BY: MATT NOBLE In Hebrews 13 we are told that pastors must give an account for those they watch over (Hebrew 13:7) We see this again in the epistle of James where we are told that pastors will be judged with greater strictness (James 3:1) as they have tremendous influence over the church. Pastors have been given a very weighty task, to shepherd God’s people (Acts 20:28). This is an enormous responsibility that at times can be daunting. Certainly, there…
BY DR. JOE ALLOTTA: That’s the most interesting thing about Valentine’s Day to me. We have no idea who St. Valentine is. We know St. Nicholas gave presents to kids. We know St. Patrick was into all things Irish (although his official saint color was blue.) So why is St. Valentine associated with love, hearts, and overpriced greeting cards? Let me share some history and then some commentary: History Valentinus was supposedly an Italian Stallion in the 3rd century who…
BY ADAM POWERS: Gazing at or laboring to get a glimpse at the Glory of God is the most practical thing anyone can ever do. Habakkuk teaches us this well. One of the ways the small prophetic book of Habakkuk does this is its personal tone. Most of the other prophetic books are very impersonal, you don’t hear a lot about the prophet himself. Usually what we find is God speaking through the prophet to His people dealing with their…
BY BURK PARSONS: We all struggle with doubt. Some Christians struggle with doubt from time to time, and others struggle with doubt every day. We sometimes doubt because of our indwelling sin or because of the weakness of our faith. We sometimes doubt our salvation. We sometimes doubt God’s love for us. We sometimes doubt our election. We sometimes doubt in times of trial. We sometimes doubt that God hears us when we pray. We sometimes doubt that God’s promises…
BY DR. JOE ALLOTTA: Yes. (Well, I don’t think anyone wants to say “No.”) My general rule of thumb is that Jesus is the Greatest Ever no matter what we are talking about. Here’s what I know: If Jesus Christ’s purpose was to be a Swimmer then he’d be better than Michael Phelps. If Jesus Christ’s purpose was to be a Gymnast, then He’d be showing up Simone Biles. If Jesus Christ’s purpose was to do that sport that combines…
BY ADAM POWERS: Lastly, after spending two days on the origin of sin and the character of sin, today I’ll briefly discuss the punishment of sin. This is the result of sin in man. All this talk of guilt, pollution, corruption, depravity, and total and moral evil means little if God doesn’t take it seriously. Men may make light of it but God doesn’t, for He will punish all sin both in this life and in the life to come….
BY MATT NOBLE: The story of David and Goliath, found in 1 Samuel 17, is a very familiar story for most of us. But let’s not miss the important truths in this passage. There are five things to notice here. First: God uses the unlikely. From this passage, we are told that David is young (v 14, 33, 42). As a result, he is not the likely candidate to fight Goliath. But God uses him regardless, and he defeats the…
BY DR. JOE ALLOTTA We all know the verse that says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” There are quite a few verses that reference the fear of God and even a couple in the New Testament. Often times I hear people just erase the word or change the word “fear” to “reverence.” Obviously, we should be reverent to God but “fear” has a different meaning. Fear means to be afraid of something dangerous. We tend…
BY DR. JOE ALLOTTA: Did you know this? That more missionaries come to the United States than any other country in the world??? On average, 32,000 missionaries come to the United States from other countries per year. Did you have any idea? The second place has 20,000 missionaries going to them. We’re close to doubling up the second-place country. What’s interesting, we send more than 127,000 out from our country to other places around the world. That’s awesome. (Now to…
“In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” Philosopher Eric Hoffer There is no doubt about it, change is upon us, increasing at an exponential pace. When knowledge is doubling every eighteen months and increasing, how is one to stay current and meet expectations? We must be constant learners. We must be as the sons of Issachar, “men who had an understanding of the…
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