In the Scriptures there is practically no effort made to define faith. Outside of a brief fourteen-word definition in Hebrews 11:1, I know of no Biblical definition, and even there faith is defined functionally, not philosophically; that is, it is a statement of what faith is in operation, not what it is in essence. It […]
What Is In Our Heart
Here are a series of questions we can ask to discover what is in our heart. What do you love? What do you hate? What do you want, crave, hope for? What is your goal? What do you fear? What do you worry about? What do you feel like you need? Where do you find […]
Total Surrender
Obedience to God’s Word means taking refuge in Christ for forgiveness of our sins, knowing Him through His Word, serving Him with a loving heart, doing good works in gratitude for His goodness, and exercising self-denial to the point of loving our enemies. This response involves total surrender to God Himself, His Word, and his […]
The Blessing of Community
Pastor Bill Clem… [said,] “The world will not recover from the community of God’s people living lives to glorify Jesus.” This statement should change the way you, look at community in your church. We have the means to proclaim the kingdom of God through the same means God has always used: his people. The question […]
Press to application
The most challenging aspect of leading a discussion is trying to press the point home to application. The leader who fails to bring application leads his group down a merry path into deception! James teaches us that merely listening to God’s Word without doing what it says is self-deception (Jas 1:22). We think knowing more […]
The Word Of God—Living and Active
I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking. The prophets habitually said, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ They meant their hearers to understand that God’s speaking […]
YOUR HEART DEFINED
Your story, your interpretations, your motivations, and your beliefs come out of your heart. This is the center of your life. The heart oversees the “whys.” Why work? Why play? Why love? It is the defining feature of humanness. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Prov. 4:23) Out […]
What it means to be Christian
“We are not to imitate the triune unity from a distance. We are to imitate it from within” (Doug Wilson, For a Glory and a Covering, p. 4).
Where Fighting Comes From
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. James 4:1-2