LBC Sermons & Messages

Joshua 3

For Pastor Novy’s last sermon at LBC, he read from the book of Joshua. The Israelites were camped on the west bank of the Jordan. They were about to cross over the river, into the promised land — their future. Moses, the leader whom they had followed for over 40 years, was going to lead them any longer. He would not be there with them. God had selected a new man, Joshua, to be their new leader. The people would be entering a new land that they had not known before, behind a man that had not led them before. Faith, rather than comfort, was needed.

When the time came, God commanded that the Ark of the Covenant be carried out before the people and cross the river first. The people were to follow the Ark, keeping 2000 cubits behind. It would not be a movement of a herd. Crossing from the old to the new would be led by the Lord.

The people of LBC now have a new pastor. They, like the Israelites, need to follow him into the new things God has in store for them. Most importantly, they need to keep their eyes on Christ, as HE is the leader of us all.

Pastor Novy thanked everyone for the blessings he’d experienced as an interim pastor at LBC. He and Janet said they would miss us all.

John Little of Baptist Church Planters (the organization which supplied the interim pastors) spoke of the wonderful time it is, when a church which BCP has been helping, is able to “graduate” by calling a full time pastor. He gave words of advice to both Pastor Roe and the congregation.

Thank you, pastor Novy and Janet, for all your time and sacrifice, in helping LBC to grow and stay close to the Lord.

John 10:1-21

In chapter 9 we saw the bully tactics of the religious leaders towards the man whom Jesus had healed and his eventual excommunication by them. In our text, Jesus contrast himself as the good shepherd, seen thru the daily activities of a shepherd. Ezekiel 34 also presents the same contrast.

Verses 1-6, presents the morning activity of the shepherd calling his sheep from the sheepfold, which represents Judaism. Jesus is building his flock. The good shepherd comes with the proper credentials. He came fulfilling scripture and he comes presenting proof as to who he is. He calls his sheep by name from within the sheepfold. We see in the gospel some within Judaism recognized who Jesus was, and then he leads his sheep out of the sheepfold. Jesus is establishing a new order, the church.

In verses 7-10, presents the daily activity of the shepherd of feeding and caring for his flock and Jesus is pictured as a door. Not as a door as we recognize, but in the sense of access. Psalm 23 is a good picture of this section. We see Jesus as the door of salvation (v7-9a). Acts 4:12 states “there is no other name whereby we must be saved”. He is also the door of nourishment in our daily walk, as seen in the phrase “in and out” and he is the door to an abundant life.

Finally in verses 11-18, we see the night time activity of the shepherd as he protects his flock. Notice that the shepherd does not take his sheep back to the fold of Judaism but protects them where he has led them to. The shepherd dies for his sheep and Jesus came to the cross to die for us, to protect us. We see also that he knows his sheep, here we have eternal security. John 17:12 “those that thou gave to me I have kept and none of them is lost”. Then we see the shepherd gathering other sheep. This is a reference to Jesus going to the Gentiles, you and me, and bringing us into his fold, the church.

This section closes (v19-21) with a division concerning who Jesus is? The question to us is this: Is Jesus your shepherd or are you looking elsewhere. Accept Christ today as your Savior.

John 9:13-41

In John 1:4-5 John writes that there will be conflict between darkness and light, between those who are spiritually dead and the revelation of the light of the world. In John 8, Jesus proclaims, “I am the light of the world” and then in John 9, illustrates this thought by healing a man born blind.

In our text we notice two different responses to Jesus as the light of the world. There is opposition by the Pharisees, who thought of themselves as being enlightened, to pressure the man who was born blind into denying his certainty that he had received light (sight). Then in verses 35-38 we see reception to the light of world by the man that was healed. Notice the progression of this man as he comes to a saving faith if Christ. In verse 11 he thought of Jesus as “the man”, and then in verse 17 “as a prophet” and then in verses 35-38 he comes to recognize Jesus as the “son of man’ and worships him as Lord.

John 6:37,44 “all that the Father gives me will come to me and whosoever comes to me I will never cast out … no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. Thru this healing God is drawing people to the light of the world, Jesus. The Pharisee rejects him while the blind accepts him as Lord. John 3:19-21 reveals to us basis for the two types of responses to Jesus as the light of the world.

In John 9:39-41 we see the judgment of the light. If you are without Christ you are lost, you are in darkness. The Lord puts each man through a series of steps to draw them to himself. The person who sits in church and hears the preaching of the gospel is in the presence of the Light. That light reveals your blindness. If you know the facts about Jesus but will not believe then you are spiritually blind and there is nothing else to offer you. If you have been in the presence of Jesus and have rejected him as Savior there is no other Savior to offer you.

Which group are you in?

John 9:1-12

This chapter, bring out the reality of Jesus statement “I am the light of the world”. Blindness was a fairly common occurrence among the people of Jesus’ day. As a result children born blind were pretty much reduced to begging as a way of existence.

Jesus and his disciples come across this man and Jesus determines to show the mighty works of God through him. He makes a mudpack, applies it to the blind man’s eyes and simply tells him to wash in the Pool of Siloam.

What are the (V3-4) “works of God”? The gospel of John is written that we might “believe in him (Jesus) whom (God) has sent” (John 6-28-29) and that we as ambassadors of Christ are to bring the message of reconciliation to others (II Cor 5).

The healing of the blind has Messianic significance. There are a number of Old Testament verses which state the Messiah would do exactly that. (Isa 42:6-7) and with this act Jesus is revealing his identity and that he overcomes the darkness (John 1:4-5).

Physical blindness is used in Scriptures to characterize our spiritual blindness. Acts 28:26 “… you will indeed see but never perceive” and I Cor 2:14 read, “the natural man (unsaved man) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God … because they are spiritually discern”. Some of the effect of our spiritual blindness is unbelief (II Cor 4:3-4) and hardness of heart (Mark 8:17-18).

This blind man parallels our condition as sinners. He was outside the temple, shut out from God – the unsaved man is alienated from God (Eph 2:12). The blind man was blind from birth – we were born in sin. The blind man was beyond human help – we were helpless sinners and no one had a cure. The blind man was a beggar – we had no ability to improve our condition.

Only Jesus Christ can save us. I John 1:5 read, “this is the message … that God is light and in him is no darkness at all”. Our only hope is to repent and believe in him.

Leviticus 23:9-14

We have been studying the offerings and feast given by the Lord to Israel. In review of the Passover season, which lasted for 8 days during the spring of the year. We have seen that the Passover feast was a picture of redemption. A lamb slain on their behalf, was a picture of Christ sacrificial death. The next day was the start of the feast of unleavened bread, which last for 7 days. This was a picture of sanctification, as Christ body was not allowed to see corruption so our lives should lead to sanctification. (Rom 6:19)

The feast of first fruits took place on the days after the start of the feast of unleavened bread. This was the beginning of the harvest of the winter barley crop and it was a guarantee that the rest of the harvest would be realized.

The teaching of this feast to us is that it was a guarantee of the coming resurrection. I Cor 15:20 states “but now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep”. Christ was the first, an ironclad promise that all will be resurrected in the future. There is life after death.

But as in a grain harvest, there are two parts wheat and chaff, so to in the resurrection there will be two parts. Daniel 12:2 reads “and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt”. The question is: to which resurrection will you be in? Christ stated in John 5:24-29 “believe in me [and you] will have eternal life … those who have done evil go to the resurrection of judgment”.

The resurrection is a sure event; the choice you make concerning Jesus Christ will determine which resurrection you will be in.

In conclusion the entire 3 feasts of the Passover season is an illustration of the Gospel. I Cor 15:3-4 “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scripture (Passover feast), that He was buried (Feast of Unleavened bread), that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scripture (Feast of First Fruits)”