CCC Let There Be Light from JP on Vimeo.
Pray for me as I preach:
As worded so well by Larry Helyer:CCC Let There Be Light from JP on Vimeo.
This week I'm teaching on the topic: what does the Bible have to say about marriage and divorce? I came across a very helpful quote that may help some people:
You can livestream the Truth and Life Conference by clicking on the link here.| Session | Speaker | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Session I - Paul: An Example of Biblical Leadership | Dr. John MacArthur | Wednesday January 19 - 7pm |
| Session II - Leading with Love | Dr. Alexander Strauch | Thursday January 20 - 9am |
| Session III - Leading as a Servant | Dr. Voddie Baucham | Thursday January 20 - 7pm |
| Session IV - Leading as a Husband & Father | Dr. Voddie Baucham | Friday January 21 - 9am |
| Session V - Leading through Conflict | Dr. Alexander Strauch | Friday January 21 - 7pm |
Last night I concluded our mid-week study through the book of Ephesians. We traversed through this book verse by verse (and even word by word at times!) to unpack the glorious riches contained in this letter. Last night I focused on Eph 6:24 — “Grace to all who love the Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love” (NIV).
I pleaded with my hearers to not be like the church at Ephesus who started out so well, but later lost their “first love” (Rev 2:4) and about a century after this they went out of existence (c. 200AD).
I encourage you to listen to the sermon here and download my handout (pdf) here.
". . . Mockery of every sort was added to their [the Christians]deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserve extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed" (Tacitus, Annals, xv.44).
"The world dwarfs us all, but God dwarfs the world. The world is his footstool, above which he sits secure. He is greater than the world and all that is in it, so that all the feverish activity of its bustling millions does no more to affect him than the chirping and jumping of grasshoppers in the summer sun does to affect us. Behold your God!" (JI Packer, Knowing God, 87).Amen.
Pro-choicers say they want abortion to be safe, legal, and rare. But we will see whether major pro choice organizations react to the awful statistic that 39 percent of pregnancies in NYC result in induced abortion. From the story:
In 2009, there were 225,667 pregnancies in the City with 126,774 resulting in live births and 87,273 resulting in abortions.
This is copied and pasted from my sermon notes on a sermon from Ephesians 6:24 (ἡ χάρις μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἀγαπώντων τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ) on never abandoning the faith. I thought some may find it helpful.Romans 10:9 — 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (9 ὅτι ἐὰν ὁμολογήσῃς ἐν τῷ στόματί σου κύριον Ἰησοῦν καὶ πιστεύσῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ὅτι ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν, σωθήσῃ·)
Dear Senior Pastor, I've been very encouraged by the example of the senior pastor I work for, plus many other senior pastors. So I want to ask you some questions to make you consider if you are modeling humility for your staff, church members, family, etc....
Hebrews 2:14-18 — 14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. 17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
Said so beautifully by Bruce Demarest:
Excellent words by John Calvin on prayer compiled by RC Sproul:For John Calvin, prayer was like a priceless treasure that God has offered to His people.
Calvin’s first rule of prayer was to enter into it with a full awareness of the One to whom we are speaking. The key to prayer is a spirit of reverence and adoration: “Let the first rule of right prayer be, to have our heart and mind framed as becomes those who are entering into converse with God.”
Calvin wrote of how easy it is for our minds to wander in prayer. We become inattentive, as if we were speaking to someone with whom we are easily bored. This insults the glory of God: “Let us know, then, that none duly prepare themselves [sic] for prayer but those who are so impressed with the majesty of God that they engage in it free from all earthly cares and affections.”
Calvin’s second rule of prayer was that we ask only for those things that God permits. Prayer can be an exercise in blasphemy if we entreat His blessing for our sinful desires: “I lately observed, men in prayer give greater license to their unlawful desires than if they were telling jocular tales among their equals.”
Coram Deo: How does your personal prayer life line up with these two rules? Is your heart and mind framed as becomes those who are entering into conversation with God? Do you ask only for those things God permits?
Psalm 109:4: “I give myself to prayer.”
1 Corinthians 7:5: “Give yourselves to fasting and prayer.”
Ephesians 6:18: “[Pray] always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
