Psalm 119:105-112 Bible Life Either you believe the Bible is God’s Word or you don’t. If you believe that the Bible is God’s Word, then you should obey it. If you don’t obey it, then you don’t believe God’s Word. If you believe God’s Word, then you really don’t believe God. The number eight is stamped all over this psalm. Each section has eight verses; there are eight special names for God’s Word listed; there are eight symbols of the Word given; the... Read more
1 Peter 4:12-19 Personal Persecution “Why me?” we ask when fiery trials come upon us. The real question is, “Why not?” If suffering loosens sin’s grip on us and causes others to see us differently, if it places us in good company, keeps us focused on eternity, and frees us to participate in ministry—why wouldn’t we embrace it as a necessary part of our growth?1 FIVE REALITIES OF PERSONAL PERSECUTION FOR THE CHRISTIAN Expect personal persecution as a Christian. (1... Read more
Matthew 25:14-30 My Responsibility I have entitled today’s sermon “My Responsibility” (Matthew 25:14-30). I am beginning a series today about “My Responsibility.” In this sermon series, we will look at responsibility in various areas of my Christian life. We will look at the fact that I need to be responsible and the kinds of responsibilities that God gives me. In Matthew 25, we have three parables. Each parable describes two groups of people: believers and unbelievers. The believers are the virgins... Read more
1 Peter 4:1-11 End-Time Ethics We have been sharing during this series on 1 Peter qualities that each Christian should have. We have come to the point where we will talk about how we should behave since we know that Jesus is soon returning. Of course, Peter expected for Jesus to return soon. However, we know clearly that Jesus is returning soon. We can see the signs all around. Since we know this, there are two main focuses in this... Read more
1 Peter 3:18-22 Heavenly Resolve Jesus Christ had heavenly resolve. He was willing to suffer for our sins, for everyone’s sins (the righteous and unrighteous.) The thought is that Christians, when they suffer for well-doing, are following in Christ’s steps.1 Jesus used a heavenly resolve to die for our sins so that we could come to God. (1 Peter 3:18) The death of the Messiah did not destroy Him, and death will not destroy the suffering and persecuted believer.2 This... Read more
Prophecy Watch: ISIS’s March Into Iraq Prophecy Watch: ISIS’s March Into Iraq – is a simple thought reflection on ISIS the daughter of al-Qaeda has entered into Iraq. People need to be watching the events unfolding right now in Iraq. Iraq is the home of the former kingdom of Babylon. Both Syria and Iraq have played important roles in the Bible and will play future roles in Biblical prophecy. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (also known as the... Read more
The Republicans in Congress Are All Christian Now After the defeat of Eric Cantor in this week’s primary, as this article notes, the Republicans in Congress are all Christian now. The Washington Post shows a set of graphics which are very intriguing. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s primary loss means Congress will soon say goodbye to its only Jewish Republican. And not only that; it also means there will likely be no Republicans in Congress who profess to be anything other... Read more
Third Way Christianity There has been lots of discussion lately about many social issues, especially gay marriage, in Christian circles. The controversy centers on two different ideas: (1) gay marriage is a sin and therefore those who claim to be gay or believe in gay marriage should not be accepted into the church and (2) gay marriage is proper, and therefore we need to be accepting of such people in the church. This has come to light because Pastor... Read more
The New Covenant by Bob Emery is a narrative of the New Testament. The book claims to be a “dramatic story behind the faith once for all delivered to the saints”. The narrative style is unique at first, but drags in the later chapters. It was interesting how the author weaved all of the New Testament authors in such a way to see how the New Testament would be put together as the canon. At the same time, the book... Read more
Prophecy Watch: Universal Translator In Star Trek, the crew could instantly communicate with different aliens because the computer provided a simultaneous automatic translation. Microsoft and Google are both in a race to be the first company to provide a universal translation of any conversation. Microsoft unveiled a new service for Skype on Tuesday that can understand spoken words and translate them into another language, and speak them back almost in real-time. Skype Translator will be available for Windows 8 before the end... Read more
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