vassal of the King

The Continuing Journey of Teaching Kids to Sit Still Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church, St Louis, MO Summary: Teaching them to sit still at MEALS. Teaching them to sit still during FAMILY WORSHIP. Teaching them to sit still & with us during bible study & PRAYER MEETING. Teaching them to sit still during CARE GROUPS. I LOVE MY CHILDREN. And kids will be kids. They move. They make noises. They get restless. They want to run and they certainly have lots of energy — at least mine do! This isn’t bad nor do I want to squash these desires and shame them into guilt trips when they are excited and desirous to run and play. But there’s a right time for play. And there’s a right time to sit still. And this is where my family seeks to be intentional and proactive in teaching our kids to sit still. We are not a perfect family — far from it. We don’t parent perfectly. We certainly don’t have perfect kids — nor do they have perfect parents! But we want to be int

The Bible Wasn’t Accepted Until The 4th Century A.D. Not a few skeptics of biblical Christianity and those even in the academic world often maintain that the Christian Bible was not accepted -- or “codified” -- until the 4th century A.D., specifically at the Council of Nicea (325A.D.). Some may say that a bunch of men at a later church council finally approved these books. Others may suggest that we did not even have codified Scripture until the Catholic Church finally selected and authorized the Bible. Or, some propose that it was fallible men who selected some books -- and eliminated others -- and thus the Bible is a fallible book. What must Christians answer to such statements? How can we respond? God needs no man -- or court, council, magistrate or majority vote -- to validate and authenticate His authoritative Word. — A proper theology proper will remind us that almighty God who infinitely rules and who has revealed Himself gloriously does not need human creatures to affirm Hi

Christians [& Most Who Go to Church] Are Just Hypocrites, So I Just Don’t Go. Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church, St Louis, MO Many people who once went to church, or who grew up in church, now find themselves disenchanted with church and put off by local assemblies for many various reasons. But perhaps one reason that often comes out is this: “Christians are just hypocrites, so I just don’t want anything to do with ‘organized church.’”  I have heard statements like this many times from people who say: “I’ve been there and tried that, but it didn’t work for me.” What can you say? We must affirm a few fundamental realities: Christians are sinners. Christians are forgiven. Christians are striving to follow Christ. Christians are repenters. Christians need the corporate worship of the saints. No Christian claims to be perfect but still strives to follow our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.  In responding to this common claim, a few statements are necessary. A Chri

I’m Not Good Enough And I Keep Doubting My Salvation. Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church, St Louis, MO A great number of people wonder whether or not they’re really saved. Some have seasons of doubt and discouragement questioning whether or not they really know Christ. Some have even said: yea but I’m not good enough and I keep doubting my salvation. I just don’t know if I can keep myself saved. Some wonder: Have I committed the unforgivable sin? Have I blasphemed the Spirit? I just wonder if I’m bearing enough fruit. I don’t feel saved nor do I have a peace of heart.  I want to respond to such statements with some words of hope and pointers to the truth. Eternal security is more about God than it is about you. — The security of a person who is headed for heaven is not about man’s performance but about God’s perseverance! It’s not about your obedience but about God’ faithfulness. Remember it’s about God & His glory. If salvation ever depended upon you to

...Yea But, My Friend Goes to Catholic Church And Really Does Believe In Jesus. Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church Of course, Mary was baptized as an infant! She was confirmed. She has served in many various roles in her local parish. In fact, she attends mass daily. She even goes to the local pro-life events and devotes time, resources, and energy to biblical principles. The neighborhood knows her as the churchgoer and as the one who would bend over backwards to serve those in need and help in any way she’s able. She’s always gone to church. Never does she miss a Sunday. In fact, she believes in Jesus. She believes she’s a Christian because she has faith. She listens to Christian radio. She goes to the Christian bookstore. She goes to the national day of prayer and serves the community well. She affirms the Trinity and the virgin birth. She believes Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. She has a Bible and even reads it periodically. She affirms with

Yea but, I’m Not That Bad [or, “I’m Good!”] Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church Nearly everyone says it. How are you: “I’m good” or “I’m fine.” A Christian may inquire to someone: “Have you ever heard of the gospel of Jesus Christ?” One replies: “No, thanks I’m good.” It’s common and all around us. People believe themselves to be autonomous and self-sufficient and thus have no perceived need for the gospel. Christians who declare the biblical gospel will inevitably speak of the foul nature of men’s souls and the filthy rags of one’s deeds. This flies squarely in the face of human pride. The natural and unregenerate response chafes at such statements about the real plight and problem of mankind and will rather assume that men are good, capable of choosing right, able to please God and choose God and they will continue to assert that they’re not that bad and, quite honestly, that they view themselves to be pretty good people. A few responses must be in order. Man’s

Yea but, You’re Pushing Someone Away From Jesus With Your Bold & Constant Evangelism. Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church You’ve seen it and heard people respond to the street preacher standing on the corner of a busy intersection with a Bible in his hand loudly heralding the faithful gospel of Jesus Christ and calling sinners to repent of sin and trust in Christ alone! People yell as they walk by. Some remain apathetic. Others mock, sneer, make faces and some even grow angrily hostile. Someone says: “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” You wonder: is this really working? Or, is this really effective? Some well-intended person may think: isn’t the preacher’s boldness and urgency and forthrightness just driving people away from Jesus? Just love and befriend them, right? How should we respond to such statements? Dead sinners can never be pushed further away from their already existing state of being enemies of God and under the wrath of God. 

Yea But, He Has His Own Choice To Come to God Or Not. Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church This blog is part of a forthcoming eBook that answers "common objections" that people have to the biblical gospel . Many may suggest that people can make their own choice as to whether or not they will come to God. Many quip that they have a ‘free-will.’ Often this argument comes from an ideology that man is predominantly good and that can has, in and of himself, the capacity, the drive, and the desire to choose what is good for Him spiritually in Christ. This way of thinking also presupposes that God will not -- and cannot -- override man’s will. The conclusion, then, is that God remains on the edge of His seat to see how man will decide and what man will decide and then God will respond -- or act -- accordingly. Man has become sovereign and God has become the passive responder in this ideological way of thinking. Does God really force salvation upon someone? Does

A Biblical Perspective of Sex. Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church The Word of God speaks frequently about the importance of sexual fidelity within marriage. And it does so in an unashamed and in a clear manner. God created marriage and He also created the intimacy that must be enjoyed between a husband and a wife within the covenant of marriage. But the question remains: how should believers view sex? What is a right understanding of sex? What does the Bible have to say about sex? To answer these questions, I want to briefly give a biblical perspective of sex below under seven headings. Sex should be:   1.    Selfless The Apostle Paul says: “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor 16:14). Surely in the context of Christian living this includes marital intimacy between a husband and a wife. Elsewhere, Paul commands believers to do ‘nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; indeed, do

The King & His Kingdom Is Yet to Come to Earth! Exegetical and Theological Support for Premillennialism Dr. Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church (St. Louis, Missouri) [This was originally published at True Declination Ministries website in 2015.] Introduction:     As the public ministry of Jesus drew near to the climactic passion week, Jesus told his hearers a parable because Jesus was near Jerusalem (for the Triumphal Entry) and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately (Luke 19:11). Jesus spoke and exhorted His followers to live busy, God-honoring lives till the nobleman returns since they presumed the kingdom of God was to immediately burst in right then and there. On the night before the crucifixion of Christ, Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?” to which Jesus responded by affirming: “It is as you say” (Matt 27:11). Jesus affirmed repeatedly that He came as Messiah and as the King to deliver His people. He