Category Archives: Pastor’s Desk

Scripture References: Joshua 21:43-45; Act 13:26-33 The issue is one of trust. Can we trust God? We live in a world that makes us ask that question, and asking it does not brand us as either disobedient or sinful. In … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: Romans 1:16; 1 Timothy 1:8-14 Hope There’s a final reason why we can have confidence in the Christian faith. It provides us with a hope that will not die. The hope is expressed in two ways. First, we … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: Romans 1:16; 1 Timothy 1:8-14 Needs There is a second reason why we don’t need to be ashamed of the Christian faith. It fulfills our most basic human needs. Though you could list a variety of “basic needs,” … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: Romans 1:16; 1 Timothy 1:8-14 Promises – Continued The second important thing the Christian faith promises to do is to put you in a right relationship to others. The Christian church is an amazing institution, isn’t it? Our … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: Romans 1:16; 1 Timothy 1:8-14 Promises To begin with, we can be proud of the Christian faith because it does not disappoint. By nature and experience we tend to be a suspicious people. For the most part, we … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: Romans 1:16; 1 Timothy 1:8-14 “I am not ashamed of the gospel,” shouted the apostle Paul. He might not have been, but sadly, the truth is, most of us are. At school? At work? Or, the bridge party? … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: Matthew 9:35-38 II. The Necessity of Enlisting the Layperson – Continued Satan’s strategy in our world today is to convince the laypeople of the church that Christianity is complicated, winning people to Christ is too complex, and only … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: Matthew 9:35-38 I. The Waiting Harvest – Continued A Christlike Commission From Last Lesson: The five operations on the crippled boy were performed, and some two years later, the boy came back into the gymnasium. Sangster spoke to … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: Matthew 9:35-38 I. The Waiting Harvest – Continued A Christlike Compassion When Jesus saw Matthew, He did not see a conniving, cheating, and thieving politician. Rather, He saw the writer of the first Gospel. When Jesus met Simon … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: Matthew 9:35-38 “No one cares for me” is the statement that many people in our world are saying. Hundreds of years ago, the psalmist wrote, “For there is no one who acknowledges me . . . No one … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 When it comes down to it, the cross was, after all, not an event outside the realm of politics. The largest, best-organized, and relatively most just empire in world history was executing a nonviolent Teacher … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Some of the alternative understandings of what the cross is about are quite right in their place; others are more questionable. Yet none of them is appropriate if understood as a replacement, rather than a … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 The gospel of Christ is not obscure and deceitful. It does not ask for blind faith, faith without a reason, but it does ask for confession. It does not spare us the decision to recognize … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 The cross of Christ later comes to have other meanings as well as the ones we covered in the previous part. It may be spoken about as penalty, as sacrifice, or as victory. But all … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 When the Apostle Paul says, “Jews demand signs,” we can surmise that statement sets the tone and is the precedent for the visions of national renewal by means of military upheaval which today are destroying … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 The apostle Paul was no anthropologist. When he speaks here of Jew and of Greek he is most likely not saying that a specific race, even less a specific religion, makes its members all the … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 8:9 Believers, People Who Know Christ, Are Rich Christians have in Jesus Christ wealth incorruptible, inexhaustible, and unsearchable. Let us expound on this point more clearly to see that I am right in this assertion. Though … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 8:9 “Though he was rich . . .” Christ was rich in material possessions, rich in the glory of God, rich in the majesty of a King. Isaiah the court prophet, the most adept and cultured … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 8:9 In his second letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul put heavy emphasis on the word grace. This word is seldom used today. In fact, the only time we hear the word is … Continue reading →

Scripture Reference: Romans 3:21-31 The Divine Provision – Continued Not human achievement, but humble acceptance. A second observation is that going to heaven is not a matter of human achievement, but humble acceptance. In the survey, a woman from the … Continue reading →