Gospel Living

He Emptied Himself: A Study of the Kenosis of Christ Mike Riccardi | 2017 Shepherds’ Conference This is one of the best presentations I've heard in a while concerning the relationship between Jesus's human and divine nature.  In many quarters, there're growing misunderstandings concerning the Kenosis or "emptying" of Christ in Philippians 2:7.  He lost none of His deity on earth.  MEDIA LINKS:   MP3  /  PDF Mike Riccardi GraceLife | Elder Local Outreach | Elder MORE SERMONS

In this Q&A Ligonier panel, John MacArthur stands out as a dispensationalist among covenant theologians.  If you don't know what those terms mean, simply put, they represent different views on the end times.  Yet, these are not the root issues at hand. How can these men sit together on a panel, then, and what can we learn from them in our own church contexts? When our church was going through First John, we looked at John's commitment to hard-edged, black-and-white issues of truth walking in harmony with his call to love.  One illustration we used was that, while  truth gives us the right notes to play, love fine-tunes our hearts. Churches must be concerned about doctrine, and discussions can get heated among those who all share a love for the truth of God.  That, by the way, should not be seen as wrong somehow.   Doctrine does divide (as Sproul says), and the church that doesn't care about doctrine is a dead church. Still, we all must guard...

As we don't have a Wednesday study from last week, here is the first session of the G3 Conference.  Josh Buice preached this session on the subject, "Doctrines Worthy of Death and Scripture Worthy of Preaching."

We begin Jesus’s long Sabbath-day ministry in Capernaum with this visit to the synagogue. During the service, He astonishes them with His authority—with His authoritative doctrine and even more with His authority over the demonic realm. We see today that He is Lord, and that is how we should worship Him. Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XulrfIqdQUA Audio: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=215171129194 Notes: (PDF -  http://playpdf.sa-media.com/media/215171129194/215171129194.pdf ) Astonished by His Authority | Mark 1:21–28 Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 12 February, 2017 Heavenly Father, • We thank You that You came to serve, not to be served.  And we thank You that You are Lord. • May we bow to Your Word this morning.  Help us to understand it and apply it in all that we do. I. Introduction Remember that Jesus was preaching, calling everyone to repent and to believe the gospel (vv. 14–15), and He then cal...

We won't have a Wednesday study to post this week or next, so here's another session from the 2017 Truth & Life Conference .  This is the final session, and Steve Lawson teaches how doctrine and truth shaped the ministries of John Calvin and John Knox.

The Person and Ministry of the Holy Spirit | Part 4 Series:  The Fundamentals of our Faith  · 4 of 4 2/1/2017 (WED)

Because of a very busy week, I'm running a bit behind on the devotions.  So, in lieu of a Psalm devotional today, here is the first video from The Master's University 2017 Truth and Life Conference .  The theme this year was The Solas: The Five Pillars of the Reformation , and here is John MacArthur leading the opening session of the conference:

The Person and Ministry of the Holy Spirit | Part 1 The Fundamentals of our Faith 1/11/2017 (WED) We switched from Thursday groups to Wednesdays, and this is our first meeting on the new night. Previous sessions were not recorded. In this session, we study the Personhood of the Holy Spirit. (Based on _Fundamentals of the Faith_ by John MacArthur)

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2  And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3  And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4  And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5  And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6  The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. In case you’re unsure of how the Pharisees viewed Jesus Christ in their previous encounters (2:1–11; 13–17; 18–22; 23–28), they demonstrate their growing hatred and hard-hearted attitudes toward Him.  Last time, we read this passage focusing on the love of the Lord in the Law.  Now, we look at His anger....

I was talking to a church member this week who was troubled that a family member viewed the Holy Spirit as a force.  While reading the Nicene Creed, I was struck afresh by the early church's view on God the Spirit. The Nicene Creed, originally penned in AD 325, was amended in 381.  The whole creed is as follows: I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;  And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and si...

John the Baptist said that the coming Messiah would baptize believers in the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8).  Peter, full of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, identifies Jesus as responsible for the pouring out the Spirit in Acts 2:33.  Similarly, Paul tells us that Jesus pours out the Holy Spirit on us for regeneration, renewal, and justification (Titus 3:5-7). This idea comes from key Old Testament passages.  For instance, in Ezekiel 36:25–27, we read of the LORD sprinkling water on us, giving us a new heart, and placing the Holy Spirit within us.  In Joel 3:1ff, we read of the LORD pouring out the Holy Spirit.  The New Testament authors drew the appropriate connections. So, the Old Testament clearly identifies God as the source of the Holy Spirit.  In the New, however, this act is performed by Christ.  Jesus is indeed Lord (1 Corinthains 12:3; Romans 10:9) Perhaps this is why Nicodemus had trouble accepting what Christ was saying in John 3. Jesus does n...

The good folks at the Master's Seminary want to see the Christ's church as biblically-oriented and God-honoring as possible. As such, they have been placing their class lectures online for free.  This act of love provides wonderful opportunities for discipleship, training, and review. This post highlights the second of four theology classes offered by the seminary (the first is here ). Here are a few questions these videos will help you answer: Who was Jesus of Nazareth? (Christology, the largest section) What claims did He make? Why did He come to earth and die? What false beliefs and heresies about Christ have arisen over the years? What prophecy points to Him? Who is the Holy Spirit? (Pnuematology) Or, should the question be what is the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit do? What does it mean to be indwelt by the Spirit? How does the Holy Spirit work through the Charismatic-type churches? What are angels and demons? (Angelology) Who is Satan, for th...

Perhaps the best thing about an illustration of the Trinity is to notice how it fails.  All of us attempt to explain this key theology using something within the realm of finite human experience, but God transcends our exposition.  Therefore, once we see how demonstrations of three-leaf clovers and the three states of water can wash away a budding understanding of our Lord, we will see and present the doctrine with new clarity. Arguing that the Godhead is not like a 3-in-1 shampoo, C. Michael Patton at Parchment and Pen sheds light on the fact that our illustrations trivialize God and lead us to heresy .

One of the worst blights besmirching American pulpits is the online degree.  With that in mind, biblically sound institutions indeed post free resources featuring theological heavy-weights who love the Lord.  Thus, many Christian leaders lacking the ability to attend a quality seminary scour the web for the good, hoping to gain the knowledge they need for daily ministry. Maybe that describes you, and perhaps you missed something really good.  No, it's not an e-ordination, but it will build your ability in and love for the Bible.  Seminary professor Nathan Busenitz announced the launch of this goldmine of online training that is indeed free: Earlier this month, The Master’s Seminary launched its Theological Resource Center (TRC) — an online hub for ministry-training resources. Because many pastors around the world will never be able to attend seminary in the United States, the TRC extends the resources of TMS and its partner ministries t...

TurretinFan posted the following to the glory of God .  I second his call for support to Alpha and Omega Ministries if you find these helpful and can do so. I was reluctant to post this list, because I'm concerned that people who might otherwise support Dr. White's ministry by buying copies of the debates will just watch them for free.  However, I trust that people who would support Dr. White's ministry by buying his debates will consider doing so in some other way, since his ministry is reliant on support of Christians who support what he's doing. Moreover, keep in mind that the debates below represent less than a quarter of the debates Dr. White has done.  ( see here for a list of debates you can get at store.aomin.org - that list may need to be updated at some point ) David Bernard vs. James White, "Are Tongues Necessary?" (informal radio debate on WMCA radio in New York , circa August 18, 2003) ( mp3 ) (Audio-only on Youtube part 1/5 )( part...

( 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...

One rapper's gutsy video captured the attention of the Christian webs.  "Fal$e Teacher$" dares to name names in an attempt to warn fellow believers of the proponents of the prosperity gospel; the dollar signs being an appropriate commentary in itself. Among those Shai Linne targets are Joel Osteen, T. D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Paula White, Fred Price, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, Eddie Long, Juanita Bynum, Paul Crouch... you know, the TBN crew. Linne raps: "Don't be deceived by this funny biz, if you come to Jesus for money, then he's not your God, money is! Jesus is not a means to an end, the Gospel is He came to redeem us from sin, and that is the message forever I yell! If you're living your best life now you're heading for hell!" My,my, Shai, this is good. Seven-minute video on why Shai Linne wrote and raps "FAL$E TEACHER$". dsr.gd/12vZgGx — John Piper (@JohnPiper) April 7, 2013 (HT: CP ) Here's the ...

( 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...