vassal of the King

DIMENSIONS OF THE GOSPEL AS IT PERTAINS TO ME. Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church The gospel consists of the good news that God has accomplished the work of saving sinners. This message is the good news of God and the great message about God! Many dimensions of this gospel can be studied, but in this brief write-up, I will list four dimensions of the gospel. 1. I’m saved BY GOD  (justification) Those in heaven cry out “salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Rev 7.10). Quite simply, Paul states that God saved us (Titus 3.5). When I consider the good news of the gospel, I must remember that I am saved by God. The source of my salvation is God. He is the originator, the genesis, the accomplisher, the beginner and the One who thought and wrought my salvation. As the psalmist said: salvation is of the Lord (Ps 3.8). I am saved by the effectual, initiating, perfect, supernatural, miraculous work of God Almighty as He came to me and did all that was

 The Needed Area of Ministry In the Home Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church We often talk about serving in the ministry of the Lord! And rightly so. We must stress that the ministry of the Lord does not always equate with busyness outside the home. What about the young mom with a toddler or the mother who home-schools her three elementary-school aged kids. How do they practically serve in ministry? In this write-up, I’d like to suggest a needed area of ministry in the home. 1. Minister in the Home as you LEAD IN WORSHIP How can a young dad minister to the Lord? How can a mom actively engage in ministry? Here’s one way: lead your children in worship by showing them how great God is, how glorious His Word is, and how desirous He is to save sinners! Never underestimate the power of leading at home in worship. Men must take the lead in overseeing the home and ensuring that Christ is worshiped in the home. Moms also can lead the children in worship as they teach the child

The Preacher’s Monday & A Rock-Like Pillow Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church Spurgeon said it well: “The sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests his head at night, giving perfect peace.” I agree with this statement with all my heart. I preach this truth and I heartily embrace this doctrine. I love it. No doctrine captivates my heart more and occupies my mind more than God’s sovereignty. Nevertheless, for me as a preacher of the gospel, Sunday nights and Mondays are by far the hardest times of the week. Every preacher, myself included, finishes preaching and at the end of the day (or the night, or the following morning) reflects on the exposition and wishes that he could have done better, or said something clearer, or exalted Christ higher, or made application more piercing. But I want to reflect on something that God has taught me, and is still teaching me, that the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the preacher of the gospel

RE-GAINING THE PROFOUND PRIVILEGE OF THE PREACHER! Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church The preacher! The minister of the gospel! A shepherd of the church. Perhaps in times past these were elevated positions held in high esteem by the common man, but today we must regain the profound privilege of the preacher. Amazingly, my target audience is not those in the world but those in the church. Indeed, those who occupy the position of pastor or minister of the gospel: WE ourselves need to re-gain the profound privilege of the preacher. In this essay, I believe we need to elevate our estimation of and the privilege of the office of the minister of the gospel in at least five ways. 1.  The PULPIT — preach God’s Word, God’s Truth The pulpit is a throne, it is the throne for the Word of God. The pulpit is the place where God stands and speaks to His people. God has designed the proclamation of His Word to be the primary means by which He both saves and sanctifies His people. The

Describe The Ideal, Biblical Church! How Would You Respond? Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church This morning in my weekly men’s Bible study, I started our discussion by asking this question to all the men present: If you were to plant a new church, what would you have and what would you need in your Church for it to be faithful? In other words, describe the ideal, biblical church for me. But I told the men that with every answer they gave, they must prove it with chapter and verse! In our 30-minute discussion, the men responded with these Scriptures and marks of the ideal, biblical church. 1. Ephesians 4:12 - Equip the Saints The first answer immediately came as a brother shouted out Ephesians 4:12! The ministry must be all about equipping the saints to do the work of service! The primary duty of the leaders that God gives to the church is to equip God’s people to do the work of ministry for God’s glory. 2. 2 Timothy 4:2 - Preach the Word Another brother then immedi

Some Benefits to Having a Paper Bible on Your Lap Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church I have the mobile and electronic devices. I have a computer. I have an iPhone. And I use them daily. They benefit me tremendously in my work, in my writing, in my communication, and in my research. So I have no problem with the electronic devices and tablets and gadgets per se. But I'd like to share a few pastoral thoughts about why it may be beneficial and prudent to go to church with a paper bible in hand rather than a tablet, or an iPad, or an iPhone. In fact, I would suggest that it would be worth your serious consideration whether you should leave your cell phone (or tablet, etc) in the car while you’re in church. I suggest that this is especially true for parents with young and teenage children. In what follows, I’ll provide what I believe to be some benefits of having a paper Bible with you and open before you when you gather with God’s people to worship. it aids yo

A Strong Plea to Bring Your Bible To Church (Not the Phone, but the Book) Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church When the post-exilic people of Israel gathered at the Water Gate after they had returned to the land and resided there for some time, they asked Ezra the scribe to “Bring the Book” (Neh 8:1). This is a strong plea not only for every preacher to bring the Book, open the Book, and preach the Book, but it also is a strong piece of pastoral encouragement to bring your Bible to church. By bringing your Bible I’m referring to your paper Bible, the document, the Book. We all have our smartphones and our Bible Apps. We have plenty of translations and gadgets on our phones to aid and enhance our studies. But as I continue to preach week by week, I still remain convinced that there is great benefit to having your Bible open and on your lap when you hear the Word preached. This is in no way a command or some man-made law. Rather, these are some pastoral suggestions that

My Earnest Desire to Preach the Word Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church The Lord requires His servants to be faithful in all things. As I handle the Word, as an expository preacher of the Bible, I earnestly desire to preach the Word faithfully. The Lord will take care of the results, the breadth of the impact, the way in which people respond obediently to God’s Word heralded, and the measure by which people will tolerate the Word. But my duty does not change. My earnest desire is to herald God’s Word, to declare the King’s message, to convey the Master’s mandate, to proclaim the edict of the Sovereign. To be true to God and true to His Word, I want to preach His Word in the following ways. 1. Accurately As a messenger of God, I’m described as a workman in Scripture who works so as to not be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of truth. This means I must accurately interpret the Word and rightly divide the text. My hermeneutic must be accurate and my applications shoul

Crucial Reminders Regarding Biblical Preaching in An Era That Mocks It. Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church I’m a preacher and I love to preach. I live and breathe preaching. God has called me to preach and I praise Him for the inestimable privilege more royal than ruling as a king over an empire. I am acutely aware, however, that biblical preaching has fallen on hard times in our day. In fact, not only is expository preaching rejected by so many but even religious leaders and ministers mock faithful, authoritative, expository, biblically-saturated preaching. Some may say it’s antiquated or for those in bygone eras. It was how people learned long ago but nowadays people are different. Others may quip that people won’t come to church if they’re not entertained with a pithy and relevant message about God that is a little ‘dose of God’ to get you through the upcoming week. Further, some may have the audacity to say that this kind of preaching is boring and people can

The Faithful Church Ministry According to Scripture Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church The Lord of the Church has not left His church to wonder about faithful church ministry and how it must be done. Christ Himself promised to build His church and He guaranteed that even the forces of hell will not destroy the beauty of this God-designed institution. We must remember that the same Lord who rules as Lord over His church and who guarantees the ultimate triumph of His church also gives clarity on how church ministry must be done. He didn’t create the church and leave it up to us to figure out how to do it. Rather, we find in Scripture what faithful church ministry looks like. One text that specifically addresses the issue is Ephesians 4. In this article, we’ll see 7 ways of understanding what a faithful church ministry is like according to the Bible. 1. The gifts for ministry [Eph 4.7] The Lord equips His church with the necessary means of building up and edifyin

Set It On Your Heart to Serve Your Local Church Family Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church All Christians do well to serve as Christ has served us. How gracious is His love for us! O how lavish is His mercy toward us! How steadfast is His faithfulness toward us. In light of who our Savior is and what He has done for us, what are a few practical ways that you can set it on your heart to serve your local church family? Below are 5 simple ways you can serve your church. 1.  Attend When you joined your church family as a member, you probably signed some sort of form that talked about membership vows or commitments with the other believers. Undoubtedly one of the ways in which members serve one another regularly and consistently is through attendance. It almost doesn’t need to be said it’s so obvious. But then again, it does need to be explicitly stated. One of the greatest and simplest ways to serve your local church family is through being there physically and being ther

Philosophy of Evangelism Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church At Christ Fellowship Bible Church, we believe that part of our mission is to evangelize the lost. The joyful privilege and God-given duty that rests upon every single Christian includes the proclamation of the saving message of Jesus Christ with the lost. 1. Our evangelistic endeavors must be just that -- evangelistic .   This means that when we go out to proclaim the saving message of Jesus Christ, that we actually proclaim the saving message. We believe in helping people, serving the needy, feeding the hungry, clothing the destitute, but our primary focus that undergirds all of our acts of mercy must be the saving of the sinner’s soul through the proclamation of Christ crucified for sinners, buried, and raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. We cannot allow our evangelism outings to be superseded by acts of kindness alone. They are not opposed to one another and neither should we neglect t

Answering Some Common Questions About CFBC, Part 5 Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church  (St Louis, MO)  1. Do you believe divorce is permissible?   —   We uphold and affirm a high view of marriage as the permanent union between one man and one woman. God designed marriage to be for life. But because of men’s hardness of heart and because of sin, and though it’s never God’s intended design, God provided occasions for a marriage to end. Never does God command a divorce but he permits divorce in only two instances. The Bible speaks of only two occasions when a believer may legitimately get a divorce. It must be said, however, that the believer does not have to pursue a divorce if these instances occur, but if he does find himself in such a position, divorce may be a legitimate last-resort option. The primary goal is always the preservation of the marriage union and to pursue any and all means to remain married, as God designed it. But if this is not feasible, then G

Answering Some Common Questions About Christ Fellowship Bible Church , Part 4  Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church (St Louis, Missouri)   1. Why do you not own your own building?  — When CFBC began in 2011 with only a few people, purchasing a building was not, of course, a feasible option. Part of the philosophy of CFBC that began early on was the desire to refrain from purchasing a building but rather to rent from another place so as to utilize the funds that God brings in for the advance of the gospel locally and globally. In other words, our personal church’s philosophy has been to not to go in debt in buying a building but to try to be wise in using the maximum amount of funds that God gives for gospel advance in global ministry opportunities. We recognize that this is not a philosophy that every church must have. Of course not! But for us, at this time, we have made it our ambition to be faithful in renting from another place and being faithful where we a

Why is it important to have regular family worship? Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church I believe it’s critical. Family worship, I’m convinced, should have a central place in the regular life of every Christian household. It’s essential. Not because of who I am or who we are as parents, but because of who God is and how powerful His Word is. Family Worship is fairly simple. It involves the reading and teaching of the Bible, prayer, and singing together. It is a solid foundation for the family. It is an anchor to guard from the winds and waves of life’s storms. It proves to be the rock upon which the theological foundation of the children is built. Quite simply: our view of God ( Theology proper ) and our view of His Word ( bibliology ) will manifest itself in our frequent (or, our lack of commitment to) gatherings of family worship. But, why is it important to have regular family worship in the home?  Here are some reasons. 1)  To prioritize the Word The regu