Author: Nate Harlan
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The Heidelberg Catechism: Autonomy and Dependency
Despite our church’s propensity to go down any number of interesting rabbit trails during the family study, Pastor Nate Harlan says that this time we will wrap up Question 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism. NARRATOR: They did not wrap up Question 1.
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Be Not Surprised — 1 John 3:11‑18
No one wants to be hated, so the temptation for the Christian is to compromise with the world so the world won’t hate us. But as Pastor Nate Harlan says, simply by your example of following Jesus, you are exposing the wickedness of the unbelievers around you. We cannot cave in to the pressure to…
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The Heidelberg Catechism: Monergism and Synergism
Pastor Nate Harlan continues our discussion centered around The Heidelberg Confession. The group talks about our comfort in life and death, and how the world’s comfort is fleeting and even non-sensical.
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Who Is Your Father? 1 John 2:28‑3:10
Are you a child of the devil or are you a child of God? Can you know for sure? What the Apostle John tells us in this passage is that you can discover the answer. But the process is uncomfortable because it requires deep self-examination: Do you practice sin or do you practice righteousness? Hear Pastor…
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The Heidelberg Catechism: Its Three Parts
Pastor Nate Harlan continues our study on the Heidelberg Catechism by discussing the three parts of the catechism: The Misery of Man, The Redemption of Man, and The Gratitude Due from Man.
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Purifying Hope — 1 John 2:28–3:10
Hope has a central importance in the Christian’s life. Just like faith, hope by itself is useless. Hope must have an object. Moreover, you cannot follow Jesus faithfully without having hope. Pastor Nate Harlan digs into the purifying aspect of hope in the first of a series of sermons on this particular passage.
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The Heidelberg Catechism: Its Purpose and History
Pastor Nate Harlan begins a study on the Heidelberg Catechism, beginning with its purpose and history. This catechism was commissioned in 1563 by a Protestant prince to aid in the teaching of Reformed Christian doctrine.
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Abide in Christ — 1 John 2:24–28
We are not saved by sound doctrine. But we cannot be saved apart from it. Pastor Nate Harlan shows us from 1 John that we should be concerned with doctrine because we want eternal life. And to have eternal life, we need to abide in the truth of the gospel and abide in Christ. (Our…
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The Essential Doctrine of the Incarnation: Part Two
Pastor Nate Harlan continues our study on the Incarnation of Christ by enlarging our understanding of the hypostatic union.
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Why Christmas Matters — 1 John 2:18–23
The teaching of the Incarnation, that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, is viciously attacked today. This is an old lie; the Apostle John himself also faced this lie among the heretical Gnostics of his era. But as Pastor Nate Harlan preaches on 1 John 2:18–23, we discover that if the Incarnation is false,…
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The Essential Doctrine of the Incarnation
Many evangelical Christians struggle with explaining the importance of the Incarnation. But this doctrine is essential to our faith for this reason: It protects us from idolatry. Pastor Nate Harlan explains in this family study.
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Love Not the World — 1 John 2:12–17
The Apostle John warns us to love not the world. But what is the antidote to loving the world? It’s remembering who you are in Christ and being thankful. Pastor Nate Harlan preaches on 1 John 2:12–17 and encourages us, especially if we are little children, fathers, or young men.
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Miracles: A Short Detour Into Deism and Nihilism
Pastor Nate Harlan leads another discussion on miracles, and this week the conversation explores deism and nihilism, two philosophies that discount the miraculous but end up in hopelessness.
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The Light of the World — 1 John 2:7–11
The theme of brotherly love is a fundamental concern of this epistle. In order for you to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, you will show love for your brothers in Christ. There is more to being a Christian than having mere knowledge. We also must love the church.
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Miracles: How Secularists Beg the Question
Pastor Nate Harlan continues our study of miracles, and we concentrate on the weakness of secular arguments against the existence of the miraculous.
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Keeping Christ’s Commandments — 1 John 2:3‑6
Do you want assurance for your salvation? Do you want to know that you are in Christ and that God has redeemed you from your sins? Then ask yourself this question: Do I love my brothers and sisters in Christ? What is my attitude toward the church? There is no such thing as a Christian…
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Christ Our Advocate — 1 John 2:1–2
One sin is enough to sever your relationship with God. One act of disobedience in the garden made Adam into God’s enemy, because through that act, Adam called God a liar. One sin leaves us with no excuse and no defense. But we have an advocate in Christ who promises to preserve his sheep. Hear…
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Miracles: Essential to the Christian Faith
Pastor Nate Harlan begins a study on miracles by asking a question that’s harder to answer than it first appears: What is a miracle, Biblically defined?
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Walking in the Light — 1 John 1:5–10
Pastor Nate Harlan leads us through this encapsulation of the Gospel in John’s first epistle. An important lesson: If a church’s members fail to confess their sins to one another, they will not have true fellowship with one another. And if they do not have fellowship with one another, they will not have fellowship with…
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The Reformation: Restoring the meaning of ‘repent’
Pastor Nate Harlan takes an additional week to study the particular theses that got Martin Luther in so much trouble — especially those that outline a true Biblical view of repentence.
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The Word of Life Made Manifest: A Sermon Series on 1 John
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Made Manifest — 1 John 1:1‑4
Why does the incarnation of Jesus Christ matter? Pastor Nate Harlan begins a series through the book of 1 John to discover the answers. We soon realize the importance of doctrine, in this case the doctrines of Christology, that guard us from heresies that would either deny Christ’s divinity or his humanity.
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The Reformation: 95 Theses
Pastor Nate Harlan wraps up our study on Luther’s 95 Theses with an overview of the entire document.
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More Than Conquerors 3: Guarding Christ’s Flock
October 29: “The work of pastors is absolutely essential to the work of reformation.” In his third sermon on the Reformation, Pastor Nate Harlan looks to Scripture to exhort us that the way to reformation happens when pastors do their jobs of humbling us, unifying us, and protecting us.
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The Reformation: ‘Do Penance’ or ‘Repent’?
October 29: We continue our multi-week study celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation by taking a closer look at the Roman church’s sacrament of penance and how Luther’s study of the Greek New Testament was the inciting incident of the Reformation.