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Glenvista Baptist Church

Preacher

Brian Watts

117 sermons

Genesis

Flimsy Leaves cannot hide the Dysfunctionality that comes through Curse and Judgement

by Brian Watts on April 5, 2020

From peace to rivalry, from joy to gloom, from fearlessness to fear, from unity to enmity, from hope to hopelessness, from calm and order, to chaos and anarchy – that describes the scene in the Garden post the Fall. Sin disrupts all that was good. A bondage of corruption that has left the created world in futility and in the pangs and agony of childbirth, awaiting the redemption of the sons of men, and the liberation that comes by Divine Decree and Sovereign Grace alone.Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Genesis

Burying the disgrace of sin under flimsy leaves

by Brian Watts on March 29, 2020

Burying the Disgrace of Sin under Flimsy Leaves until God by His Inner Voice strikes our Inner Conscience.God loved them and they loved God. Also, the man and the woman loved one another. It was a great joy for them to be together.This too was very good. The man and the woman loved their world and their work. The earth was a blessing for them, bringing forth all kinds of good things, and the man and the woman were a blessing for the earth as they joyfully tended it with love and care. During those days, in the beginning, there was peace on earth everywhere, even in the hearts of the first two human beings. Then the man and the woman sinned and there was no longer peace.Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Genesis · John

A Look at the Person and Work of the Second Adam

by Brian Watts on March 22, 2020

In order to have a better comprehension of the contrast the Scriptures paint between the First and the Second Adam, in terms of their works and their persons, and in order for us to understand the extent of our depravity in the First Adam, we need to have a comprehension of the Person and Works of the Second Adam, to understand the greatness of salvation which is found in Christ alone.

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis: The Dialogue of Descent

by Brian Watts on March 15, 2020

At this stage, before the Fall, Adam and Eve had listened only to God. There were no other voices; there were no other influences. Up until this point God has provided everything Adam and Eve had needed and now in the Garden a test of their loyalty to God arises. And their conscious decision to disobey God has disastrous consequences on Adam and Eve, on their relationship with God, on all who will come from their seed and on all of creation. Destruction, disaster and death enter upon the disobedience of the first man and his wife.

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2 Timothy · Phillipians · Psalms

God has not given us a spirit of Fear: A Biblical Response to the First Confirmed Case of the Coronavirus in South Africa

by Brian Watts on March 8, 2020

A tenacious clinging to the Sovereignty of God and a solemn reminder that God has all things under control, never abdicating His throne or His rulership, never neglecting His people, and never once finding Himself in a position where calamity, sin or world affairs catch Him off guard – gives a wonderful sense of peace unto the believer, when circumstances arise that are a possible cause for fear and panic.

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis: God & Man in Genesis (Part 1)

by Brian Watts on February 23, 2020

We commence at chapter 2:4 (of Genesis) today, which introduces a new section of the primaeval history of the world. In six days God formed and then filled the earth, and in Sovereign and Omniscient Wisdom our God leaves the dazzling creation under the rule of Adam and Eve.Our concern for today is particularly to see the display of God and man in the beginning, particularly as we consider God as the Prime-Mover, Man-Maker, Great-Positioner, and Responsibility-Giver in Genesis.

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1 Timothy

Some Final Matters to Consider Pertaining to Biblical Leadership in the Local Church

by Brian Watts on February 16, 2020

We have up until now considered The Nature of the Work of an Elder, The Characteristics of a Man Suitable for the Position of Elder, The Nature of the Work of a Deacon, as well as The Characteristics of a Man Suitable for the Position of Deacon. We conclude this series of teaching by ending off by considering Some Final Matters Pertaining to Biblical Leadership in the Local Church.

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Acts

A Biblical Description of a Man set aside by God to be a Deacon (Part 1)

by Brian Watts on February 2, 2020

As we continue our study on Biblical Church Leadership, having considered The Nature of the Work of an Elder, as well as The Characteristics of a Man Suitable for the Position of Elder, we come now to consider the nature of the work of a Deacon, and then Lord willing in our last exposition, we plan to consider The Characteristics of a Man Suitable for the Position of Deacon.

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1 Peter

A Biblical Description of a Man set aside by God to be an Elder (Part 1)

by Brian Watts on January 19, 2020

Let us consider The Nature of the Work of the Man set aside by God to be an Elder. The Apostle Peter under divine inspiration writes to the church scattered all over Asia Minor as a result of persecution and he instructs her to do first things first and get the essential elements necessary for the functioning of a biblical church in place. Without a proper biblically functioning eldership, a church cannot function the way God has ordained it should.

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Romans

Getting a grip on the Gospel (Part 3)

by Brian Watts on December 22, 2019

In order to be faithful to the Great Commission, we need to understand the Gospel, and once we appreciate the Gospel and the Grace of the Lord Jesus that comes to us as unworthy sinners through the Gospel, there ought to be a desire within us that others would be exposed to that very same grace as we have received.

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Psalms

Our God, our Present Help in Trouble

by Brian Watts on November 10, 2019

Dear friends, it is fair to say that we live in troubling and difficult days. Days such as these can leave the believer disheartened and even questioning the The sovereignty of God at times. I, therefore, believe that it is necessary to give a Biblical response to these matters and I feel that Luther’s hymn and the Psalm of the Sons of Korah, as recorded in Psalm 46, offers the best answers to these struggles.

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Genesis

Sin, Sovereignty and the Providence of God (Part 2)

by Brian Watts on November 3, 2019

This is the second occasion in our expositions of the Book of Genesis that we have moved beyond the Seven Days of Creation and considered some other portions of Scripture also still within Genesis. Our first move beyond chapter 1 was to consider God’s dealings with His servant Jacob and we find ourselves now once again beyond the bounds of chapter 1 considering the life of Joseph.

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Genesis

Sin, Sovereignty and the Providence of God (Part 1)

by Brian Watts on October 27, 2019

Providence and Sin: I want us to consider the Display of God’s Providence and Sovereignty in the lives of His Servants during unexplained times of suffering, and I would like to start off by asking how the providence of God works in the context of man’s sin. Does providence even come into play? Are the two in any way influential upon one another? Or is there no way whatsoever in which the pure and holy providence of a righteous God can be in direct contact with the low, mean and vile sin of man? Now before we even do that, let us first consider what these two big words mean.

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis (Prologue): Day 7 (Part 2)

by Brian Watts on October 20, 2019

We have seen thus far, that the Sabbath Institution or Lord’s Day is a creation ordinance and that from the very beginning, right at the outset of creation, God set aside one day in seven for worship and rest. This, God instituted, for all people everywhere and at all times to observe. And we have also learnt that the first purpose of the Sabbath is given that we may rest.

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Genesis

When God chooses to show His love by striking His People (Part 1)

by Brian Watts on September 29, 2019

The basic presupposition of this passage before us teaches that God will at times strike his servants to demonstrate unto them His great love for them, and so to strip them of all that hinders His work in their lives. Or to use the words of John Piper when he was here in 2010 at the Resolution Conference: “God will break your bones if needs be, to minister to your heart.”

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis (Prologue): Day 6 (Part 2)

by Brian Watts on September 15, 2019

We are still on the Sixth Day of creation, and we come now to the apex of God’s creative works. God had now completed the creation of all the land creatures – and yet there was still one more being, one for whom all the others had been made, that was still outstanding. On Day 6 God created the first human beings, and He made them a man and a woman, and then He crowned them as rulers over all the other creatures that He had already made.

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis (Prologue): Day 6

by Brian Watts on September 1, 2019

From the very dust of the earth, God made all the living creatures that move along the ground. And the Word of the Lord repeats a phrase we have already encountered on day 5, for we are told that they were brought forth “according to their kinds” (v24-25) and within those kinds, they were subdivided into many subcategories.

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis (Prologue): Day 5

by Brian Watts on August 25, 2019

On the fifth day, God created the sea creatures and the flying creatures of the skies, and this corresponds to some extent to the creation of the waters and the formation of the expanse on the second day. The creation of land animals and humans on the sixth day accords with that of the dry land and its productivity on the third day. Amazing to see the pattern God instituted in the events of creation.

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis (Prologue): Day 4

by Brian Watts on August 18, 2019

A journey through the Created Order teaches us that there was darkness and then there was light. It teaches us that there was evening and then there was morning. Thus far three nights and three days have passed and we find ourselves now in the Fourth Day of Creation. On the first day, God made the light and He separated the light from the darkness. The light God made on the first day is very distinct from the light He creates on day 4.

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis (Prologue): Day 3

by Brian Watts on August 4, 2019

We come now to day three and we will see that God continues to give form to the world by the process of differentiation whilst the emphasis begins to shift to the theme of fullness. God by His command progresses the act of creation of the second day and does further work to the waters which He separated on day 2. All this in preparation for man, who will be the crown of His creation, to work on the earth as God’s representative for the glory of God. On day 3 God performs an illustrious miracle by gathering the waters on the earth into one place and creating a dry place upon which man could habitat.

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis (Prologue): Day 2

by Brian Watts on July 28, 2019

Today we will see that God continues His work of creating and separating and naming. For God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse.” (Gen 1:6-7).

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis (Prologue): Day 1

by Brian Watts on July 21, 2019

Without form, void and utterly dark – such was the original condition of the created earth. The earth was a mass of fluid, utterly incapable of sustaining human life. And as the very first acts of creation, the Spirit of God flutters over the face of the deep and vibrates with Divine Energy to life all of creation, bringing order and structure to what was at first chaos. This activity of God changed all that follows thereafter.

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis: Prologue

by Brian Watts on July 14, 2019

Without a thorough knowledge of Genesis 1, we will not comprehend Genesis 1-11. And this is seen as the first major section of Genesis, commonly known as Primeval History. And this Primeval History which is covered in the first eleven chapters, covers the creation of the world, the fall of mankind into sin, and the triumph and progress of sin through to the Flood and the Tower of Babel. This section presents us with foundational truths about mankind and the world.

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis: Overview and Introduction (Part 3)

by Brian Watts on July 7, 2019

Genesis 1:1 (ESV) “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This sublime pronouncement forms the opening words of the Holy Word of God. It is essentially a concise statement of the doctrine of creation, which is the most basic doctrine of our faith. These words lay the foundation not only for everything that follows in the Book of Genesis but particularly also for everything that follows in God’s Word. Therefore it is crucial to state that everything depends on the first verse of Genesis.

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Genesis

The Book of Genesis: Overview and Introduction (Part 2)

by Brian Watts on June 30, 2019

Genesis is a book of beginnings. It tells us of the origin of all things; the beginnings of the human race and all that portrays the display of the Glory of our Immortal All-Powerful God. But Genesis is more than just a book of beginnings. It is the first of sixty-six books that make up the Bible. It is the beginning of the inerrant infallible Word of God and together with all of Scripture it is “16 God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17).

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1 Peter

Baptism: Sign and Seal of the Covenant of Grace

by Brian Watts on June 16, 2019

We come therefore to what we would call one of the MEANS OF GRACE; baptism, which is the Sign and Seal of the Covenant of Grace. This grace of God has established itself in the hearts of the elect, by the Sovereign Power and Will of our Lord and Savior. And our Lord has given to His Church, of His Sovereign Design a Symbol that requires faith and obedience on the part of the elect, as one of the signs and the seals of the Covenant, which God in grace has cut with His people.

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Luke

A Tree and its Fruit

by Brian Watts on May 19, 2019

If the tree is bad, so will its fruit be. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit; so, make the tree good and then its fruit will also be good. That, I believe, calls for further study, and that is what I desire doing with you on this Lord’s Day.

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Exodus

Gospel hope for law-breakers (Part 1)

by Brian Watts on May 5, 2019

We have come to the end of our study on the Ten Commandments. Forty messages in which God by grace has given us His will. His revealed will for mankind laid down in Ten Words on tablets of stone. Grace upon grace, mercy upon mercy, as God withholds from us what we deserve and grants us in abundance what we do not deserve. How good and how kind our God has been!

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Exodus

You shall not covet (Part 3)

by Brian Watts on April 28, 2019

Covetousness is at the heart of the violation of every single one of the commandments including the tenth one. Covetousness is the illicit desire of wanting things we may not have, especially when it belongs to others, and will often entice us into other sins simply to get what we are wanting.

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Isaiah

Nine Truths (Good Friday 2019)

by Brian Watts on April 19, 2019

“Nine Truths – A Summary of the Gospel and the Sacrificial Work of Christ the Savior”.We come together over this weekend as we commemorate and stand still at the great work Christ the King has done in full subjection to the Master Plan and Divine Counsel of the Trinity before the Foundation of the Earth. We come to celebrate our Savior’s victory over Sin, Satan and Death, and we come to worship Him who gave His life that we may have life.

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Exodus

You shall not covet (Part 2)

by Brian Watts on April 14, 2019

Every add on every form of media (whether it be TV, radio, twitter, Facebook, the billboards, or the internet), is intended to entice you to break the Tenth Commandment. The appeal to your senses, the false sense of success it creates, the desire after what we cannot have or may not have, the false perception of glitz and glamour, all this is designed to lure you into the subtleness and pervasiveness of the sin of coveting.

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Exodus

You shall not covet (Part 1)

by Brian Watts on April 7, 2019

How interesting is the contrast from the First Commandment to the last of the Commandments! Think of it – the commandments start with a call to be careful about the way we worship God, by not incorporating any forms of false worship, and it ends with an admonition not to admire the Red Ferrari in your neighbours’ driveway too much.

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Exodus

You shall not bear false witness (Part 2)

by Brian Watts on March 17, 2019

The Apostle Paul presents a helpful summary of the aspects that could be considered as bad talk in 2 Corinthians 12:20. I want to use that list as the basis from which we will attempt this exposition. Hear him state these clearly: “For I fear that perhaps when I come that perhaps there may be quarrelling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.”

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Exodus

You shall not steal (Part 3)

by Brian Watts on February 24, 2019

Now we’ve looked at various aspects and ways in which the Eighth Commandment can be violated. A man may not perhaps be guilty of violating the eighth commandment in terms of its presupposition regarding private property. Perhaps it may even be true that a man has not violated the Eighth Commandment in any obvious manner, yet such a man may be guilty of robbing God and in so doing of violation of the eighth commandment.

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Exodus

You shall not steal (Part 2)

by Brian Watts on February 17, 2019

In our first exposition, we considered the fact that the Eighth Commandment presupposes the right to private property. We also saw that the Eighth Commandment implies the principle of stewardship as a profound reminder that we own nothing, but that everything has been entrusted to us by God as a gracious gift of His love. And then we also saw that the Eighth Commandment explains very clearly why it is wrong to steal. I seek therefore to build upon that today by specifically considering the vast spectrum that is covered by the scope of this command, by asking in which ways it is possible for us to violate the prohibition contained in the Eighth Commandment.

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Exodus

You shall not steal (Part 1)

by Brian Watts on February 10, 2019

We come to a commandment that consists merely of four words – “You shall not steal” – and yet in it we will see that God has a way of packing into the shortest, clearest little phrase so much profound truth in which He draws out of them the depths of the riches with which He has loaded them.Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Exodus

You shall not commit adultery (Part 4)

by Brian Watts on February 3, 2019

One of the key things we need to grasp as we bring this study of the Seventh Commandment to an end this morning is that adultery does not just happen. Adultery is always planned. This, sadly, is not only true amongst unbelievers, but also among believers. The common excuse, “We could not help it!”, is nothing but false. Animals can’t help it. Beasts cannot – for them it just happens – but not for humans. And the moment we start reasoning like this, then as we saw last Lord’s Day, we have become just like beasts in each of our faculties.Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Exodus

You shall not commit adultery (Part 3)

by Brian Watts on January 27, 2019

We live in a sex-crazed society. Lust sweeps past logical reason into all forms of insidious perversion. The list of deviant sexual sins as found in Leviticus 18:1-30 shows us that mankind very quickly distorted God’s gift of sexuality, making sexual lust into an idol that steals the hearts of men away from their God.Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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A call to abide in the Vine (Part 2)

by Brian Watts on January 20, 2019

Bible Text: John 15:5-7 | Preacher: Brian Watts | Series: Morning Services | This is a passage in which our Lord metaphorically likens Himself unto a Vine, yet also simultaneously distinguishes Himself from any ordinary vine, by specifying that He indeed is the “True Vine” (John 15:1). In this parable, Jesus emphasizes the connectedness of the vine to its branches to emphasize certain spiritual truths. May the Lord impress these truths upon our hearts.

Dealing with calamity (Part 11)

by Brian Watts on January 20, 2019

Bible Text: Job | Preacher: Brian Watts | Series: Job – Dealing with calamity | Sunday Evening Bible Study: Job – Dealing with calamity (Part 11)

A call to abide in the Vine (Part 1)

by Brian Watts on January 13, 2019

Bible Text: John 15:5 – 7 | Preacher: Brian Watts | Series: Morning Services | The passage we are to consider this morning is at the heart of our Lord’s Farewell Discourse as found in John 13:31-16:33. It was some of the last things Jesus had to say to His disciples before He returned to be with the Father in Glory. I reckon Jesus knowing that He was soon to depart had some pretty important things to say in this last discourse, and so I thought it well for us to consider something that I believe was very important in our Lord’s mind. Jesus is here having a final meal with His disciples.

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You shall not commit adultery (Part 2)

by Brian Watts on December 9, 2018

Bible Text: Exodus 20:14 | Preacher: Brian Watts | Series: Exodus 20 – The 10 Commandments | Thus far we have defined what adultery is and we have looked at adultery from the perspective that marriage is a covenant. That sets the stage for our further study this morning, and I invite you to come along with me once again, as we look to God for grace and mercy as His Spirit teaches us all things concerning the truth.

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You shall not commit adultery (Part 1)

by Brian Watts on December 2, 2018

Bible Text: Exodus 20:14 | Preacher: Brian Watts | Series: Exodus 20 – The 10 Commandments | We come this morning for the first time to the Seventh Commandment. A commandment containing far-reaching implications. A commandment that speaks to an epidemic that holds our culture in its vicious clutches. A sin that destroys marriages, that ruins children in the covenant family, that disrupts society, yet sadly is largely no longer frowned upon. A sin from God’s perspective; a convenience and a pleasure from mans’.

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“RUTH – From bitter to sweet” A redemptive display of God’s passion for his people.

by Brian Watts on November 26, 2018

Bible Text: Ruth 4:1-22 | Preacher: Brian Watts | Series: Combined evening service | The book of Ruth tells of a young Moabite widow who, out of love for her widowed Israelite mother-in-law, abandoned her own culture, declaring, “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (1:16). Though she was destitute and needing to rely on the kindness of others, Ruth’s disposition and character captured the attention of Boaz, a close relative of her deceased husband. Boaz fulfilled the role of kinsman-redeemer and took Ruth as his wife. Ruth serves as a wonderful example of God’s providential care of His people, and of His willingness to accept Gentiles who seek Him. Ruth was an ancestor of Christ, and that effectively is what this redemptive story points us to.

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The Unpardonable Sin

by Brian Watts on November 26, 2018

Bible Text: Mark 3:28-30 | Preacher: Brian Watts | Series: Exodus 20 – The 10 Commandments | We find ourselves this morning for the second time in one of the most intense recordings in Mark’s Gospel pertaining to opposition arising against Christ in His Ministry. We see in this context how Christ had been reviled by family members and blasphemed by members of the Scribes of the Pharisees. First, they called Him insane and after that, they accused him of being possessed by Satan himself and doing all His “so-called miracles” by the power of the prince of darkness.

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A Build Up to the Unpardonable Sin

by Brian Watts on November 19, 2018

Bible Text: Mark 3:22-27 | Preacher: Brian Watts | Series: Exodus 20 – The 10 Commandments | As we have worked our way through the Sixth Commandment and considered the implications pertaining to murder and how the violation of this command is a breach of God’s Law, I thought it would be helpful to briefly pause our expositions on the Ten Commandments and consider an aspect that I alluded to on numerous occasions during our expositions of the Sixth Commandment. We saw very clearly that murder in all of its forms, whether it be suicide, or euthanasia or abortion or any other form, is a sin that God forgives upon repentance. In other words, murder is not the unpardonable sin. That though, begs the question: what is the unpardonable sin? I feel this is a question we need to answer even in light of the Ten Commandments and I think this is the perfect time to do so. I plan on doing this by spending time in this text for the next two Lord’s Days after which we will Lord willing return to our study of the Ten Commandments.

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You shall not murder (Part 3)

by Brian Watts on November 5, 2018

Bible Text: Exodus 20:13 | Preacher: Brian Watts | Series: Exodus 20 – The 10 Commandments | Our study thus far of the Sixth Commandment has comprised of the following: we have seen clearly that life has sanctity because man was made in the image of God (imago Dei). We have also very clearly seen that murder is wrong for numerous reasons, but that murder goes far deeper than simply meets the eye. Jesus redefines the commandment by pointing that hatred and envy of one’s brother is as good as murder and is a sin that needs to be dealt with ruthlessly by eradicating it from our lives.

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You shall not murder (Part 2)

by Brian Watts on October 29, 2018

Bible Text: Exodus 20:13 | Preacher: Brian Watts | Series: Exodus 20 – The 10 Commandments | Our study thus far of the Sixth Commandment has comprised of the following: we have seen clearly that life has sanctity because man was made in the image of God (imago Dei). We have also very clearly seen that murder is wrong for numerous reasons, but that murder goes far deeper than simply meets the eye. Jesus redefines the commandment by pointing that hatred and envy of one’s brother is as good as murder and is a sin that needs to be dealt with ruthlessly by eradicating it from our lives.

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