Author: Nate Harlan
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True Love Discerns — Philippians 1:7‑11
In our day and age, love is often defined as undiscerning acceptance. In one sense, this is good, but it is woefully incomplete. If we are to abound more and more in the love of Christ, the church must discern between truth and error, and between good and evil.
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The Heidelberg Catechism — God Is Merciful — and Just
As the family study at Trinity Evangelical Church moves through the Heidelberg Catechism, Pastor Nate Harlan asks: How can God be merciful and yet also punish sin?
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The God of Peace Will Soon Crush Satan Under Your Feet — Romans 16:20
Our God is the God of peace. But this is not mere absense of conflict. No, our God earned peace for his children through the violent death of his own Son. And God in turn will crush Satan under our feet.
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The Heidelberg Catechism — God Is Terribly Displeased With Our Sin
After a short recap of Question 9, Pastor Nate Harlan takes the class through Question 10 of the Heidelberg Catechism, which concerns itself with God’s just judgment of disobedience and apostasy.
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The Source of Our Confidence — Philippians 1:1‑6
Salvation, from start to finish, is the work of God, not the work of man. Through this work, God glorifies himself. Thus, our confidence must not be in ourselves, but in God, because “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
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The Heidelberg Catechism — Is God Unjust to Man?
After reviewing our study of Question 8, Pastor Nate Harlan continues to the next question and answer in The Heidelberg Catechism concerning the depravity of man and the justice of God: Q. But does not God do man an injustice by requiring in his law what man cannot do? A. No, for God so created…
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The True God — 1 John 5:19‑21
As the Apostle John wraps up his first epistle, he simply warns his audience, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” But how are we to guard ourselves in a world filled with idolatry and with hearts so eager to construct new ones? Pastor Nate Harlan leads us to this encouraging conclusion of our series on 1…
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The Heidelberg Catechism: Wholly Incapable of Doing Any Good
After a short review of Question 7 of the Heidelberg Catechism, Pastor Nate Harlan leads a discussion on Question 8: “Are we then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all wickedness? Answer: Indeed we are; except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God.”
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How We Persevere — 1 John 5:16‑18
Our salvation does not ultimately rest on our strength, our ability, our righteousness. Instead, perseverance is a gift that is granted to us by God’s unconditional love through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is a shepherd and we are his sheep. That is the basis for our assurance.
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Post-Resurrection Worship — Hebrews 12:18‑24
How did the resurrection of Christ influence worship by God’s people? Instead of being defined by separation, worship is now defined by communion. And instead of being in the shadows, worship is now in the light of heavenly realities. (With apologies for the audio issues in this sermon.)
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The Heidelberg Catechism: All Conceived and Born in Sin
In this lesson, Pastor Nate Harlan and the attendees of this Trinity Evangelical Church family study look at the doctrine of federal headship, a doctrine spoken about in Romans 5, especialy verse 15: “For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace…
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The Heidelberg Catechism: Man’s Depraved Nature
This week, Pastor Nate Harlan and the family study discuss Question 7 of the Heidelberg Catechism: “From where, then, did man’s depraved nature come?”
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That You May Know — 1 John 5:13-15
The Apostle John wants us to have certainty about God’s intentions toward us. He wants to remove all doubts from our minds. How do we attain salvation? Only by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And as Pastor Nate Harlan says, God’s generosity is the basis of our confidence in Him as our…
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The Heidelberg Catechism: God Created Man Good
We review Question 6 of the Heidelberg Catechism: “Did God then create man so wicked and perverse?” We consider how something created as good could become corrupt.
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The Testimony of God — 1 John 5:6-12
In this passage, the Apostle John is concerned with defending the basis of our faith. How do we know these promises are true and that the gospel isn’t just wishful thinking? The answer we receive here is the same answer the Bible always gives: We know the gospel is true because God said so and…
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Overcoming the World — 1 John 5:1-5
You must live by faith to overcome the world. But how do you know if your faith is strong enough? Pastor Nate Harlan gives the good news: Your faith in God is a gift from Him. So it does not depend on your strength. Instead, it depends on His perfect strength.
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The Heidelberg Catechism: Prone by Nature to Hate God
After finishing up Question 4 of the Heidelberg Catechism, Pastor Nate Harlan brings us to Question 5: “Canst thou keep all this (the law of God) perfectly? No: for I am by nature prone to hate God and my neighbor.”
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Knowing and Believing — 1 John 4:13-21
Christian, God loves you. His love for you is shown in the fact that He gave his Son as a propitiation for your sins. And the Apostle John is telling us in this passage that, more than anything, we must know and believe the love that God has for us.
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The Heidelberg Catechism: The Law of God Tells Me
In order to find comfort in this world, we need first to be honest about our sin and misery. Pastor Nate Harlan leads us through the next few questions of the Heidelberg Catechism in which we contrast our felt needs with our true needs as explained by Scripture.
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God Is Love — 1 John 4:7-12
Bumper stickers and graphic tees frequently quote the Bible and simply say, “God Is Love.” But what is love? Pastor Nate Harlan answers from the text of 1 John and the life of Christ: Love suffers willingly for the glory of God and for the good of others. Anything less is a lie.
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The Heidelberg Catechism: How Great My Sins and Miseries Are
How may we live and die happily? The Heidelberg Catechism gives a three-fold answer: Know your great sin, know who delivers you from that sin, and know how to express your gratitude to God for your deliverance. Pastor Nate Harlan leads us through this family study.
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Test the Spirits — 1 John 4:1-6
Pastor Nate Harlan equips us to test the spirits — that is, false teaching inspired by demonic influence. We must be diligent or we will be led away into heresy and idolatry.
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When Our Hearts Condemn Us, Part 2 — 1 John 3:19-24
God’s love for his children is extravagant. In this second part of Pastor Nate Harlan’s sermon on 1 John 3:19-24, we focus on what the Apostle John tells us about this important topic. We are not to live in a state of insecurity about our relationship with God. We are to live trusting in the…
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The Heidelberg Catechism: The Comfort of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit
This week, Pastor Nate Harlan and the family study really do wrap up our discussion of the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism: What is your only comfort in life and death?
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When Our Hearts Condemn Us — 1 John 3:19-24
If you are struggling with the assurance of your salvation, if you lack confidence before God, you are more concerned about yourself than about others. This lack of confidence before God can actually make us selfish and keep us from obeying His command to love the brothers. Having biblical confidence equips us to love others…