vassal of the King

15 Benefits to Having Children in the Worship Service Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church An audio podcast can be found here . What are some benefits to having the children in the entire worship service? What can be gained? Why do I have this conviction? This is by no means an exhaustive list, but here are 15 reasons why I believe kids in the worship service is a wise decision. They are exposed to the powerful Word of God. They observe the church body worshiping Christ. They see the importance of biblical, elevated, transcendent worship. They notice that worshiping God thru Christ is not only something their parents do, it’s something many people joyfully do. They learn the great hymns of the faith — often memorizing the stanzas and hiding the truths in their hearts. They realize the primacy of the written Word of God that permeates the worship service. They understand how holy God is as the congregation stands to sing to Him, to read His Word and to pray

Learning From a Leaf. Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church On most days I walk to church. On my way home on this warm, October day, I was praying and giving thanks to the Lord and I noticed a beaming-bright red tree in front of me.  The branches were dancing in the wind and the colors seized and captured me. I picked just one of the low-hanging leaves from this tree that may extend 40 feet in the air. This leaf that I picked launched me into worship as I gave thanks to the Lord for His magnificence. Suddenly, a neighbor greeted me. Perhaps he wondered why my lips were moving and why I seemed to be happily muttering to myself walking down the road. For a brief time, this conversation diverted my attention off of the leaf but when I returned home, I opened my computer and jotted down a few ways that I can learn from this leaf. To be specific, I have noted twelve ways that we can learn about God from this leaf. From this leaf, I see the following features of our great God

How to Preach with Great Power Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church If we are to be gospel-proclaiming men filled with God’s truth and called to preach it in season and out of season, then we desperately need God’s help. We acutely understand the great responsibility that we have to study the Word to show ourselves approved as a workman rightly handling the word of God. Also we know we must preach it powerfully, apply it specifically, and proclaim the gospel of salvation so that God may save the lost and edify the saints.  But how do we preach with great power? What needs to happen to preach with the “unction” of God? How do we get this power? This write-up will bring out five elements needed to preach with great power. God’s man must be... 1. Faithful to the Text If we are to be men who preach with great power, we must speak God’s Word faithfully and accurately. God does not bless those who wrongly divide His Truth. He calls all those who minister the gospel to st

The CONVICTION of Preaching Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church The man of God who preaches the Bible must have conviction. When Jesus taught those who heard him said that he taught them with authority — not as their teachers. To fully understand that we speak of eternal things demands our passion, our conviction, our urgency. We preach to persuade. We preach to call sinners to Christ. To preach the Word requires conviction. I want to speak of this kind of conviction in four ways. 1. conviction in PASSION The herald of the Word must have conviction in his passion. He must preach as a man who believes what he says. How tragic for someone to speak of the glories of Christ in a half-hearted way or in an emotionless way. Sad is the congregation who has a man bored in the pulpit and who speaks of gospel-truths in apathetic ways. Let God’s men rise with passion, with earnestness, with confidence. Like the old skeptic who rose early to go hear George Whitefield preach in t

The NECESSITY of Preaching Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church Some current church gurus have quipped that preaching is outdated and now irrelevant. We’ve stepped into a new era where monologue doesn’t work anymore, they say. In fact, many may affirm that standing behind a large wooden pulpit, with a Bible open, wearing a tie and authoritatively telling people what the Bible says and how they must respond doesn’t seem to connect with our post-Christian culture anymore. So this timeless duty to preach the Word of God is now being replaced by anything, by something. But I must argue that the preaching of the Word of God is vitally necessary and it is critically important. We see the necessity of preaching in at least 5 ways. We see the necessity of preaching because CHRIST COMMANDED IT. Jesus Christ commanded His followers to go and ‘preach that the kingdom of God is at hand.’ The main mission of the disciples as they permeated Galilee was to go and preach. To stand a

From Michael Wilcock, 2 Chronicles , Bible Speaks Today, p. 247: Speaking of King Hezekiah... "When there is a financial crisis, the first thing we think about is money. When there is a communications crisis, our prime concern is to learn how to talk the language of the modern generation. When there is a church attendance crisis, we make it our chief aim to get numbers up. If Hezekiah had responded to a military threat in a military way, the Assyrians would have understood that. Army would have been matched against army, with dire consequences for Judah. But instead he and his people first look up to God." So needed in our day.  LOOK UP TO GOD!

THE SERIOUSNESS of Preaching Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church, St Louis, MO No other event comes with such weightiness than the preaching of the Word of God. In a day where seriousness lacks in the pulpits what can be done? What must preachers remember? What must all pastors bear in mind? It is my persuasion that we must recover a great seriousness in the proclamation of the Word of Almighty God. Preaching is Serious because of ONE WE REPRESENT. The magnificent transcendence of God catapults biblical preaching in a category that soars high above every other earthly duty. This does not minimize the importance of nor take away the blessings of earthly employments and tasks, but rather it serves to heighten the unsurpassed grandeur of God Almighty and the world-shaking power of His voice that thunders forth through the faithful exposition of His Word. When a man stands to preach the Bible, he represents God. He stands as the mouthpiece for God to herald divine Tru

In a Society of the Acceleration of Accusations….  Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church I wonder if a day goes by where someone, somewhere isn’t accused of some heinous sin and grievous offense. Recently politics have swirled with accusations (of many sorts) regarding one influential figure. Another athlete was recently accused rape. On and on they go. This article is not to suggest that people are or are not guilty of such accusations. Only God knows all the facts and every detail exhaustively and precisely. But my goal in this essay is to plead with men of God who serve as elder-shepherds in the local church to strive to be careful, protective and blameless in all their dealings. No one can guard against accusations. But men of God who serve Christ’s people must live such blameless lives that BE PURE IN YOUR HEART God calls men to be above reproach as shepherds. We understand that this call to blamelessness does not demand sinlessness. Of course, no man can be sinl

THE POWER OF PREACHING Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church,  St Louis, Missouri No power exists on the face of the earth comparable to the Word of God. The Bible goes forth with divine power because the Bible is itself divinely powerful. The Scriptures are the God-breathed Word so that every line — indeed every word! — comes forth with supernatural and unstoppable power. Wise is the preacher who takes the Scriptures and stands and speaks forth what God has said in His Word. Foolish is the man who chooses to misrepresent the Scripture, misquote the Scripture, or ignore the Scriptures altogether. God speaks to every minister of the gospel through Paul’s pen when he wrote: “preach the Word.” Every week the preacher’s main job consists in the reading, explaining and applying of the Word of God. In doing this, he unleashes divine power from the Word of God as the Spirit of God uses His Truth for God's appointed ends. We do well to consider and believe in the power