Jul 9, 2012 | Matthew
Forgive me for constantly saying that the Lord Jesus was speaking primarily to a group of His disciples. Even so with verse 13 He appears to go back to the subject of salvation – “Enter ye in at the strait gate….” It should never be assumed that all the...
Jul 8, 2012 | Matthew
I’d like to deal with two scriptures this morning. We will try to keep one eye on Luke 13 and the other on Matthew 7:13-14. You might want to keep one finger on one page and another on the other. As most of you know, life is a constant series of choices – doors –...
Jul 7, 2012 | Matthew
Even though in some churches this is an oft preached text – especially the more liberal ones – the fact is – I have never yet prepared a message from these words. I can’t say exactly why that is the case, but deep down in my soul, it might be out of rebellion. It has...
Jul 6, 2012 | Matthew
As I’ve mentioned a couple of times, the theme of this scripture is prayer, even though the word isn’t used here. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” If ye … know how to give good gifts unto your...
Jul 5, 2012 | Matthew
If a man wanted to be an expert in the world of molecular biology he must acquire a lot preliminary knowledge. He will probably not master the subject with only four years of college. He must understand biology, zoology, cellular biology, chemistry, genetics and...
Jul 4, 2012 | Matthew
As you know, the Bible spends a lot of time discussing, describing and instructing us in the subject of prayer. We have exhortations and examples galore throughout the Word of God. We overhear the conversational prayers between Jehovah and some of His great servants....
Jul 3, 2012 | Matthew
Ken Johnson and I were evangelizing door-to-door, when we had the opportunity to talk with a man on his porch. As far as I was concerned that visit was just like a hundred others that we had experienced. The man was self-righteous and religious – but also, he was...
Jul 2, 2012 | Matthew
There was a friend of Emperor Frederick III, who hated all the fawning, begging, and groveling which was done before the king in trying to earn his favors. One day he said to the monarch that he’d like to find a place where there is no hypocrisy – no...
Jul 1, 2012 | Matthew
Nearly all of us have had to pass judgment on various things throughout the day. What would be most appropriate for lunch? Does this shirt clash with my skirt or trousers? Will I get in trouble with my Mom, if I do what I’m tempted to do. You were driving to church,...
Jun 13, 2012 | Matthew
In checking my records, I could not believe that I found no recorded of ever preaching directly from this verse. That either means I’m not keeping very good records or I ought to be ashamed of myself. Without a doubt I have referred to this verse a thousand times...
Jun 11, 2012 | Matthew
Forgive me for employing an illustration which I have used before, but it’s personal, and it’s appropriate. Between Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta’s two largest cities, there is great deal of north/south traffic. And there are three primary methods of travel to cover...
Jun 9, 2012 | Matthew
It has been a couple of weeks, so let’s use tonight’s message as a review, but adding a little as we go along. Among the many things which Brother Fulton taught us last week is that one message cannot possibly plumb the depths of a great passage of scripture. But...
Jun 9, 2012 | Matthew
If I was a car salesman, I would want to be able to say, “My car is better than most.” I’d prefer to say that my car is the very best in its class. I would want be able to say that mine is superior to others in its class – in this way and in that item....
Jun 8, 2012 | Matthew
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of God’s young fathers had great jobs, wonderful self-discipline, frugal wives and contented children? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every Christian Father had enough money to retire at the age of 35? Then with great health and greater...
Jun 7, 2012 | Matthew
I sincerely hope that as this message develops this evening that it will sound familiar to you – it should. As I was reading and re-reading the next point in our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, I could see only two themes – fasting and hypocrisy. As you should be aware,...
Jun 6, 2012 | Matthew
As I’ve said repeatedly, what the Lord has given us in these verses is a model rather than a specific prayer for us to repeat over and over again. There is nothing wrong with using these words once in a while in your prayer life, but they must come from your heart...
Jun 5, 2012 | Matthew
We had a friend and member of our church in Calgary who had at least one unusual personal habit. It was to always clean his plate before he left the table – I mean to make his plate almost perfectly clean. There was usually a piece of bread served with the meal, and...
Jun 4, 2012 | Matthew
Three weeks ago, we looked at verses 9-13 as they were probably first intended – as a model for prayer. Then last week, I choose to delve a little more deeply, asking a different kind of question: “What does this model prayer teach us about God.” Now in looking at...
Jun 3, 2012 | Matthew
Let’s return this evening to the first part of the Lord’s model prayer. What do these two verses teach us about Jehovah? This is by no means a thorough study of theology – that was not our Lord’s intention, nor is it ours. But there are some significant things taught...
Jun 2, 2012 | Matthew
Our message for this afternoon dove-tails into this morning’s message. We could easy have two dozen lessons on various aspects of prayer. And it would be a profitable study, because I guarantee that there is not a person in this room who is as diligent and effective...
Jun 1, 2012 | Matthew
The Sermon on the Mount begins in Matthew 5 and ends three chapters later. In other words, don’t be mislead by the beginning of the new chapter. Christ Jesus began this sermon by saying some general things about Christian character. Then He made a few comments about...
May 25, 2012 | Matthew
We touched on the last verse of this chapter two weeks ago, but it certainly wasn’t very thorough. I don’t know whether or not I can add much to your understanding, but I’d like to try. It says what it says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in...
May 23, 2012 | Matthew
As we have seen, the Lord Jesus has been reminding us about the character and traits of His own people. They can be different from the world, and they are different from the world, because they have been born again – they have new hearts and regenerated souls. They...
May 22, 2012 | Matthew
We have been looking at illustrations of Christian righteousness, especially as compared to the pseudo-righteousness of the Pharisees. And as you have probably noticed, several of these are highly controversial. They were in Jesus’ day, and they still are today. And...
May 21, 2012 | Matthew
Thirty years ago I was asked to testify in a New Mexican court. I was told to put my hand on the Bible and swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Instead of complying, I turned to the judge and told him that as a Christian I never...
May 18, 2012 | Matthew
Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount was not preached in argument, or as an answer to the Pharisees. It was given to the disciples – to the first members of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. But that doesn’t mean that Christ wasn’t thinking about the heresies of the...
May 17, 2012 | Matthew
Probably not very many of you glance at the bulletin, specifically looking at the titles of the day’s messages. But if everyone did, there could have been one or two who took offence at this morning’s sermon. I’m calling it “Christ’s Hell.” “Hell” is one of those...
May 16, 2012 | Matthew
These verses and those in the context before and after it are extremely hard to preach – for several reasons. And perhaps as an illustration of that we might think of John 8 and the woman taken in adultery. If you’ll remember that scripture, Christ was teaching one...
May 15, 2012 | Matthew
I realize, and confess, that I often get caught up in the minutia of my Bible study – so much so that I don’t emphasize the principle that the Lord is teaching. By that I mean, I’m so concentrating on defining the words, and linking scriptures, that I fail to express...
May 14, 2012 | Matthew
Our Lord Jesus has told us that He did “not come to destroy the law.” It was not His purpose to destroy, dissolve, disannul, demolish, disintegrate or even diminish the law. Rather His first purpose was to fulfill the law in the sense of satisfying all its demands....
