Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert…, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. (Deuteronomy 8:2) Elisabeth Elliot Elisabeth Howard Elliot Gren (1926-2015) was a much loved Christian missionary, author, and speaker. Through her writings and …
The Five Points of Calvinism (Part 2)
I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no Savior. (Isaiah 43:11) Originally written to answer questions at Belhaven University: “What are The Five Points of Calvinism and are they biblical?” I used it again recently in prison ministry. Introduction (Part 2) I agree with John Piper that the more we know the Lord (Father, Son, …
The Five Points of Calvinism (Part 1)
I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no Savior. (Isaiah 43:11) This article was originally written to answer questions at Belhaven University: “What are The Five Points of Calvinism and are they biblical?” I used it again recently in prison ministry. Introduction (Part 1) I love the Lord (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) because He …
Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost?
This article was originally written to answer a question at Belhaven University. God the Holy Spirit The Spirit is the third person in the Holy Trinity, equal to God the Father and God the Son in power, glory, and eternity. The Spirit, together with Father and Son, is to be believed in, loved, obeyed, and worshiped. In Jesus’ Great Commission, …
The Lord is Kind (Part 3)
You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness. Therefore you did not desert your people, even when they made an image of a calf….Show me the wonders of your great loving-kindness you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. (Nehemiah 9:17-18; Psalm 17:7) God (Father, …
The Lord is Kind (Part 2)
How priceless is your loving-kindness, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings….Answer me, O LORD, for Your loving-kindness is good; According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me. (Psalm 36:7; 69:16) Let’s never forget that God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is love, kindness, and goodness in Himself and in His dealings with human …
The Lord is Kind (Part 1)
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His loving-kindness endures forever. (Psalm 136:1) God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is love, kindness, and goodness in Himself and in His dealings with human beings. Evangelist John Blanchard remind us: The Lord loved us when there was nothing good to be seen in us and nothing good to be said …
Are You a Big-Godder?
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. (1 Chronicles 29:11) Dr. Wilson’s Story. Robert D. Wilson (1856-1930) was a Presbyterian scholar who devoted his life …
Thanksgiving: Give Me That Book!
(Excerpt from teaching and training classes, used also in pastoral counseling and prison ministry. I used this first at Windsor Village Methodist Campus, then at other places. It is adapted and expanded from Wesley’s Preface to Standard Sermons.) Christ said: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, …
Celebrating God’s Reformation
Used at Belhaven University and other places to answer the question: “What do Protestants believe?” It’s not the whole answer, but it’s a start. In Old Testament times the Lord used King Josiah to launch a great spiritual reformation near 622 BC.1 This reformation was sparked by discovering the book of God’s Law (all or part of the Pentateuch, the …