Sinclair Ferguson Preaches The Magnificat

Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC, delivers a stirring message on Mary’s Magnificat in Luke 1:30-56.

Listen to this sermon by clicking here: Magnificat

Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

(Luke 1:46-55)

Filed under: Christmas, Incarnation, Jesus, Sinclair Ferguson

The Completeness of the Substitution

Adapted from the writings of Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

In person and in work, in life and in death, Jesus Christ is the sinner’s Substitute.  His vicariousness is co-extensive with the sins and wants of those whom he represents, and covers all the different periods as well as the varied circumstances of their lives.

Jesus entered our world as the Substitute: “There was no room for [him] in the inn (Luke 2:7) – the inn of Bethlehem, the city of David, his won city.  “Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,” Paul wrote of him (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Jesus began his life in poverty and in banishment.  He was not allowed to be born or to die as anything but an outcast man.  “Outside the city” (Hebrews 13:12) was his position as he entered and as he left our earth.  Man would not give even a roof to shelter or a cradle to receive the helpless babe.  It was as the Substitute that he was the outcast from the first moment of his birth.  His vicarious life began in the manger.  For what can this poverty mean, this rejection by man, this outcast condition, but that his sin-bearing had begun?

The name, too, that met him as he came into our world intimated the same truth: “You are to give him the name

Filed under: Christmas, Incarnation, Jesus, Salvation

Readings for Advent

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas

Publisher: Crossway/Good News Publishers
Author: Guthrie, Nancy (editor)
ISBN-13: 9781433501807
Binding: Paperback

It is imperative that all Christians keep their minds and hearts focused on Christ during the Christmas season. Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus is an anthology of Advent readings collected from the writings and sermons of 22 classic and contemporary theologians and Bible teachers.

Between purchasing presents and planning travel, enjoying holiday pageants and attending parties, it is all too easy for Christmas to sneak up on people and crowd out a quiet anticipation of this sacred season. So when editor Nancy Guthrie decided she wanted a reflective book of Advent readings by writers who held a high view of Scripture, she embarked on what she calls a sacred adventure, putting together such a collection herself. This special volume draws from the works and sermons of classic theologians such as Whitefield, Calvin,

Filed under: Book Recommendations, Books, Books and Resources, Christmas, Incarnation, Jesus

The Joy of the Nativity

Adapted from a sermon by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

Awake, you who lie in the dust – awake and give praise.  Behold the Lord cometh with salvation.  He comes with salvation, he comes with unction.  He comes with glory.  Jesus cannot come without salvation, Christ cannot come without unction, nor the Son of God without glory.  For He Himself is salvation, He is unction, He is glory, as it is written, “A wise son is the glory of his father.”

Happy the soul who has tasted this fruit of salvation, and is drawn to “run in the odor of his ointments,” that she may “see his glory, the glory of the only-begotten of the Father.”  Take courage, you who are lost: Jesus comes to seek and save that which was lost.  You sick, return to health: Christ comes to heal the contrite of heart with the unction of His mercy.  Rejoice, all you who desire great things: The Son of God comes down to you that He may make you co-heirs of His Kingdom.  I beseech you, then, O Lord, heal me, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; glorify me, and I shall be glorious.  Then indeed shall my soul bless the Lord, and all that is within me praise His Holy Name, when he shall have been merciful to my iniquities, have healed my infirmities, and have filled my desire with good things.

Filed under: Christmas, Incarnation, Jesus, Salvation

God With Us

For the past few days I have been thinking about the birth and incarnation of the Lord Jesus. About this time of year I begin to get out my Christmas CD’s and listen to a few of my favorite songs. Then I put them away and revive them again after Thanksgiving. However, this year while meditating upon the birth of our Lord I was struck with an inner sweetness and delight when thinking of the Apostle John’s words, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). I was enraptured with joy when what came to my mind was a sweet conjunction of humility and majesty, of divinity and flesh, of meekness and glory. Just to think that the King of the cosmos became flesh in order to purchase and pardon and join Himself with His beloved Bride, the church, for the glory and exaltation of God the Father.

The church father, Junius, has written of his reaction to the first time he ever read John 1:14, “At the very first view, although I was deeply engaged in other thoughts, that grand chapter of the evangelist and apostle

Filed under: Christmas, God, Incarnation, Jesus, Salvation