All Christians have these privileges and obligations. Some Christians take up the task of Christian ministry as a vocation. I hope that some in this room will do that. But whether you are doing it as a vocation or as a volunteer, I trust that all of us will make use of the privileges of Christian ministry. Read More ...
It’s because of Christ’s presence in the church that church discipline is necessary. We must maintain the moral and doctrinal purity of the church. We must not tolerate in the church anything or anybody that would corrupt Christ’s church. The church operates in the presence/before the face of Christ, so we have to do things his way. Read More ...
If we want to avoid the sorrow and the grief that’s so common in so many churches, we’ll focus on God’s faithfulness, salvation through Christ, and the reliability of the Word of God, not on our disappointment with other people. Read More ...
When trivial issues become big issues, it’s usually because of a series of misunderstandings, and it usually begins with assumptions about someone’s motivations. We should assume the best about people and not blow things all out of proportion. Let trivial issues remain trivial. If we retain a critical, fault-finding attitude, it will damage our relationships and weaken the church. Read More ...
Our behavior should be characterized by confidence that we are doing the right thing, a clear conscience, sincerity, purity, not indulging the flesh but living by the grace of God, considering our testimony before others, and living consistently with the teachings of the Christian faith. If that’s true of your behavior, then you are conducting yourself correctly, no matter how others may criticize you. Read More ...
All of us should be available to comfort others in their times of afflictions. One of the great benefits of being a part of a local church is that we can expect others to be there to help us in our times of need. We can be the means God uses to bring comfort, aid, and encouragement into the lives of those who suffer. At the very least, we can help others through our prayers. Read More ...
The major focus seems to be on Paul’s desire to validate and defend his apostleship. He wants his readers to believe that what he taught them was the truth, especially in contrast to what some false teachers were saying. So the book is an effort for Paul to prove his ministry among them to be legitimate. Read More ...
The book of Ruth is one of the rare biblical stories with a truly happy ending. The book presents us with godly, realistic characters whose example we can follow. All of us should seek to be people like Boaz and Ruth; we should be kind, gracious, and virtuous. Above all, we should be confident that God demonstrates His faithfulness by loving, superintending, and caring for His people. Since God is so kind and gracious to us, we should respond by obeying his commands and being kind and gracious toward others. Read More ...
Often we have to wait to see what the outcome of our plans will be. Are things going
to work out as we hope, or will our plans come to nothing? That all depends on the
providence of God. We should trust that God will work out his plan according to his
own purposes.
The Bible affirms that “the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Ps 37:23).
If we are people like Boaz and Ruth, we can be confident that God is working behind
the scenes to order and guide our steps. If we are honorable and virtuous people, we
can sit still and wait as God works out his plan in our lives. Read More ...
Christians must stand strongly against the practice of abortion. We must support those agencies and institutions that work to end abortion and overturn laws that allow abortion. We have good, biblical reasons to fight against abortion, and we must be involved in this great battle. Read More ...