Practice Persistent Prayer
Sometimes when we pray we don’t always get WHAT we want, WHEN we want it. Nevertheless, Jesus encourages us to keep on praying and to not become discouraged. He teaches a parable about a widow who continually appealed to a judge for justice until the judge finally granted her wish. The point of the parable […]
Where Are the Nine?
In Luke 17 Jesus encounters ten men afflicted with leprosy—a debilitating and ultimately deadly disease that is mentioned 68 times in the Bible. Jesus miraculously healed all ten men but only one returned to give thanks to Jesus. When he did, he received even more than the other nine—salvation. All ten men received physical healing, […]
Life After Death
Most people have a curiosity about the afterlife. That’s because the Bible says that “God has set eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecc. 3:11). The eternal God has put an eternal awareness in the hearts of every human being. In Luke 16 Jesus tells one of the most insightful stories about the afterlife. He […]
Worldly Wealth for Heavenly Good
In an unfamiliar parable told only by Luke, Jesus wants us to understand that money and material things by themselves are not bad. In fact, they can and should be used for good… just don’t love stuff as much or more than you love God. Pastor Gary shares five important principles from this parable about […]
Prophecies about the First Christmas
What did the ancient prophets have to say about the birth of the Messiah? Matthew, in his gospel, quotes five prophecies from his Jewish Scriptures (our Old Testament) about the birth of the Messiah that were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Why is it important for us to know this—that Jesus fulfilled ancient prophecies written hundreds […]
Once was Lost, Now am Found
People are either “lost” or “found”. That is, we are either estranged from God or we know Him in a personal relationship through Jesus. In Luke 15 Jesus describes different types of people in their lost condition and what we are supposed to do to help them become “found”. Jesus shares three parables that describe […]
Walk Through that Door
The Bible describes salvation like a gate or a door. It is open to all, but it is narrow and it won’t stay open forever. We are invited to walk through that door of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. He will take us just as we are—broken and bruised, dirty and ashamed—and He will […]
The Theology of Tragedy
All of our lives will be touched by something tragic at some point—death, disease, grief, sorrow, betrayal, abuse, etc.—you name it, we live in a world corrupted by sin and evil and it is unavoidable. And yet, how do we reconcile all this with an all-loving God who allows these things to happen? In today’s […]
God Over Government
The “Unknown” God
An in-depth study of Acts 17:16-34.