Used at Belhaven University and in the class: Christ-likeness—The Fruit of the Holy Spirit Our Lord Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”1 Christ brings us eternal life with God through His sinless life, His crucifixion and atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His eternal alive-ness, His presence with us, …
Hiding In Jesus
You are my hiding place. You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance….The Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. (Psalm 32:7; 94:22) A Gifted Hymnwriter William Orcutt Cushing (1823-1902) was raised in a Unitarian family, but through Bible reading, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, …
Free in Jesus, but Never Independent of Him
If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free….Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, …
Juneteenth and Liberty in Christ
Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (Romans 6:22) History of the Holiday Juneteenth, also known as Freedom or Emancipation Day, is a U.S. holiday that commemorates slavery’s abolition in Texas in 1865. The name combines June and nineteenth. …
All Your Anxieties
Cast all your anxieties, cares, concerns, and worries on God because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) Kelly Willard’s Example In 1979, Kelly Willard wrote a praise song based upon the Scripture above. It’s called the “Cares Chorus” and goes like this: I cast all my cares upon You. I lay all of my burdens down at Your feet. …
Christ the Great Reverser
C. S. Lewis’s story The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, imagines a fictional country under the curse of an evil witch. It’s “always winter and never Christmas.” Everything is hopeless until Aslan the noble lion comes to make crooked things straight and rough ways smooth. Aslan represents Jesus, the Son of God, who came to destroy the devil’s works.1 …
Christ’s Way of Mercy
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Proverbs 28:13) From my sermon preached at Iglesia Presbiteriana Oaklawn and other places. This Sermon Outline (handed out in English and Spanish): Christ Delights to Show Mercy Jesus Attaches Conditions to His Mercy We Must Not Conceal Our Sins We Must Confess Our …
Why Is Love the Greatest?
Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) One of you asked: Why does Paul say that Christian love is the greatest? Here’s my partial answer: 1. Christ-like love is greatest because it gives evidence of our salvation. 1 John 4:7-12 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love …
Getting God’s Guidance (Part 6)
Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his …
Getting God’s Guidance (Part 5)
The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity….Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war [or undertake other important things], obtain guidance….A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way? (Proverbs 11:3; 20:18,24) Pastor Octavius Winslow (1808-1878) warns, “Beware practical atheism which excludes …