New Testament Teaching the Old Testament Way – Acts 18:1-11

When Paul traveled from Athens to Corinth carrying the gospel, he went straight into the synagogue. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah that Israel had been expecting for centuries. But the people rebelled against that truth and the Spirit’s conviction...

On Pleasing the Lord – I Thessalonians 4:1

This is a very strongly worded sentence. Paul says, “In addition to all that I have just written, I beseech you, and I exhort you… “I exhort you – not in my authority as an apostle, but in the Name of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ… “It is your duty,...

Six Wings of a Seraphim – Isaiah 6:1-3

The first temptation Satan ever laid before a human heart, has become his most persistent temptation. From day two up to this moment, Satan’s most common enticement to sin has been: “Yea, hath God said?” We have to fight against this in many different areas of our...

The Joy of the Most Serious – Hebrews 12:1-3

Paul refers here in verse 3 to something which plagues us all from time to time. When was the last time you became “wearied and faint in your mind?” If it hasn’t been recently, then you are a rare and blessed person. Most of us, from time to time, get emotionally...

Revelational Epistemology – Hebrews 1:1-2

I do a lot of my reading while exercising on an elliptical treadmill. I have a pencil in the machine’s cup holder and a little wire gizmo which keeps the pages of my book open. Whenever I see something which is worth remembering, I put a little pencil mark beside it...

How to Make a Fool of Yourself – Luke 24:13-31

The title of our little message for this evening is: “How to Make a Fool of Yourself.” This is a subject about which I am an expert, so I may have some insights you might be able to use. Our scripture is not unfamiliar. I think several preachers here over the last...

Essential Musical Elements – Psalm 96:1-4

I wonder if it would be too bold to say that Christians are commanded to sing? I know for a fact that King David often exhorted his citizens to sing and praise the Lord. And the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah did the same. “Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent...

Saintly Similes – II Timothy 2:1-6

I was going through one of my sermon idea notebooks, and at top of one page there was the word: “Christian.” Beside it was a scripture II Timothy 3. The rest of the page had only six words: “Undistracted soldier;” “Rule-keeping Athlete,” and “Hardworking Farmer.” I...

Jesus and His Bible – Matthew 4:4-10

I hope you are reasonably familiar with the Old Testament prophecies about the Lord Jesus Christ. I’ve never counted them, but I have read that there are 333 such prophecies. I remember that because it is such a symmetrical and easily remembered figure. Beyond the...

Prayer: Let’s Keep it Biblical – Matthew 6:9-15

Several years ago, in my reading, I heard an author utter three words on prayer without making any explanation or development. They struck me, so I jotted them down in my sermonic notebook, where they have been sitting ever since. Looking through that notebook on...

Influence, Testimony and Power – Job 38:25-32

Job had been struck down with disaster after disaster. He lost his wealth and his health; his children were killed and his wife, in her pain, had turned against him. He has been used by psychologists to illustrate the various stages of grief. At first he was...

Know Me: I am God – Psalm 46:10

Perhaps II John 4 and III John 4 don’t apply to me as directly as they did the Apostle John, but I’ll still use them. The Apostle wrote two separate letters in which he said in one: “I have NO GREATER JOY than to hear that MY children walk in truth.” And earlier he...

Prodigious Providence – Romans 8:28

I wonder if the Lord will ever let me know how many times during my life I have quoted this verse of scripture. Has it been a thousand times? Ten thousand times? I know that I have preached from the context of Romans 8:28 several times. And what a wonderful context it...

Three Heavenly Choirs – Revelation 5:1-10

I have been to the Fall Bible conference at the Bryan Station Baptist Church, in Lexington, several times. Each year I was there, on one of the last evenings of the conference, all of the preachers were invited into the choir loft, and we sang the hymn “How Great Thou...

Why Callest Thou Me Good? – Matthew 19:16-22

Obviously, we are going back to the text of Austin’s message two weeks ago and to my sermon last Sunday. I am also returning to a comment the Holy Spirit made in three recent Sunday School lessons. First, let’s consider the Lord’s introduction to His answer to the...