FBC Benbrook Sermons
626 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsThe Sunday morning sermons delivered by Todd Pylant at the First Baptist Church of Benbrook, Texas
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Episodes
From Holiday to Holiness
November 07, 2022 23:07 - 32 minutes - 44 MBMost of us associate thanksgiving with the holiday we celebrate on the fourth Thursday in November. But for followers of Christ, thanksgiving should permeate all of our walk in Christ. In fact, we are called to abound in thanksgiving as we are rooted and built up in Christ. What exactly is thanksgiving, and what does it look like for thanksgiving to so permeate our lives that we abound in thanksgiving? (Colossians 2.1-7) November 6, 2022.
Whet Keeps Me From Using My Spiritual Gift?
October 31, 2022 20:09 - 30 minutes - 41.7 MBThe gospel of Jesus Christ is truly amazing. Not only are we forgiven of our many sins by God's grace through the atoning death of Jesus, but we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when we put our faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit is not only at work within us, transforming us into the image of Christ, but the Spirit is also at work through us to build up the body of Christ. With such an amazing gospel, why did Paul need to tell the church to use their spiritual gifts? Why wouldn't they be usi...
Why Does God Give Gifts That Differ?
October 24, 2022 22:13 - 26 minutes - 36 MBWhy did God choose to give differing gifts to Christians? His divine eternal plan is to create one household of faith, where His children share the love of the Father with each other. But our sin natures make this hard to live out. How do the biblical passages on spiritual gifts encourage us to think and act in such a way as to preserve the unity of the body of Christ for His glory? (Romans 12.3-6) October 23, 2022
The Mystery of Spiritual Gifts
October 18, 2022 15:22 - 36 minutes - 50.8 MBSince spiritual gifts are the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in and through the believer, it is natural that we have some questions about how this works. But, we don’t want to allow the mystery of spiritual gifts to keep us from the mystery of spiritual gifts. Join us for a conversation about the top questions that many Christians have about spiritual gifts. (Romans 12.4-6) October 16, 2022.
Continue in What You Have Firmly Believed
October 03, 2022 17:12 - 28 minutes - 39.5 MBAt the end of Moses’ life, he wrote down all the words of the law in a book and placed it beside the ark. Yet, many scholars today believe that Moses was not the principle author of the Pentateuch, but that it was written hundreds of years later to support the new monarchy and temple worship in Jerusalem. Why is it important that we believe Moses was the principle author of the Pentateuch? Because there is a spiritual battle going on for our faith in Christ, and what we believe about Scriptur...
What Has God Wrought!
September 27, 2022 19:23 - 35 minutes - 48.2 MBThe story of Balaam and his talking donkey is surely one of the weirdest stories from the exodus. As we look deeper than the surface story, we find that Israel was supposed to learn that God is sovereign over all of His creation and present and active in creation. It should have encouraged them to move boldly toward the Promised Land because if God was for them, who could be against them? Unfortunately, they chose to embrace the “god of this world,” which at that time was the pagan god Baal. ...
The Sin of Moses
September 13, 2022 18:50 - 28 minutes - 39.2 MBAfter all that Moses had to endure leading a grumbling group of people through the wilderness, he was disqualified from entering the Promised Land himself for the simple crime of hitting a rock with a stick. Why was the sin of Moses such a big deal in the eyes of God? And what can we learn about being an Ambassador for Christ from his mistakes? (Numbers 20.1-13) September 11, 2022
Submit and Discern
September 06, 2022 22:13 - 34 minutes - 46.8 MBThe Bible teaches us that we are to submit to authority, but most of our favorite Bible stories are about godly people resisting authority. The story of Korah's rebellion against Moses makes us think about what the Bible has to say about authority. (Numbers 16) September 4, 2022
Focus on Hebron
August 30, 2022 20:21 - 27 minutes - 37.9 MBWhen we come face to face with the Giants in our land, whom do we fear? Do we fear the giants or fear the Lord? How does the presence of God, the Word of God, the ways of God, and our relationship with God impact those life changing moments? (Numbers 13-14) August 28, 2022
How Does the Wrath of God Relate to the Grace of God?
August 21, 2022 18:00 - 9 minutes - 13 MBMany of the stories from the exodus experience involve the wrath of God being poured out upon His people in response to their sin and rebellion. How does the wrath of God relate to the grace of the new covenant? As we think through the gospel, we see that the wrath of God drives us to the grace of God and calls us to rest under the discipline of a loving heavenly Father. (Numbers 13.1-3) August 21, 2022
The Parable of the Tabernacle
August 15, 2022 20:17 - 37 minutes - 51.5 MBWhy did God spend so much time giving specific instructions to Moses about how to build the tabernacle? What was God communicating to His people by gifting them with the tabernacle? How does the tabernacle point to Jesus? By reading Exodus 40 and Hebrews 9-10, we learn that God wants to dwell with His people, that our sin separates us from a holy God, and that through Jesus we can draw near to the dwelling place of God. (Exodus 40) August 14, 2020
God is Enough. Prayer Works. Sin Has Consequences.
August 08, 2022 05:00 - 33 minutes - 46.2 MBGuest preacher Matt Miller takes an in-depth look at the Golden Calf story in Exodus 32 (August 7, 2022).
The Gospel and the Ten Commandments
August 02, 2022 16:38 - 32 minutes - 60.1 MBThe Ten Commandments are one of the most iconic passages of Scripture in the entire Bible, but they present an interesting question for gospel loving Christians. What is the relationship of the law to the gospel of grace? How are we both “no longer under the law” and yet called to obey “all His commands”? Why do we embrace these commands that God gave Moses on the mountain, but dismiss almost all the rest of them? How do we read the law in light of the gospel of grace? (Exodus 20.1-17) July 3...
The Wild Ride of Sanctification
July 19, 2022 22:17 - 33 minutes - 46.6 MBAfter delivering His people from slavery in Egypt, the Lord took the children of Israel on a long journey of a changed manner of life to root out the evils of their past. And while it is easy to look down on them for their constant grumbling, the truth is that we are on the same journey of sanctification, and often don’t fare any better. But the good news is that God is gracious and merciful to us as our spiritual growth has its ups and downs. Furthermore, the story of God providing manna in ...
Red Sea Questions
July 11, 2022 21:59 - 33 minutes - 46.2 MBThe crossing of the Red Sea is the most well-known of all the stories of Exodus, and it can be explored from many points of view. But it is ground zero for what we believe about God, about the Scriptures, and how we walk in faith with Him. The crossing of the Red Sea forces us to answer three important questions: Do we believe that God is sovereign over creation? Do we believe that the Scriptures are trustworthy? Do we believe that we need worship to nourish our soul? (Exodus 14) July 10, 2022
We All Stand Before the Burning Bush
June 19, 2022 16:15 - 36 minutes - 49.5 MBThe call of Moses was both unique and common to all people of God. If you are a follower of Christ, you have both been called and are being called. That is why learning from the excuses Moses gave to God as to why he could not do what God was telling him to do is so important for us today. We give the same excuses, but God calls us to His own purposes and grace. By taking a closer look at this story, we see that we all stand before the burning bush. (Exodus 3.1-10) June 19, 2022
Christ Lives in Me and for Me
June 07, 2022 22:48 - 28 minutes - 38.5 MBThe truth that we are justified by faith is more than a doctrine to debate. It is a life changing experience. Those who are justified by faith are crucified with Christ, our old selves die with Christ, and we are made alive, born again. The life we now live, we live by faith in the Jesus Christ who lives in us and for us. And if God is for us, who can be against us? (Galatians 2.15-21) June 5, 2022
What is Freedom?
May 24, 2022 15:04 - 30 minutes - 42.5 MBScripture tells us that it was for freedom that Christ has set us free. In fact, we have been called to freedom. But what does that mean? Does that mean that since our sins are forgiven we are now free to do whatever we want? No, what we discover is that we have been set free from sin so that we can belong to Christ and bear fruit for God. (Galatians 5.1-15) May 22, 2022
What is Righteousness?
May 09, 2022 19:06 - 32 minutes - 44.3 MBThe Scriptures tell us that the “righteous shall live by faith,” but what does righteousness mean? Righteousness describes the person and character of God. Righteousness also describes the righteousness of Christ imputed by faith. But righteousness also describes the pursuit of those who have been justified by faith. How do we pursue righteousness in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of works? (Galatians 3.10-14) May 8, 2022
What is Faith
May 02, 2022 21:35 - 26 minutes - 36.7 MBThe Scriptures tell us that we are justified by faith and not by works, and that this is a gift that we receive by faith. But when the Bible uses the word “faith,” what exactly is it talking about? As we continue to explore Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia where he clarifies the genuine gospel of Jesus Christ, we find out that faith is believing in the truths of the gospel, acting upon the truths of the gospel, and bearing the fruit of the gospel. (Galatians 3.1-9). May 1, 2022.
Drawing the Undrawable
April 11, 2022 20:39 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBHow do you draw the undrawable? The hope of eternal life, the new heavens and new earth, where God makes all things new, is the indescribable future that is difficult to describe. The prophet Isaiah helps us learn to draw the undrawable by contrasting the hope of the Eternal Kingdom of God with the vanity and futility of this world, as described by the book of Ecclesiastes. In Romans 8, the apostle Paul does the same, but the prophet Isaiah paints a beautiful picture of the hope for which we ...
Praying for Miracles
April 04, 2022 20:54 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MB“Dear Lord, I need you to rip open the gates of heaven and come down here and do the kind of things you used to do in the Bible days!” If you have ever prayed like that, you are praying the words of Isaiah 64. The good news is that God did rent the heavens and came down at the incarnation, and He will rend the heavens again and come down at the Second Coming of Jesus. But, God still rends the heavens and comes down when we pray. And this is why we pray Kingdom Centered Miracle Prayers. (Isaia...
Arise and Shine
March 21, 2022 19:34 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBThe Scriptures teach us that the Old Testament prophets (like Isaiah) bore witness to the gospel and the apostles (like Paul) proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ. Isaiah prophesied about the coming “arm of the Lord” who would bring salvation, righteousness, redemption, and a new covenant, and the apostle Paul not only saw Jesus as the fulfillment of that prophecy but then applied the new covenant to the people of God striving to walk as children of the light in a dark world. (Isaiah 59.14-6...
The Spiritual Discipline of Confession
March 16, 2022 13:59 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBOne of the many reasons why our fellowship with God is broken, our prayers are hindered, and God’s gracious work in our lives is thwarted is because of unconfessed and unrepentant sin. The prophet Isaiah confronted God’s people with this hard truth centuries ago, but God’s people still need to hear it. This is why the spiritual discipline of confession is an important part of our walk with Christ, but the discipline needs to be specific, lead to repentance, and be empowered by grace. (Isaiah ...
What Does It Take To Make Us Happy?
March 07, 2022 18:09 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBWhat does it take to make us happy? Since the dawn of time, we have been searching for happiness, meaning, contentment, and satisfaction in places that are powerless to satisfy. The prophet Isaiah asked the question, “Why do you labor for that which does not satisfy?” God invites us to find satisfaction in Him through Christ in us, but we must make the faith step to confess that God alone, the creator and sustainer of our souls, has the power and ability to satisfy our souls. (Isaiah 55.1-13)...
God Pleasing Fasting
February 28, 2022 17:55 - 33 minutes - 31 MBFasting is abstaining from food for a spiritual purpose, and it has been practiced as a spiritual discipline by the people of God since the very beginning, and continues to be today. Fasting is often connected with mourning and confession, but usually it is associated with desperate prayer. The prophet Isaiah described how fasting can become displeasing to the Lord, but also reminds us of a great promise that God does respond to God pleasing fasting. In light of the recent crisis in Ukraine, ...
Behold, The Servant of the Lord
February 23, 2022 15:23 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBIn what might be the most important chapter of the entire Old Testament, the Word of the Lord came through the prophet Isaiah, speaking of Jesus, the Servant of the Lord. These 15 verses lay out the truth about Jesus: His incarnation, substitutionary atonement, and imputed righteousness to those who believe in Him. (Isaiah 52.13-53.12) February 20, 2022
The Furnace of Affliction
January 31, 2022 19:58 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBOne story keeps playing itself over and over throughout the history of God’s relationship with His people: God’s people forget their calling, forsake His ways, and go after other gods. Isaiah 48 is a vivid reminder that our rebellion might lead the Father to put us through the “furnace of affliction,” to refine us for His name’s sake. But the prophet also reminds us that we can never “out sin” the steadfast love of the Lord. The merciful God is determined to redeem His people. (Isaiah 48.9-11...
Modern-Day Idolatry
January 17, 2022 20:57 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBIn the words of the apostle John, followers of Christ are to “keep ourselves from idols.” But is idol worship really a sin that modern day Christians who live in a western, scientific world really need to concern ourselves with? What we can we learn from the prophet Isaiah and the apostle Paul about idol worship? What does modern day idolatry look like? (Isaiah 44.6-20) January 16, 2022
Because I Love You...
January 10, 2022 16:01 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBWe take for granted the truth that God loves us, but when life gets real and painful, we often doubt His love. Isaiah 43 reminds us of God’s steadfast love, that we are precious to Him because He created us, formed us, called us, and redeemed us. God’s love for us is not based upon our worthiness but upon His eternal character, and the cross is the “once and for all” definite statement of His love. (Isaiah 43.1-7) January 9, 2022
Can a Weary World Still Rejoice?
December 13, 2021 17:08 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBOne of our favorite Christmas songs, O Holy Night, features the line, “a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.” Isaiah prophesied that a child would be born, and the angel confirmed to Mary that Jesus was in fact that child. His birth was, and is, good news of great joy, for He is the Prince of Peace and of the increase of His peace there will be no end. But how can we experience this peace today in a world that remains so weary? Is it possible for the weary world to continue to rejoice? ...
What Does It Mean to Call Jesus "Immanuel"?
December 06, 2021 21:19 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBWhen the gospel of Matthew tells the Christmas story, it presents the virgin conception as the fulfillment of a prophecy of Isaiah. However, it also says that His name should be called “Immanuel.” What does it mean to call Jesus “Immanuel”? By looking at the context of the original prophecy, we hear that calling Jesus “Immanuel” is a confession that we believe Jesus is God in flesh, a testimony that God is with us through the indwelling Holy Spirit, and an encouragement to trust Him because o...
Why Should the Nations Say?
December 01, 2021 22:48 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBThe first section of the book of Isaiah is all about trusting the Lord. This section ends with the story of Hezekiah, a king who was challenged to trust the Lord to deliver Judah from the Assyrian army. But the story is complex, and serves as a reminder to us that we should keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, give God the glory when given the opportunity, and be more concerned about the nations coming to know Jesus as Lord than our own prosperity and security (Isaiah 36-39) November 28, 2021
It's Good to be a Child of the King
November 29, 2021 23:09 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBAs we prepare for a week of thanksgiving, we spend some time reflecting on why it is good to be a child of the king. (Isaiah 35.1-10) November 21, 2021
Don't Go Down To Egypt
November 15, 2021 17:26 - 37 minutes - 53.3 MBWhen the king of Judah found himself in a difficult situation, facing a much more powerful nation, he naturally thought of making an alliance with another nation to help him in the fight. But the Lord was adamant that they should not go down to Egypt. The prophet explained why the Lord did not want them to go down to Egypt: (1) because God had already told them to never return to Egypt, (2) because it demonstrates that Judah didn’t really care about God’s counsel or will, (3) because they did...
Perfect Peace
November 08, 2021 16:07 - 18 minutes - 17.1 MBOne of the great promises in all of Scripture is found in Isaiah 26. God will keep us in perfect peace when our mind is stayed on Him and we trust in Him. This is possible because of who God is, how God has worked in the past, the testimony of how God is working in our own lives, and His promises to us for the future. In this sermon, we see how the testimony of David in Psalm 3 illustrates this promise, and leads us in our celebration of the Lord’s Supper. (Isaiah 26.3-9) November 7, 2021
Lucifer, et al.
November 01, 2021 21:53 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBThe only place in the Bible where “Lucifer” as a name for Satan appears is in Isaiah 14. Or is it? A look at the text and the context makes it clear that the prophet was speaking about the king of Babylon and not Satan. However, we should not dismiss this text as something unrelated to us. The reason Isaiah 14 sounds so much like the fall of Satan is because the king of Babylon joined Satan’s rebellion against God. And Christians would do well to remember that Satan continues to entice people...
God of the Nations
October 21, 2021 19:26 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBIsaiah chapter 13 begins the Oracle Against the Nations, which is the pronouncement of judgment upon eight nations that surrounded Judah in addition to Judah itself. This section, which is thirteen chapters long, is a difficult section to read, and forces believers to wrestle with how this passage of Scripture if profitable to new covenant believers. But there is a gospel truth in this section that calls us to repentance and to the struggle of faith. (Isaiah 13.9-22) October 17, 2021
What Do You Do When You See the Lord?
September 30, 2021 14:33 - 30 minutes - 44 MBAfter Isaiah had been speaking the Word of the Lord to the people in Judah, God encouraged the prophet and renewed his calling with an incredible vision. This vision not only foreshadows the atoning death of Christ, but it also speaks to the danger of hardening our heart when we hear the Word of the Lord. Twice Jesus quoted the tough words spoken to Isaiah, and the writer of Hebrews echoes the same theme. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. (Isaiah 6.1-10) September 26, 2021
Doing Justice and Righteousness
September 20, 2021 20:37 - 38 minutes - 31.1 MBJesus was a great storyteller, and many of His parables used the image of the vineyard. One such parable was a retelling of the Parable of the Vineyard told by the prophet Isaiah. The fact that Jesus retold this same parable should cause the people of God to pay special attention to these words from the prophet. The parable makes it very clear that God is looking to find the fruit of justice and righteousness among His people. Isaiah helps us to understand that biblical justice is an overflow...
God Opposes the Proud
September 13, 2021 19:17 - 35 minutes - 50.8 MBFor the Old Testament prophets, “the Day of the Lord” refers to anytime the Lord dramatically intervenes in human history, but the people of Isaiah’s day assumed that God would act to defeat their enemies. They could not conceive of the truth that they would be on God’s enemy’s list. The prophet Isaiah made it clear: “The Lord has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up, and it shall be brought low.” God has always been opposed to the proud, especially when th...
Walking in the Light of the Latter Days
September 08, 2021 15:06 - 34 minutes - 49.5 MBWhen the Old Testament prophets spoke of “the latter days,” they could be speaking of the restoration of Jerusalem after the exile, or the first coming of the Messiah, or the second coming of the Messiah, or even the eternal heaven. And it does make reading great passages like Isaiah 2 a challenge, but this prophecy does remind us that because of the grace of God to be revealed during “the latter days,” it changes how we live today. As the prophet said, we should walk in the light of the Lord...
The Last Stop on the Religious Bus
August 30, 2021 20:58 - 30 minutes - 43.8 MBAfter the prophet Isaiah described the people of God as “a people laden with iniquity,” we can almost hear the crowd rejecting this message. “Look at how religious we are! Look at all the offerings, solemn assemblies, and Sabbath rules we obey to the letter!” But the Lord was not pleased with their worship. In fact, the Lord called their huge outpourings of religious activity an “abomination” and “vain worship.” And the people of Isaiah’s day were not alone, for Jesus even called out the reli...
Meet My Friend Isaiah
August 23, 2021 16:05 - 34 minutes - 49.6 MBThe prophet Isaiah speaks with the conviction that God is present and active in this world, both as a Loving Father and as a Righteous Judge. Not only was this message confronting to the people of Isaiah’s day, but it remains so today for most Americans have no room for the present and active wrath of God in their conception of God. But the wrath of God, rightly understood, does not drive us away from the Righteous Judge. In fact, it draws us deep into the fellowship with a Loving Father. Wha...
The Assignment: Be Disciples Who Make Disciples
August 19, 2021 15:31 - 37 minutes - 53.7 MBJesus commissioned His disciples with the assignment to go to all the nations to preach the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. But the gospel of Matthew ends with the unique commission to go and make disciples of all nations. For the last 100 years, the church in America has put much effort into the “go” of this commission, and all over the world the gospel is growing and bearing fruit. However, in that same time period, the American church has lost focus of the “make disciples” element ...
The Exalted Jesus
August 12, 2021 20:58 - 36 minutes - 51.9 MBWhy did Jesus invite the disciples to watch Him ascend into heaven? One of the reasons is that they needed to see Jesus as no longer the “humbled, obedient to the point of death” Jesus but the “exalted at the right hand of God with authority over all things” Jesus. Seeing the exalted Jesus was and is essential to the church fulfilling the Great Commission. In addition to the many things the exalted Jesus is doing right now, He is sending the Spirit and exercising authority over all powers. (A...
Is There Room for Doubt in Faith?
August 09, 2021 21:19 - 34 minutes - 47.1 MBWe have forever defined one follower of Jesus by his weakest moment. We even call him by that name, “Doubting Thomas.” But instead of being critical of Thomas, perhaps he is a good example of how to journey through our doubts and into faith. The truth is that doubts and questions are part of the journey towards genuine faith, but there are forks in the road where we must choose to view God through the lens of our doubts or view our doubts through the lens of our God. This is why we must deal ...
The Journey to Faith
August 09, 2021 21:08 - 36 minutes - 50.9 MBAfter His resurrection, Jesus appeared in many ways and to many people demonstrating the proof of His resurrection. In one of these post resurrection appearances, Jesus walked with two disciples as they were returning to the little village of Emmaus. And in that conversation, we see some of the common elements that God uses to help us make sense of the Jesus story. God uses the miracles and teachings of Jesus, our hope for deliverance, the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection, the Scri...
The Good News of Being Buried With Him
July 09, 2021 02:44 - 31 minutes - 43 MBThe fact that Jesus was buried after He was crucified was an essential element to the early gospel story. But what is the significance of that fact for believers today? In Romans 6, the Bible tells us that we were buried with Him by baptism into death. This means that when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we were immersed in Him, an immersion that produced an irreversible change. Unfortunately, the good news of being buried with Him is often hidden by gospel imitations. (Matthew 27.57-61) Ju...