What Actually Saves Us ?  Its’ More Than You Think !   One of the most popular passages in the entire bible, is  Ephesians 2, verses 8 & 9,  which says;  “For by grace you are saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”    And the reason that’s such…

    Calvinism and the Sovereignty of God   Lat week I talked about John Calvin, and how his religious beliefs (his theology) was centered on the fact that God is completely sovereign.  And I talked about how God IS indeed, completely sovereign.  God has all power, and God has all authority, and is ABLE to decree absolutely anything that He chooses.  And what I also mentioned is that God…

        We Can Know, We Should Know, and We Need to Know!   To begin, I’d like to read from an article that was recently published by the Warren Apologetics Center.  And the title of the article is..  “Can We Know What Happened?”  And you might ask yourself two more questions also..  SHOULD we know what happened?  And, Do we NEED to know what happened? And it’s…

    John Calvin and Calvinism   John Calvin (/ˈkælvɪn/;[1] French: Jean Calvin [ʒɑ̃ kalvɛ̃]; born Jehan Cauvin; 10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism, aspects of which include the doctrines of predestination and of the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation of the human soul from death and eternal damnation, in which doctrines Calvin was influenced by and elaborated upon the Augustinian and other Christian…

  The Subject of Sin   I think that most people don’t like to talk about sin very much.  At least they sure don’t like to talk very candidly about it.  Actually, most people don’t mind talking about other people’s sin.  But what they don’t like to talk about is the sin in THEIR lives!   But the bible says that there is indeed, sin in all of our lives..  Right? …

    The History of..  In God We Trust   You’re only going to get one verse of scripture tonight, and that will be at the very end of the lesson.  But I think the lesson will be interesting, and maybe informative, and hopefully, profitable anyway.   The motto, IN GOD WE TRUST, was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil…

      Blessed be the “Little Ones”    I’m going to be reading several verses of scripture today, and all of them except the first one, will contain the words of Jesus. A few weeks ago we talked about the idea of guardian angels.  Some people believe that each one of us has a guardian angel sent to protect and to serve us.  While others don’t believe in specific…

    Are You Born Again ?   In a biblical discussion, one gentleman asked this question;  “How do you know if you are born again?”  One of his points, and I suppose you could say he considers it a “problem”, is that we can’t simply go to any one verse in the bible, which tells us exactly HOW to be born again. But of course, that’s the way it…

  The Names of Jesus   The prophet Isaiah wrote, in  Isaiah 9, verse 6;  “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:  And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”   That verse gives us five names, that God has given for Jesus Christ.  Let’s listen to…

        Baptized With the Holy Spirit   In  Mathew 3, verse 11,  and in  Luke 3 verse 16,  John the baptist, told the Jews who had come to him to be baptized in the river Jordan;  “I baptize you with water, for repentance;  But after me, will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the…

          The Bible speaks about a few different Gates.   And today I’d like us to consider Three of those Gates.   First of all, the bible speaks about the “gates of hades”, in  Mathew 16, verse 18.   In that verse, Jesus said;  “..And upon that rock I will build My church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it.”   Another way of saying that…

Let me read to you what someone recently wrote..     Yes, I believe it is time to take a knee.  It is time to take a knee and thank the Creator for the food and clothing we take for granted.  It is time to bow and give thanks to the Almighty for the freedom to vote and preach our convictions.  It is time to drop down and bless the name…

    God is Everywhere, In All Creation   Psalm 139, verse 7  asks the question;  “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?”  Well you know the answer..  There’s nowhere you can go, but that God isn’t there! Today I’d like us to think about, and appreciate, the very close relationship that we have with our creator, with our God.  And I’m…

    If Christ Could Not Be Found   Henry Rogers, a brilliant lawyer of a few years ago, wrote a book entitled The Eclipse of Faith, in which he imagined that some powerful hand had wiped the influence of Christ out of our civilization, as a hand might wipe the writing from a chalkboard in a classroom. He imagined himself going into his library to discover that every vestige…

  Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures   Let me read to you the words of  Luke 24, verse 45;   “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”      In  Luke chapter 24,  we have the story of the resurrection of Jesus, and how He first appeared to Mary Magdalene at the tomb.  And how Mary and some of the other women ran back to…

        Did You Count Your Many Blessings This Past Thanksgiving Day?  (Or can’t you count that high?)   And have you thanked God for all your many blessings?   Have you thanked God for your greatest blessing?  The bible tells us in  1 Corinthians 15:57;  “But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.”    Are you thankful for the victory?  And…

    Exploring Some Similarities Between the Spirit of God, the Word of God, and the Son of God ?   I thought it would be interesting to explore some of the similarities, between the Spirit of God, the Word of God, and the Son of God.   I heard a little saying the other day, that goes like this..   “The Spirit of God, uses the Word of God, to make…

Grow Strong in the Lord! Ephesians 6:10  says;  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers, of this world’s darkness;  And against the spiritual forces of evil, in…

    Ezekiel 7:1 thru 13   “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying;  And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, to the land of Israel;  An end!   The end is coming on the four corners of the land.”   God said that to Israel, in about 570, maybe 580 BC.  But when we read it today, is that what God is saying to us?…

    God’s Word is Food for the Soul     (closing hymn # 31)   Did you bring your appetite with you this morning?  And did you bring your food? Jesus said in  Mathew 5, verse 6;  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”   Too often when we think of food, all we think of is food for our belly.   But Jesus says; …