SAFE SIN, CHEAP GRACE, OR HOOKED – Part 1

Safe Sin Genesis 3:1-4; Ezekiel 18:20-23 “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” (Gen. 3:4-5 ESV) From the very beginning, the old Devil has been trying to

GODLY AMBITION – Part 4

Pleasing Christ 2 Corinthians 5:9-11 “So we make it our goal to please him.”(v. 9 NIV) Paul was not just attached to a CAUSE, the cause of preaching the Gospel; he was supremely attached to a PERSON.  So he says next that his ambition was to please the person of Christ, “So we make it

CONQUEROR

Acts: 4:1-22 “We cannot help but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”  (v. 20) It has been stated that we have now moved into an age of spiritual exhaustion and despondency like that which hungered for the birth of Christ.  “Christianity began magnificently.  It stepped from the soil of Palestine on its

WORSHIP: Part 2

Responding to Our Recognition Revelation 4 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Rev. 4:11 The second important element of worship is response; a response which is based on our recognition of who God

CONTROL – Part 2

“God Has The Final Word” Numbers 13:26-33 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”  (Prov. 3:5-6 ESV) It was Caleb and Joshua who couldn’t control the majority report of the other ten spies,

THE PERIL OF KADESH BARNEA

Deuteronomy 1 “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.  See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. 

THE FRIEND OF GOD – Part 1

Hebrews 11:8-10 “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.” Psalm 34:11 Twice in the Old Testament (2 Chron 20:7; Isa. 41:8) and once in the New Testament (James 2:23) Abraham is called the friend of God.  That has caused me to wonder why it is that Abraham is

JUDGMENT AT THE HOUSE OF GOD – Part 1

Matthew 13:24-30 “For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God? And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner” (1 Pet. 4:17-18) In

A FURTHER REVEALING OF GOD’S NATURE

Genesis 22:15-18 “. . .blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” Luke 11:28 When God called Abraham to leave Haran and to bless the nations he was 75 years old.  Forty to forty-five years after his departure he was still discovering new things about the God he was following.  He

THE CHALLENGE OF LEADERSHIP – Part 1

Joshua 1:1-2 “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.  I will be with you, just as I was with Moses.  I will not leave you or forsake you.” (Jos.1:5) In these two short verses, we see God choosing a man for leadership, and choosing Him for victory. We