October 27, 2024

I Will Build My Church Part 3 – Matthew 16:18-20

I Will Build My Church Part 3

Matthew 16:18-20

Over the past few weeks, we have been studying together from what I believe is one of the most important passages in the Gospel of Matthew. And we have been focusing on the key phrase in this passage where Jesus states, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). We have already looked at …

1. The Church’s Foundation

Jesus tells Peter that He would build His church on “this rock”. Peter had just confessed the truth about Jesus—the truth that God the Father had revealed to him—saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16). Jesus Christ Himself is the church’s foundation. The apostle Paul affirmed, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:11). As the representative of the apostles, Peter was foundational in the sense that God revealed His truth to the apostles, and they believed, confessed, proclaimed, and recorded that gospel truth about Jesus Christ. So Paul would write to the Ephesians of the church “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20). To be a member of Christ’s true church, like Peter, you must believe and confess Jesus Christ.

Then we saw …

2. The Church’s Builder

Jesus said, “I will build My church.” Jesus is the builder and the owner of His church. Like Peter and the rest of the apostles, we have the privilege of being used by Christ in the building of His church. There is no more important work than this.

Then we saw …

3. The Church’s Victory

Jesus says that He will build His church, “…and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Even death cannot prevent Christ’s work of building His church. The gates of Hades shall not prevail against His church. Speaking about Christ’s victory over death, the apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:57-58).

Finally, today we see …

4. The Church’s Authority

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Richard Sipes / Sermons / Church, Evangelism, Gospel, Matthew / 2

October 20, 2024

I Will Build My Church Part 2 – Matthew 16:18-20

I Will Build My Church Part 2

Matthew 16:18-20

In our verse-by-verse study of the Gospel of Matthew, we have come to a passage at the very heart of Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew 16 is the hinge on which the Gospel turns. Everything that comes before in the first part of Matthew leads up to it and what comes after has its basis in it.

In Matthew 16:13, Jesus took His disciples away from the Jewish crowds in Galilee and Judea to a mostly Gentile area around Caesarea Philippi. There, He gave His disciples their midterm exam. First, He asked them, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (Matt. 16:13). They answered that the people generally thought that Jesus was one of the prophets who was possibly come back from the dead.

Then Jesus asked the most important question. He specifically addressed the disciples themselves, and asked, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). Simon Peter, speaking for the group, confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16). First, he affirmed that Jesus is the “Christ,” the promised Anointed One, the prophesied Messiah-King who would save His people and reign over them forever. Even more, he confessed that Jesus is “the Son of the living God,” meaning Jesus Christ is of the very nature and essence of God.

Jesus then responded to this confession by telling Simon Peter that he was blessed, “for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt 16:17). Simon did not figure this out on his own or learn it from others. He confessed the truth about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, because the Father revealed that truth to him.

Then Jesus went on to say to Simon, “And I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build My church …” (Matt. 16:18). We said that the key phrase in this passage is when Jesus states, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). Everything Jesus says in these verses relates to Jesus building His church.

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Richard Sipes / Sermons / Church, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Matthew / 0

October 6, 2024

I Will Build My Church – Matthew 16:18-20

I Will Build My Church

Matthew 16:18-20

What do you think about when you hear the word “church”? There are certainly a large variety of groups that are called churches today. Are all of them valid churches according to scripture? How is a church built?

Church is a major theme in the New Testament. The Greek word translated “church” is ekklēsia, literally meaning “the called-out ones”. The word can refer to any kind of official gathering or assembly of people called-out for a particular purpose. In the Bible, this word is never used to refer to a building. The church is not a building, it is an assembly of people. Ekklesia is found some 118 times in the New Testament. About 90 of those refer to an assembly of Christ followers those who have believed the gospel of the kingdom, who have been called out of the world of sin into the kingdom of God. It is this “church” that the Son of God promised to build in Matthew 16:18 when He said, “I will build my church.”

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Richard Sipes / Sermons / Church, Jesus Christ, Matthew / 0

September 29, 2024

God Alone – Psalm 62

God Alone

Psalm 62

Sometimes God brings us to a place where we find that God alone is our only hope. It could be you arrive at such a desperate place through a devastating circumstance or an internal crisis where all other comforts fail, and other hopes disappoint. In that place, you feel weak and vulnerable, and almost everything seems to be against you. It’s a place you feel overwhelmed by despair and grief.

But with God, it can also be a place of mercy and salvation. In the crucible of that testing place God forges enduring faith in us. If it were not for that place, how could we ever know that God truly is our only Rock and that our only abiding hope is found in Him? When God bring us to that place, and we find that God alone is all we need, that dreadful place becomes a beautiful place. Our desert becomes an oasis where we are refreshed by God alone.

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Richard Sipes / Fifth Sunday, Sermons / Attributes of God, Fifth Sunday Sing, Psalms / 0

September 22, 2024

Who Do You Say That I Am? – Matthew 16:13-17

Who Do You Say That I Am?

Matthew 16:13-17

We come this morning to a key passage in the Gospel of Matthew. In a sense, this passage is what so much of the Gospel has been leading to. It’s the passage that sets in motion all the events in the rest of the Gospel. Matthew began his Gospel by telling us that he was writing “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). As we have shown, Matthew presents Jesus as the Christ, the promised Messiah who is Savior, Lord, and King. Everything in Matthew’s narrative confirms that Jesus is the Christ. From His genealogy, His birth, His baptism, His temptation by the devil, His miracles, His teaching, His authority over disease, demons, and even death, and His fulfillment of prophecy—everything has pointed to Jesus as the Christ. But up to this point in Matthew’s narrative, no one has said it out loud.

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Richard Sipes / Sermons / Confession, Jesus Christ, Matthew / 0

September 15, 2024

Word of Warning – Matthew 16:1-12

Word of Warning

Matthew 16:1-12

I have been pointing out that we are in a section of the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus is training His disciples in kingdom ministry. Each of these narratives is a lesson in faith, in learning to believe in Jesus and to trust Him in all things. When Jesus fed the five thousand, He was training them on the priority of kingdom ministry and God’s provision for it. When He walked on water, Jesus taught them the power of faith over fear. When the scribes and Pharisees confronted Jesus about hand washing, He gave them a lesson on the purpose of kingdom ministry—God’s cleansing the heart by faith. When Jesus answered the request of the woman of Canaan, He gave them a lesson on the perseverance of faith. And in feeding the four thousand, He taught them that compassion for all people is the passion in kingdom ministry. Today, along with the disciples, we will learn a lesson on the peril of kingdom ministry.

We who are disciples of Jesus Christ are called to kingdom ministry with Jesus. Kingdom ministry is all about making disciples, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom so that men and women, boys and girls, would believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world. Today we learn that discipleship not only requires us to believe, but it requires us to beware.

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Richard Sipes / Sermons / Hypocrisy, Matthew, Warning / 0

September 8, 2024

A Lesson in Compassion – Matthew 15:29-39

A Lesson in Compassion

Matthew 15:29-39

It is a joy to come together again on the Lord’s Day, to open our Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew and hear God’s word for His church. Matthew is the gospel of the King and His kingdom. Matthew demonstrates that Jesus is the promised King and Messiah. Jesus Christ fulfills the prophesies of scripture. He has the authority of God the Father in His words and His works. He does what only God can do. He possesses the attributes of Almighty God.

In Matthew 14-17, we are in a section of Matthew where Jesus is training His disciples in kingdom ministry. Every narrative not only teaches us about who Jesus is and what He came to do, but also about who Jesus calls His disciples to be and what He calls them to do. We saw Jesus feed the 5000 through His disciples, teaching them the priority of kingdom ministry and God’s provision for it. We saw Jesus walk on water teaching them the power of faith over fear. Then, when the scribes and Pharisees confronted Jesus and His disciples about washings, Jesus taught them the purpose of kingdom ministry, God’s cleansing of the heart. Last time, we saw Jesus interact with a woman of Canaan and we saw the perseverance of faith in kingdom ministry.

Today, we learn another lesson: the passion of kingdom ministry.

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Richard Sipes / Sermons / Compassion, Jesus Christ, Worship / 0

September 1, 2024

A Picture of Great Faith – Matthew 15:21-28

A Picture of Great Faith

Matthew 15:21-28

In Matthew 15, we are in a section of Matthew where Jesus, having given evidence that He is the Son of God, the Messiah-King, and having taught His disciples about the Kingdom of God, He is now training His disciples in kingdom ministry. The lessons Jesus teaches them in these narratives are about faith—faith in Him.

In the story of the feeding of the 5000, Jesus gave them a lesson in trusting Him and depending on Him to work through them (Matt. 14:13-21). Then, we saw Peter who had “little faith,” yet was able to do the impossible–walk on water to be with Jesus (Matt. 14:22-33). We saw the multitudes bringing their sick to Jesus and believing He would heal them (Matt. 14:34-36). Then we saw the flawed faith of the scribes and Pharisees who trusted in their traditions rather than Jesus and the word of God (Matt. 15:1-20).

These are faith lessons, training us to trust Jesus Christ and His word. They are lessons about saving faith and also about serving faith. We must believe in Jesus to enter His kingdom, and we must believe in Jesus to do kingdom ministry. As Paul writes in Romans 1, our salvation is “from faith to faith” (Rom. 1:17)—that is, it is by faith from beginning to end.

So, today we get another lesson in faith, but not just any faith—this lesson is about “great faith.”

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Richard Sipes / Sermons / faith, Matthew, Trials / 0

August 25, 2024

Truth vs. Tradition, Part 2 – Matthew 15:1-20

Truth vs. Tradition, Part 2

Matthew 15:1-20

Last time, we studied the confrontation between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 15.

1. The Confrontation (Matt. 15:1-9)

A. Pharisees confront Jesus about tradition (15:1-2)

They came from Jerusalem and charged Jesus with teaching His disciples to transgress the traditions of the elders—specifically regarding the ceremonial washing of hands before eating. They condemned those who did not follow their man-made traditions. Jesus hadn’t broken God’s Law; He hadn’t offended God; He had simply failed to play their traditional religious games. Traditions that are man-made carry no divine authority.

B. Jesus confronts Pharisees about God’s law (15:3-9)

Jesus then turned the spotlight on the Pharisees and charged them with transgressing God’s law in order to keep their traditions. Specifically, they broke the fifth commandment to honor their father and mother by keeping a tradition of vowing their possessions to God. They used their tradition as an excuse to disobey God. Jesus called them hypocrites (Matt. 15:7), said that their hearts were far from God (Matt. 15:8) and that they worshipped God in vain because they taught as doctrines the commandments of men (Matt. 15:9).

So we learned last time that religious traditions can easily become sinful transgressions when they cause us to set aside the clear commands of God’s word and become a substitute for a true relationship with God by faith.

Next, having dealt with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, Jesus then turns from the hostile, unbelieving Pharisees and speaks directly to the crowds, the common people.

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Richard Sipes / Sermons / Cleansing, Heart, Jesus Christ, Tradition / 0

August 18, 2024

Truth vs. Tradition – Matthew 15:1-20

Truth vs. Tradition

Matthew 15:1-20

Tradition! There are all sorts of traditions in life. We have family traditions, holiday traditions, community traditions, national traditions, and church traditions. Some traditions are a good thing. They serve a useful function giving us a sense of community with others and continuity with our past. But when it comes to a relationship with God, traditions can often do more harm than good—especially when we put our traditions above the clear commands of the word of God.

Today, we come to a new chapter in our study of the Gospel of Matthew. It begins with a controversy over tradition, a confrontation between the scribes and Pharisees and Jesus.

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Richard Sipes / Sermons / Matthew, Tradition, Worship / 0

I Will Build My Church Part 3

Matthew 16:18-20

1. The Church’s Foundation

2. The Church’s Builder

3. The Church’s Victory

4. The Church’s Authority

I Will Build My Church Part 2

Matthew 16:18-20

I Will Build My Church

Matthew 16:18-20

God Alone

Psalm 62

Who Do You Say That I Am?

Matthew 16:13-17

Word of Warning

Matthew 16:1-12

A Lesson in Compassion

Matthew 15:29-39

A Picture of Great Faith

Matthew 15:21-28

Truth vs. Tradition, Part 2

Matthew 15:1-20

1. The Confrontation (Matt. 15:1-9)

A. Pharisees confront Jesus about tradition (15:1-2)

B. Jesus confronts Pharisees about God’s law (15:3-9)

Truth vs. Tradition

Matthew 15:1-20

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