Gospel Living

7  Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. … 18  And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19  but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. The Word must be in soil to grow, and it must take root in a person’s heart.   Even so, thorns and thistles can arise in the heart before the Word can bear fruit, and these weeds strangle its life.  The person who doesn’t engage in some gardening in their souls remains unaware of the life God provides. The weed of worldly cares strangles the life of the Word.  If we put our hand to the plow and turn back, more concerned for what came before, then we lack transformation through the Word.  Jesus reminds us of this with His simple command, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Lk 17:32).  Those who seek friendship with the ...

Here is the video from my sermon on Philippians 4:6-9 at Lynton Missionary Church in Lynwood, CA, on June 17, 2012. Unfortunately, the recorder gave out about thirty minutes into the message, but don't be anxious: you can get the lost fifteen minutes from the manuscript below. od comforts us in the fact that our heroes in the faith are human.  We only need to think of David, who Scripture records was a man after God’s own heart—someone who stood up to Goliath’s bullying with the strength and faith unlike any of his countrymen.  Even so, he was human.  We remember his failures as a father.  We remember his failures in leadership.  We remember his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba.  We remember his murder of her husband.  If after all of this he is remembered as a man after God’s own heart in Acts 13:22, God’s grace provides hope for us all. There is another time when he stumbled in his faith.  Before Saul died in batt...