Sermons by Jeff Cottone (Page 32)
Spirit vs. Flesh – Galatians 3:1-14
Paul continues to show the Galatians the folly in turning away from the Gospel, by showing them three things they lose when they turn from seeking their justification by faith in Christ to seeking it through their own works: 1) Faith, not works, brought the Spirit of God to them; 2) Faith, not works, brought them into the family of God; 3) Faith, not works, brings the blessing of God. The law leaves us in the weakness of our own…
Faith vs. Works – Galatians 2:15-20
“There are two undeniable facts of Scripture: the first is that God is righteous. The second is that we are not… something is wrong between us and God” (John Stott). The ultimate question, then, is: what is the solution to the problem that exists between us and God? This passage compares the wrong, but common attempt to solve the problem, with the way of the gospel. The glory of the gospel is that God justifies by his grace sinners who put their faith in Christ.
Paul vs. Peter – Galatians 2:11-14
Paul confronts Peter because Peter is acting hypocritically. He was not acting in line with the gospel, by treating Gentile Christians as not fully accepted by God through faith. The gospel reminds us that there is no “1st-Class Christian” and “2nd-Class Christian”, but we are all one in Christ – fully accepted by God and equal in our status before him, not because of anything we do or anything we are, but only because of the righteousness of Jesus, credited to us…
Paul’s Call & Commission – Galations 1:11 – 2:10
On the Road to Damascus, Paul met Jesus, and learned about grace. “Paul was fighting against God. He neither deserved mercy, nor asked for it. Yet mercy found him” (John Stott). If God’s mercy could find Paul when he was Saul, then it can find any of us. In this section of Galatians, Paul tells his story – his own conversion to Christ, and his commission from Christ to preach the gospel.
No Other Gospel – Galatians 1:1-10
It’s easy to slip into a “Jesus plus” way of thinking and living: believing that there is something I bring to the table that makes me right with God and earns his favor. We as sinners have a gospel-aversion. The gospel tells us that our right standing before God is a free, undeserved gift that we can only receive, never earn. In Galatians, Paul is calling us back to the gospel of grace.
The King – Psalm 2
Psalm 2 is divided into 3 parts: 1) The world’s attitude towards God (vv 1-3); 2) God’s response (vv 4-9); and 3) The King’s invitation (vv 10-12). This psalm describes humanities rebellion against God, in trying to reject him as God and live as their own gods. It is in this context that we see the grace of God towards sinners, who died for us when we were his enemies, in order to reconcile us to himself and make us…
Two Ways – Psalm 1
There are only two ways to live – the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked. We are either orienting our lives towards God, or away from him. These two ways are described in the Psalm as having 1) two influences (vv 1-2), 2) two effects (vv 3-4), and 3) two outcomes (vv 5-6). A life lived for God is influenced by his Word, is fruitful, and finds ultimate refuge in him.
Jesus & Peter – John 21
In the epilogue to John’s gospel, we see Jesus’ interaction with Peter, which teaches us 3 things: 1) the ultimate question for the Christian is, “Do you love Jesus?”; 2) Love for Christ manifests itself in love for his people; 3) We too can be restored to Jesus by his grace when we falter and fail.
Jesus & the Witnesses – John 20
The fact of Jesus’ resurrection was central and pivotal to the earliest Christians. They, and all Christians after them, believe that Jesus’ resurrection is not just a myth or inspiring story, but a fact of history. In this climactic chapter of John’s gospel, we see Jesus’ resurrection appearances to the first witnesses of it. We see 1) eye-witnesses, 2) unsuspecting witnesses, 3) overcome witnesses, 4) sent witnesses, and 5) ear-witnesses.
Jesus & the Cross – John 19:17-30
The crucifixion of Jesus is a central aspect of the Christian faith. Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross for their sins. In John’s account of the crucifixion, we see 1) The Glory of the Cross, 2) The Suffering of the Cross, 3) The Finality of the Cross, 4) The Love of the Cross, and 5) The Grace of the Cross.
Jesus & Pilate – John 18:28-19:16
In this passage, Jesus is handed over to Pilate for questioning and his trial before the Roman authorities. We see 1) The Hypocrisy & Hardness of the Religious Leaders, 2) The Weakness of the Strong, and 3) The Strength of the Weak.
Jesus & the Denier – John 13:36-38, 18:15-27
Most of us can see ourselves in Peter’s denial of Jesus – perhaps more than we’d like to admit. But, we can learn from Peter’s story – finding both warning and hope in it. In Peter’s story we are warned of the danger of spiritual pride, and we are warned of the danger of the “fear of man”. But, Peter’s denial isn’t the end of his story: it displays the hope of forgiveness and the hope of transformation, both of…