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Faithful to the Finish
Peter's final call to a young and growing church
Grace and Glory
A short series through the highlights of 1 Peter
Entrusted
Gifts, risk, and the return of the King
PERFECT GIFTS Everyone loves to receive gifts at Christmas time. And I am sure that as Christmas approaches, we are wondering what lies behind those wrapped presents. I remember as a child that these four weeks of advent were so difficult. I would go by that tree about 30 million times a day ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25
Tags: Christmas
PARABLES: GROUND RULES The parables help clarify the ground rules of the kingdom. If you’ve ever played baseball, you know that certain parks have ground rules, and the umpires and coaches discuss these rules before each game. For example: At Wrigley Field, a ball that gets lodged in the vines ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 13:10-17
Tags: Parable General
Henry Blackaby said, "You never find God asking persons to dream up what they want to do for Him...Without doubt, the most important factor in each (Biblical) situation was not what the individual wanted to do for God. The most important factor was what God was about to do." (Experiencing God, page ...read more
Scripture: Luke 1:68-79, Matthew 21:1-6
Tags: Finding Fulfillment
Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational
THE TREASURE OF THE CHURCH St. Lawrence was martyred in 258 A.D., but we remember him not for his martyrdom. We remember him as the Archdeacon of Rome. His responsibilities included maintaining the sacred vessels of the small, struggling church and distributing alms to the poor. While he was ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 15:13-16
Tags: Poverty
Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed
Phillip Keller visited a potter in Pakistan and gained the most understanding ever of the meaning found in "Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven." The words of the prophet came to mind: "Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear my words" (Jer. 18:2). ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 6:10
Tags: Lord's Prayer
ON PRAYER Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer told a story on the subject of prayer. A certain minister was in the habit of profound prayers, oftentimes resorting to words beyond the understanding of his simple flock. This went on week after week, to the dismay and frustration of the congregation. At last, a ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 6:5-15
Tags: Prayer How To
ON PRAYER--PART 2 Samuel Pepys was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament in the seventeenth century, who is now most famous for his diary. "Prayer is not a lazy substitute for work. It is not a shortcut to skill or knowledge. And sometimes God delays the answer to our prayer in ...read more
MORE ON PRAYER Leonard Ravenhill - Prayer is not an argument with God to persuade him to move things our way, but an exercise by which we are enabled by his Spirit to move ourselves his way. Harry Emerson Fosdick - Prayer is putting oneself under God’s influence. Pope Pius XII - A man without ...read more
"IF I DON’T LOVE THIS ONE..." There was a little girl who had a very large collection of dolls heaped on her bed. A guest in her room one day asked herd "Do you love dolls" Then, with tender loving care, she spread out the whole collection for the guest to inspect and admire. The guest asked her, ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 5:43-47, Matthew 5:38-48, Micah 5:2-5
Tags: Christian Love
"ANYONE CAN DO THAT..." There was a man named Doug Nichols who went to India to be a missionary. While he was just starting to study the language, he became infected with tuberculosis and had to be put in a sanitarium. It was not a very good place to be. It was not very clean and conditions were ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48
SALVATION AND REPROBATION Someone may ask, "Of what use then is the doctrine of reprobation?" I am glad you asked! Let me suggest (from Dr. Boice) some useful aspects of the doctrine of reprobation. First, reprobation assures us that God’s purpose has not failed. God has determined the outcome ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 24:24-31
Tags: God's Judgment
“In ancient history, tanning was considered a “smelly” trade and relegated to the outskirts of town, amongst the poor. Tanning by ancient methods is so foul smelling that tanneries are still isolated from those towns today where the old methods are used. The ancients used leather for waterskins, ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 3:11
Tags: Tanning
There are three stages of motherhood: young, middle age and “you’re looking fine.” I don’t know about you, but my mother was responsible for teaching me some of the most valuable life lessons I ever learned. Someone sent me some valuable reminders of Mom lessons and I wanted to share a few of them ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 12:46-50
Tags: Mother's Day
Every Christian ought to be ready to stand up courageously and unashamedly for the Lord. How inconsistent that a person redeemed by the blood of Christ experiencing saving power should cower before an unbelieving world On one occasion Frederick the Great invited some notable people to his royal ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14
Tags: Witness, Faith, Forgiveness, Boldness
Charlene Cothran is the publisher of Venus Magazine, which is a periodical for lesbians of African descent. She recently announced on the magazine’s web site that she has become a Christian and has rejected the lesbian lifestyle she had been living. Cothran said that as a magazine publisher she ...read more
Scripture: Luke 9:1-20, John 14:6, Matthew 10:37-39, Luke 16:1-13
Tags: Story, Commitment To Christ
When I graduated high school, I was like most boys. I knew everything. I was going to get a job and get rich by the end of the year. I was going to be my own man and live life the way I wanted to. My father was retired from the Air Force. When I got ready to join the Navy, he sat me down and ...read more
Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 8:1-13, Luke 7:1-10
Tags: Patriarchs Joseph
The Americas cup is coming up this week and we were considering that as a kind of parable for the church. The Americas cup is won and lost on small differences. As with any ship design, a sailing yacht embodies many necessary elements, which must dovetail to accomplish its mission. What is nice ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 13:1
Tags: God's Provision
The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed the employee’s home telephone number and was greeted with a child’s voice, "Hello?" It was a quiet little voice. Feeling put out at the inconvenience of having to talk to ...read more
Scripture: Luke 15:11-32, Matthew 18:1-5
Tags: Obedient, Hearing, Parable Prodigal Son
William H. Willimon, in his commentary on our Gospel lesson for this morning, offers an interesting lens through which we might view this text. He says, and I quote, “How do we see?… What we see seems to be connected to some sort of template in the brain. When sensory images are fed in through the ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 10:24
Tags: Easter Resurrection
Suffering One of the most powerful prayers in the midst of suffering was uncovered from the horrors of Ravensbruck concentration camp. Ravensbruck was a concentration camp built in 1939 for women. Over 90,000 women and children perished in Ravensbruck, murdered by the Nazis. Corrie Ten Boom, who ...read more
Scripture: Matthew 5:44
Tags: Cross Agony
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