Sermons and Biblical Studies

It is hard for a rich church to understand that her Lord was a poor man. Were He to appear today on our city streets as He appeared in Jerusalem, He would in all probability be picked up for vagrancy. Were He to teach here what He taught the multitudes about money, He would be … Continue reading “PERSONAL
FINANCES; POVERTY”

People remark how favored the church is in this country. It does not have to face persecution and rejection. If the truth were known, our freedom from persecution is because we have taken the easy, the popular way. If we would love righteousness until it became an overpowering passion, if we would renounce everything that … Continue reading “PERSECUTION;
TOLERANCE/INTOLERANCE; CHURCH: INEFFECTIVENESS”

Yes, John could have taken the easier way. Just a little compromise and the important people would begin to say, “This man is really doing good things for the community.” But John was a man of faith. He knew what he believed; he knew in whom he believed. He was willing to take the heat … Continue reading “PERSECUTION;
OPPOSITION; BOLDNESS”

There are people in our churches today who think they are being persecuted for their profession of faith in Jesus Christ. I have a word of encouragement and perspective for them. Take a long look at Elijah the prophet!… As a prophet in evil times, Elijah had reason to lean hard on his God. He … Continue reading “PERSECUTION;
KNOWLEDGE OF GOD: DIVINE ENCOUNTER”

Most of us do not see very much of permanence around us in our world. Some while ago, I was given a new definition for permanent. I picked up a flyer being distributed in my neighborhood advertising the opening of a new beauty shop. They were offering women a permanent wave, guaranteed to last three … Continue reading “PERMANENCE”

This idea was once expressed better by a simple-hearted man who was asked how he managed to live in such a state of constant tranquility even though surrounded by circumstances anything but pleasant. His answer was as profound as it was simple: “I have learned,” he said, “to cooperate with the inevitable.”… Though we cannot … Continue reading “PEACE:
IN TRIALS; TRIALS: ATTITUDE TOWARD; GOD: HIS SOVEREIGNTY”

Surely Bible-reading Christians should be the last persons on earth to give way to hysteria. They are redeemed from their past offenses, kept in their present circumstances by the power of an all-powerful God, and their future is safe in His hands. God has promised to support them in the flood, protect them in the … Continue reading “PEACE:
IN TRIALS; FEAR; TRIALS: GOD’S PRESENCE IN”

The world talks of peace, and by peace it means the absence of war. What it overlooks is that there is another meaning of the word, namely, tranquillity of heart, and without that kind of peace the peace of the world will continue to be but an unattainable dream. As long as peace between nations … Continue reading “PEACE:
INNER”

Peace of heart that is won by refusing to bear the common yoke of human sympathy is a peace unworthy of a Christian. To seek tranquility by stopping our ears to the cries of human pain is to make ourselves not Christians but a kind of degenerate stoic having no relation either to stoicism or … Continue reading “PEACE:
FALSE; CHRISTIANS: IN THE WORLD”

The wife of a prophet has no easy road to travel. She cannot always see her husband’s vision, yet as his wife she must go along with him wherever his vision takes him. She is compelled therefore to walk by faith a good part of the time—and her husband’s faith at that. Ruth 1:16; 2 … Continue reading “PASTOR’S
WIFE”