Posts from 2018
Theology of Work
We spend most of our waking hours working, whether in the home, at school, in our community or in the marketplace. For most people work is tough. A recent Gallup poll showed that 70% of people feel alienated at work. Most Christians live compartmentalized lives – spiritual Sundays and secular Mondays and Fridays. How can we live an integrated and fruitful life? By looking at what God says about work through his Word! The Bible talks about work from Genesis to Revelation,…
Is Jesus in Heaven or in My Heart?
23 March 2018 If Jesus is right now seated at the right hand of God (Acts 2:33), presumably “upholding the universe by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3), then how can he possibly care about the comparatively small issues of my unimportant life? How can the Governor of the universe possibly care that my aging parents require more and more of my time, which is already in short supply? How does the Chief Executive of Creation have time to…
We Who Have Believed Enter His Rest
March 6, 2018 The author of Hebrews makes a breathtaking claim. He writes, “For we who have believed enter [God’s] rest” (Heb. 4:3). This means there is some sense in which those who have believed in Jesus for salvation presently enter into his rest. Believers enter his rest today, but how and in what way? In the March 4 sermon, I suggested that part of the meaning of this sentence is that believers enter the rest of God, here and now, by confidently trusting…
Will I Keep the Faith Through Physical Persecution?
She came to me after the sermon with tears in her eyes. “Thank you for that message. I know that saving faith is an enduring faith, but what worries me is the fear that if I were physically persecuted for my faith in Jesus, I might deny him.” She had rightly gotten the main point of last week’s sermon. The point was that Jesus is the builder of our faith and the only kind of faith that he builds in…
A Lenten Call to Prayer
15 February 2018 This past Wednesday evening 40 of us gathered in the sanctuary to kickoff a unique season of prayer. It was Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent, the forty-day period (not counting Sunday’s) prior to Easter. The Lenten season focuses our attention forward to the time-altering, soul-saving, Satan-defeating, death-destroying victory that Jesus accomplished at Easter. If the Lenten season for you brings with it the bad baggage of painful penance and the denial of things that bring you joy, then…
Think Carefully About the Songs You Sing
There’s a fairly new worship song we have begun to sing entitled “What A Beautiful Name,” put out by Hillsong Worship. It’s a beautiful song and evidently Christians love it. The song has over 100 million views on YouTube. We sang the song for about the fourth time last Sunday. I love the song. It praises the power of the name of Jesus. It declares Jesus as the Word who was present at the beginning of Creation. It proclaims the power of…
Bible Study Tools
Tools for Memorizing Scripture 2018 Memory Verses Here are 50 scriptures to memorize during the 2018 year. Memorize a scripture each week from the new or old testament and let God’s word guide you through the new year. Click Here to See the 2018 Memory Verses Fighter Verses If you need some help and encouragement for memorizing Scripture, then let me encourage you to check out the Fighter Verses memorization app created by Children Desiring God Ministries. It offers 5…