Sermons
How Well Do We Know The History of The New Testament Church-Lesson eight
HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE HISTORY OF THE N.T. CHURCH
- Lesson Eight -
INTRO:
Good evening. Tonight we will continue in the series of lessons on the history of the New Testament church. As last time, we will be looking at the years of the Reformation Movement and some of the key players. Last time we looked at Martin Luther, the Lutheran Church, John Calvin and John Knox and the Presbyterian Church.
When we looked at these reformers we noted that they found a number of things in the Apostate Church that did not match up with scripture. Also the Catholic Church had developed corruption at various levels. The Catholic Church in their eyes had become deficient, false, corrupt and/or inept. They wanted to reform the existing church and bring it in line with what scripture said. These reformers did not always see the same things that needed correcting and when they did they did not always see the same way of making those corrections.
Their work was hampered by the lack of good, complete translations of scripture in the vernacular. It was also hampered by the lack of good communication. Their efforts were, out of necessity, fragmented and slow which led to additional problems and further fragmentation into more denominations. To the point where today there are between 20,000 and 30,000, depending on your reference source, separate Christian denominations.
In looking at the history of Martin Luther we first saw his “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” also known as “The 95 Theses”. Very limited in scope, it was written in a humble and scholarly manner. Nevertheless its statements and questions rankled the Catholic Clergy. If you have interest and access this to material, I encourage you to take a look. It makes interesting reading and gives more insight to the situation of the time.
Let me give some examples: #35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia.
#36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.
#37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.
#81. This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of the laity.
#82. To wit: -- "Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial."
#83. Again: -- "Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"
#84. Again: -- "What is this new piety of God and the pope, that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul's own need, free it for pure love's sake?"
#85. Again: -- "Why are the penitential canons long since in actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were still alive and in force?"
#86. Again: -- "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?"
A series of commissions were set up to examine Luther’s teachings and as a result Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther. Martin Luther appeared before the assembly of the Holy Roman Empire called the Diet of Worms and gave the following answer to the accusations against him. “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well-known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. God help me. Amen. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise.”
These famous words reverberated throughout the Reformation, inspiring many others to take their stand as well. Here is an example of the strength of a reformer in his belief.
We noted the Lutheran Church’s Confessions of Faith are;
1. The Augsburg Confession (1530)
2. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1531)
3. Smalcald Articles (1537)
4. Formula of Concord (1577)
5. Luther's Small and Large Catechisms (1529)
We noted that they believe these are all necessary and are completely supported in the word of God. We were reminded that scripture says in II Timothy 3:16-17 “16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
We then took a look at the Presbyterian Church. This began as a distinct movement during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation at about 1540. It started in Scotland with John Knox and John Calvin. The doctrines are Calvinism and we looked at the five points of Calvinism; Total inability, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace and Perseverance of the saints. These are sometimes called by the acronym TULIP. We also examined each of these points in light of what scripture says and found a definite gap in each case.
I. Now lets have a look at The Church of England (1534)
A. The movement for the Reformation in England progressed and regressed in spurts due to its political relations, differing attitudes in successive sovereigns and the basic conservatism of English nature.
1. In the time of Henry VIII it started with young students in classical literature, and the Bible. Some of these, like Sir Thomas More, did not proceed beyond simple reforms in the Catholic Church and remained Catholic. Others pressed on to the Protestant faith.
2. One of the leaders in the English Reformation was John Tyndale, who translated the New Testament into English working directly from Hebrew and Greek texts. Tyndale never published himself though he tried, but Miles Coverdale took Tyndale’s work, supplemented with his own, and published it in 1535. This was the earliest version in English after the invention of the printing press. Tyndale was martyred at Antwerp in 1536.
3. The Catholic Church charged that Tyndale deliberately mistranslated the ancient text and that the terms “church”, “priest”, “do penance”, and “charity” which Tyndale correctly translated as “congregation”, “elder”, “repent”, and “love”—were heretical.
4. Tyndale was betrayed to Catholic officials in 1536, defrocked and turned over to civil authorities to be strangled and burned at the stake.
i. When Tyndale decided that the Greek word ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) was more accurately translated congregation, he triggered reformers to preach that the true church was the "invisible" church, that the church is wherever true Christians meet together to preach the word of God.
ii. To these reformers the structure, the organization, of the Catholic Church was unnecessary and its very existence proved that it was in fact not the "true" Church.
iii. The translation of the Greek word πρεσβύτερος (presbuteros) to mean elder instead of priest also challenged the doctrines of the Catholic Church.
iv. Tyndale's translation stripped away the scriptural basis of the Catholic clerical power. Priests no longer administered the church: it was the job of the elders, which implied that the power rested in the hands of the people.
5. Tyndale’s Bible had a heavy influence on the creation of the King James Version. It is said that as much as one-third of the text is word-for-word from Tyndale.
6. The groundwork for Tyndale to achieve this remarkable translation was created by Erasmus who when he arrived in England strongly encouraged the study of the Old and New Testaments in the original language. Studies in the original language were encouraged by Henry VII in royal mandate. Little did they realize that this was just an invitation to a scholar like Tyndale to use these readily available texts and translate them into English.
B. The founder of the Church of England is considered King Henry VIII who in 1534 declared himself to be the supreme head of the Church of England. This created a schism from the Papacy.
1. The reason is one we should take note of. The Pope refused his request for a divorce from Queen Katharine. Henry was looking for a consort who would bear him a male heir. The Pope said no, you can’t divorce. King Henry said ok, I’ll fix that. Parliament passed in 1534 the “Act of Supremacy”.
i. It granted King Henry VIII of England and subsequent monarchs Royal Supremacy, such that he was declared the supreme head of the Church of England.
ii. Royal Supremacy is specifically used to describe the legal sovereignty of the civil laws over the laws of the Church in England.
iii. The act declared that the king was "the only supreme head on Earth of the Church of England" and that the English crown shall enjoy "all honours, dignities, preeminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits, and commodities to the said dignity."
2. Anglicans acknowledge that Henry VIII's repudiation of papal authority caused the Church of England to become a separate entity, but they argue that it is really a continuation of the pre-Reformation times and were put in place in 672 at the Synod of Hertford where English bishops first acted as one body under the Archbishop of Canterbury.
C. Doctrines include:
1. The sitting King or Queen of England is Head of the Church. Ephesians 1:22 states Jesus Christ is the head of THE church—not a king or a queen.
i. Essentially it is a Catholic Church under English Rule.
2. The Christian scriptures are the source of its doctrine. Also the teachings of the Church Fathers and the ecumenical councils, and ecumenical creeds in as so far these do not disagree with scripture.
3. Doctrine is expressed in 39 Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal containing the ordination rites of the deacons, priests and bishops.
D. The history in America is interesting
1. It was brought to America in 1578, but
2. It was almost destroyed by the American Revolution. The Revolutionary war internally divided both clergy and laity of the Church of England in America, and opinions covered a wide spectrum of political views: patriots, conciliators, and loyalists. While many Patriots were suspicious of Loyalism in the church, about three-quarters of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were nominally Anglican laymen, including Thomas Jefferson, William Paca, and George Wythe.
i. It was assumed that persons considered "High Church" were Loyalists, but persons considered "Low Church" were Patriots. Possibly an assumption with dangerous implications for the time. In 1783 the Church of England was reorganized and established as the Episcopal Church here in the United States.
ii. Starting July 4, 1776, Congress and several states passed laws making prayers for the king and British Parliament acts of treason. The patriot clergy in the South were quick to find reasons to transfer their oaths to the American cause and prayed for the success of the Revolution.
3. Episcopal Church in America (1783). Samuel Seabury was elected bishop in 1783 and sought consecration in England. However, the Oath of Supremacy, that is swearing allegiance to the monarch as the head of the Church of England, was a stumbling block. Seabury was consecrated by the Scottish Anglican Church which had no such requirement.
4. There was a movement in the Church of England, which emphasized the Roman Catholic heritage of the church (so called High Church) which strongly followed rites, traditions and liturgies. This influenced the Episcopal Church in the 1840s and caused considerable controversy, because many Episcopalians preferred to emphasize the Protestant heritage (or Low Church). In later years the promotion of liberal theology, biblical criticism, the Social Gospel, and the ecumenical movement lessened the tensions between the High and Low Church attitudes.
5. Unlike other churches in the US the Episcopal Church avoided schism. Although it only had 1,866,758 members on its roles in 2014 there are, according to the Pew Research Center, about 3 million people who self-identified as Episcopalian.
6. The Episcopal Church is often called the church of the rich and there is some indication of this. In the 1970s, a Fortune magazine study found one-in-five of the country's largest businesses and one-in-three of its largest banks were run by an Episcopalian. According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, Episcopalians ranked as the third wealthiest religious group in the United States, with 35% of Episcopalians living in households with incomes of at least $100,000.
i. Let’s we have a look at the Episcopal Church’s Prominent Doctrines:
(a) The Holy Scriptures are the revealed word of God, which inspired the human authors of the Scripture, and which is interpreted by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
(b) The Nicene Creed is the basic statement of our belief about God. (Some add the Apostles’ Creed here)
(i) The Apostles' Creed is the ancient creed of Baptism; it is used in the Church's daily worship to recall our Baptismal Covenant.
(ii) The Nicene Creed is the creed of the universal Church and is used at the Eucharist.
(c) The two great sacraments given by Christ to the Church are Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.
(d) The teachings and beliefs of the Episcopal Church are articulated in an "Outline of the Faith" in the Book of Common Prayer
(e) Infants are baptized so that they can share citizenship in the Covenant, membership in Christ, and redemption by God.
(f) Saved by Faith Only
(g) Jesus died in order to reconcile the Father to us. Can we see that? God’s the one who departed and He has got to come back to us. The Bible doesn’t say that. The Bible says “our sin has separated Him”. We’re the ones who departed. Christ’s death on that cross reconciled us to the Father not the Father to us.
(h) Baptism by pouring or immersion. Notice that sprinkling is dropped in the Episcopal Church.
(i) Observe special days
7. The organization of the Episcopal Church in the United States falls into provinces. If you fall in one of these provinces you are governed by a Bishop then you go to the General Council and the Assembly. There are nine different provinces in the United States.
i. When you look at the government, it is overseen by Rectors, which is the priest, which is the same as Catholic government.
ii. They have Wardens that keep church records and councils
iii. There are Vestrymen in charge of church property
iv. Parishes are grouped into Dioceses with a Bishop as Head over each diocese.
v. Diocesan Convention takes place annually.
vi. A General Convention is held every 3 years by a Presiding Bishop. This is where they decide if homosexuality should be condemned or whether or not divorce for any reason should be tolerated and laws of God are changed.
(a) Scripture: makes no mention of diocesan episcopacy—one bishop ruling over several churches.
(b) Bishop, elder, and overseer are three names for the same office. Acts 20:17,28 – Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:5-7
(c) Scripture shows that each New Testament congregation has a plurality of elders or bishops but in no case does an elder or bishop have a plurality of congregations. Acts 14:23; 15:2,22,23; Philippians 1:1-2; 1 Timothy 3:1-8; 1 Timothy 5:17
E. I will not go into more detail of the Episcopal Church for it is really popery without the pope.
II. Next I would like to take a look at the Methodist Church (1729)
A. The place once again is England. Founded by John and Charles Wesley.
B. John Wesley was an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church. He lived and died an Episcopalian and had no intention of starting a new movement.
C. John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield and others, about a dozen, at the University of Oxford joined the “Holy Club” where they met for prayer, Bible study and pious discipline. Their intention was to "read over" (skim through and discuss) the Classics together, which they had already read before privately and to read a book about divinity on Sundays.
1. The actual title of "The Holy Club" was not a name which any of the members came up with, but rather was a title bestowed upon them (most likely as an insult by those trying to mock them).
2. Jeering college students scoffed at these "Methodists" who tried to systematically serve God every hour of the day. The club members set aside time for praying, examining their spiritual lives, studying the Bible, and meeting together. In addition, they took food to poor families, visited lonely people in prison, and taught orphans how to read. Members of the organization celebrated Holy Communion frequently and fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays until 3 P.M.
3. University wits styled them the "Holy Club" or "Methodists", as a title of derision. They were dismissed as "enthusiasts" (indicating excessive religious behavior, or fanaticism.) Critics of the Holy Club recited a popular ditty:
i. “By rule they eat, by rule they drink,
ii. By rule do all things but think.
iii. Accuse the priests of loose behavior.
iv. To get more in the laymen's favor.
v. Method alone must guide 'em all
vi. When themselves "Methodists" they call.
D. Interestingly part of the reasoning for forming this society was to overcome the formalism and ritualism for the Episcopal Church. They wanted to stimulate piety and spirituality among their members.
1. Other societies developed along these lines and after the death of John Wesley they banded together under a conference and became known as the Methodist Episcopal Church yet they considered themselves as a part of the Episcopal Church.
2. The Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States originated with the Christian Conference held in Baltimore in 1784. In that conference they adopted The Book of Discipline prepared by John Wesley which reduced the 39 articles of the Episcopal Prayer Book to 24 and added one covering the rulers of the US, and they adopted the Apostles Creed.
3. There were several “awakenings” and splits in the US and today there are the following:
i. African Methodist Episcopal Church
ii. African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
iii. Association of Independent Methodists (not a part of the World Methodist Council)
iv. Bible Methodist Connection of Churches (not a part of the World Methodist Council)
v. Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
vi. Church of the Nazarene
vii. Evangelical Methodist Church of America (not a part of the World Methodist Council) Fundamentalist.
viii. Free Methodist Church. In practice conservative and low church.
ix. Fundamental Methodist Conference (not a part of the World Methodist Council)
x. Primitive Methodist Church (not a part of the World Methodist Council)
xi. Southern Methodist Church (not a part of the World Methodist Council) (Conservative)
xii. United Methodist Church, (UMC) The United Methodist Church allows for a wide range of theological and political beliefs. Somewhat liberal.
xiii. Wesleyan Church
E. Many of the doctrines the Methodists have are inherited from the Episcopal Church which in turn inherited them from the Catholic Church. Prominent Doctrines are:
1. The Church is composed of many branches, of which the Methodist Church is one. (From the preamble of the Constitution of the Methodist Episcopal Church.)
2. Salvation by Faith Only
3. Baptism by Sprinkling, Pouring, or Immersion. The Church of England dropped the sprinkling. In the Methodist Church you can do it anyway you want.
4. Infant Baptism was for total depravity, but the reason was changed in 1910 to be more acceptable.
5. Instrumental Music was acceptable to them.
6. Jesus died in order to reconcile God to man not man to God.
F. The Organization is:
1. Pastor over local church appointed by Bishop
2. District Conferences; Annual Conferences
3. Jurisdictional Conferences and General Conferences
III. Anabaptism. The name Anabaptist means "one who baptizes again". Their persecutors named them this, referring to the practice of baptizing persons when they converted or declared their faith in Christ, even if they had been "baptized" as infants. Anabaptists believe that baptism is valid only when the candidate confesses his or her faith in Christ and wants to be baptized. This believer's baptism is opposed to baptism of infants, who are not able to make a conscious decision to be baptized. The Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites are direct descendants of the early Anabaptist movement.
A. Anabaptists do not believe they are re-baptizing. Balthasar Hübmaier in 1526 stated; “I have never taught Anabaptism.... But the right baptism of Christ, which is preceded by teaching and oral confession of faith, I teach, and say that infant baptism is a robbery of the right baptism of Christ.” As an aside, Baptists get around this issue claiming believer’s baptism is a symbol and not a requirement for salvation.
B. The Anabaptist movement began in an instance in Zurich. Sixteen people met on Saturday evening, January 21, 1525 “After prayer, George of the House of Jacob (George Blaurock) stood up and besought Conrad Grebel for God's sake to baptize him with the true Christian baptism upon his faith and knowledge. And when he knelt down with such a request and desire, Conrad baptized him, since at that time there was no ordained minister to perform such work.”
C. “After Blaurock was baptized; he in turn baptized others at the meeting. Even though some had rejected infant baptism before this date, these baptisms marked the first re-baptisms of those who had been baptized as infants and thus, technically, Swiss Anabaptism was born on that day.”
D. Anabaptists beliefs are:
1. Adherence to a literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount which precluded taking oaths, participating in military actions, and participating in civil government.
2. Voluntary church membership and believer's baptism
3. Freedom of religion – liberty of conscience
4. Separation of church and state
5. Separation or nonconformity to the world
6. Nonresistance, in modernized groups interpreted as pacifism
7. Priesthood of all believers
IV. Finally lets look at the Baptist Church (1607)
A. The origin of the Baptist Church is hidden in obscurity. Churches who call themselves Baptist are divided on the issue. The earliest Baptist Church known to exist was organized in Holland by John Smyth. They rejected infant baptism, and believed that the church should consist of those baptized on a personal confession of faith. Smyth re-baptized himself and others by affusion (pouring).
B. The first Baptist Church in England was organized in 1612 by Thomas Helwys and they were called General Baptists. Helwys was influenced by his friend John Smyth and early Puritans Helwys sheltered in his home. Helwys wrote several important works arguing for religious liberty, infants are not condemned, all men are redeemed by Christ, and God is not the cause of any man’s sin. The King had him imprisoned where he died in 1616.
C. The Baptists in the US are not directly descended from their English brethren. In 1639 the US Baptists were organized in Providence RI by Roger Williams and in Newport RI by John Clarke.
D. Diverse from their beginning, those identifying as Baptists today differ quite widely from one another in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in the Christian life.
E. Prominent Doctrines:
1. Total Depravity & Salvation by Faith Only
2. Baptism Not essential to salvation
3. Baptism is essential to membership in Baptist Church. If you want to be in the Baptist Church, they require that you be baptized. It’s not to be saved. It’s not even to indicate that you have been saved, but rather to indicate that you are joining the Baptist Church.
4. Candidates for baptism must be voted on by a group or council in the local assembly. If you come forward and say: “I want to be a member”, there has to be a vote.
5. The Impossibility of Apostasy (once saved always saved) is generally accepted, except in the Free Will Baptist Church where that is denied.
6. They observe Closed Communion usually on 1st Sunday of the month. When we talk about Open Communion and Closed Communion, if you are visiting with us and are not a member of the church and you partake as the trays come by you, that’s an open communion. A Closed Communion according to them is for members.
F. Organization is:
1. Pastor, that is the preacher, is singular and no elders. There are only Deacons in offices in local churches.
2. Conventions and Associations.
G. When it comes to the Theological History Of The Baptist Church it’s rather interesting:
1. The first two Baptist churches which were established in Holland and England were "General" Baptist churches. That is they believed in a general atonement for all, thus rejecting Calvinism's limited atonement.
2. Here in the United States the first "Particular" church dates back to 1638. The Particular Baptists were Calvinistic in theology. A third body, the Immersion Baptists, broke away from them, and in 1644 wrote a confession of faith that became very Calvinistic in doctrine. Basically you have fragments within fragments of the church.
3. The first two Baptist churches in America were Particular, or Calvinistic, churches of which Alexander Campbell was a part. This is where our study is going in this history. We are going to look at the Restoration Movement next time. When we do we will address the questions that so many times is expressed about of the church—are we Campbellites? Or did Alexander Campbell start the church of Christ?
4. Calvinistic principles, to a greater or lesser degree, continue to be the theological standard for many Baptists even today.
H. The Major Baptist Confessions Or Declarations of Faith Include:
1. The London Confession of Faith (1644). Issued by seven Baptist churches.
2. The Second London Confession (1677) was strongly Calvinistic.
3. The Philadelphia Confession (1742) which is the same as the Second London Confession, plus two additional articles.
4. The major Baptist Confessions include The New Hampshire Confession (1833) which is mildly Calvinistic.
5. The Abstract of Principles (1859) was adopted by the Southern Baptist Seminary, and by the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1950. Then the Baptist interpretation of the Westminster Confession Which came from the Church of England.
6. The Baptist Faith And Message was accepted in 1925 and then revised in 1963. That was adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention.
I. Why is it so important to know about the organization in each of these churches?
1. Because:
i. Even in the first century we see that Apostasy often begins with changes in organization.
ii. We want to be united upon the scriptural pattern. - Christ as Head, there is a scriptural precedent in which the Bible shows how a church is to be organized. The Organization of a local church is a means of identification. If Jesus is the Head, speaking through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles in the Word of God, then the local congregations need to be overseen by elders—it’s elders, deacons and saints.
iii. Organization reveals purpose...
2. When we look at the organization of these churches through time we always must keep in mind what Jesus said in Matthew 16:18: I will build My church.
3. It’s important for us to know the time, place, founder and the name or designation. The church that is found in the New Testament was established on the day of Pentecost. The church in the New Testament found its place in prophesy coming and stemming from Jerusalem. The church of the New Testament’s founder is Jesus Christ. He said and I will build. The designation of those that are in the body are just simply the church, the called out.
4. What we have witnessed in looking at this history, is the wrong starting time, wrong starting place, wrong starting founder, the wrong focus of worship and definitely the wrong designation or name and therefore it is impossible for these to be the church that Jesus said He would build.
CONCLUSION:
It becomes clear to us that when we look at history and look at what we have today that these men who have protested and reformed, admittedly with good intentions, through myopic vision they were simply taking what was broken and shinning up some of it and adding a few new parts.
What we’re going to look at next, is men who said the restoring of the New Testament church is what is needed. We’ll see men who started to go back but they got side tracked while others managed to go all back the way. We’ll see a man who went all the way back and who said what we need is book, chapter and verse for everything.
There is a mess of denominationalism today. The main groups have splintered and splintered and splintered here in the United States and are not even recognizable in some places even if they have the name.
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If you’re here this evening and you’re not a Christian, which body do you belong to? Jesus said He is the Savior of His body. Ephesians 5. He died, gave Himself to save His body.
Thirty-five hundred protestant denominations in the United States. Christ didn’t die for 3500. He died for His body. The terms that were applied on the day of Pentecost for one to be in His body are the same terms that you’ll find in the New Testament church today. Having heard the word of God, believed that it is the word of God and not the word of men, willing to repent of your sins, confess that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, and be buried in the waters of baptism for the remission of your sins. The Lord will add you to His church and then He requires of you to live faithfully until death. If we can help you in any way here this evening won’t you come forward while together we stand and sing.
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Reference Sermon - John Cripps
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