The Heidelberg Catechism - The Foundations Of Our Faith

Ecclesiastes  Finding The Hole In The Heart Koheleth the Preacher, and Ecclesiastes Proverbs 18:19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city,  And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.  Blaise Pascal " There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every [person] which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ ." 1:2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. "I can't get no satisfaction though I try and I try and I try" "I became very famous, even greater than anyone who had lived in Jerusalem before me. My wisdom helped me in all this.   Anything I saw and wanted, I got for myself; I did not miss any pleasure I desired. I was pleased with everything I did, and this pleasure was the reward for all my hard work." Eccl. 2:9,10 "But then I looked at what I had done, and I thought about all the hard work. Suddenly I realized it was useless, li...

Law And Grace reading 1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 "You shall have no other gods before me. The Person  Who Confronts our Narcissism. His Personal Character His Powerful Conquest The Precepts Which Control Our Values The Prohibitions  Which Are A Resume of Morality .. it reflects the nature of God's own being and holiness. Restraint on Evil  (through Conscience and Natural Law) Revealer of Sin Regulator of Christian Behaviour Road-map to Happiness    94. Q. WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE IN THE FIRST COMMANDMENT? A. That for the sake of my very salvation I avoid and flee all idolatry, witchcraft, superstition, and prayer to saints or to other creatures. Further, that I rightly come to know the only true God, trust in him alone,  submit to him with all humility and patience, expect all good from him only, and love, fear, and honour him with all my heart. In short, th...

ECCLESIASTES 3 TRAGEDIES AND TRIUMPHS Let me quickly summarise last weeks sermon: we can't get no satisfaction. No one can get satisfaction from a secular under the sun lifestyle. All Try The Chimerical Idolatries of Laughter              (Eccles. 2:1-3) Luxury                 (Eccles. 2:4-11) Labour                 (Eccles. 2:4-6, 18-24) Lust                      (Eccles. 2:7,8) Learning              (Eccles. 2:12-17) But for all their promises of fulfilment all they bring is meaningless vanity, a chasing after the wind. They don't work because you are a body and a soul! Essential to fulfilment and Eternal. Take 5 show on ABC this week. Guy Pearce experienced the loss of his father a test jet pilot crash. All of his life seems to be a working out of this tragedy in his successful life, which he didn't feel was so successful.  Through music he tries to get to grips with the hurts of his soul. There's nothing inherent in humanity that allows us to extract fulfillment fro...