Exhortations, Sermon Shorts, & Charges
Dominion & Holy Liberty
April 27, 2023 • Jared Longshore
If you want to see the kingdom of God pushed out to the four corners of the earth then you must come to one spot on the earth, Calvary, and offer yourself freely to Christ in faith there. Listen to the whole sermon, 'Postmillennialism for Such a Time as This.'
Muster Your Courage
April 21, 2023 • Douglas Wilson
Listen to the full sermon: 'Cultural Revolution and the Sons of Issachar.' The church lockdowns and masking orders (and such) were simply a beta test, seeking to find out how soft the church was. The answer for them was “pretty soft.” And so you need to be prepared for the time when the church is ordered to meet just once a month in order to help “fight climate change.” You need to know beforehand that you are part of a church that will not comply. Obedience is ours, and the results are God’s.
Review and Refurbish Your Doctrinal Commitments
April 21, 2023 • Douglas Wilson
Listen to the full sermon: 'Cultural Revolution and the Sons of Issachar.' Begin with your postmillennialism, then move on to the covenant, and then on to Calvinism. Get these truths, and the biblical basis for them, down into your bones. Our cause is desperate, but we will win nonetheless. Our God is a covenant-keeping God. Our God is Almighty God.
Read Books that Orient You
April 21, 2023 • Douglas Wilson
Listen to the full sermon: 'Cultural Revolution and the Sons of Issachar.' You may be distressed because you don’t think you are among the sons of Issachar. But nothing prevents you from reading books that the sons of Issachar write. As a starter pack, try Strange New World (Trueman), Christianity and Liberalism (Machen), Idols for Destruction (Schlossberg), Love Thy Body (Pearcey), and The God of Sex (Jones).
Tie Family Ties Tighter
April 20, 2023 • Douglas Wilson
Listen to the full sermon: 'Cultural Revolution and the Sons of Issachar.' Love your wife. Respect your husband. Educate your children in the Lord. Be done with porn. Sit down at your dinner table together. Confess your familial sins, especially anger and bitterness. Sing. Read stories where the bad guys are defeated.
Worship God
April 19, 2023 • Douglas Wilson
Listen to the full sermon: 'Cultural Revolution and the Sons of Issachar.' Our culture is in the state it is in because of all the true worship rendered to false gods, and all the false worship rendered to the true God. We become like what we worship, and this is no less true of societies than it is of individuals (Ps. 115).
Confession for Conquerors
March 21, 2023 • Ben Zornes
The saints of God are more than conquerors. The church isn’t just an accountability group to commiserate over our blasted failures. Rather, we’re those who’ve overcome this world, because we’ve laid hold of Christ the triumphant, Christ the overcomer, Christ the King. So when you kneel to confess your sins, you do so as a beloved and forgiven child. When you rise, you remain in the bright glory of God’s favor. So, act like it.
A Poor and Contrite Spirit
February 27, 2023 • Jared Longshore • 1 Corinthians 4:7
One of the temptations that naturally comes with God’s blessing is that of thinking that you got that blessing by your own strength. We imagine that the blessings are just out there for the taking, and, hey, I woke up early, I stayed up late, I used my resources in the right way and that’s how I got where I am.
Measured by the Word
February 24, 2023 • Ben Zornes
If you would grow in godliness, it won’t arise from any other source than Christ Himself. You must be rooted in Christ’s redeeming grace, in order to make any progress in sanctifying grace. As you prepare to look at your own heart, remember to measure by the eyes of faith using the Word, not with some custom made measuring stick of morality.
Celebration is Frontlines Warfare
December 21, 2022 • Ben Zornes
These days leading up to Christmas should be a crescendo of celebration. It shouldn’t be a descent into a legion of carnal indulgence. Whether it be to partake to the point of drunkenness, snap with annoyed anger at your children or spouse, scroll aimlessly down the dark corridors of the Internet, or bemoan some degree of loneliness, you must not invert the celebration of Christ’s Incarnation into an indulgence of the very things which He came to deliver you from.
Grief in a Time of Gladness
December 1, 2022 • Ben Zornes
As I’m sure you’re already aware, the next month will be a sprint of Christmas hullabaloo. The central message of our celebration is that of good news of great joy for all nations: Christ has come. The centrality of joy should be unmistakable. But amidst all the joyful anthems, alongside all the favorite traditions, hiding in the corner of many otherwise joyful hearts is a pang of sorrow. The dull grief of loss is sharpened anew. The memory of past celebrations brings a fresh wave of mourning. The realization comes anew that their laugh will no more be heard, their embrace no more felt, their presence will no longer warm the room.
Look to the Needs of Others
December 1, 2022 • Jared Longshore
We have entered into the Advent season so we are reminded that Christ came. Christ paid attention. He saw our need. Even being equal with God, He took upon Himself the form of a servant in order to deliver us from our trouble. Trust Him and look to the needs of others, knowing that from His fullness we receive grace upon grace.
Kings Must Not Be Lazy
November 15, 2022 • Jared Longshore • Proverbs 12, Proverbs 13
Laziness is the kind of sin that no one really wants to be seen in. There is your sister coming back from the gym, she’s got bread in the oven and morning devotions complete. Across the room, there you are reclined on the couch eating Cheetos, the blue glaze of your phone illuminating your orange-stained lips and fingers as you scroll with the free hand to your fourth cat video. No one wants a snapshot of that scene posted to the internet.