New Covenant OPC Sermon Podcast

In today’s world masculine virtues and male leadership is derided and rejected.  What was required for transitioning from Moses’s leadership to Joshua’s?  Moses gives the answer in Deuteronomy 31:1-13: Strength and courage.  Masculine strength and courage that the world has forgotten.  Courage rooted in faith, upheld by the Word of God.

In Matthew 9:1-8 Christ heals a paralytic, but the healing of the paralytic is not the emphasis in the story.  This miracle is actually used to prove a more significant point: Christ has the authority to forgive sins.  If you believe in Christ, then take heart, your sins are forgiven.  If you doubt like the scribes, you will be counted as a blasphemer.

Pastor Grasso addresses what will happen to Israel at the end times. Are there promises that still apply to ethnic Israel? Pastor Grasso shows from Romans 11 that the Israelites will be converted before the return of Christ.

In Deuteronomy 30:11-20 Moses gives his concluding exhortations to the people of God to choose life.  He emphasizes that the Word of God is not far off or difficult.  It is near, even in our very mouths.  This Word is even nearer to us through Christ who came down from heaven and died in our place.  Moses then places life and death before the people.  This choice is placed...

In Matthew 8:28-34 Christ shows his sovereign authority over demons.  Though the two demon possessed men in the account terrified others, the demons controlling them are terrified of Jesus.  After being sent out into pigs which run down a high and die, the townspeople are left with a choice: do they rejoice over those who were delivered from the power of demons and believe in Christ who...

Pastor Grasso addresses the question of how the church relates to Israel and shows that Christ is true Israel and thus the church is true Israel in him.

In Deuteronomy 30:6 Moses prophesies that God will circumcise the hearts of his people.  By speaking of this inward circumcision that God will sovereignly accomplish, Moses distinguishes between outward circumcision, which all the Jews received, from inward circumcision, which God gives through Christ.  Baptism, the new circumcision, has the same outward/inward dichotomy.  The Scrip...

In Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus calms the winds and waves showing that he is the sovereign Lord of the universe.  If this is the case, then those who believe in him should not fear, for Christ has shown both that he is mighty and that he is for his people.  This means that no matter what difficulty we face Christ will see us through until he returns and restores all things.  Do not fear, r...

In Deuteronomy 30:1-10 Moses speaks for the days when God will circumcise the hearts of his people. The fact that this is necessary shows that without God first circumcising the heart, no one can believe. Deuteronomy 30:1-10 shows that the entire Bible is one great story of God’s sovereign grace. Everything that we have, even faith, is a gift of God.

In Matthew 8:18-22 two people come to Jesus  who are willing to follow him. Their understanding of what discipleship  means, however, was lacking. What does it mean to follow Christ? It  means following him even if it means losing everything. Following Christ  must be the highest priority in your life. Matthew does not record how  these men respond.

Pastor Grasso explains some of the practical implications for infant baptism.

In Deuteronomy 30:1-10 Moses teaches that the people of God will one day return from exile at which point God will circumcise the hearts of his people. Paul teaches us that all the promises of God are "yes" and "amen" in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20). In this sermon Pastor Grasso shows how Christ fulfills all of the promises in Deuteronomy 30:1-10.

In Matthew 8:14-17 Matthew records the healing of Peter's mother-in-law and other healings. These healings show that Christ has absolute authority over demons and all kinds of diseases. Matthew emphasizes our need to respond to this authority by serving Christ and indicates that Jesus has come to defeat the devil and forgive sins.

Pastor Grasso addresses two common arguments for credo-baptism. The first is the apostolic example in the book of Acts, and the second is the argument from the new covenant passage in Jeremiah 31.

In Deuteronomy 30:1-10 Moses speaks to the people of God about the day when they will be brought back from exile.  When this happens God will circumcise their hearts.  Throughout Old Testament history the people of God constantly turn away from him, but Moses promises a day when God will sovereignly put faithfulness into the hearts of his people.  This passage becomes the foundation...

In Matthew 8:5-13, Matthew records Christ’s second miracle in chapters 8-9.  Here Christ heals a Centurion’s servant.  Amazingly, this Centurion, a Gentile, understands that Christ has sovereign authority even over diseases and disabilities.  He believes that Christ is able to heal by simply speaking a word.  Though he thought himself unworthy to have Christ in his home, Jesus...

Pastor Grasso explains how the visible/invisible church distinction is necessary to maintain when thinking about infant baptism. He also shows how the baptist position undermines this distinction.

In  Deuteronomy 29:2-29 Moses exhorts the people to obedience by impressing  upon them God’s grace in saving them (2-8), the solemnity of the  covenant (10-15), and the consequences for disobedience (16-29). Every individual within the covenant community is responsible to the Lord to obey him. Thus, too, in our day, every Christian is obligated to obey the Lord and follow him in lig...

In Matthew 8:1-4, Matthew records the first  of nine miracles in chapters 8 and 9 that emphasize the great power and  authority of Christ. Here, a leper approaches Christ believing that Jesus is fully God and able to heal him. Christ  does not not just heal the man, but even heals by touching him, showing  that he cannot contract any uncleanness and is the one in whom all are &...

Pastor Grasso shows the relationship between circumcision and baptism and explains the importance of this connection for infant baptism.

The Bible is filled with passages that speak of the wrath of God. In Deuteronomy 25:15-29:1 Moses details the covenant curses for disobedience. All of things are meant to be a warning to the people of God to encourage them to repent, and they are meant to be a warning to all today, for those who disobey God will be undergo even more severe punishments than what Israel faced. This message of wrath...

The Song of Songs concludes in 8:6-14 with several lessons to learn from the book as a whole. First, sexual love is strong and therefore must be confined to a covenant relationship (marriage). Second, love must be protected. We must strive for chastity both in marriage and in our relationship with God. Third, love brings contentment and joy. Nothing else is needed in life. Fourth, love looks with...

Covenants include blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. In Deuteronomy 28:1-14 Moses lays out the blessings for obeying God. All of these blessings point to the greater realities of the blessings of the new heavens and the new earth, and though obedience in no way contributes to one’s merit before God, it is necessary to obtain the blessing. All those redeemed by Christ live a life...

In the Song of Songs 7:1-8:5 the Shulamite and her beloved are finally reunited and experience the bliss of sexual union in the context of marriage after being separated for a time. This ending to the story shows the need to persevere in marriage, but more than that, it shows the need for every Christian, having been redeemed by Christ and brought into union with him, to long for and to seek to ha...

Pastor Grasso introduces some of the arguments for infant baptism.