When I think of Elijah my mind usually jumps straight to his confrontation with the prophets of Baal on top of Mount Carmel. There the prophet of God stood alone against 450 sworn enemies! As they attempted to call down fire from heaven by the power of their false god, Baal, they danced, chanted, and … Read more
If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you… Rudyard Kipling, “If” Does it seem like the world is going crazy? In 1895 Rudyard Kipling penned one of his most famous pieces, “If”. Every line of that poem is gold. But the opening two lines struck … Read more
Sunday mornings might be the worst time to get ready for church. Not just for preachers who need to have prepared a sermon, but for anyone. Now, if someone gets up Sunday morning and decides out of the blue to go to church then wonderful, get up and go. But if you have the opportunity … Read more
Part 1 – Introduction Part 2 – Piper’s Aim In the 2nd chapter of Piper’s booklet, he sets out to give examples of God’s two wills. His goal is to prove that God has one will that desires all to be saved, but a second will that acts to only save some. We must keep … Read more
At times, the guilt and shame of acknowledged sin can leave us feeling crushed, speechless, and perhaps even wondering how we can recover. In these instances, I believe the Penitential Psalms can give voice to emotions and thoughts we cannot express on our own. The majority of the Bible cover God speaking to us. One … Read more
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you al toward each other aboundeth: 2 Thessalonians 1:3 Paul modeled the prayer life to which each Christian should aspire. As Paul writes to his friends and co-workers, … Read more
Part 1 – Introduction In the first chapter of this booklet John Piper explains his aim for the publication, “My aim in this short book is to show from Scripture that the simultaneous existence of God’s will for all people to be saved and his will to choose some people for salvation unconditionally before creation … Read more
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; Ephesians 3:8 A few weeks ago a Bible reading plan I followed with others at Bedford Bible Church took us through Ephesians 3. Verse 8 hit a chord … Read more
In verse 15 of Philippians 2 Paul reaches his conclusion for a series of admonitions and instructions he has given the believers. That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world… Philippians 2:15 … Read more
Years ago I read the story of a man who preached and taught on the book of Ephesians in a way that struck one of his listeners. Later, when the chance arose, the preacher was asked how he knew the book so well. The preacher explained that he had read the short epistle over, and … Read more