Sermons on Isaac Watt:

Advancing The Gospel Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 23, 2015

Can we look at this or that circumstance in our lives and say, “As bad as my situation is, I can see a way to press it into the service of the gospel. I can bear witness to Christ even in the midst of this”?

Patsy Bonner shared with our Friday Bible study group a spoof news story that had been sent to her recently. The dateline is ostensibly Dallas, and the brief that follows says: Dallas Cowboys football practice was delayed nearly two hours today after a player reported finding an unknown white ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:12-26

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Embodying The Gospel Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 23, 2015

Living in a manner that is worthy of the gospel has three conditions.

If you don’t mind, let’s go back to the beginning of this passage. We read there – in chapter 1, verse 27 – that we are to live our lives “in a manner [that is] worthy of the gospel.” This is a simple but urgent appeal to us, and if we are to respond to it, if ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Looking Out For Number One Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 23, 2015

Jesus Christ deserves to be your Number One.

Paul, you will remember, writes these words from a Roman jail. And he is not there for committing a crime; he is there for his commitment to Christ. But, even though he is in Rome, he is concerned about his friends in Philippi, some eight hundred miles away. They are concerned about him, too. In ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:19-30

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Greatest Gain Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 23, 2015

Whatever advantage you think you have, consider it a loss, so that you may know Christ and be found in him.

Tim Keller has said that there are three ways to live. One is the way of the rebellious. The second is the way of the religious. And the third is the way of the redeemed. You can see all three of these played out in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, a story that Jesus told about two brothers. One ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:1-11

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Running In A Standing Position Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 23, 2015

Consider three moves of grace. Our record is cleared of sin. Our lives are conformed to Christ. And our destiny is sealed by God.

There are three great moves that God makes on your behalf – three initiatives of grace that have to do with securing and insuring your salvation. They are, first, justification, second, sanctification, and, third, glorification. In his mercy, God justifies you – that is, he pronounces ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Mind Your Thoughts Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 23, 2015

When you "mind your thoughts," you don't have anything to worry about.

Next Sunday is Stewardship Commitment Sunday. You and I recently received pledge cards from our Finance and Stewardship Committee, and they are asking us to make a commitment about what we will give in the year 2015. There will be a time set aside in next Sunday’s service for those of us who ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:4-9

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

An Acceptable Sacrifice Series

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 23, 2015

If you give out of love for God, you will get what you desire most. You will get God's riches in Christ.

I once missed a great blessing. I was part of a student organization in college, and we were having a clothing drive. Our leader encouraged us to donate an article or two of clothing, but, when he did, he said, “Don’t give away something you won’t miss. Give something you really ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:10-20

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Comeback

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 26, 2015

God makes our desert a garden; He turns our exile into homecoming.

MY MOTHER DIED when I was twenty-six. She was only fifty-seven. A few years before her death, she was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx. She fought it bravely, but, in time, it overtook her, and all too soon, by our accounts, she died. We had a service led by an Air Force chaplain at a local ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

With His Coming

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 30, 2015

Jesus became vulnerable so that we might become victorious. He put himself in harm's way to drive all harm away from us.

THERE’S A STORY in the Bible about King Jehoshaphat and how, one day, he was given some distressing news. Messengers came, and they told him that the massive armies of three – not one or two, but three – nations were coming against him. “A great multitude,” they ...read more

Scripture: Mark 11:1-11

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Easter Reservations

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Apr 9, 2015

Our risen Lord thrusts us into a future we’d never choose but we’d hate to lose.

THE FAMILY I GREW UP IN was highly conflicted. You would think that, for all the fighting we did, we would have gotten good at it – or, at least, that we would have seen something constructive come out of it. But the incessant bickering never seemed to bring about change; we just grew ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:1-20

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Table And Spiritual Growth

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 2, 2011

Christ is really present at the Table, and this Real Presence infuses us with his power, so that we may become what he calls us to be.

First Presbyterian Church Wichita Falls, Texas June 5, 2011 THE TABLE AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH Isaac Butterworth John 6:53-59 (NIV) 53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh ...read more

Scripture: John 6:53-59

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

You're Speaking My Language

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 10, 2011

When the gospel is preached – if there is going to be a harvest – it is vital that people understand what is being said.

First Presbyterian Church Wichita Falls, Texas June 12, 2011 YOU’RE SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE Isaac Butterworth Acts 2:1-12 (NIV) 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-12

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

On Board With God

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 14, 2011

A sermon preached at the memorial service for the Honorable Graham B. Purcell, Jr.

First Presbyterian Church Wichita Falls, Texas June 14, 2011 Witness to the Resurrection Graham B. Purcell, Jr. (May 5, 1919 - June 11, 2011) ON BOARD WITH GOD Isaac Butterworth Matthew 5:1-12 (ESV) 1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Great Announcment

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 17, 2011

If you yield to Christ your meager realm – if you fly the white flag of surrender over the dominion of your heart – your life will become yours in a way you never dreamed.

First Presbyterian Church Wichita Falls, Texas June 19, 2011 THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT Isaac Butterworth Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV) 16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Getting Past The Offense Of The Gospel

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 24, 2011

In God's kindness, we see the light that exposes our sin not as some glaring, off-putting intrusion but as the grace and mercy that it is.

First Presbyterian Church Wichita Falls, Texas June 26, 2011 GETTING PAST THE OFFENSE OF THE GOSPEL Matthew 10:40-42 (NIV) 40 “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:40-42

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed