Sermon: The Spirit’s Protection

The Spirit’s Protection Against Spiritual Deception 1 John 2:26-27 September 29, 2013 It’s always good to have a little protection — that’s why we have health and life and disability and car and house insurance, among others.  But we don’t always realize the things that are protecting us.  Like the little sister of Patricia Opfel.  […]

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Why pray?

This morning’s Old Testament reading recounts the story of Assyria’s threat against Judah.  It seemed that Judah was hopeless.  But Hezekiah, having received the threat from the king of Assyria through the words of his servant Rabshakeh, went to pray.  The content of his prayer was direct: You are the God, you alone (Is. 37:16) […]

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Living without God?

John Dyer:  From the Garden to the City: Adam and Eve’s clothing, then, was not only designed to protect them from their environment; it also represents their attempt to hide their sinfulness from God. Moreover, they were trying to invent a means by which they could live without God and were therefore acting in rebellion […]

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The HOLY Spirit

Sometimes in the simplicity of a statement or a situation we miss an obvious truth. “If it was a snake, it would have bit me,” we like to say. That happened to me as I read this familiar verse recently.  Jesus, on the night of His betrayal, spent several hours instructing the disciples on the […]

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Real joy

How fickle our joy is. If our favorite sports team (or our child’s sports team) wins “the big game,” or even just “a” game, we’re happy. If a T-bone steak shows up on the dinner plate, we’re happy.  Brussels sprouts and sauerkraut?  Not so happy. If there’s more money than month?  Happiness.  More month than […]

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Grab bag

Some helpful articles from the last week: David Murray has “20 Helps to Sermon Listening.”  Number 1? “Read and mediate on God’s Word every day: Daily Bible reading whets our appetite for the main course on the Lord’s Day. We can’t expect to be ready to digest spiritual food if we’ve not been eating through […]

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The Lord has planned…

“For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?” (Is. 14:27; NASB) A few years ago, the United States Department of Transportation set aside $200 million for research and development of an automated highway system that would alleviate traffic congestion in […]

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A proposed name change for NANC

This weekend, Heath Lambert, the executive director elect of NANC announced that next month the board of directors for NANC will be proposing a name change for its organization.  The newly proposed name will be the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).  Lambert outlined three reasons for the name change: Earlier this year, NANC’s board […]

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The work of the Spirit

Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in Our Holiness: “The same Spirit who was present at creation and caused you to be born again is at work to empower your inner person (that is, your will or heart) so that you might resist sins you couldn’t resist before and do the good things which would otherwise be […]

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9/11 Tribute

A friend recounts his involvement at the Pentagon on September 11 — Thank you, Dr. Carlton, and many others who honored the Lord in the service of their country on that day.

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