“And sounded and found it twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little further, sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.
“Then fearing lest we should have fallen on the rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern and wished for the day.”—Acts 27:28–29
Paul had expressed a desire to go to Rome; he is now on his way. He had hoped for a prosperous journey—it’s a perilousjourney. The twenty-seventh chapter of Acts records the perils of it. The text chosen brings us to the crisis. They were drifting, and the sensible thing to …
When the State Becomes God: What to do when government invades your God-given freedoms
To obey, or to disobey?
History is filled with stories of conflict between the church and state. More often than not, these conflicts happen when the state overreaches its proper role and stifles its citizens’ freedom of conscience, freedom of worship, and the right to propagate one’s faith. Perhaps one of the most egregious examples of this happened in the first century when Christians who would not declare “Caesar is Lord” were ostracized or put to death. This was based on the accepted dictum that if …
“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at …
Sunday, November 8, 1925, was a day of days for the members and friends of the church which had grown from the work that D.L. Moody started so long before. For years the congregation had met for worship and testimony in the building erected through the efforts of Moody and his helpers at the corner of LaSalle Street and Chicago Avenue. After the attendance outgrew that building, it was sold to the Moody Bible Institute and the congregation moved to the site of the present great church, where a wooden tabernacle was erected that served for some ten years. In …
“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.”—Psalm 92:12
There is a rabbinical tradition that this Psalm was composed and sung by Adam in the Garden of Eden to celebrate God’s great power in creation. The thought probably comes from the fourth and fifth verses: “For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.” But this is only a tradition. It is a fact, however, that for centuries this …
“And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.”—Matthew 8:11
Last Sunday evening I spoke to you on the different judgments mentioned in the Scriptures and especially upon the Judgment of the Great White Throne, Revelation 20:11–15.
Tonight I want to speak to you about the place to which everybody in this audience expects to go. It has pleased God to reveal a great deal more about Heaven than Hell, and yet with all that He has revealed, how very …
I’ve written a book, No Reason To Hide, with the intention of helping all of us think through how we should respond to the collapse of the basic moral and legal framework of the America we once knew. So, yes, this book deals with cultural and political issues.
I’ve often been asked, “Should the church even be involved in politics?” The answer is yes because politics cannot be separated from morality, and morality cannot be separated from Christianity. And if the church has nothing to …
“But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.” —Luke 5:24
Here is a story of the helping of the helpless. This man was absolutely helpless, and the sinner is absolutely helpless. The great trouble with men today in dealing with God is that they feel that somehow they can help themselves, and there is no help for them.
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” —2 Corinthians 9:8
Peter writes about “exceeding great and precious promises” by which we are made partakers of the divine nature. I think the text we have chosen surely comes under that classification. Not only have we great promises, but they are exceeding great and exceeding precious. The saints who are growing in grace and in the knowledge of the truth see more and more as the days go by the perfectness and greatness …
(Helpful to Sunday School Lesson of April 25, 1920, Ruth 1)
“There was a famine in the land.” When there is nothing left God does His mightiest work. So often in the hour of famine God gives a record of mighty work in the Bible. It was a famine that drove Naomi’s husband into this land of Moab, but no blessing could come upon him while there.
Abraham tried to get relief by leaving Canaan in a time of famine. We often try to get relief by turning to the world in a time of spiritual darkness, but there is …
