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The parable in this passage—Luke 15:11-32—is one of the most well-known teachings in all the Bible. While this parable is often referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son, it is really more about the reactions to the prodigal son than it is the son himself. The primary reaction to the prodigal's return that…
Jesus reveals the heart of God in this series of three parables—the first two are short parables (15:1-10) and the last one is long (15:11-32). We will consider the two short parables in this message and the longer one in the next. In these parables, we learn that God is committed to finding those who…
In our text today in Luke 14, we find Jesus being followed by a large group of people—many of whom were probably there to see Him perform miracles and provide them with free food. In John 6:26, Jesus said to another crowd of people: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not…
As Jesus is still on His way to Jerusalem, we see Him at a dinner party in the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees. We don't know exactly why He is here, or how He got an invitation, but the text tells us that the Pharisees were “watching him carefully” to catch…
As Jesus continued on His way toward Jerusalem to be crucified, He made His way into some small towns and villages. In one of those villages, someone asked Him a striking question. They asked, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Jesus utilized this question as a springboard to discuss every individual's need for…
The Lord established His church during His ministry here on earth to bring glory to Him by making disciples from those who have not yet trusted in Him as Savior. The first step in the process of making disciples is evangelism. Evangelism is “telling the story of Jesus's life, death, resurrection, and second coming with…
We are returning to our study in the Gospel of Luke today. Last time we looked at Luke, we were considering the teachings of Christ about how to live from Luke 12:35-48. In today's message, we are going to move forward in this idea of how we are to live each day for the Lord.…
We will begin our study today when Jesus gathered His disciples together in the upper room of a home in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover Seder meal. This was the time when Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, which we observed as a church body last Sunday evening. During this meal, Jesus shared some important teachings…
In John 12, we see Jesus as the King God intended Him to be—not like other kings who came and conquered by military might, but as the Ruler of a Kingdom that is not of this world. He was like no other king before or since—a king who preached love for our enemies, forgiveness for…
In the second half of Psalm 101, David lays out the kind of leader that he aspires to become—a leader with integrity. Just like last week, we see in these verses, five issues of integrity that are important when it comes to life in general and in leadership more specifically. David had a front row…
After a psalm of praise (Psalm 100), we now have a psalm of practice (Psalm 101). Knowing and understanding God's call on his life to be the king of God's chosen people, David resolves to become a king that models himself after the One who has called him. Psalm 101 describes a man of integrity…
Last week, we started a short series studying through Isaiah 55. In this chapter, God is reminding His exiled people of who He is and what He promised to do for them. In those first six verses of Isaiah 55, we saw God's invitation to have life more abundantly! Then the prophet explained the requirement…
Paul David Tripp said: “The book of Isaiah is really about people who have forgotten. Because of their forgetting, they are sent into exile, and [then] are restored again. This passage… is written to people who are in exile who are now called to remember as they are going to be restore, called to remember…
One of the more well-known verses in the Bible is found in 2 Corinthians 5:7, which says, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” In Numbers 13-14, we find a group of people who abandoned this biblical concept for a different philosophy. You see, they decided to walk by sight, and not by faith!…
In this morning’s message we will be looking at some of Moses' experiences with the presence of God, specifically the burning bush incident and the encounters with God in the tent of meeting. From these passages, we will notice three essentials for experiencing intimacy with God—connection, commitment and communication. And then we will consider God’s…
Today, we will be considering what you may consider an unusual topic in the area of pursuing God. Today, we will be thinking about embracing our weaknesses for God's purpose in my life. Many people that God chose to use throughout Scripture were plagued by flaws and deficiencies, but God does not call people because…
When the people of Israel came to the edge of the Promised Land, God instructed Moses to re-state the Law and the terms of the Mosaic Covenant before the people entered into the land. As Moses is nearing the end of his instruction, he tells the people that God will bless them if they are careful to obey all that God had commanded but also warns them what will happen if they choose to ignore God's commandments and turn away from Him. In today's study, we'll examine whether God responds to our obedience and disobedience the same way in light of the New Covenant in Christ Jesus.
This morning, we take a break from our sermon series to hear from Bro. Bryan Risner, one of our BMA Global missionaries to Romania. Bro. Bryan and his family have been on the field for seven years now and in that time, they've built relationships, shared the Gospel, planted multiple churches and continue to see God do amazing things among the people of Romania. Listen as Bro. Bryan shares of God's continued faithfulness in their ministry and reminds us of the need to keep praying, keep trusting and keep rejoicing--even when times are hard.
Many of us know Moses as the leader of the people of Israel but his story doesn't begin there. God was at work in Moses' life long before He was raised up to deliver the people of Israel and usher them into the Promised Land. God was at work in his life at his birth, He was at work in His life when Moses was in the home of Pharaoh and He was at work when Moses fled to the land of Midian. In today's study, Bro. Ron Fields shares how God was working out His purpose for Moses every step of the way and how He does the same in each and every day of our lives today.
Each one of us has a spiritual malady. We all suffer from the effects of being "in the flesh" and subject to the "fleshly" desires that draw us away from God and away from His plan for our lives. By His grace, He transforms us through the power of His Holy Spirit as we daily spend time with Him in His Word. But what if we neglect this practice? What if we turn aside and fall into sin again? How will it affect your relationship with God? How will affect your daily tasks? Find out the answers to these questions and more in today's study--Discarding the Influence of God's Presence in My Life
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were divided into twelve tribes. God gave each tribe a portion of the Promised Land to live in and be their own, save one--the tribe of Levi. This tribe was set apart to minister before the Lord in the tabernacle and on behalf of the people. Each person within the tribe had a role to fill. No job was the same but each one was essential. In a similar way, God impacts the world today through His children and has appointed each one with a specific task--a specific purpose. So, how do we identify God's purpose for our lives? Pastor John shares insight on how to answer this question in today's study.
For our new sermon series, we're going to be looking at some lessons from the life of Moses. Unlike an expository sermon series which would begin at the beginning of the Book of Exodus and work its way through the text, we will be looking at Moses' life from a topical point of view. The…
As we continue our series today—Behold the Lamb of God—we're going to be looking at one section of prophecy in the Book of Isaiah concerning the coming king of Israel. But this king that Isaiah prophesied about was not a king “full of power with a sword in his fist,” he was a king that…
For the next several weeks, we're going to be focused on the redemptive story of Scripture that was fulfilled through the incarnation of God the Son in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who was born into this world as a baby and grew to be a man who would die on the cross to…
For the past several weeks, we have been looking at the teachings of Christ on various topics—from prayer to spiritual warfare to hypocrisy to personal property. In each of these areas, Jesus taught His disciples how they were to think, act and speak. In this last section of teachings, Jesus is seeking to motivate His…
So, as we dive into the twelfth chapter of Luke again today, we're going to spend some time thinking about Jesus' teachings concerning the areas of greed, jealousy, drunkenness, gluttony, laziness and pride. Doesn't that sound like fun? In all seriousness, some of the issues that Jesus brings up in our text today may not…
In the twelfth chapter of Luke, the gospel writer packs these first twelve verses with a ton of theological content dealing with issues such as hypocrisy, eternal judgment, the reality of hell and the unforgivable sin. In this message, Pastor Wade looks at each of these and more to develop some cohesion within these topics…
Just after Jesus warned the people to "be careful lest the light in you be darkness," Luke records a strange encounter Jesus had with the Pharisees. After being invited into one of their homes, Jesus astonishes the Pharisees by choosing not to wash His hands prior to the meal. Why did Jesus' actions elicit such a strong response? Why does Jesus then proceed to condemn them for their self-righteous nature? Pastor David sheds light on this and more in today's sermon.
The focus of the message today is a series of teachings and encounters with many who would consider themselves as the enemy of Jesus—people who were hurling false accusations and unfounded theories on who He was. These accounts of the rejection of Jesus are interspersed with snippets from those who received Him in a positive…
In this portion of Luke's Gospel, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. They had seen Him model the need for prayer, but they apparently did not know how Jesus was praying when He went away to pray. So, Jesus provided them with a pattern for prayer—not necessarily to quote verbatim, but to…
In this story of the two sisters who loved Jesus, we see this love demonstrated in two very different ways. Martha was the consummate hostess— abounding with the gift of hospitality. In many ways (it seems), Martha found her since of worth and identity in what she was able to do for the Lord Jesus.…
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most well-known teachings of Christ from the Gospel of Luke. While we are probably all aware of the specifics of this parable, it is important to interpret this parable on two levels—the straightforward teaching and the symbolic teaching of the parable. On the surface, this…
Just like the seventy-two in Luke 10, we have also been commanded to carry out the mission of Christ. While the specific details of this mission may not transfer to our modern setting, the principles behind these instructions inform us as to how we are to reach the world for Christ—through prayer and dependency upon…
There are two sections in our text today that have a related theme—when given the opportunity, will we follow Christ or make excuses? In the first section (v 51-56), Jesus went again to the region of Samaria with the good news. Unlike His first encounter with the Samaritans (John 4), the people did not receive…
Perhaps nothing is more vital to our participation in God’s plan to grow His kingdom than our calling to be His witnesses. As we examine in Acts 1 the last words that Jesus gave to His followers before He ascended to the Father, we see that it clearly shows His purpose for leaving us in…
This morning, we will be focusing on a topic that I have given much of my life to thinking about. I've spent years working to develop effective processes and tools for its implementation. It's been said that “a person needs to invest about 10,000 hours in a skill in order to master it.” In the…
As we continue to look at the various ways in which God calls believers to walk in the fullness of all He desires for His church, we begin to shift our focus from the internal community of the body to the broader community in which we live. How has God called us to interact with those who are "on the outside"? Or in other words, How has God called us to engage our community? Pastor David shares God's purpose and plan for engaging our community.
As we consider this idea of being called to minister/serve, I want to look at Mark 10. As we will see in a few minutes, being a servant in God's economy is not a demotion. In fact, Jesus told His disciples that the one who wanted to lead needed to be a servant and slave…
In light of all this, we want to see that the position we hold in Christ and our membership in His body (this local church) is not something that we should treat casually. We all have casual friendships with others but when it comes to our connections in the church, there should be a deeper…
According to Carey Nieuwhof, when people go shopping for a church, 86% choose a church based on the quality of the preaching—they want to be fed. Thom Rainer says that “being fed” is another way of saying that they want the church to cater to their “desires and preferences.” We know that the preaching of…
Our goal in this series of studies is to unpack what it means to be called—specifically what God wants for those who have responded in faith to the inward calling of the Spirit. As a result of our calling, we must follow in the steps of Jesus—being conformed into His image and having the same…
For better or worse, our lives are filled with moments. Some are minor but others are far more significant; life-changing moments that we look forward to most of our lives such as a wedding, the birth of a child, or a graduation. These moments carry a measure of expectation and uncertainty of what lies ahead or if circumstances will be all that we hope or dream. Thankfully, the Bible is not silent about what we should do when it comes to facing these moments. Listen to Bro. David as he shares God's instruction to Joshua and the people of Israel as they prepare to face their moment of significant change--entering the Promised Land.
The psalmist encourages us to give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love, compassion, goodness, lovingkindness, grace and mercy never ends (Psalm 107:1). After this encouragement to give thanks to the Lord, the psalmist mentions four different groups of people who are returning from exile. We looked at the first of these four groups a few weeks ago, but since I missed the past two weeks, we will be looking at the other three groups today. Just like we saw with the first group of returning exiles in Psalm 107, each of these groups find themselves in a difficult situation, then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and the Lord delivers them from their distress. Each time, the psalmist follows this up with these words: “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!” (Psalm 107:8).
We will be continuing our study from Psalm 107 today—focusing in on the concept of the Lord's HESED to those who have been exiled from the Promised Land. The concept of restoration is a big part of Psalm 107. In this psalm, the author declares that the restoration is available through God's HESED even to those in despair.
For the next six weeks, we will be studying through Psalm 107 with a particular focus on the steadfast love (HESED) of God. This Hebrew word is one of the most difficult words to translate because of the depth and breadth of its meaning. This Hebrew word carries the sense of an enduring connection that brings life and all good things into a relationship. In Psalm 107:1, HESED is translated thirteen different ways in English Bibles—love, favor, grace, mercy, kindness, goodness, loyal-love, compassion, benevolence, faithful-love, gracious-love, steadfast-love, and lovingkindness. HESED means all of those things and even more!
My goal today is to focus on some of the events from the last half of the week, but I hope to do this by seeing these events through the eyes of one of Jesus' closest followers—Simon Peter. Throughout the Passion Week, Simon Peter seems to be involved in everything that is happening—which is sometimes good and sometimes not so good. As we consider all these things that he said and did during these last few hours of Jesus' life, I hope to be able to portray not only his words and actions but also his implied thoughts and feelings. I will not overly-dramatize the text of Scripture to make it say something that it does not say, but I will attempt—when possible—to analyze the text of these gospels to help us see and feel what Simon Peter is experiencing. We'll begin where Pastor John left off last week—in the Upper Room where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover on Thursday evening.
Jesus knew when, where, and how we was going to die. Which meant that Jesus would have been intentional with the time He spent on this Earth. And you have to think that the closer that He came to this week, he'd really be intentional with who He spent with and what He said and did. Today we are going to explore the time he spent Zacchaeus, as well as, His actions on Palm Sunday.
In this final section of our study, we will be dealing with some practical instructions for the Christian life. The author addresses several topics in this passage—such as not growing weary in living for Christ, but persevering; living a life of peace, holiness and grace, not allowing bitterness to take root in your heart; and avoid sexual immorality and any instant gratification.
In every generation Christians face opposition that works against lifelong perseverance in following Jesus. Sometimes the “hostility of sinners” is expressed verbally and socially. Sometimes matters escalate to financial hardship, physical harm, imprisonment, and even death. But God gives us strong reasons to run with endurance the race of faith laid out in front of us: the abundant testimony of those who ran ahead of us; the courageous example and loving self-sacrifice of faith's founder and perfecter, Jesus; and the Father's encouragement that our present pains as we struggle to hold fast to faith signal his loving acceptance and fit his flawless plan for our eternal well-being. Looking to Jesus and recalling our Father's encouragement supply the stamina to run the race to the finish line. (Excerpt from the ESV Expository Commentary, Volume 12)
Last week, we finished up Hebrews 11—the Faith Chapter. So, today we will be studying from Hebrews 12:1-2. In order to discover what the Bible is teaching us from this passage to be able to apply these truths to life, I will be utilizing our six interrogative words—who, what, when, where, why and how. The first thing we see in verse one is the word “therefore.” So, as always, anytime we see the word “therefore,” we need to remember all that the author has just written and consider what is coming in light of everything he has just said. So, in light of this synopsis of the lives of many great heroes of the faith, God wants us to live our lives by faith. Let's dive into these two verses to discover six essential components for living by faith.
We have been walking through what is commonly known as the Faith Chapter—Hebrews 11. Before we get to today's passage, I want to take just a few minutes to think back on the last three weeks of study from chapter eleven. The chapter begins by defining what faith is. The author states: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” He goes on to explain: “For by it the people of old received their commendation.” The rest of the chapter focuses on those people of old—who by their faith—were made right with God.
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