This article was written by Dr. Sam Storms. He is the Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, OK. God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-empowered worship happens whenever the mind is filled with deep, robust, expansive, biblical thoughts about who God is and what he has done, which in turn awaken and inflame heart-felt and passionate […]
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Three-Part Series on Vision 2013 – Love God (pt3 of 3)
First, Jesus commands us to love God with all our heart. Not half-hearted. Not love some of the time when we feel like it. Whole-hearted devotion, all the time. The Bible stresses the importance of our heart. God looks at the heart because the heart is the control center. If your heart changes, your mind, […]
Three-Part Series on Vision 2013 – Love God (pt1 of 3)
Happy New Year! I hope you had a good Christmas and New Year’s. It’s great to have the students back. For you undergrads and grads, I trust that the restful break will translate into renewed vigor and enthusiasm to tackle your studies. Kids are back in school – kids, are you excited? Parents, are you […]
Matt 15: Religion is Outside In, Christianity is Inside Out (pt2 of 3)
What about the ordinances? There are 2 ordinances or traditions that Christ himself ordained for us to observe. One is the Lord’s Supper and the other is baptism. Catholics observe the Lord’s Supper every Sunday and many Protestants look at that and say, that’s just a meaningless ritual. So why bother observing it? Attending church […]
Matt 12 – The Lord of the Sabbath and the Promised Messiah (pt2 of 3)
1) Jesus shows that religion is all about rules. 1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on […]
Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7): Being Doers of the Word (pt2 of 4)
First, in personal life, we are to examine ourselves. Examine? I thought we were to never doubt, never question and always have faith. I have assurance of salvation. I cried in junior high during a retreat so I’m set. Why do I need to examine? Because our heart is deceitful. We can be sincere, but […]