Archive for the Sermon Preview Category
Oct 6
Guest Preacher This Sunday – Michael Lawrence
From time to time, DSC has been blessed to have guest preachers who bring the Word to us on Sunday mornings. This Sunday morning, we will joined by Michael Lawrence, where Michael will be preaching in our services from 1 Kings 10.
We’ve been grateful to host Michael for most of this week, as he’s been one of the speakers for the Simeon Trust Workshop on Biblical Exposition hosted by DSC for many regional pastors.
Some of his written works are his contributions to the 9Marks Journal, Christian History Magazine, Boundless, and Preaching Today.
He’s contributed to books like Why I am a Baptist, edited by Tom Nettles and Russel Moore, and Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor, and It Is Well: Expositions on the Substitutionary Atonement, with co-author Mark Dever.
He has also written Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church, Perspectives on Christian Worship: Five Views, and most recently, Conversion.
Michael comes to us from Portland, Oregon, where he is the Senior Pastor at Hinson Baptist Church. He earned an MDiv at Gordon-Conwell and a PhD from Cambridge University in 2002. Michael is married and has five children.
Hope to see you on Sunday at DSC at either 9AM or 10:45AM!
Dec 13
“Arise, Shine!” New Series for December–January
If you’re reading the Bible, you can’t get away from it: light is everywhere.
The Bible opens with creation when God turns on the lights with the words, “let there be light†(Gen. 1:3). The Bible ends in a world without a sun, “for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb (Rev. 21:23). In between is a story about light and darkness. When God promised a Messiah, he said, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light (Isa. 9:2). Israel walked in darkness instead of the light, but this Messiah would be a “light to the nations†(Isa. 49:6). Speaking of the salvation of his people, Isaiah wrote these climactic words: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you†(Isa. 60:1). And, today, what God did in creation he is doing in our hearts: “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ†(2 Cor. 4:6). Jesus, the light of the world, shines on us and through us to the world (Jn. 8:12; Mt. 5:14).
From December 18 through the month of January we’re going to work through a series of sermons on the biblical theme of light. Ryan and Trent will tag-team on this series. Here’s where we’re going:
- December 18: Genesis 1:3 and 2 Corinthians 4:4–6
- December 24: John 1:4–9
- December 25: Light in the book of Isaiah
- January 1: 2 Corinthians 3:12–18
- January 8: Ephesians 5:8–14
- January 15: 1 John 1:1–10
- January 22: Matthew 5:14–16
- January 29: revelation 21–22
That’s the plan, though we may fiddle with it a bit.
Invite your friends to a service this Christmas season. Remember that we have two services on Christmas Eve—4PM and 6PM. Join us at 6PM if you’re able to free up space at the more heavily attended 4PM service. Then, on Christmas Day, we’re looking forward to one full single service at 10AM.
Jul 2
New Series on Isaiah Starts Sunday
This Sunday we will begin a five-week sermon series through the Book of Isaiah, titled, A Vision of Two Cities. In Isaiah’s vision he sees Jerusalem as it is, in ruins. And he sees, come the end of the book, a new Jerusalem. The question is: how does Jerusalem get that way? Across 66 chapters a portrait of the Messiah emerges.
Come on Sundays with expectation for how God will use his Word among us this July. This book is quoted more than all of the other prophets combined. In getting to know Isaiah’s prophecy we will get to know our Bibles better, and in getting to know our Bibles better we’ll get to know Christ better.
Here’s the series outline so you can read ahead each week:
- July 5: “The God of Unapproachable Holiness” (1-12)
- July 12: “The God of The World and History” (13-27)
- July 19: “The God of Absolute Strength” (28-39)
- July 26: “The God of Redemption through Suffering” (40-55)
- August 2: “The God of A New World and a New Name” (56-66)
What happened to our series through Mark? Each Summer Ryan takes a sabbatical from preaching for a number of weeks, so we’re hitting pause on Mark for now. When Ryan returns on August 9 he pick up where we left off.
Then, once we wrap up Mark, in mid-September we will continue our series through 1 and 2 Samuel, In Search of a King.
Apr 1
Reminders and Readings for Easter Weekend
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
– 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
This Friday evening we will gather to remember the death of Christ and on Sunday morning we will gather to celebrate his glorious resurrection from the dead. Don’t forget to invite someone to our weekend services. Here’s a digital invitation to make that easy.
To help you prepare, here are details and sermon texts for each of this week’s services.
Good Friday, April 3 (6:30 PM)
On Friday evening Ryan will preach from Mark 15:21-39, the account of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Childcare will be provided for children four years and younger.
Easter Sunday, April 5 (7:30, 9:00, and 10:45 AM)
On Easter Sunday Ryan will preach from Mark 16:1-8, the account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
Child care will be available only at the two later services.
A Special Request: If Possible, Please Attend the 7:30 AM Service
Imagine that you come to church once a year and this year a friend from DSC invited you to church. You plan to arrive when service starts. You show up maybe even five minutes early, but you are directed to an overflow room to watch the service on a TV. This is too-bad at a number of levels. But it is preventable if several hundred of our normal attenders attend the 7:30 AM service instead of their regular service.
If you have young children, this may not work, as we don’t provide childcare for this service. Or if you are inviting a friend or family member to join, 7:30 AM may not be the better time. But if it’s a matter of convenience we would ask that you do come early to ensure a seat for our many guests who will attend the later services. Thanks for helping us be hospitable.
Finally, A chronological reading of Passion Week
I know it’s the middle, and not the beginning, of Passion Week, but if you’re still looking for some guidance on where to read to follow the passion narrative, the below might help.
Saturday Arrival in Bethany, Anointed by Mary John 11:55-12:8 Sunday Crowd came to see Jesus John 12:9-11 Monday Triumphal Entry Matthew 21:1-17; Luke 19:39-44 Tuesday Cleansing of Temple, Fig Tree Cursed Mark 11:12-26 Wednesday Temple Controversy, Olivet Discourse Matthew 21:23-25:46 Thursday Last Supper, Betrayal, Trial Before Annas and Caiaphas Luke 22:7-65; John 13:1-38, 18:2-27 Friday Trials; Crucified and Buried Matthew 27:1-60; John 18:28-19:42 Saturday Dead in Tomb Sunday Resurrected Matthew 28:1-15; Luke 24:1-35 – Adapted from Harold W. Hoehner, “Chronology,” Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, p. 120.
Dec 24
A Chart for the Middle of Mark
Tonight we reach the halfway point through the gospel of Mark. Ryan’s sermon will take us from Mark 8:22-33 and will revolve around the question that Jesus asked his disciples in Mark 8:29:
“But who do you say that I am?”
Never did Jesus ask anyone a more important question, and it’s a question for all of us.
Over the next four weeks, we’ll take a break from the gospel of Mark for a short series through the book of Ephesians. But as we take this breather from Mark’s gospel account, pull up and print out this crazy helpful chart. Notice the center of the chart, Mark 8:29. From here, the story takes a turn for the cross. The cost of our salvation for our Savior becomes increasingly clear. So does the cost of discipleship.