“Has it Dawned on You Yet?”
John 20:1-18
Pastor George Lawson

Sermon Notes:
1.The Empty Tomb (1-2)
2.The Linen Wrappings (3-10)
3.The Angelic Visitors (11-13)
4.The Risen Christ (14-18)
5.The Written Word (8-9)

Reflection Questions:
1.Mary, Peter, and John had the evidences of the empty tomb, linen wrappings, and the angelic visitors, and it still hadn’t dawned on them that Christ was risen. What is it that they failed to consider? (John 20:9; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; Psalm 16:10; 22:22; Isaiah 53:10)
2.Mary was committed to find the dead body, thinking that is what she wanted (John 20:13). What would be the implications if Mary had found the body of Jesus? (1 Corinthians 15:14-19). What are the dead bodies that you are looking for?
3.After viewing the empty tomb, linen wrappings, and angelic visitors, Mary still weeps. What brought clarity that Jesus was alive? How did Lazarus have a similar experience? (John 10:43-44). What are the implications for evangelism and apologetics?
4.Do we believe in the word of God because we see the evidence or do we believe in the word of God, so we expect to see the evidence? What’s the difference? (Romans 10:17, Luke 16:19-30, 2 Peter 1:16-19)
5.Is it harsh that Jesus told Mary not to cling to Him? See John 16:7. What are the benefits of Christ leaving Mary, the disciples, and this earth? (John 14:1-3, John 16:7-15, Romans 8:34)
6.What is significant about Jesus’ choice of words in John 20:17, “My Father and your Father”?
7.Do you understand the significance of the empty tomb? Recall and reflect on when you came to understand the significance of the cross and empty tomb.
8.How should we respond to those whom we evangelize, who deny that the Bible is God’s Word?

Sermon Outline:
1. A Freedom from Unnecessary hard and suffering (13-14a)
2. A Freedom from Unwanted Intimidation and Distress (14b-15)

Bible Text: Matthew 13:31-35 | Preacher: Pastor George Lawson

Dear BBC Family,

“Put your trust in God, my boys, but keep your powder dry.”  This statement is attributed to the English statesman, Oliver Cromwell.  “Pray and keep your powder dry” is a shorter variation of this maxim.  I am no expert on warfare in those days, but it is my understanding that if your gunpowder became wet, it was useless.  So if you did pray and ask God for His help and protection but did not at the same time diligently seek to “keep your powder dry,” you were not following the exhortations given by Cromwell.  I’m not sure all that Cromwell intended when he originally addressed this statement to his army before they invaded Ireland, but I believe there is a ring of biblical truth represented in this well-known saying.
 
In Psalm 127:1-2 the Holy Spirit, through the pen of Solomon, warns us not to put our hopes and confidence in our own labors.  Whether we are seeking to build something or protect what we have already built, we must not put our ultimate trust and confidence in anything or anyone else besides the Lord (Jer. 17:5-8).
 
However, does this mean that we should not seek to build or to protect what we have built?  Is that the lesson that we are supposed to take away from the teachings of Psalm 127 or Jeremiah 17?  Or when it comes to our sanctification, are we supposed to just, “Let go, and let God”?
Here are just a few passages of Scripture that would teach us that God does expect us to take precautions and to make efforts:

• Nehemiah 2:20 (NASB95) — So I answered them and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.”
• Esther 4:16 (NASB95) — “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
• Proverbs 22:3 (NASB95) — The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, But the naive go on, and are punished for it. (cf. 27:12)
• 1 Corinthians 15:10 (NASB95) — But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.
• 1 Timothy 4:10 (NASB95) — For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

So as these verses show us (and many more could be added to it), God does expect us to take risks (Esther) and to build (Nehemiah), to take precautions (Prov. 22:3; 27:12), to labor and strive according to the grace given us (Paul in 1 Cor. 15:10 and 1 Tim. 4:10).  But all the while, regardless of how hard and diligent we might work, we never put our hope or confidence in our efforts.

And this brings me back to the quote that I began with:  Pray and keep your powder dry. As Christians, we are called to trust God completely and to pray without ceasing and to bring all of our concerns, anxieties and cares to the Lord (Phil. 4:6-7; 1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Pet. 5:7).  And yet, God also expects us to act and to work and to labor and strive.  He calls us to be wise and diligent and prudent.

There is a tension that exists in the Christian life that we must not ignore and we must be careful to diminish neither the necessity of faith nor the necessity of duty.

Two practical applications of this truth that we practice at BBC are the following:

• Security Ministry:  each week, we have several men who look out for the security and safety of our members, the children, and anyone else attending BBC.  Herb Gross is the coordinator over this ministry and he is seeking to implement improvements and training so that we can be diligent to protect those whom the Lord brings out to our corporate gatherings for Sunday worship.
• Mock Fire Drill:  this coming Sunday, 10/13, immediately after the morning worship service, we will be having our first-ever fire drill led and organized by Herb Gross. As many of you know, Herb has many years of experience as a Firefighter, Fire Lieutenant, and Fire Marshall.  We are thankful for the years of experience that the Lord has given to Herb and that he is willing and able to use those skills for the good of the body of Christ at BBC.  More details regarding this drill, will be sent out via email soon.

So… we look to the Lord and trust Him completely for His hand of protection.  And yet at the same time, we are going to seek to be diligent and faithful in taking practical measures to safeguard all of you and anyone else who the Lord brings out to BBC.  
 
In Christ alone,
Pastor Matt
Pastor George

“Buy Books”
There was a Dutch Scholar who once said, “When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.”
 
While we might not agree with the order of his priorities, I think we could all agree that growing in knowledge and particularly biblical knowledge is a worthy investment.  In the last canonical letter that he ever wrote, the apostle Paul requested two things for himself, a cloak to warm his body and books to warm his soul.  Listen to his last wishes just days before his execution…
 
2 Timothy 4:13 When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.
 
Is it too much to assume that the books Paul requested were spiritual in nature?  A dying man hardly needs to be entertained by fiction and fantasy.  Our souls are comforted and warmed by the understanding of Scripture.  As Psalm 19 says…  
 
Psalm 19:8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
 
To that end, I would like to offer a few resources that I would recommend investing in, if you haven’t done so already.  This is a short list and Lord willing in another post I’ll add to it.  Below are some basic resources you should think about owning as a part of your biblical library, in addition to a good reading Bible of course J.

1) A Study Bible
This is like a one stop shop for Bible Study.  A good study Bible will give you historical introductions to every book of the Bible, explanatory comments on virtually every passage, maps to help you figure out where certain events took place and helpful cross references to correlate various passages to each other. It’s one of my first stops when I am starting a new book of the Bible.
 
My favorite Study Bible is the MacArthur Study Bible, which won’t come as a surprise to many of you, but I also use the ESV Study Bible, which is a close runner up and the Reformation Study Bible.

2) A Bible Survey or Bible Introduction
For more detailed introductory information, I often turn to a Bible Survey or Introduction.  An easy to understand and accessible volume is Talk Thru the Bible by Bruce Wilkerson and Kenneth Boa.  They include helpful charts for you to get an overview of a book at a glance and a more detailed outline of the sections contained in the book.  You will find information on the Author, Date of writing, as well as the Theme and Purpose of writing.    
 
The other introductions I frequently use are authored by D. Edmond Hiebert and Donald Guthrie.

3) A Bible Encyclopedia
So who were the Hittites?  What is a Millstone?  What is a Centurion?  You could just pray and hope that these answers will drop out of the sky (you might be waiting for a while) or you could turn to a resource that will give you information based on historical research.  Bible Encyclopedias provide a wealth of information on all kinds of things that we wouldn’t be able to learn by osmosis.
 
I often use the 4-volume International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.  I also refer to the 4-volume Bible Encyclopedia produced by Baker.  A less expensive option that offers some of the same help in a condensed form is a good Bible Dictionary like the New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Merrill F. Unger happened to be a Baltimore Native).

4) An Exhaustive Bible Concordance
What was that verse again?  Have you ever been racking your brain for a verse but can only remember 2-3 words from that verse?  Or have you ever wanted to read every verse on the Seraphim but didn’t know where to start?  An Exhaustive Bible Concordance will give you every word in the entire Bible.  The classic Concordance is the Strong’s but there are also others out there (and yes I know you can probably do the same thing on internet sites like Bible Gateway).  The cool thing about a Strong’s Concordance is that it assigns numbers to each Greek and Hebrew word.  So for instance, if there happened to be more than one Greek word for “love” (which there are) and there just happened to be a verse where more than one Greek word for love was used (and there is) you would be able to know exactly which word is which.

5) A Single, Double or Multiple-Volume Commentary on the entire Bible.
Commentaries are not meant to be a replacement for your own study of the Word of God but rather an enhancement for the study of God’s Word.  Sometimes I’ll hear people say, “I don’t use commentaries, because the Holy Spirit is my teacher.”  My next question for them might be “And where did you learn that?” And the answer is “from the Bible, which was written by a man the Lord used to teach that.” That same Bible also tells us that God has appointed teachers in the church (1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11).  My point is, the Holy Spirit uses people.  And why wouldn’t you want to benefit from someone who has labored for hours over the very text you are trying to understand?
 
One of the best purchases I’ve ever made and that I have consistently turned to for over 25 years is the 2-volume Expositor’s Bible Commentary set.  It is well worth the investment.  It is written by solid conservative scholars and is the abridged version of the multi-volume Expositor’s Bible Commentary, which provides expanded commentary on each book of the Bible.
 
I would also recommend the Tyndale Bible Commentary on the Old and New Testament. The Old Testament is particularly excellent in this series.  MacArthur has also produced a commentary on every book of the New Testament (the only living author to accomplish this task).
 
One Volume Commentaries are usually just a notch above a Study Bible, so if you already own a Study Bible, I would just go for the 2-Volume Expositor’s Commentary but I have found help from the single volume Wycliffe Bible Commentary and the Believer’s Bible Commentary.

6) A Good Systematic Theology
Would you be able to offer a sufficient explanation of the Personality, Deity, and Work of the Holy Spirit?  What are the differences between His ministry in the Old Testament and the New Testament? To answer a question like this, you could either look up every reference for the Holy Spirit in a Concordance and hope you didn’t leave anything out, or you could turn to a good systematic theology.
 
I have benefited greatly from Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, even though I have serious disagreement with him over his view of spiritual gifts.  A newer Systematic Theology that I am working my way through is Biblical Doctrine edited by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (who will be teaching for our marriage get-away next year).
 
I also refer to the Systematic Theologies by Louis Berkhof, Charles Hodge and John Frame.

7) Word Studies
There are a number of helpful tools for words studies for the English speaker.  Prior to Seminary I often used Vine’s Expository Dictionary as well as Vincent’s Word Studies.
 
For a more advanced study I would recommend the Abridged Single-Volume Theological Dictionary of the New Testament as well as the Dictionary of New Testament Theology.  For the Old Testament I would recommend the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament and the New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis.

8) Devotional Reading
Not only is it important to study Scripture well, it’s also important to study yourself as well.  Many Puritan and Reformed authors didn’t just examine the Scriptures, they also examined their own lives because they wanted God to search their hearts.  
 
As the Psalmist said
 
Psalm 26:2 Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.
 
Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts
 
Books that have convicted me and warmed my own heart have been books like:
 
Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions by Arthur Bennet
 
The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock  

And pretty much all of the Puritan Paperbacks by Banner of Truth or the volumes put out by Soli Deo Gloria.  
 
There is rich food for the soul contained in these works, which I am thankful has not been lost to history.

9) Biographical Reading and Church History
I could have included Biographies and Church History under the Devotional category, because that’s how they minister to me but it deserves it’s own category.  
 
God’s faithfulness in the past offers us incredible encouragement for the future.  A great introductory volume on Church History is Sketches from Church History by S.M. Houghton.  I have also used Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley among others.
 
I have also been blessed by a number of Biographies.  One that I have often turned to is the Life and Diary of David Brainerd.  Brainerd was an 18th century American missionary who ministered among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey.  He died from tuberculosis, at the young age of 29 and his writings help set my gaze on things above.
 
Okay, I know I said it would be a short list and please believe me, this is a short list.  There is so much more I would want to share but what I mentioned above would be enough to feed your soul for years to come.
 
If you have a little money and you don’t own a small library of Biblical and Theological works, I would consider these books.  If you have any money left over, buy food and clothes.
 
In Christ Alone,
Pastor George
Pastor Matt

Dear BBC Family,

I can still remember the first time I heard Grace to You, around 25 years ago.  I was a new believer, who was struggling with the interpretation of Hebrews 6 and wondering if I could lose my salvation.  The very next day, I heard Grace to You for the first time and John MacArthur was preaching on that very section of Scripture!  Ever since then, the teaching of John MacArthur has been a steady part of my spiritual diet.

When I knew that I wanted to go to seminary, there was only one seminary that I applied to. I knew that I wanted to be trained to handle God’s Word faithfully and teach it expositionally.  I saw a model for that kind of ministry in John MacArthur and the men trained under his leadership at The Master’s Seminary (Thomas Leake, Clay Miller, Carl Hargrove and Lance Quinn).  I thank God for the example that John has been and for the many lessons I have learned from him, both in person and from a distance.  It would be no exaggeration to say that every week that I study and preach and counsel and model the Christian life, I am in some way indebted to God for giving me a faithful pattern to follow.

While it would have been a blessing beyond description to have Pastor John minister to us in person, I know that his time and energy are limited resources.  During last year’s Shepherds’ Conference, we spoke briefly about having him record a short video to challenge and encourage our church, in lieu of a personal visit.

The video that is posted above was his gracious response to that request.  I pray that you are encouraged by his message and that his words are a testimony of God’s faithfulness to us, and a challenge for us to remain faithful to God and His Word!

Christ will build His church and we are excited about what the Lord has been doing and will continue to do in Baltimore for His glory!

Thanks again to Pastor John MacArthur for his ministry to us, and his steady faithfulness in the same direction.

In Christ Alone,
George Lawson
Pastor-Teacher
Baltimore Bible Church

“No one gave me a greater sense of the glory of God than R.C. Sproul”

I was first exposed to the ministry of R.C. Sproul over 20 years ago. He had a different style than the preachers I was used to listening to on the radio. I could tell he was not speaking behind a pulpit but behind a lectern. His words were not directed towards the pew but towards the classroom. He used theological terms that were repeated, defined, and spelled out in chalk. No other radio program I knew of regularly featured the scratch of a chalkboard. I was back in school again.

It took me a few programs to get used to the format but once I did, I was riveted. I would schedule my lunch breaks around the “Renewing Your Mind” broadcast and search for the program if I was on the road away from home. He didn’t have to raise his voice or bang on a podium to get my attention. He spoke with such conviction that even a whisper communicated deep passion about God.

He spoke of God’s holiness in a way that made me tremble. He taught Church History in a way that made departed saints my old friends. He introduced the Reformation in a way that drew me into the battle for the gospel. He opened the Scriptures in a way that swept away confusion and brought clarity. He explained Systematic Theology in a way that filled me with love for the God who revealed truth. No one gave me a greater sense of the glory of God than R.C. Sproul. I remember being so overwhelmed by a series that he taught on the glory of God, that it felt as if I would fly into God’s very presence. When I shared this story with R.C. he said, “Don’t stop. Fly! Fly!” On Thursday, December 14, 2017 it was R.C. Sproul, who flew into the presence of God.

I join with hundreds of thousands of Christians across the globe who mourn the death of a man who has been the face of Reformed Theology for half a century. I once heard R.C. Sproul say that the death of his friend and co-laborer James Montgomery Boice was a judgment on evangelicalism. I wonder if the same can be said about his own passing.

Join me in praying for the family of R.C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries, and the thousands of people who have lost a clear voice and a faithful leader.

Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

In Christ Alone,
George Lawson