The Bible is very clear that we cannot misplace, or lose, our salvation — as though our salvation were a possession of ours, like a set of car keys or something. My salvation is not something I can lose, as though I owned it. Rather, Christ owns us. We have been purchased by Christ, and …
Ezra Nehemiah 11
Introduction: Repentance may be felt (and usually is felt) at a deep emotional level. But this does not remove the need to be careful and deliberate in how things are set right. The Text: Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there …
Easter and Re-Creation
God has given us a holy day every week, on the first day. Each week we are reminded that we are living in the new heavens and the new earth. Each week we remember that just as God rested after His work of creation, so Jesus Christ rested after His glorious work of re-creation. In …
Maturity and Discernment
In this next chapter of Hebrews we begin a short introduction to the nature of Christ’s priesthood and intercession for us. The writer of Hebrews is then diverted into a discussion of immaturity and apostasy before he returns to this theme in the middle chapters of his book. “For every high priest taken from among …
My Soul Is Broken With Desire
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Can this poor man a servant be? Deal bountifully with me, That I may live and keep Your Word, That I might walk and never stray, In all the blessings You poured out. And if You open both my eyes, I will …
Bus Fare
One gray afternoon, there were five people standing at a bus stop. There was a minister with his clerical collar, a school teacher, a mechanic, a professor, and a street walker. The bus was running a little late, and so they all lined up eagerly when they finally saw it approaching. But when the doors …
Crushed Boldness
As we live out our Christian lives, we must always remember that this is not something we do detached from God, for God. Rather, we are to live our lives in Christ, and on the basis of what He has done for us. Our central interest is therefore the gospel, and the great truths of …
In Our Deliverance
Father and God, we praise You now in the name of Jesus Christ. We thank You for this arriving Sabbath, and thank You that we are given the privilege of marking His resurrection from the dead every week. We know that apart from that resurrection, we would all be dead in our sins, and so …
A New Testament Deuteronomy
God loves a cheerful giver. Those who work frantically in His presence displease Him. Those who believe, those who enter rest, are equipped for evangelical work — refreshed work. Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the …
Words and Worship
James tells us not to bless God with our tongues while we go on sinning with our tongues. You are coming now to sing, to pray, to say amen, to fellowship with the saints. This means you must pay attention to your words. You have frequently heard that you are not to impute motives when …