There are those in the religious world today who ridicule the idea of keeping commandments. They claim that keeping God’s commandments have nothing to do with our salvation today. If someone objects and says that we must keep God’s commandments to be saved, the charge of legalism is leveled against him. Is it true that […]
There they stood. Hand in hand; heart to heart. He was seventeen; she was sixteen. They had known each other since kindergarten, but had never really taken notice of one another. One day, however, she gave him a flirting glance that prompted him to return the flirt in kind. He asked her out and she, […]
Each year around this time it is popular for different social groups to host egg hunts. Someone takes the eggs and hides them in various “secret” places in a designated area and then children go out and look for the eggs. There are, among the children, various different kinds of hunters. There are those who […]
I do not understand all the teachings on divorce and remarriage. I would like to understand how it all works. I’ve had two husbands who were terrible men. I realize I am the one that twice filed for divorce. Am I to be punished for thinking of what is best for my child? Thanks for […]
Please open your Bibles to Job 2:7-13. Description of Job’s Disease Vs. 7-8 – Satan unleashes his second sortie against Job afflicted Job with a terrible disease. From the various descriptions of Job’s disease in the book (Job 2:8; 7:4-5; 13:14; 13:28; 16:16; 16:8; 17:1; 19:20; 19:26; 30:17; 30:30), it has been strongly suggested that […]
God, in His wisdom, saw fit from eternity to establish the church. Ephesians 3:10-11 reads, “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This organization of […]
The Officials Declare – Jesus Is King Matthew’s purpose in this chapter is to explain how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies related to his locative origins and tell us how Jesus ended up coming from Nazareth. One criticism that was leveled against Jesus was that no prophet ever arose out of that area (John 7:52). Matthew […]
Does God honor all marriages? — Kevin Cauley answer the question, “Are all marriages from God” answering the question from the Bible.
February 26th, 2003 Based upon the definitions upon which we agree about general and specific authority, I argue that the church has general authority to give to non-saints from Galatians 6:10. The reasoning that I would offer on this behalf is that Paul is writing to the churches of Galatia (1:2) and so the epistle […]
Several years ago, I was having a conversation with someone about getting credit for ideas. I mentioned to them that it doesn’t matter to me if I get credit for an idea or not, because God knows who did what and I was content to let God handle such things. This person then wondered whether […]
The other day I was having a conversation with someone who was, in essence, asking for a list of things that were right and wrong for Christians to do. His contention was that since we believe that we must be obedient to God and live a life that is holy and pure that therefore, we […]
What Does Convict Mean? Please help me to understand the word “convict” more clearly. What does it mean when we say that God ‘convicts’ us of our sins? Without ‘conviction’, we may not want to make a commitment. Thanks for your question. The word is only used once in the KJV (John 8:9). It is […]
We have all watched shows from time to time purporting to explain certain “mysteries” within the Bible. Usually in these programs, the writers set forth an allegedly “unexplained” phenomenon discussed in the scriptures and then seek the professional opinions of scholars and educators from different institutions of higher learning. The result of these programs is […]
Why does God refer to Jerusalem as his daughter? The first reference to Jerusalem as a daughter occurs in the Psalms. Psalm 9:13, 14 says, “Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death: That I may […]
SUBJECT: False Doctrine
TITLE: The Doctrines of Gnosticism
PROPOSITION: In this lesson we will examine the doctrines of Gnosticism as newly touted by the popular media in “The Da Vinci Code,” “The Gospel of Judas,” and others.
OBJECTIVE: That each would understand what Gnosticism was, how the New Testament deals with those doctrines and why popular culture gets it wrong.
INTRODUCTION:
1. Read: Jude 1:3-5
I heard a TV minister say that if you could not learn to love your spouse then you could not learn to love Jesus. Is this true? This is absolutely true 100%. Notice what John says in 1 John 4:21, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: […]
SUBJECT: God’s Family, Blessings
TITLE: The Blessings of Being a Child of God
PROPOSITION: To be a child of God is to have the blessing of: 1) Forgiveness, 2) Family 3) A Father 4) Felicity.
OBJECTIVE: That each would be encouraged in knowing that they are children of God.
Aim: To use fatherhood as an illustration of what it means to be a child of God.
INTRODUCTION:
1. Read: 1 John 3:1-3
Every week is an adventure of the mind here in Berryville. Just when you think that you have “seen it all” something happens to make you realize that there are no bounds to which people will go in their minds to justify their own preconceived notions about how they think God works in their lives. […]
At the end of Acts 18 and the beginning of Acts 19, we have a very interesting account of salvation. The account is one in which those who were candidates of salvation submitted to two different baptisms, the baptism of John, and then, the baptism of Jesus. This account is an interesting one, because it […]
I got to see sin up close and personal this week. I saw its intention. I saw its form. I saw its effects. It was ugly. You may wonder what particular sin that it is I saw. And while that would be a discussion that has merit and would be productive on another occasion, it […]