Being Relatable for Christ
In the closing chapter of Acts, Paul meets with some Jewish leaders to explain the truth about Jesus. Until his dying day, Paul used various encounters with people as opportunities to tell them about Jesus Christ. He always looked for a “relatable entry point” in connecting the hearts of people with the truth of Jesus. […]
Hope for the Hopeless
There are seasons when all of us may go through dark times. The emotional weight can be so heavy that it leaves us feeling hopeless. Today, Pastor Gary draws on a story from Acts 27 to bring hope to the hopeless, whatever the situation might be. Hope is like oxygen—with it we thrive; without it […]
Stop Listening to the Majority
There is a lot of cultural pressure today to conform to the latest majority opinion. Groupthink can be intimidating, and the “majority consensus” often causes people to either go silent in order to avoid ridicule, or to conform in order to fit in. But Paul said in Galatians 1:10, “If I were still trying to […]
My Story for God’s Glory
Life is full of twists and turns that we know nothing about in advance, but God does. And some of those twists and turns are intended as “divine detours” where God brings people along our path who need to hear about Jesus. The Lord desires to use Believers to share their testimony so that others […]
The Judgment to Come
The Bible speaks about JUDGMENT—a personal judgment when we have to stand before the Lord, and a global judgment for the wicked, known as the Great White Throne Judgment. For those who don’t know Christ as Lord and Savior, the idea of “judgment” might be scary. But to those who have a relationship with Jesus, […]
Take Courage!
In Acts 23, Paul is put in prison for his protection from an angry mob that is trying to kill him. While there, the Lord Jesus appears to him and says, “Be of good cheer” or literally, “Take courage!” Jesus knew exactly what Paul needed to hear in the midst of his discouragement. Our Lord […]
A Healthy Conscience
We all have an “internal moral compass” called a conscience. It is something that God has implanted in the soul of every human being. And since God is the standard for right and wrong, and since we are created in the image and likeness of God, then we all have the capacity to choose right […]
Hearing God
Does God still speak today? Yes and No. He does not supersede or contradict His Word (the Bible) with “new” revelation, but He does still speak tenderly to people. Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice (John 10:27). So how can we discern the voice of the Lord from all the other voices and […]
Parting Words of Encouragement
If you know that you will probably never see a friend or loved one again, you will probably exchange some tender, parting words. This was the case with Paul and the elders of the Ephesian church when he met with them in Miletus. He closes his remarks with some parting words of encouragement about God’s […]
Advice and Warnings to the Church
In his farewell words to the elders of the church in Ephesus, Paul shares some important advice and warnings about how to keep the Church healthy and how to protect the Church from attacks without and attacks within. Even though his words are from the first century, they are timeless principles for the Church today. […]