Everyone knows that spoken language and to a lesser degree written language is fraught with difficulties. Communication is probably the most important and necessary facets in building relationships, yet it can be one of the most destructive forces in failing relationships. To the Christian, who is by regeneration engaged in a supernatural relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the art…
Author: <span>Matthew Johnson</span>
I was contemplating the succinct nature of the Lord’s pattern prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) and how Christ could have said so much when saying “After this manner therefore pray…” but instead chose only a few words. Some of this prayer is obvious as a pattern. It makes perfect sense that Jesus would start the prayer and indicate we ought to pray…
Does anyone really enjoy traveling? I mean, I love seeing new places, but how much fun can it be sitting in cars, trains, or planes for hours without end. I don’t like traveling, but I love going to interesting destinations. In a completely non-spiritually minded post today, I want to highlight the top ten places I would like to visit…
Here is a list of 10 statements that have gripped my mind as I look back over 2010. Some are original with me, some are things that I have heard from others, and some are quotes. 1. “Pure Theology drives pure devotion.” Our desire and devotion to serve God comes from a pure, correct knowledge of who God is in…
Recently, I have been studying the life of Charles Spurgeon. He lived a fascinating life, one that cannot nor should be imitated, but could be learned from. I compiled my studies (in no way extensive or professional) and presented them to our church family on a Sunday evening. Here is the audio from that presentation if any are interested in…
There is probably no heart attitude that destroys one’s soul and robs a Christian of joy and delight more than bitterness. God commands the Christian to let all bitterness be put away since it is a work of the old depravity and not a part of the new creation we are in Christ Jesus. In Hebrews, the Bible teaches us…
For every Timothy who is ready to stand with you even at the expense of his own physical and mental well-being (I Timothy4:12-14, 5:20-23) there is a Demas who will forsake you because his present circumstances trumps faithful loyalty (2 Timothy 4:10). For every Epaphroditus who will fight with you as a fellow soldier who will minister to your needs…
There are times in life, when the Scripture seems to jump from the white pages with such lucidity that we wonder how it could be we read that a hundred times before and never noticed those words. That is how I felt this past Monday reading Psalm 35. A simple title, “A Psalm of David” whereas the previous Psalm 34…
As I was looking back through some of my sermons throughout 2010, I came across a short challenge (not an expositional sermon) I shared with our church family around the beginning of 2010. I titled it “My Passion For Our Church in 2010” (Yah, I know real original). But as I was looking through it, I was convicted and encouraged…