Introduction
A. Saul set out for Damascus with the intention of arresting all the Christians he could find in the synagogues there, but when he arrived, he preached that Jesus is the Christ.
B. When Saul of Tarsus was converted, he left no room for doubt in anyone’s mind that he was changed forever.
I. In Saul’s conversion, we see a dramatic change in him.
A. There was a change in his perspective (Acts 26:9)...
Discipline: A Test of Love
Introduction
A. Although discipline probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of great demonstrations of love, these two are always bound together.
B. True discipline is the training that corrects the mind and molds one’s moral character.
I. Love requires me to discipline my children.
A. This first involves constant instruction from God’s Word (Ephesians 6:4; 2 Timothy 3:13-17).
B. It also involves...
Matthew 1: The Women in Jesus’ Family Tree
Matthew wrote his gospel to persuade the Jewish community to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the awaited Messiah. With this aim, he started his writing by recording the genealogy of Jesus that proved that He was a legal heir of David’s throne through His perceived father, Joseph. Although Jewish custom on writing genealogies rarely included female names, Matthew went out of his way to include five women in his...
Darwinism—A Deadly Doctrine
As the words of a certain hymn say, “We live in a changing world.” In the past few decades we have seen men of science rid the world of dreaded diseases like smallpox and polio. We have seen these men strap astronauts into rocket ships, send them into orbit around the earth, and even land them on the lunar surface. They have probed the depths of space and unlocked many of the secrets of the human genome. Today’s...
David and Goliath
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31–32).
On March 19, 1966, the NCAA Division I basketball championship was played between the perennial powerhouse University of Kentucky (led by legendary coach Adolph Rupp) and little-known...
Fishers of Men
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs” (John 21:15).
In this text, we find Jesus once again on the shores of beautiful Galilee, on this occasion recruiting disciples from among the fishermen of Capernaum. It is remarkable to see how Jesus was able to take...
The Sermon on the Mount
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying… (Matthew 5:1–2)
Perhaps the greatest sermon ever preached on the planet Earth can be read in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of the gospel according to Matthew. This short, simple, but powerful sermon was presented by Jesus near...
The Good Shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1).
Probably a close second to John 3:16, this verse is (for good reason) among the best known in the entire Bible. What a comforting thought it is to us today––as it must have been to David, this psalm’s author––to know that the Lord is watching over us and has our well-being in mind at all times! The mystery behind God’s abiding love for man is one of which...
A Mansion Over the Hilltop
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know (John 14:1-4, KJV).
After a recent hospital visit, I found a...
The Fall of a Wise Man
In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people. So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives...