(From a message given September 5, 2021 at Beatty Baptist Church) The parable we’re about to look at is found in in Matthew chapter 13, Mark chapter 4 and Luke chapter 8. It’s considered the first of Jesus’ parables, not because He spoke it first, but because it’s the one which shows us how to understand everything else Jesus taught. What is a parable? It’s a simple, easy-to-remember story used to help us understand something that is real. The way it works is you take what is known and apply that knowledge to what is unknown. Jesus spoke in parables to teach the multitudes and His disciples about God. Jesus didn’t give them theological lectures describing the character and nature …Continue reading →
Ever since Jesus warned His disciples of false prophets in Matthew 7:15, “wolves in sheep’s clothing” have promulgated their doctrine. Most of the New Testament epistles addressed the errors of various false teachers such as the Judaizers and Gnostics. But the New Testament warns us things will be much worse in the end times, just before Jesus returns, …and that some Christians would buy into the doctrines of demons: Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons… – 1 Timothy 4:1 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for …Continue reading →
(From a sermon I gave at Beatty Baptist Church on April 12, 2020.) For those of you who don’t know me, I’m the curious type. Always have been. When something interests me, I try to find out as much about it as possible. When I was young, I would satisfy my curiosity by reading National Geographic magazines and encyclopedia articles. In fact, I preferred reading to socializing. I’m still somewhat like that. Social distancing is not a problem for me. When I find something worthy of my interest, I want to know as much about it as I can. Satisfying my curiosity begins with asking the right questions. And my favorite question to ask is “Why?” During this coronavirus pandemic, …Continue reading →
And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God to him? … – 2 Samuel 9:3 David was a nobody, a tender of sheep, the youngest of eight children. But God raised him up to become the king of Israel. God showered grace and mercy on David throughout his life. With God’s help he defeated a lion and a bear. He gave him victory over Goliath and the Philistines. He protected him from the evil intentions of king Saul (and later his own son, Absalom). God’s presence was with David from the beginning. David was most thankful to be a recipent of God’s mercy, and he wanted …Continue reading →
And Noah began to be a husbandman, and planted a vineyard. And he drank of the wine, and was drunken, and he uncovered himself in his tent. And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren outside. And Shem and Japheth took the upper garment and both laid it upon their shoulders, and went backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were turned away, that they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and learned what his youngest son had done to him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; Let him be a bondman of bondmen to his brethren. – Genesis 9:20-25 On reading …Continue reading →
Introduction If you lived five-hundred years ago, you would have thought the earth to be at the center of the universe. It would have been hard to convince you otherwise, for we don’t sense the earth moving beneath our feet, but we do see the sun, moon, stars and planets spin across the sky. While various cultures around the world followed the geocentric model, it was Claudius Ptolemy (100 – 170 A.D.) who formally explained the motion of the planets as a combination of their orbit around the earth, plus a mysterious epicycle to explain why the planets backtracked at times in the sky. His theory prevailed for over 1200 years, not just because it felt true, but because it …Continue reading →
(From a message given May 27, 2018.) Did you know it’s impossible to lick your elbow? I may not know everything, but there are two things I do know about trying to lick your elbow. For one thing, I know it’s not really impossible for everyone. A few people can lick their elbow. But more importantly, I know that just by suggesting that it’s impossible, some of you will try anyway. Some years ago I spoke on some of the ways Satan attacks us, and how we are to respond to his attacks (https://dtjsoft.com/know-your-enemy/). I listed three different weapons Satan uses: The first weapon is deception. Satan is the father of lies. Whenever God tells us the truth, Satan contradicts …Continue reading →
…And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. – Revelation 7:17 (VW) By the end of the movie Schindler’s List, Oskar Schindler had saved many Jews from the Nazis. He had risked his life and spent most of what he had to save the lives of 1100 Jews. But when he received a gold ring from those he saved in appreciation of his efforts, he realized to his sorrow he had it in his power to save a few more. He could have spent his money more wisely, he could have sold his car, he could have sold his Nazi lapel to save more Jews. In a time of great joy, he was sorrowful. I see this as …Continue reading →
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ… – Ephesians 1:3 (VW) Everyone who is truly born-again is blessed. It matters not what your earthly situation is, you already are blessed with every possible spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. These heavenly blessings far exceed anything we could imagine now, and once we get to heaven, it will take all of eternity to comprehend them. But what about now? Are there earthly blessings awaiting us that we have not yet received? Well, yes, there are. But they’re probably not the kind that first comes to mind. Here’s what Jesus said about those who …Continue reading →
And so it was, after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, that Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath has been kindled against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Job 42:7 This is the key verse to understanding the book of Job. It is not a book about Job or about suffering but about the character and nature of God. God’s statement to Eliphaz, “…you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has,” should stir up serious and confusing questions in your mind, for on the surface it appears Job’s friends spoke right about God and Job didn’t. But …Continue reading →
