Sermon Notes for: 7/13/2008
 “Clothing that Ministers” - various texts
-- Jeffrey C. Evans --
 

I. Introduction
a. Clothing says a great deal about our positions, authority, culture, and whom we serve.
b. The necessity and inescapability of clothing should make us ask what God desires of us.
c. The challenges of figuring out what pleases God in the modern world with modern attire can scare some away from even asking the question. But, we are not to shy away from the challenge but rather proceed in faith with the Word of God.

II. A Few Comments on the Regulative Principle and Interpretation of the Scriptures
a. The need to follow the pattern and commands of God: Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:1-11)
b. The danger of becoming Pharisees that miss the point of God’s commandments
c. The powerful work of the Holy Spirit and the Word in our lives

III. Clothing and Women
a. The importance of clothing in 1 Timothy 2
b. The cloths of a hartlot in Proverbs 7:1-12
c. Children that honor parents and wives that are the royal glory of their husbands (Prov 12:4; 31:22)

IV. Clothing and Men
a. Clothing and fellowship with God (Gen 3:21)
b. Clothing that does not surrender on gender (Deut 22:5)
c. Serving others and the Lord with your clothes (Col 3:12-17, 22-24)

V. Clothing and the Ministry of the Church
a. You are clothed with Christ in baptism, and our garments should reflect this (Ex 19:10; Gal 3:27-29)
b. The minister, as a representative of the people (not mediator) and ordained spokesman of Christ, stands in an honorable office and has distinctive attire (cf. Ex 28:4, 40-41)
i. Robe
ii. Collar

VI. Conclusion

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Sermon Notes for: 6/22/2008
 “Is God Hidden in Our Troubles?” - Psalm 10
-- Jeffrey C. Evans --
 

I. Introduction
a. All of us are familiar where we have difficulty seeing that God is actually present and not absent. Often times, God appears hidden precisely at the time that we think He should be most visible. But, in such times, we must not lose faith but rather cry out with what faith we have, especially if we have faith in modest. This is actually one of the ways the Lord grows our faith and makes us see Him more clearly.

b. Context & Structure
i. An acrostic with Psalm 9
ii. Perhaps another double chiasm like Psalm 9
II. Part I: The Hidden God (vv. 1-11)
a. A cry of weak faith (vv. 1-2)
b. Wicked boasting, blessing, and pride (vv. 3-4)
c. The Wicked’s ways, heart, and mouth (vv. 5-7)
d. Wicked sitting, lying, and crouching (vv. 8-10)
e. A cry of wicked faith (v. 11)
III. Part II: The Revealed God (vv. 12-18)
a. A cry of strong faith: Arise, Lift up, Forget not (v. 12)
b. The wicked renouncing of God is an offense against Him (v. 13)
c. What God does to the Wicked (v. 14-15)
d. A revelation of the praise God deserves (vv. 16-18)
IV. Application

Download | Duration: 00:41:53

Sermon Notes for: 6/15/2008
 “Recounting God's Wonderful Deeds” - Psalm 9
-- Jeffrey C. Evans --

I. Introduction
a. Just as we might rob God of His praise by not thanking Him as we see His goodness
displayed in creation, so too we can rob God of the praise due to Him in His works through history.
b. Context & Structure
i. Psalm 9 written by David and Psalm 10 appears to be another Psalmist’s continuation of Psalm 9.
ii. We need to remember that David was a man well acquainted with battle, the wicked,
and life and death situations. Through all of these times, David has seen the Lord’s wonderful hand
at work and now turns to praise Him.
iii. A double chiasm

II. Part One: Recounting God’s Works in the Past
A – Singing of the Name (vv. 1-2)
 B – Throne of Right Judgment (vv. 3-4)
  C – Destruction of the Enemy’s Name (vv. 5-6)
 B’– The Throne Upheld (vv. 7-8)
A’– Knowledge of God’s Name (vv. 9-10)

III. Part Two: Remembering God’s Work in the Present and Future
D – Declare God’s Doings (vv. 11-12)
 E – The Gates of Death and Life (vv. 13-15)
  F – God’s Judgment (vv. 15-16)
 E’–  Assurance of Death and Hope (vv. 17-18)
D’– Call for the Lord to Action (vv. 19-20)

IV. Application

V. Conclusion

Download | Duration: 00:39:41

Sermon Notes for: 6/1/2008
 “God’s Glory in Creation” – Psalm 8
-- Jeffrey C. Evans --
 

I. Introduction
a. What is “glory”? Further, when we think of God’s glory, what things come to mind? Squash-you-like-a-bug power? Infinite knowledge? Psalm 8 gives us a different, corrective picture of God’s glory.
b. Another deep and sometimes misunderstood question: How do we come to know things about God? Theologically speaking, we like to distinguish between general revelation and special revelation.
c. Context and Structure

II. The Excellence and Glory of God (v. 1)
a. Throughout the earth
b. Above the heavens

III. It is God’s Glory to Ordain Infant Praise (v. 2, cf. Matt 21:16)
a. Weak infants give strong praise to God’s kindly, Fatherly care
b. Suckling children still the raging of the nay-saying wicked

IV. It is God’s Glory that Man Sits under a Splendid Canopy (vv. 3-4)
a. Pondering the heavens, their hosts, and all that is in them, crafted by the fingers of God
b. What is man?
i. That God is mindful
ii. That God visits him

V. It is God’s Glory to Give Glory and Honor to Man (vv. 5-6)
a. Lower than angels but crowned
b. Dominion over God’s works

VI. It is God’s Glory that the Earth Teems with Life (v. 7-8)
a. Our rule over them must be service to God
b. The investigation and appreciation of living creatures must result in thankfulness to the Lord, otherwise we will turn to worshipping the marvelous creation itself (cf. Rom 1).

VII. Application

Download | Duration: 00:33:53

Sermon Notes for: 5/25/2008
 “Judgment and Deliverance” – Psalm 7
-- Jeffrey C. Evans --
 

I. Introduction
a. Injustice naturally troubles us, and we intuitively want wrongs to be righted. Psalm 7 shows us how essential it is to plead before the Lord and place our trust in Him. If we do not, then we will have no rest from our woes.
b. Context:
i. A righteous complaint against some particular adversary within Saul’s tribe
ii. Arguably a “chiastic poem” with attention drawn to the middle

II. Prelude (vv. 1-2)
a. My God: trust for salvation while in trouble
b. Real stakes: a soul torn as by a lion

III. David’s Threefold Judicial Vow (vv. 3-5)
a. A list of three representative offenses
i. “If I have done this…”
ii. “If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me…”
iii. “If I have plundered my enemy without cause…”
b. A list of three representative judgments
i.  “Then let him persecute my soul…”
ii. “Then let him tread down my life…”
iii. “Then let him lay my honor in the dust..”

IV. Confidence in the High Judge (vv. 6-8a)
a. Wicked anger is surpassed by God’s righteous anger
b. God gathers the people to hear His verdict

V. Who is Righteous and Who is Wicked? (vv. 8b-10)
a. David the Righteous
b. God the Righteous
c. Cush and the rest of the his wicked kind

VI. The Judging King’s Pursuit of the Wicked (vv. 11-16)
a. Unrelenting anger at the refusal to repent
b. A whetted sword and bent bow
c. Ordained instruments of death
d. God’s sense of irony in His judgment

VII.  Postlude (v. 17)
a. Sense of rest and praise in my God who has heard the cry for judgment and deliverance
b. Singing to the Lord most high

VIII. Application

Download | Duration: 00:34:53

 Sermon Notes for: 5/18/2008
 “A Strong Prayer for the Weak” - Psalm 6
-- Jeffrey C. Evans --

I. Introduction
a. God protects and provides for the weak
b. Context: Penitential Psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143)

II. Troubled to the Bone (vv. 1-3)
a. A cry for mercy in light of God’s anger
b. Weakness in the body
c. Weakness in the soul

III. Crying for Deliverance from Death (vv. 4-7)
a. A longing to remember and give thanks to the Lord
b. David’s weary tears
c. The weakness of David’s eyes

IV. God’s Answer to David (vv. 8-10)
a. A kingly condemnation
b. Assurance that the Lord has heard his prayers
c. Sudden shame and trouble for David’s enemies

V. Application

VI. Conclusion

Download | Duration: 00:32:10

Sermon Notes for: 5/11/2008
 “The Feast of Weeks” - Leviticus 23:9-22
-- Jeffrey C. Evans --

I. Introduction
a. The first Christian Pentecost has a history with which we must become more acquainted. Imagine if we wanted to understand what a “Christian” was without having some understanding of the history of Israel. So too, when we talk about Pentecost, it behooves us to know something about the Old Testament Feasts, especially the Feast of Weeks.
b. The bad news: few consider what the ceremonies of the Mosaic Covenant mean. And, to understand them, we need to mentally walk through their practice as they are not theologically explained in detail by the Scriptures.
c. Context: If someone says “Pentecost” what Old Testament story (not law) comes to mind?
i. Harvest time and Israel’s festivals coincide
ii. The Ten Commandments are a summary of all the laws in the Mosaic Covenant. So, what law does this fall under?

II. Precursor to the Feast (vv. 9-14)
a. The importance of remembering God with the land and harvest (cf. Deut 8:6-14)
b. The first thing done with the first of the harvest: waving of the sheaf
c. The offering of a lamb without blemish

III. Presenting the Harvest (vv. 15-21)
a. Understanding the bread, animals, and wine
b. Why the specific numbers: seven, two, and one?
c. The actions of the priest and the people

IV. Provision for the Poor at Harvest (v. 22)
a. Leave the corners
b. Do not glean

V. What does this mean for us and for the first Christian Pentecost?
a. “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women…” (Acts 1:14). In our prayers we are presenting the Lord with the little we have, asking Him to grant a full harvest. Watch Him wave it to the four corners of the earth and bring abundance to our days of small beginnings.
b. The gift of the Spirit at Pentecost fulfills Joel’s prophecy of a land renewed and abounding in harvest (Joel 2). As such, we are neither to forget the joy of harvest nor fall into mere external observance of God’s commands as Israel often did.
c. Sabbaths and feasts go together in the Scriptures and so also should in your practice. This does not mean a five course meal every Sunday but it does mean Sabbath joy in your homes (Isa 58:13-14).
d. It is good to find times to celebrate before the Lord in the abundance He has given us (cf. Deut 14:22-27), both with the tithe and with offerings. As we do this, we are to remember the destitute (cf. Acts 2:45).
e. Pentecost, like Passover, has been transfigured/transformed by the coming of Christ and the gift of the Spirit. But, just as the early Church continued to remember Pentecost, so too can we. We give thanks for what the Scriptures recount about the first Pentecost, remember God’s goodness to us in the land and harvest, and seek to celebrate this in such a way that we come to rest in God’s present and future provisions. Likewise, we should eye the entire world as a field for planting. Mothers, you are especially doing this with every verbal correction of your kids, swat on the rear, and honor paid to your husbands.

VI. Conclusion

Download | Duration: 00:35:32

Sermon Notes for: 5/4/2008
Living under the Ascension - Luke 24:36-53
-- Jeffrey C. Evans --
 

I. Introduction
a. From our perspective, God often turns things upside down.
b. We want to be confident and useful like the Apostles, not timid and fearful. If we are to be this way, celebrating and living under the Ascension is important.
c. Context

II. A Theology of the Ascension
a. Confessional Statements (WLC 51-55; LD 18, QQ 46-49)
b. The Rule of Christ from Heaven—gone away, like going to the capital or capitol
c. What goes up must come down: the return of Christ

III. Dealing with Fright at the Voice of Peace (vv. 36-43)
a. Jesus’ speaking of “Peace”
b. Troubled hearts
c. Looking upon the incarnated Son of God

IV. Reminding How the Scriptures Must be Fulfilled (vv. 44-49)
a. The Law, Prophets, and Psalms
b. Jesus opens the disciples’ understanding
c. The suffering and rising is inextricably linked with the preaching and witnessing of the Apostles

V. The Promise and Blessing of Christ (vv. 50-53)
a. The sending of the Spirit
b. A priestly blessing
c. A reversal of the Apostles’ timidity and fear

VI. Application
a. Jesus is our sympathetic high priest. Just as the disciples were frightened by thinking of Jesus as a spirit so too we can be frightened by thinking of Jesus as utterly transcendent and beyond us ruling in heaven. Instead, hear the voice of peace and the blessing of our king.
b. You will probably suffer physically and all of us will most certainly die. Christ’s real body suffered, died, and remains with Him as He exercises a sympathetic kingship, priesthood, and prophetic office in heaven.
c. Just as the Scriptures had to be fulfilled with Jesus’ earthly ministry, so too they must be fulfilled in His heavenly ministry. This means that every enemy is being conquered by Christ, with the last enemy being death itself upon Jesus’ return (1 Cor 15:25-26).
d. We must hear the Word of instruction from our Father through the Spirit given to us by His Son. You do not get the Spirit by works but by God’s grace. He sends it upon His people that believe His Son, desire His Word, and, especially, those that worship Him in truth.
e. While not giving any room to laziness or faithlessness, it is right for us to wait upon God’s blessing and the Spirit before embarking on a certain ministry.

VII. Conclusion

Download | Duration: 00:33:57