The holy ointment of the Holy Comforter

Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: The Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the consolation. If we may use the figure, the Holy Spirit is the Physician, but Jesus is the medicine. He heals the wound, but it is by applying the holy ointment of Christ’s name and grace. He takes not of his own things, […]

How to Overcome Temptation

From Desiring God: Meet Ben Stuart. He leads Breakaway, a campus ministry at Texas A&M University. Over the past decade, Ben has taught the Bible every week to thousands of students in the throes of college life, often speaking practically into their sins and struggles. In this short video, building off the Book of James, […]

Reading Joshua

This week we have been reading the book of Joshua in our Bible reading plan. The key person in the book other than God is Joshua, and it is important to remember that he was one of only two men who survived the 40 years in the wilderness due to his good report that the […]

Why pray?

Bruce Ware, “Prayer and the Sovereignty of God,” in For the Fame of God’s Name: Clearly, God does not need us to bring our concerns to him in order for him to know what we need or to know how best to act. He is God! He knows perfectly our backgrounds, our families, our friends, […]

They did not drive them out completely

Moses was gone and God had replaced him with Joshua. Egypt with its leeks and cucumbers and the wilderness were a fading memory and the Promised Land with its milk and honey were a delightful new reality. The nation had reaffirmed its commitment to God and His Word (Josh. 1:16-18) and demonstrated that faith when […]

Be strong and courageous

“A dead fish can float downstream,” observed comedian W. C. Fields, “but it takes a live one to swim against the current.” That is true not only for fish, but for people as well. It takes a life of vitality and courage to go against the prevailing tide of public opinion. But that is the […]

Sermon: The Gifts of the Spirit

The Gifts of the Spirit, Pt. 1 Romans 12:3-8 March 23, 2014 Gifts are funny things — sometimes what we think would be a nice gift for someone is hardly noticed or received well; other times something we think is insignificant or even inappropriate is the favorite gift of all. Many years ago — back […]

Sunday Leftovers: Distinguishing the works of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity, fully God, co-equal with the Father and the Son in essence, though differing in function. And the Spirit was sent by the Son to indwell believers after the Son ascended to Heaven after His resurrection (Jn. 16:7). Those truths are (generally) affirmed by all believers today. […]

Grab bag

Seen recently on the internet: Fred Phelps, leader of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, died this week. There have been numerous responses to both his life and death. Al Mohler, in “Fred Phelps and the Anti-Gospel of Hate — A Necessary Word” offers this wise insight: We must be very clear about the fact that […]

Sermon: The Fruit of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:16-26 March 16, 2014 It’s about the size of a bowling ball, covered with sharp, stiff, spiny points, and grows on trees throughout southeast Asia, most predominantly in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. The business end of a durian, which is the inside, is mucuslike in consistency, and the unique […]

The fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 reveals to us the kinds of fruit that the Spirit produces in the life of the believer who is walking with and filled with Him (Gal. 5:16; Eph. 5:18-21). These are not only in contrast to the deeds of the flesh, but they also relate to virtually every aspect of life, as shown […]

All the “one another” commands in the NT

The New Testament Epistles often used the phrase “_____ one another” to indicate purposes and functions for the church. The “one anothers” are instructions about how believers are to care for each other. And as this infographic indicates, it’s a pretty simple set of instructions:

2014 Shepherds’ Conference messages

The Shepherds’ Conference at Grace Community Church is always a highlight for me. The days are always busy and full, but the spiritual encouragement and biblical fellowship are always refreshing. I always take notes on my laptop and while they are not anywhere approaching full manuscripts and frequently are not direct quotations of the speakers, […]

2015 Shepherds’ Conference

This year’s Shepherds’ Conference has just ended (some audio is already available here). And now the information for next year’s conference has already been released. And next year, the conference will be extended from three days to four (March 3-6) and will include many more plenary speakers. And next year (for the first time in […]

Sermon: The Filling of the Holy Spirit

The Filling of the Holy Spirit Ephesians 5:18-21 March 2, 2014 One day last April, a couple in northern California that owns a few acres went for a walk on their property. It seemed innocuous enough. After walking for a while they stopped by a particular tree and noticed something that made them dig around […]