Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
You might have heard our scripture text this morning and thought to yourself: “Here is another a dull message.” Of course, you were not referring to the scripture itself, but rather to what you expect me to say about it. And you could possibly be quite...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Not every member of the Lord’s church can be a pastor, preacher or prophet. For example, I believe that the Bible is quite clearly that ladies are not called of God to be pastors. There is a limited sense in which they can, and should be, deaconesses –...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
I thought about borrowing some words from Charles Dickens to use as our title this morning: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I ran into that quote a few days ago, in a short article about the best sentences ever written. Of course,...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
This is one of those scriptures which separates the liberals from the conservatives. You’d think that it would be the more theological scriptures which raise people’s ire, but it rarely ever is. Those scriptures may actually divide people, but they really...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
One of the most difficult aspects of this part of our study is bringing our subject back to the gospel. And if you have looked at the bulletin and guessed what my theme is for this morning, you might be thinking that this will be particularly difficult today, but...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
If I preached this intended message in many of the churches of our community, I would make a great many people angry. As I said last week, it’s not Biblical doctrine that makes people mad, it’s the application of those doctrines. It may be doctrine which...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
It is said that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, and I’ve abundantly proven in my life that it is true. This is particularly the case, when it comes to a little bit of the Word of God. Take for example, when Satan came to Eve. First, the Devil...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
I have plans to come back to this scripture next week, looking at it more theologically, but this evening I’d like to have a little practical, and Biblical, fun with it. Have you ever found that your first impression of the day determined the character of the...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Do you remember learning the first elements of mathematics – addition, multiplication, division and so on? For some of you it was a very long time ago, while for others it has only been a couple of years. Some of us are still learning them. I sincerely hope...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
I believe, and I have often said, that Paul was expecting the return of the Saviour during his lifetime. There are several scriptures which say essentially the same thing as this: “It is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
We live in a troublesome time with crime, disease, terror and natural disasters in the news every day. Some people look to civil government to answer as many of these problems as possible. They say, “we need to beef-up our defenses against internal and...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
In Paul’s day Rome was the capital of the Western world. It was the metropolis – in some ways similar to New York and in other ways similar to Washington D.C. It was said that all roads lead to Rome, and that meant a great deal of money and traffic,...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Last Sunday night we made an overview of this chapter. It was either a good message or a very poor one, because there was hardly a peep that night. There were few “amens” – hopefully because people were thinking – and then there wasn’t...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Nearly everyone here tonight has had to pass judgment on things throughout this day. What should I wear today, since I am going to House of the Lord? Does this blouse match this skirt? I would say, “Does this shirt match these slacks,” but most men...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
We return to an old theme this morning, but one which should be addressed once in a while. I say that, because it is something of which most people are wilfully ignorant. First, there are those who reject the Bible and concoct their own imaginative ideas about...
