When we read the word “love” in the Bible we should always be careful to remind ourselves that it bears little resemblance to what passes for love in today’s world. When the people of our culture speak of “love” they are usually referring to something that impulsively springs from feelings of happiness, warmth, attraction, affection or pleasure. But the Bible uses the word…
If God is not just, God is not good. If God does not respond justly to the unrighteous decisions of his creatures, then God cannot be holy, good or righteous. In the same way earthly judges cannot be good while perverting justice in their courtrooms, the perfect Judge cannot be perfect if he ignores sin. His perfect love does not negate…
Strategic accommodations and biblically allowable personal adjustments will be necessary as we face the painful misunderstandings sure to continue among God’s people, this side of heaven.
Our work for God’s people is more than our duty, or an expression of our love for Christ, it is also our loving service for the people we have every reason to affectionately cherish as our spiritual family.
Psalm 97:10 says it as succinctly as it can be said: “O you who love the Lord, hate evil!” This terse exhortation may come as a bit of a surprise to many Christians. “Hate” after all is something we modern followers of Jesus never want to be associated with. We prefer to be described as loving…
By God’s grace, we can be recipients of Christ’s incomparable love that provides for our most profound needs by means of his life, death, and resurrection.
Love and devotion to Christ motivates serious Christians to sacrifice much in their pursuit of being maximally useful to the Lord.
There are profound and desperately needed Christian benefits that come from being highly committed, selfless participants in your church family.
God has graciously provided Christians his enablement and a set of commands which when faithfully obeyed will safeguard us against the destructive sin of envy.
Love is not as easy or pleasant as it sounds. It is effortless to say “I love you” but so hard to demonstrate in real life. The Bible calls Christians to love “not with words or speech but with actions and truth” (1Jn.3:18). It is not that the words are wrong, but they…
We ought to always be attuned to the practical needs of God’s people, ready to do what we can to demonstrate the love of Christ in tangible ways.
Jealousy is generally perceived as a human weakness. Few would want to be described as “the jealous type.” Perhaps that’s why many choose to ignore the fact that our perfect God has revealed himself to be perfectly jealous. Consider Exodus 34…
The presence and activity of God’s Spirit in our lives is displayed by the increasing expressions of Christlike love, which don’t come easy, but will come, as we understand and cooperate with what God is working to do through us.
God has set the ultimate example of selfless and sacrificial giving that should be diligently followed by all of his disciples – especially at Christmastime.
We should always be characterized by strength and courage because Christ has secured our favored place with the Father and the Holy Spirit will see us through until the coming of the kingdom.
In light of our utter dependence and inherent weakness as human beings we should enthusiastically and thoughtfully give credit to our gracious God for his kind and sovereign provision in our lives.
Our forthcoming resurrection in God’s new and righteous world can be confidently and joyfully anticipated because of the finished work of Christ and the faithful promises he made to us.
Responding rightly to Christ’s redemptive work should result in a growing love for God that produces good works, love for people, and a desire to obey the Bible’s commands.
The angelic beings who directed the shepherds at Christ’s birth provide us with a challenging example of humble service to Christ’s people for Christ’s sake.
The triune God demonstrated love for us in the most costly transaction imaginable; in response we ought to eternally thank him and sacrificially obey all that he commands.
Joseph provides us with a relevant and compelling example to imitate, demonstrating a courageous and obedient faith amid confusion, fear, and disappointment.
Pastor Mike answers questions on the Bible, God and Christianity Questions in this service: 1. How do we now think biblically about the Jewish people scattered around the world? 2. What is the difference between the 4 and 5 points of Calvinism? 3. How do we strike the biblical balance between doctrine and love? 4. …
We must be continually mindful of the unique and exceeding authority of the Triune God we were created and redeemed to humbly serve.
We must remember that our friends’ sanctification is flawed, just like our own, and so we must continue to graciously forgive them when they sin and be wholeheartedly restored to them when they repent.
If we love Christ we will love what he loves and hate the sins for which he died and which cause such great damage to the body of Christ.
God would have us be vigilant about those who wander away from the teaching and practice of the truth, concerned enough for the ramifications of their falling away to lovingly go after them to bring them back.
We have a God-given responsibility to care for our Christian friends in the church, by humbly being used by God to encourage them as they follow Christ.
Understanding something of God’s greatness and our sin, we should always be joyfully and humbly thankful that the Triune God would seek and save us.
Jesus, with every right to establish the terms, makes clear that to be on his team we must give up the worldly norms of managing our own lives and putting our own interests and loves above his sovereign leadership.