When the gospel message is preached, it doesn’t start with the love of God. Let me be clear, God is love and expresses great love towards fallen humanity but that isn’t where the gospel message starts. It starts with the HOLINESS of God.
When we come to this portion of scripture, this is Moses’s final address to the children of Israel just before they enter the promised land. He charges them to walk in all the ways of God and to diligently serve Him. In the midst of charging them, he gives them a stern warning about “forgetting the LORD” when they receive the blessings of God that will come with their inheritance. He reminds them that all the time they were in the wilderness they had to lean upon God because there was nothing. No food, no water, just a barren wasteland. God rained down manna
Godly sorrow is the deep, internal grief over your sin because you realize it has grieved a holy God and damaged your relationship with Him. It does not just weep over the consequences of sin; it creates a fierce desire to turn away from the behavior completely. It flows from a realization of God’s love and mercy, driving a person toward God for healing rather than making them hide in shame.
In every gospel where these two events occur (the great storm on Galilee and the Gadarene maniac) they occur right next two each other; which tells me they belong together. When Jesus told his disciples to get into the ship so they could pass over to the other side, he knew where and why he was headed. He knew this man was waiting on the other side of Galilee. He knew his condition and that he would deliver him from demon possession. He knew this man was the key to shedding light in a region dominated by darkness. Jesus was about to invade and assault the devil’s territory, but getting there was difficult.
Chapter 11 of the book of Romans deals with the future of Israel as a nation. Paul addresses the question “Has God cast away his people?” In other words, “Is God totally and completely done with the nation of Israel?” He wastes not time in saying “God forbid”. Then the remainder of this chapter explains where Israel is today spiritually, how they got there, how the Gentiles have benefited from their rejection of Christ, and how ultimately God will save them
This parable is about stewardship. In the Bible, stewardship means managing God’s creation and resources as a caretaker rather than an owner. The core idea is that God owns everything, and humans are the managers appointed to care for His world, time and gifts.
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
American culture has progressively shifted toward hyper-individualism and inward self-focus. Hyper-individualism is an extreme cultural and social mindset that prioritizes the personal freedom, rights and desires of the singular self over collective well-being and community responsibility. It’s a technical way to say that the rule of the day has become selfishness. For decades now the bookstores and daytime talk shows focused on one topic, self! Self-help, self-evaluation, self-preservation, self-expression, and ultimately self-glorification has created a “me first” mentality that is …
In our series “Seek first the kingdom of God” we restate every week that that phrase means with the highest priority we seek to bring every are of life under God’s rule. We that are saved, have changed kingdoms. The kingdom of darkness was living for the glory and pleasure of self but now that we’re saved, we’ve entered the spiritual realm of God’s kingdom, and He has definite commands for how life is to be lived in all areas. We’ve looked at marriage and home life under God’s rule, now the scriptures turn to a different realm of life, our workplace life.
In our series “Seek first the kingdom of God” last week we dealt with God’s rule for marriage. This week I want to bring you a message about seeking God’s kingdom first in your home. Again, this means to come into alignment with God’s rule over every area of life. The first portion of scripture we read has to do with singleness. What to do if you’re a Christian and you’re not married. Being single offers you the unique advantage of
The command of Jesus is to seek first the kingdom of God which means that our highest priority in life is to come into alignment with God’s rule. The portion of scripture we just read is about how marriage is supposed to be lived by two Christians in God’s kingdom. At the time this was written, it was revolutionary because in the Greco-Roman world of that time wives were treated as property, while men frequently sought sexual gratification outside the marriage. Ephesus was the epicenter of the cult of Artemis. While the cult empowered women to be priestesses and elevated women to independence, and competitive roles. So, the commands given by the Holy Spirit to them through Paul were completely against their culture.
Fast forward 1950 years to today and