Teaching without compromise.
Loving without exception.
Even though we struggle with ideas of judgment and hell, they are important expressions of God's own nature....
Christ died to save a great diversity of peoples. Sin is no respecter of cultures. All peoples have sinned. Every race and culture needs to be reconciled to God. As the disease of sin is global, so the remedy is global. Jesus saw the agony of the cross coming and spoke boldly about the scope of his purpose: “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32)...
Redemption is not good news if it only liberates us from bondage but doesn’t bring us to God. Adoption is not good news if it only puts us in the Father’s family but not in his arms...This is the greatest thing Christ died for. “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). ...
“Imitation is not salvation. But salvation brings imitation. Christ is not given to us first as model, but as Savior. In the experience of the believer, first comes the pardon of Christ, then the pattern of Christ. In the experience of Christ himself, they happen together: The same suffering that pardons our sins provides our pattern of love."...
There is no salvation by balancing the records. There is only salvation by canceling records. The record of our bad deeds (including our defective good deeds), along with the just penalties that each deserves, must be blotted out...
For many, painful circumstances drive us toward one of three, general stress responses: fight, flight, or freeze...But what if we added “faith” to that list? It was C.S. Lewis...who said: “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”...
"Our message this past Sunday from I John highlighted language the Apostle John used in 3:4-9 to describe those not 'born of God'; those who have neither 'seen him [nor] know him'. John described them as those who make 'a practice of sinning' (vs. 4, 8, 9)... While not addressing I John 3, Pastor John Piper's comments on Hebrews 10 can help us with this concept of making “a practice of sinning”, or as the author of Hebrews puts it, 'sinning deliberately'. Piper writes..."...
While colorful hearts and cartoonish cupids are common images around Valentine's Day, the cross was the image the Apostle Paul wanted his reader to be informed and inspired by above all others. As Paul wrote in the opening verses of Ephesians 5, God has called us to “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us”...
Funny how God works. He can even use the misguided pairing of Dodge and Dr. King, on a Super Bowl Sunday, to point us back to true greatness and the One who makes it possible....
Abortion is an assault on the image, character, grace, gospel, and glory of God. For the Christian to see it as anything less than that is to reject a biblical view of God’s gospel and God’s glory...Every child in the womb is a masterpiece shaped by the master craftsman....
Next time you are at a church or event where there is some kind of gospel presentation, be sure to listen carefully. A clear, biblical declaration of the gospel of grace is profitable for both the saved and the unsaved. But how can we be sure such a presentation is in fact biblical?...
Keep Reading...if we claim familiarity with the cross, the reality of what He did then must have a radical impact on who we are now. Good Friday should remind me not only of His death, but also the death to which He calls me....
Keep ReadingIn light of God's command through Peter in I Peter 3:15, what would you say to someone who asked you about your hope in Jesus Christ? Are you prepared?...
Keep ReadingBut while some searching children and uncertain teens may find comfort in a character who is apparently questioning his sexuality, sadly, both the film and the general, cultural dialogue will never venture beyond the boundaries set by the 'new tolerance'. If they did, it might just expose the disturbing foundation that upholds the modern stance. ...
Keep ReadingKids in the worship service? Kids being kids in the worship service? What are we to do?...
Keep ReadingEvery voter is a 'faith-based' voter. But if you are follower of Jesus, then the worldview that informs your vote should first be informed by God. That means the clear picture of reality painted by the words of Scripture should always be our first reference point when it comes to the candidates and issues for which we vote....
Keep ReadingWhile cooler autumn weather begins to blanket our country, the political climate of the nation is still sizzling with confusion and conflict...But what if I were to tell you this polarizing and fever-pitched political atmosphere is not simply “good”, but is actually great for the Church....
Keep ReadingSome thoughts on the challenges of interpreting Revelation 20....
Keep ReadingThe death of the prophet Ezekiel's wife is a shocking episode. Could God be to blame?...
Keep ReadingNot even Google or Bing could search out His understanding. Consider how Isaiah encourages us in our first memory verse of 2015-2016....
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