Albert Einstein once said, “if you want to live a happy and productive life then you need to tie that life to a goal.” With such words, Scripture agrees. Proverbs 29:18 states, “where there is no vision (or goal), the people perish”. Simply possessing a goal however is not enough. It needs to be the […]
Answering The Fool
Because God’s wisdom has always been counter-cultural (1Co 1:20-30), the veracity of the church’s message has always required she also possess the ability to refute the folly raised by the culture and its fools (Pro 26:4-5; Tit 1:9). “There are many interpretations.” 1.1. IOW: We cannot be confident that what we believe (or how […]
The Winter Holiday Jesus Celebrated
(Joh 10:22) Christmas is sometimes referred to as the “season of lights.” And though Jesus never celebrated Christmas, He did (as our text indicates) celebrate another “winter” holiday which took place at roughly the same time, one also associated with lights: “The Feast of Dedication” or “Hanukkah” (Heb. to dedicate). For eight nights (during this […]
Three BIG truths about salvation found in three LITTLE verses
(1Pe 1:1-3) That God’s mercy is great toward us is proven by the fact that He designed a backup plan to save us if messed up the original plan. 1.1. (1-2a) = According to Peter, God’s plan to save people like us (to “elect” “exiles” like us – people previously w/o God’s mercy – i.e. […]
Family According To Jesus
Why talk about the subject of family? Two reasons: 1) Because Americans – including professing Christian Americans, are genuinely interested in the subject. From a sociological perspective, studies on the family have produced over 50,000 books. From an identity perspective, over 70% of Americans see their identity (or commitment) to their biological family as […]
A Review Of The Sound Gospel Message
A Review of the Sound Gospel Message 1. The good news of abundant life in Jesus Christ John 10:10b Deuteronomy 8:2 Romans 8:28 2. If we submit to Him as Lord before Savior Deuteronomy 7:9-10 Deuteronomy 28:1-2 Matthew 7:21-23 Matthew 7:24-27 Matthew 16:24-27 3. In the relationship of covenant through His church. Deuteronomy 4:13 Exodus […]
20th Anniversary
Pastor, in light of your 20 years of service, I’d like to say a few words In August 2001, pastor Scott Jarrett took over a small church, consisting of a little less than 15 people in Golden, Colorado, leaving a promising and lucrative career field behind. Over the next several years, under The Great Shepherd’s […]
Punch List – Part 3
PUNCH LIST (def.) = A list of those items that remain outstanding (or undone) and must be completed to finish a job and receive final compensation. Applied to the Christian life, no Christian can die with a punch list intact and expect to get to heaven. IOW: we must finish our punch list (1Co […]
Punch List – Part 2
PUNCH LIST (def.) = A list of those items that remain outstanding (or undone) and must be completed to finish a job and receive final compensation. Applied to the Christian life, no Christian can die with a punch list intact and expect to get to heaven. IOW: we must finish our punch list (1Co 9:24; […]
Punch List – Part 1
PUNCH LIST (def.) = A list of those items that remain outstanding (or undone) and must be completed to finish a job and receive final compensation. Applied to the Christian life, no Christian can die with a punch list intact and expect to get to heaven. IOW: we must finish our punch list (1Co 9:24; […]
Understanding What Evangelicals Believe About Salvation
The chief dangers to Christianity do not come from anti-Christian systems. Nobody fears that Christianity will be swallowed up by Mohammedanism [or] Buddhism. It is corrupt forms of Christianity itself which menace the life of Christianity. Why make much of minor points of difference between those who serve the one Christ? Because a pure gospel […]
Enemies of the Cross
(Phi 3:17-21) What should be obvious from just a cursory reading of these verses is that being identified as an “enemy of the cross of Christ” is a bad thing. Hence the reason Paul then states (in verse 19) “Their end is their destruction”. IOW: those identified in this way come judgment day will suffer […]
Only A Few
Luke 13:22-28 1) Only a few will be saved. 2) Wanting to go to heaven, or stay out of hell, is not enough. 3) Blood, sweat, and tears will be required. 4) The kingdom has closing hours and doesn’t accept credit.
Three Important Points About the Lowest Point in Christian History
What the majority of people – most especially those claiming to be Christian, think is not the litmus test for truth. The most important things (things which will have the greatest impact on your life and others) can be the hardest or least desirable (IOW: quitting is not an option simply bc something hurts). […]
(Biblical) Myth Busters: God’s Word and Interpretation – Part 2
(biblical) MYTH BUSTERS “Debunking the biblical myths believed by the big dummies of this world” The Scriptures are simple enough that a child can understand them (I don’t need qualified and trained pastors). When addressing that issue, the Scripture themselves bear witness to their difficulty on more than one occasion (2Pe 3:15-16; Luk 8:9-10; Act […]
(Biblical) Myth Busters: God’s Word and Interpretation
“Debunking the biblical myths believed by the big dummies of this world” The Scriptures are simple enough that a child can understand them (I don’t need qualified and trained pastors). The passage normally referred to by those making such claims is (Mark 10:15//The dummies’ interp. = The Scriptures are so simple that they can be […]
Spotting The Wolves Among Us
(Act 20:28-30) Every Christian should have a vested interest in spotting those wolves that roam among us since they are not only the enemy in closest proximity to us, but also the ones with the most potential for causing us eternal spiritual harm. If then we hope to get to heaven, our thinking must change. […]
Seven Misconceptions About Capital Crimes
People can accidently stumble into capital crimes. God continuing to bless me after I commit a capital crime must mean that He has already forgiven me and I therefore don’t need to confess it and serve justice. I can never be punished for a capital crime if I didn’t know that what was doing was […]
The World of Jesus’ Birth
What kind of a world was it? What was going on? What was it like? What do we know about the world that Jesus was born into? 1.1. It was a world marked by foreign occupation and heavy taxation. Imagine that in 1960, China had successfully invaded and took control of this country. Their military […]
What We Must Never Forget About Christ’s Ordained Shepherds
When there is a refusal to trust, listen and submit, the ordained pastor of Christ’s church is put into a very unfortunate situation since what those committing such crimes are now guilty of, is insurrection or the unforgiveable sin. This was the situation in the Corinthian church at the time of Paul’s second letter and […]