Grace
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If God is sovereign (that is, acting in sovereignty—not “could be sovereign but God is so good He doesn’t act on His sovereignty”—which is nowhere taught in scripture)… If God is acting as king and meticulously ruling over all things, then many ask, “How can man be accountable for his actions?” Commonly, it is thought
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“Calvinists” don’t teach that grace can never be resisted – In fact it is always resisted until God decides to overcome our sin loving hearts with his omnipotent love. There is a drawing that is ultimately irresistible, not because he forces men to believe, but because he opens their eyes to see that Jesus is
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For God so loved the world…. What does this love do? 1). He gave His only son! As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness Jesus was lifted up. 2). So that whoever BELIEVES in Him will not perish but have eternal life. All who turn and look to the savior will find rest
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Sometimes, though we have wandered afar, we just need to come home to Jesus. Repentance is leaving the far country and its hollow pleasures that leave us empty and aching. Our heads may be hung low -we may feel unredeemable and irrevocably lost. As we trudge up the strangely familiar path to the house we
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Theology Thoughts Broad is the way that leads to destruction and narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it. The Bible is clear not all will be saved. No one enters into the city of God whose name was not written in the book of life before the
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Acts 4 begins with the Sadducees being very irritated with the apostles because of the healing of a man who had been lame since birth. The healing was the tip of the iceberg for the Sadducees because what really irritated them was that the Apostles were proclaiming “in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” This
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Oh King Uzziah would that you had listened to the good priests when they withstood you at the gates of the temple. For 50 years you served the people of God well. You sought the Lord faithfully. You taught the people rightly to fear the Lord. After all the damage your father did with his
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Grace – grace is stunning when you realize that you have been given something of great value, at great cost, that is not earned or deserved. Here I am sitting in a new and amazing house, surrounded by my family happily (mostly) playing together. Ben, Andrew and I took a walk around our new playground
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Covid-19 is taking its toll on the US I feel it – the uncertainty, the fear, the mounting cases and corresponding death tolls, the economic uncertainty…. I’m a numbers guy – and I keep tracking every day – What is the death rate? What is the R0 rating? What are the projections? And I am
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FEARIn recent weeks the entire world seems to have been caught in grip of its cold steel tongs. What if I or my loved ones contract Corona Virus? What if _________ becomes president of the United States? The stock market is plunging – How can I feel secure? The wheels of the world seem to
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Life is like a frenetically played William Tell Overture. It gallops by at breakneck speed punctuated by shocking staccato notes that make us gasp in pain and pleasure and then concludes as a dramatic dissonant chord with unplayed notes hanging in the air. But this is but a beginning. More – it is but the
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Along with many of you I am shocked and saddened by Kobe and his daughter’s death as well as those others who were in the helicopter with them. No matter when it comes, death is shocking. But when it comes like this to a young man and young girl – to a celebrity – suddenly
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I have long appreciated Star Trek and Captain Kirk. As a result, over the years, I have watched or read numerous interviews with William Shatner including this recent one. I have noticed that he frequently brings up the topics of death, the afterlife and God. And I have often thought I would love to talk
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Experiencing the fullness of God does not require that one speak in tongues or heal or prophesy. Sometimes we can overemphasis a radical experience or gifting as the essence of knowing God, but scripture doesn’t talk that way. I Cor 12 “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30
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My wife, Christie, listened to the recent discussion between Andy Stanley and Dr. Flowers and felt compelled to write a letter to Pastor Stanley. “Dear Pastor Stanley, This morning my husband was listening to an interview you did with Dr. Flowers a couple of days ago. He came across it through a Twitter post. I
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I’ve spent a lot of time this week thinking about the race issues among believers that have been seemingly widened this week or probably just uncovered some more via the MLK50 conference. I’ve discovered I don’t have the ability I would like to express what I want to, nor do I have the wisdom or
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Sometimes the darkness seems to be winning – and you wonder if there is light to be found. Sometimes it is a chore just to lift your head and trudge through the day and you wonder if there is any meaning to be had. Sometimes the storm seems too daunting – the pressure too much
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As often happens my soul was refreshed at church today – the well-selected songs, the body of Christ together and a message that reminded me again of the goodness and patience of God towards sinners. I could tell the many around me experienced that same thing. My week has been a discouraging one and today
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Read Daniel 9:1-19 Pray The Story of Israel Abraham – Isaac – Jacob Moses – Exodus – Promised Land Judges – United Kingdom – Divided Kingdom Manasseh – He rebuilt worship centers to false gods His father had destroyed. He burned his son as a human sacrifice to a false god. His reign was full
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Scripture James says every good gift, every perfect gift comes down from above from the Father. Moses charges us to serve the Lord with Joyfulness and gladness of heart because of the abundance of all things. James says to set our hopes on God – who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Thankful How
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We graph 0.9 degrees of temperature change like the recent stock market performance held upside down. We also graph the world as going from ice cold blue to inferno from hell using the same less than a degree change measurement. Money, power, politics and social standing are all aligned to suppress any doubts or questions
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“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” “He did not even spare his own Son but offered him up for us all” I had one of those awful dreams one has from time to time where someone you love dies. This time
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NT Wright is a brilliant NT Scholar and a leading teacher on the New Perspective on Paul. A very simplistic summary of one of the tenets of NPP is that there was no issue in scripture around whether law keeping was the means of attaining salvation. Judaism according to Wright already had grace built in
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Romans 9 The Statement “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” WHOOOAAAA God …hates???? That would be unjust!! 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! This must be about something else not about God saving people… 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on
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The bent of Paul’s heart to rage against God is the same bent of every heart apart from awakening grace. The need of Paul to be knocked off his horse by the blinding light of the Lord is not a “Paul” need. God must reveal himself or we perish. The response of faith in Paul
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Mount Morality’s slopes are too steep They’ve been the death of many To Mount Calvary will I fly And there be rescued by my Savior’s strength. The Law’s demands I strive to keep But only find despair I reap I try again my case to plead Brought to my face in desperate need Then the
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The latter half of Albert Einstein’s celebrated life was spent on a grand quest – a quest to unify multiple disciplines into one simplified formula that would explain how everything works in the universe. Einstein called it Unified Field Theory. Modern physicists refer to the “theory of everything.” Einstein failed to achieve his goal. Though
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What is the Gospel? “God is Holy” – God is perfect in all of his attributes – glorious in all that he does. He is set apart – unique – His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts. He dwells in pure radiant unapproachable light. Nothing and no one can stand
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Intro: Introduced to this church via Bob Smith – Review Series – Beginning to End Communion with God – is the great end for which we are made – Philippians 3:8-9 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all
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Joshua 7:24: “And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of
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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
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You don’t have to have your eyes open very wide to realize there is something horribly wrong in the world. I recently picked up a book given to my oldest son Steven by his teacher – Mrs. Copley. It is titled simply “Night” and the book describes the horrors of a young Jewish boy by
Passionate Grace 