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Salvation, from start to finish, is the work of God, not the work of man. Through this work, God glorifies himself. Thus, our confidence must not be in ourselves, but in God, because “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” The post The Source of Our Confidence — Philippians 1:1‑6 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

As the Apostle John wraps up his first epistle, he simply warns his audience, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” But how are we to guard ourselves in a world filled with idolatry and with hearts so eager to construct new ones? Pastor Nate Harlan leads us to this encouraging conclusion of our series on 1 John. The post The True God — 1 John 5:19‑21 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Chu...

Our salvation does not ultimately rest on our strength, our ability, our righteousness. Instead, perseverance is a gift that is granted to us by God's unconditional love through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is a shepherd and we are his sheep. That is the basis for our assurance. The post How We Persevere — 1 John 5:16‑18 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

How did the resurrection of Christ influence worship by God's people? Instead of being defined by separation, worship is now defined by communion. And instead of being in the shadows, worship is now in the light of heavenly realities. (With apologies for the audio issues in this sermon.) The post Post-Resurrection Worship — Hebrews 12:18‑24 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

The Apostle John wants us to have certainty about God's intentions toward us. He wants to remove all doubts from our minds. How do we attain salvation? Only by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And as Pastor Nate Harlan says, God's generosity is the basis of our confidence in Him as our Father. The post That You May Know — 1 John 5:13-15 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

In this passage, the Apostle John is concerned with defending the basis of our faith. How do we know these promises are true and that the gospel isn't just wishful thinking? The answer we receive here is the same answer the Bible always gives: We know the gospel is true because God said so and He cannot lie.  The post The Testimony of God — 1 John 5:6-12 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

You must live by faith to overcome the world. But how do you know if your faith is strong enough? Pastor Nate Harlan gives the good news: Your faith in God is a gift from Him. So it does not depend on your strength. Instead, it depends on His perfect strength. The post Overcoming the World — 1 John 5:1-5 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

Christian, God loves you. His love for you is shown in the fact that He gave his Son as a propitiation for your sins. And the Apostle John is telling us in this passage that, more than anything, we must know and believe the love that God has for us.  The post Knowing and Believing — 1 John 4:13-21 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

Bumper stickers and graphic tees frequently quote the Bible and simply say, “God Is Love.” But what is love? Pastor Nate Harlan answers from the text of 1 John and the life of Christ: Love suffers willingly for the glory of God and for the good of others. Anything less is a lie. The post God Is Love — 1 John 4:7-12 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

Pastor Nate Harlan equips us to test the spirits — that is, false teaching inspired by demonic influence. We must be diligent or we will be led away into heresy and idolatry. The post Test the Spirits — 1 John 4:1-6 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

God's love for his children is extravagant. In this second part of Pastor Nate Harlan's sermon on 1 John 3:19-24, we focus on what the Apostle John tells us about this important topic. We are not to live in a state of insecurity about our relationship with God. We are to live trusting in the generosity of God to us, his children. The post When Our Hearts Condemn Us, Part 2 — 1 John 3:19-24 first a...

If you are struggling with the assurance of your salvation, if you lack confidence before God, you are more concerned about yourself than about others. This lack of confidence before God can actually make us selfish and keep us from obeying His command to love the brothers. Having biblical confidence equips us to love others rather than worry about ourselves.  The post When Our Hearts Condemn Us —...

No one wants to be hated, so the temptation for the Christian is to compromise with the world so the world won't hate us. But as Pastor Nate Harlan says, simply by your example of following Jesus, you are exposing the wickedness of the unbelievers around you. We cannot cave in to the pressure to make peace with the world. The post Be Not Surprised — 1 John 3:11‑18 first appeared on Trinity Reforme...

Are you a child of the devil or are you a child of God? Can you know for sure? What the Apostle John tells us in this passage is that you can discover the answer. But the process is uncomfortable because it requires deep self-examination: Do you practice sin or do you practice righteousness? Hear Pastor Nate Harlan on this passage. The post Who Is Your Father? 1 John 2:28‑3:10 first appeared on Tr...

Hope has a central importance in the Christian's life. Just like faith, hope by itself is useless. Hope must have an object. Moreover, you cannot follow Jesus faithfully without having hope. Pastor Nate Harlan digs into the purifying aspect of hope in the first of a series of sermons on this particular passage. The post Purifying Hope — 1 John 2:28–3:10 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

We are not saved by sound doctrine. But we cannot be saved apart from it.  Pastor Nate Harlan shows us from 1 John that we should be concerned with doctrine because we want eternal life. And to have eternal life, we need to abide in the truth of the gospel and abide in Christ. (Our apologies for the poor sound quality in this recording.) The post Abide in Christ — 1 John 2:24–28 first appeared on...

The teaching of the Incarnation, that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, is viciously attacked today. This is an old lie; the Apostle John himself also faced this lie among the heretical Gnostics of his era. But as Pastor Nate Harlan preaches on 1 John 2:18–23, we discover  that if the Incarnation is false, then Christianity collapses. We must hold onto this truth against any "false christs" who wo...

The Apostle John warns us to love not the world. But what is the antidote to loving the world? It's remembering who you are in Christ and being thankful. Pastor Nate Harlan preaches on 1 John 2:12–17 and encourages us, especially if we are little children, fathers, or young men. The post Love Not the World — 1 John 2:12–17 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

The theme of brotherly love is a fundamental concern of this epistle. In order for you to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, you will show love for your brothers in Christ. There is more to being a Christian than having mere knowledge. We also must love the church. The post The Light of the World — 1 John 2:7–11 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

Do you want assurance for your salvation? Do you want to know that you are in Christ and that God has redeemed you from your sins?  Then ask yourself this question: Do I love my brothers and sisters in Christ? What is my attitude toward the church? There is no such thing as a Christian who loves Jesus and hates the church. The post Keeping Christ’s Commandments — 1 John 2:3‑6 first appeared on Tri...

One sin is enough to sever your relationship with God. One act of disobedience in the garden made Adam into God's enemy, because through that act, Adam called God a liar. One sin leaves us with no excuse and no defense. But we have an advocate in Christ who promises to preserve his sheep. Hear Pastor Nate Harlan preach on these verses in 1 John that warn us but also give us great hope. The post Ch...

Who is foolish? Who is wise? Pastor John Mergy opens the Word to Proverbs 10:23–25, where we find three proverbs with “antithetic parallelism”: a contrast between opposites. Where does God draw the line between wisdom and foolishness? A wise man listens to the Word of God; the fool does what is right in this own eyes. The post The Desire of the Righteous and the Fear of the Wicked first appeared o...

Pastor Nate Harlan leads us through this encapsulation of the Gospel in John's first epistle. An important lesson: If a church's members fail to confess their sins to one another, they will not have true fellowship with one another. And if they do not have fellowship with one another, they will not have fellowship with God. The post Walking in the Light — 1 John 1:5–10 first appeared on Trinity Re...

Why does the incarnation of Jesus Christ matter? Pastor Nate Harlan begins a series through the book of 1 John to discover the answers. We soon realize the importance of doctrine, in this case the doctrines of Christology, that guard us from heresies that would either deny Christ's divinity or his humanity. The post Made Manifest — 1 John 1:1‑4 first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .

October 29: "The work of pastors is absolutely essential to the work of reformation." In his third sermon on the Reformation, Pastor Nate Harlan looks to Scripture to exhort us that the way to reformation happens when pastors do their jobs of humbling us, unifying us, and protecting us. The post More Than Conquerors 3: Guarding Christ’s Flock first appeared on Trinity Reformed Church .