Teaching without compromise.
Loving without exception.
Quick question: What's your favorite praise song or hymn about fearing God? Struggling to come up with examples? You wouldn't be alone. Compared to songs about loving God or worshiping God, songs about fearing God are few and far between. And there's a good chance that poverty is also reflected in our prayers and preaching as well....
When a biblical passage appears to be at odds with the current scientific consensus, the problem may be that we simply have further to go in understanding the true meaning of the text...But in other cases...the issue is not the limitations of our biblical knowledge, but rather, the limitations of scientific knowledge....
From the outset, God designed men and women to be social beings. If community was vital in the perfect world before sin bent and twisted us, and our surroundings, how much more vital is it now that we live in a fallen world!...
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..."...
God dwells in the midst of his Church. Therefore Leviticus is extremely relevant for us, especially knowing that “whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction...”. So what can we as followers of Jesus learn about a life with God in the midst? Well, one answer to that question comes from the beginning of Leviticus. Specifically, the first three ch...
Keep ReadingToday, most are not frightened by an eclipse. But our scientific understanding has not made this cosmic event any less powerful. David's confession in Psalm 8 points us to two important lessons, any time we are awed by the sky above. ...
Keep ReadingChurches should not be places of wounding; they should facilitate healing. They should be where the neglected, the voiceless, the broken-hearted, the crushed in spirit and the weary find love, kindness and the hope of Jesus Christ. When you find a people and a place like that, you yearn to belong. ...
Keep ReadingNext 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....
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