Watch or listen to sermons preached from the pulpit at Fairview Baptist Church.
When Lament Turns to Complaint
How is lament different than complaining? How should we respond when we feel like complaining? Complaining is sinful and we need God’s grace and wisdom to repent from it. In this sermon we consider Job’s mindset and his actions of venting his complaint. We then consider biblical wisdom from other laments to keep us from complaining and accusing God or others.
Suffering and Accusing God of Injustice
Job moves from lament to accusations as he accuses God of injustice. Have this happened to you? What is the truth that we need in those moments? Here we see the solution to the problem of evil and suffering is to look to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Before the God of Justice
** Note: The audio quality in this sermon is very poor. How can a man be in the right before God? This is Job’s question as he considers the justice of God. God’s justice is an oft neglected and much avoided topic. In this message we consider why seeking to avoid God’s justice is an exercise in futility.
Karma and the Justice of God
Does everyone always get what they deserve? Is that what is happening to Job? Is God unjust if he doesn’t uphold the principle of retribution? This sermon considers these important questions as our views of God and the world are informed from his own character and self-revelation.
The Wisdom of Death
Job’s second lament drives to the heart of his hopelessness. Unless God intervenes and takes away his sin before his imminent death, he has no hope. We must see that we are in a similar situation to Job and that God grants wisdom as we consider our death and understand his forgiveness.
Misunderstanding God
As one of Job’s friends speaks, he says what sounds right but he truly misunderstands and misrepresents God. Can you spot it? Are you misunderstanding God? What we see is that Eliphaz not only has errors in his doctrine (teaching) regarding the principle of retribution (reaping what you sow) but he holds to a form of what is called today the prosperity gospel. That God is to be sought for what he gives.
When Suffering Leads to Lament
What is lament? Can Christians do it? Here we seek to consider these questions by considering the lament from Job, seven days after being afflicted by God. What we see is that Christians can and do lament. We express our deepest sorrows and pain to God. Such is the nature of a true relationship, where we’re able to bring these things to him. We have a high priest who can sympathize with us in our suffering and who gives mercy…
The God Who Sends Suffering
The book of Job deals with the topic of suffering. But even more profound that questions surrounding suffering are questions surrounding the nature of God. What kind of God would afflict a righteous man like Job? Is God good? This sermon begins to look into these questions and as we consider suffering, the key to understanding and comfort is to know and trust God.
A Future for Israel?
Does God still have a plan for the nation of Israel? Is it true that God will be merciful to them as a nation once more? We examine three chapters which take up this subject matter directly and see clearly what God has in store for the people of Israel. May we learn from Scripture and conform our thinking to it.
Who Is True Israel?
How can the Gentiles be included in the promises made to Israel? Does this not do damage to the Old Testament? What about those promises given to Abraham? What we see in both old and new testaments is that Christ is the fulfillment of Israel and the one whom is the rightful heir of all the promises of God. It is through Christ that the Gentiles and Jews receive their inheritance and blessing. Christ is the key, the cornerstone, the…
What About Israel?
Are there two people of God, Israel and the church? Or one people of God? Does Israel have a separate future? How do we apply the old covenant made with Israel? These questions are answered in many different ways today. This sermon looks at Ephesians 2 and 3 to understand the relationship between Israel and the church in the new covenant age since Christ has come.
Not By Faith Alone?
What do we do with a passage that says, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone”? To understand it rightly, we do what we must with any passage of Scripture. We must understand it in its own context. When we do this, all the confusion goes away and this verse teaches us something very profound that we must always remember. As Luther said, “we are saved by faith alone, but saving faith is…