THE CHURCH IS THE PEOPLE NOT THE STEEPLE In Paul’s letter to the Roman believers, he gave greetings to the church that met in the home of Aquila and Priscilla. In those days there were no church buildings, so the church met in homes or in public meeting facilities, such as the Hall of Tyrannus
DO YOU HAVE OVERFLOWING HOPE? What is this “overflowing hope” and how can we obtain it? It is Christian hope. This is different from the hope we express as a wish. When we say, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” we are expressing a wish without any promise of fulfillment. But Christian hope is like
THE GIFT OF SPIRITUAL RECEPTIVITY One can have ears and eyes, yet still be deaf and blind. The Lord has made both the physical and the spiritual ability to hear and see. Both are grace. The physical is obvious, but few recognize the spiritual. The first offers awareness of the physical world, the second makes
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “PUT ON” CHRIST? First, isn’t there the necessity of putting off our old clothes? Certainly, this is what the Word teaches us. Some of the articles of the old clothes are listed by Paul where he teaches us to “put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out
LOVE AND HONOR: MARKS OF THE NEW LIFE IN CHRIST In Romans 12, Paul described how those who have offered their bodies as a living sacrifice and have received a transformed mind that knows God’s will, should live with each other. In verse 10, Paul gave two marks of how people with this new heart
ALL THINGS ARE FROM, THROUGH, AND TO GOD! Paul’s benediction at the end of Romans 11 is all encompassing. It declares that all things come “from” God, for He is the Creator. All things exist “through” God, for He is the Sustainer. All things are made for God’s glory, for creation displays His “invisible attributes,
GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH ISRAEL The apostle Paul asked the question, “Has God rejected His people?” He immediately answered, “Absolutely not!” (Rom. 11:1). He reminded his readers that he himself was Jewish and so was an elect remnant of Israel that had believed. Yet it was true that the vast majority of Jews had
TEACHING THE WORD TO EVERYONE King Jehoshaphat began his reign well by sending out teachers of God’s Word to teach all the people of Judah. Jehoshaphat took delight in the Lord and led his people to follow Him. And so, the fear of the Lord fell on the surrounding peoples so that they didn’t attack
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