Let me remind you of Pastor John’s helpful application of Ephesians 2:11-22 and add one more ‘L’ to the list. In light of the work of Christ which has killed the hostility between us and God as well as between us and one another, it has reconciled us both vertically and horizontally. We are encouraged […]
Continue ReadingAs we march our way through Ephesians 2, Paul is not done with calling us to remember our former condition. This past Sunday we recalled our former condition of being spiritually dead and as we dig into 2:11-22 we will see our former condition of not being in a covenant relationship with God just like […]
Continue ReadingWhy did Paul thank God for the Ephesian’s faith in Christ and their love towards the saints? Pastor Toph mentioned a book by D.A. Carson called Praying With Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation which gives us a great answer. He writes,” Because God is sovereign, Paul offers thanksgiving for God’s intervening, sovereign grace in the lives […]
Continue ReadingOn Sunday we will hear Pastor Toph preach from a passage of Scripture that I encourage you to hide in your heart through memorization. It is prayer that by God’s grace should be found on every believer’s lips both personally and corporately for the body of Christ. Think about what Paul asked the Father to […]
Continue ReadingWhat is available in the gospel is absolutely staggering. There is nothing in this world that gives us the resources that are available in the gospel. One resource the gospel gives the believer is an identity. An aspect of this gospel identity is that it is a received identity and not an achieved identity. You […]
Continue ReadingAll the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. Psalm 22:27, 28 There were so many good things to highlight from Pastor Dieudonné’s message this past Sunday. To […]
Continue ReadingHere are grievous words spoken by the LORD our God … You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge.’ (Malachi 3:14) Jubilee … when we seek to imitate the world … are we not speaking those same words with our lives. Are we not proclaiming […]
Continue ReadingI wonder what you are hearing in this series from Malachi as the Lord speaks to us through his servants. I hope that you are being drawn into the arms of the LORD of hosts as he speaks of a bigger story… a story full of life and peace… a place where true instruction abounds… […]
Continue ReadingPastor Lew painted the amazing picture of God’s love for us, the kind of love that we need Holy Spirit empowerment to comprehend. John begins in 1 John 3:1 with the command, “See.” I want to focus on this command. What this command “see” means is that we need to take time to meditate on […]
Continue ReadingOur hearts are designed to be filled. We can either fill them with God’s Word or with other things. For David, he knew the significance of the Word of God and so stored it up in his heart. He says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against […]
Continue ReadingIn 1 John, the apostle John has greatly emphasized the inseparability of the Gospel and love. Those who have been redeemed by the Gospel, of necessity, love others. The gospel makes men others-centered, not self-centered. For John, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does […]
Continue ReadingFirst, I want to give God public thanks for all of the encouragement I received thi summer. So many of you have let me know that you were praying for the Lord to meet us in this wonderful letter. There are not too many things better than knowing how the body supports one another. There […]
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