Moved by the Spirit (2 Peter 1:21; BC 3)

We might wonder if the Scriptures go beyond their original context. 2 Peter 1:21 makes explicit to us the trustworthiness and divine authority of Scripture. Peter is assuring us that the Bible isn't a collection of human ideas or insights, but rather a divine revelation. The prophets were not just inspired, but moved by the Holy Spirit, ensuring that what they wrote was God's truth, not merely their own thoughts. The Scripture is not subject to the changing opinions of humans, but is a reliable, unchanging guide given by God Himself. We are called to align our opinions with the Scripture, discerning its truth, and not align Scripture to our convictions.

God the Spirit (Belgic Confession Art. 11; Acts 5:1-11)

In Acts 5:1-11, Ananias and Sapphira are a powerful illustration of the Holy Spirit's divinity and the seriousness of lying in the Lord’s presence. Peter confronts Ananias, pointing out that lying to the Holy Spirit is equivalent to lying to God, underscoring that the Holy Spirit is not just a force but God Himself.  We are humbled as we consider the holiness of God and the gravity of sin, especially within the community of believers. The sudden judgment on Ananias and Sapphira serves as a sobering reminder that the Holy Spirit, being fully God, is deeply concerned with the integrity and purity of the church.

The Christ of Old (BC 12; Exodus 3)

The Angel of the Lord speaks as God, the Angel promises to be the redemption that Christ promises, and ultimately this Angel is God or pre-incarnate Christ. Angels are often perceived as weak messengers, this angel is actually the spoken word, messenger, and even an envoy of God who manifests His presence as a theophany.

Who is Good? (BC 1; Luke 19:17)

We finish studying Belgic Confession Article 1: The Nature of God. We are created good but we fall short of God's perfect goodness since we are sinners. Christ points out that only God is truly good, highlighting our need to live more in line with His kingdom.

Approaching a Just God (BC Art. 1; Rom 3:24,25)

We believe that God is completely just. It's scary because God can see into our hearts and know our hidden wants. If we're even a tiny bit wrong, God is bound to punish us. That is why we rely on Christ and the Spirit to give us faith. If we're not connected to Christ, his work will not benefit us.

Recipients of Wisdom (BC 1; Romans 16:27)

We know that wisdom is applying knowledge. Knowledge is just learning things, but wisdom is using that knowledge. God has perfect knowledge and wisdom. We are supposed to have wisdom too, but it's not perfect like God's. How can we, as mere mortals, have wisdom like God?

Learning from Job’s Confession (Job 40:2)

We believe that God is all-powerful. God communicates this truth through his name El-Shaddai which means God-All-mighty. In Psalm 139, David asks the Lord to examine his heart. Job struggles with God searching his heart because Job believes there is no appeal. Job wants to appeal his case to God, but he claims that God is so mighty that one cannot draw near to God. Job eventually finds comfort in knowing that God is almighty because Job realizes the problem is with Job and not God.

God's Peering Eye (BC 1; Psalm 139)

In Job 13:27, Job accuses God of tracking his every move and restricting him. Elihu criticizes Job for portraying God as a sinister figure, while David welcomes God's presence in his life. Job eventually realizes that God is not malevolent. This is why David invites God to search his heart.

Knowing the Incomprehensible God (BC 1; Acts 17:24-31)

We say that God is incomprehensible. This sounds as if we are never going to know God. We might be able to know a few things about God, but it sounds as if we will never really know God. This is strange considering that we are called to know the Lord. How can we know the Lord if the Lord is incomprehensible? We discover that while we cannot fully know everything about God we can certainly know our God.

Comforted by God's Majesty (Psalm 90; BC 1)

The Lord's majesty is certainly intimidating. We are people who will never be greater than God, and we will never usurp the Lord. Our temptation is to think that We just pull away from God or try to run. However, this is not a solution. In fact, Psalm 90 gives us the assurance that God's majesty is more assuring than threatening. God's majesty should invite us to draw closer to God rather than to run from him.

Our Simple God (John 4:1-24;BC 1)

When we consider God we do not think that God is simple. In fact when we try to comprehend who God is we realize that he is rather majestic. In fact, he is beyond our comprehension. So, why would we say that God is simple and why does it matter so much for God to be God?

God’s Almighty Word (BC 5, 10; John 1:1-18)

We wrap up our series on the means of Grace. We hear now that Christ is the action of God. He is not merely the word, but the one who confirms the Lord's word. He is the one who brought in the first creation, and he establishes us as a new creation. This means that word is more basic and prior to the sacraments. The preached word is not divorced from the true word. The sacraments are no divorced from the word. They all call our attention to the one true Christ.

Why the New Covenant in my Blood? (BC 35; Luke 22:20)

Christ celebrates passover with his disciples. We would think that this is just a passover meal, but Christ provides a twist. He is the passover lamb, the sacrifice, the one who confirms the covenant, and the one who feasts with his people. Certainly, passover is part of the Lord's Supper, but passover is part of the Lord's Supper.

Why the Word and Sacrament? (Eph 5:26; BC 33)

We look at Paul's encouragement to the Ephesian church to live out of gratitude. We see that the word and sacrament go together. The Lord is pleased to work through this means to grow us in Christ. We cannot separate them as they both hold out the same Christ.

Is Scripture Finished? (1 Corinthians 14:1-25)

In our previous sermons we have seen that the word of God has power, we have seen that church receives the canon of Scripture, and now we see that all we need to know about God and his saving work is in his scriptures. Our goal is to show that there is no longer any new revelation because we do not need new revelation.

Declare or Receive Scripture? (BC 5; 1 Thessalonians 2:13)

Paul commends the Thessalonians church because they "received the word of God." This is a very important point that Paul is making. The church did not declare the scriptures and Paul did not declare the scriptures. He is an apostle, but even an apostle has to submit to the scripture. So we see what the Belgic Confession is teaching us that scripture testifies to its own authority, and the Holy Spirit also continually bears witness to the word of God.

No Millennium? (Revelation 20:1-7; BC 37)

John says that Satan is bound for 1000 years or a millennium. How do we know if we are in the millennium? We work through this issue showing that we do not take 1000 years literally, but communicating the Lord's complete time. We argue that when Christ enters history he brings in his kingdom with the millennium.

The Feast of Life (Rev. 2:1-7; 22:1-21; Art. 37)

John describes for us his vision of our heavenly graduation. The exhortation at the beginning of the book of Revelation is our invitation to enter into the Lord's presence to eat the tree of life's fruit. It is a life buffet where we swim in the river of life and dine at Christ's tree. What is the significance of the tree of life being in heaven? Why would we long for the final judgment?

Why Obey the Government? (1 Timothy 2:1-7; BC Art. 36)

The Apostle Paul exhorts us to live a peaceful and quiet life. This sounds like a life that is full of compromise. What can we do as Christians to be distinctive while still living out this call to be peaceful and quiet? How are we to conduct ourselves in our exile?

Eating Christ's Body and Blood (John 6:52-59; BC 35)

Christ uses strong language to encourage the church to have life. HIs language communicates that we have the literally consume Christ in the sense that he is eaten like we would consume common food. We would drink his blood like we would find nourishment from water. What does Christ mean by these statements regarding our eating his flesh and drinking his blood?