What is a Christian?
A Christian is a person who 1) Believes Christ, 2) Obeys Christ, 3) Is Faithful to Christ. Each person should understand that it isn’t enough to claim to be a Christian, one must live that way.
Tag: Love
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Living in a Rubber Room (Part 3)
Is love worth the risk? Rejecting the possibility of having love in our life is just another “rubber room,” a place where we will be protected from emotional pain, but at the loss of real relationships, which everyone actually desires most in this world. When we refuse to love others, we also fall into a profound self-absorption, a selfishness from which we will never recover. But to learn to love, we must risk suffering, and to risk suffering, we need a world that is not safe, sanitized, and preventative of all harm.
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Living in a Rubber Room (Part 2)
Last week we looked at the question, “Why didn’t God make the world in such a way so as to give people freedom but without any bad consequences?” The answer […]
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Living in a Rubber Room (Part 1)
“Why is there so much suffering in the world?” the atheist asks. The believer responds, “Because God made people free to choose between right and wrong, and all suffering is […]
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What is Reality?
What is reality? God is real. People are real. Relationships are real. Each listener will know the biblical answer to the question, “What is Reality?” We will focus our thoughts on what is real as opposed to what is not.
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The Reality of Satan
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The word “Satan” means “adversary.” The word […]
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The Lord Hears When We Pray and Provides (Psalm 4)
The Lord hears when we pray and provides 1) Relief, 2) Relationship, 3) Righteousness, and 4) Refuge. Each Christian should learn to trust in the Lord and turn to him to prayer in all circumstances of life. The aim of this lesson is to help each Christian recognize the power of prayer through the Psalms.
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Is There Justice in this World?
There is no doubt that God is a God of justice. Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A […]
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The Brothers Karamazov
I recently read the book The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It is an impressive literary work that touches on religion, law, psychology, and philosophy. The author sets forth […]
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He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear
We need to hear the gospel, but our hearing must be 1) Without Prejudice, 2) With a View toward Obedience, 3) For Self-Correction, 4) To Evangelize Others. Each hearer should be able to understand what the Bible says about hearing the gospel correctly. Each person should be hearing as the Bible teaches us to hear.
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Racism in the Bible
Jesus was no stranger to the problem of racism. The Jews of his day were highly prejudiced against the Samaritans and gentiles. Jesus countered this prejudice in his ministry to […]
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The Sting of Death is Sin
So many people are under the impression that the sting of death is death itself. The Bible says otherwise (1 Corinthians 15:56). That is, it isn’t death that is the […]
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Are You Worthy?
Are we worthy of salvation? There is a sense in which we are and a sense in which we are not. One is not worthy in the sense that […]
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The Invisible God
One of God’s attributes is that He is invisible. Paul wrote, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever […]
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Salvation by Grace or Salvation by Works
Many people believe that religion is just about morality. In that vein, they will make statements like, “All religions are the same; one is no better than the other. They […]
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A World of Distractions
We live in a world of distractions. Cell phones, television, romance novels, fantasy movies, electronic games, online videos, and many other diversions frequently shift our attention from where our focus […]
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God is Bigger
There is a scene in the movie Prince Caspian where Lucy approaches Aslan the great Lion (who symbolizes Christ). “’Aslan’ said Lucy ‘you’re bigger.’ ‘That is because you are older, […]
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“Don’t Be Afraid”
Jesus knew that fear was a great problem for God’s people. In the accounts of the gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), Jesus warns against “fear” or “being afraid” at least […]
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God is the Father of All
God is the Father of All because 1) He created All in His Image, 2) He gave His Son for the All the World, 3) He Treats All Without Partiality. The hearer should understand that no one is excluded from a relationship with God. The only barrier is whether we want one or not. The point of this sermon is to remind Christians that God wants everyone in His body, the church.
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Religion of the Heart
Christianity is a religion of the heart. This does not mean that Christianity is without commands, laws, or divine expectations. What does it mean? It means that it is up […]