Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
For the last couple of years, I have been reading to Judy after dinner, while I make her do the dishes. (It’s about the only way that I can get her to work.) And it’s the only time that I allow myself to read works of fiction, I’ve decided that if the book isn’t good...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
I gave serious thought to developing this scripture into a Sunday morning message. I think that someone with a little more skill than I could make it into a power evangelical sermon. The problem is that there is just so much contained in this theme that we’d have to...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
People who love the Word of God can have a tendency of becoming too detailed oriented in their teaching. For example, they might talk too much about the meaning of the opposing Greek and Hebrew words. Or they might fill their messages with far too much talk about...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
With modern technology, the exchange of information is almost instantaneous. As well as being a blessing, this can create minor problems as well. This morning, for example, just before the alarm went off, Judy and I awoke by the ringing of the phone. It was Fe...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
I need to tell our visitors that we are in the midst of a lengthy study of the Book of Acts. This is that New Testament book which details the work of the Apostles after the resurrection of Christ. You who are NOT visitors, may be thinking that we are taking a break...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
It is a doctrine of this church, and we sincerely believe that God is in sovereign control of His creation. Theologically we believe that He maintains a permissive will and a causative will. For example, the Lord has the power and authority to decree the elimination...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Let’s picture the birth of twin boys – they are fraternal twins, not identical twins. But obviously they have the same parents and the same privileges. They have the same honorable grandparents and great-grandparents. They go to the same schools and are even in the...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
In the age when Stephen lived and died there were similarities and differences with our funerals today. In every civilized society, caring for the remains of the deceased is an honorable profession. But customs vary between cultures and special situations. Notice...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
In my spare time I have been reading some of the ordination sermons preached by Andrew Fuller. They have been excellent, and they have been convicting. When I was first starting out in the ministry after graduating from Bible school, I scoured every used book store...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
In several ways chapter 8 begins a new chapter. We’ve already noticed that this marks the beginning of a new kind of persecution. In fact, Acts 11:19 seems to describe this as the “Stephen persecution” – “Now they which were scattered abroad upon the...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
It seems to me that we live in a day of superlatives. At least this is what we have been taught, and this is the way that we think. If our team doesn’t win the championship, or get to the Sweet Sixteen, then they are failures. If the Olympic athlete doesn’t win the...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
One of my joys is to introduce new words to your vocabulary. Sometimes I make up those words, and sometimes they are so old that people have forgotten them. Tonight’s word fits the last category. Some of you will know this word, but for many this will be a new one....
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
How many churches did the Lord Jesus directly start? (One). How many churches did the Holy Spirit directly start? (None). How many churches did God the Father start? (None). So how many churches did God start? (One). To how many churches did the Lord give His...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
To my mind, this is one of the most fascinating stories in the New Testament. It is a holy parenthesis in the history of the early churches. This unnamed visitor from Ethiopia bears some semblance to Melchizedek of the Old Testament; As far as we are concerned he has...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
I’ve mentioned my collection of books on pastoring and preaching; pastoral theology and homiletics. Nearly all of those books say something like: “Pastor, never preach your doubts.” If the preacher can’t be sure of his theme, then he needs to study it...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
Do you believe that God controls the weather? Do you believe that sees the weather and responds to it, correcting and adjusting as necessary, or does He actually ordain what the weather will do on any given day? Would you be surprised, if just after the Jesus said...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
If the doctrines of Calvary Independent Baptist church could be likened to a range of mountains, Then one of the tallest peaks in those alps would be “King James Bible.” Our church was founded upon a King James Bible; Its sponsoring church used the King...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
I think that there ought to be a spiritual law that says that every church of Christ must have at least one Ethiopian every month. By that I mean that sometime during the month when the Word of God is preached, Especially the gospel. That there be someone who listens...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
These verses are all about God’s grace. The Lord went out of His way, so to speak, to bring the gospel to this retreating sinner. All around this evangelistic visit in the desert is the mysterious and gracious:. From the providence which brought these men together to...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
This is the day in which most of Christendom celebrates the resurrection of Christ. I have no problem with celebrating Jesus’ resurrection, But I do have problems with the superstitious fashion which this celebration so often takes. Tradition should not be allowed to...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
The title of tonight’s message is: “The Creation of a Monster.” I want us to think about Saul of Tarsus as the ravening wolf of persecution. I’m not sure that many of us realize the magnitude and severity of Saul’s attack upon the Lord’s church. When the...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
According to my records this is the 88th time that I have preached on the subject of evangelism. Soul-winning is not the most common subject that I preach, but 88 messages are a fair number. And this is the 4th time that I’ve preached on evangelism thus far in this...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
Are you a Christian? There is still a majority of people of the United States who would call themselves “Christians,” whether it was true or not. Are YOU a Christian? As Christians, we pattern our lives after what we find in the Word of God – amen? People...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
The New Testament uses two separate Greek words to describe new Christians as “babes in Christ.” In his first letter, Peter says, “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
To me personally, one of the joys of this study is the way that I can read the same twenty-two verses again and again, and see different things every time I read it. There are often one or two things which jump off the page even to the most cursory reader, including...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
According to what I have learned, in 1990 the ten largest denominations in the United States, claimed to have 167,000 churches, and that number didn’t include our little congregation. I would guess that after14 years of growth, and if we added all those churches which...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
Let’s say that I was visiting at your house sometime this week, And as I walked through your yard, I picked up a common-looking stone. All of a sudden I remembered from my high school geology class, that this stone was made of a mineral which indicated that there was...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
Every three months or so, I get an envelop in the mail, inviting me to join the “Mystery Lover’s Book Club.” I’m not sure how I got on this list, but it probably has something to do with the fact that I’m a mystery lover. I like books and stories that...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
What would our lives be like, if suddenly it became illegal once again to worship the Lord as Baptists? This is certainly not out of the realm of possibility. There were days in American history when it was illegal to believe as we do today. And in many countries...
Jan 21, 2015 | Acts
Last Monday was the anniversary of a huge event – although I’m not sure that everyone would agree. Only the people my age or older can truly appreciate what this anniversary means. It was 50 years ago that an experimental oral vaccine was offered to the public in the...
