A few weeks ago, I noted that I would introduce a number of sermons, and possible pastors who I have found to have the ability to speak the truth of the gospel, and to be a motivation for me to continue to learn and understand the saving grace of the gospel. My purpose is to encourage people to spend more time doing those things in life that have eternal significance, including studying and learning about God’s Word. In the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (1989), Stephen Covey discusses the importance of putting first things first, meaning prioritizing to do those most important tasks first. Honestly, for me, it is much easier when I have a moment to then spend a significant amount of time looking at mindless things on television or on my phone. Therefore, what I try to do, although by all means not always successful at accomplishing, is to do something more important first, before doing something that ultimately has limited value. And these activities include reading the Bible, listening to a good sermon, or even reading classical works of faith. Yes, I do other things of importance also, but what I am emphasizing here is the importance of prioritizing our time with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I do want to note here that it is also important to be in tune with what is really of most importance at any given time in our lives, and that we should not downplay the significance of things like rest and relaxation, sleep, and selfcare for our health. But then we also need to make sure we do not minimize the significance of our spiritual care in our health and wellbeing either.
Therefore, my intention this week is to offer to explore some sermons by Dr. James White on two areas of faith, Baptism and The Lord’s Supper, that I believe are helpful in understanding who we are in Christ. The intent here is not to create discussion and/or debate related to these issues, but to facilitate deeper thought and study on these topics. Dr. White has multiple sermons on each of these topics that can be easily found through searching the sermons on the website of Apologia Church where he preaches https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzOJll8dItg6JUR1zZfa4h5cvhZB_cGVg I will also post the first sermon in each of the series below and another website where a number of his sermons on baptism (but not all) can be found. I hope you find this helpful in “putting first things first”. P.S. if you have not read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey, it is a good read.
Baptism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99gmXTt-5Tk (Sermon #1 of 15) Several, but not all of the sermons in the series can be found here- https://www.aomin.org/aoblog/reformed-baptist-issues/james-whites-sermon-series-on-baptism/ Otherwise, go to Apologia Church sermons and scroll down to find Dr. White’s sermons on baptism.
The Lord’s Supper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PlnXl6Cqsc (sermon #1 of 5) If you Google Dr. James White sermons on The Lord’s Supper you should be able to find the other sermons on YouTube.