Displaced People are not Misplaced People
What is God Doing?
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη), baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:18-20
Joy for the Desert
The need is great and the worth of Jesus is greater.
It’s funny how long it’s taken for that sentence to actually bear enough depth in my being to cause me to act.
Psalm 96: Worship, Preaching, Exulting, and Warning
Weak Men and Weak Methods
Charles Spurgeon said,
"If our Lord does but stamp His foot, He can win for Himself all the nations of the earth against heathenism, and Mohammedanism, and Agnosticism, and Modern-thought, and every other foul error.”...
Baptism for Boldness
The essence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that it is graciously given by Jesus for assurance and power. It is given by Jesus for assurance and power...
To Speak As I Ought To Speak
Resolved, To Live With All My Might
The last few years I have drawn encouragement and inspiration from Jonathan Edwards' famous resolutions and advice to young converts. In case you aren't familiar with Edwards he is one of the greatest intellectuals in American history and many believe he is the greatest theologian produced in America...
Does The New Testament Teach That The Church Replaced Israel?
The word Israel appears 70 times in the New Testament and 68 of 70 times it is clearly speaking of the Jewish people or the land of Israel. Only 2 times could it possibly be understood to mean anything else (That is if you want it to mean something else)...
The Crushing of Christ by Paul Washer
This was another message that was incredibly important in shaping my view of the gospel as I was compiling preaching clips for For Today's record in early 2012. I can remember waking up the next day and feeling a burden and weight on my chest to preach the gospel and even more to pray that I would steward it wisely.
Leviathan: A Hint Into God's Sovereign Control over Satan and Evil
My interest was first peaked in the book of Job early in 2012. I don’t see anything potentially more challenging to our contemporary Christianity than this book. It is at odds with all that is hellish and any remnant of hellishness in us will perhaps be revealed in the exposition of this book. It is considered by most scholars to be the earliest of the Old Testament books and my two cents would be that if we can stomach what the book of Job contains then we are on a good foundation to take in the rest of the Bible...
"Eat my flesh and drink my blood" Communion and The Day Of The Lord
There is a day coming in which final justice will burst forth into the earth. The pictures that we are given of this last day are astonishing; they are vivid, some are violent, they are terrible and they are great. There is this theme of judgment throughout the Bible; in fact, judgment is the backdrop upon which the gospel is drawn...
"You Always Resist the Holy Spirit"
In Acts chapter 7 we read of the church’s first martyr, Stephen. It is a stunning account of his brief trial and execution in which he testifies against those unbelieving souls in Jerusalem who “betrayed and murdered” the Righteous One...
"God is Patient Towards You"
I’ve heard many times when expressing my trust in the definite nature of the atonement that God is “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” I believe that God through Christ purchased the salvation of those who believe. Even more I believe that this atonement includes the faith and repentance by which they are saved (2 Tim 2:25; Romans 8:30; 12:3)...
The Depravity of Entitlement
I have heard numerous times that Jesus' death determines our value, and that we are as valuable as the price paid for us. One example was that no one would pay $100,000 for a $20,000 car because the car isn't worth it, therefore the blood of Jesus wouldn't be spent on people who were not worth it. I couldn't disagree more...
The Backdrop of Grace
Grace finds no sweeter backdrop (and no more important backdrop) than that of our inability, our depravity, and our weakness...
Job: The Story of God's Compassion And Mercy
Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. - James 5:11...
"Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you"
As many continue to teach that the moral law bears no weight on the believer and that Jesus' words were old covenant words (therefore not applicable to us) it seems even more important to stop and consider what it is we have been commanded to do. I firmly believe that orthodoxy leads to orthopraxy, that right belief will powerfully lead us into right living...
The Seven Works of God in Ephesians 1
How much of our salvation is dependent on us? To what degree are we currently held in faith by our own efforts or strivings? I want to open up a topic that I believe is foundational to our understanding of the gospel and how we would preach it to others. I am writing this to help us separate our responsibility from God's...