KEY PRINCIPLES FROM THIS MESSAGE: P.G. Muller on Jesus in Hebrew 12:2 He strode ahead of all believers in faith and led faith to its definitive end. “perfector” – from teleiotes – means “consummator“; specifically refers to Jesus, the one bringing the life of faith to its complete conclusion (consummation, finish). In every scene of His earthly life, Jesus lived […]
Part 222 – The Book of Hebrews Read More »
TODAY’S VERSE: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” We recently spent some time in prep school discussing the blessing of giving thanks to God. The kids were asked to write down 5 things that they were grateful for, including details about why
KIDS’ CORNER: Giving Thanks Read More »
KEY PRINCIPLES FROM THIS MESSAGE: To have success in ANYTHING of any value in this life, you MUST put in the hard labor. There are no shortcuts, only lies from the KoD suggesting there are, and myriad alternatives to keep you distracted and ultimately, frustrated. Just because grace is “free” doesn’t mean there isn’t any
Part 3 – Commitment, Responsibility, and Accountability To the Local Church Read More »
We all have a sense of fairness we use to evaluate judgement, whether in giving or receiving. For the most part, we obtain this scale of values through experience. For example, as parents we use the experiences from our own childhood to calculate what type and severity of punishment is fair for our children. If
Does the Punishment Fit the Crime? Read More »
I recently traded in my wife’s perfectly good, functioning car for another one. Why? You’ll have to ask her if you ever get the chance. She wasn’t thrilled but fortunately has learned to live with my “issues”. Suffice to say that while my intentions were good, things didn’t work out exactly how I planned. Many
What’s That Smell? Read More »
Shock absorbers are amazing inventions. I know, sounds a bit dorky, but bear with me, it’ll be worth it, I promise! The purpose of a shock absorber in a car is pretty much what you’d think – they absorb bumps and road imperfections so that passengers experience a smoother ride. In addition to that, they
Children Aren’t Our Personal Shock Absorbers Read More »
Within a few years of beginning my ministry, I taught a series on the Book of Job that was quite eye-opening. See, most Christians go to this book looking to commiserate with him in one way or another, thinking the main doctrine taught is suffering. But it isn’t. It is faith. Suffering is nothing more than God’s
I recently heard Pastor Robert Charles Sproul say that a good way to think about joy is to view it as an acronym; “J” for “Jesus”, “O” for “others”, and “Y” for “you”. He said the order is very important if you’re ever to understand what joy is and where it comes from. If Jesus
What Makes for Joy? Read More »
So, you say you have problems, huh? That may be true. What kind of problems do you have then? Are they life-threatening, substantial, medium-grade, or just irritating little buggers that never seem to die off? Problems can run the gamut, and, in some ways, we are born for trouble. For affliction does not come from
So, You Say You Have Problems, Huh? Read More »
I was born with a tender heart. Contrary to this fact, many people in my life consider me prickly or overly intense at times, which is true in some ways. However, I’ll submit that such an outer shell is a protective covering, like a callous built up over years of absorbing the sorrows of others