Pastor Gene In reading through the Gospels, it’s virtually impossible to miss the compassion of Jesus. It’s everywhere on display. It’s what drove Him to seek the lost, provide for their needs, heal their illnesses and urge them to Himself that they might be saved. The lesson of Jesus’ compassion was not lost on the early church. … Read more
Before He ascended into Heaven, the Lord Jesus told His followers to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit who was about to come. The Spirit was already “with” them, Jesus said, but He would soon be “in” them, and “in” them “forever”! The coming of the Holy Spirit would manifest itself in two profound … Read more
In Luke 14, Jesus made a provocative and troubling statement to the many who’d begun to accompany Him as His popularity increased. He said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be … Read more
“Follow Me,” Jesus said. Paul would later write, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” “I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel,” he told the church at Corinth, “I urge you, then, be imitators of me” (Mark 1:17; 1 Corinthians 11:1, 4:15-16). But following and imitating Jesus would come at … Read more
The power of modeling godly behavior is indisputable. Over and over again believers are encouraged to act wisely, to love generously and to live our lives with God ‘out loud’ so that others can see. Jesus told His disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. … Read more
There’s a beautiful and oft-overlooked promise in the book of Exodus. There, God describes Himself as “a jealous God” who visits “the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate” Him, but shows “steadfast love to thousands of those who love” Him and keep His … Read more
In theology, we love to put things in boxes! We do this with the things that make up God’s character, the things that make God God. We generally divide them into two categories which we call the communicable and incommunicable attributes of God. The communicable attributes of God are the ones that we can and … Read more
There is a ‘profaning’ of God in our culture, have you noticed it? To profane something is to make it common, to blur the line between the sacred and the ordinary. This has been one of the criticisms of Canadian author William P. Young’s 2007 book, The Shack. The Shack went from being a self-published novel … Read more
Zac Poonen is a former Indian Naval Officer who’s been serving the Lord in India for over 50 years as a Bible-teacher. He oversees a number of churches in India and abroad, especially the Christian Fellowship Centre, Bangalore. He is truly a remarkable servant of Jesus and a precious brother in the Lord. Zac writes, … Read more
“… that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2b). Throughout the centuries of Church history, many theologians and Bible teachers have tried to make sense of the will of God and how it relates to humans. Generally, three categories are suggested. The … Read more