Dan Lee
John 17:22-26, For Love and Glory (Part-2)

Jesus prays regarding two kinds of glory. He speaks of glory in the present age for His people’s sanctification. God’s elect grow in conformity to Him as they behold His glory in Christ. Jesus also prays for future glory, that His people behold His full, divine, eternal glory in heaven. We are to behold the glory of God now for our sanctification and the glory of God in the future for our glorification.

Dan Lee
John 17:22-26, For Love and Glory

Jesus concludes His prayer with love and glory. Love is the focus of this sermon. The Lord prays that we would come to experientially know (taste) of the Father’s special love. This is the special love of the Father like His love toward His only begotten Son. Like that love, the Father loved His elect from eternity past and “in love predestined us to adoption as sons.” This is the love which Jesus wants us to savor. May the Holy Spirit reveal to us more and more of this awesome love of God.

Dan Lee
John 17:20-23, Salvation Blessing for the World

Jesus’ prayer reflects the heart of God that seeks salvation blessing for the world. Jesus sees the church as the vehicle by which the elect of God worldwide will come to faith in Him unto salvation. In this first installment on a two part sermon, we explore the facets of the church, our mission, our godliness, and the special love of God toward the elect (next sermon).

Dan Lee
John 17:14-19, A Dangerous Mission

Jesus’ prayer for His disciples is undergirded by the reality of a dangerous mission. He knows we will be hated by the world and targeted by the Devil. As such, we will need divine protection. Hence, He prays, “Keep them from the evil one.” Moreover, we will need to live holy lives if we are to make any meaningful impact for the gospel that reconciles and restored sinners to the holy and righteous Father. Our own lives would have to be sanctified in order for us to be useful to the Lord in leading the rest of His elect to this salvation. Therefore, the Lord prays, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” The word of God that has regenerated us is the same word that will sanctify our lives. May the Holy Spirit through His word evermore conform us to Christ that we would be like Him on earth and make disciples for His honor and glory.

Dan Lee
John 17:9-13, For the Joy of God's Elect

Jesus’ first petition for His disciples is found in these verses. Jesus prays that the Father would keep them in His name. Jesus prays for a special people, His disciples and He does so because He was about to physically leave His disciples. What He would no longer be able to do in His physical absence, He asks the Father to accomplish. May the Lord grant to us a greater work of His Spirit to draw us to walk in Jesus’ ways and thus live with His joy evermore in our hearts.

1 Peter

1 Peter 3:1-6, Traits of a Woman of God

Against the tide of the world today, the word of God speaks the truth about His design for women in marriage. His special calling for married women is submission and inner beauty. Wives are to submit to their husbands and adorn themselves with the inner beauty of godliness. May the Holy Spirit encourage the women of our church to pursue biblical womanhood as they learn from Christ and abide in Him.

1 Pet. 1:14-19, Five Motivations for Holy Living

Peter gives us a strong encouragement toward Christian holiness which is marked by separation from sin, imitation to God and permeation of this reality in every aspect of our lives. Peter points out in this passage five motivations for holy living: filiation (we are new covenant children of God who obey the Lord from a changed heart), extinction (our former life should never be brought into the present), revelation (this duty of the people of God has been written down by God in Scripture), evaluation (God evaluates our lives with objective and impartial judgment), and calculation (Christ paid the infinite price of ransom for our redemption). May the Lord help us to have the wisdom of the Word of God to daily pursue a life of holiness.

1 Peter 4:7-11, Eschatological Ministry [Part 3]

In this final installment on walking with the Lord, we examine Peter’s last imperative regarding ministry. Those who faithfully anticipate the coming of the Lord live their lives as stewards of the manifold grace of God. Our lives are not our own. All that God has graciously given us is meant to be used to bring Him glory. May our great and gracious God be glorified through all that He’s given us as we leverage them for His service.

1 Peter 4:7-11, Eschatological Ministry [Part 2]

Peter exhorts us to eschatological living by exercising fervent (“stretching”) love toward one another. He gives us one pivotal example of hospitality: share our home with others. He then directs our attention to what God has graciously entrusted us so that we would leverage it to serve one another. We are stewards of God’s gracious gift, not owners of it.

1 Peter 4:7-11, Eschatological Ministry [Part 1]

Christ is coming and will usher in the end of this age. How shall we prepare for His imminent return? Peter gives us a fourfold answer: pray, love, share and serve. In this first installment of our study of 1 Peter 4:7-11, we examine the first two imperatives to pray and love. We are to maintain our spiritual senses sharp (“be of a sound mind” and “be sober”) for the purpose of prayer, and we are to exercise a love that goes beyond what is merely human and natural, a “stretching love” that cares for those from a different background but brethren nonetheless, and a forgiving love that overlooks offenses and exhibits graciousness that we all need and want from others.