Category: Subject Index

In the first year of King Darius, Daniel offered up a prayer to God, confessing the sin of his people. The prayer is recorded in Daniel 9, and includes the following:

“O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments” (4-5).

He later noted that “shame of face” belongs to all of Israel because of her sin.

Simply put, then and now, it is shameful for any man to depart from God’s precepts and judgments, substituting in their place his own. God’s word is a pattern for us, one to which we must limit ourselves and obey. If we do so, He will supply His mercy to us.

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A woman who had the rightly earned reputation as a sinner knelt at the feet of Jesus, anointing them with fragrant oil, and wiping them with the hair on her head.

In this action she exhibited faith in Jesus. Jesus told the master of the house, “her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much” (Luke 7:47). He then told her, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (vs. 50).

Jesus told her to “Go in peace” because her sins were forgiven. There is no peace without the forgiveness of sins. When a man’s sins remain he is separated from God. No peace can be found without His presence in your life.

If your life is not blessed with the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), you need to have your sins forgiven. If you want help, contact us, we would love to study with you online or in person..

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I oppose abortion for one simple reason, I believe it to be the killing of an innocent human being. The premeditated killing of another human is murder. I believe abortion is murder.

I base my view that abortion is murder on two things. First, my understanding of how God views the unborn. There are numerous instances, some subtle, some overt, where God identifies the unborn as a child. For example, consider Luke’s description of the as yet unborn John, a cousin of Jesus, “And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb” (Luke 1:41). Second, my own senses. I have seen sonograms of unborn children, both static images and video. I have heard the heartbeat, I have felt the kicks of a child in the womb. It is obvious the babe in the womb is human, and alive.

I am disheartened and disgusted by the recent exchanges on the issue that have been reported in the media. Consider the following:

Continue reading “Why I Oppose Abortion” →

Invitation delivered by: Stan Cox

In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells his disciples about the rich man and Lazarus, who when they died went to Hades. The rich man, when tortured in the flame, was not burned up. Likewise, hell fire and condemnation are eternal in nature.

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1 Samuel, chapter 1 we have recorded for us the faithfulness of Samuel’s mother Hannah. She serves as a good example to us.

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A discussion of the significance of the first day of the week in the New Covenant.

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The typical Premillennialist believes that it was Jesus’ intent while here on earth to establish His kingdom, and reign on a physical throne in Jerusalem. They believe that He was thwarted in His intent by the rejection of the Jews leading to His death. Therefore, He will not be able to establish His kingdom until He comes again. The truth is far different:

First, Jesus came to the earth to die. He knew He would die, and that death was a part of God’s plan. This is clearly seen in His own words. After Peter declared Him to be the Christ, He said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day” (Luke 9:22).

Second, the Kingdom of Christ is not a physical kingdom. Again note the words of our Lord, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36). The Premillennialists claim that when Jesus comes again, He will come with an army to fight a physical battle. They are wrong.

Third, the Kingdom of Christ has already been established. Paul asserts that truth. To the saints in Colosse he wrote, “He [God] has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13).

Fourth, when Christ comes again, that is it! There will be no 1,000 year reign, as He is reigning now. Peter described His future arrival, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).

God told Noah, “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch” (Genesis 6:14).

I don’t know exactly what gopher wood is, but Noah did, and he did what God required. He made the ark 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high (whatever a cubit is).

The point is, he did what God told him to do. Why? He respected God, and feared Him. He knew that to escape the “end of all flesh” (cf. vs. 13), he had to follow God’s directions.

This is a good lesson for us today. Judgment is coming, and the only way for us to escape condemnation is to follow directions. The Jews who responded to Peter’s preaching on Pentecost asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:38). Peter told them to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins. Three thousand souls that day followed God’s directions. “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (vs. 47).

So, are you willing to follow God’s directions? Your soul depends upon it!

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“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

Wisdom begins with a “fear of the Lord.” That means that if one does not fear God, he can not be wise. Perhaps that is why Paul wrote so dismissively of the wisdom of men, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25).

“Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1:21). If you truly desire to be wise, fearing and knowing God is the place to begin.

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How often have you seen articles with titles like the one above shared on Facebook feeds? It is a common tactic, as authors and websites vie for the attention of readers. A catchy title or provocative picture will lead to clicks. Often the article itself has little to offer, but internet traffic leads to advertisers and revenue, so the trend will not soon change. Unfortunately, the trend is prevalent in material offered with the intent of aiding in spiritual growth.

Which leads me to note the first bad habit that leads to a superficial faith. Taking a Facebook mentality into matters of spiritual importance! I confess that I click on such titles myself, because they are attention getting. Too often the article is as much pop psychology as Biblical teaching. The quality of writing on spiritual matters is suffering as authors try to adapt to the short attention spans and novel cravings of a culture unduly influenced by social media. This is sad.

Continue reading “7 Bad Habits of Superficial Christians” →

Note: Audio distorted, but understandable.

Genesis 7:5-16 a number of truths are revealed about God’s judgment of the world at the flood, and his treatment of righteous Noah.

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Divinely revealed characteristics of what a true Christian is.

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In Ezekiel 14, the prophet shared with the elders of Israel God’s displeasure at the idolatry practiced by the nation. “I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols” (4b-5).

God called upon them to “Repent, burn away form your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations” (vs. 6). If they would not, He warned, “I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the Lord” (vs. 8).

This prophecy has been fulfilled. The Jews who were unfaithful to God were judged by Him. The judgment they suffered is a proverb to us. We learn from their unfortunate example! “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

But, many of us refuse to learn the lesson. We erect our own idols (things to which we give primacy rather than God). We don’t consider the fact that we may be as guilty as the Israelites: “these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity” (Ezekiel 14:3). Always put God first in your life, and avoid being a sign and a proverb to future generations.

Invitation delivered by: Stan Cox

In 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 Paul states that he has nothing to offer except for Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. While the religious world offers so many other things, the only thing we have the right to offer is the gospel of our Lord!

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The text of 2 Corinthians 3:4-11 is examined, noting the differences between the two covenants.

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