According to Scripture, God deliberately designed the gospel in such a way so as to strip me of pride and leave me without any grounds for boasting in myself whatsoever. This is actually a wonderful mercy from God, for pride is at the root of all my sin. Pride produced the first sin in the…
In Kenneth Samples’ book Seven Truths That Changed the World: Discovering Christianity’s Most Dangerous Ideas he makes the following statements that I found helpful regarding sin and its consequences in the life of a non-Christian and wanted to pass along: God may use evil and suffering to get a nonbeliever’s attention and ultimately draw that person…
Have you ever thought about the truth that thinking about eternity can help you in your fight against sin? Most people haven’t and I confess it doesn’t cross my mind as much as it should. In his book Sex and Money, Paul Tripp gives several truths about eternity that can help us walk in freedom…
Paul Tripp in his book Sex & Money shares four things that will cause a Christian’s heart to be controlled by money. They are… Ingratitude. Need Discontent Envy If you are unthankful and convinced that you deserve more, if you have been able to convince yourself that there are things you need that you do…
The Do’s DO try to be with the family as soon as you receive word about the family member’s death. DO offer to help the family gather information in preparation for the funeral arrangements. DO mobilize the church family to join you in caring for the needs of the family. DO gently offer suggestions that…
What are the long-term results of anger or as Jerry Bridges calls it in his book Respectable Sins: Confronting The Sins We Tolerate, “weeds of anger”? Bridges’ selected the word “weeds” because they seem to be a nuisance that you constantly have to get rid of, with the obvious correlation that the following “weeds of anger” will…
In our human wisdom, we would settle for relational détente, but God wants to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we would see our need for a relationship with him as well as with others. Every painful thing we experience in relationships is meant to remind us of our need for him.…
As I read through the Gospels, I am struck by the fact that Jesus Himself didn’t use formulas. He didn’t oversimplify things and He didn’t hand out tracts. Instead, He talked with people, and as He did, He tailored each conversation to meet that individual at their greatest point of need. With one, He discussed…
Jesus’ evangelism involved two aspects: Content – the details of the good news Incarnational approach – living life with and among people John 1:14 – the word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. The word “dwelt” is an Aramaic term, which is translated “pitching one’s tent.” The imagery is that we have a Savior,…
What can we learn from the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35? Forgiveness cancels a debt. The practice of canceling a debt serves as a metaphor for practicing forgiveness. Forgiveness presupposes that someone bear the cost of what is owed Forgiveness makes a three-fold promise: (1) I will not bring up this offense again or use…
Theology Along the Way 