“ About Faith ” What is a faith that pleases God? Dodson refers to Hebrews 11, “The Hall of Faith” & many other Scriptures, particularly Genesis 47:27-31. Jerry uses Scripture to show us that a faith that pleases God claims His promises, puts trust in His Word, worships, and is certain of Jesus Christ as our Savior. Faith that pleases God is obedient (not to earn salvation, but to enjoy it). Dodson refers us to Mark 9 (verse 24) if we lack faith, and ends the sermon with “A faith that pleases God gives us the strength for today, trust for tomorrow, the certainty of eternity, & allows us to live with joy and to die with anticipation.”
“ 2 Wills ” Many people who are not Presbyterians wonder about our view of the will of God. Since we believe in the sovereignty of God unto election, which is an unacceptable concept to many, it is perceived sometimes that we view ourselves as God’s puppets with no personal exercise of will. It is not this. It is our understanding of the wills of God. We believe in God‘s will of decree (ex.; Acts 2:23, Eph. 1:7-11, John 10:27-29, Phil. 1:6, Rom. 8:31-39) & God‘s will of precept (ex.: 10 Commandments, Matt. 7:21). God‘s will of decree allows no interference; it will be done. God‘s will of precept allows us to know what He would have us do & is actually open to our interference. We can make bad choices. Even so, He is working everything together for the good of those who love Him & are called according to His purpose. God’s will of decree isn’t always ours to know, but His will of precept is. In addition to the wills of God, in this fascinating sermon Jerry Dodson explains federal headship, comparing the 1st Adam to the last, & skillfully explains the reason for the fall, sin, & suffering. This is one of many brilliant sermons written & delivered as only Jerry could. I am so thankful for the time we had with him on this earth & look forward to seeing him again in heaven.
“ Great Sermon! ” This sermon covers the meaning of John 3:1–8. Jerry stresses that rebirth is a God thing that cannot be ginned up by man. The Father elects, the Son redeems, the Holy Spirit regenerates. Jerry explains beautifully how election is not an unfair concept by any means. God owes us wrath and that is all. The wages of sin is death and all fall short of the glory of God, but the GIFT of God is salvation through Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:23) God is both just and the Justifier. That any are saved is far more than any person is ever owed. God is SO good!
“ Truthing ” In this sermon Jerry Dodson points us to Scripture (Eph. 4:8, 11-13, 15-16; Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Corinth. 12:1-11, Matthew 25:14-30, Romans 12:1-2,6; Hebrews 2:17, etc.) that informs us of the existence of our spiritual gifts & charges us with the duty to develop & share them in our service to others. Why? 1. Doing God's work on earth & 2. Building up the church (with a focus on maturation & not numbers). He says, "It is better to lead 50 strong & healthy sheep than 500 weak & wobbly ones," because "when the storms come, the happy clappy songs & little videos that you saw at church are not going to cut it." He goes on to say, "It's only a deep, abiding assurance & understanding of the truth of Scripture that will sustain us. It's only knowing that: there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus AND those whom He foreknew He also justified & those whom He justified He also glorified AND God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him & are called according to His purpose AND the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases." This is the truth that nourishes us keeps us alive. We must live lives of truth, making our lives a living sacrifice, for this is true worship. Know your gifts &, like Jesus, use them to serve others.
“ In Death, LIFE! ” In this sermon Dodson preaches “everyman’s” funeral. It is a proper treatment of the subject of death and Christian mourning. Jesus wept. Joseph mourned, David mourned…it is ok to mourn, but don’t stay there. We don’t have to get over it, but we must get on with it. Jerry references Scripture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Job 19:25-7, Genesis 50:1, Psalm 23 & 46:1-3, Hebrews 5:7–8, 2 Samuel 12, Romans 6:4–10, etc.) and shares points from Elizabeth Elliot’s book: Facing the Death of Someone You Love. She advises 5 things in response to the loss of a loved one: {1} Rest in the knowledge of Who God Is (how He has demonstrated His love for us & what He has promised). {2} Know that God is with you. {3} Refuse self-pity (He never promised us a rose garden. On earth Jesus’ life was hard. Why do we think ours shouldn’t be?) {4} Let loneliness drive you into the arms of God. {5} You don’t have to get over it, but you must get on with it (the business of living and the purpose God has for your continuing life). Finally, Dodson reminds us that Jesus chose to die the death we should have died and, because of that, when we die, we will live the life that is His to give. Therefore Christians are a people who mourn—but with hope! AMEN.
“ The Tesserae of Holiness ” Time and again our Father God tells us to be holy because He is holy. In this sermon Dodson tells us that we are tesserae in God’s mosaic & reminds us that obedience is worship (Romans 12:1). We are comforted to know that God’s grace proceeds His commands; we can be obedient through the power of God. He has set us apart for His holy purpose, for Himself.
Dodson gives us an awesome boil down, a yardstick for obedient living: Matthew 22:36–39 and Galatians 5:22–23. If we love God and our neighbor, and the Holy Spirit is producing His fruit in our lives, we can know that we are living holy lives. While the ceremonial law is no longer in effect, the moral law is. Our obedience is not salvific, but it is still meaningful to God and to a watching world that needs Him and needs to see Him in our holy (obedient) and loving behavior. After all, we used to walk in darkness…but God! (Ephesians 2) Now we are called to be salt and light. We are called to be holy.
“ The Sermon Beautiful ” This sermon from Jerry Dodson is packed. Get your pen ready to write! He reviews Scripture such as 1 Peter 2:7-12, Colossians 1:13-14, Ephesians 1:3–6, 2 Corinthians 6:15-16, John 17:14- 16, Jeremiah 17:9, first Peter 4:1-5, 1 John 1:9, Romans 8:1, Matthew 5:16, etc. to illustrate this truth: we cannot simultaneously declare God‘s Excellencies and live lives of unrepentant and unforsaken sin. Being part of God’s kingdom means transformation. We are to be children of light and life, living obedient lives which develops the fruit of the Spirit. Sin starts in the heart and manifests in the hands, but we are called to pursue the kingdom, no longer intentionally seeking sin. We are called to be salt and light, to live a life full of obedience to God that the resulting spiritual fruit may be seen by others and draw them to our Father, to live the life beautiful.
“ Who doesn’t love Love? ” “The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, oh God.” Psalm 51:17
“If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
God knows our hearts and minds. (Luke 7:36-50). There is no use trying to hide. Why would we? For His own sake, He desires to forgive us. (Isaiah 43:25) And He forgives big sins and many sins (Luke 7:47). He WANTS to. He loves us with infinite strength, and who doesn’t love being loved? (1 John 4:19)
His love produces gestures of love for Him expressed through obedience. This is why Jerry says, “Obedience is not what the Gospel demands, it’s what the Gospel produces.”
Amen.
“ The Relationship ” And yet another wonderful sermon, Jerry asks how we can hope to obey God if we cannot keep God’s law perfectly; he reminds us that we don’t obey God to earn or keep our salvation but to express of our love for Him. Jerry makes the profound statement that the relationship takes care of the rules and that it’s less about ”having” to obey and more about “getting” to obey, getting to experience the pleasure of expressing love for the One we love, the One Who loved us first, gave up His own son for us, and gives us everything else. It was Jesus that took upon Himself the sins that were ours that we might receive the righteousness that was His; if you can trust God for your salvation, you can trust Him for and in everything else. God causes ALL things to work together for the good of those that love Him and are called according to HIS PURPOSE for them. (Romans 8:28) Obey Him, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, because you love Him. And love Him because you “get” to.
“ Solid Ground ” I am glad that God seeks His glory above all else. It means there is none higher. It means He is qualified to do all He has promised and will not fail because that would diminish His glory—a thing He will not allow.
In the puzzle of life I only see light bits and dark bits. I know God has the “box lid” as Jerry says in this sermon; I know God sees the whole picture. I still find it hard to derive practical comfort from knowing He has a plan for me, but it makes hope glimmer, and it sure is better than no hope at all.
It hurts to get hammered by God; the sanctification process is BRUTAL. But Jesus knows this, felt this, is with us in our loneliness, and continues, I think, to advocate for us. Hebrews 4:15-16 says “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
From this sermon: “Paths of righteousness are not necessarily through the rose garden or the shady meadows.”
Oh, God, please help us.
“ Great Sermon! ” One cannot hear this sermon and walk away without understanding the concepts of objective and subjective truth and righteousness. As always, Jerry breaks it down “Barney style,” much to my appreciation. The bottom line is that we should respond to Jesus’ great sacrifices on our behalf with obedience for our good and His glory, and we are reassured that “beforehand” God has prepared good works for us and we should do them. (Eph. 2:8-10) I appreciated Jerry’s acknowledgment that we are in complete, moment-by-moment, daily dependency on God to empower us to obey and understand that we are yet called to determine to live lives of righteousness. (Romans 6:12-13, Titus 2:11-12) It is hard for me to grasp the value of “eternal rewards.” But the loss of peace and joy here and now is crystal clear. And the sufferings of our innocent LORD should definitely elicit a response from us as His people. And still it isn’t easy. But what good food this sermon is. I will think of it and live in dependency on the power of God that I might not neglect my responsibility.
“ Great Sermon! ” This was one of the most fantastic sermons I have heard yet! This really was very profound: It's not God who needs to be reconciled to
us, but it is us who desperately needs to be
reconciled to Him. And, in our unbelieving
state we have neither the desire nor the ability
to do so. We are dead in our tresspasses and
sins, walking according to the course of this
world, by nature we are children of wrath,
without hope unless and until our Saviour Jesus
gives us hearts of flesh from hearts
of stone. We stand speechless before Him without
defense or excuse recognizing our helpless state
and the justice that should be ours and the grace
we can never earn. Thus it was that Jesus was sent
into this world to take on human flesh and blood
and live a life of perfect and active obedience
for us and then exchanging our sin for His righteousness
on the cross experiencing the torments of hell there.
Dying the death that we should have died, rising
again for our justification. God sent His son to
preserve our lives for eternity. Our sin and our
guilt...there ours to acknowledge, there ours to
confess, there ours to repent of, but once we do..
we can joyfully come into the presence of Savior
who calls us to these words found in Matthew 11:28-30. OUTSTANDING!!!!
“ Great Sermon! ” THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS! I never understood, "the means of grace" when people would talk of this because to me it was always simply symbolic. Now I get it,
“ Great Sermon! ” OUTSTANDING! SIMPLY OUTSTANDING. I really liked where you said, "“We can trust God in spite of our circumstances if we focus on the character of God and not our circumstances." You are a blessing, I can't tell you this enough!
“ Great Sermon! ” Another fantastic sermon! Your timing, once again is truly amazing. I just loved this..""We know we are being conformed to the image of Christ but we don’t know the details and we don’t know the timetable. But, when the water is rough and the way is dark we simply have to trust and obey. We have to do the revealed will of God while believing the hidden will of God is working all things for our good" I truly enjoy getting the opportunity to listening to these weekly. God is surly using you to bless me. Thank you!
“ Great Sermon! ” I have to say, this was one of the best and easiest sermons on this that I have listened too. One of the points that really stuck out to me were if you want to be great in Gods kingdom--you have to be a servant to all. Also, God promises blessings for obedience and discipline for disobedience yet their is always mercy...God is faithful in both. We obey not to ear salvation but to enjoy it. God works His will in His time. SDG. Fantastic message. I was very blessed.
5/1/2022 11:50 AM
