Five Words Rather than Ten Thousand

As I have been studying 1 Peter for my sermons I have noticed something that I guess I knew but it struck me like never before. "Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you." (1 Peter 1:22-25, NASB95) When we are obedient to the truth (the Bible) it creates chnage. God causes us to be born again through His enduring word. The word preached transformed lives. Do we allow the Bible to change us? In the beginning was the Word. That word changes us. Real change. That's should be the hallmark of inspired preaching. When we allow it to penetrat...

Hey guys! I had lunch yesterday with a missionary and as we talked he shared about this teaching. I am not a believere in the Jezebel spirit or the Absalom spirt. They are both dead and their spirt is in hell. However I think that people can devolop the same characteristics given simular situations. Would love some input so I can develop this into a teaching. THE 12 STAGES THAT INDIVIDUALS GO THROUGH IN BECOMING AN ABSALOM "SPIRIT". Ultimately, if not dealt with, the disloyalty that spreads through the congregation will bring a church split or the departure of many affected saints. Here are the twelve stages: 1. AN INDEPENDENT SPIRIT – An attitude of independence emerges when the person no longer wants to serve the leadership but seeks recognition and a reputation. 2. SELF-PROMOTION – The person will maneuver for the praise of men. In II Samuel 15, Absalom stole the hearts of the people. 3. SPIRITUAL PRIDE – As people recognize and praise the deceived individual, h...

I'm sure that there has been much written on the topic of same sex marriage but after following the debate among several friends and friends of friends I have decided to enter the debate with what I believe the Bible has to say on the subject. I will make three brief points to my argument and try not to get bogged down. If you want to argue points, debate semantics or asked for greater detail please leave your e-mail address in the comment section below. The first argument is based on the reoccurring pattern for marriage within Scripture. A married couple is always depicted as a man and a woman. Nowhere is there any other model given for the marriage as a unit. From Adam and Eve to Aquila and Priscilla a married couple has always depicted as a man and a woman. Some may want to muddy the water by talking about polygamist relationships such as King Solomon and his multitude of wives but Solomon had multiple wives not husbands and he was in violation of God's law found in Deute...

Its number five on the Ten Commandments and it’s not just a rule for children. If you check out the context in Exodus 19 and 20 you will see that God spoke this and all of the commandments directly to the Children of Israel unlike the scene from Cecil B. DeMille. Christ later confirmed it as a commandment for adults in Matt. 15. But how do we as adults honor our parents? Our society has moved us out of extended families so it becomes harder for us to demonstrate this to our parents. I will first say that visiting the folks twice a year hardly counts towards honor as much as it relieves guilt. Think of the decisions that we have to make in which we could use some good advice. Instead of asking advice of people our own age is it possible that our parents with their greater life experience might be a better choice? Are you a new parent? Do you think your mother might know something about babies or event teen agers? Our pride often keeps us from going to a great source of child rearing k...

So what's the big deal with adultery? May people in today's culture don't see the big deal with a sexual dalliance. But there is more to this than just violation of the seventh commandment. You see marriage is supposed to be the physical manifestation of the invisible reality of Christ and his bride. Adultery is not for bforbidden  because  sex is bad but because sex is a powerful force for good. It is what seals the marriage, think of it as the covenant cement. The apostle Paul told us that we were not supposed to deprive each other of sexual fulfillment. God designed sexual union to bind us together or as He puts it, "the two shall be one flesh." Our married union is to exemplify the exclusivity of relationship between Christ and his bride. God has given himself to us wholeheartedly and we are to do the same to him. Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.Then to give our selves to someone outs...