Spiritual Sight
By Nate Stevens Beware of Shortcuts The History channel played a documentary on the Donner Party, and it made quite an impression on me. I’ve sworn off all shortcuts. The underlying cause of the tragedy that befell the Donner Party was a man named Lansford W. Hastings. For reasons that are somewhat unknown, but included […]
God’s Grace to Israel (Acts 13:13-41)
By Zane Hodges Just as Paul became prominent in works in vv 4-12, so now he becomes prominent in word in vv 13-41. The risen Christ continues to do and teach through Paul. Paul’s Sermon Paul’s sermon in Antioch of Pisidia falls naturally into a threefold division: Andres Israēlitai kai hoi phoboumenoi ton Theon (vv […]
Hurt by Those Who are Close
By Bud Brown We’ve all been mistreated by acquaintances, business people, and strangers. It is often inadvertent—an automobile accident or a good faith business venture gone wrong. Sometimes the wound is intentional—a merchant defrauds us, or a stranger commits a crime against us. Though they have hurt us, these people are still “out there.” It […]
Celebrity Pastors and Their Staff May Not Know
By Lucas Kitchen From Eternal Life! Believe to Be Alive (forthcoming) Celebrity Pastors May Not Know A few years ago, I attended a massive four-day conference at one of the largest churches in the nation. Its focus was to encourage and train church staff. Pastors and ministers from thousands of churches throughout the country come […]
Three Ways to Comfort a Suffering Friend (Job 2:11-13)
By Shawn Lazar I was reading an article by a woman who lost her brother, sister, and her sister’s children in a car crash. Horrific. She was in shock. For days, she walked around as if in a fog, unable to think clearly. Of course, friends offered to help. Several said, “Let me know if […]
Labor for the Food Which Endures (John 6:27-29)
By Bob Wilkin “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” […]
The Glory of the Lord (Mark 9:2-3)
By Ken Yates One of the exciting things about studying the Bible is that no matter how long we have been studying it, we can always learn something new. We have all studied a passage we have examined many times before and see something in it for the first time. I had such an experience […]
Asa Mahan’s Assurance
By Shawn Lazar Asa Mahan (1799-1889) was an Arminian philosopher and theologian. He was Presbyterian at a time when many Presbyterians were becoming Arminian (following the so-called “New Haven Theology”). Mahan was also the first president of Oberlin College when it was a revivalist school and not the ultra-liberal place it is today. He was […]
The Hand of God Prevails (Acts 12:6-11)
By Zane Hodges Acts leads all NT books in recording prison escapes (Acts 5, 12, 16). And all the rules for a prison escape are violated. For example, in Acts 12: 1. Light illumines their escape (v 7). 2. Peter is awakened, not by a whisper, but by a blow to his side (v 7). […]
Can We Be Sure That We’ll Persevere?
By Bob Wilkin Recently I ran across a quote by a Calvinist. He said that he was sure he was born again and eternally secure “without a doubt.” He went on to say that he was sure he would persevere, going so far as to say that even if he tried to walk in rebellion […]