Sermons on Abraham and Isaac:

Dispelling The Darkness

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Apr 23, 2015

What we’re trying to do is push back the darkness.

So, Matthew says that, “when Jesus heard that John [the Baptist] had been arrested, he withdrew….” What does that tell us? It tells us – doesn’t it? – that there is a force of darkness at work in this world. And we know what that means, of course. It means there ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:12-23

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Grace Produces

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Apr 23, 2015

You will respond to God's mercies by doing what it is in your nature to do. Grace produces "fruit."

When we first moved into our home – it’s been twenty-five years ago now – but when we first moved in, we had a peach tree growing on the north side of the house. And it produced peaches, hundreds of them! The birds loved it, and the neighbors hated it. The neighbors hated it ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

He Is The One

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Apr 23, 2015

Two things we need most are found in Jesus: real security and deep satisfaction.

King Saul was a major disappointment. As you know, he was the first king of Israel, and he was everything you would want a king to be. When we first meet him in the pages of Scripture, we are told that he was “a handsome young man.” In fact, “there was not a man among the people ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Hurting People

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Apr 23, 2015

Whether you have been hurt or have hurt someone else, you seek reconciliation for the glory of God.

In Paul’s brief correspondence with the Philippians, as he drew his letter to a close, he mentioned an issue of some importance in his mind. There were two women in the church – dear women, women who had “labored side by side” with Paul in the gospel, women “whose ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-26

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Idol Thoughts

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Apr 23, 2015

Let us determine to know God and to worship him, not as some idol devised by our own natural preferences, not as many people configure him to be, but as “the book of nature” and the Holy Book together reveal him to be.

The two passages before us today [Acts 17:22-31 and John 14:15-21] could not be more different from one another. And yet, in some ways, they could not be more similar. In the first one, the one from Acts, we have the Apostle Paul speaking to a group of Gentile skeptics who know nothing of the ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15-21

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Laying It Down

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Apr 27, 2015

Jesus' sheep know their Shepherd's voice, and they are safe.

WHEN I WAS A KID, I loved to go to my grandmother’s house. One of the things I remember about that house was a picture on the wall over the bed where I slept. It was a picture of Jesus. There’s a good chance you’ve seen it, or one like it. It shows the full stature of our Lord. ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-21

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Location. Location. Location.

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Apr 28, 2015

Each of us is either “in Adam” or “in Christ.” That is why I have called my sermon Location. Location. Location. Where you are – what your location is – makes all the difference in the world, and, more than that, it makes all the difference in eternity.

James Montgomery Boice says that this is “possibly the most difficult [passage] in the Bible.” Great! Right? One thing’s for sure: Paul’s argument in these verses is dense and tight. One commentator begins by defining some of the terms in the text in hopes that that will ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:12-19

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Nike Factor

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Apr 28, 2015

In all his obedience Jesus was standing in for us, doing for us what we could never do for ourselves.

“Just do it.” That’s the way Nike hopes to motivate us to “get back to sport,” as they put it, to get back in the game. “Just do it,” they tell us, and, of course, they also tell us: the best way to “do it” is to use their shoes and their gear. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:9-21

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Never Forgotten

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on May 11, 2015

As a mother never forgets her child, so our Father never forgets His children.

WHEN I WAS A KID – I mean, a really little kid – my mother had to ride a bus to work every day. But first, she had to drop me off at the sitter’s, which means that I rode on the bus part of the way with her. It was always early in the morning. Ordinarily, the sun wasn’t ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 49:13-18

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Gift

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 1, 2015

What God gives in love, we receive by faith, so that we may live in hope.

ONE OF THE PROBLEMS with religion is: You can believe all the right things – that is, you can be orthodox in your faith – but it can be a dead orthodoxy. You know what I mean? It can appear lifeless, certainly not vital and contagious. Same thing with our conduct. We may behave ...read more

Scripture: John 3:1-16

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Word On The Street

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 2, 2015

Our true vocation in life is to bear witness to the light, to reflect the glory of God, to mirror His majesty, to glorify Him.

Jesus is called many things in Scripture. In the Gospel of John alone, he is called the Lamb of God, the light of the world, the bread of life, the gate of the sheep. He is even called a Vine. But here in chapter 1 he is called “the Word.” And there’s a reason for that. In Jesus, ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-18

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Soil Samples

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 2, 2015

There’s a condition of the heart that is necessary if the Word of God is to have a lasting effect on any of us.

This little parable of Jesus got me thinking about taking soil samples. You know, with all its talk about different kinds of soil. So, what I did is: I logged on to YouTube and did a search. And, sure enough, there was a video on how to do it, how to take a soil sample. As you might guess, as ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-9

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Jealous For The Name

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on May 29, 2018

Jesus teaches to long for the name of God to be held in esteem.

I THINK I MUST HAVE BEEN in the fourth or fifth grade, and I’d come into the proud ownership of a brand new baseball. I mean, it was the real deal. The core was firm, the skin was tight, the threads were prominent and taut. It even had the word “Official” on it. It was a gem. So I got up a game ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:13-16

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Thy Will Be Done Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 9, 2018

When we pray, "Thy will be done," we are committing ourselves to desire, discover, and do the will of God with grateful hearts.

Warren Wiersbe says that, from time to time, he has counseled with people who were actually afraid of the will of God. They were terrified at the thought of surrendering themselves completely to him. The idea disturbed them because they had concluded that the will of God was something painful and ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:9-14

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Whose Story Is It?

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 9, 2018

Are the star of your own story with God playing a supporting role, or are you in a story that’s bigger than you, with God in the lead and you in the supporting role?

Bill Clem opens his book, Disciple, with two scenarios. One has to do with a couple of guys who are theater majors in college, and they grow impatient with all the hoops they have to jump through to finish their degree. They just want to be producing plays and directing and acting in them. So, one ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed