Tag: faith
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Good things gone awry
Last Sunday afternoon we were talking about the rich young ruler in Mark 10. We noticed that the man thought about what he could ‘do’ to be saved. He asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life.” I know that this is a grammatical nuance, but I pointed out then (and…
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What Makes Church, Church?
Have you ever thought about what difference there is between worshipping God on your own by the lake and worshipping God with God’s people on a Saturday night or Sunday morning? Hebrews 10 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider…
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Faith in the Trenches
Sunday, we looked at the deliverance of Peter from Herod in Acts 12. It is an amazing passage of Scripture highlighting the power of God. It is also a profound example of fervent prayer. Yet, the part that I personally find so instructive is the response of the people. Acts 12:5 says, “So Peter was…
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Faith that is Self Evident
Last Sunday we looked at James 2:14-26. James has some hard words for those who do not live out their “faith”. He calls it dead. He asks if such faith can save anyone. He declares that such faith is useless. These are hard words. It gets even harder when he says that a person is…
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Where are We Going
Last Sunday’s message was intended to lay out a continuing vision for this new year. We looked at how God has blessed our church and its efforts to reach out to our community with the love of Jesus. Wow. God has worked! Yet, I don’t want anyone to think that projects are the vision of…
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Christmas Shadows
I was thinking last week about the dark things that we sometimes miss seeing when we talk about the first Christmas. We overlook that Joseph was about to abandon Mary. We tend to not talk about the babies that were killed by Harod. We gloss over Simeon’s blessing in the temple that includes declaring that…
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Preparing for Christmas – A Struggle of Faith
Sometimes we forget how much of struggle Christmas was for the first people who experienced it. I think of the struggle of Mary and Joseph as they made their way to Bethlehem. I think of the struggles of everyone who was visited by an angel. At each encounter, the angel had to say, “Do not…
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Thanksgiving
This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. Yet, I wonder how often we really have given thanks. I mean, it is one thing to utter the simple, “Thank you.” It is quite another to truly give thanks. Do we even understand how powerful thanksgiving is? God has said in His Word that the refusing to give thanks…
Pastor John D Jakes 