Dr. J. I. Packer had to say about Amazing Grace: "Yet we in our day, much as we love to sing Amazing Grace (I suppose because we like the tune), are not inwardly amazed by grace as the Puritans were; it does not startle us that the holy Creator should receive sinners into his company; rather, we take it for granted! 'God will forgive. That's his job!' was the final scoff with which the French cynic went to meet his Maker."
Here are 2 more sermons on the life of John Newton: Life of John Newton, Part 1 and Part 2, by Rev. Iain Murray
John Newton was involved in the slave trade before he became a Christian. After his conversion, he became a pastor. Here is a message about one of the members of John Newton's congregation, a man who would lead the way to banning the slave trade in England:
The text for this sermon is Ephesians 4:8-10: "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)"
"Does saving faith require a trust in the righteousness of Christ alone as the grounds of our justification? Or may a person have a different view of the gospel and still be a Christian?"
"The Reformation was waged, not over the issue of justification by faith, but over the issue of justification by faith alone. It was the Sola of Sola Fide that was the central point of dispute."
" Agreement between Rome and Evangelicals can be reached in several ways. One is for Evangelicals to abandon their historic position of Sola Fide. A second is for Rome to adopt Sola Fide as its official doctrine. The third is for agreement to be reached that Sola Fide is not essential to the gospel."
How to Benefit from a Funeral, by Dr. David P. Murray: The text for this sermon is Ecclesiastes 7:2 &3: "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better."
The text for this sermon is Isaiah 14:9-11: "Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee."
The text for this sermon is Isaiah 14:9-11: "Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee."
Here is a short quote from this sermon by Jonathan Edwards:
"It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God for one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long forever, a boundless duration before you which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your souls, and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverances, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all; and you will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions and millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this Almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that it is all but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite."
Michael Burry saw the financial meltdown of 2008 coming. The book The Big Short tells the story. The following quotes are from The Big Short, which told the story of the financial meltdown in 2008 and who profited from it:
“Being short in 2007 and making money from it was fun, because we were short bad guys. In 2008 it was the entire financial system that was at risk. We were still short, but you don’t want the system to crash. It's sort of like the flood’s about to happen, and you’re Noah. You’re on the ark, ya, you’re okay, but you’re not happy looking out at the flood. That’s not a happy moment for Noah.”
Second quote:
“In early October 2008 after the U.S. government had stepped in to say it would...absorb all the losses in the financial system and prevent any big Wall Street firm from failing.”
Third quote:
“Maybe the best definition of investing is gambling with the odds in your favor. The people on the short side of the subprime mortgage market had gambled with the odds in their favor. The people on the other side – the entire financial system, essentially – had gambled with the odds against them. What’s strange and complicated about it is that pretty much all the important people on both sides left the table rich.”
And the last quote:
“The world’s most highly paid financiers had been totally discredited; without government intervention, every single one of them would have lost his job. And yet those same financiers were using the government to enrich themselves. I can understand why Goldman Sachs would want to be included in the conversation about what to do about Wall Street. What I can’t understand is why anyone would listen to them”
The text for this sermon is Jeremiah 9:9: "Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"
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In another sermon Dr. Beeke quotes a Puritan as saying that if our biggest problem is not our indwelling sin, it might be a sign we are not even saved."
The following quotes are from Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard's book, Killing the Rising Sun:
"In the blast that follows, a fireball spreads out over the target zone. It travels at one hundred times the speed of sound, rendering it silent. One-millionth of a second later, the people of Hiroshima began to incinerate."
"But Enola Gay is safe. All twelve men on board are alive. In six hours they will celebrate with whiskey and lemonade and spend the night far from the hell they have just created."
"The next day the chilling results of what the young officer saw from the air are reported on Japanese radio: 'Practically all living things, human and animal, were literally seared to death."
"[President] Truman's face lights up. 'This is the greatest thing in history...'"
"'Thank God for the atomic bomb' is a common refrain among American soldiers and sailors, who have been dreading the blood-bath sure to come if American troops invade the beaches of Japan. To many of them, the bombing of civilians is not an issue - it's payback for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor."
"Oppenheimer soon leaves the stage, but not before bringing the house down with his final comment: 'My only regret is that we didn't develop the bomb in time to use it against the Germans.'"
"Does saving faith require a trust in the righteousness of Christ alone as the grounds of our justification? Or may a person have a different view of the gospel and still be a Christian?"
"The Reformation was waged, not over the issue of justification by faith, but over the issue of justification by faith alone. It was the Sola of Sola Fide that was the central point of dispute."
" Agreement between Rome and Evangelicals can be reached in several ways. One is for Evangelicals to abandon their historic position of Sola Fide. A second is for Rome to adopt Sola Fide as its official doctrine. The third is for agreement to be reached that Sola Fide is not essential to the gospel."
The text for this sermon is Romans 2:28 & 29: "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."
The Bible also says: "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved..." - Romans 11:25,26a
(To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song.) "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him. - Psalm 67
Note: This daily sermon for the hearing impaired is dedicated to my good friend, David J. Bishop, who went home to be with his Lord Jesus on July 1, 2021. David was the inspiration for me to begin posting links to sermons for the hearing impaired. David's not deaf anymore. And the first words he heard were from our Lord Jesus, saying to him, "Well done, David, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of thy Lord!" [Matthew 25:21]
Here is one of the last pictures David sent to me before he died. He was a big sports fan and LOVED the Seattle Seahawks! He was also a BIG baseball fan. I'm sure if David had been able to hear he would have loved the song, Take Me Out to the Ball Game! But David loved our Lord Jesus much, much, much more than any sporting event! Oh, here is a video of Take Me Out to the Ball Game in American Sign Language! (ASL)