For this month, we’re going to take a break from Romans and study the Passion accounts in preparation for Good Friday and Easter. Matthew 26:14-30. Today, I have 3 points. 1) God’s sovereignty and human free will need to always be held in tension and we see this in Judas’ choice to betray Jesus. 2) […]
Salvation
Book Review: The Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
The two most easily recognizable hallmarks of secularization in America are the exaltation of numbers and of technique. ~Os Guinness, p.24 Here are the 9 Marks of a Healthy Church: #1 Expositional Preaching I will sometimes be surprised by the point of the passage and therefore by what must become the point of my message… […]
John Piper at Passion 2011
Preacher and prolific writer John Piper asked a profound question Monday evening: Do you feel more loved by God because He makes much of you or because He enables you to make much of Him? John Piper asks students do they feel more loved when God makes much of them or when He allows them […]
“Transformers: Bear or Butterfly?” (Romans 7, Part 5 of 5)
Are you bearing fruit in your life? That’s the only way to know for sure if you are born again. Examine your desires. What do you desire most in life? What are you passionate about? Next, examine your choices. If you know Jesus personally, you have the ability to fight against your sinful nature and […]
“Transformers: Bear or Butterfly?” (Romans 7, Part 4 of 5)
So now we get to the tough question. Many claim to know what the grace of God is. Many say along with Paul — Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! How can you tell a person who is not saved, who is still a slave to sin from a […]
“Transformers: Bear or Butterfly?” (Romans 7, Part 3 of 5)
I hope this biblical explanation doesn’t bore you because this is really important stuff. We tend to think of grace as a ‘better luck next time” pat on the back. You miss a game winning shot in basketball and your coach tells you, hey, you’ll score next game. Don’t give up. Keep trying. This idea […]