 “A glutton is one who raids the icebox for a cure for spiritual malnutrition.” —Frederick Buechner “Where gluttony is there is no incarnation, no resurrection, no kingship, no humanity, no God, in short—no living Christianity. Instead we have only gnosticism, anarchy, and idolatry. As those of us who struggle with gluttony know, it ultimately leaves us alone, without hope, and bloated with discontent. And we were made for more than this. This is why God calls (and helps) us away from lives of gluttony—because we were made for more. We were made to be whole, embodying the creational proportionality that marks the kingdom of God. We were made to be shepherded, walking the path of beauty laid out for us by our King. And we were made for God, living not by bread alone, but by the fullness found in the One who feeds us with Himself.” —Greg Thompson “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall

Series: Seven Deadly SinsScripture: Luke 12:13-21; Romans 8:31-32; 2 Corinthians 8:7-9 “Considering the full sweep of the Christian tradition, one would have to conclude that the most profane word we can utter is that word: mine.” —William Willimon “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.” ―C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity “The trouble with being rich is that since you can solve with your checkbook virtually all practical problems that bedevil ordinary people, you are left in your leisure with nothing but the great human problems to contend with: how to

Series: Seven Deadly SinsScripture: John 11:32-44 Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are. —Augustine of Hippo Both meekness and peacemaking are rooted in an appreciation of the infinite value of human life. —Os Guinness Steering through Chaos You can’t understand God’s love if you don’t understand his anger. Because he loves, he’s angry at anything that harms those he loves. —David Powlison Good and AngryThe post Righteous Anger or: The Outrage of Death first appeared on Hope Church PCA.

Series: Seven Deadly SinsScripture: James 1:19-21 Unrighteous anger condemns any who stand opposed to its pursuit of control. … [It] is a dark energy that demands for the self a more tolerable world now, instead of waiting for God’s redemption according to divine design and timing. —Allender/Longman Cry of the Soul Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back–in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you. —Frederick Buechner Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC Anger: [seeing slices of pizza with only broccoli on top] Congratulations, San Francisco, you’ve ruined pizza! First the Hawaiians, and now YOU! —Inside OutThe post Unrighteous Anger or: The Outrage of Po

Series: Seven Deadly SinsScripture: Proverbs 26:13-16, Ecclesiastes 9:11, Psalms 63:1-8, Matthew 5:6 “The danger is not that the soul should doubt whether there is any bread, but that, by a lie, it should persuade itself that it is not hungry.” —Simone Weil “One might eat and eat of the superficial, cotton-candy righteousness vended by the professional religious hucksters and never have his hunger assuaged. Or he might drink and drink of their holy water and never have his thirst quenched. But the kingdom righteousness is meat indeed and drink indeed—rich, nourishing, satisfying.” —Clarence Jordan “I do not believe in God, but I miss Him.” —Julian BarnesThe post A Blessing For Longing first appeared on Hope Church PCA.

Series: Seven Deadly SinsScripture: Proverbs 26:13-16; Ecclesiastes 9:11; Matthew 25:24-30; Romans 5:8 “Sloth is far more than indolence, physical laziness, or a state of couch-potato lethargy. It is a condition of explicitly spiritual dejection that has given up on the pursuit of God, the true, the good, and the beautiful.” —Os Guinness “In the world sloth calls itself tolerance; but in hell it is called despair. It is the accomplice of every other sin and their worst punishment. It is the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, loves nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing and remains alive only because there is nothing it would die for.” —Dorothy Sayers “Sloth is most often evidenced in busyness … in frantic running around, trying to be everything to everyone, and then having no time to listen or pray, no time to become the person who is doing these things.” —Eugene PetersonThe post Sloth: A Deadly Sin? fir

Series: Seven Deadly SinsScripture: Genesis 4:1-10; Matthew 20:8-16; 2 Corinthians 5:21 “Of all the deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all.” —Jason Epstein “An envier resents; a coveter desires. Of course, an envier may begin his career as a coveter. He may begin by hankering for someone else’s goods, just as Cain may have originally wanted the blessing God gave to Abel. But failed covetousness is likely to curdle into envy: the envier is often a disgruntled coveter.  If the envier can come away with another’s goods, so much the better, but this is an incidental advantage. What the envier really wants is to spoil something – or someone.” —Cornelius Plantinga “An envier offers a backward intercessory prayer for his rival: ‘Drain his swimming pool, O God, but fill his basement.’” —Cornelius PlantingaThe post Envy: The Joyless Sin first appeared on Hope Church PCA.

Series: Seven Deadly SinsScripture: Genesis 11:1-9; Proverbs 16:18; Romans 7:24-25a “We often forget that the heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed, as in the greatness of the Person sinned against.” —Diane Langberg “The sin I once feared to lose became a delight to dismiss. You turned them out and took their place, pleasanter than any pleasure.” —Augustine “Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all . . . If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step.

Series: Seven Deadly SinsScripture: Genesis 3:1-9; Psalm 51:1-4; Romans 5:20-21 “The awareness of sin used to be our shadow. Christians hated sin, feared it, fled from it, grieved over it. Some of our grandparents agonized over their sins. A man who lost his temper might wonder whether he could go to Holy Communion. A woman who for years envied her more attractive and intelligent sister might worry that this sin threatened her very salvation. But the shadow has dimmed. Nowadays, the accusation you have sinned is often said with a grin, and with a tone that signals an inside joke.  At one time, this accusation still had the power to jolt people. Catholics lined up to confess their sins; Protestant preachers rose up to confess our sins. And they did it regularly . . . The word sin now finds its home mostly on dessert menus. “Peanut Butter Binge” and “Chocolate Challenge” are sinful; lying is not. The new measure for sin is caloric.” —Cornelius Plantinga “To be precise and truthful, the critical examination of

Series: Clyde's FarewellScripture: John 5:16-24 “Your faith will not fail while God sustains it; you are not strong enough to fall away while God is resolved to hold you.” ―J.I. Packer Knowing God “Optimism hopes for the best without any guarantee of its arriving and is often no more than whistling in the dark. Christian hope, by contrast, is faith looking ahead to the fulfillment of the promises of God, as when the Anglican burial service inters the corpse ‘in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Optimism is a wish without warrant; Christian hope is a certainty, guaranteed by God himself. Optimism reflects ignorance as to whether good things will ever actually come. Christian hope expresses knowledge that every day of his life, and every moment beyond it, the believer can say with truth, on the basis of God’s own commitment, that the best is yet to come.” ―J.I. Packer Never Beyond Hope “Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realized that during all thi