The Fruit of the Spirit is Essential
The fruit of the Spirit is essential, not because it is a checklist unto salvation but because it is the inevitable byproduct of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. We have a funny relationship with the word “essential” often relating it to what one must do to be saved. While there are essential components to […]
Brief Review of a Not so Brief Book – Paul and the Faithfulness of God by N.T. Wright
I started this book months ago while on jury duty and finally finished it last week. I have a hard copy but decided to read this via the kindle app on my iphone 4S. That was brutal! I think I would have to read this book several times to really get out of it half […]
Glimmers of God’s Perspective
Two years ago last month I got an email from my mother. She had forwarded an email from the church office back in Alabama that a dear friend had passed away. I was stunned. Sammy couldn’t have been much more than 40 years old. I checked my email later in the day and the strangest […]
Sermons on Worship and the Water of Life
Just posted two sermons from December. Living Water – A sermon based on Ezekiel 47 where Ezekiel witnesses water flowing out of the temple, down to the Dead Sea. Life grows out of the low places around the Dead Sea as the water nourishes places that had long been dead. Application – we also have […]
Infant Baptism
I had slacked on my baptism series because this post has been a difficult one to publish. I really want to make sure I have my facts straight here and not stir things up based on faulty information. Infant baptism is practiced by a very high percentage of Christianity and it is important to understand […]
The Beauty of Baptism
Paul wrote in Romans 6:2-11 “We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised […]
Summaries of the New Testament Books
To follow up on this post summarizing the books of the Old Testament, here is the list for the New Testament. Here is this list in pdf. These are just quick helps to help people get a feel for these books and see how they connect with each other. Bible Study Helps – New Testament […]
Living By Faith, Not By Exception
“So this guy is walking up to the baptistry…he has repented and made his confession before the congregation and just as he steps in the water he slips hits his head on the floor. He dies right before he is baptized. Is he saved?” The point normally being made with this type of question is […]
What is Your Most Encouraging Verse in the Bible?
What has been the most encouraging verse in the Bible to you? Here are some of my favorites: 1 Peter 1:3-4 – “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us […]
Misconceptions About Our Contribution to our own Salvation
There are a lot of misconceptions floating around out there about our salvation and what is expected of us in the process. Two misconceptions fall on the extremes of the pendulum of what is required of us to be saved. On one side, you have the misconception that because salvation is a “free gift” that […]