God’s Loving Discipline
STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without…
“The church’s job is to help people with their earthly needs.”
READY TO GIVE AN ANSWER (SOCIAL GOSPEL) Passages that will help you respond when people say… As the word is typically used, a job is work performed for pay. In that sense, the church has…
TLH Hymn 240 “Father Most Holy, Merciful, and Tender”
A HYMN OF GLORY LET US SING (THIRTY-second IN A SERIES)
The doctrine of the Trinity has been called “The supreme mystery which theology is to proclaim.”1 The Bible clearly teaches that there is one and only one God, and that this one true God exists as three separate persons—yet each person individually is fully God, not one third of God. Martin Luther wrote and preached much on the subject, but always with the understanding that the nature of God is, ultimately, beyond human understanding. So, for example, he said with regard to this doctrine, “Here reason, corrupted by original sin, must be taken captive in the obedience of faith, nay, must be extinguished together with its light and wisdom.”
Sacrificing Love on the Altar of Misunderstanding
GEMS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT (Please read Joshua chapter 22.) The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh fought alongside the rest of Israel to take possession of the land west of the Jordan.…
God’s Discipline Demonstrates His Love for Us!
STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT “Consider [Jesus] who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to…
“I don’t need to repent.”
READY TO GIVE AN ANSWER (IMPENITENCE) Passages that will help you respond when people say… Our conversations around God’s Word vary. Sometimes witnessing to the truth of God’s Word is new instruction. Sometimes it is…
“On Christ’s Ascension I Now Build” TLH Hymn 216
A HYMN OF GLORY LET US SING (THIRTY-FIRST IN A SERIES)
“On Christ’s ascension I now build/ The hope of mine ascension.” (verse 1)
When Christ returns on Judgment Day, you, along with all believers, will ascend bodily into heaven, to be forever with Him where there is no sorrow, no tear, and everlasting joy. This fundamental Christian doctrine is scorned by many “modernists” as “pie in the sky bye and bye”—mere wishful thinking. However, our confidence in this truth is unshakably founded on the inerrant Word of God and confirmed by the historical fact of Christ’s Ascension.
In John 14:2-3, Jesus tells His disciples, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” When the resurrected Jesus later visibly ascended into heaven, that historical event—witnessed by the apostles—confirmed His promise. Josua Wegelin (1604-1640) provides an additional reason for our assurance. He writes, “For where the Head is, there full well/ I know His members are to dwell/ When Christ shall come and call them.” (verse 1)
Prepared for the Journey
GEMS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT Life is a journey. As Christian travelers, we’re simply passing through the Temporary on our way to the Eternal. During the trip, we often face dangers, difficult terrain, ups and…
A Faith That Runs
STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let…
“Don’t Judge Me”
READY TO GIVE AN ANSWER (AUTHORITY OF THE WORD) Passages that will help you respond when people say… It used to be that the most frequently-cited passage in America was John 3:16. The reference was…