Caring, protective leaders is one of the greatest needs today. As elders, we are simply under-shepherds of the Chief Shepherd. There is no greater example of shepherding than that which the Lord provides in His capacity as “the good shepherd [that] lays down His life for the sheep.” In John 10, the Lord describes His […]
He made Himself of no reputation. Six times in Exodus 7-10 the Lord says, “let My people go that they may serve Me.” He wanted His people out of Egypt (the world) so that they would be free to serve their God. It is still the desire of our loving, heavenly Father that we […]
The schoolmaster gracefully retires. What did our Lord mean in Matthew 5:17-20 when He said He had not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it? The reader will do well to realize that this is no simple question. In two sentences (v.17), the Saviour summarizes the relationship between the whole of the […]
Wanting for nothing Before the Lord Jesus, we were all lost in our trespasses and sins. Ephesians 2:1 refers to this as being dead. Our sin had separated us from God, and, in that state, we were unable to commune with Him. This spiritual darkness has defined every human being since Adam and still […]
Seeking the greatest blessing We all know the joy a gift can bring. Children sometimes make gift lists (one of our sons once helpfully divided his list into “reasonable” and “unreasonable”) in the hopes of things to come. As we grow, our idea of the perfect gift grows with us. At some point, however, we […]
How did they “preach the gospel to “every creature”? “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom…” (Mt. 9:35). All? How many were there? In His final instructions to His own, the Lord expressed His desire that the Good News be disseminated as […]
Offense or defense? Matthew 16:18 is an interesting verse because most Roman Catholics misunderstand the first half of the verse and many Protestants misunderstand the second half of the verse. This verse tells us, “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the […]
Sense out of confusion The gift of tongues is one of the most controversial and misunderstood gifts found in the New Testament. We are first introduced to this gift in Acts 2, where it says, “And they [the disciples] were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the […]
Four words and four principles. There are in the New Testament four words that describe the gifts God has given to the church. First of all, they are called “spiritual gifts,” reminding us that they are given by the Spirit of God and can only be used rightly in the spiritual realm. They are called […]