Watch or listen to sermons preached from the pulpit at Fairview Baptist Church.
A Holy Calendar: Feasts, Festivals, and Christ
We continue our series through Moses’ final sermons as he calls Israel to observe the appointed holy feasts and festivals. These sacred times formed Israel’s calendar, creating a yearly rhythm that kept God’s deliverance, provision, and covenant faithfulness at the center of their lives. Our calendar reveals who and what we worship. As shadows pointing to their substance in Christ, Israel’s festivals challenge us to examine our own weekly and yearly rhythms. Does the Lord’s Day serve as the anchor and priority…
Slavery in Scripture: Slavery, Servitude, and the Gospel
In this message from Deuteronomy 15, we tackle one of the most misunderstood and avoided topics in Scripture: slavery. Far from endorsing the brutal chattel slavery of later history, God’s law in the Old Testament regulated indentured servitude in ways that protected human dignity, restrained abuse, demanded justice, and required generous provision upon release. We explore the historical and cultural context, the clear boundaries God placed on servitude among his people, and how Israel’s own experience of slavery in Egypt…
Generous Grace: Soft Hearts and Open Hands
In this sermon from Deuteronomy 14:22–15:11, we continue our series through Moses’ final sermons by examining God’s instructions for the festival tithe, the triennial town tithe for the Levites and needy, the seventh-year debt release, and generous care for the poor among God’s covenant people. These laws were not burdensome requirements to earn favor but responses to God’s prior redemption and grace, teaching Israel to fear the Lord, rejoice in his provision, support gospel ministry, and reflect his compassion with…
A Holy Diet: Food Laws, Life and Death, and Christ our Food
In this sermon from Deuteronomy 14, we examine the Old Covenant food laws—along with related commands about mourning rituals, tattoos, and haircuts—that marked Israel as a people holy and set apart to the Lord. We explore the theological rationale behind these distinctions, centered on the contrast between life and death, and how they called God’s people to reflect his character as the God of life rather than the practices associated with paganism and decay. Turning to the New Testament, we…
Speak No Evil
We examine James 4:11-12, where James exposes the evil of Christians speaking against and judging one another. James shows how when we do this, we are despising God’s law and we are exalting ourselves as lawgivers and judges, when God is the only Lawgiver and Judge. We consider how sinful this sin is and how to avoid it by remembering our own evil and God’s grace, revelling in the law of love, and returning to our great and gracious Judge…
Purge the Evil from Your Midst
We examine Deuteronomy 13 and God’s instructions to ancient Israel regarding false prophets, family members, and entire cities that would entice his people into idolatry and covenant treason. This passage forces us to grapple with the seriousness of sin, the supremacy of loyalty to God above all other relationships, and the biblical principle of purging evil from the midst of God’s people. This sermon considers applications for the church and state today, while seeing how this same law ultimately points…
Worship on God’s Terms: Rethinking How We Worship
In Deuteronomy 12, Moses transitions from the broad themes of God’s love and covenant loyalty to the practical details of what it means to love and worship God. This sermon unpacks seven essential principles for true worship: it must be regulated by God’s commands rather than human invention, exclusive and pure, centered on God rather than ourselves, marked by sacrifice and offering, deeply communal, and filled with joy. Contrasting modern seeker-sensitive this chapter calls the church to tear down idols,…
The Blessed Family: Passing the Faith to the Next Generation
God designed the family as the bedrock of society and the primary means of passing on covenant faithfulness from one generation to the next. In this sermon we explore timeless principles for the Christian home and consider practical applications like family worship and Christian education. In a culture actively undermining the family, this text calls us back to God’s original design and equips parents to disciple the next generation for his glory. Whether you are single, married, or a parent,…
Blessings and Curses: Applying Israel’s Promises Today
In this message from Deuteronomy 11, we explore one of the Bible’s most repeated principles: God sets before his people a clear choice between blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience. As we examine the promises of rain, harvest, and prosperity for Israel alongside the warnings of drought and loss for turning to idols, we ask the important question: Do these principles still apply to God’s people today? Moving beyond reductionistic dispensational, hyper-grace, or prosperity gospel approaches, this sermon affirms…
Consider Who God Is and Who You Are
In Deuteronomy 11, Moses calls Israel to “consider today” all that God has done—his mighty acts in Egypt, his provision and discipline in the wilderness, and his powerful deliverance—so that they would love and obey him with wholehearted devotion. In this message, we explore how a deep, intentional memory of God’s past faithfulness anchors our identity, combats cultural amnesia and identity confusion, and provides powerful motivation for obedience today. From our identity as God’s redeemed people in Christ to the…
What Does the Lord Require of You? Responding to God’s Lavish Grace
In Deuteronomy 10, Moses continues recounting God’s astonishing mercy after Israel’s idolatry with the golden calf. Though the people shattered the covenant, God reestablished it with new tablets, continued the priesthood, and reaffirmed his promise of the land—all through the intercession of Moses. This is a powerful picture of grace upon grace extended to an undeserving people. This sermon unpacks what God requires in response to such lavish mercy: loving obedience, softened hearts, Godward imitation, and faithful loyalty. Far from…
Remembering Sin to Magnify Grace
In Deuteronomy 9, Moses calls God’s people to remember their repeated sins—grumbling, idolatry, cowardice, and rebellion—after God’s mighty deliverance from Egypt. Far from leaving us in guilt or shame, this remembrance humbles us and magnifies the wonder of God’s undeserved grace. This sermon shows how remembering our sin drives us to gratitude, deeper loyalty to Christ, and fervent intercessory prayer, following the example of Moses who pleaded with God on behalf of a stubborn people. Ultimately, this text points us…