Podcast appearances and mentions of mike mckinley

Mike McKinley discusses the importance of being committed to a local church. He explains that church membership is the biblical way for Christians to express their commitment to a particular congregation, where they can use their spiritual gifts for the common good. McKinley provides three reasons why one should be committed to a local church: 1) Jesus is committed to the church, which is his bride; 2) it is good for one's spiritual well-being, as the church provides pastoral oversight and assurance of salvation; and 3) it is God's plan for one's eternal destiny, as the church is central to His wider plan.

Happy New Year Episode ... This is Part 2 of 2, of our incredible interview series with Lou Vairo. In this segment, Lou shares with us stories of epic proportion. Added to this, Lou spends time sharing his secret(s) to becoming a "great" leader. Within this episode, Lou will share with us how some of his simple - yet overly complex and difficult decision making, which altered the lives of many people (professional athletes and coaches), was accomplished by simply resting upon the life skills provided to him at young age. You will learn about how his insights and instincts gave career opportunities and re-births to so many, when their levels of significance were looked-past by many so-called "experts". Delays in releasing this episode were the result of several technical issues we experienced. Lou Vairo's interview(s) are some of the most listened to and commented on. THANK YOU Lou for taking the time to talk with us. *Special Thank You to - Joe Stanczyk and Mike McKinley from Libertayo Lou Vairo's Book The Godfather of US Hockey

In this episode, Caleb is joined by Mike McKinley (MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary) senior pastor of Sterling Park Baptist Church in Sterling, Virginia to discuss his book, Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Together, they define what friendship with God means and offer practical guidance for how to develop fellowship with Him—such as obeying the Scriptures commands, acknowledgment of sin, prayer, belonging to a local church, and more. Resources Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit by Mike McKinley Communion with the Triune God by John Owen edited by Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor The Cross of Christ by John Stott Knowing God by J.I. Packer The Holy Spirit by Sinclair Ferguson

Mike McKinley is the author of Friendship with God and several other books, including Church in Hard Places and Church Planting is for Wimps. He has been the Sterling Park Baptist Church pastor in Sterling, Virginia, since 2005. Before that, he served on the pastoral staff of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., having received his MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary. Mike is married to Karen, and they have five children.

For many of us, the ability to meet and connect with a living legend is something beyond our wildest imagination. The ability to connect with Lou Vairo is equivalent to being able to access the archives of the "Smithsonian" of US Hockey. Lou Vairo is responsible for the implementation of the physical training, strategic plans, and moral compass of ice hockey as we know it today. Lou helped implement the physical training used by some of the most dominant athletic programs in the world today. It was Lou who introduced these training styles to North American hockey programs. These physical training systems were then transformed into the technical strategies used by most professional programs throughout North America today. But, arguably the most incredible element Lou Vairo introduced to the National Hockey League has been the implementation of the Diversity Program today. Not only has this program brought the important recognition of the efforts of Willie O'Ree but it has helped grow the game of ice hockey more than words can describe. *Special Thank You to - Joe Stanczyk and Mike McKinley from ⁠Libertayo Media⁠. Lou Vairo's Book ⁠The Godfather of US Hockey⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/headset-sports/support

In this episode we interview Mike McKinley. As we discuss his book, Friendship with God, we touch on the Puritans– and the common myths that surround them, the heart of the gospel, and the good news that we can have friendship with God. We talk about the Lord's Supper, the gift of being adopted by God, how to better understand the Holy Spirit, and the importance of the local church in the life of a Christian. *Our apologies for the sound quality. Unfortunately we experienced a number of technical issues in this interview. Thankfully Mike McKinley was patient, and despite these hiccups he nonetheless communicated encouraging, wonderful thoughts throughout the interview. Resources Mentioned Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit by Mike McKinley Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortland Communion with God by John Owen Knowing God by J.I. Packer

At a conference in Dubai, Mark Dever and Mike McKinley gave five messages based on the contents of Dever's book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism.For more articles, books, and podcasts, please visit 9marks.org.

At a conference in Dubai, Mark Dever and Mike McKinley gave five messages based on the contents of Dever's book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism. 

At a conference in Dubai, Mark Dever and Mike McKinley gave five messages based on the contents of Dever's book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism.For more articles, books, and podcasts, please visit 9marks.org.

At a conference in Dubai, Mark Dever and Mike McKinley gave five messages based on the contents of Dever's book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism.For more articles, books, and podcasts, please visit 9marks.org.

At a conference in Dubai, Mark Dever and Mike McKinley gave five messages based on the contents of Dever's book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism.For more articles, books, and podcasts, please visit 9marks.org.

On January 16, 1994, sometime after I read the verses we are going to explore this morning, I reflected on the tension I felt over how a loving God could choose and predestine a person before the foundation of the world for salvation. I wasnt angry over what I read in these verses, but I was disturbed; I was disturbed to the point of a near crisis of faith even though I had only been a Christian for just over two years. While I read over Ephesians 1:3-6; I also read similar passages such as Romans 8:28-30; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; John 6:44, and the entire chapter of Romans 9. I read these passages without the aid of books or commentaries, for it was only me and my Bible. I knew nothing of John Calvin or Jacobus Arminius, nor was I aware of their teachings by which we get Calvinism and Arminianism. I share this with you because I want you to know; that if some of you currently struggle with what you see in Ephesians 1:3-6, I also struggled with these same verses, and it took a lot of time for me to work through it, with just me and my Bible. What is clear, however, is that Gods love for you is older than dirt. There are three words that are linked to what it means to be blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (v. 3) that I want to focus our time on that I believe will help you work through what it is Paul is saying in these verses, and those words are: chose (v. 4), predestined (v. 5), and favored (v. 6). God Chose the Christian to be Holy and Blameless (v. 4) What was so hard about my struggle with verses 3-6 is that this verse could not have been any clearer: God chose us in Jesus before the foundation of the world; the Greek word used for world is kosmos, and it refers to creation. When did God do it? Before He invented dirt. How did God do it? Through His Son, Jesus. Why did He do it? That those who were chosen, would be holy and blameless before Him. Before we can get to why God chose, we need to understand what it means for Him to choose. To choose is to pick or select someone or something. Every November we vote and when we vote, we choose certain candidates that we hope receive enough votes to be elected to whatever office it is that they are running for. In the case of verse 4, to choose is to elect. From verses like the ones before us this morning and others like it, we get the doctrine of elections (aka the doctrine of predestination). No person or theologian who believes the Bible to be the word of God denies what Paul is saying here, but where theologians, pastors, and Christians throughout the ages have disagreed is how it was that God chose the Christian before the foundation of the world. Let me summarize the most popular ways people have explained how it was that God chose. God chose you for salvation because you freely chose Him. You were drawn to him, but it wasnt until you chose Him that He chose you. God chose not only you but the body of Christ that is the Church to be the group of people who receive salvation freely by faith in Jesus. So, God does not choose individuals for salvation, but he has chosen before the foundation of the world that it would be through Christ that people would be saved. God chose you for salvation because he sees all things eternally, and because He can see peoples and events both present and future, He sovereignly chose you because he already knew you would freely choose Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. Of the three views I mentioned, the third is the one I gravitated towards and believed was the best of the three options; I even stated in my journal on January 20, 1994, Due to the Scriptures and that all scripture is inspired by God, my conclusion on predestination is made: God is all-knowing therefore He predestined us for salvation, but allowed us to choose him for salvation. At the time, my conclusion seemed to reconcile Ephesians 1:3-6 and others like it with passages like 2 Peter 3:9, The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. There is a fourth view that I have come to appreciate due to two realities I never considered back in 1994, the first concerns the fact that God stands outside of time because time is a part of creation, therefore He is not bound to time and does not make choices based on what He can see down the corridors of time because He stands outside of time. The other reality I did not consider back in 1994 was Ephesians 1:1-4, which states: And you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest (Eph. 2:1-3). In light of Ephesians 1:3-6, how can a person respond to God in faith when that person is spiritually dead? Can the spiritually dead do anything spiritual? Can the spiritually dead will themselves alive just enough to believe in God? What does Paul mean by dead in Ephesians 2:1? The Greek word could not be any clearer, it is nekros. Do you want to know what nekros means? It means this: no longer having life. So how dead is dead? So, the question I had to answer is a question you must answer as well, and that question is simply this: How can the spiritual dead do anything apart from God doing something? Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 2:4-5, But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:45). The point of verse 4 is simply this: You, who were once spiritually dead. You who once, lived in the lusts of your flesh, indulged the desires of your flesh, you who followed the prince of this world, and you who were once a child of wrathHe chose you before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in Christ. Whatever you are doing with verse 4, whatever you want to do with verse 4, and whatever you plan to do with verse 4, one thing is very clear: God acted first. When you had no ability or desire to find Him, He found you. John Stott was right when he wrote The doctrine of election is a divine revelation, not a human speculation.[1] God Predestined the Christian for Love (v. 5) What does it mean to be chosen? It means that God predestined you to something. What does predestination mean? It means, to determine something ahead of time before its occurrence.[2] So, according to verse 5, before God invented dirt, He planned for your adoption as a son or daughter through all that Jesus would do on your account for your sin on a cross that we all deserved. We know we deserved the cross because of what Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:3, which is that all of us at one point in our lives were, by nature children of wrath, just as the rest. In Romans 3:10-11, we are told just how bad our spiritual deadness is: as it is written: There is no righteous person, not even one; there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks out God (Rom. 3:1011). Since when have I been spiritually dead? According to Psalm 51:5, Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, and in sin my mother conceived me. Just in case you are not sure what to make of Psalm 51:5, consider Ecclesiastes 9:2, Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of mankind are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. So, with Ephesians 2:1-3 and a whole bunch of other verses about our spiritual problem as our backdrop, lets read again Ephesians 1:5 more closely and thoughtfully: In Love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. In other words, among the mass of spiritually dead humanity that has postured themselves against God as, sons of disobedience who walk according to the course of this world, God chose you, Christian, in Jesus, before He created dirt, to be holy and blameless. God chose you because you were dead, dead, dead, and because you were dead, He did the thing that no one else could have done! God raised your spiritually dead and helpless self. Why did He do it? Well, we are told that He did it In love and if that is not enough for you, Paul elaborates and tells us that He did it, according to the good pleasure of His will. And if that is not enough for you, he further elaborates on that point in the next chapter: being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead made us alive together with Christ (2:4-5). It is because of Gods love, His will, and His good pleasure that you who were once dead, now stand before Him as a son or as a daughter solely because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Dear Christian, the point of Ephesians 1:3-6 is this: you are only a Christian because of a merciful God who set His affection upon you by sending His son to endure a wrath you deserved for the purpose of adopting you to be His child out of an infinite love no one deserves. God Favored the Christian in Christ (v. 6) So, lets walk through these verses now that we have observed the scenery of Gods word that surrounds Ephesians 1:3-6. If you are a Christian, you were once dead in your sins, you were hostile towards God, and there was no real motive in you to seek the true God, and in spite of all of that, God the Father chose to make you alive in His Son, Jesus, before Genesis 1:1 ever happened, and He did it so that you, would be holy and blameless before Him. The point of verse 4 is that God did something you were powerless to do. Not only did God the Father choose you to be holy and blameless by making you alive in His Son, but He predestined us to be His adopted child with all the rights and privileges that come with being a son or a daughter, and He did it by putting His Son, who kept the Law, on a cross to atone for your guilt from breaking His cosmic Law just as the Bible declares: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for usfor it is written: Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (Gal. 3:13). If that is not clear enough for you, we also are told in Colossians 2:13-14, And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Col. 2:1314). You were not only dead in your sins before Christ, but the Bible informs us that we are now redeemed by Jesus who were once enemies of God: For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Rom. 5:10). What this means dear friends, is this: You were once dead in your sins, are now alive in Christ, and are now reconciled to God. You who are reconciled to God, are now a friend of God (John 15:14-15). If you are still confused as to why He did it, look no further than verse 6. Not only did He save your sorry soul because He simply loved you, and not only did He redeem you as his child out of His good pleasure of His will alone, but He did it, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored you in His Beloved Son (v. 6). By the way, the word favored literally means, to become the recipient of Gods freely bestowed, beneficent goodwill. What this means is that you were saved from your sins, and it was not due to anything in you, but solely because of the love of the Father who sent His Son who willingly became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). In his book, Friendship with God, Mike McKinley wrote what I think is a good way to end this sermon: Your status before God doesnt depend on your performance, or work, or obedience; it depends on Jesus, and he did everything perfectly to make you Gods friend. Nothing can ever separate you from Gods love in Christ (Rom. 8:38-39). Once He has made you His friend through faith in Jesus, you can never be his enemy again.[3] In closing, permit me to give you some pointers that will help you listen, understand, and submit to the authority of the Bible: Do not try to bend what you read in the Bible to your will. If you want to grow as a Christian, you must submit your will to the authority of the Bible as Gods Word. The Bible is one book, therefore read every verse in the Bible within the context of its surrounding verses, chapters, and books. When you study your Bible, pray to God to help you understand and apply His Word to your life. Read every verse in the Bible with the understanding that God does not need to get better. So, if you read a story, chapter, or verse in the Bible that you do not like, understand you are the one who needs to improve at being good, not God. Just because you do not understand or do not like something you have read in the Bible, does not mean that it is untrue. At the end of the day, what matters is what Gods Word says, not what you think the Bible says, what your pastor says the Bible says, what your family says the Bible says, what your friends say the Bible says, or anyone else says that the Bible says. What matters is what Gods Word says about who He is, who we are, and what we are called to do in this short life we have been gifted. If you have heard anything this morning, I hope you have heard this: Ephesians 1:3-6 teaches us that you are a Christian not because of what you have done, but because of everything God has done, and because of Jesus, you are now a child and a friend of God Almighty! [1] John R. W. Stott, Gods New Society (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979), p. 37. [2] From Lexham Research Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament. [3] Mike McKinley, Friendship with God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway; 2023), p. 11

On January 16, 1994, sometime after I read the verses we are going to explore this morning, I reflected on the tension I felt over how a loving God could choose and predestine a person before the foundation of the world for salvation. I wasnt angry over what I read in these verses, but I was disturbed; I was disturbed to the point of a near crisis of faith even though I had only been a Christian for just over two years. While I read over Ephesians 1:3-6; I also read similar passages such as Romans 8:28-30; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; John 6:44, and the entire chapter of Romans 9. I read these passages without the aid of books or commentaries, for it was only me and my Bible. I knew nothing of John Calvin or Jacobus Arminius, nor was I aware of their teachings by which we get Calvinism and Arminianism. I share this with you because I want you to know; that if some of you currently struggle with what you see in Ephesians 1:3-6, I also struggled with these same verses, and it took a lot of time for me to work through it, with just me and my Bible. What is clear, however, is that Gods love for you is older than dirt. There are three words that are linked to what it means to be blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (v. 3) that I want to focus our time on that I believe will help you work through what it is Paul is saying in these verses, and those words are: chose (v. 4), predestined (v. 5), and favored (v. 6). God Chose the Christian to be Holy and Blameless (v. 4) What was so hard about my struggle with verses 3-6 is that this verse could not have been any clearer: God chose us in Jesus before the foundation of the world; the Greek word used for world is kosmos, and it refers to creation. When did God do it? Before He invented dirt. How did God do it? Through His Son, Jesus. Why did He do it? That those who were chosen, would be holy and blameless before Him. Before we can get to why God chose, we need to understand what it means for Him to choose. To choose is to pick or select someone or something. Every November we vote and when we vote, we choose certain candidates that we hope receive enough votes to be elected to whatever office it is that they are running for. In the case of verse 4, to choose is to elect. From verses like the ones before us this morning and others like it, we get the doctrine of elections (aka the doctrine of predestination). No person or theologian who believes the Bible to be the word of God denies what Paul is saying here, but where theologians, pastors, and Christians throughout the ages have disagreed is how it was that God chose the Christian before the foundation of the world. Let me summarize the most popular ways people have explained how it was that God chose. God chose you for salvation because you freely chose Him. You were drawn to him, but it wasnt until you chose Him that He chose you. God chose not only you but the body of Christ that is the Church to be the group of people who receive salvation freely by faith in Jesus. So, God does not choose individuals for salvation, but he has chosen before the foundation of the world that it would be through Christ that people would be saved. God chose you for salvation because he sees all things eternally, and because He can see peoples and events both present and future, He sovereignly chose you because he already knew you would freely choose Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. Of the three views I mentioned, the third is the one I gravitated towards and believed was the best of the three options; I even stated in my journal on January 20, 1994, Due to the Scriptures and that all scripture is inspired by God, my conclusion on predestination is made: God is all-knowing therefore He predestined us for salvation, but allowed us to choose him for salvation. At the time, my conclusion seemed to reconcile Ephesians 1:3-6 and others like it with passages like 2 Peter 3:9, The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. There is a fourth view that I have come to appreciate due to two realities I never considered back in 1994, the first concerns the fact that God stands outside of time because time is a part of creation, therefore He is not bound to time and does not make choices based on what He can see down the corridors of time because He stands outside of time. The other reality I did not consider back in 1994 was Ephesians 1:1-4, which states: And you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest (Eph. 2:1-3). In light of Ephesians 1:3-6, how can a person respond to God in faith when that person is spiritually dead? Can the spiritually dead do anything spiritual? Can the spiritually dead will themselves alive just enough to believe in God? What does Paul mean by dead in Ephesians 2:1? The Greek word could not be any clearer, it is nekros. Do you want to know what nekros means? It means this: no longer having life. So how dead is dead? So, the question I had to answer is a question you must answer as well, and that question is simply this: How can the spiritual dead do anything apart from God doing something? Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 2:4-5, But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:45). The point of verse 4 is simply this: You, who were once spiritually dead. You who once, lived in the lusts of your flesh, indulged the desires of your flesh, you who followed the prince of this world, and you who were once a child of wrathHe chose you before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in Christ. Whatever you are doing with verse 4, whatever you want to do with verse 4, and whatever you plan to do with verse 4, one thing is very clear: God acted first. When you had no ability or desire to find Him, He found you. John Stott was right when he wrote The doctrine of election is a divine revelation, not a human speculation.[1] God Predestined the Christian for Love (v. 5) What does it mean to be chosen? It means that God predestined you to something. What does predestination mean? It means, to determine something ahead of time before its occurrence.[2] So, according to verse 5, before God invented dirt, He planned for your adoption as a son or daughter through all that Jesus would do on your account for your sin on a cross that we all deserved. We know we deserved the cross because of what Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:3, which is that all of us at one point in our lives were, by nature children of wrath, just as the rest. In Romans 3:10-11, we are told just how bad our spiritual deadness is: as it is written: There is no righteous person, not even one; there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks out God (Rom. 3:1011). Since when have I been spiritually dead? According to Psalm 51:5, Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, and in sin my mother conceived me. Just in case you are not sure what to make of Psalm 51:5, consider Ecclesiastes 9:2, Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of mankind are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. So, with Ephesians 2:1-3 and a whole bunch of other verses about our spiritual problem as our backdrop, lets read again Ephesians 1:5 more closely and thoughtfully: In Love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. In other words, among the mass of spiritually dead humanity that has postured themselves against God as, sons of disobedience who walk according to the course of this world, God chose you, Christian, in Jesus, before He created dirt, to be holy and blameless. God chose you because you were dead, dead, dead, and because you were dead, He did the thing that no one else could have done! God raised your spiritually dead and helpless self. Why did He do it? Well, we are told that He did it In love and if that is not enough for you, Paul elaborates and tells us that He did it, according to the good pleasure of His will. And if that is not enough for you, he further elaborates on that point in the next chapter: being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead made us alive together with Christ (2:4-5). It is because of Gods love, His will, and His good pleasure that you who were once dead, now stand before Him as a son or as a daughter solely because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Dear Christian, the point of Ephesians 1:3-6 is this: you are only a Christian because of a merciful God who set His affection upon you by sending His son to endure a wrath you deserved for the purpose of adopting you to be His child out of an infinite love no one deserves. God Favored the Christian in Christ (v. 6) So, lets walk through these verses now that we have observed the scenery of Gods word that surrounds Ephesians 1:3-6. If you are a Christian, you were once dead in your sins, you were hostile towards God, and there was no real motive in you to seek the true God, and in spite of all of that, God the Father chose to make you alive in His Son, Jesus, before Genesis 1:1 ever happened, and He did it so that you, would be holy and blameless before Him. The point of verse 4 is that God did something you were powerless to do. Not only did God the Father choose you to be holy and blameless by making you alive in His Son, but He predestined us to be His adopted child with all the rights and privileges that come with being a son or a daughter, and He did it by putting His Son, who kept the Law, on a cross to atone for your guilt from breaking His cosmic Law just as the Bible declares: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for usfor it is written: Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (Gal. 3:13). If that is not clear enough for you, we also are told in Colossians 2:13-14, And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Col. 2:1314). You were not only dead in your sins before Christ, but the Bible informs us that we are now redeemed by Jesus who were once enemies of God: For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Rom. 5:10). What this means dear friends, is this: You were once dead in your sins, are now alive in Christ, and are now reconciled to God. You who are reconciled to God, are now a friend of God (John 15:14-15). If you are still confused as to why He did it, look no further than verse 6. Not only did He save your sorry soul because He simply loved you, and not only did He redeem you as his child out of His good pleasure of His will alone, but He did it, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored you in His Beloved Son (v. 6). By the way, the word favored literally means, to become the recipient of Gods freely bestowed, beneficent goodwill. What this means is that you were saved from your sins, and it was not due to anything in you, but solely because of the love of the Father who sent His Son who willingly became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). In his book, Friendship with God, Mike McKinley wrote what I think is a good way to end this sermon: Your status before God doesnt depend on your performance, or work, or obedience; it depends on Jesus, and he did everything perfectly to make you Gods friend. Nothing can ever separate you from Gods love in Christ (Rom. 8:38-39). Once He has made you His friend through faith in Jesus, you can never be his enemy again.[3] In closing, permit me to give you some pointers that will help you listen, understand, and submit to the authority of the Bible: Do not try to bend what you read in the Bible to your will. If you want to grow as a Christian, you must submit your will to the authority of the Bible as Gods Word. The Bible is one book, therefore read every verse in the Bible within the context of its surrounding verses, chapters, and books. When you study your Bible, pray to God to help you understand and apply His Word to your life. Read every verse in the Bible with the understanding that God does not need to get better. So, if you read a story, chapter, or verse in the Bible that you do not like, understand you are the one who needs to improve at being good, not God. Just because you do not understand or do not like something you have read in the Bible, does not mean that it is untrue. At the end of the day, what matters is what Gods Word says, not what you think the Bible says, what your pastor says the Bible says, what your family says the Bible says, what your friends say the Bible says, or anyone else says that the Bible says. What matters is what Gods Word says about who He is, who we are, and what we are called to do in this short life we have been gifted. If you have heard anything this morning, I hope you have heard this: Ephesians 1:3-6 teaches us that you are a Christian not because of what you have done, but because of everything God has done, and because of Jesus, you are now a child and a friend of God Almighty! [1] John R. W. Stott, Gods New Society (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979), p. 37. [2] From Lexham Research Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament. [3] Mike McKinley, Friendship with God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway; 2023), p. 11

Join us for a conversation with Mike McKinley, senior pastor of Sterling Park Baptist Church in Sterling, Virginia and author of Friendship with God. In this episode, gain a better understanding of what communion with God looks like and learn practical steps toward greater faithfulness in your walk with the Lord. 

Gospel Daily Conversations: Pastor Josh Weidmann talks with Mike McKinley, author of the transformative book, "Friendship with God" joining us. In his enlightening work, McKinley explores the profound idea of nurturing a friendship with God. Episode: 1080

Title: Present Joy, Future Glory Preacher: Mike McKinley Series: Guest Preachers Passage: 1 Peter 1:3-12

In this episode of Pastors Talk, Mark and Jonathan interview Mike McKinley about his new book, Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit

Today, we are pleased to share an audio essay written and read by Mike McKinley entitled "4 Privileges We Enjoy as Friends of God". Mike McKinley is senior pastor of Sterling Park Baptist Church in Sterling, Virginia. He is the author of a number of books, including 'Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit'. Read the essay here. If you enjoyed this episode be sure to leave us a review, which helps us spread the word about the show!

Friends with Jesus... is it possible? And if so, what are the implications for us? This week, Steve and the gang hang out with pastor and author Mike McKinley to ponder this world-changing idea and discuss how Mike breathed new life into an often-overlooked theological classic. The post Mike McKinley | Friendship With God | Steve Brown, Etc. appeared first on Key Life.

Friends with Jesus... is it possible? And if so, what are the implications for us? This week, Steve and the gang hang out with pastor and author Mike McKinley to ponder this world-changing idea and discuss how Mike breathed new life into an often-overlooked theological classic. The post Mike McKinley | Friendship With God | Steve Brown, Etc. appeared first on Key Life. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1544/29

In John 15, Jesus says, “I have called you friends.” But what does it mean to be friends with Jesus? In the early 1650s, theologian John Owen attempted to answer this question through a series of sermons, eventually compiled as Communion with God. The book is full of truths about having fellowship with God, but Owen's work is often a struggle for modern readers to understand.  In Friendship with God, pastor Mike McKinley takes a key idea or insight from Communion with God and clarifies it for readers in each chapter, giving them practical guidance for how to develop fellowship with God—such as obeying the Father's commands, acknowledgment of sin, and prayer. Perfect for new Christians or for those without a church background, this accessible resource offers an introduction to the God who “wants you to know him and be known by him.”  Join us as we sit down with Mike and discuss the expectations and nature of friendship with God.

On this episode, I am glad to welcome pastor and author Mike McKinley to discuss his newest book Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mike's book presents a simple, practical guide to pursuing a stronger relationship with God. He does this by reflecting on the classic book Communion with God by John Owen and sharing those insights in an accessible way. Mike McKinley (MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary) is the senior pastor of Sterling Park Baptist Church in Sterling, Virginia. He is the author of a number of books, including Am I Really a Christian? and Church Planting Is for Wimps. He and his wife, Karen, have five children and live in Northern Virginia. Check out the full show notes for this episode: www.aaronshamp.com/podcast/mike-mckinley SUPPORT THIS PODCAST: https://www.aaronshamp.com/support –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Track: Perseverance — Land of Fire [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus​ –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/filterpodcast/message

In this episode, Nate Akin and Mike McKinley talk about evangelicalism, friendship with God, Mike's books, and more.

In today's episode, Mike McKinley shares how God desires to be our friend and how by leaning into that our entire relationship with him can be changed. Mike McKinley is the senior pastor of Sterling Park Baptist Church in Sterling, Virginia. He is also the author of Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Read the full transcript of this episode. Complete this survey for a free audiobook by Kevin DeYoung! If you enjoyed this episode be sure to leave us a review, which helps us spread the word about the show! Complete this survey for a free audiobook by Kevin DeYoung!

A special Christmas sermon: speaker Mike McKinley

Listen as Mike McKinley gives the eighth session from this years 9Marks conference.

Mike McKinley

Mike McKinley (10 Year Anniversary)

On today's Equipping You in Grace, Dave, and Sean DeMars discuss the core tenets and dangers of the prosperity gospel, biblical hermeneutics, the importance of Bible-believing and gospel-preaching local church, along with his book with Mike McKinley, Health, Wealth, and the Real Gospel: The Prosperity Gospel Meets Scripture (Christian Focus, 2022). What you'll hear in this episode The purpose of money and stewardship. The importance of a good Bible-believing and gospel-preaching local church. How Sean got into the prosperity gospel and how he got out of the prosperity gospel. What the prosperity gospel is and its dangers. Engaging in biblical hermeneutics. The core tenets of the prosperity gospel. How biblically minded and informed Christians can counter the prosperity gospel. The dangers of TBN and why Christians should avoid it. How we should relate to friends and family members who claim to believe the true gospel but are captivated by the prosperity gospel. The danger of rejecting the prosperity gospel but adhering to it in practice. How Christians should help those coming out of the prosperity gospel and into the local church. About Today's Guest Sean is the pastor of 6th Avenue Community Church in Decatur, Alabama. He has a wonderful wife and two amazing girls. The best thing about him is that he belongs to Jesus. Subscribing, sharing, and your feedback You can subscribe to Equipping You in Grace via iTunes, Google Play, or your favorite podcast catcher. If you like what you've heard, please consider leaving a rating and share it with your friends (it takes only takes a second and will go a long way to helping other people find the show). You can also connect with me on Twitter at @davejjenkins, on Facebook, or via email to share your feedback. Thanks for listening to this episode of Equipping You in Grace!

Listen as Mike McKinley gives the second session from this years 9Marks conference.

យើង​អាច​ស្គាល់​ពី​លក្ខណៈ​របស់​បុគ្គល​ម្នាក់​បាន​ច្រើន​តាមរយៈ​ឈ្មោះ​របស់​គាត់។ ហើយ​តួអង្គ​អាក្រក់​ក៏​ត្រូវ​ការ​មាន​ឈ្មោះ​ដែល​ស៊ី​គ្នា​នឹង​លក្ខណៈ​របស់​តួអង្គ​នោះ​ផង​ដែរ។ ព្រះ​គម្ពីរ​មាន​រៀបរាប់​ឈ្មោះ​ជា​ច្រើន​របស់​មេ​កំណាច។ ចំណាំ៖ យើងបានទទួលការអនុញ្ញាតឲ្យកែសម្រួលលើឯកសារដើមរបស់អ្នកនិពន្ធ។ និពន្ធ​ដោយ៖ លោក​គ្រូ Mike McKinley បកប្រែដោយ និងកែសម្រួលដោយ៖ លោក ឈាង បូរ៉ា, លោក ជួប ប៊ុនហាក់, ​និងលោក ទេព រ៉ូ ដកស្រង់ខ្លះៗចេញពី Did the Devil Make Me Do it? ដោយមានការអនុញ្ញាត។ https://plovpit.com/many-names/

តើ​អារក្ស​អាច​ចូល​គ្រីស្ទ​បរិស័ទ​បាន​ដែរ​ឬ​ទេ? ក្នុង​នាម​ខ្ញុំ​ជា​គ្រូ​គង្វាល​ម្នាក់ ខ្ញុំ​មាន​ការ​ភ្ញាក់​ផ្អើល​ជា​ខ្លាំង ពេល​ដែល​គេ​សួរ​សំណួរ​នេះ​មក​ខ្ញុំ​ម្ដង​ហើយ​ម្ដង​ទៀត ប៉ុន្តែ​ចម្លើយ​មិន​មែន​សាមញ្ញ​នោះ​ទេ។ ចំណាំ៖ យើង​បាន​ទទួល​ការអនុញ្ញាត​ឲ្យ​កែ​សម្រួល​លើ​ឯកសារ​ដើម​របស់​អ្នក​និពន្ធ។ និពន្ធ​ដោយ៖ លោក​គ្រូ Mike McKinley បកប្រែ​ដោយ និង​កែ​សម្រួល​ដោយ៖ លោក ឈាង បូរ៉ា, លោក ជួប ប៊ុនហាក់, និងលោក ទេព រ៉ូ ដក​ស្រង់​ខ្លះៗ​ចេញ​ពី Did the Devil Make Me Do it? ដោយ​មាន​ការអនុញ្ញាត។ https://plovpit.com/christians-demons/

Can anyone really say for certain that they are a Christian? (The answer is yes.) Are there some who think they’re Christian but they’re really not? (The answer, again, is yes.) Pastor and author Mike McKinley helps us think through and wrestle with these eternally urgent questions. Recommended Resources: Am I Really a Christian? by Mike McKinley (9Marks, 2011) Health, Wealth, and the (Real) Gospel: The Prosperity Gospel Meets the Truths of Scripture. by Sean Demars and Mike McKinley (Christian Focus, 2022)

Do you believe in the devil? Most Americans would say no. Might as well believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Others believe in the devil so much that they attribute every bad thing that happens to Satan himself. What is true? What does the Bible actually say about the devil? On today's episode of the Great Stories podcast, Mike McKinley gets to the heart of what the Bible actually says (and doesn't say) about the devil. According to McKinley, the devil is a real character who lies, fights with God's angels, prowls, plans to outwit believers, and blinds unbelievers. The question is, what are we supposed to do about it?

Mike McKinley

A guest sermon by Mike McKinley.

Have you ever asked, “How can I find someone to disciple me?”In this episode of Pastors Talk, Jonathan Leeman chats with Mark Dever, Garrett Kell, and Mike McKinley about that common question.

Does God love everyone?Jonathan Leeman chats with Mark Dever, Mike McKinley, and Matt McCullough about our new Church Questions booklet on that important question.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week our guest is Mike McKinley, Senior Pastor of Sterling Park Baptist Church in Sterling, VA. In this episode, Mike talks about church revitalization and keys to replanting in a way that both honors God and honors the legacy of the people. RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Sterling Park Baptist Church Planting Is For Wimps Instruments in the Redeemers Hands Hearers and Doers Discipleship Bible Study Notes The Letters of John Newton The Heart of a Servant Leader The Great Commission Leadership Podcast is hosted by Graham Withers. Connect with Graham: Twitter • Instagram • Facebook

In this episode, we are joined by our good friend Mike McKinley to discuss his book Am I Really A Chrisitan? The bible makes it clear that there is a category of person who believes himself to be a Christian, but will someday hear from Christ "I never knew you." That's a frightening thing to consider. How can we have assurance that we are truly saved? The right answer to this question can help doubting Christians have confidence that they are Christ's, and can stir false professors to recognize their desperate need for conversion. You can find Mike's book here.

A sermon on Matthew 11 from Mike McKinley.

In this inspiring episode, Jason talks with Mike McKinley of One Meal. One Meal, born from the kindness of Mike's 13-year-old daughter, has fed the Mobile, Alabama homeless, hungry, and the working poor every Sunday, 52 weeks a year, for ten years. With the help of volunteers and contributions from individuals, churches, schools, civic clubs, service organizations, and businesses, the small non-profit serves on average of 150 people and operates a food bank and pantry. Mike shares with Jason his passion for cooking, his calling for helping others, inspiring others to help, and the challenges of keeping One Meal in operation. Click here for more information or to donate to One Meal. Key Takeaways Mike McKinley and One Meal is making a real impact in the lives of those neediest in Mobile and Baldwin County. One Meal is always in need of financial donations, volunteers, local awareness, and your prayers. One Meal operates as a huge for like-minded non-profits and charitable groups in the area. Volunteering time and energy in local charities and service organizations is a great way to add some perspective and some satisfaction in your life.   Schedule a Coaching Session with Jason Will   Quotable and Notable There are people out there that work and can pay the utilities and what have you. And then they have nothing left for food. So we try to help out a little bit along the way. - Mike McKinley Our calling is to feed the hungry. We're not there to try to solve anyone's life problems. We're just there to be friends, provide a little food, make sure they have something to eat. - Mike McKinley Your calling is to answer the need not necessarily to try to figure out where the need comes from, or much less provide judgment about why a person is in need. It is just the calling is to serve. - Jason Will What we do is we give people the security that they know that every Sunday afternoon at four o'clock they can get a meal in Downtown Mobile. - Mike McKinley What you are bringing it to light here is these people need to eat every other week of the year. - Jason Will One Meal provides a central location for you to connect with people to help the homeless. It's a good starting point. - Mike McKinley You can come down you can help the homeless, you can satisfy your needs for wanting to help someone, and you don't have to search all over and just come to One Meal and go from there. - Mike McKinley If people are just not in a good place in their life, whether they hate their job or have a bad family life, or just dissatisfied. Getting involved with One Meal or any of these multiple organizations out there that are dedicated to serving others is a way that they can kind of fill a gap within themselves. - Jason Will One Meal is for those that need to be served and for the people that need to serve. - Mike McKinley You never truly own anything unless you give it away that the value of it is not there unless it is providing for somebody else filling a need in some way. - Jason Will Enjoyment of life is rooted in the service of others. - Jason Will It's not just the food. It's not just the money. It's not having enough people to volunteer. It's just wanting everybody to realize to do what you can do. Not everybody is going to have something they can give other than prayer. Mike McKinley

Struggling with the Memory Palace technique? Good news: Mike McKinley memorized 66 Psalms without one shares with you how he made it happen.

A sermon by Mike McKinley.

Pastor of Sterling Park Baptist Church and author of Church in Hard Places, Mike McKinley, talks to us about taking our ministry to the poor beyond the soup kitchen.

Most upper/middle-class Americans are living their lives to avoid having to interact with poor people who don’t speak their language. Christians too are apathetic, and even when they try to take the parable of the Good Samaritan seriously, they often go about things in ways that aren’t helpful. In this episode, author Mike McKinley talks about his newest book, Church in Hard Places, and why the church needs to do more than ladle soup. Other books by Mike McKinley: Church Planting Is for Wimps Am I Really a Christian?

This week Aaron talks with Mike McKinley, pastor of Sterling Park Baptist Church in Sterling, VA. He is also the author of Church Planting is For Wimps and the new book Church in Hard Places: How the Local Church Brings Life to the Poor and Needy. They discuss the challenges and blessings of church revitalization as well as how the gospel is spread the poor and needy in our various contexts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Date: 15 June 2014 (Evening)Title: Him Who is Able to Keep YouPassage: Jude 24 & 25Preacher: Mike McKinley

What does it look like for churches to reach out and evangelize among the poor? Whose responsibility is this within the church and what does Scripture say about it? In this breakout, pastors Mike McKinley and Mez McConnell discuss what church planting in difficult contexts means for the local church’s evangelism. Mike McKinley is the lead pastor of Sterling Park Baptist Church in Sterling, VA. He is the author of several books, including “Am I Really a Christian?” and “Passion: How Christ’s Final Day Changes Your Every Day”. Mike and his wife Karen have five children. Mez McConnell, is the Senior Pastor of Niddrie Community Church, Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the founder of 20schemes and has been involved in full time pastoral ministry, both church planting and revitalisation since 1999. He has worked in inner city areas in England, Scotland and Brazil and has a passion for training men and women for ministry in this context. He has written 2 books: Preparing for Baptism: A Personal Diary (Grace Publications Trust), and Is There Anybody Out There? (Christian Focus). Mez studied Missiology at Moorland Bible College, England and Pastoral Theology at Bryntirion Bible College, Wales. He has been married to Miriam for 15 years and has two lovely daughters, Keziah & Lydia.

“Are tattoos sin? What about alcohol, how we dress, and other areas? How does our Christian liberty affect the law and how does the law affect our Christian liberty? Mark Dever asks Carl Trueman, Mike McKinley, and Andy Johnson about the contested topic of Christian freedom in this round table discussion.” from www.9marks.org Sermonize Us

Mark Dever asks church planter Mike McKinley about the travails of planting and why we should plant churches WITHOUT a vision statement.