Each week our pastors study diligently to deliver practical, thought-provoking messages from the Word of God.
Blame and excuse are as old as man. From the beginning, mankind has had a tendency to make excuses and blame others for failure. All too often, we sit and rot in a prison that only we have a key to. As long as we continue to blame others for our captivity, we will continue to rot there. We cannot always choose what will happen to us, but there will always be a range of options when choosing how we respond to what happens to us.
Read MoreWe are either a part of the Kingdom of God, or we are a part of the kingdom of this world. Those are the only two options, and they are mutually exclusive. We're taught that this absolutism is not legitimate. We are told to reject anything that is absolutist. If we are not careful, in an effort to embrace this ideology, we may swear fealty to the kingdom of this word, one of the two. Christianity isn't a choice among many valid choices. Christianity is a Truth.
Read MoreGod will return when He intends to return. God is concerned with how we live in the interim. We ought to live in such a way that we can be blessed. We're waiting for a return, but we have to make a decision: how are we going to wait? We can waste the days of waiting, or we can be part of God's plan. Live in light of the glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Read MoreGod wants us to own the responsibility the responsibility of getting necessary things done. The tendency of humanity is to make excuses. We ought to ask in each and every situation, "What can I do to be a help?" All too often, we ask, "Why isn't any one doing anything about this?" We need to own it.
Read MoreGod has always sent messengers to the world to call men to repentance. Mankind's response has always been the same: they harken not. God will send witnesses, as He always has, at the end of time. The vast majority of men will not respond. However, despite this fact, there will always be a remnant of people who love God, and His purposes will still be accomplished.
Read MoreThe idea that beauty comes through pain is found throughout the New Testament. It was true for the nation of Israel, it's presented as truth throughout the New Testament, and it's true for us. We are saved through the pain and suffering of Jesus Christ. After Salvation, we are to be refined by suffering. The fact that so few Christians embrace this is fact is the reason we see so few Christians that look like silver and gold. Elementary Christianity is the ability to endure suffering with a joyful, right spirit. We often forfeit the deepest joys in life because we refuse to give up a life of ease and comfort.
Read MoreServing God understands that He is in control. Every day of our lives is under His omnipotent supervision. Our God is in control. The earth is being ripped apart from above and below, and God is in control in the midst of it.
Read MoreZachariah was trying to tell the people of Israel in chapter 12 that a better day was coming. Zechariah said that there would come a day when they realized just how good God had been to them, and realizing this, they would weep because they had neglected Him. The Creator God of the universe is in control of your present circumstances. The goodness of God should always lead his children to repentance. We may look back one day and realize the One Who was pierced for us was worthy of more of our devotion.
Read MoreThe fifth and sixth trumpet represent the greatest judgments the world has ever seen. Demons rise up from below the earth to torment men. They unleash horror and pain. They turn against those who have worshiped them. Sin and darkness always turn against those who serve them. In all of this, men do not repent of the priorities they have given their lives to. Humanity, in its fallenness, gives itself to that which wounds, kills, and destroys. As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.
Read MoreIf we're not careful, we'll persist is pushing for what we want, and we may get it. But in doing so, we may lose what we had. In time, people often get the king they deserve. It is only when we do things God's way that we can experience God's blessing.
Read MoreThe trumpets bring about staggering apocalyptic events as God’s wrath is poured out on the earth. The judgment described in chapter 8 is both sobering and unimaginable. The judgment reveals the hardness of men’s hearts as they refuse to repent, even in the face of awesome displays of power and wrath. Sin has a callousing effect on the human heart. We would be prudent to check the condition of our own hearts.
Read MoreWorldly-wisdom, pragmatism, and self-reliance may get you somewhere, but they wont get you where God can get you. Yet, worldly-wisdom, pragmatism, and self-reliance are a huge temptation for us. Trusting things other than God for life's successes and rewards is tempting, but we should not place faith in the world to meet our needs.
Read MoreMercy is not getting what we deserve. We become the recipients of mercy by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In chapter 7, 144,000 redeemed people sing and rejoice because of this reality.
Read MoreGod chooses to accomplish His will through His own power, not man’s. God saves and protects His people through his own power. We are limited in power and resources, God is not. The primary means by which God’s people are to achieve victory and success is God’s power. If we think we can win in life and gain success based on human effort and wisdom alone, we are sorely misguided.
Read MoreAs Jesus begins to break the seals in chapter 6, the events that follow are awful and terrifying. God effectively removes all restraining grace from the earth, and man is left to face the consequences of his own depravity. The result is catastrophic. We’re reading of a future reality; what should be our response? Future realities ought to press themselves into present conduct and behavior. This revelation is a demonstration of what our sin looks like unchecked. The irony of the tribulation is that those who sided with Satan think they are winning. Their sin brings them gain for a short time, but the reality of sin is that it will always cannibalize itself. Every time we willfully sin we bring tribulation on ourselves.
Read MoreYou reap what you sow. If you want your life to be better, plant seeds now. The only thing that stands between you and what God wants for you is probably you. People often give up on something that is better because it is hard. God wants to bless us, but we have to do our part. We have to sow.
Read MoreHumanity’s hope is utterly dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ alone has the power to redeem our lives. Our everything is dependent on Christ. No meaning can be found outside of Him.
Read MoreGod says, “Your relationship with me will be evidenced by the way you treat other people.” God is concerned about the vulnerable. God is concerned with social justice. He is concerned that those who have the power to help others do so. A gospel void of a desire to help others is not pleasing to God.
Read MoreThis passage is a picture of what heaven will be like. As human beings, we bow down and pay homage to countless other things. However, there is nothing that compares to the incomprehensible glory of God.
Read MoreGod gave Zechariah a vision, and in chapter 6, God revealed to Zechariah that He is sovereign and in control of everything that is taking place in the world. The theology of God’s sovereignty continues to our present world and current condition. Our understanding of this great Bible truth should be reflected in our faith, our hope, and our praise.
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