Grace to You: Video Podcast

The Kind of Worship God Desires, Part 3 (Selected Scriptures)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 9 Jun 2013 01:00:00 PDT

Now I want you to open your Bible for a moment to begin tonight by looking at the text which is the foundation for our study on worship. It’s John chapter 4 verses 20 through 24, John chapter 4 verses 20 through 24. This very familiar and wonderful portion of Scripture tells the story of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. And in that encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, our Lord gives us great insight into the theme of worship...

The Kind of Worship God Desires, Part 2 (Selected Scriptures)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 2 Jun 2013 01:00:00 PDT

I remember when I first came to Grace Church and did something that was a little bit rare in those days, that is I preached for an hour, Sunday morning and Sunday night, sometimes even longer than that. There are some sermons on record that went an hour and thirty minutes and maybe a couple an hour and 45 minutes. And I remember a person saying to me, and the question came up a number of times, but I remember a particular conversation where someone said to me, “With such long sermons with so much time taking up and preaching, how much can your church really worship?” Well the answer to that is to pose a question to the questioner, “With so little time given to preaching, how is it possible for your church to worship?” Because worship is not a matter of time, it’s a matter of content. Adding another verse to the song, or another five verses or repeating the verses again and again, or adding more songs does not necessarily increase worship. More music does not necessarily enrich worship. Worship is enriched by what the worshiper knows. Worship is a mental experience. It is not an emotional experience, emotion follows. But we worship when we praise the Lord, that’s one way, corporately. And our praise is informed with revelation. Truth informs and therefore increases worship...

The Kind of Worship God Desires, Part 1 (Selected Scriptures)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 26 May 2013 01:00:00 PDT

We return in our study of the Word of God to the twenty-first chapter of Luke's gospel. Luke is the predominant historian of the New Testament, having written this gospel as well as the entire book of Acts. And, of course, the focus in Luke's writing is on the person and work of Jesus Christ and the spread of the gospel of Christ after His ascension and sending of the Holy Spirit...

The Persecution and Endurance of Christians, Part 2 (Luke 21:12-19)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 19 May 2013 01:00:00 PDT

The Persecution and Endurance of Christians, Part 1B (Luke 21:12-19)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 12 May 2013 01:00:00 PDT

We have had an unusual week here in Southern California, as you know, and yet it's not something unexpected. We have had our lives dominated this past week by the horrific fire storms that have torched Southern California. The combination with which we are very family, severe drought, dry brush, excessive heat, dry Santa Ana winds with gusts up to 100 miles an hour, fallen power lines, and a few crazy arsonists have engulfed our communities in an inferno that has for a while, at least, put a million people out of their homes...the largest mass evacuation of people in the history of the state of California...

The Persecution and Endurance of Christians, Part 1A (Luke 21:12-19)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 5 May 2013 01:00:00 PDT

Calming the Storm (Mark 4:35-41)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 01:00:00 PDT

Open your Bible, if you will, to the fourth chapter of the gospel of Mark and we come to the final paragraph in this fourth chapter, verses 35 through 41...verses 35 through 41. Now remember that Mark's purpose in writing the gospel is stated in chapter 1 verse 1, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God."...

A Survey of the Soils (Mark 4:1-20)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 01:00:00 PDT

This morning we come to one of the extensive teaching sections in the gospel of Mark and there really are only two. This is an action-packed gospel, kind of the newspaper edition of the record of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and Mark doesn’t spend a lot of time on the detailed teaching of our Lord, except here in chapter 4 and once again in chapter 13. There are other sections of teaching scattered throughout but not nearly to the degree of the other three gospels. So when we do land on a teaching section, we know that Mark has invested it with great significance, and certainly that is the case in this passage. In fact, the teaching of our Lord here extends all the way down to verse 34, as He gives several parables. Just one of those parables goes down to verse 20. It is the very familiar parable of the soils, sometimes called the parable of the sower, sometimes called the parable of the seed. But it really is the parable of the soils...

What If There Is No Resurrection?, Part 2 (1 Corinthians 15:12-20)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 01:00:00 PDT

In the seventeenth chapter of Acts, the Apostle Paul comes to the religious focal point of the ancient world of his day. He comes to Athens. And it is in Athens that there are many philosophers and many religions, and many gods. In fact, in verse 16 of Acts 17 it says that, “He observed the city of Athens and that it was full of idols.” There were in Athens, along with all the idols, there were the priests and priestesses that were associated with those idols and their various religions. And on top of that, there were all kinds of philosophers, as verse 18 indicates. There were Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well as many others...

What If There Is No Resurrection?, Part 2 (1 Corinthians 15:12-20)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 01:00:00 PDT

What If There Is No Resurrection?, Part 1 (1 Corinthians 15:12-20)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 7 Apr 2013 01:00:00 PDT

Now I know tonight we’re going to be looking at 1 Corinthians 15 as we continue through this great resurrection chapter. But to begin with, I want you to turn in your Bible to the seventeenth chapter of Acts...the seventeenth chapter of Acts because I think it gives us a good setting for what we’re going to see in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians...

The Sovereign Servant, Part 2 (Isaiah 53:10-12)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 01:00:00 PDT

Open your Bible to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah for one final time. This is message number ten in this series and I will tell you that it is with great reluctance that I say farewell to this. It has found its way, has this chapter, into the fabric of my soul, into my spiritual DNA. But then again, every passage seems to do that to me. This one, however, rises above the rest in so many ways. I’ve tried to share those with you in the last nine hours that we have gone through this chapter...

The Sovereign Servant, Part 1 (Isaiah 53:10-12)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 01:00:00 PDT

I would also say it is perhaps the single greatest evidence of the inspiration and divine authorship of holy Scripture, of any portion of Scripture, because 700 years before the arrival of Jesus Christ, it records the details that were played out in His incarnation, His humiliation, and His exaltation. It is an amazing portion of Scripture and though we have spent ten weeks on it, that is but a taste of this chapter, and I would commend to you that you would in diligence and faithfulness give yourself to this chapter far beyond the conclusion of this series, which is likely to come next Sunday...

The Silent Servant, Part 2 (Isaiah 53:7-9)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 01:00:00 PDT

I was reading one book this week on Isaiah 53 in which the writer said, “Words collapse under the weight of this chapter.” And I understand that, that there just aren’t words to hold it up; it’s too vast, too massive to be carried by vocabulary. This is a chapter that, in a sense, you get to the point where you feel the weight of it without being able to articulate it. And, of course, that’s always the preacher’s problem and most particularly my problem since I am limited in my ability to express myself, and I find myself to some degree frustrated and at the same time trying to relieve that frustration by going back over it and enriching things that we’ve already talked about just so I don’t leave anything unsaid that should be said...

The Silent Servant, Part 1 (Isaiah 53:7-9)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 01:00:00 PDT

We have come into a study of the Old Testament, after spending forty-some years studying the New Testament here at Grace Church. We are greatly challenged in this study and, I think, profoundly blessed. We are looking for Christ in the Old Testament, everywhere we can find Him, and we start where He is most marvelously and most completely revealed and that is in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. Actually this revelation of our Lord starts in chapter 52, verse 13, and runs down to 53, verse 12. There are five stanzas in this servant song, we might call it. It is a song; it has a certain lyric to it. It has a certain rhythm to it as it is read in the original Hebrew language. It is a servant song, it is the fourth servant song written by Isaiah. In the second half of Isaiah’s prophecy, from chapter 40 to the end in chapter 66, he focuses on salvation and salvation is dependent upon the Savior. And so Isaiah introduces us in this section to the Savior. There are other places in his prophecy where he refers to the Savior, back in chapter 7 he makes reference to the virgin birth of the Savior. Back in chapter 9 he identifies the Savior in a number of wonderful ways, the mighty God, the Prince of peace, the Father of eternity, the Son who is born to us, upon whose shoulders final and everlasting government will rest. So there’s much that he says about the Messiah...

The Substituted Servant, Part 2 (Isaiah 53:4-6)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 3 Mar 2013 01:00:00 PDT

Now, let’s open the Word of God to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. This is our sixth journey into this marvelous chapter and with every passing week as I survey the text that is here and all of the trails that it leads to other places, I am reminded of how fathomless this chapter really is. One could spend a lifetime here and going from here to all of the things that are implied and elucidated by this great chapter...

The Substituted Servant, Part 1 (Isaiah 53:4-6)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 01:00:00 PDT

We are in a study of Isaiah 53 and I would invite you to turn to Isaiah 53 at this time, this great chapter is in many ways the heart of the Old Testament. The name Isaiah means salvation of the Lord. Isaiah’s prophecy of 66 chapters, interestingly enough, is divided the same way the Bible is divided. The Bible has 39 books in the Old Testament, 27 books in the New and Isaiah has 39 books in the first half and 27 in the second half...

The Scorned Servant of Jehovah, Part 2 (Isaiah 53:1-3)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 01:00:00 PDT

We’re studying the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah is a prophecy in the Old Testament. If you have a Bible, turn to Isaiah chapter 53, and that’s the chapter we’re looking at. Some would consider this the greatest chapter in the Old Testament. There’s no question about the fact that it is the most detailed prophecy of the Messiah that the Old Testament contains. It is a powerful, powerful chapter that has to be considered phrase by phrase if not word by word because of its high impact and profound truth...

John MacArthur on the Love of Money (Grace to You Blog)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 01:00:00 PDT

By now we hope you’ve had the opportunity to read John MacArthur’s blog post from yesterday on The Abundance of Giving. It highlights a vital aspect of life in the church, and it will be a powerful encouragement as you seek to serve the Lord in your local congregation. We also wanted to share with you a short video from John on the topic of the love of money. When he was recently in studio, we asked him how believers can successfully avoid the love of money in a culture dominated by greed and materialism. Here’s what he said:

The Scorned Servant of Jehovah, Part 1 (Isaiah 53:1-3)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 01:00:00 PDT

For now I want you to open the Word of God to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 53. We have had a couple of weeks of getting introduced to this chapter. Two weeks ago a rather broad introduction and then last Lord’s day, which was resurrection Sunday, we looked at the introduction to chapter 53 that is given at the end of chapter 52. And that brings us, today, to this incredible chapter, Isaiah 53...

The Startling Servant of Jehovah (Isaiah 52:13-15)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 3 Feb 2013 01:00:00 PDT

We have been anticipating a study of the Old Testament here at Grace Church, for those of you gathering with us, after many years in the New Testament, and a few forays into the Old. And we have just recently embarked upon that study of the Old Testament and are beginning to look at one particular prophecy in the Old Testament, found in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah...

The Astonishing Servant of Jehovah (Isaiah 53)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 01:00:00 PDT

Now for this morning, I finally want you to open your Bible to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 53, and we are about to embark on a study of this immensely important portion of the Old Testament as we begin our series in the Old Testament, finding Christ there...

A Life Without Loose Ends (1 Peter 1)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 01:00:00 PDT

Well we, of course, have the responsibility tonight to set our hearts toward the cross and the things of Christ and we also are very mindful of he fact that we are on the brink of a new year and this is a good time to kind of do a bit of a spiritual inventory. And as I thought about that, I was drawn to a text of Scripture that I would call to your attention for a few moments...1 Peter, 1 Peter. You might want to turn to it and we’ll look at a couple of scriptures here in the first chapter of 1 Peter that will help us focus not only on the cross but on setting our priorities...

A Tale of Two Sorrows, Part 2 (Matthew 26-27)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 01:00:00 PDT

A couple of weeks ago I had the wonderful joy of being at the high school camp, Regeneration camp down in New Mexico with 900 high school kids. Just a delight, just a wonderful time, and I think there were four or five hundred from Grace Church and then others from other churches around the southwest. And I put together a message just for them, just going through some things in my reading in the New Testament, and the Lord kind of laid on my heart a message, and I presented it to them. And they responded very well. And as a result of that, Austin Duncan, who wields a lot of power around here--our high school...our college pastor now...former high school pastor--came to me and said, "You have to preach that at Grace, because you all need to know what your children heard at camp."...

A Tale of Two Sorrows, Part 1 (Matthew 26-27)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 6 Jan 2013 01:00:00 PDT

The Believer’s Gift to Christ, Part 2 (Luke 21:34-36)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 01:00:00 PDT

We are obviously in the midst of the largest, longest, most elaborate and most expensive celebration in the western world, Christmas. Nothing even comes close to it. In fact, you could collect all other holidays celebrated in the western world, put them together and they wouldn’t approximate Christmas. More activity goes on, more events, more spending, more celebrating, more parties, more everything than with any other event...

The Believer’s Gift to Christ, Part 1 (Luke 21:34-36)

webnews@gty.org (John MacArthur) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 01:00:00 PDT