Cornelius: Drawn to Seek God
We must value and celebrate the pre-Christian grace of God, which he clearly demonstrates in drawing people to a receptive hearing of the gospel of Christ.
grace
God’s Forgiveness
Our theology regarding justification is often revealed by how we embrace God’s forgiveness when we sin. On the one hand, we may say that we heartily affirm the orthodox doctrine of justification by faith (i.e. that we are accepted as perfectly righteous before God by our trust in Christ, without the aid of good works), but on the other hand…
Saul: A New Family
We must see the importance of being a highly-committed and fully-invested participant of a healthy (albeit imperfect) church knowing it is an indispensable part of the Christian life.
Antinomianism
From time to time we speak of the error of “antinomianism” – the belief that for Christians the rules of the Bible don’t apply. “Anti,” of course, means “against,” and “nomos” is the Greek word for “law.” “Antinomians” are opposed to the rules – they do not see…
Grateful for Secondary Benefits
We are called to verbalize to our generation the saving grace of the gospel of Christ, while always promoting the preserving and enriching grace of good and beneficial deeds.
Fresh Start
Embedded in the Jewish calendar of the Old Testament is the ultimate “reset button.” Every fiftieth year, after a perfect set of seven “seventh years,” the ram’s horn was to sound and everything was to start afresh. (See Leviticus 25.) In the “Year of Jubilee,” as it was called, all debts were cancelled…
Real Pleasure
As the people of this world perpetually chase after good feelings by doing whatever their selfish impulses dictate, God has called his children to take hold of profound joy and lasting gratification by cultivating a deepening relationship with their Maker. Sin is deceptive and…
Suffering and God’s Plan
So often we are surprised that God “would allow” suffering, pain and death. But actually, these unpleasant realities are the promised outworking of God’s response to sin in Genesis 3. Our Creator has clearly and consistently maintained that the wages of sin is death – and all the painful
Healing Grace
Because of God’s grace, our lives are full of potential usefulness for Jesus Christ. God has a proven track record of consistently reaching out to restore his stumbling servants. Proverbs 24:16 compares the “falling” of
The Prophetic Anticipation of His Church
We can derive strength, courage, and perspective from God’s longstanding and indomitable plan to build his Church in preparation of the establishment of his coming kingdom on earth.
Love the Lord
Essential to developing, cultivating, and maintaining a vibrant love for God is the practice of continually recalling and affirming the profound expressions of love God has demonstrated toward us.
White as Snow
One of the most heartfelt Psalms as David cries out to God for forgiveness after he is confronted by Nathan for his sin with Bathsheba. Be encouraged by the forgiveness we have from God when we confess our sin to him and are made white as snow.
Credit Where Credit is Due
We must be mindful of God’s unfathomable power and greatness as we consider his creation and seek his gracious gifts in prayer.
Pardon for the Penitent
God is rich in mercy to all, but shows the magnificence of his grace in bestowing favor to the penitent who deserve nothing but his unmitigated justice.
Second Chances
We must be mindful and vigilant of the continual battle we face with sin and temptation, grateful for God’s restraining grace and his immeasurable patience.
The Impact of Repentance
Dig into the key verse for Book of Luke. We should rejoice in our salvation and pursue our sanctification knowing that when God works repentance in our lives his forgiving grace entirely covers our sins and permanently redirects our lives.
Christ’s Life-Changing Power
Realizing our desperate need, we ought to trust the omnipotent Christ for salvation, willing to follow him in this life knowing that soon he will take his great power and begin to reign over all things.
Biblical Faith
Christ calls us to trust him for salvation with the helplessness and full dependence of a little child, and in the process shows his special regard for children.
Loving God’s Gracious Patience
God’s pending judgment is the sobering aspect of Christ’s return that should make us grateful for its gracious delay, motivated by the current opportunity for evangelism, and thankful for our forthcoming salvation.
Loving God’s Undeserved Mercy
We must identify and thank God for his many acts of mercy toward us, remembering that these are small foretastes of the ultimate mercy of the eradication of our debt of sin by his cross.
Astonished at God’s Amazing Grace
Christians should regularly examine and contemplate the amazing grace of God that provides our salvation so that we might rightly worship and sincerely thank him for it.
Grateful for the Gift Repentance
Christians need be extremely grateful for the way God planned, orchestrated, and empowered our turning from sin and our calling out to him to be forgiven.
Worldly Ambition & Godly Virtue
Obtaining the grace of Christ and receiving the honor of service and reward in his kingdom all hinge on a humble awareness that we do not in any way deserve his favor, acceptance, or honor.
Accepting Hard Truths
While the hard realities of God’s just retribution of the lost in hell should sober us, we ought to sincerely rejoice in the gracious realities of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf to free us from that penalty.
The Fear of Perfect Justice
Understanding that God is able to be gracious toward us because his perfect justice was satisfied on the cross should prompt us to be profoundly grateful and extraordinarily gracious toward others.
Questions & Answers 2015-Part 2
Pastor Mike answers questions on the Bible, God and Christianity Questions from Part 2: 1. Is there anything on the prophetic clock that needs to happen before the Rapture? 2. What are the sins that lead to death? 3. Question on persecution. Is there a point where we flee from it. 4. Mandatory vaccination and …
Asking with Confidence in a Good God
Regardless of the answers to our prayers we must remember that God is infinitely good and loving toward his redeemed people, and that above all we have the promise of his Spirit in our lives.
Christ on Hearing God
Understanding and applying God’s truth are gifts from God to underserving people, yet even those graced with the gift of perception must work hard to carefully understand and apply the truth.
