THE WITNESS OF CREATION When David looked at the sun and blue sky by day or the moon and stars at night, he did not worship them. No, he saw how they bore witness of God’s glory and the wonder of His creation. For David, the sun, moon and stars were not objects to be
DOES GOD WITHHOLD GOOD FROM US? God already gave us His best. Therefore, let us not accuse Him of withholding any good thing from us. If we do not have it, it is because He has something better for us. Or it is because He is training us in righteousness through temporary trouble. Our God
THE SPIRIT OF SLAVERY VS. THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION The former life before receiving Christ is one of slavery to sin. The actions of the slave are motivated by fear. So, the one enslaved to sin leads a life motivated and marked by fear. Among these fears are the fear of man, the fear of
WHO CAN PLEASE GOD? The apostle Paul wrote that only those who live according to the Holy Spirit are able to please God. Without the Spirit, we are left to ourselves and to the control of the sin nature, which the Bible calls the “flesh.” The flesh is always hostile to God. It wants its
WHAT GOOD IS THE LAW? Sin is aroused to further rebellion by God’s law. Does this mean that God’s law is itself sinful? Certainly not! If a mother tells her toddler not to touch the hot stove, she has given the child her law. Yet, the sin nature within the child is immediately activated to
PETER’S FIRST SERMON TEXT This psalm of David was quoted by the apostle Peter (Acts 2:25-36) as a biblical proof that Jesus Christ, Son of David, was prophesied to rise from the dead without seeing “decay.” Peter preached this sermon on the day of Pentecost and 3,000 Jews from all over the Roman world came
DISCIPLINE YOUR CHILD WHILE THERE IS HOPE There is a short window of time for teaching children obedience. During this time there is hope that parental discipline might eventually become the child’s own self-discipline. It may seem a lot of work to discipline a child of ages 2 through 6, but it becomes nearly hopeless
ARE YOU KIND TO THE POOR? This is an astounding proverb! God willingly makes Himself a debtor to the one who is kind and generous to the poor. Someone may hesitate to give to a poor person, but who would not lend to the Lord? Surely the One who owns the cattle on a thousand
FAITH COUNTED AS RIGHTEOUSNESS Paul explained that Abraham, the human founder of Judaism, was not considered righteous by his circumcision, but by his faith. Paul quoted Moses, who wrote of Abraham, “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). So, faith has always been the only way to
TRANSITIONING FROM PORTABLE TO PERMANENT David made preparations for the Temple to be built in Jerusalem. He gathered the materials for the building and gave his son, Solomon specific plans for its construction. He also instructed the Levites on how to transition from their former ministry of carrying and setting up the portable Tabernacle, to