Gospel Living

In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2  “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3  And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4  And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5  And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6  And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7  And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8  And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets f...

Absolutely Necessary? by Keith Essex The Doctrinal Importance of the Virgin Birth 2017 Shepherds' Conference Evangelicals today question the historicity of the virgin birth.  Is it important for Christians to believe that Jesus was born miraculously into this world?  And what Roman Catholic views develop concerning Mary? MEDIA LINKS:   MP3 Keith Essex MORE SERMONS

Learning from Christ's Ministry | Mark 3:7–12 Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 22 April, 2017 This passage gives us a review of all that we’ve seen in the ministry of Christ until this point.  It will serve as a launching point for the disciples in the next passage, for Christ is about to send them out in His Name.  Just as they still had to learn from His ministry, so do we, if we are His disciples.  We will see the wisdom of our Lord, the wonders of our Lord, and the warfare of our Lord. Video: https://youtu.be/ZGhyQaeYjuM Audio: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=426171114484 Notes PDF: http://playpdf.sa-media.com/media/426171114484/426171114484.pdf Sermon Notes Learning from Christ's Ministry | Mark 3:7–12 Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 22 April, 2017 I.                Introduction Steve Lawson, preaching on this text, notes that this is the mi...

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7  Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8  and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9  And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10  for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. A lot of people come to confusion when it comes to the Bible, especially in recent years.  Some have thought it to be unreliable concerning the events it reports.  They’ve thought, for instance, that the later disciples of Christ made up stories about Him.  They’ve wondered if, perhaps, Mark is smaller because it has earlier, less fantastic stories about Jesus. The level of detail here points to eyewitness testimony.   The areas in vv. 7–8 are all geographically located around the area in which Christ...

Justin Peter continues his 2015 presentation at the Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Globe, AZ. 

( Part 1 | Part 2 ) The first two posts of this series form an important foundation: we must rely on the truth the Holy Spirit revealed to us through His Word, lest we grow arrogant and embrace bold deception in the name of God.  If we lean on our own understanding of how God operates, we will fall.  If we grow unsatisfied with the Bible and seek words and visions, we invite spiritual destruction. Indeed, the light of Proverbs 30:6 dispels our confusion:     Do not add to his words,         lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. In total, we said we must avoid Bethel because it is spiritually dangerous, and we said there are two reasons for that.  The first reason we examined in length last week, that it promotes false doctrine , and we looked at the heretical teachings streaming from the pulpit to computers and MP3 players near you.  If you have not read at least that post, please do so now, beca...

( Part 1 | Part 3 ) In the previous post , I argued that doctrine is not only unavoidable, the Holy Spirit wants us to grow in our knowledge of biblical doctrine.   Even so, I understand the many Christians who, burned by those intellectuals whose convictions were buried in seminary, believe avoiding deep theological study is the best salve for the injured soul.  They believe that you can feed only your intellect or your spirit, seeking a moving experience that is not necessarily meaningful, and missing the fact that God created both in union. As such, some of today's most popular teachers and preachers proceed with that foundation; books and sermons promising bigger and better experiences create many celebrity pastors.  However, upon this foundation a house of theology must reside, inside which a Christians find a spiritually environment that is not up to biblical code.  We will see this with our case in point --- Bill Johnson --- as we exami...

( Part 2 | Part 3 ) Doctrine and theology: sour words in the ears of many today, and with good reason.  Knowledge can puff up (1 Cor 8:1), inflating otherwise well-meaning Christians with hot air.  You probably even know someone seemingly more concerned with crossing the "t" in theology than showing the love of the cross.  Yet, God designed our hearts and minds to grow in doctrine ( instruction or teaching ), and we can't go far in our Christian walk without it.  Consider Jesus, who employed sound doctrine when His proper understanding and application of God's Word defeated Satan's temptation (Mt 4:1-11; Lk 4:1-13).  He also chastised the poor doctrine or teaching of the leaders of Israel, saying, "Have you not read" (Mt 12:3, 5, 19:4, 22:31; Mk 12:10, 26; Lk 6:3).  He equated knowing Scripture to knowing the power of God (Mt 22:29).  His Great Commission includes the directive to make disciples and to teach them (Mt 28:18-19).  As...

My awesome wife sent me another moving story from the Aurora, CO shooting.  In this account , the victim was shot, in the head, and suffers little brain damage.  Here's a snippet of the account: The doctor explains that Petra’s brain has had from birth a small “defect” in it. It is a tiny channel of fluid running through her skull, like a tiny vein through marble, or a small hole in an oak board, winding from front to rear.  Only a CAT scan would catch it, and Petra would have never noticed it.   But in Petra’s case, the shotgun buck shot, maybe even the size used for deer hunting, enters her brain from the exact point of this defect. Like a marble through a small tube, the defect channels the bullet from Petra’s nose through her brain. It turns slightly several times, and comes to rest at the rear of her brain. And in the process, the bullet misses all the vital areas of the brain. In many ways, it almost  misses the brain  itself.  Like a g...

Great to ponder, especially with Reformation Day around the corner: (HT: DefCon )