Enjoying The Journey

(Matthew 16:16-19) What is the church? Where did it come from? Why is it so important? Today we begin to look at the church that Jesus started. (0961250310) ----more----   The Church: God's Family When a person receives the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior, immediately they become a part of the family of God. It is the greatest family on earth. And as soon as possible, that new believer should then unite with a local body of believers, a local assembly of believers who can study the word of God together, fellowship together, encourage one another, and work together to get the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ to other people. This is the importance of the local New Testament church.  The Importance of the Local Church Now, what does the Bible say about the church? We have recently been studying what the Bible says about salvation, and I think it's a very natural progression now to move to the church because the Lord didn't just save you from something. He saved you for something. He saved you fo

(Revelation 3:22) While the church anticipates Christ’s soon coming, we must not miss what the Holy Spirit is doing now! Be cautious of being so consumed with future events that you neglect present opportunities. Listen to today’s edition of The Weekend Pulpit as we begin a new study on Christ’s last words to His church. (0960250308) 

(Ephesians 2:4-7) God's perfect salvation takes care of your past, your present, and your future! The eternal Son of God has worked for our salvation. He continues to work at this very moment, and He will finish His work in us! Salvation is more than an event - it is God's perfect work in his children. (0959250307) ----more----  Salvation by Grace Through Faith Will you permit me one more day? Just one more day to talk to you about what the Bible says about salvation? Honestly, I'm just having a good time in the word of God, having a good time talking to you about what it means to be saved. Because I know what Jesus Christ has done for me, and I'm starting to see more and more of what God says about this in scripture. And it's thrilling. It's thrilling to talk about. I hope you'll talk about it to someone else. I hope you'll get so excited. You'll wanna pass this along and share it with others. What does the Bible say about salvation? The last time we talked, I read you from Ephesians chapter two, verse eight

(Ephesians 2:8-9) Grace is the gift of God. It is a gift to be received and to be shared! Rejoice today in God's grace to you and pass the truth on to someone else. (0958250306) ----more----   Salvation by Grace  We're discussing day by day what the Bible says about great truths, a great Bible doctrine, and I know that normally today we would move on to. Yet another doctrinal section, but I can't, I'm sorry. Forgive me. The last time we met, we talked about so great salvation. Lemme just tell you, it's so great that there's more to talk about. In fact, we're not even scratching the surface. We really aren't on any of these doctrinal sections, but I feel like I can't move on yet. You see what the Bible says about salvation is so rich and so full that we must press it just a little more. We've talked about the greatness of this salvation. Let's consider today the grace of this salvation. Ephesians chapter two and verse number eight and nine says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselv

(Hebrews 2:3) One little word reveals the greatness of God's salvation. It is a heart word, a word of joy and soberness. "So" both defies definition and, at the same time, reveals how great salvation is! (0957250305) ----more----   The Power of a Little Word A big truth can be packed into a little word. Have you ever considered the little word? So it's a powerful little word. It's an adjective that can be used in a myriad of different ways, but in scripture. It is used frequently.  The Meaning of 'So' in Scripture For example, John chapter three, verse number 16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son." What does that mean? He's so loved. You see the little word, so is a word that defies definition. Really. It's an intensive word. It's a word that says to an extent or a degree that cannot be explained. It cannot be expressed perhaps by finite minds. It cannot even be understood. He just so loved the world. Today in our study, we've come to one of those sows in scripture.  The Grea

(Genesis 3:15) The teaching of salvation is wonderfully simple in Scripture. God has made a way for man to be saved from himself, from his sin, from the wrath of God. Nothing else is more important than knowing the answer to the question: "What must I do to be saved?" (0956250304) ----more----   The Question of Salvation Some questions in this world are more important than others because some questions affect not only time. They affect all of eternity. Questions like what think you of Christ. Or how about this question, sirs? What must I do to be saved?  Soteriology: The Doctrine of Salvation We've come in our study of what God says in the word of God to a subject that is of supreme importance because it affects where you're gonna spend eternity. And that is what the Bible says about salvation. Perhaps no other doctrinal subject has been more debated and more discussed and more misunderstood. Then the doctrine of salvation. And yet in scripture, there's a beautiful simplicity to the message of salvation.  The

(Romans  3:23) How would you draw sin? Satan and the world draw only a picture of the pleasure of sin. God draws vivid pictures of sin's results. Today we examine three words that picture perfectly what sin is in the eyes of God. (0955250303) ----more----   What Does Sin Look Like? If you had to draw a picture of what sin looks like, what would that picture be? Our world draws a picture of pleasure and riches and happiness. That's the picture the devil wants to draw. But let the Lord, the true artist, the one who most accurately reflects all truth. Let him draw the picture, walk through scripture and see the pictures that he gives symbolic of sin. Biblical Symbols of Sin When He paints the picture, He says, it is darkness. It blinds. He calls it leaven. It spreads. He says, it's sickness and disease. It corrupts and it is pervasive. He calls it cords and chains. It binds a man, he calls it fire all consuming. He calls it poison deadly. I tell you, if we could see sin, like God sees it, no matter what kind of

(Mark 1:1-4) Nobody looks forward to the hard seasons of life, yet God looks at them as holy moments for us to know Him more intimately. Are you weak or wounded today? Listen to this episode to hear how God can use your valley.  (0954250301) 

(Romans 5:12) Sin has not gone away; it just doesn't get talked about much. It is a reality in all of our lives and the source of every sorrow in this world. We must learn the truth about our own sin and about the only Savior who can deliver us from it. (0953250228) ----more----   Ignoring Sin Whatever happened to sin? Many years ago, people used to talk about sin. Preachers used to preach against sin. People used to fear sin, but now there seems to be so little talk about it. And yet, while we're talking about it less, it seems sin in our world and in many of our lives is growing. It's getting bigger. Left unchecked apart from God.  Hamartiology: The Study of Sin Let me give you one verse today as we begin our study of what the Bible says about sin. Romans chapter 5 and verse number 12 says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." That's a powerful verse. There's a lot of doctrine, a lot of truth wrapped up in that o

(Genesis 1:27; 2:7) Man was created in the image of God. Our sin has marred that image, but our gracious God has made a way that we can be restored! The Bible is the only book that can accurately explain our past, present, and future. (0952250227) ----more----   The Creation of Man in God's Image "And God said, let us make man in our image." What a privilege. What a mind-boggling truth that we, humanity, were made in the image of our Creator. Now that is found in Genesis chapter 1 and in Genesis chapter number 2. God expounds upon that. He gives even more detail to His creative work. The Bible says in Genesis chapter 2 verse number 7, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." The Unique Formation of Man If you want to know how man is different than the animals, Here's how. He was, first of all, the only part of the creation that was literally shaped by the hand of God. We preachers get pretty artistic at times and

(Psalm 8:4-9) Today we examine great questions connected to our own existence. What is man? Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Only our Creator can give an answer. We must uncover what the Bible says. (0951250226) ----more----   Fundamental Questions About Humanity Where did man come from? More important, why is he here? What makes him distinct from the rest of the creation, from everything else in the world? And perhaps the most important question, where does he go when he dies? Now these are basic questions about humanity, and the truth of the matter is, if you want to get the answers, the right answer, the only answer, You've got to ask man's creator. Man and His Relationship with God When you start talking about humanity, it leads you very quickly to talking about deity. You've got to go beyond man to the God who made him. Because man is simply a reflection of the image of God. Psalm 8 and verse number 4, we read these words, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the so

(1 John 4:4) There are three angels called by name and two "orders" of angels identified in Scripture. Lucifer led a number of angels to rebel against the Lord and these fallen angels now operate as enemies of God. In today's study we see what the Bible says about each of them and about the God who is above all.  (0950250225) ----more----   Angels and Demons in the Bible Can you tell me the name of any angel? Specifically the name. There actually are only three that are given to us in all of Scripture. Now, why is that so important? We've been studying the fact that angels are God's messengers and that they are not to be worshipped. In fact, they would be the first to tell you worship God only. It's not their name that's important, it's the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus Christ. And we don't want to go beyond what the Bible says when it comes to angels. Now today, we're discussing not only angels, but demons and the devil. Why is that? Because demons and the devil himself, who leads that dem

(Psalm 103:20) We must be very careful not to fall short of Scripture, and not to go beyond it. Angels are real, created beings, messengers of the Lord. Today we discover what the Bible says about them. Believe in angels...but trust in the Lord! (0949250224) ----more----   Angelology: The Doctrine of Angels What does the Bible say about angels? In our world today, there's a great deal of speculation about these invisible creatures and who they are and what they do. And then some people on the other end of the spectrum say that's all imaginary. That's just make believe. It's like some children's fairy book tale. It's something that was just concocted from the imagination of some person. But what does the Bible say? What does the Word of God teach about angels? In Psalm 103, verse 20, we read these words, "Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word." I think that probably is one of the greatest summary verses on the doctrine of angels t

(Mark 1:16-20) Only Jesus could transform ordinary fishermen into soul-winners! However, this transformation required some sacrifice from His disciples. How can one become a fisher of men today? (0948250222) 

(2 Corinthians 13:14) There is only one God. That God has expressed Himself in three Persons - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It should be our greatest desire to grow in knowledge of and love for every member of the Godhead. (0947250221) ----more----   The Divine Trinity Over the last several studies, we've been looking at what the Bible says about God, about the Lord Jesus Christ, and about the Holy Spirit. Come to see that God the Father is God, that God the Son is God, and that God the Holy Spirit is God. And we don't have three gods, we have one God expressed in three persons. The Bible says there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And so they are distinct and separate persons of the Godhead. And yet, they are co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal. The word that is frequently used to describe our God is the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Really the word Trinity is a great word. It means three in one, the triune God, Tri

(1 Corinthians 6:19) How strange it would be for someone to live in your house and to never communicate with that person. The Holy Spirit lives in the heart of every believer. Is He at home in us? We must learn what it means to be filled with the Spirit. (0946250220) ----more----   The Holy Spirit in Your Life Do you ever talk to the person that lives in your house? On the day you trusted the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ Himself, came to live in your house. That's right, in your temple, in your heart. Your heart is His home now. Do you ever talk to Him? Does He have liberty to? To go and roam into every room and control every part. Is he at home in your house? It would be a strange thing if you married someone and lived with them for 40 years and never spoke to them. That perhaps happens at times and that's an awful thing. But how awful it is to think that some people meet the Lord, and the Holy Spirit of God comes to live inside of them on the day of their salvati

(Genesis 1:2) The most misunderstood and misrepresented Person of the Godhead is the Holy Spirit. How well do you know the Spirit of God? We are introduced to Him on the first page of the Bible and it is time we all got to know Him better. (0945250219) ----more---- An Introduction to the Holy Spirit Have you met the Holy Spirit? Some people refer to the Holy Spirit like He's an object or a thing or a force, but in fact, He is a real person. Co equal, co existent, co eternal with God the Father and God the Son. And the first time we meet Him is not on the day of Pentecost.  The First Mention of the Holy Spirit The first time we meet Him is in Genesis chapter 1. It's amazing to me, really, how many of these great doctrinal truths begin on the opening pages of Scripture. Someone called Genesis 1:11 a seedbed of doctrine, and they said that every major truth in the Bible can be found in seed form in the opening chapters of Genesis. I think that's beautiful. Genesis 1 verse 1 says, "In the beginning God created th

(1 Timothy 3:16) Today we examine one of the great summary verses of the Bible. A verse that is about the great theme of God's Word - the Lord Jesus Christ. As we walk through all of Scripture we find Jesus on every page. (0944250218) ----more----  A One-Verse Summary About Jesus There are certain verses of Scripture that are great summary verses. I mean by that, they encapsulate so much doctrine in a concentrated way in just a few words. 1 Timothy 3:16 is one of those verses. Would you hear it with your heart today? 1 Timothy 3:16 says, "And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." The Person and Work of Jesus Christ What is 1 Timothy 3:16 about? It's all about the person and work of Jesus Christ. Literally, it summarizes in one verse the whole message of Christ in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation. From creation to His glorification. It's G

(Genesis 3:15) Jesus, the Living Word, is revealed in the written Word of God. If you want to know Jesus then you must study your Bible. From the first book of the Old Testament through the New Testament we see Christ.  (0943250217) ----more----  Jesus: The Subject of the Bible Jesus, sweetest name I know, fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go. I do love the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful that He is my personal Savior. And when I come to the written Word of God, I find the living Word of God. If you want to know the Lord Jesus Christ, then you must learn what the Bible says about Christ. Let's begin with a couple of scriptures. One in the Old Testament, one in the New Testament.  Discovering Christ in the Old Testament Today, let's begin with the first mention of Christ in Scripture. Now, let me hastily say that there is no beginning. To the son of God. His sonship is eternal sonship. When the Bible says he is the only begotten son of God that is simply a reference to the eternal relationship b

(Mark  1:3-4, 12-13) We all have busy days, but nobody has ever been busier than Jesus was! Although He was everlastingly busy during His earthly ministry, Christ was never so much in a hurry that He neglected prayer. Listen to this episode of The Weekend Pulpit. (0942250215)