“Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.” – 2 Corinthians 1:24 God has not called his pastors to exercise lordship or dominion over his church, but God gave gifts to the church and called men to preach to help the joy of God’s…
Month: February 2021
Lust and Pride of this World
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” 1 John 2:16 The Apostle John is clearly instructing his readers to pursue the commandments and will of God over this world. If…
Directing Your Hearts
“And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.” – 2 Thess. 3:5 God providentially leads, guides, and directs his children every single day. However, God is not abstract or flippant in the direction that he will guide our hearts. Here we are taught that God will…
A few thoughts on James 1:26-17
“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:26-27 •…
How Do I Study a Book of the Bible?
This question comes up quite often as a pastor. There are really countless ways a person could approach a Bible study. We can read for various reasons. We can read for quantity or quality. Quantity would be for volume, or amount read everyday. A one year Bible reading plan would service this need well. The…
Are we chosen of God for financial wealth and prosperity?
First world countries, such as America, are truly blessed with an abundance of wealth. This unfortunately conditions our society to allow problematic ideas to be perpetuated under the name of the gospel. First, God never promised financial wealth as part of the Christian experience. On the contrary, Jesus did tell his disciples that they would…
John Gill on Eternal Sonship
The following excerpt is from John Gill concerning the eternal Sonship of Christ. “The incarnation of Christ is not the reason of his being the Son of God, but the manifestation of him as such; he was not made, but manifested thereby to be the Son of God (1 John 1:12, 3:8). In the fulness…
Early Testimony to the Date of Revelation
Today I found an interesting quote from Irenaeus. If you are unfamiliar with him, he was a minister not long after the time of the apostles. Many call them the apostolic Fathers or early church fathers. Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp. Polycarp is believed to be a disciple of the Apostle John. Here is…
Choosing a Church
There are various reasons that we hear people choosing churches to attend and join. Typically, the standard reasons I often hear are ‘it feels good’, ‘I like the music’, ‘it had the best programs’, and ‘our children liked it best.’ Church worship should feel good. Worship hymns should be engaging to the experience. Congregations should…