The Blasphemous Sin of Defaming Others, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:49:26 PST

I'm encouraged again as I come to this text in James. As you know, we're studying this wonderful epistle of James and I draw your attention to chapter 4 with a thankful heart that you're here and that you're eager to study God's Word. What a joy and what a wonderful blessing it is. I thank you for your faithfulness and for the appetitive that you demonstrate for the things of God by your faithful attendance, not just to a service but to the hearing of the exposition of His precious truth.

The Blasphemous Sin of Defaming Others, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 14:25:50 PST

Tonight, we're going to be looking at the fourth chapter of James and I want you to open your Bible and I want to call your attention to two verses that we're going to be looking at. At first as I glanced at these two verses that really are a self-contained unit of thought, verses 11 and 12, I read them over, studied a little bit to determine just exactly what the text was saying and what it meant. And I thought, "Well, that's fairly simple, just two simple straight-forward verses, verses 11 and 12."

Paul's View of the Ministry, Part 1: Serving and Teaching

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 10:20:02 PST

I've entitled this particular of … chapter, Paul Looks at His Ministry. And in it we have Paul's perspective on his own ministry.

A Charge to New Testament Church Leaders, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 10:04:08 PST

Let's look at Acts 20 for our Bible study this morning. In our continuing series in the book of Acts, we are drawing ourselves to the attention of the Holy Spirit as He speaks to us in verses 25 through 38 particularly this morning. We're looking at Acts 20, verses 25 to 28 as a unit.

Apostolic Credentials, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 13:26:29 PST

Tonight we come in our study, continuing in the Book of Galatians, to chapter 1 and verse 10. Galatians, chapter 1, verse 10. And it deals with apostolic credentials. Apostolic credentials. Now, you'll recall, and in case you don't, I'll remind you, that Galatia was an area, not a city, and that when Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians, he was not writing to one church, but he was writing to several. He had founded several churches in Galatia traveling throughout that area on his first missionary journey, also on his second missionary journey and visiting there on his third missionary journey.

Drawing Near to God, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 11:47:52 PST

Let's open our Bibles again for our study of God's Word tonight to the wonderful epistle written by James...James chapter 4. I want to read to you verses 7 through 10 and then we'll look together at what the Spirit of God intends for us to understand from this text. James chapter 4 beginning in verse 7, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up."

Drawing Near to God, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 10:40:15 PST

James chapter 4...and we go back to the passage we began to look at last Lord's day, having to do with primarily verses 6 through 10, focusing mainly on verses 7 through 10. And I'm not going to belabor the point nor take time to give a lengthy introduction. We're going to have a busy week, we want you to be here for baptism Wednesday night and for our praise service Thursday night. You'll hear and experience a tremendous time. And so tonight I just want to share what we left off from last time regarding this passage. And if you weren't here I would really suggest that you get the tape on it, it's the heart of this whole epistle.

The Danger in Being a Friend of the World, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:01:29 PST

Well, it's so wonderful to be with God's people, to share in the songs of faith, the fellowship of those of like precious faith. And then to have that single great privilege of hearing the very voice of God as He speaks to us through His Word. I'm anxious that we all come to the Word of God together now so let's open our Bibles to James chapter 4. Our ongoing study of James has brought us to this great fourth chapter. We're looking at verses 1 through 6.

For the Love of the Church, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 13:11:49 PST

The love of the Christian for the lost. That's certainly one of the areas of responsibility for the Christian's love. The other one has been the study that we've been involved in for three messages, in the 20th chapter of Acts, and that is the Christian's love for the Church. We're called on to love the lost, to love those without the Lord Jesus Christ, to be concerned about them, to care for them, and so we are to love the Church as well.

For the Love of the Church, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 11:51:37 PST

Turning your Bibles to the 20th chapter of Acts, and we're looking at verses 1 to 17. You know I read this over for about three hours. When I first started this sermon, I said, Lord, what am I going to say about this passage? There's no doctrine here. There's no theological statement of any kind. There's not even an application of anything. And so I thought well I'll just cover all 17 verses in kind of a narrative fashion.

For the Love of the Church, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:34:32 PST

We continue this morning in our study of the 20th chapter of the cook of Acts. And what an exciting insight it is to the ministry of the Apostle Paul. And in this particular passage, we have kind of digressed from just the close verse by verse examination and kind of felt our way out into a little bit of the dimension of Paul's personal life has been kind of hinted at in this passage. And it's been a great joy.

The Danger in Being a Friend of the World, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 11:30:08 PST

Let's turn in our Bibles tonight for our time of study in God's Word to James chapter 4...James chapter 4. And we have an ongoing study of James' epistle. We're not in a hurry. It's a brief epistle and even if we take our time we'll get through this in my life time. So we are not pressed to run ahead of the things that the Spirit of God would lay upon our hearts as we study together.

The Riot at Ephesus

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 09:23:45 PST

Acts 19 and this passage dealing with the riot runs from verses 21 through verse 41. And it's very much just a narrative. And Lord willing, we'll get at least a good running start and maybe even all the way through. There's not a lot of doctrine here. This is one of those passages that is in stark contrast to our passage tonight in Galatians which is just deep theology. And this is very kind of simple historical narrative dealing with an incident that occurred in the city of Ephesus. And we'll endeavor however to allow the Holy Spirit to teach spiritual truth even through this historical event.

Earthly and Heavenly Wisdom, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 07:48:59 PST

Now tonight we're going to look at James chapter 3 in our Bibles as we examine the next in the sections of James' wonderful epistle. We'll be looking at chapter 3 verses 13 through 18, the subject is earthly and heavenly wisdom...earthly and heavenly wisdom.

Earthly and Heavenly Wisdom, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 16:10:31 PST

Let's open our Bibles tonight and we are going to study God's Word. I'm excited about what the Lord has for us tonight in James 3. James chapter 3 verses 13 through 18, and we've been trying our best for the last couple of weeks to get into this passage but been dealing with an awful lot of background that's been very, very helpful to us. James chapter 3, let's begin at verse 13, let me read you verses 13 through 18:

Earthly and Heavenly Wisdom, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:02:37 PST

Well, let's open our Bibles tonight to James chapter 3. And I am not really going to preach a sermon to you, that is something with a formal introduction, formal conclusion and a whole lot of points in the middle. What I really want to do is just have a little bit of a Bible study as we sort of approach this passage. Now we did this also last time, but there are so many preliminary considerations to really understanding the text here that we're taking a little time, particularly to look at the Old Testament in regard to what wisdom really is. After all, James refers to wisdom here and doesn't really define it. He assumes that the reader knows a little about wisdom and knows the definition of the wisdom that he's referring to. And since we can't assume that of all of us, because we don't have that Jewish background, we needed to fill in a little bit of the background.

Devoted to Destruction

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 08:36:43 PST

We're studying the Book of Galatians in our new study, which we began last Lord's Day evening. And this time we find ourselves in Galatians, chapter 1, verses 6 through 9. Galatians 1:6-9. And I'd like to read those verses to begin with. Galatians 1, beginning in verse 6. Paul, writing to the churches in the area of Galatia, writes, "I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another, but there are some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

Exorcism: True or False? Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:09:02 PST

Turn your Bibles to Acts 19. Verses 8 to 20 is our text for the continuation of what we began two weeks ago. And the Holy Spirit certainly is right on time. And the subject we are talking about is "Exorcism: True or False."

Why I Am Committed to Teaching the Bible

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 16:11:47 PST

I have never aspired to be known as a theologian, a polemicist, or an academician. My passion is teaching and preaching the Word of God...

Galatians: The Charter of Freedom

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:46:36 PST

If I were to entitle the Book of Galatians with a very simple title, I would call it The Charter of Freedom, The Charter of Freedom. Now, Galatians has been called, by other people in history, such things as the Magna Carta of spiritual liberty. It has been called the Christian's Declaration of Independence. It has been branded as the battle cry of the Reformation.

Humbling the Exalted--Exalting the Humble

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:01:22 PST

This morning we continue in our study of Luke's gospel. We come to Chapter 14 and verses 7-14. Luke 14:7-14. Some of you will remember some years back a very famous incident with a religious cult leader by the name of Jim Jones. It's become pretty much legendary. Jim Jones led his followers down to a South American country known as Guyana and there he managed to convince them to all drink Kool-aid laced with cyanide and hundreds of people committed suicide in a mass demonstration of how effective a leader Jim Jones was.

The Healing Savior vs. the Hypocritical System

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:52:27 PST

We return in our study of the word of God to the gospel of Luke, gladly do we do that. Eagerly have I arrived again here after many months of missing it and what a joy it is to come into the 14th Chapter. Chapters 14 and 15 of Luke's gospel are very significant chapters. There will be much material here familiar to you and yet you will see in its new insights wondrous things to behold. At this particular time in the life of our Lord Jesus, it is only months until His death. He is moving, although not in a direct line, from town and village around the area of Judea, ultimately headed to the final Passover in Jerusalem.

Divine Compassion for Those Deserving Condemnation, Part 5

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:31:37 PST

Well, living in a world of Tupperware and tinfoil and refrigeration, we're all used to leftovers, aren't we? And in fact, my mom used to feed us leftovers. Only she never called it that. She called it enthusiasm because she put everything she had into it. I feel a little bit like I'm giving you leftovers this morning. But let's turn to Luke Chapter 13. With apologies for those of you who haven't been with us, we are trying to work our way through two verses. And this week number 5 on two verses. No wonder it takes us so longer, but the truth here is so important for us to understand. It's Luke 13 and the final two verses of this Chapter, verses 34 and 35.

Divine Compassion for Those Deserving Condemnation, Part 4

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:41:42 PST

One of the things that I enjoy when I go to the country of Italy is the food. Not just the flavor of it, but the volume of it. It seems like every meal is five courses. And I'm not exaggerating. Some are six and some are seven. I feel a little bit like I'm inviting you to one course this morning out of five. This is really not fitting for a good host to do. And so I apologize for the fact that for those of you who haven't been with us in the past and won't be with us next Lord's day, you're just going to get one out of the five courses.

Divine Compassion for Those Deserving Condemnation, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:24:21 PST

We are drawn back into the text of Luke 13 in our worship this morning. Luke Chapter 13 and we are looking at the last two verses, just two verses, but oh are they monumental verses. We find ourselves in the third message on these two verses with even more to come. Verse 34, our Lord is speaking, Luke 13. "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills that prophets and the stones those sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together just as a hen gathers her brude under her wings. And you would not have it. Behold your house is left to you desolate. And I say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you say blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."

Divine Compassion for Those Deserving Condemnation, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:02:01 PST

Now we come to the time in the word of God which is so important for us, such a blessed time. Luke 13, verses 34 and 35; Luke 13, verses 34 and 35. We started to look at this brief text last week. We'll continue looking at it this morning and again next Sunday. And though it's only two verses, it opens up a whole world of important revelation for us. Let me read it to you so you have it in mind. Luke 13:34, "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together just as a hen gathers her brude under her wings and you would not have it. Behold your house is left to you desolate. And I say to you you shall not see me until the time comes when you say blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."

Divine Compassion for Those Deserving Condemnation, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 08:31:54 PST

This morning as we come to our time in the word of God, I want to draw you to the final two verses of the 13th Chapter of Luke's gospel. Luke Chapter 13, verses 34 and 35. In the words of our Lord Jesus as follows, "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together just as a hen gathers her brude under her wings and you would not have it. Behold your house is left to you desolate. And I say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

Exorcism: True or False? Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:19:53 PST

We're going to be looking at the total unit of Acts 19 verse 8 to 20. Acts 19, verses 8 through 20. And the title of the message is exorcism, true or false? There's only one use of the word exorcist in the New Testament and that's in this passage. It's amazing how the Lord times things, isn't it? Because we're just going through the book of Acts and we ran right into it here. Jesus came into the world the Bible says "to destroy the works of the devil."

Jonathan: The Man Who Would Not Be King

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:50:30 PST

Well tonight in our continuing look at some unlikely heroes in Scripture, and particularly for now in the Old Testament, we come to a man named Jonathan--Jonathan, the man who would not be king. And in order for us to tell the story, we have to begin in 1 Samuel, chapter 8. So take your Bible and open it. And as you know, if you have been with us, this is a little bit of a different approach than taking a text and dealing with that text. We are sweeping through great portions of Old Testament literature and we will essentially do that again tonight as we look at Jonathan. And this kind of fits a Father’s Day, because this is about sons and fathers. And as you will hear, when the story unfolds, all kinds of fathers and all kinds of sons will play roles in this part of the saga of the history of Israel and the purposes of God unfolding through them...

From Judaism to Jesus, Part 3: Have you Received the Holy Spirit?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:14:02 PST

Through Grace Church we ought to probably say for our first time guests we believe in two things that make the church what it ought to be. One is love. And that's an honest kind of biblical love. The other is sound doctrine. And so our commitment is not only to love the brothers and exercise the ministry of spiritual gifts and the responsibilities of fellowship to one another, but it is also to systematically verse by verse teach the Bible. Believing that if we protect the saints, the saints will do the work of the ministry.

From Judaism to Jesus, Part 1: Paul in Transition

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:42:21 PST

Coming to the 18th chapter of Acts, I've entitled this particular message, "From Judaism to Jesus." The story of the book of Acts has proven to us to be a study in transitions. I want to belabor the point for a moment, because I think it's important for you to understand that.

The Gospel in Vanity Fair, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:16:10 PST

This morning we come to, again, our study of Acts 18: 1-18, and I would encourage you to turn in your Bible and prepare your heart for what the Spirit would teach you through the Word. This is the story of the arrival of the Apostle Paul and with him the Gospel in the city of Corinth.

The Gospel in Vanity Fair, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:49:28 PST

Now, coming to chapter 18, we find ourselves with the Apostle Paul, on his second missionary journey. And as he comes to chapter 18, he is in the City of Corinth. And Corinth was the center of vice, and the center of immorality of the world of its day. Now, as we saw in our study two weeks ago, as Paul came to Corinth, the trouble that he was going to face was not only the trouble of that kind of a city, but it was the trouble that he himself was experiencing in his own life. As best we can ascertain, he was a very troubled man. He was discouraged. He was tired. He was weary. He was perhaps even ill physically. And so this was a difficult time, a most difficult city, and a most depressed man. And yet he knew, as always he knew in every city, that God had a ministry for him.

The Gospel in Vanity Fair, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 10:32:04 PST

Acts chapter 18, and this morning, we're going to begin our study and consider what really is one total message through verse 18. But we'll just go through verse 8 this morning. Paul gave some great advice to the Thessalonians. And he wrote to the Thessalonians through the city of Corinth. In fact, he wrote this advice right while he was experiencing right what we're going to study this morning. And this is what he said, "Let ye brethren be not weary in well doing."

Getting to Know the Unknown God, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 09:42:11 PST

Turn in your Bibles to the seventeenth chapter of Acts and we're back at our same old stomping ground here. Verses 22-31. The sermon that the apostle Paul preached in Athens. Not the only sermon he preached in Athens by any means. He was very busy preaching around Athens, but the only one that's recorded for us. We've entitled his sermon "Getting to Know the Unknown God". And this is the third really in the series on this particular occasion and on this particular sermon.

Getting to Know the Unknown God, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:48:31 PST

Now, we are studying in the seventeenth chapter of Acts the familiar portion of the life of Paul, the days that he spent in the city of Athens on his second missionary journey. We're progressing through the Book of Acts in our study. And finding ourselves in seventeen, we find ourselves with Paul alone in Athens. And when he comes to Athens, he is overwhelmed by the idolatry of the city. They worshipped thousands upon thousands of gods. Their artwork is all a matter of their religion. In other words, the gods are the great masterpieces of art. And so, we see a city that is tremendously cultured, but at the same time, greatly idolatrous.

Getting to Know the Unknown God, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:33:57 PST

Our study this morning takes us to the seventeenth chapter of the book of Acts. And the title of the message is "Getting to Know the Unknown God". "Getting to Know the Unknown God". We always look at the Word of God here at Grace Church because this is the authoritative voice of divine Revelation. One of our elders was sharing in our prayer meeting in early hour this morning that he had a prayer answered because he knew of a pastor he'd been praying for who is very liberal and all of that and he said that he got word that this pastor had stood up before his congregation and said that he was being convinced that the Bible was authoritative. We believe that it is authoritative. We believe that it was written by God Himself. And it reveals His truth. And so we without any hesitation or without any defense always open the Bible when we begin to talk or when we begin to study.

God's Man Confronts Satan's City

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:50:41 PST

Now I have entitled this message for my own sake, God's Man Confronts Satan's City. It's the story of a man and it's the story of a city. Not just any man, the Apostle Paul; not just any city, Athens. Maybe there was never a greater man and maybe there was never a greater city. And here theymeet head on.

Ligonier Interview with John MacArthur

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:52:10 PST

John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul have been friends and ministry partners for several decades. They’ve taught at the same conferences, shared the same convictions, and, when necessary, fought the same battles against doctrinal error and false teaching.

Men Who Turned the World Upside Down, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 11:50:57 PST

We entitle it, The Men Who Turned The World Upside Down, and it covers the first 17 verses of Acts, chapter 17 in our continuing study. Now the world went haywire at the fall, there's no question about that, it slipped off its spiritual axis when Adam sinned. And it was a twofold problem, Adam not only fell and became cursed but the globe went with him. So, that earth itself is cursed, there's a cursed earth and in that cursed earth lives a cursed man. And consequently, it's very interesting that man is rather comfortable in his sinning, isn't he? And the reason for that is simply this, you put a cursed man in a cursed system and he's gonna get along with his system, pretty well. It's when you apply righteousness to that cursed system that you make waves. And that's why the truth of God, throughout all history, has tended to flip man's world.

Men Who Turned the World Upside Down, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:28:13 PST

As we approach the 17th chapter, the Apostle Paul, along with his friend and co-missionary, Silas, have just been released from jail in Philippi. Actually, God did the releasing. Shattered the jail by an earthquake. The church in Philippi has been established in the namely the name of Lydia and her household and the jailer and his house. There's a little congregation of believers there.

Guard Your Purity, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 05:47:18 PST

A key and often overlooked aspect of God’s goodness is that He doesn’t give us commands we cannot fulfill. He doesn’t taunt us with impossible directions or challenge us with tasks beyond our ability. Part of the assumption in each of God’s commands to us is that, through the assistance of His Spirit, we’re able to do what He has commanded us to do.

How to Turn Persecution into Production

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:43:48 PST

As we come to the 16th chapter of Acts, we are coming, really, to a chapter that is going to, I think, leave an impression on all of us. It's one of those chapters that you always remember, just the record, alone, of Lydia and her marvelous liberation. And I've appreciated, so much, the interesting comments of you folks over that little study we've done. And then the little incident about the woman who was possessed of a demon.

The Salvation of Israel

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:30:28 PST

Let’s open the Word of God to Zechariah chapter 12, Zechariah chapter 12. While you’re turning to Zechariah, he is quite a remarkable prophet, Zechariah. Prophesied in about 520 to 518. Prophesies after the Babylonian captivity is over and the people of Israel have been released from Babylon by Cyrus. They’ve come back to the land. He’s what we call a postexilic prophet. He’s prophesying to the people in the newly constituted nation of Israel. They’ve gotten their life back. They’re in their country, and he encourages them to restore their love for God, their worship of God, and to build the temple. And he encourages them in that by prophesying the Word of the Lord to them--that the Messiah will come, the Messiah will come...

Gideon and Samson: Stories of Weakness and Strength

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:29:16 PST

Welcome to all of you as we gather together this evening to continue our series in unlikely heroes. For those of you who are visiting with us, this will all and much more be contained in a book called Unlikely Heroes which will be available, I think, in August or in September. But we don’t want to just have the book; we want to share these amazing accounts of people that God used that appear on the surface to be very unlikely as to their usefulness. And I’ve often said that God uses unlikely people, He uses flawed people, He uses failing people, He uses sinful people, because if He didn’t, He wouldn’t have any people to use. So we hear another account of how God uses for His own purposes and His own plans those who on the surface appear very, very unlikely...

The Enslaved Woman

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:16:28 PST

Now, in our study of this marvelous history called the book of Acts written by the Holy Spirit to give us the information regarding the growth of the church from its birth till it reached Rome, we find that we are in the 16th chapter and the gospel has just reached Europe. It started in Jerusalem, then to Judea, Samaria, and now it is penetrating the uttermost parts of the earth. It moved into Asia when it was founded in Antioch and spread to Galatia. It is now moving to Europe, going further west. And we find that in chapter 16, verse 11, Paul and Silas and Timothy and Luke, who is picked up here in Troas, set sail from Troas on the Aegean Sea there, the east coast of the Aegean Sea. And they go across to Neapolis, which was the port of Philippi and, thus, they are in Europe and the gospel, then, has penetrated Europe.

A Truly Liberated Woman

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:01:15 PST

I've entitled the message, Portraits of Two Women. I thought about all different kinds of titles but that's the one I settled on. I’ts inoffensive in any way shape or form. The two women we're going to talk about one is transfigured and the other is disfigured. And I thought I could have spoken on figures of women but someone may have misunderstood. So we're going to call it portraits of two women and, you know, save ourselves from any embarrassment. A transfigured woman and a disfigured woman or if you will, a liberated woman and an enslaved one. And today, particularly we're going to talk about a lady that I call Lydia the liberated lady. And next Sunday we'll get to the second one.

Evangelism the Right Way

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:50:52 PST

I've entitled this message, "Evangelism the right way." Ever since the Lord Jesus Christ commanded us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature we have been busy pursuing the ministry of evangelism. The church has done this since the very statement of Christ, and I suppose there are as many methods as there have been weeks since Christ said that. There are all kinds of approaches. There are multitudes of different efforts that have gone on throughout the history of the church in different climates, in different cultures, in different periods of history, all under the area of evangelism. There are multiplied thousands of different tracts and pamphlets and printed devices that can be used today in evangelism. There is everything from a very simplistic presentation of basic verses to a very sophisticated media presentations of Christ, very complicated approaches as opposed to simple ones.

Is Salvation by Law or Grace? Part 5

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 10:49:35 PST

Acts chapter fifteen for our study this morning. Now wrapping up the fifteenth chapter, and I've reviewed sufficiently enough to just make a very brief few statements in regard to review. But I am going to try to wrap up this chapter which is pretty much repetitious now of what has been decided earlier in the chapter. You'll remember that the people had faced a very serious issue in the early church. The gospel of grace had been preached, that is a man is saved by grace through faith. And that salvation, that is a relationship with God comes when God offers a free gift which man simply takes, and that man doesn't have to do anything to earn that. And Paul had preached this message to Gentiles, and Gentiles had believed and churches had sprung up in Antioch, in Cyprus and in Galatia. But fast on the heels of Paul and Barnabas had come men known as Judaizers, called the circumcision party.

Is Salvation by Law or Grace? Part 4

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 08:55:21 PST

The title of the fifteenth chapter verses 1 to 35 simply is, The Salvation Question: Law or Grace? Now the salvation question, law or grace is the crucial issue in this chapter, and it is the crucial issue period. If you were to understand everything about Christianity and not understand the doctrine of salvation, everything else wouldn't do you any good. You’d spend all your eternity in hell going over what you knew, and find it unrelated to the real issue. Salvation is the issue. How a man comes into the relationship to God is the crux of everything.

Is Salvation by Law or Grace? Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:04:07 PST

Part 3 Love' Perfect Law of Liberty Acts chapter fifteen is the story of the Jerusalem Council. The early church first convening on the crucial question of how a man is saved and we have been studying it now for two weeks this being our third week, and we have learned how the Apostles defended the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith plus nothing. And then having defended that they entered into the area of fellowship. It's one thing to be saved by grace but are there any rules, if not in salvation, are there any rules to the conduct of a Christian in relation to other Christians? And that really is the subject which we want to discuss today.

Is Salvation by Law or Grace? Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 14:12:57 PST

We’re continuing our study this morning in the fifteenth chapter of Acts. In Acts chapter fifteen, we have the great record of the council of Jerusalem. The church faced its first crisis on a church wide basis, and it was the crisis of what is the doctrine of salvation? Some were trying to teach that a man was saved by grace plus works. Others were believing that a man is saved by grace alone. And so the conflict ensued. The conflict was resolved in the council of Jerusalem. The record of that resolution is in the first 35 verses of Acts 15, and so those 35 verses need to be taken as a unit which we have done. We began with Part 1 last time, Part 2 this time, Part 3 next time.

Is Salvation by Law or Grace? Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 09:52:50 PST

Acts chapter 15 is our study for this morning, and again we're going to consider the chapter as a unit and divide it into several parts, and this will be part 1.

Guard Your Purity, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 06:08:28 PST

You probably hear a lot about how much our society has progressed. Whether it’s technological or scientific advancement, breakthroughs in medicine or manufacturing, or any other area where progress can be measured, we’re eager to see how far we’ve come. At the same time, the culture is willfully blind to how it’s regressing.

Qualities of a Great Missionary, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:36:24 PST

Turn in your Bibles to the 14th chapter and take a look with us at what is part three of our study of the 14 chapter, Qualities of a Great Missionary. Really these are qualities as we've said of any great servant of Christ, be he a servant at home or on a foreign field. Qualities of a Great Missionary is the theme, and in the verses that make up this chapter we find flowing out of the narrative as we have said in past weeks the principles are the qualities or qualifications of effective service.

Qualities of a Great Missionary, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:02:36 PST

Coming to the 14th chapter of Acts, we come to the continuing story of Paul and Barnabas, companions on the first missionary journey to the Gentiles. The good news of Jesus Christ in the Book of Acts started in Jerusalem. It spread to Judea, Samaria, and now the first two missionaries, Paul and Barnabas, and if ever there is a pattern for what a missionary ought to be, here it is. The 14th chapter of Acts narrates their journey through the area known as Galatia. Galatia is not a city; it is a region. And within the region of Galatia, there were many states and many cities and in their travels through Galatia recorded in the 14th chapter, they exhibit the characteristics or the qualities of truly effective missionary and so the title of our two-week study, which began last time, is "The Qualities or Qualifications of a Great Missionary." What really makes somebody effective in the service of Jesus Christ?

Qualities of a Great Missionary, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:46:02 PST

In our Bible study for this Lord's Day, we find ourselves in the 14th chapter of the book of Acts and we invite you to turn with us to the 14th chapter. The Spirit of God has laid upon our hearts this most wonderful passage for today. Really, the whole chapter is taken together in this message and so we'll be taking it, as we often do, in parts but in the 14th chapter, verses 1 through 28, we find what I have entitled "Qualities of a Great Missionary." Now it could well be entitled qualities of a great servant of Christ any place, not necessarily a missionary, whom we assume to be somebody on foreign soil, but since the passage deals with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, certainly these are qualities of a great missionary.

The Troubling Gospel

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:28:48 PST

Coming to the 13th chapter of Acts, we have been studying, beginning in verse 14, the ministry of Paul and Barnabas in the city of Antioch. Antioch was in a region called Pisidia which was in a larger area called Galatia. This is the first missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas were two of the five pastors of the church in Antioch of Syria, a different Antioch, and they had been called of the Holy Spirit to go out and carry the gospel to the pagan world, to the Gentile world. Their first adventure was on the island of Cyprus, and that we saw in the first 13 verses of chapter 13. The gospel spreading to the Gentile territory began its conquest in Cyprus. They had a wonderful time there, ran into conflict with Satan face to face through a magician, a demon-possessed sorcerer. They saw victory in the life of Sergius Paulus who was converted. They went on from there to the second stop on the first great missionary journey and that is in the city of Antioch.

Paul Preaches Jesus, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:10:43 PST

You have your Bible, turn to Psalm 2, because I feel that Psalm 2 sets for us a backdrop for what we're gonna study in Acts chapter 13. We're gonna be studying this morning, Jesus, the culmination of history. Psalm 2 is an Old Testament prophecy delineating for us how history will culminate in Jesus Christ.

Satanic Opposition to a Spirit-Filled Church, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 11:22:58 PST

Now as we have continued to study the book of Acts we have been exposed to the blueprint of the church. Our Lord designed the church. It is our Lord's church. He is the one that builds it and He has some very precise plans for its building and its operation. And I hope that several things are happening as we're studying the book of Acts. One of those is I hope that it's iconoclastic in a sense. That is I hope that it smashes some idols about the church, because I think that for many years through the filtering in and out of church history and culture and so forth the church has very often substituted its form for its real life. It has substituted its ritual for its reality. It has become an institution instead of life. It has become a business instead of a body. It has become a kind of professional pulpitism sponsored by lay spectators rather than a ministering organism and I hope that somehow as we study the book of Acts, even as we did when we studied the book of Ephesians, we are smashing some old idols about the church and that we can kind of get down to the basis of what the New Testament church is to be.

Satanic Opposition to a Spirit-Filled Church, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 09:55:58 PST

We've said many times the book of Acts presents for us the standards and the patterns and the blueprint for the church by way of example. The book of Ephesians presents them by way of theology or doctrine and here we see them in living reality in the book of Acts. All the way through our study of the book of Acts, which we've pursued verse-by-verse we have continually been made aware of principles that apply to the church. And since we are the church there couldn't be anything more important than understanding who we are and what is required of us. We've seen, for example, in Chapter 2 of Acts the pattern of the church in its own light. We saw how the church was to be involved in fellowship, prayer, the breaking of bread, and the doctrine of the apostles, and we saw how the church shared its faith and how it grew, and how it handled persecution, how the church is to be in the world a catalyst for God without any shame and without any fear, bolding proclaiming Christ. We saw all kinds of ingredients that make up a really dynamic church.

The First Gentile Church

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 09:27:43 PST

Our study takes us this morning to the 11th Chapter of Acts. We're continuing in a study of the book of Acts coming to Chapter 11. We have been studying in Chapter 10 four weeks in a row, that one chapter, dealing with salvation to the Gentiles. We know that originally in the book of Acts Jesus said, "After the Spirit of God has come upon you, you shall be witnesses, My witnesses, and you shall be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth.

The Salvation of the Gentiles, Part 5

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 08:51:56 PST

Some of you may remember reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at some time in your life; and, if you did, you will remember there was a rather troublesome character by the name of Huck Finn; and Huck Finn was in the...the simplest sense a rather undesirable type. On one occasion, Huck had tried to infiltrate Tom's gang; and the dialogue went something like this, as reported to us by Mark Twain:

The Salvation of the Gentiles, Part 4

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 08:30:27 PST

As you are well aware, this Easter season commemorates the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ...The resurrection is the greatest event in history. It is not just the greatest event in history to Christians. It is the greatest event in history period. It's only that some people haven't recognized it as such. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ came into the world to die. He Himself said, "For the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many." He came to die. He also came to live again. In John chapter 2 verses 19 and following, He said to the leaders of Israel in the temple, He said, "Destroy this temple. In three days, I'll raise it again." At the home of Mary and Martha, He said, "I am the resurrection and the life." On another occasion, He said, "Because I live, ye shall live also."

Paul Preaches Jesus, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 08:12:18 PST

Turn in your Bibles to the 13th chapter of Acts and just hold there for a moment as we look at a...an introduction to set our sights on what it is that God would say to us this morning. The Bible is the record of Jesus Christ. It is God presenting Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, the Savior of the world; and whether you're talking about the Old Testament or the New Testament, they are both equally concerned with presenting Jesus Christ. The Old Testament presents the Christ who will come. The New Testament presents the Christ who did come. Jesus Christ Himself, for example, said that He was the subject of the Old Testament when He said this, "In the volume of the Book, it is written of Me." Christ's portrait in the Old Testament looks forward. Christ's portrait in the New Testament looks backward, but it all focuses on Jesus Christ; and so both the Old Testament and the New Testament reveal the divine, sovereign hand of God as the master artist painting a portrait of Jesus Christ...

The Salvation of the Gentiles, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:14:37 PST

We have been studying Acts chapter 10 in the flow of our study of the Book of Acts, and we've been learning so many practical points. In this particular chapter, we have the account historically of the communicating of the Gospel to the Gentiles. Now, without being repetitious to the point of annoyance, let me just remind you of this thought: that Jews and Gentiles have been antagonistic for centuries by the time we come to Acts 10; and the moving of the Gospel to the Gentiles to include them in the church is a monumental, cataclysmic event. Very, very important, and that is the theme of the 10th chapter as Peter is chosen by God to be the instrument to carry the Gospel to Cornelius and others of his household who come to Christ; and that begins the inclusion of the Jews and Gentiles into the one body, which welds together the body of Christ, not only in Jerusalem, but in Judea, Samaria, and now finally the outermost part of the earth.

The Salvation of the Gentiles, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:04:40 PST

Turn in your Bibles to the 10th chapter of Acts, and we are going to continue our study in Book of Acts this morning with a very, very important juncture in the history of God's redemptive unfolding. We come to the time when the Gospel is taken to the Gentiles. Peter unlocks the door to the Gentiles. Acts 10, and we'll begin our study in about verse 20.

The Salvation of the Gentiles, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 15:28:15 PST

This morning in our study of the Book of Acts in which we are continuing to study week by week, we come to chapter 10; and chapter 10 of the Book of Acts would certainly be a primary consideration in a missions emphasis; because Acts chapter 10 deals with a great missionary principle and a great missionary historical fact. The Gospel had been committed, first of all, to the people in Jerusalem; and then the Gospel had been taken to Judea and Samaria; and, finally, the design of God was to take the Gospel to the uttermost part of the earth. And our Lord Christ had laid out this master plan of evangelism in Acts chapter 1 and verse 8.

Marks of an Effective Personal Ministry, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 15:17:39 PST

If you have your Bibles, turn to Acts chapter 9, and we'll take up where we left off last time. One of the things that I learned in seminary, not very well, but nevertheless they taught it was that you never preach part of a sermon. You always finish it so that it's in total; and I have never really thought too much about it, because so many times, I just trust the Spirit of God, and I get going on some particular thought; and, pretty soon, the time is gone. I just pick it up where we left it; and somebody came to me last week and said the Lord had used that sermon in their life, even though it wasn't very organized. And so I felt better about that, but I'm sorry for the lack of organization for you who, like me, need that. It's very comforting to be organized.

Marks of an Effective Personal Ministry, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 11:26:09 PST

For our guests, we would just mention that we've been studying the book of Acts for some time and are in the process of going through the 9th Chapter, just having concluded the section on the conversion and transformation of Saul of Tarsus in to the apostle Paul. And now we're coming back to a study about the man Peter. And Peter is a fascinating, fascinating disciple and we all are richer because of his life. And I've entitled this passage, kind of with two titles, the miraculous ministry of Peter, but perhaps a more direct title in terms of what I'm going to talk about is the marks of effective personal ministry. The marks of effective personal ministry. Because as I studied this passage I couldn't help but focus on the very basic principles that are exhibited in this personal ministry of Peter.

The Transformed Life, Part 4

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:46:14 PST

Father, we thank You that we now can approach Your truth. What a joy Lord, what a privilege to meet like this. To be able to open the Book. God help us to consider carefully the privilege that is ours to set our hearts to learn. May we hear with spiritual ears. We pray the Spirit of God will be our teacher, keep the human voice from error. May only that which is true and from Thee be spoken. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.

The Transformed Life, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:15:24 PST

This morning we come again to the 9th Chapter of Acts in our study, and I'd like to ask you to turn there in your Bible if you will. We're studying through the book of Acts. We find ourselves in the 9th Chapter. We're dealing with the subject the transformed life and this is part two or part three really perhaps if you consider the first nine verses of the chapter as part of the whole transformed life of Saul and certainly it should be considered. We come then to this account of the conversion and the transformation of the man Saul of Tarsus.

The Transformed Life, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:47:50 PST

In Acts Chapter 9 we study really the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. We're going to follow the subject the transformed life from verse 10 through verse 31. Now we'll never be able to cover all of that. We'll get to about verse 17, but it really is one unit and we see in it the characteristics of a transformed life. Now that's a very interesting subject, the subject of transforming people. And that's really what this world is endeavoring to do. Recently Phyllis Diller, whom you all know, the comedian had a very expensive facelift. And at the particular interview that I happened to watch, she said that it transformed her life. I don't know about that. I do know it transformed her face. I don't know what it did for her life or what it will do in the long-run.

The Transformed Life, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:34:03 PST

If you have your Bibles, turn to Acts, chapter 9. Now, here we come to one of the great days in the history of the church, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. The importance of this conversion is indicated by the fact that it's mentioned three times in some detail in the Book of Acts: chapter 9, chapter 22 and chapter 26. Anything repeated that frequently has a great significance. It also is alluded to many times by Paul himself in his writings in his epistles.

The Faith That DOES Save

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:06:07 PST

Take your bible, if you will please, and turn to the eighth chapter of Acts beginning about verse 25. And we're talking about Philip and his encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch. We've entitled the message "The Faith That Does Save". Whenever the bible has narrative scripture, whenever it is as opposed to theology in Romans, narrative and historical we want to look into the history of it and the narrative of it and see where the principles are that can become spiritual principles. And so we take a narrative passage like this and try to milk it dry of all the potential spiritual principles that are in it. And I might say that I have found so many here that I have long ago this week given up on the possibility of contributing all of them to one message which I know makes your heart glad. But anyway, that's how it is.

The Sovereign Servant, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:00:39 PST

Open your Bible to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah for one final time. This is message number ten in this series and I will tell you that it is with great reluctance that I say farewell to this. It has found its way, has this chapter, into the fabric of my soul, into my spiritual DNA. But then again, every passage seems to do that to me. This one, however, rises above the rest in so many ways. I’ve tried to share those with you in the last nine hours that we have gone through this chapter...

The Persecuted Church Reaches Out

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:53:17 PST

Let's have prayer. Father, we come to You now and we ask in a special way that You might really teach us...speak. We don't want just to hear a voice, a voice that is human, a man's voice. We wanna hear You speak. So Father, help me to be able to allow You to speak through the text, so that this can be the time when the Spirit is our teacher. Give us ears to listen, hearts to hear. In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Stoning of Stephen

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:13:23 PST

For our study this morning we come to the closing portion of the seventh chapter of Acts, and this is not only the closing of the seventh chapter of Acts, but it's the closing of the life of Stephen. This is a very dramatic and a very interesting and a very instructional part of the Word of God. I think very often it is passed over and kind of filed because, as so many passages, we know a little bit about it, therefore, we think we know everything about it.

Stephen's Powerful Sermon, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:54:47 PST

Let's bow in prayer. Father, we do thank You for the day that our blessed Christ was born. We thank You for the day that heaven came to earth, God became a man, the day that Jesus Christ began to walk with us. We thank You that He grew up and died and rose again, that He lives within us, that He returns soon to take us to be with Him. Father, for all that Christmas is to us, we are grateful. And, Father, as we hear the words of thy blessed servant, Stephen, today, we pray that we might indeed be focused upon not so much him but upon the Christ whom he desires to exalt. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.

The Man with the Face of an Angel

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 11:58:16 PST

Let’s have a word of prayer as we approach our study this morning. Father we do thank You that the privilege is ours to look into the book. Father we pray that as we examine the life of this most wonderful man, Stephen, that our hearts might be drawn to him, that he might become a pattern and an example for us, that we might consider him as one whom we can follow for he followed Christ. Father we pray that the Spirit might teach us. Human words are so failing and human thoughts are so faulty. Lord, we just commit this time to You. May there be no glory for the one that speaks, but only for the Son of God. In His name we pray. Amen.

Spiritual Organization

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 11:38:14 PST

This morning we come in our study to the sixth chapter of Acts. And the message that I think is important as a basis for understanding proper organization within the church. Somebody once said Christians become very unchristian when they get organized. And I think in great measure that statement can be true. I suppose it has to do with who the Christians are and how well organized they get, but there's been a long running kind of debate about whether the church is to be organized or not and I think it's kind of reached a focus in our current age. There seems to be not only the super church well organized, well staffed and run like a very efficient corporation, but there seems to be the kind of underground operation that we read about today with little home Bible studies and emphasizing the life of the body, etc. etc. and these basically are the two poles to which people go in determining the degree of church organization.

The Early Church Pattern for Evangelism, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 10:41:18 PST

We come this morning to the fifth Chapter and what is part three in our study of the early church pattern for evangelism. We've begun in Chapter 5:12 what is really one unit through verse 42, but it's taken us three parts to finish it. The story is told in ancient lore about a goddess who always came, but came unseen. She was known, therefore, by the blessings that were left in her pathway. Trees, for example, blackened by forest fires put forth new leaves as she passed by. In her footprints at the brook side violets sprang up. The stagnant pool became a spring of sparkling water. The parched hill blossomed like a rose and every hillside and every valley blushed with new life and beauty as she passed by.

The Early Church Pattern for Evangelism, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:06:52 PST

Now we have been in our study of Acts considering in Chapter 5 the early church pattern for effective evangelism. And we began last time with a section that really runs from Chapter 5 verse 12-42. That entire section deals with the explosive evangelism of the early church. Now we've already begun to see some of it. We've seen the church grow 3,000 the first day, within a few days 5,000 men and continue to multiply and so forth, but I believe finally in Chapter 5 verses 12-42 we get a kind of composite picture of some of the keys to that kind of evangelism.

Impurity Is Nothing New

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:22:18 PST

It’s no surprise the world thinks the biblical view of sexuality is outdated. Society tells you that you need to advance your thinking beyond the Dark Ages, open your mind to new perspectives, and get with the times. In a word, the world says you need to be more modern.

Christ Creates Conflict in the Synagogue

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:20:48 PST

Open your Bible to Luke 13. Our lives, of course, are directed, informed, controlled, confined, and given over to the wonder of God's divine truth every passage of scripture, every chapter, every paragraph, every verse. It is inspired by God and rich with significant meaning. And we are working our way through the gospel of Luke. Luke the historian's great account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. We are in the 13th Chapter. We come to a fascinating incident that is recorded here in verses 10-17; Luke 13, verses 10-17. Let me read this brief passage to you.

Living on Borrowed Time

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:58:07 PST

We come now to the study of the word of God in our ongoing look at the great gospel of Luke. Chapter 13 is our text for this morning, verses 6-9. Chapter 13, verses 6-9. We come to the last paragraph in a long sermon that our Lord gave. In the months toward the end of His ministry and these final words are powerful and important not only for hearers when He said them, but for all of us who read them. Luke 13, let's begin at verse 6.

Supernatural Lessons from a Natural Disaster

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:24:30 PST

We come to the time of study in the Word of God at this point, and Luke 13 is our text. We now leave chapter 12 behind, that long chapter of 59 verses, and enter in to chapter 13. And this morning we're going to look at the opening five verses. For you that are visiting with us, we go through the Scriptures one verse at a time, passage by passage, paragraph by paragraph, and we are currently going through this amazing history of the Lord Jesus Christ called the gospel of Luke. And we find ourselves in the thirteenth chapter verse 1 and I'll read verses 1 through 5...

The Failure to Discern the Times and the Threat

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:15:56 PST

Let's turn to the Word of God now. It's the last paragraph of Luke 12 in our ongoing study of this great historical record of the Lord Jesus Christ written by Luke. We come now to verses 54 though 59 and the base today title is the title that I gave early in the week about discerning the time or discerning the signs but as I thought more about this text, it really is about the tragedy of wasted opportunity...the tragedy of wasted opportunity. We all know what it is to miss an opportunity. We all know what it is to waste a privilege. Sometimes it's minimally damaging. Sometimes it sends your life in a direction from which you can never recover. Wasted opportunity is not unfamiliar to us and you could draw from all kinds of experiences and all kinds of lives as illustrations of wasted opportunity.

Jesus, the Great Divider

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:11:40 PST

Luke 12, verses 49 through 53, is the paragraph that we'll be looking at this morning and the title that I've chosen is "Jesus, the Great Divider...Jesus, the Great Divider." Popular perception...popular perception in the world concerning Jesus is that He was a man of love who came to bring peace, that His message was peace on earth, peace through love. That's sort of the pop idea about Jesus and it's reinforced at the Christmas season because people are reminded that a Child is born, a Son is given and He's going to be called the Prince of Peace and the angels, of course, announced to the shepherds that He would bring peace on earth and even the Jews had this expectation that when the Messiah came, peace would come with Him, but Jesus absolutely shattered that expectation.

Reward and Punishment at Christ's Return

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:05:51 PST

Well, we come now to the twelfth chapter of the gospel of Luke again, moving through these lengthy chapters, being so greatly enriched by the teaching of our Lord Jesus. And we find ourselves in Luke chapter 12 verses 41 through 48. It is that paragraph to which we direct our attention this morning. Let me read it to you because it's good to have it in mind, particularly when it's a parable, as it is, a story that is memorable, easy to hold on to.

Waiting for the Master's Return, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 12:47:54 PST

We find ourselves now in the twelfth chapter, looking at the teaching of Jesus in verses 35 through 40...Luke 12, verses 35 through 40. Let me read it to you.

Waiting for the Master's Return, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 11:57:42 PST

We come now to the Word of God and the twelfth chapter of the gospel of Luke...Luke chapter 12. And our text for this morning is verses 35 through 40...Luke chapter 12 verses 35 through 40. Let me read this text for you and we'll set it in your minds.

Anxiety-Free Living, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 11:45:19 PST

Open your Bible, if you will, to Luke chapter 12, it's verses 22 to 34 and it would be helpful for us to hear it read just to get it back in our minds. Verse 22 of Luke 12, "He said to His disciples, 'For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life as to what you shall eat nor for your body as to what you shall put on, for life is more than food and the body than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap for they have no storeroom or barn and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds. And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life span? If you then can not do even a very little thing, why are you very anxious...why are you anxious about other matters? Consider the lilies how they grow, they neither toil nor spin. But I tell you, even Solomon and all his glory didn't clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass in the field which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O men of little faith? And do not seek what you shall eat and what you shall drink. And do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek, but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek for His Kingdom and these things shall be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the Kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity. Make yourselves purses which do not wear out an unfailing treasure in heaven where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'"

Anxiety-Free Living, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 11:22:24 PST

Let's return in our study to the twelfth chapter of Luke...Luke chapter 12 and we are looking at verses 22 through 34 under the title, "Anxiety-Free Living." It was two weeks ago when we first looked at this passage. If you were not here, I would commend that section to you, the first message in the anxiety-free living series. There will be three messages, even though they're going to be interrupted a little bit, are nonetheless wonderful as they look at these great truths that our Lord has given here.

Dead Faith

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:54:32 PST

We come now to our study of God's Word and how grateful I am in my own heart for this wonderful occasion to look at the precious revelation of our blessed Lord. Let's open our Bibles to James chapter 2 looking at verses 14 through 20. Let me read it to you.

The Destruction of the Final World Religion, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:41:39 PST

Revelation 17 is our text tonight in our ongoing study of this great apocalypse. I feel like I need to make a brief apology to those of you who have not been with us in our study of Revelation because you're going to get dropped right in the middle here and you may feel a little bit suspended because you don't know what has gone before for several weeks, many months and even into the years that we've been studying this great, great book.

Taming the Tongue, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:55:32 PST

Tonight for our Bible study, we go back to James chapter 3 and look again at the subject of "Taming the Tongue." I can see by the attendance tonight that it was a little too convicting last week. No, these are very busy days and I know how it is with the holidays and family and all kinds of enterprises going on. I wish it weren't so, but sometimes the teaching of the Word of God sort of takes a second place, certainly at this time of the year it ought to be the first thing in all of our hearts.

Taming the Tongue, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:23:57 PST

Let's open our Bibles as we study God's Word tonight to the third chapter of James, the third chapter of James. While you're doing that, just tell you a little personal incident that occurred in my life some years ago when I was pastoring here at Grace Church. I went to the dentist to have my every-five-year checkup. And he was fooling around in my mouth, doing whatever dentists do with all those things they poke at. And when he was finished, he said, "You have a problem." He said, "You have a rather large tumor on your tongue," which is not something that a preacher wants to hear. He said, "I don't know whether it's benign or malignant, but you need to go to a surgeon and have it removed." I asked him how large it was, he said, "It's larger than your thumb and it's located somewhere in the back where you can't see it."

Living Faith

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 13:34:46 PST

As you know, we are in the midst of a study of the epistle of James. As we have been moving through 1 Timothy on Sunday morning, we've been moving through James on Sunday night. And I would invite you to open your Bible to James chapter 2 as we come for our study this evening to verses 21 through 26, James chapter 2 verses 21 through 26. This is the second half of a portion of Scripture on the subject of dead faith.

The Evil of Favoritism in the Church, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:55:41 PST

Let's open our Bibles together tonight in James chapter 2 to these first 13 verses. We'll not be able to get through them all tonight and I'm not even going to try to rush. I just really want to open to your heart the things that are here in a full way so that you'll get a grip on what is really a major issue in the church. We've titled this little series on James 2:1 to 13 "The Evil of Favoritism in the Church."

The Evil of Favoritism in the Church, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:29:42 PST

As you know, we are studying the great epistle of James. And I want you to open your Bible to chapter 2 of James, a very very wonderful section of Scripture and we're going to begin to look at it tonight. James chapter 2 verse 1 through 13, James 2:1 through 13.

The Belief that Behaves, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:05:23 PST

Let's open our Bibles now for a time of study in God's precious Word, James chapter 1, James chapter 1. And this is the third message in our series "belief that behaves, belief that behaves." We're looking at James 1:22 through 27. Let me read the text for you in order that you might have it well in mind.

The Belief that Behaves, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 13:59:43 PST

Take your Bible, if you will, tonight for our study of God's Word and let's look together at the first chapter of James. We've been in this chapter for several months, and rightly so. We certainly don't want to hurry past this tremendous profound section of God's Word. We're looking most particularly now at James chapter 1 verses 19 through 27. And we've entitled these verses "Belief that Behaves...Belief that Behaves."

The Belief that Behaves, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 13:25:37 PST

Let's open our Bibles to the first chapter of James, James chapter 1. We pick up our study at verse 19 and so you'll want to hold your place there for a moment while we introduce the subject that is at hand.

Born to Holiness

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 13:03:38 PST

I want to welcome you to our continued study of the epistle of James, so you can take your Bible and open up to James. We have much ahead of us in this great epistle. But we're going to stop tonight for just a brief look at verse 18. Normally we would be taking another section, starting in verse 19 since we did mention verse 18 in our last study, but I want to stop for a moment and expand our understanding of James 1:18 because it is such a great great verse. This is a verse that really articulates in a very simple way the meaning of the new birth, the meaning of salvation.

Whose Fault Is Our Temptation?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 11:49:23 PST

Open your Bible to James chapter 1. We're going to be looking at verses 13 through 18. James 1:13 through 18. If we do not cover all the ground tonight, we'll probably cover the remaining part next Sunday night when we will also be having a praise time and we'll somehow fit it all together for a wonderful evening, should the Lord lead us to carry on a little longer.

Principles of God's Judgment, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 11:33:07 PST

From Trouble to Triumph, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 09:48:25 PST

Let's open our Bibles to the first chapter of James as we look together to the Word of God in verses 2 through 12. While you're preparing for the study of God's Word together, let me just remind you that it is a common occurrence in life, certainly is in my life and I'm in little doubt that it is in your life as well as a Christian, to meet people who thought they were Christians. I think that's pretty routine. People, who felt they were saved, believed they knew God, and then some severe difficulty came into their life, exposed the reality that they didn't know God at all when they proved to be unable to deal with that severe trial. Their faith was revealed. It was found to be dead faith, not living faith, non-saving faith. They were unable to hold on to the resources provided in those who really believe in God and they forsook what appeared to be perhaps a genuine faith.

The Purpose of Trials

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 09:21:02 PST

As we begin our study tonight in James chapter 1, you might open your Bible to that wonderful section of Scripture that is filled with so much hope for those of us who go through trouble.

From Trouble to Triumph, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:21:53 PST

Well, let's open our Bibles tonight to James. And I want us to look again at chapter 1 verses 2 through 12 and I do not assume that we will be able to cover all of this section. I want to take my time with these truths because they're so rich and so wonderful. I want to read again James 1:2 through 12.

From Trouble to Triumph, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 15:38:28 PST

Let's open our Bibles to the first chapter of James and I want to read to you verses 2 through 12 James chapter 1, verses 2 through 12.

An Introduction to James, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:43:23 PST

Let's open our Bibles to the truth as recorded in the epistle of James. James chapter 1, we're just beginning a study in James and I really believe God is going to enrich our lives in ways beyond our wildest imaginations as we pursue the truth of this great epistle.

An Introduction to James, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:47:14 PST

As I mentioned this morning, we come tonight to a long awaited book study for me and I trust for many of you. When we finished the epistle of Paul to the Romans some months ago and I began to put my ear to the ground a little bit and listen to folks making suggestions and writing me notes and letters, far and away, the leading candidate for our next study was the epistle of James. And so that's where we find ourselves tonight.

God's Pattern for Wives, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:55:59 PST

We continue tonight in our study of the Word of God with regard to marriage and the family. You might want to open your Bible to Ephesians chapter 5 and we'll touch base again with our text. Ephesians chapter 5 verses 22 to 24.

God's Pattern for Wives, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:13:54 PST

It's our privilege tonight to turn in the Word of God to a great portion of Scripture as starting point for our message to you tonight on God's pattern for a wife...Ephesians chapter 5 verses 22 through 24. And there the Word of God says, "Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything."

Be Not Drunk with Wine, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:04:38 PST

We're studying the book of Ephesians and having a wonderful time doing it. As we've come to the fifth chapter, the eighteenth verse of the worthy walk of the believer, we have stopped for a brief digression because so many people have posed the question, regarding the drinking of wine. In verse 18 we read, "Be not drunk with wine, in which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit." Now we studied that in the context but it raised the question we know we're not to be drunk, we know the Bible forbids us to be drunkards, that is a sin, that is part of our past life, the words of Peter come ringing back, for you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do. He then goes on talking about living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousings and detestable idolatry, we know that's a part of the past life, we know that drunkenness is a forbidden thing and we know that we are to be filled with the Spirit. But the question that arises is this; we agree that drunkenness is a sin but what about drinking wine at all. What is to be the Christian's position in regard to drinking alcoholic beverages? Since this is such a major issue today and such a current, needed discussion, we have digressed from the text itself to discuss that very issue. Should a Christian drink or what does the Bible say about the Christian and alcoholic beverages?

Be Not Drunk with Wine, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:06:11 PST

Those of you who have been with us know that we have been studying the book of Ephesians together and Sunday mornings have been enriching times as we look at these tremendous truths and I would call your attention this morning to Chapter 5, verse 18. This is where we left off last time and we're going to be looking at the Spirit filled life. The Spirit filled life. Obviously to anyone who has been a Christian for any amount of time, you are well aware that this is a tremendously important text. A very familiar one an area of study that is to be dealt with, really, by every believer if he or she is to really comprehend what it is that God is asking of us. This is one of those absolutely crucial texts, a "locus crucis" if you will. In fact, there is no more important area in all of the worthy walk than this particular reality. The filling of the Spirit is critical for living the Christian life by God's standards.

Living in the Light

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:27:34 PST

Take your Bible with me, would you, and turn to Ephesians chapter 5 and we'd like to look at verses 8 to 14, this morning. Ephesians 5 verses 8 through 14.

The Gifts of Christ to His Church

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 14:26:13 PST

It's our great joy this morning to return to our study of the Book of Ephesians. So I would invite you to take your Bible there and look with us at the 4th Chapter of Ephesians. We're working our way through this wonderful book together. We find ourselves in the practical section, Chapters 4 and 5 and 6. I hope you remember all of the things we studied in the first six verses. We spent four or five weeks on them and such rich profound and foundational truth for our Christian living.

Praying at All Times

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:58:06 PST

This morning we come to the 6th chapter of Ephesians, for the last time because we're going to be finishing our study of this marvelous book this morning. I understand as I mentioned last week that this is about message 62 or 63 in our study of Ephesians and I feel again as I always do when I close a book, even though we've been well over a year studying this book we haven't really begun to plumb all of the riches and the depths that are here. But God has really changed our lives as we've studied; God has done some marvelous things. As I look back on the themes of the Book of Ephesians we've been through probably in this book in the last year plus the most exciting time of our church. God has confronted us in many ways and with many new thoughts, done some dramatic things in our midst, and it doesn't really come to an end now because we simply take all that we have learned, all that God has planted in our hearts, and begin to apply it from here on out as we live our lives to His glory. So we don't leave the Book of Ephesians, we simply take what we've learned and begin to let it move through us to the glory of God as we live in this world.

The Believer's Armor, Part 7: The Sword of the Spirit

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:50:46 PST

This morning we come to our last study in the armor of the Christian. We want to examine the last piece of the Christian's armor. Verse 17, finally, as Paul expresses what is needed for the believer to overcome Satan and his hosts he says take the sword of the Spirit which Is the word of God. Old Dr. Guthrie said, "The Bible is an armory of heavenly weapons. A laboratory of infallible medicines. A mine of exhaustless wealth. It is a guidebook for every road. A chart for every sea. A medicine for every malady and a balm for every wound. Rob us of our Bible and our sky has lost its sun."

The Believer's Armor, Part 6: The Helmet of Salvation, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 11:13:09 PST

This morning again we have the privilege of coming to the 6th chapter of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 6 and we're continuing to study the armor of the Christian. I'm sure you're aware by now that we haven't hurried a lot through this, and the reason is because it's so packed with great and wonderful truth for us and we count it a tremendous privilege given us by the Lord to have the opportunity to share it with you, since it may be a long time until we'll get back to Ephesians 6 again if ever in the Lord's timing. We wanted to do it as thoroughly as possible.

The Believer's Armor, Part 5: The Helmet of Salvation, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:15:52 PST

Again this morning we have the wonderful privilege of coming to our study of Ephesians chapter 6. As you know if you've been at Grace Church for any length of time we are committed to an expositional type of ministry, unfolding the truths of the Word of God verse by verse. But every once in a while we come to certain passages that are so weighty, have so much implicit truth that really we wind up with kind of a theological study, and we become a little more topical in some sense because we dive a little more deeply into one thought or another, and that has been the case in studying Ephesians 6. Although we have treated it in a sense as exposition flowing through the text we have been unable to go along very rapidly insofar as moving through the text and have just up to this point discussed one piece of armor each week. And believe it or not this morning we're going to take one more only we won't even finish that we'll have to save the remainder for next time.

The Believer's Armor, Part 4: The Shield of Faith

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:54:03 PST

For our study this morning we come again to Ephesians chapter 6, Ephesians chapter 6, and we're looking at this wonderful section on the armor of the Christian. I want to read for you chapter 6 verse 10 through 17, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies," or wicked spirits in the heavenlies. "Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girded about with truthfulness, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

The Believer's Armor, Part 3: The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:54:39 PST

For our study this morning I would invite you to turn to Ephesians chapter 6, we're looking at verses 13 through 17 on the theme of the believer's armor. I'd like to read verses 13 through 17 as a setting for our lesson today. "Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

The Believer's Armor, Part 2: The Breastplate of Righteousness

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:28:41 PST

We've been studying the great truth in this text related to the believer's war with the forces of hell. As Paul has outlined for us in the Book of Ephesians the tremendous power and resource of the Christian, he doesn't want us to get over confident, he doesn't want us to dwell with any illusion that because of our resources it will be easy. Because we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies, because we are able to do exceeding, abundantly above all we can ask or think, because we can be filled with the Spirit of God, because we can allow the Spirit to fill us with His might, because all of these resources are ours and because we have the very truth of God in our hands and because God's ultimate sovereign design is to produce good works does not mean that it will be easy to live the Christian life.

The Believer's Armor, Part 1: The Belt of Truthfulness

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:57:44 PST

It's great joy again this morning to have the wonderful privilege of studying the sixth chapter of Ephesians, I would just call your attention to that and if you'll take your bible now and look with me at Ephesians 6. I feel like I cannot even begin to exhaust the depths of these tremendous truths that lie within the teaching of the armor of the Christian in verses 14 to 17, a teaching which we will be looking at this week and for several weeks to come. They're almost inexhaustible, they plumb the depths of so much Christian truth that we're going to have to build on some of your knowledge from the past and we'll anticipate even adding in the future to all that these thoughts contain.

Discerning Leadership

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:38:32 PST

The language of warfare is sprinkled throughout the apostle Paul’s writing, especially where it relates to leadership. He urged Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). And he commanded believers to take up the armor of God (1 Thessalonians 5:8) and prepare for battle. His life was a spiritual war as he combatted false teaching and religious error.

The Believer's Warfare, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:20:43 PST

In our Bible study this morning, we’re going to worship the Lord together as we learn more about Him, by hearing His word in Ephesians chapter 6 and we're just kind of now looking at verses 10 to 13. We're talking about the believer's armor. As Paul closes the letter to the Ephesians he speaks of a great struggle which lies before every believer. And we told you last time that Paul is very clear about the fact that the world is a battleground. That the whole universe, in fact, is at war, there is a war between God and Satan, we see it in many places in Scripture. Perhaps no more clearly than in the book of Job where Satan and God are in conflict verbally. But everywhere throughout the history of man and the revelation of God the conflict is seen. The conflict between God and Satan comes down to the holy angels and the evil angels and they are at war. It comes down another step to good men and evil men and they too are at war. The whole of the universe is a warfare. The whole thing since the fall of man since the curse entered the earth is a warfare.

The Believer's Warfare, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 09:45:46 PST

We come this morning to a brief kind of introduction, a look at the first section verses 10 through 13. Let me read it to you. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand." Now that's as far as we'll go this morning and we will not exhaust all that's in those verses but be coming back to them next time we study this and in following sessions. So, we'll kind of look at it in an overview and pick out some key things.

Satan's Attack on the Spirit-Filled Church (Includes Rev. 2-3)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 08:59:31 PST

Look with me would you in Ephesians chapter 6. This morning again I'm not going to continue our series in Ephesians simply because we're going to take a little break in the next few weeks and I don't want to get into chapter 6 verses 10 and following until we can do it as a unit. It is the section on the armor of the Christian, and it deserves our concentrated attention, and rather than just begin and then depart and then come back to it again, I'd rather wait until after Easter and then really go at it with all of our efforts, and so this morning I want to sort of use Ephesians 6:10-12, which is our next Scripture, just as a jumping-off point to begin some thoughts that I think are really essential for us today.

Spirit-Filled Labor Relations

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 08:53:38 PST

Ephesians chapter 6 is our passage for this morning, and we're looking at verses 5 to 9 and we're really going to cover what could be a long series just in a message. I was kind of ambivalent this morning in the early service, as to how far to go and you know, when you're taking off in an airplane there's a point called the Point of No Return, and once you get there, you've got to go no matter what happens, and I hit that point this morning, so I went. And that's why you stood outside for an extra few minutes. But we're trying to cover a lot of ground in a brief time on the subject of "Spirit Filled Labor Relations."

God's Pattern for Parents, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:22:19 PST

Open your Bible to Ephesians chapter 6...Ephesians chapter 6. The key verse really here in the New Testament that gives to us God's design for parenting is verse 4. It simply says, "And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

God's Pattern for Parents, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:43:31 PST

God's Pattern for Children, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:00:05 PST

Tonight again we continue in our series on God's pattern for the family, particularly the children. Open your Bible, if you will, to Ephesians chapter 6...Ephesians chapter 6. The family, as we have been saying all through this series, is the critical center of society. The family is the seedbed of economic skills, social skills, morality, ethics, values, attitudes toward work, faith in God, you name it. When things go well in the family, life is worth living. When they don't go well in the family, life falls apart.

God's Pattern for Children, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:31:03 PST

Tonight we continue in our study of Ephesians chapters 5 and 6 on God's marvelous design for the family. And we come to God's pattern for children...God's pattern for children. I neglected in the first service this morning to mention the subject, but did in the second that we're going to be moving from the parents now to the children. We've talked about wives and husbands and now we turn, as does the text, to children.

A Plan for Your Family: God's vs. the World's, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 12:58:57 PST

No one needs to prove to us that we may be watching the death of the germ-cell of civilization, the family. All the signs are abundantly clear all around us. We could drag out all kinds of statistics to indicate the dire situation in the families in our culture. We are all constantly looking at the parade in the media of divorce, sexual rebellion, abortion, sterilization, delinquency, infidelity, homosexuality, women's liberation, children's rights and so on. That has been continually paraded before us for the last ten or twelve years. We are watching the formation of the rope that strangles the family to death.

Be Filled with the Spirit, Part 4: Spirit-Filled Thanksgiving

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:44:21 PST

Let's look again at Ephesians chapter 5 and verses 18 to 21. This is our seventh lesson in this tremendous text as we slowly move through the Book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 5 verses 18 through 21. And time is a little shorter this morning so we want to get right at it and see what the Lord has for us. Let me read this text to you again, beginning in verse 18 of Ephesians 5, "And be not drunk with wine, in which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."

Be Filled with the Spirit, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 09:33:43 PST

We want to continue in our wonderful and exciting study of Ephesians chapter 5 verses 18 to 21. We've been in this passage because we've gone a little bit off on a few tangents and divergencies for about six weeks but we're having a great time and we're going to be here for a while to come. I really feel this is a tremendous portion, it holds so many great and important truths for us that we've got to take our time in really comprehending it. Ephesians chapter 5 verses 18 to 21, I'm going to read it and you follow along as I read.

Be Filled with the Spirit, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 14:43:31 PST

We come again this morning, for our study, to the fifth chapter of Ephesians. It's taking us a little time to get through verses 18 through 21 because it's so loaded with truth and we don't want to bypass any of the wonderful things the Spirit of God has for us in this very key passage. If you don't have your Bible with you there is one near you in the pew, you can look along and let's look at verses 18 to 21 of Ephesians 5 and you follow with your eyes as I read to you.

Be Filled with the Spirit, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:55:22 PST

Let's look together at Ephesians 5:18-21, you follow in your Bible as I read, "And be not drunk with wine, in which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."

Be Not Drunk with Wine, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:33:49 PST

This morning we are, as you know if you were here last time, we're going to digress just a little bit from our text of Ephesians 5:18. In our continuing study in the book of Ephesians we found ourselves, last week, in verse 18 and that verse introduces to us the topic of drunkenness and that introduces to us the topic of drinking. And because there have been so many, many questions about this very important area, many of you have asked is it right - should a Christian drink alcoholic beverages - what does the bible teach - and so forth and so on that we decided to stop here and share some thoughts on that.

Walking in Wisdom, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:42:00 PST

Take your Bible, would you please, and turn with me to the 5th Chapter of Ephesians. If you didn't bring one along there's one near you in the back of the pew and you can follow along, Ephesians 5. It's brought home to me more and more all the time that many people never finish what they begin. There are unfinished symphonies, there are unfinished paintings, there are sculptures that have never had the finishing touch because in each case the master died, there are relationships that never become all that they could be, there are ministries that never really come to fruition, there are dreams that always remain dreams, hopes that always remain hopes never become realities, and I guess, for a lot of people life can be an unfinished symphony. It can be a dream without a reality. It can be an ideal without a truth, but I don't think it has to be that way. I think there's one great reality that we need to focus on in the text that we want you to look at this morning.

Walking in Wisdom, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:16:22 PST

We come to Ephesians 5:15-17, three very short verses, however in the first service we only got through verse 15. You know it's always hard for me to preach my whole sermon when I get all filled up at some conference and lots of things come out and you know, believe it or not, people, I think I'm a better preacher than you know. And the reason I say that is because I've never really yet preached to you the sermon I plan. The ones I plan are good. The ones you get are mediocre, but that's because I never finish, see. I have great midpoints and tremendous conclusions that I never get to. All I have is long introductions because the conclusion I don't get to becomes the introduction for next week's message.

Walking in Love, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:06:24 PST

In Ephesians chapter 5 verses 1 through 7 we have one of the most wonderful and helpful passages in all of the Book of Ephesians. It touches on the very heart of the Christian life, the subject of love and you'll note in verse 2 the little phrase, "walk in love." Nothing could be a more beautiful or direct definition of how we are to live as Christians in terms of behavior than that.

Principles of New Life

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:04:35 PST

Ephesians chapter 4 verses 25 to 32, this is a very practical section. This is one of those sections that you really don't need me for. You can just allow the Spirit of God to convict you as you read it and it says much in and of itself. But I'll do my best to guide a little bit of your thinking to help you to see the impact in its fullness.

Off with the Old, On with the New, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 14:30:41 PST

As we have been doing on these Sunday mornings for the last several months, I invite you to look with me at the Book of Ephesians. What a rich and rewarding and wonderful study it's been and is yet to be as we go through these final three chapters. Ephesians chapter 4 and verses 17 to 24 will be our text for what we want to say to you this morning, Ephesians 4:17. I'm going to read it to you so it will set it in your mind and you follow as I read and then we'll share concerning what it teaches.

Off with the Old, On with the New, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:50:08 PST

Take your Bible, will you, with me and let's look at the 4th chapter of Ephesians together, verses 17 through 24, our text for our study this morning. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17. I want to read the Scripture to you and then we'll after having given you the setting begin to talk about it and see what God will say to us in it this morning. Ephesians 4 beginning in verse 17 the Apostle Paul says, "This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; Who, being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ, If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

Building the Body of Christ, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:06:56 PST

Ephesians 4:11-16, "And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some teaching pastors for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ. That we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God into a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love may grow up into Him into all things who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together compacted by that which every joint supplieth according to the effectual working and the measure of every part maketh increase of the body under the edifying of itself in love."

Building the Body of Christ, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 15:52:52 PST

I would invite you to take your Bible and if you didn't happen to bring one along, why there's one near you, I hope, in the back of the pews, and look with me at the 4th Chapter of Ephesians. And we're going to begin to examine verses 11-16; Ephesians 4:11-16. For our visiting friends, we might just say this that the commitment of the ministry here at Grace Church is to systematically teach the word of God. And in the mornings and in the evenings, we continue to go through book after book at this current time in the mornings are occupied with the study of Ephesians. And the evenings, we're going through the gospel of Matthew. And next Sunday evening we'll back in Matthew Chapter 5, beginning the tremendous portion of the Beatitudes. So you'll want to be sure that you are planning along those lines as we continue our study. And be reading ahead so that the Spirit of God has prepared your mind for what is to come.

The Lowly Walk, Part 6

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 15:43:14 PST

Ephesians chapter 4 the first six verses, and I'd like to read them for you as we begin. "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation to which ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

The Lowly Walk, Part 5

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:40:53 PST

I invite you now for our Bible study to turn with me to the 4th chapter of Ephesians, as we continue in our study of this tremendous epistle written by the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

The Lowly Walk, Part 4

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:13:06 PST

Take your Bible, if you will, and let's look at Ephesians chapter 4. We're studying the book of Ephesians together and we're really kind of taking our time as we embark upon the fourth chapter.

The Lowly Walk, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:01:09 PST

Ephesians chapter 4 is our study for this morning and we're really going to discuss one phrase. I don't know why it is that I get so slowed down in this particular portion of Ephesians but it is just so important. You know, a lot of times it isn't what I plan to do, you know. I always plan things to be done right and to get through everything and I never get there. And I don't know if it's my own stupidity or God but I choose to believe it's God, for obvious reasons. Anyway, we're looking at the fourth chapter of Ephesians and talking about the worthy walk. What does it mean for a Christian to walk worthy. And we've been suggesting to you that walking worthy means living a life that matches your position in Christ. First three chapters of this wonderful epistle deal with the position of the believer, the last three the practice. The first three the doctrine, the last three the duty. How do we really learn to live up to who we are. How do we walk worthy?

The Sovereign Servant, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:45:45 PST

The Lowly Walk, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:35:43 PST

Look with me; would you, in your Bible at the fourth chapter of Ephesians? Ephesians chapter 4. We're moving along much more slowly than we did about 8 years ago when we taught the book of Ephesians.

The Lowly Walk, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 10:37:02 PST

Take your Bible and let's look together at the fourth chapter of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 4. We come now to the second great section of this marvelous letter written by Paul to the churches, really, in Asia Minor, one of which was the church at Ephesus. And we've entitled this first section, "The Lowly Walk of Our High Position." It's a tremendous passage, and we'll be spending the next few weeks just looking at the first six verses, it’s importance and its impact, so rich, we're going to take our time in gleaning everything we possibly can.

The Fullness of God, Part 4

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 08:55:33 PST

Ephesians chapter 3 verses 14 to 21, Paul says; "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole family of heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth' and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge; that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him: who is exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, generations without end. Amen."

The Fullness of God, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 08:32:32 PST

Ephesians chapter 3--How to be filled with the Fullness of God. How to be filled with the Fullness of God. That is the theme of chapter 3 verses 14 through 21. Now we've been speaking of the lofty and glorious position of the body of Christ, the church. The church as Peter says is called to perfection and glory that possesses all things that pertain to life and godliness. The church that is given exceedingly great and precious promises. The church that has become partaker of the divine nature. And we've been learning that we who are the church of Jesus Christ are this very special glorious group of people. In fact I've always said that outside of the Trinity the church is the hottest commodity in the universe. We are even elevated above the angels so that the angels look at us to see the things they cannot comprehend. We have been purchased for God through the blood of Jesus, forgiven, accepted in the beloved. We've become slaves and sons of God. Forever His possession. Sealed with the Spirit. Protected by divine love, sustained by divine providence, energized by divine power. We are priests, we are kings, we have been taught and led and ruled and loved and made alive and built up and blessed by the Lord Jesus Christ. We are thus as we have seen, the possessors of the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ as it reminds us in chapter 3 verse 8. We are rich because we are one with Jesus Christ.

The Fullness of God, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:36:12 PST

Ephesians chapter 3 is our study this morning, third chapter of Ephesians. If you were with us last time you got on message number one of this text and we're going to spend several weeks in it because it is so very important. I feel the truths in this text were part and parcel of the basic foundation that was laid here at Grace Church some eight or nine years ago when we were in this book for the first time and so we want to take our time examining again these very, very important areas.

The Fullness of God, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:13:18 PST

This morning we're going to study the third chapter of Ephesians together in our continuing study of this tremendous epistle of Paul. You know, over the ten years that I've been at Grace Church I have preached, I think, about 800 messages. And that's a lot of talking. I want you to know that. And that's a lot of patience on your part. But covering a lot of different passages, many different subjects and many different themes in the Word of God. And there's something about every passage that I've ever taught that is special, that is rich and wonderful, keeps it in my memory. But as I have occasion to go beyond the ministry of Grace and to speak here there and everywhere around the country and some other parts of the world, there are certain passages of the Scripture that have special meaning to me. They're what I call locus-crucious, key points. If you're a German they're herr-punct, high points. Just sort of like the peaks in the Alps of the Scripture. And I find myself going back to these very often. And Ephesians chapter 3 verses 14 to 21 is a passage that I've only preached on at Grace Church one time in our study of Ephesians, about nine years ago. But I have preached on this passage probably a hundred times in different places around the country because this passage is so rich and so marvelous and so full and so abundant with truth that-it is unavoidable. It is a basic passage to the implementation of all spiritual truth to the life of the believer. And so I come to this passage with a great sense of joy, in fact, from the time we began our study of Ephesians months ago I was sort of anticipating getting to chapter 3 verse 14. It is a tremendous portion of the Word of God. I want to read it to you and then have a word of prayer and then just introduce it this morning and we're going to get into it in detail in days to come.

The Mystery Revealed, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:48:09 PST

We're having a great time going through the book of Ephesians and letting the Spirit of God teach us the wondrous truths contained in this letter from the apostle Paul to the churches that were in Asia Minor. And we have learned that the heart of this whole epistle was the concept of being in Christ; that the believer is indivisibly fused with Jesus Christ by faith; that we are one with Christ. And commensurate with that is the fact that we are also then one with every other believer in Christ. If we are one with Christ, we are one with everybody else who is one with Christ. And the great message of the book of Ephesians is the position of the believer in Christ; that's his God-ward unity and the position of the believer with all the other believers, that's his manward or churchward unity. Now in our study, we have been covering many aspects of the mystery of the church...that God has made one body of Jew and Gentile, this great truth and the message of Ephesians is unity. That's the heart of this thing: we are one in Christ; with Christ we are one in Christ with all those who are in Christ so that Jew, Gentile, bond and free, male and female, Greek and barbarian are all one in Jesus Christ. There are no national distinctions, racial distinctions or anything like that. There is a fusion of life in Christ. We are mutual...the same flow of eternal life surges all of our hearts, all of our spirits because of the same indwelling life of God in our souls. There is no difference, there is no distinction. There is to be the abolishing of all the walls between us. There is to be the closing of all the gaps between us. There is to be an ending of all the bitternesses and arguments and quarrels and struggles and there is to be as 2:15 of Ephesians says, one new humanity, one new man of Jew and Gentile, one in Christ.

The Unity of the Body, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:12:54 PST

I'm sure you're aware we're studying together the book of Ephesians, and so I would invite you at this time to turn with me to Ephesians Chapter 2. If you don't have a Bible with you, I hope there's one there on the seat beside or in the pew rack in front so that you can follow along. And let me say that our study this morning is very theological. One person said to me one time he said, "You know, you're very cognitive." So I hurried back to my office to find out what that meant. And that's true, I like to deal with the mind. I think that it's important that we understand things before we attempt to live them.

The Unity of the Body, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 13:24:42 PST

The subject of being in the body of Christ, being in Christ, being one with Christ and as we are one in Christ, there is a tremendous unity. And that is the message that Paul is talking about here. He's talking about unity, and it's an important message for his world and for our world. Our world knows all about problems of discord, disharmony, and disunity. We have it in the family. We have arguments and strife and quarrel and bitterness, divorce. We have it in the offices in the businesses. We have it in the schools. We have it in the government. We have it between nations. We have constant conflict, constant enmity, constant antipathy, constant argument, strife, division.

Loyal Leadership

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 11:14:29 PST

In leadership and in life, loyalty is one of the great, essential virtues. We often forget that simple truth in the cynical age in which we live. Our society is so rife with corrupt leaders and so hostile to the concept of authoritative truth that loyalty is often perceived as a weakness rather than a merit.

The Unity of the Body, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 10:36:06 PST

Turn with me if you will in your Bible for our study this morning to the 2nd Chapter of Ephesians. Ephesians Chapter 2, we come to a wonderful and insightful and helpful passage beginning at verse 11. And for this morning we're just going to cover verses 11 and 12. Although the full text of what we want to say is from verse 11 to 22. I've entitled this portion of Paul's letter the unity of the body, the unity of the body.

Coming Alive in Christ

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 10:21:18 PST

Look with me, would you, at the second chapter of the letter to the Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 2. And we're going to discuss what it means to come alive in Christ, what it really means to be saved. What it is to be a Christian. This is one of the great sections of the Bible about salvation. And much of this is not new to us but it's so refreshing to our hearts to go over these wonderful truths.

Our Resources in Christ, Part 2: Is there Something More?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 10:00:50 PST

Take your Bible, if you will, and let's look at Ephesians chapter 1, Ephesians chapter 1. And we're examining verses 15 to 23 in our current study. And looking at the resources that the believer possesses in Christ. The resources of the believer. For some of you who have been a part of Grace Church for some time, this is like Peter said; "This is putting you in remembrance of things you already know." For others of you who have never yet come across these truths, I trust this will be one of the most wonderful discoveries of your life when you get a grip on the reality of the resources made available to you through the salvation that is in Jesus Christ.

Our Resources in Christ, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:33:10 PST

Let me read this passage to you while you're preparing your thoughts for our study. Ephesians 1:15, "Wherefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenlies. Far above all principality, and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come; And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all." Well that Scripture is so loaded with great truth that we're not going to be able by any means to exhaust its content this time, next time or for that matter probably ever in our thinking. But it introduces to us a very important portion of the first chapter.

Divine Promises Guaranteed

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:57:21 PST

This morning for our Bible study together, we come again to the first chapter of Ephesians. And I'd invite you to take your Bible, if you don't have one with you there's probably one in the pew rack there that you can look along. It might make your time more meaningful if you follow along as we share. For those of you who may be visiting with us, we're committed, really, to teaching the Word of' God. I believe that what I have to say is; at best, very insignificant, what God has to say is absolutely necessary. So, we spend our time dealing with the Word of God and what a treasure it, is and how grateful we are that He's given it to us.

Redemption Through His Blood

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:30:51 PST

Take your Bible, if you will, for our study this morning. And let's look together at Ephesians chapter 1, Ephesians chapter 1. We have begun what will prove to be a greatly beneficial study of a marvelous word from God, the letter to the Ephesians. And we're looking at chapter 1 this morning, verses 6 to 10, discussing the theme of redemption as Paul speaks of it in this section. I remember some years ago when my wife used to collect Blue Chip Stamps and Green Stamps that every once in a while she'd hand me a pile of books and say, "We're going to the Redemption Center to redeem our stamps." And frequently she has coupons which she takes to be redeemed. And we talk a lot about redemption and the word redeemed is not an uncommon word in our vocabulary but I'm quite confident that the mass of humanity that uses the word doesn't understand its theological implication. The word redeemed and the word redemption is ... is really a very, very, vital part of the core of Christianity. And it becomes the theme of the wonderful text to which we draw our attention this morning, - redemption. A familiar word in our society but with an unfamiliar meaning until we turn to the Word of God.

Miriam: The Leading Lady of the Exodus

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:10:16 PST

We have been doing a series on Sunday night basically called “Unlikely Heroes,” looking at biblical personalities who are used in a mighty way by God unexpectedly. We started out with Enoch early in the book of Genesis, a man who walked with God right into heaven. The man who was a preacher of righteousness as the model, if you will, for Noah, who became the preacher of righteousness for 120 years warning about the coming judgment of God. And then we looked at the life of Joseph, another very unlikely hero because he was sold into slavery and expected to be disintegrating or dissembled into the life of Egypt and lost forever--but God had other plans. All of these biographies, and a few more than I’ll be able to cover, are going to come out in a book at the end of the summer called Twelve Unlikely Heroes, and you’ll want to read them when that book arrives...

The Body Formed in Eternity Past, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:49:04 PST

Father, as we approach Your Word, we are humbled, we feel less than adequate to deal with these grandiose and glorious truths that are beyond us. We are reminded that the secret things belong to the Lord. We are reminded that Your ways are higher than our ways. That we cannot understand all things. And yet, Father, we ask that the Spirit of God would give us a measure of understanding for the deep things of the Word, as we look at them this morning. And that it might be the voice of God that speaks and the power of the Spirit of God who delineates and applies the truth. To that end we seek Thee in this time, in Christ's name. Amen.

The Body Formed in Eternity Past, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:01:10 PST

One of the keys to unlocking the book of Ephesians is to understand that it is an epistle built around the concept of the church as the body of Christ. There are many metaphors in the New Testament used to describe the church. The church is called a bride. The church is called a family, a household, a kingdom. The church is called a flock; the church is called a building. The church is called a vine and branches. There are many ways in which the Spirit of God has designed to give us a picture of the church but uniquely the church is called the body of Christ. Because I believe above all other metaphors the one which most aptly communicates the unity and yet diversity and mutuality within the church is that of a body. As a human body functions in an incredible, multiple phase operation, as it functions totally dependent upon every muscle and tissue and nerve and everything else so does the church function. As the human body receives all of its direction from the head so does the church from the Lord Jesus Christ. And as the body manifests the person in the world so does the church manifest Christ in the world. And so I think uniquely the body is the most beautiful symbol for the church. And in fact all the other metaphors used in the New Testament to describe the church are also used in the Old Testament to describe Israel except the metaphor of a body.

Introduction to Ephesians

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 14:46:11 PST

This morning we come for our Bible study to a book that is indeed a treasure of mine and of every believer - the book of Ephesians. Early in the history of Grace Church, the history of John MacArthur at Grace Church at least, it was obvious to me that God had something very special in mind for this church. I didn't come here with any idea of what that would be. In fact, I'm not a kind of a person who sets numbers or figures or anything like that but I just felt that God had something very special for this church. And when early in my time here, about the first year that I was here, I was challenged by the Holy Spirit in my own thinking to teach the book of Ephesians. All that I had ever dreamed a church could be came to crystallization in my mind as I studied Ephesians. It formed for me the whole pattern of the church; what it is, how it operates, everything just came together in the study of Ephesians. The result of that study was I wrote a book entitled THE CHURCH: THE BODY OF CHRIST.

A Church for the New Millennium

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:58:51 PST

Tonight I want to address some thoughts to the theme of a church for the new millennium. Some of these things of course will be familiar to us but I just want to kind of pull them together in the context that faces us as we enter into this that many are calling the new millennium. There is so much discussion and I am engaged in it regularly by reading articles, reading books, discussing things with pastors, church leaders, theologians. Tremendous amount of discussion on what it's going to take for the church to reach this generation. The generation itself is incessantly being defined and redefined. Familiar terms - yuppie generation, the generation X and all of those kinds of terms are used to describe something of the cultural attitudes and morays of our society which are moving so very rapidly and churches are scrambling to try to react and find a place of relevancy in the culture under the fear that if they don't, they will not be able to reach that culture.

The Silent Servant, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:15:54 PST

It’s Isaiah 53, and I may have to start apologizing for the fact that we are prolonging this so much. But if you only knew how much there was for me to say that I do not say because time constrains me. I have lived this chapter now for months, leading up to the series and in the midst of the series. And there are so many trails that come out of this; there are so many things that originate in Isaiah 53 that become trails and tracks that one could follow almost endlessly. I have said to you that this is a bottomless chapter, that I can’t find the depth, I can’t find the breadth, I can’t find the height of it...

The Paternal Aspect of Godly Leadership

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:05:20 PST

The pattern of servant leadership didn’t originate in the New Testament. It was woven into the fabric of creation, all the way back to the original relationship the Lord designed and established between Adam and Eve.

The Original Model for Godly Leadership

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:26:48 PST

Much like in today’s “me first” society, self-absorption was one of the defining characteristics of Roman culture. Self-improvement, self-promotion, and self-aggrandizement were the pillars of its social structure. Self-sacrifice was a foreign concept.

Brothers, We Are Not Monks

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 21 May 2012 09:08:32 PST

Pastoral ministry is hard. Period. So it makes sense to me that when pastors get a taste of difficulty, they want to run away, fast. Frankly, it’s not an overstatement to say that apart from a divine calling, pastoral ministry isn’t all that attractive on its own. Who wants the grief, the pain, the distress, the discomfort? As Charles Schulz quipped through the Peanuts character Linus, “I love humanity; it’s people I can’t stand.”...

The Silent Servant, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:47:52 PST

Open your Bible, if you will, to Isaiah chapter 53. For those of you who are with us this weekend because of the special graduations and maybe Mother’s Day, I apologize for the fact that you are going to be jumping in in the middle of this journey. And in some ways this is a series of sermons that link together very tightly and you’re going to be missing a whole lot of the earlier links, but we hope that it will still be an encouragement to you. I always feel like I need to do a little bit to sort of get you up to speed...

Leadership 101

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:46:12 PST

Our society often judges people by what they do, not by their character. When it comes to choosing heroes and leaders, style often outweighs substance. Sordid personal lives and all sorts of off-the-field antics are commonly overlooked—it is performance, not principle, that counts...

Ein Modell für eure Familie: Gottes Modell vs. das Modell der Welt, Teil 1 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:25:15 PST

Niemand muss uns beweisen, dass die Keimzelle der Zivilisation – die Familie – unter Umständen direkt vor unseren Augen zugrunde geht. Alle Zeichen um uns herum sind mehr als eindeutig. Wir könnten jetzt allerlei Statistiken anführen, um die aussichtslose Situation aufzuzeigen, in der Familien sich in unserer Kultur befinden. Wir alle sehen in den Medien ständig die Zurschaustellung von Scheidung, sexueller Rebellion, Abtreibung, Sterilisation, Straffälligkeit, Untreue, Homosexualität, Frauenrechtsbewegung, Rechte der Kinder etc. Das wurde uns in den letzten zehn oder zwanzig Jahren ständig vor Augen geführt. Wir sehen zu, wie die Schlaufe geschnürt wird, die der Familie die Luft abschnürt...

Brothers, We Are Not Rock Stars

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:50:30 PST

Everyone wants a piece of today’s A-listers. They’re wanted by book publishers, conference organizers, and adoring fans everywhere. In certain circles, some of them have trouble getting around without being noticed... Just to be clear, I’m not talking about Hollywood, Nashville, or Washington, D.C.

Steps to Successful Prayer, Part 5

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:21:10 PST

Very few people make it through life without some sort of plan. The vast majority of us have to put a lot of thought into our schedules and plan ahead if we want to accomplish anything. And what we put the most time into planning says a lot about where our hearts are—too often vacation and celebrations get lots of forethought, while responsibilities at work and around the house fit into our schedules as needed...

The Substituted Servant, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:45:28 PST

The Startling Servant of Jehovah

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:52:37 PST

We have been anticipating a study of the Old Testament here at Grace Church, for those of you gathering with us, after many years in the New Testament, and a few forays into the Old. And we have just recently embarked upon that study of the Old Testament and are beginning to look at one particular prophecy in the Old Testament, found in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. And so, if you have a Bible handy, if you don’t, there’s one in the pew, you can turn in your Bible, somebody around you can help you find that if you don’t know where it is, to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. Actually the prophecy in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah begins at the end of the fifty-second chapter. If I had my way, I’d move that fifty three back three verses, just to encompass the whole prophecy in one. It really begins in chapter 52 and verses 13 through 15...

Steps to Successful Prayer, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:23:32 PST

The worldly excess and spiritual shallowness of prosperity preachers and charismatic faith healers are easy to spot. It’s a man-made, man-centered theology powered by extreme greed—one that encourages followers to make outrageous demands for prosperity and personal gain, reducing Almighty God to little more than a vending machine...

Joseph: Because God Meant It for Good

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:14:51 PST

The Substituted Servant, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:57:53 PST

The Scorned Servant of Jehovah, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:45:08 PST

We’re studying the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah is a prophecy in the Old Testament. If you have a Bible, turn to Isaiah chapter 53, and that’s the chapter we’re looking at. Some would consider this the greatest chapter in the Old Testament. There’s no question about the fact that it is the most detailed prophecy of the Messiah that the Old Testament contains. It is a powerful, powerful chapter that has to be considered phrase by phrase if not word by word because of its high impact and profound truth...

Enoch Walked with God

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:44:36 PST

Tonight we’re going to begin a series on what we’ll called “Twelve Unlikely Heroes.” It was a couple of years ago that I thought it might be interesting to do a book, since people love character studies, they enjoy The Twelve Ordinary Men, The Twelve Extraordinary Women, so why not take a look at some other of the amazing biographies of the Bible under the kind of the title of Extraordinary…or rather Unlikely Heroes. This book will be available by the end of summer. It’s finished and it’s on its way and you’ll be able to take a look at it at the end of summer. You will thoroughly enjoy it. It is…it is a rich and wonderful study...

Appearance Is Everything?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:45:14 PST

An advertising agency wrote seeking our ministry's business: "Let's face it: appearance is everything. Let us help you enhance your image." My first thought was This agency must not realize they are dealing with a Christian organization...

Back in Business

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:18:37 PST

I’m not sure if you’ll consider this news good or bad, but the GTY blog is back in business. We plan to kick it off again this coming Monday, and we’ll turn on the comment thread too. I’ve got to warn you though...

The Scorned Servant of Jehovah

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:51:13 PST

For now I want you to open the Word of God to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 53. We have had a couple of weeks of getting introduced to this chapter. Two weeks ago a rather broad introduction and then last Lord’s day, which was resurrection Sunday, we looked at the introduction to chapter 53 that is given at the end of chapter 52. And that brings us, today, to this incredible chapter, Isaiah 53...

Common Parent Traps

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:40:54 PST

If you’ve been a parent for any time at all, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that your child came into the world with an insatiable faculty for evil. Even before birth, your baby’s little heart was already programmed for sin and selfishness. The inclination toward depravity is such that, given free reign, every baby has the potential to become a monster.

Original sin is the biblical doctrine that explains your child’s sinful proclivity. It means children do not come into the world seeking God and righteousness. They do not even come into the world with a neutral innocence. They come into the world seeking the fulfillment of sinful and selfish desires. Scripture also...

Case for Infant Baptism: The Historic Paedo-Baptist Position

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:10:36 PST

R.C. Sproul: Just last week, somebody was talking with me and they had a copy of the brochure for this conference and they said, “I see that you and John MacArthur are going to be talking about baptism when whether it is to be administered to infants.” And I said yes. They said, “Well, I hope you go out there and change John’s mind on this subject.” And I said, “Let me tell you something about the John MacArthur that I know, that if you can prove your position to John MacArthur from the pages of sacred Scripture, he will change it in a heartbeat cause I’ve never met a man in my life who is more sold out to building his theology on the basis of Scripture alone than my brother John.” So that really is my burden, is to try to persuade him on the basis of Scripture. He won’t let me appeal to history or tradition or church authority, so....

Sins of the Saints

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:06:34 PST

The Astonishing Servant of Jehovah

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:47:59 PST

Now for this morning, I finally want you to open your Bible to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 53, and we are about to embark on a study of this immensely important portion of the Old Testament as we begin our series in the Old Testament, Finding Christ There...

Parents, Do Not Provoke Your Children

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:45:33 PST

Now we want you to look at Ephesians chapter 6, and I know, I only get a certain amount of time on Sunday and I ate up half of what I get for tonight, because we got a little bit long this morning, so I’m not going to keep you a long time tonight. But I do want to bring to a final conclusion our brief series on Ephesians chapter 5 on the Spirit-filled life and the outcomes of that Spirit-filled life that have to do with marriage and the family. All of this really started back in verse 18, “Be being kept filled with the Holy Spirit.” And we talked about the fact that we ought to be under the control of the Holy Spirit, not under the control of alcohol cause that leads to dissipation. We talked a little bit about the Christian and drinking alcohol. And then we launched off into what it means to be filled with, controlled by the Holy Spirit and how it produces all kinds of wonderful, spiritual benefits. We speak to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, sing and make melody with our hearts to the Lord. We’re always giving thanks for all things and we’re subject to one another in the fear of Christ. So it produces praise and worship. It produces gratitude and thanksgiving. And it produces a willing submission that makes the body of Christ work together...

How to Handle Persecution, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:01:11 PST

How to Handle Persecution, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:15:36 PST

The Necessity of Repentance

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:03:10 PST

Repent and Be Converted

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:52:55 PST

Peter Preaches Christ

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:03:34 PST

The First Fellowship

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:00:44 PST

Peter's Sermon: The Appeal and Results

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:05:53 PST

Peter's Sermon: Exalting Christ, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:58:32 PST

Peter's Sermon: Exalting Christ, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:02:56 PST

Peter's Sermon: Explaining Pentecost

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:56:54 PST

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:41:32 PST

Christ: The Living Expositor, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:26:33 PST

Christ: The Living Expositor, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:59:41 PST

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:49:13 PST

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:12:46 PST

The saturation in today’s world of television, movies, and other forms of visual media has had an adverse effect on our ability to listen, think, and reason. It’s as if the entire society is suffering from attention deficit disorder. Sadly, many preachers decided to make major accommodations to the appetites of a generation weaned on media and entertainment; but they left biblical preaching behind.

Have you ever noticed how may television commercials say nothing about the products they advertise? The typical jeans commercial...

Resources for Finishing Our Lord's Unfinished Work, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:39:07 PST

Resources for Finishing Our Lord's Unfinished Work, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:16:18 PST

Resources for Finishing Our Lord's Unfinished Work, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:58:22 PST

Investing Earthly Finances with an Eternal Focus

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:42:50 PST

The Significance of the Ascension

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:45:27 PST

The Great Commission: Proclaiming Forgiveness to the World, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:16:05 PST

The Living Christ Dispels All Doubt

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:00:25 PST

Witnessing Women and Doubting Disciples

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:45:06 PST

The Supernatural Burial of Christ

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:53:06 PST

We come to the final paragraph in the twenty-third chapter of the Luke account of the life of our Lord Jesus. Let’s open our Bibles to Luke chapter 23 and verses 50 through 56. This section of Luke’s gospel looks at the burial of Jesus. And, I guess, counter intuitively I’ve entitled it, “The supernatural burial of Jesus.” That might be a little like an oxymoron, how can a burial be supernatural? We looked at the cross and we saw some supernatural elements there, the darkness, the earthquake, the rocks splitting, the rending of the temple curtain, the resurrection of the dead, miraculous, for sure. And certainly when we talk about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that is a massive miracle as He comes back from the dead and gives life to His own body. But in what sense is the burial of Jesus supernatural?

The King Crucified: Responses at Calvary

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:49:18 PST

The King Crucified: Consummation at Calvary

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:43:13 PST

The King Crucified: Conversion at Calvary

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:07:07 PST

Die Liebe Gottes, Teil 4 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:29:47 PST

Wie ihr wisst, haben wir vor einigen Wochen die Weihnachtszeit zum Anlass genommen, eine Diskussion über die Liebe Gottes zu beginnen, welche auf dem Vers „Denn so [sehr] hat Gott die Welt geliebt, dass er seinen eingeborenen Sohn gab, damit jeder, der an ihn glaubt, nicht verloren geht, sondern ewiges Leben hat“ beruht. Und ich nehme an, wenn wir ankündigen, dass wir über die Liebe Gottes reden werden, würden die meisten Menschen denken „Nun, dass es ein recht einfaches, geradliniges, direktes Thema, eins, das leicht zu verstehen und leicht abzuhandeln ist.“ Aber ich denke, wir haben bei der Behandlung dieses Konzepts von Gottes Liebe herausgefunden, dass es ein tiefgehendes Geheimnis enthält und eine gewisse Tiefe hat, die unsere größten intellektuellen und sogar unsere größten geistlichen Fähigkeiten strapaziert...

Das künftige Gericht über die Abtrünnigen, Teil 1 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:26:19 PST

Heute Abend werden wir zu unserer Betrachtung von Judas zurückkehren und uns mit Versen 14 bis 16 befassen. Ich gehe dies in kleinen Abschnitten durch, weil dieses Material wirklich wichtig ist. Dieser spezifische Abschnitt aus drei Versen ist einzigartig, wie ihr sehen werdet, wenn wir uns ein wenig näher damit befassen. In anderer Hinsicht ist das uns vertraut, weil der Text vom Gericht handelt. Und das ist natürlich ein sehr geläufiges Thema in der Schrift...

The King Crucified: The Comedy at Calvary

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:31:05 PST

Characters on the Road to the Cross, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:53:57 PST

Just a little bit overwhelming this morning to worship the Lord with you all. I attended a lot of different churches while I was gone and was very often disappointed in the lack of expressions of worship in the cross-centered, Christ-centered ways and so refreshing this morning...

The Final Verdict from the Fickle Judge, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:25:08 PST

Pastors of Vision

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:50:22 PST

John, would you consider yourself the “Pastor of Vision” for your church? What does it mean to “cast a vision” for your church?

Christ the Expositor

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:50:06 PST

Open your Bible, if you will, to Matthew chapter 5 and just put your finger there for a minute. I’m going to come back to that, but it will be a moment. We are at the second stop in a journey. We started last time, I guess we could say this is the first stop, we started last time on a journey to find Christ in the Old Testament, finding the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. That’s what this series is going to be about. For forty years we have been learning the majestic glories of the Lord Jesus Christ as revealed on the pages of the New Testament. We have learned His history in the four gospels. We have learned the expansion of the gospel in the book of Acts, the preaching of Christ, the theology of Christ in the book of Acts and as well in the rest of the epistles of the New Testament. We’ve even come to understand the eschatology concerning Christ from the book of Revelation...

Husbands, Love Your Wives

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:49:14 PST

Well last week we started talking a little bit about the family and I began by talking more directly to the single people and I have a few more words for you again tonight. I hope there have been some engagements during the week since I…I don’t know, but it would be nice if there had been some. Part of the problem in the world in which we live is you have too many choices. It was a lot better when you lived in a village and there were eight girls to choose from, and that was the way it was...

An Introduction to Christ in the Old Testament

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:05:57 PST

For this morning, I am very happy to say to you that we’re going to begin our series on finding Christ in the Old Testament. That’s going to happen right now. However, you’re going to have to be patient with me because I’m hitting the reset button on my entire life. So I have for months been reading and absorbing and all of this, even when I went back in my days of seminary, I took a minor in college, I took a minor in Greek, that’s the language of the-- original language of the New Testament. I made a much greater emphasis in seminary on Greek and I’ve loved working in the New Testament. Now it’s a shift for me into the Old. I’m not unfamiliar with it, but I have absorbed so much in the last number of months. Somebody reminded me this morning that it was nine weeks ago that I said I was going to do that and it’s taken me nine weeks to get to this point and that’s because I can do anything I want, basically. I just show up and nobody tells me what to do. So there were other things on my heart like the ministry that we talked about with regard to Romans 8 and the Holy Spirit. But now, we are at a point to begin to find the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament. And I want to lay some groundwork for that and help you understand why it is important and how it fits into the plan of the Word of God...

The Willful Submission of a Christian Wife

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:05:26 PST

Now I want you to open the Word of God this evening, to the fifth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and those of you who have been with us on Sunday nights know we’ve been looking at this chapter in light of our series on the Holy Spirit and with particular interest in looking at being filled with the Holy Spirit in verse 18...

How Can We Rescue the Family?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:46:49 PST

Soccer, dance lessons, school activities—involvement options for families today seem to have no end. But how do all those “family” commitments affect local church ministry? Is it possible to put too much emphasis on the family?

Next time you visit your Christian bookstore, notice how many books are available on the family. What you’ll see is graphic evidence of the explosion of evangelicals’ interest in the family. You could say we’re obsessed with the family.

No One Can Separate Us

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:26:15 PST

All right. Let’s turn to Romans chapter 8 again this morning, Romans chapter 8. We have been considering in some depth the ministry of the Holy Spirit in this chapter. And we are profoundly enriched by what Paul gives us here of divine insight into the Spirit’s work...

Interrogating Alcohol

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:25:16 PST

The Lord is blessing us with young people in this church, you notice. Our new member receptions on Sunday nights, so many young people. The Lord is bringing a generation of young people to the knowledge of Himself and it’s just a terrific joy for me...

Nothing Can Separate Us

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:44:00 PST

Now we come to message number 13. I never intended that, but message number 13 in Romans 8 series on the Holy Spirit. And we certainly welcome you who are guests to our church to the end of our series. Regrettably, some of you haven’t been with us in the previous messages, so you’re a little behind the curve. But that’s okay. Turn to Romans 8, and while you’re doing that I do want to make a comment about the worship book. There’s a note about it in the Grace Today...

Are Just a Few Being Saved? Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:00:00 PST

Open your Bible to Luke if you will, Chapter 13; Luke Chapter 13. As we work our way through this book and the magnificence of it and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His teaching, we come to a very riveting portion of scripture in which we see Jesus the evangelist calling people to become a true believer. Let me read the text, verses 22-30. Luke 13:22, "And He was passing through from one city and village to another teaching and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, Lord are there just a few who are being saved? And He said to them, strive to enter by the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able...

Are Just a Few Being Saved? Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:59:42 PST

After a few weeks we now return to the gospel of Luke. The gospel of Luke, this wonderful record of the life and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ; Luke 13, Luke 13. Starting in verse 22 and going down to verse 30 is a very important section of the teaching of the Lord Jesus. But I couldn't get past verse 24. So I want to talk to you this morning about Luke 13, verse 22 through 24. Let me read it. Luke 13:22, "And He was passing through from one city and village to another teaching and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, Lord, are there just a few who are being saved? And He said to them, strive to enter by the narrow door. For many I tell you will seek to enter and will not be able...

What kind of things do and do not prove the genuineness of saving faith?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:45:32 PST

Churches today are filled with people who hold to a faith that does not save. James referred to this as a "dead faith"-meaning a mere empty profession (James 2:17, 20, 26). Paul wrote to the people in the church at Corinth to test or examine themselves to see if they were truly in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). As important as it was in Paul's day, how much more important it is for people in our churches today to put their faith to the test and to make sure they have not been deceived.

Eine Illustration für Abtrünnige (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:08:19 PST

Die Gotteslästerung der Abtrünnigen (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:08:09 PST

The Truth About Hell

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:12:51 PST

As we enter into this season of celebration for us as believers, we face an opportunity and a responsibility that I think is unique to the season and that is to be ready to speak the gospel to the folks that are around us who don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ. You heard from Travis the commission of Jesus to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them and commanding them to do all things that I have commanded you. This is our commission, this is why we are here in this world, to be ministers of reconciliation with a message of reconciliation to God that sinners might be saved. We talk about that, being saved. One of the people being baptized tonight made reference to being saved...

Die Liebe Gottes, Teil 3 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:37:39 PST

Nun, dies sind besondere Tage und ich denke, das Tempo einfach ein wenig zu reduzieren und unser Engagement in der Welt ein wenig zurückzuschrauben, uns zu zurückzulehnen und über die Dinge nachzudenken, die uns wichtig sind, sind wirklich wichtige Momente und wichtige Stunden, die wir mit unseren Familien und denen, die wir lieben, verbringen. Aber während wir über Weihnachten nachdenken, hören wir viele Menschen über den Geist der Weihnacht und den Geist der Liebe reden. Jemand sagte sogar erst letzte Woche, nach einer meiner Predigten, zu mir: „Ich bin überrascht, dass du nichts über die Tatsache gesagt hast, dass wir einander lieben sollen. Ist das nicht das, worum es an Weihnachten letztendlich geht?“ Und es kam mir in den Sinn, dass die meisten Menschen wahrscheinlich so denken, dass es an Weihnachten einzig und allein darum geht, andere Menschen zu lieben...

Guaranteed Glory

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:08:16 PST

Let’s open the Word of God to the eighth chapter of Romans and we’re going to look…essentially we’re going to look at just two verses…just two verses. But in order to set it in your mind, I want to read three verses; verses 28, 29, and 30, they really do go together. We’ve pretty much covered verse 28 already and at least the second half of verse 29, but I want to read them for you...

Christians and Alcohol

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:07:43 PST

As we come, tonight, to the Word of God and to our discussion of a subject at hand, I want you to open your Bible to the fifth chapter of Ephesians and just that eighteenth verse that we looked at last time, Ephesians 5:18. And it’s really going to be a launching point for us into our discussion tonight...

Conforming to the Glory of Christ

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:53:43 PST

We’re looking at Romans chapter 8…Romans chapter 8 and we are talking about living in the Spirit, living in the Holy Spirit. For those of you who haven’t been with us for the previous nine weeks that we have discussed this, this is message number ten. I don’t know about you but it’s going fast for me and we’re having a wonderful time in the preparation of these messages. But the goal of this and the objective of this series in Romans 8 is to help you understand the true ministry of the Holy Spirit in a time when in evangelical Christian world, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is misunderstood and misrepresented. That is largely the legacy of the Pentecostal Charismatic Movement which is kind of a third force in Christianity. There’s Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Pentecostalism, those are the three sort of forces and obviously we understand the errors in Roman Catholicism, that’s why Protestantism exists because it was a protest against their errors. But we haven’t made the protest yet as we should have made the protest against the Pentecostal aberrations of Scripture and I’ve been endeavoring to carry on a rather small protest for many years, years ago writing a book called The Charismatics, following it up with a book called Charismatic Chaos, many of you have read that second book. It’s still around even today and hopefully helping people who are caught up in that Movement and its doctrinal deception...

Learning from Bad Examples

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:53:10 PST

There are so many ways in which we can prepare our hearts for a time around the Lord ’s Table. The cross is the focal point of the whole of Scripture and therefore there are a lot of places you can go to choose for that heart preparation that looks at the provision of Christ...

MacArthur on Multisite

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:23:43 PST

John, what’s your take on the multisite church movement?

Blog Comments

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:14:42 PST

The day has come to close the comment section on the GTY blog. We are truly sorry to disappoint, but some recent staff changes have made this necessary—just not enough people to monitor and interact. This will be the last post where we’ll allow comments, but stay with us, we’ve got some great posts from John coming very soon...

How to Enjoy Bible Study

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:38:29 PST

Bible study. Does the thought of it turn you on or off? Do you quake with guilt or tremble with eagerness? Here are some helpful guidelines on Bible study that can help you get more out of your personal study and enjoy it more, too.

Careful to Be Faithful

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:55:15 PST

Some commenters lately seem to have typecast Grace to You as a bunch of cranky old men, fearful of a changing world that threatens their long-held positions of power. If that’s what you or someone you know believes about John MacArthur and Grace to You, allow me to make a couple of clarifications. First, a word about the nature of this ministry...

The Word Became Flesh

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:14:11 PST

Let’s go back to John chapter 1 and talk a little bit about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, back to John chapter 1. I think this year we’ve received fewer Christmas cards than any other year. Are you having that experience? And I just don’t…people aren’t sending as many Christmas cards, but the ones that they do send are two kinds, pictures of their kids, pictures of family, which are great and wonderful, and pictures of shepherds and wise men and mangers and stars and angels and all of that, right? I mean, that’s pretty much…we could separate them, the people go over here, the manger scenes go over here and that seems to be the current theme. And you might even wonder if the Christmas story could even be told without those very familiar elements. Would…what would the Christmas story be with no stable, no manger, no Joseph, no Mary, no Bethlehem, no shepherds, no angels, no star, no wise men and no baby? What would the Christmas story be?

Groanings Too Deep for Words

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:02:13 PST

We open the Word of God now to the eighth chapter of Romans to continue our look at life in the Holy Spirit. We have been endeavoring to bring the wonderful, blessed Holy Spirit into a clearer picture in our understanding, given the fact that much today in the evangelical church is said about the Holy Spirit, I’m afraid that most of it is a misrepresentation of His person and His work. I said at the very beginning, a bold statement, and I will repeat it that our Lord Jesus condemned the leaders of Israel for attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan and in the modern Pentecostal Movement of today, the reverse is occurring where works of the devil are being attributed to the Holy Spirit. It’s a very sad, sad insult, a grief to the Holy Spirit and in some cases even a blasphemy of the blessed Holy Spirit...

Spirit-Filled Living

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:01:25 PST

Well as we have been very deeply entrenched in the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the eighth chapter of Romans, it occurred to me that we have been talking an awful lot about the work that the Holy Spirit does in us and we really haven’t said anything about our part of it, our responsibility. And so I thought for tonight I would direct your attention to the fifth chapter of Ephesians and verse 18…Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18, it reads, “Do not get drunk with wine for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit…be filled with the Spirit.”...

Hope and Money

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:00:13 PST

A very real danger facing Christians is the temptation to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches. To base their hope on the uncertainty of riches, instead of God, is foolish. Proverbs 11:28 warns that “he who trusts in his riches will fall.” Proverbs 23:4–5 adds, “Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.”

Rather than trusting in riches, believers are to fix their hope on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy...

Grunge Christianity?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:02:50 PST

One of the favorite topics on the evangelical agenda these days is how the church should "engage the culture." Do Christians need to imitate the boorish aspects of a quickly-decaying civilization in order to remain "relevant"? Some evidently think so.

We keep hearing from evangelical strategists and savvy church leaders that Christians need to be more tuned into contemporary culture.

You have no doubt heard the arguments: We need to take the message out of the bottle. We can't minister effectively we if don't speak the...

Hope That Transcends the Groaning

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:38:09 PST

We have been going through a series on the Holy Spirit. It was generated by my own heart concern for the terrible ways that the Holy Spirit is dishonored in the name of evangelicalism today. The Charismatic Movement sort of leads the parade on abusing the Holy Spirit, grieving the Holy Spirit, insulting the Holy Spirit, even blaspheming the Holy Spirit. And it just seems to be unbridled relentless abuse that is heaped upon the Holy Spirit. As I said very early on in the series, the unpardonable sin that Jesus addressed in the gospel of Matthew was attributing to Satan the works of the Holy Spirit. And I think there is a reverse of that sin today, and that is attributing to the Holy Spirit the works of Satan. This is rampant in our world and the abuses are obvious for all of us to see...

We Beheld His Glory

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:22:17 PST

Part of what I feel like I want the Lord to do for us in these messages that we give around the Christmas season is to just help you to be fresh in your understanding of the glories of Christ for those very opportunities that will come to you to answer questions, enter into dialogue with people who may not have committed their lives to Christ, just to give you a fresh and a new insight. It’s not as if we don’t know the story of Christ, it’s not as if we don’t understand the depth of the incarnation, the theology of what was going on in Bethlehem, we do know that and that’s why we’re here. We love these truths. We worship. And they’re familiar like an old song that we love that brings back rich and wonderful memories. That’s part of what makes Christmas the celebration that it is, it’s so loaded with history and memories from the past and we sort of dive back into the pool of all that’s gone before and enjoy all of the memories that have made up the Christmases of our past...

When Should People Leave Their Church?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:16:37 PST

Leaving a church is not something that should be done lightly. Too many people abandon churches for petty reasons. Disagreements over simple matters of preference are never a good reason to withdraw from a sound, Bible-believing church. Christians are commanded to respect, honor, and obey those whom God has placed in positions of leadership in the church (Heb. 13:7, 17). However, there are times when it becomes necessary to leave a church for the sake of one's own conscience, or out of a duty to obey God rather than men. Such circumstances would include...

We Can, But Should We?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:55:01 PST

Technology continues to advance at a pace that renders every new smartphone, tablet computer, gadget, gizmo, and doohickey obsolete almost upon purchase. And for every successful product—one that actually makes it on the shelf and turns a profit—there have to be ___ failed attempts. That’s why we take a bit of a “wait and see” approach to innovation here at Grace to You. We’re not about to jeopardize our stewardship by riding on the bleeding edge of every new fad that comes down the pike...

Who's to Blame?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:49:58 PST

Some blame the Jews, others the Romans. But who is really responsible for Jesus death?

God's Plan for the Gay Agenda

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:52:13 PST

If you’ve been watching the headlines over the last couple years, you may have noticed the incredible surge of interest in affirming homosexuality. Whether it’s at the heart of a religious scandal, political corruption, radical legislation, or the redefinition of marriage, homosexual interests have come to characterize America. That’s an indication of the success of the gay agenda. And some Christians, including some national church leaders, have wavered on the issue even recently. But sadly, when people refuse to acknowledge the sinfulness of homosexuality—calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20)—they do so at the expense of many souls.

God’s Absolute Sovereignty

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:16:46 PST

No doctrine is more despised by the natural mind than the truth that God is absolutely sovereign. Human pride loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything. T he carnal mind, burning with enmity against God, abhors the biblical teaching that nothing comes to pass except according to His eternal decrees. Most of all, the flesh hates the notion that salvation is entirely God’s work. If God chose who would be saved, and if His choice was settled before the foundation of the world, then believers deserve no credit for their salvation...

Trustworthy Answers in Untrusting Times

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:44:55 PST

From the human perspective, life doesn't always make sense. It is a difficult journey with obstacles to face and pitfalls to avoid. All of us have asked the same hard questions: "Is there a God?"; "Does He really love me?"; "Why am I here?"; "Why did this have to happen?"; "What is life really about?"

Life is a process of seeking answers for the road ahead. But the real question is: "Where do I go to get the answers to those questions?"

The Significance of the Virgin Birth

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:23:11 PST

At this point in Matthew’s narrative, we know two indisputable facts. One, Mary is pregnant, and two, Joseph is not the father of the child. A third crucial fact comes by way of angelic revelation. The child in Mary’s womb was conceived by the Holy Spirit. That means Mary is still a virgin...

Saved by What?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:54:30 PST

I want you to think with me concerning the things of the Word of God for our message along the line of the necessity of the Christian gospel, the necessity of the Christian gospel and maybe even more specifically the necessity of faith in the Christian gospel...

Heirs of God

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:54:09 PST

For this morning, we want to open our Bibles again to the eighth chapter of Romans as we continue to take a look at the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I’ve been so blessed and so encouraged to be looking at the Holy Spirit and His ministry in the life of the believer. I am so grateful for the response that I am getting from you. Many personal responses from people who have come out of churches in the past where the Holy Spirit is insulted, where the Holy Spirit is blasphemed, where the Holy Spirit’s ministry and person is misrepresented. And just wonderful to hear the refreshing, comforting and encouraging comments of folks who are starting to understand the truth about His ministry and be able to worship Him as He is to be worshiped, as He should be worshiped. And so I’ve been delighting just in the privilege that I’ve had to pull books off my shelf that I have had through the years on the person of the Holy Spirit, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and just go through those books. I’ve gone through a number of books just for my own reading, just to kind of enrich my own mind and my own heart. And kind of reset in my own mind a sound, biblical understanding in the theology of the Holy Spirit. Been very refreshing for me and it’s helped me to give honor and worship to the Holy Spirit which I find myself doing kind of on a regular basis even through the day, just thanking the Holy Spirit for all that He’s doing in my life...

The Extraordinary Birth of Jesus

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:36:28 PST

Extraordinary births are certainly not unprecedented in biblical history. As part of the Abrahamic Covenant, God promised to send a son to Abraham and Sarah (Gen. 17:19–22). They were both beyond normal childbearing ages and laughed at the prospect of being parents, yet they ultimately witnessed the miraculous arrival of their son, Isaac (Gen. 21:1–3). In Judges 13, an angel of the Lord told Manoah and his barren wife that they would have a special son. True to the heavenly messenger’s words, Samson entered the world and for a time delivered the Israelites from the oppression of the Philistines...

God Glorified in the Nobodies

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:14:45 PST

If you've ever visited the great cathedrals in Europe, you'd think the apostles were larger-than-life stained-glass saints with shining halos who represented an exalted degree of spirituality. But actually, they were very, very common men.

It's a shame they have so often been put on pedestals as magnificent marble figures, or portrayed in paintings like some kind of Roman gods. That dehumanizes them. They were just twelve completely ordinary men--human in every way--and we shouldn't lose touch with who they really were.

So what qualified those men to be apostles?

Glorifying God in Gray Areas

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:52:32 PST

If the issue you are wondering about is not specifically addressed in the Bible, then it's helpful to ask these questions from 1 Corinthians to help you in deciding what to do. Asking these questions (and others like them) will help you make a wise decision based on sound biblical principles...

Wie man Terroristen in der Gemeinde identifiziert (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:18:53 PST

Öffnet bitte eure Bibeln in der kurzen Epistel von Judas, dem vorletzten Buch in der Bibel, gleich vor dem Buch der Offenbarung. In unserer Serie über Judas haben wir diese Epistel den „Kampf um die Wahrheit“ genannt, Krieg für die Wahrheit zu führen. Dieser Titel leitet sich im Prinzip aus Vers 3 ab, wo wir aufgefordert werden, für den Glauben zu kämpfen. Und heute Abend werden wir damit beginnen, Vers 8 und folgende zu betrachten, die ich euch in einigen Momenten vorlesen werde, nachdem ich einige Anmerkungen zur Einleitung gemacht habe...

The Indispensable Ministry of the Holy Spirit

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:02:59 PST

Well I welcome you, this morning, to our church and to the wonderful fellowship of the people of God here. Our fellowship is around the Word of God and we are currently in a series looking at the life of the believer as impacted by the Holy Spirit. We’ve been saying in this somewhat brief series that the Holy Spirit perhaps the most invisible member of the Trinity in terms of people’s thinking and knowledge. We all understand a lot about God, there’s an awful lot of emphasis on the attributes of God and the works of God. We certainly emphasize Christ and all of His work and His person and character and His life. And just to balance out, understanding that each member of the Trinity is equally worthy with each other member of the Trinity. I want to help you to worship the Triune God in a more full way, to help you understand the true work of the Holy Spirit...

Honoring God through Edifying Preaching

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:02:22 PST

Welcome, tonight, we’re glad that you’re here. I know you’re here because you delight in the things of Christ and the fellowship with other Christians, and what a wonderful time it is to be together...

The Spirit-Empowered Life of Christ

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:50:36 PST

As you know, we are in a study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit, the member of the Trinity that often gets overlooked by some and by others, things are attributed to Him which He would have nothing to do with. We started out kind of talking about contemporary blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, grieving of the Holy Spirit, quenching of the Holy Spirit, and even showing disdain toward the Holy Spirit just to kind of give you the picture of what’s out there so that we know how important it is for us to have a true and correct understanding of the Holy Spirit...

How Christ Loves His Own

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:48:49 PST

For just a brief meditation tonight, I want to draw your attention to the thirteenth chapter of John, thirteenth chapter when our Lord on the last night He was with His disciples, gathered with them in the Upper Room, a familiar portion of Scripture. This event in the Upper Room covers 13, 14, 15 and 16 of the gospel of John. But I want us to look at the opening few statements...

Saved from What?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:33:43 PST

The Spirit of Adoption

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:16:19 PST

Let’s open the Word of God to the eighth chapter of the book of Romans, that beloved, wonderful treatise of the Apostle Paul on the gospel and all the aspects of it. And we’re looking at Romans 8 because that’s the chapter on the Holy Spirit and this would be Part 6, or message number six, in the study of the life of the Holy Spirit, life and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the believer…in the believer. What the Holy Spirit does in us...

Getting the Gospel Right

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:01:16 PST

What is the gospel? What do you say to someone who is interested in becoming a Christian? What truths must a person know and believe to be saved from his sins? As evangelicals, we ought to have the answers to such elementary questionsâ€”the gospel is what we're all about.

Answering the Key Questions About the Family

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:43:04 PST

Ours is a dark and decaying society. Sins that only twenty years ago were gasped at and spoken of in hushed and troubled tones are now publicly flaunted and even encouraged. Not so long ago, extramarital affairs were scandalous. Today, they're viewed as the norm. Even the president of the United States can engage in promiscuous behavior with a young intern, lie about it, and enjoy overwhelming support in public opinion polls. Why? Because so many Americans' own private lives are filled with similar sins. Our society has become inured to the sinfulness of sin. Homosexuality, incest, abortion, and even sex with children no longer shock and infuriate society the way they once did. In fact, all those sins now have their own advocacy groups, people who argue that such things are healthy, even desirable, activities...

Is It Wrong for Wives to Work?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:42:30 PST

The issue of wives working is one that she and her husband must come to understand from a biblical perspective, then allow the Holy Spirit to lead in their specific situation...

Can Christians Participate in Civil Disobedience?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:33:09 PST

We believe the Scripture teaches that we are to submit to government even if that government does not function entirely (or even primarily) by biblical principles (Romans 13:1-7). That principle is explicit in Peter's message to servants (1 Peter 2:18-19), which directly follows his more general comments regarding government (vv. 13-17). And that epistle teaches the same thing over and over again in varied ways: Submit even if you suffer, because in doing so you identify with Christ and are blessed (cf. 2:21-24; 3:1-2; 4:12-14; 5:9-10). There are times when we must obey God rather than men, but we believe that we should disobey the authorities only if they command us to do something directly against God's law (e.g. Acts 5:29 and its surrounding context).

Built to the Master's Plan

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:30:03 PST

I realize I may be demonstrating little more than a firm grasp of the obvious when I tell you the contemporary church is looking more and more like a large corporation. Even church leaders are bearing a closer resemblance to CEOs and corporate executives than to humble, tender shepherds. Sadly, the good news-that a sinner can find forgiveness for sins before a holy God by placing his trust in and committing his whole life to Jesus Christ-is eclipsed by "success"-oriented programs and an interest in the bottom line. As a result, many churches have become nothing more than entertainment centers, employing devices that effectively draw people into the church, but are inept to truly minister to them once they come.

God never intended the church to be like that. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says, "I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it."

A Model for Giving Thanks

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:08:18 PST

As we think about saying thanks to the Lord, obviously there’s a lot of places in the Scripture we might go. But I want to take you to a place that you might not think about, but I found the Lord laying it upon my heart today and decided to draw your attention to it. The Old Testament, 1 Chronicles...the Old Testament, 1 Chronicles chapter 16...1 Chronicles chapter 16.

Common Questions about Lordship, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:36:03 PST

Within days after the initial publication of The Gospel According to Jesus, I began to receive mail from readers. In the first few weeks alone I answered more letters about this book than I had ever received on any other subject. In the years since, my staff and I continue to respond to similar comments and questions. Here are some responses that represent the issues most commonly raised...

Abtrünnige, seid gewarnt, Teil 1 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:05:32 PST

Wir kehren in unserer Betrachtung von Gottes Wort zum Brief des Judas zurück. Wie ich bereits ganz am Anfang sagte, ist dies zwar eine sehr kurze Epistel, wenn man sie mit anderen Büchern der Bibel vergleicht, aber sie geht tief und umfasst sehr viel. Es gibt hier viel aufzunehmen. Diese Epistel befasst sich mit dem Kampf für den Glauben. Vers 3 ist der Schlüsselvers. „... hielt ich es für notwendig, euch mit der Ermahnung zu schreiben, daß ihr für den Glauben kämpft.“ Der christliche Glaube, der den Heiligen ein für alle Mal durch göttliche Inspiration überliefert wurde. Wir befinden uns in einem Krieg zum Schutz der Wahrheit...

Gezwungen, zu kämpfen (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:04:00 PST

Nun, wir wenden uns jetzt wieder der Betrachtung der kurzen Epistel des Judas zu. Ich habe diese Serie „Der Kampf für die Wahrheit, seine Abtrünnigen und Verteidiger“ genannt. Es geht um den Kampf für die Wahrheit...

How to Confront the Culture

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:59:11 PST

As a pastor in Southern California, I have the blessed privilege of mining the truth from God's Word every week of my life. Doing that in Los Angeles only makes it more interesting, if for no other reason than the tremendous diversity of people, culture, and language here. When we take the gospel to our city, it's amazing to watch God's Word transcend the culture--and every false religion--to change lives. The message of salvation in Christ truly knows no hindrance.

If you think evangelism is a somewhat arduous task in that environment, you're right. We face a culture that has rejected absolute truth and now considers it stylish to openly embrace and encourage degrading passions. The ecumenical, syncretistic spirit of the age recoils in horror at the exclusive claims of Christ. And popular, evangelical seeker-sensitive churches only make the task more difficult by refusing to confront sin in an effort to make the "unchurched" sinner comfortable.

Answering the Key Questions About the Doctrine of Election

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:09:37 PST

John, several years ago we offered everyone on the Grace To You mailing list a free copy of a message you taught on the doctrine of election. And the response to that was huge. It was one of the biggest offers we've ever had. And the topic generated a lot of conversation and response and some questions. So we wanted to kind of follow up on it. The fact is, election is one of those doctrines a lot of people have a strong response to, some people hate it, some people love it. And that's why we want to talk about it...

What's the history of Grace to You?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:39:05 PST

And Nothing But the Truth

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:02:06 PST

Contrary to what some suggest, there is no magic phrase or mantra we can say that will bind Satan. But John MacArthur reminds us that God has not left us without a divine strategy for dealing with our enemy.

Stop Complaining, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:10:08 PST

Let me sort of ease in to our subject a little bit, if I might. We're in Philippians chapter 2 verses 14 through 16. And I titled the message, "Stop Complaining...Stop Complaining." There's a reason for that and it's fairly obvious if you look at verse 14 where Paul says, "Do all things without grumbling or disputing," which are really two ways of saying stop complaining...

Modeling Bible Study Through Preaching

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:27:57 PST

Years ago a reporter said to me, “Do you have a desire to build the church?” I said, “Not really because Christ said He would build the church and I’d rather not compete with Him.” That’s a losing enterprise. So we have been blessed to see the Lord continue to build His church. We’re so greatly thankful for that...

The Law-Fulfilling Power of the Holy Spirit

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:27:13 PST

I’ve been meditating on this series that we’re doing on the person and work of the Holy Spirit, of how serious a thing it is to attempt to worship God in a way that He rejects. And I keep going back in my mind to the book of Exodus and in the thirty-second chapter of Exodus while Moses was up on the mountain, getting the Law of God, communing with God, the people down below made a golden calf. And they had sort of an interesting explanation...

Grace Community Church's Thanksgiving Eve Service (1984)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:24:22 PST

Well, I know your heart's blessed tonight, as we've enjoyed this fellowship in music and sharing together. I trust it set your thoughts toward the Lord...that you'll be especially thankful for the things you've been reminded of tonight. And we want to give you the opportunity...you hear me all the time, and I don't get to hear you very often...but I love to hear what the Lord is doing in the lives of our family here, and even of our friends and guests. And so we want you to have that opportunity tonight. Don't be shy or bashful. There's three microphones: one there, one in the middle, and one over here. All you have to do is just line up behind them. Probably be good if there were no more than three or four people in each line, and then when the line gets down past that, you can come up so that you don't stand there for a long, long time. But if you'd like to share your thanks for what the Lord has done in your life, express some personal thanks, we'd love to hear that tonight, and I think you might, in sharing your own heart of thanks, sort of gather up the thanks of an awful lot of folks, and maybe verbalize it for them. So, if you will, go right to those microphones and...that's great. Take a moment to...to get there, and we'll let you express your thanks to the Lord. Great...well, that's good. Okay, we'll...we'll wait till we go through these, and then we'll...we don't wanna get too long a line, so you're not standing there very long. Okay, why don't we start over here on the right. Give us your name and then just share what you're thankful for...

A Worried Christian

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:44:08 PST

John MacArthur provides an encouraging corrective to Christians who are prone to worry.

Embracing and Shunning

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:39:33 PST

Executing faithful church ministry boils down to just a few essentials—a high view of God, the absolute authority of Scripture, sound doctrine, personal holiness, and a biblical view of spiritual authority. Those are essentials to any biblical philosophy of ministry...

Can We Know What the Scripture Means?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:24:47 PST

This is a little bit of a different approach on Sunday night. I’m really kind of talking to you in a personal way to give you an understanding of why we do what we do here at Grace Church in terms of the exposition of Scripture, and why we send missionaries all over the world to train other people to do what we do...

Giving Thanks to the Spirit

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:23:26 PST

Last Sunday I began a series on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Looking at the person of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit so that we can worship Him in the way that He deserves to be worshiped. And at that time when I began the series last week, I mentioned to you that the Holy Spirit is the most, in my mind at least, the most abused member of the Trinity. There are so many people who blame the Holy Spirit for their behaviors, their words, their experiences and the Holy Spirit has no part whatsoever...

Exhortation to a Faithful Church

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:06:32 PST

That was wonderful, thank you, Clayton, for leading us in all those musical prayers this morning, and because of the release of the book At The Throne of Grace, everything sort of centered around prayer. And that’s wonderfully well-orchestrated by the Holy Spirit because this morning we’re going to look at the prayer of the Apostle Paul for the Thessalonian church which we read a little bit earlier, a very fitting connection to the things that are going on...

Exposition: The Heart of Biblical Ministry

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:05:49 PST

As I mentioned to you, this morning, I want to talk to you a little bit, more like a sort of a personal lecture than a sermon, about the emphasis that we have here on the exposition of the Word of God. This church is known all over the world for the fact that we are committed to Scripture, that we are known because of the ministry that we have had here for well into five decades now of explaining the Bible. And this is the best thing that a church can be known for, the explanation of Scripture. It is what we do. It is what we train men to do. It is what the men who go out of this church and there are people who go out of this church to other places do and expect to be done, and the Lord by His mercy and grace has allowed us to spread this emphasis and this vision across the face of the earth with our missionaries and their wonderful ministries and training centers all over the globe. They continue to emphasize the exposition of Scripture and to train people to do the exposition of Scripture and to train men and women in the church who will never exposit the Word of God from a pulpit to expect it to be done by whoever is in the pulpit. So we raise the awareness of Bible exposition, we train men to do that and we encourage people to expect that in their churches...

The Modern Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:52:09 PST

Well now that I don’t have to preach on anything but what I want to preach on since I finished the New Testament, I find myself all over the place trying to decide what to preach on in sequence…a new kind of experience for me and I’m working on some kind of sequence that makes sense over the future. But I am sort of at the liberty point of my life where whatever is on my heart is where I can go, and this is a wonderful opportunity for me. And there is a subject that has concerned me for a long time and I have wanted to address this subject but it hasn’t been a part of preaching through the gospels in the way that it can be now and that is the subject of the Holy Spirit…the Holy Spirit...

Two Clear Concerns

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:49:43 PST

The Elephant in the Elephant Room

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:57:33 PST

One of the more recent entries to the conservative Christian conference line-up is the Elephant Room, the brainchild of James MacDonald. The idea was to bring Christian leaders together for some brotherly sparing over “elephant-in-the-room” issues. Pleased with the results of the first conference in March 2011, they’re prepared for the second in January 2012. This Elephant Room “Round 2” is being promoted like a prize fight: “Your ringside seat awaits,” and “You know the rules…No wavering. No Sidestepping. No excuses.”...

A True Work of the Spirit, Part 4

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:27:45 PST

In this series, we've seen that a true work of the Holy Spirit exalts the true Christ, opposes Satan's interests, and points people to the Scriptures. Today, we will continue by looking at another mark of the Spirit's work. The following material is adapted from Jonathan Edwards's The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God.

It Elevates Truth

"We know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error" (v. 6).

Gratitude for a Faithful Church

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:25:54 PST

Well obviously my heart is very full this morning and my time is very limited…which is a good thing because I would probably say too much if I didn’t limit myself to the time I have...

A True Work of the Spirit, Part 3

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:59:47 PST

So far we have seen that a true work of the Holy Spirit exalts the true Christ and opposes Satan's interests. Today, we will continue by looking at another mark of the Spirit's work. The following material is adapted from Jonathan Edwards's The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God.

It Points People to the Scriptures

"We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." (1 John 4:6)

The Sin of Counting

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:46:03 PST

I’ll admit to being weary, to the point of irritation, whenever I hear ministers of the gospel reporting their statistics as external evidences of success. And I know I’m not the only one...

Ewige Sicherheit in einem irdischen Konflikt (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:32:10 PST

Wir kehren zurück zu unserer Betrachtung des kurzen Judasbriefes ... der kurze Judasbrief umfasst nur 25 Verse, aber was für ein mächtiges, überzeugendes Buch! Wie ich bereits letztes Mal sagte, geht dieses Buch im Schatten der Offenbarung unter. Aber wenn es irgendeinen Brief im Neuen Testament gibt, den die Gemeinde heutzutage hören muss, so ist es dieser ... so ist es dieser. Die Gemeinde heutzutage ist schwach, geht viele Kompromisse ein, ist tolerant und oberflächlich, im Großen und Ganzen nicht bereit, der biblischen Wahrheit ihren rechtmäßigen Platz zu gewähren und ganz gewiss nicht daran interessiert, wenn nicht sogar nach außen hin dagegen, in den Kampf zu ziehen, um die Wahrheit zu schützen. Die Gemeinde heutzutage scheint sich sehr wenig dafür zu interessieren, die Wahrheit gegen alle Angriffe zu verteidigen...

Coming Home to Roost

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:29:16 PST

We learned in our last spot that it is possible to be a faithful and effective missionary without excessive contextualization. In fact, there was a time when things like translating the Bible, eating native foods and wearing native clothing, and learning to appreciate the cultural interests and activities of the people among whom you lived as a missionary didn’t require fancy terminology to validate it (like contextualization or redeeming the culture); it was just good common sense...

Contextualizing on the Mission Field

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:39:58 PST

Okay, so contextualization as pragmatism is out. John MacArthur put that to rest. But is there any form of contextualization that’s legitimate? Certainly missionaries have to contextualize to evangelize in a foreign context, don’t they?

The Spirit's True Work, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:07:04 PST

Last time we saw that a true work of the Holy Spirit exalts the true Christ. Today, we will continue by looking at another mark of the Spirit's work. The following material is condensed, adapted and excerpted from Jonathan Edwards's The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God...

The Spirit's True Work, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:05:34 PST

How can a true work of the Holy Spirit be distinguished from a false one?

From a careful study of 1 John 4, the great theologian and pastor Jonathan Edwards was able to identify five distinguishing characteristics of the Holy Spirit's work. In short, a true work of the Holy Spirit:

(1) Exalts the true Christ, (2) Opposes Satan's interests (3) Points people to the Scriptures (4) Elevates truth (5) Results in love for God and others

A Good Soldier

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:06:57 PST

On June 12, 1944, just six days after D-Day in World War II, a young lieutenant named Richard Winters led his men to the outskirts of Carentan. As the officer in charge of Easy Company, of the 101st Airborne, he was tasked to clear the large French town of its German defenders. It would be a small battle, but it played a significant role in the massive effort to rid the world of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

As Winters led his company up the road toward town, the company started taking machine gun fire from a German MG42. The men...

A Few Good Shepherds

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:52:44 PST

Some modern church leaders fancy themselves businessmen, media figures, entertainers, psychologists, philosophers, or lawyers. Those notions contrast sharply with the way Scripture portrays spiritual leaders...

Mark, the Restored Deserter

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:30:20 PST

Well this morning, for the first time in the history of my ministry at this church, we open to the book of Mark, a new era in our church life, and a somewhat monumental experience for me since 40 years ago when I came, it was my objective to teach through the entire New Testament verse by verse. I have done that in these 40 years and arrived finally at the last book, the book of Mark. And with the completion of this book, the whole of the New Testament will have been taught here in our church and what an immense incalculable privilege it has been for me...

Believer’s Baptism

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:03:37 PST

Last Sunday night I introduced to you the subject of infant Baptism and really the broader subject of Baptism itself. And I made a comment that it is a paradox that the world is full of baptized non-Christians and unbaptized Christians. There is a world of people who have been baptized by the mode if infant Baptism by sprinkling, that has been a dominating form of Baptism in the Christian church historically. And as I said, there are a world of people who have been baptized that way which is not a true baptism, but nonetheless it is identified as a Baptism who have nothing to do with the church and don’t know the Lord genuinely...

A Challenge For Christian Communicators

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 07:26:56 PST

Clarity and accuracy in communicating divine truth is more important for Christian communicators than anyone else. The availability of mass communications further enhances the preacher’s job in this day and time because of the vast audiences he can reach, which were not nearly as large in earlier days. Mass media opportunities can be abused, however, as they have been in so many cases. Television, for example, helped to usher out the “age of exposition” and usher in the age of “sound bites” when image became more important than substance in the message being communicated. As an entertainment medium, television has lowered appetites for serious thought as it has raised expectations for trivia and brevity. That is especially true of sermons in the mass media. Christian publishing has gone in the same direction in catering to people’s “felt needs” and giving them something they want rather than the doctrinal truths of the Bible. That is the very thing that Paul warned Timothy against and that Jeremiah refrained from doing. As Christ’s ambassadors, Christian communicators must make the message, not the medium, the heart of what they give their listeners, viewers, and readers.

The Final Word on Contextualization

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:36:17 PST

Several weeks ago Grace to You launched a blog series examining the subject of contextualization, the pragmatic approach to evangelism that says the gospel can be made more powerful by adapting it to cultural contexts. John MacArthur opened that series by asking an important question: Where did Christians ever get the idea they could win the world to Christ by imitating it?

How to Recognize True Repentance (Don Green)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:22:11 PST

I’d invite you to turn to the gospel of Matthew to start with here this afternoon. The gospel of Matthew...

A Biblical Model of Lay Ministry

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:51:18 PST

Against Compromise

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:28:03 PST

It was Martin Luther who said:

"The world at the present time is sagaciously discussing how to quell the controversy and strife over doctrine and faith, and how to effect a compromise between the Church and the Papacy. Let the learned, the wise, it is said, bishops, emperor and princes, arbitrate. Each side can easily yield something, and it is better to concede some things which can be construed according to individual interpretation, than that so much persecution, bloodshed, war, and terrible, endless dissension and destruction be permitted.

"Here is lack of understanding, for understanding proves by the Word that such patchwork is not according to God's will, but that doctrine, faith and worship must be preserved pure and unadulterated; there must be no mingling with human nonsense, human opinions or wisdom.

Fundamentals of the Faith (Teacher’s Guide) (Russian)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:51:04 PST

Fundamentals of the Faith (Russian)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:50:47 PST

Practical Concerns in the Local Church: An Interview with John MacArthur

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:02:22 PST

I’ve been collecting questions from people who are here at the Truth Matters Conference, pretty much through the conference. And I’ve tried to organize them in a topical kind of format. Some of these are practical questions, some of them are biblical questions. And for the most part they reflect exactly the kinds of questions we typically get from listeners at Grace To You. And the most common question we get, of course, at Grace To You is…where can I find a church in my area that’s like Grace Church? And our standard answer is, “There aren’t any and you can’t have John MacArthur.”..

The Glorious Gospel

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:55:37 PST

Divine truth is the most important thing there is, by it we are saved, sanctified, and given the hope of glory. By it we understand what God requires of us and therefore we understand what we are to obey, what we are to be, that is the path of blessing in life and reward in eternity...

Is Infant Baptism Biblical?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:54:31 PST

One of the strange paradoxes in the church is that the world is full of baptized non-Christians, millions of them all over the planet, baptized non-Christians. While at the same time, the church is full of non-baptized Christians, like some of you. What a strange paradox that is. And it raises the issue of baptism and what it is and why people are so confused about it. We here at Grace Community Church understand baptism biblically. We understand its method, we understand its meaning. We have even through the years put baptisms on the radio, which no other ministry that I know of has ever done. We have, through the years, in the early days of our Shepherds Conference has taken one of the nights of Shepherds Conference to do baptisms. We had a baptism last week at the conclusion of the Truth Matters Conference. And essentially, just about every single Sunday night through the year right here we have testimonies of people being baptized. We understand what believer’s baptism is from Scripture...

Paul’s Philosophy of Ministry

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:34:24 PST

Let’s open the Word of God to Colossians chapter 1. We’ll take a little break from Mark’s gospel which we have been doing for many, many months, many joyful and wonderful months...

The Wrong Kind of Unity

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 22:32:04 PST

The unity Christ prayed for in the church is not, to begin with, an organizational unity. When Jesus prayed that we all might be one, He was describing a spiritual unity. In John 17:11, He prayed “that they may be one, even as We are.” Verse 21 continues: “that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us” (emphasis added)...

The Abomination of Desolation

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:02:34 PST

For the Gentiles I Became a Gentile

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:53:02 PST

As long as it did not violate God’s Word or compromise the gospel, Paul was willing to accommodate himself to his audience. As we noted in the last post, that was certainly true of his Jewish audience. But Paul didn’t stop with the Jews. He demonstrated the same heart of sacrifice toward the Gentiles—all for the sake of the gospel...

For the Jews I Became Jewish, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:16:20 PST

As we noted in the last post, Paul was not advocating “contextualization” when he wrote to the Corinthians, “I have become all things to all men, that I may be all means save some.” He was calling for self-denial and sacrifice for the sake of reaching unbelievers with the gospel...

A Biblical Perspective on Death, Terrorism, and the Middle East, Pt 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:59:23 PST

Servants of a New Covenant

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 06:44:08 PST

“All things belong to us, and we are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” Paul made that tremendous, seemingly unqualified promise to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 3:21–23). Christians are free. Yet there is a paradox that balances that truth. Though free, all Christians are slaves. It is a new kind of bondage: we are “servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6). As willing slaves, we must voluntarily restrict our own liberty for others’ sakes. Isn’t that what Jesus Himself taught? “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). Paul applied the principle of voluntary servitude to evangelism. He made himself a slave to all—including the roughest, most contemptible, loathsome pagan. Being free, he nevertheless joyfully entered into slavery for the gospel’s sake...

Giving Up to Gain

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 19:51:09 PST

One of the most frequently quoted passages church marketing specialists use to justify “contextualizing” the gospel is Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. In chapter 9, he summarizes his gospel strategy by claiming he became all things to all men. But look again at what Paul is actually saying in these verses...

Grow Up
Advice for YRRs (part 2)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 08:38:16 PST

When Paul told Timothy, "Let no one despise you for your youth" (1 Timothy 4:12), he wasn't suggesting that Timothy should forbid people in the church to disapprove if the pastor were to display immaturity, juvenile misbehavior, youthful indiscretion, or other traits of callow character...

To what extent do you use notes? Do you write a manuscript?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:25:06 PST

During my study I write out the flow of my sermon. Then, from that rough draft, I write out notes to take into the pulpit. I usually have about ten half-sheets of notes for each message. I have everything written out that I want to cover. I have some statements written exactly the way I want to phrase them. Certain truths need to be stated accurately or in fresh terms, so that I am not misunderstood or repetitious...

The Rejected Cornerstone

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:45:25 PST

There have always been critics who said that Jesus was a noble teacher, He was a religious leader and He was a spiritual man. He had grandiose ideas of what He wanted to accomplish. He wanted to teach people true religion. He wanted to teach people morality and virtue. He made a noble effort at it but it all kind of went bad. It all ended up in a terrible tragedy. He got caught in the gears of His own ambition and He ended up dead and the critics have often said this was not the plan, it was a tragic ending to a noble effort...

Reasons for Loving the Church, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 08:32:06 PST

Reasons for Loving the Church, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 08:26:39 PST

Grow Up. Settle Down. Keep Reforming.
Advice for the Young, Restless, Reformed

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:46:52 PST

It has been five years since Christianity Today published Collin Hansen’s article titled “Young, Restless, Reformed.” Hansen later expanded the article into a book with the same title (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008). He has carefully documented a very encouraging trend: large numbers of young people (college age and younger) are discovering the doctrines of grace, embracing a more biblical and Christ-centered worldview, and beginning to delve more deeply into serious theology than most 20th-century evangelicals were prone to do.

God’s Unchangeable Character

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:47:14 PST

Whether you’re reading the morning paper or driving to work, you’re certain to encounter one of the most pervasive reminders of our humanity—change. Birth announcements, obituaries, construction, demolition—change riddles God’s creation...

Questions and Answers, Part 58

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:36:45 PST

Well, as you know, these days are interesting days for me, as my work on preaching through the New Testament has nearly come to an end. In fact, in terms of preparation, it has come to an end. I have already prepared the messages for next Sunday. And it was Friday that I did something that really marked a dramatic shift in the course of my life...

How God Buried His Son

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:36:18 PST

Well let’s open the Word of God then to the fifteenth chapter of the wonderful gospel of Mark. We all understand the importance of the cross. We looked at the details of our Lord’s death. We’re very familiar with all the explanations of the meaning of the cross that are given to us by the Apostles and their associates who wrote the books of the New Testament. We’re very familiar with the importance of the cross, the priority of the cross, the wonder of the cross, the miraculous nature of the death of our Lord...

Amazement at the Empty Tomb

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:35:40 PST

I’m so deeply grateful for the people that God has surrounded me with in my own family, starting with Patricia, and all my children and grandchildren, and everybody else that the Lord has brought into my life who has served here, been a part of this church. This is a journey that we’ve all taken together. It’s not something that’s done in isolation by any means. In order for me to be able to do the things that I have set my heart to do, and the Lord has enabled me to do, a lot of other things had to be done by other people who have done well and nobly all the tasks that could ever have been imagined to need to be done, in order to enable me to do what I do and what I feel God has called me to do...

Above Reproach

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:41:04 PST

A small item I read in the news twenty years ago has stuck in my mind ever since. The Rockdale County High School Bulldogs basketball team of Conyers, Georgia, won their first-ever state championship in March of 1987, rolling over all their opponents. After eighteen years of coaching the team without a championship, coach Cleveland Stroud was ecstatic...

Divine Mercy for the Blasphemers

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:33:36 PST

Now we are in Mark chapter 15 and today is going to be a special day, both this morning and evening. We’re going to be looking at the portion of Scripture that begins in verse 22 and describes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ...

God Visits Calvary

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:32:59 PST

We return to Mark chapter 15 and the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ...

Mark, Vol. 6

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:20:20 PST

The Extent of God’s Love

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:38:01 PST

Have you ever spoken to an unbeliever who knew some of his Bible—just enough to be angry and confused? If so, you probably heard questions (accusations) like these: “What kind of God orders the slaughter of entire cities—women, children, and animals included—without mercy? Why does God allow so much pain, suffering, and evil in the world? How do you reconcile the love of God with the eternal flames of hell?”

Seid ihr bereit? – Ich komme! Teil 1 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:06:06 PST

Wir schlagen unsere Bibeln heute früh bei Matthäus Kapitel 24 auf und befassen uns wieder mit den Zeichen der Wiederkunft unseres Herrn Jesus Christus, den Zeichen der Wiederkunft unseres Herrn Jesus Christus...

Die unmittelbar bevorstehende Rückkehr Christi (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:04:08 PST

Wir sind so privilegiert, dass wir am Tag des Herrn zusammenkommen und das Wort Gottes studieren dürfen. Es ist leicht für uns, dieses Privileg zu vergessen. Wir nehmen die Fülle biblischer Lehre, die wir hier in der Grace Church bekommen, unter Umständen als selbstverständlich hin. Wann immer ich an einem anderen Ort bin und andere Menschen treffe, die nicht dieses Privileg haben, das wir hier mit so vielen von Gott gegebenen Lehrern haben, muss ich daran denken, wie reich wir sind und wie dankbar ich Gott sein sollte und dass ich das Wunder seines großartigen und herrlichen Wortes niemals als selbstverständlich ansehen sollte.

Joy Rules

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 16:27:46 PST

Judas’s Betrayal

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:16:13 PST

I want you to open the Word of God to the gospel of Mark…the gospel of Mark and chapter 14. With some apology to our guests, we are near the end of this great gospel and so much has gone on in the past that you have missed, but it is all available, these days, isn’t it. GTY.org, you can download our whole study of Mark along with everything else...

The Ultimate Miscarriage of Justice

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:15:33 PST

We return tonight to the fourteenth chapter of Mark, but I don’t want you to turn to that right now. Instead, I want you to turn to the sixteenth chapter of Deuteronomy…the sixteenth chapter of Deuteronomy...

Peter's Denial: A Warning About Self-Confidence

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:14:11 PST

We open to the fourteenth chapter of Mark and a portion of Scripture from verses 66 through 72, that is a fulfilled prophecy. In fact, our Lord predicted that this would happen on several occasions, and, in fact, it did happen, just exactly the way our Lord predicted it would It is, in fact, the denial of Christ from the lips of the Apostle Peter, Peter’s denial...

Pilate Before Jesus

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:13:41 PST

Let’s open the Word of God to the fifteenth chapter of Mark’s gospel…the fifteenth chapter as John said, the end is in sight. Chapter 16 looking right ahead of you, perhaps in your Bible on the same page, although this is somewhat of a long chapter...

The Shameful Scorn of Jesus Christ

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:13:04 PST

Let’s open the Word of God to the fifteenth chapter of Mark…Mark chapter 15. We come in our study of this gospel to Mark’s account of the crucifixion of Christ. And as I said, a moment ago, we’re going to be looking at this in three parts...

Does God Love His Enemies?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:14:11 PST

I can still remember the chair I was sitting in years ago when I read a life-changing page in John MacArthur’s book The God Who Loves. In an economy of words, John exposed, confronted, and changed my thinking on one of the most critical areas of theology, the nature of God. My understanding of God’s love—specifically His love for the non-elect—was never the same...

The Agony of the Cup

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:49:26 PST

Open your Bible to the fourteenth chapter of Mark…Mark’s gospel, chapter 14. We are in the history of Mark, in the Passion Week of our Lord Jesus Christ, the week of His crucifixion and resurrection. As we come to chapter 14 of Mark and verses 32 to 42, we come to a very familiar account of our Lord’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane as He wrestles with the reality of the coming cross later that day. This is set on Friday, in the middle of the night, the very day He was crucified and died...

The Forgotten Side of God

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:50:39 PST

Certainly it’s apparent to you if you’re a Christian, as it is to me that we live in a profane, godless, secularized, and for the most part, atheistic culture. Even our religion is a kind of atheism for it attempts to erase the true God and substitute in His place a God who makes men comfortable. And whenever I read that fifty-million people in America are supposed to be “born again,” and I see in comparison with that statistic, the constant, ever-increasing secularization of our society, I find that the two don’t go together very well. We’re supposed to be a Christian nation. It’s even popular to be born again. Yet the impact of Christianity on our country seems to be weak, seems to be shallow, it seems to be superficial, it seems to be saccharine. Being a Christian may be in, but it doesn’t seem to be having much of an impact. We are caught up in a kind of self-indulgence and self-centeredness that even views God only in terms of what He can do for us. God becomes sort of a utilitarian genie, you rub your little theological lamp, he pops out and says three wishes...

A Personal Glimpse: Al Sanders Interviews John MacArthur

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:49:59 PST

A lot of these men have come to the Shepherds Conference this year from their churches, and I’m sure it’s been wonderful as they’ve been elevated to the heavenlies with the music, and the speaking, and all of the rest. But they have to go home to circumstances that may be less than pleasing. Why are we people in the pew so touch on pastors? Is it just something that comes with the turf?...

What in the World is the Christian Message?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:49:11 PST

When anybody asks me what I do, and they often do when I’m sitting on an airplane. You know, the number one fear of people sitting on an airplane is that they would be seated next to an insurance salesman. But the number two fear is that they would be seated next to a preacher, obviously. And so people often ask me what I do? And I’ve come to the conclusion that the best answer is to say, “I have a job that is the greatest job in the world because I have the greatest news in the world. I travel around and tell people that God will forgive all their sins. Are you interested?” Now that cuts to the chase, folks, gets right there fast...

An Eternal Perspective on Temporal Trials

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:48:28 PST

Well, let’s turn to the book of James. The words of the Apostle Paul are, I think, often lost, some of the most profound and far-reaching statements he makes, brief statements are often lost to us because we really don’t…we really don’t examine everything he said with great detail. But he makes one statement in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 that is so very, very profound. It’s in verse 16, you don’t have to look it up, but he said this, he said, “We know no man after the flesh.” He says, “We no longer know Christ after the flesh and we know no man after the flesh.”...

The Sin of Putting God to the Test

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:36:02 PST

Here's a third characteristic of gambling. Remember, Gambling involves 1) Something valuable that is placed at risk; 2) Something belonging to someone else that is staked as a prize; and...

A Good Question

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:59:44 PST

A reader sent me this excellent question...

A Historic Moment

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:51:22 PST

Forty-three years ago, John MacArthur set his sights on preaching through the entire New Testament, using verse-by-verse Bible exposition. Over the years he worked hard to accomplish that goal, and he didn’t merely hit the highlights of the New Testament or avoid difficult passages. He expounded everything in a bold, courageous, and in-depth manner that we’ve grown to know and love...

The Fitting End to Mark’s Gospel

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:58:35 PST

Well it was February of 1969 on a rainy Sunday when showed up at Grace Church in my late twenties with no idea of what the future held. As I said, there were a couple of things in my mind. One was to teach the Scripture verse-by-verse and the other was to train men. God has brought to a fruition of some kind, anyway, both of those desires in ways that are way beyond anything I ever imagined...

John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:49:21 PST

The Banner of Truth has just released Iain Murray's new book, John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock. It's a great read, a fascinating story, and a significant work. Murray begins to put into perspective one of the most important Christian preachers of our time.

Does ‘Mutual Consent’ Eliminate the Evil in Gambling?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:14:06 PST

We are looking at four essential characteristics in a standard definition of gambling. I have argued that each of the four characteristics involves a violation of one or more vital biblical principles...

How do you guard your preparation time?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:07:48 PST

I use a system I call "planned neglect"—I plan to neglect everything else until my studying is done. I set aside Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to prepare for my Sunday messages. Not until I have accomplished what I need to on those days do I then stop and care for other matters. I have an assistant and two secretaries who help shield me from the affairs of a large ministry that would deluge me and rob me of my study time. Of course, I am available when I need to be...

Gambling vs. Faithful Stewardship

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:40:38 PST

I closed the last post with a list of four distinguishing marks drawn from a standard definition of "gambling." All four of these are true of every variety of gambling...

Oh, and One More Thing…

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:30:16 PST

The following is adapted from comments I originally posted in other forums, but since what I have to say below is germane to the large subject under discussion, I've distilled it here and am posting it so that it will be permanently attached to this thread. Like my remarks in the immediately preceding post, this one answers several e-mails that have been sent to me directly, and a few posts that have appeared other forums...

Foundations, Vol. 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 31 May 2011 11:09:24 PST

The Prophecy of Failure

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 27 May 2011 21:49:28 PST

Now we come to Mark chapter 14 and for tonight, verses 27 to 31. We left off this morning in verse 26 as Thursday evening’s Passover event ended, an event that began about sundown and didn’t end until after midnight. Six hours or so our Lord spent eating the last Passover and introducing the first Communion. In and around that, all kinds of important events took place and our Lord did extensive teaching to His Apostles, giving them promises, all laid out for us in the wonderful chapters in John gospels, starting with chapter 13 and running through chapter 16. Closed out the evening with a great High Priestly prayer recorded in chapter 17. When the evening was finally done, they sang a hymn, Psalm 136 and they left. We pick up the story at that very moment in verse 27...

The New Passover

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 27 May 2011 21:48:48 PST

Well let’s turn to the Word of God in Mark 14. We need to be on the fast track in Mark, as you know. And you’re probably aware that next Sunday is Easter Sunday and there is no way we are going to be at the resurrection by next Sunday. So that will be a few weeks after that. So we’re going to have an Easter Sunday celebration next week but the message is going to be on our Lord’s experiencing Gethsemane, in Gethsemane. We will celebrate the resurrection but we’ll stay with the chronology as we flow through the gospel of Mark. These are wonderful days for us. We are covering a lot at a rapid pace, but I think it’s a wonderful way to experience these last hours of our Lord’s earthly live...

How to Cultivate a Healthy Conscience

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 27 May 2011 13:52:15 PST

Turn in your Bible to 2 Corinthians chapter 1…2 Corinthians chapter 1. I want to read one verse and then I want to sort of bounce off of that verse and set the stage for some things that are really important about the conscience. Verse 12, 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 12, “Paul says, ‘For our boasting, do you have that? Or our confidence is this, the testimony of our…what?...conscience,’” and stop right there...

John MacArthur's 25th Anniversary Celebration

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 27 May 2011 13:50:21 PST

Well, this is a time for our multimedia presentation. Most of us have had the privilege of sitting in this auditorium every week and we have no concept of how far John MacArthur’s pulpit ministry extends worldwide. Only eternity will reveal the full scope of it. Every day of the week and at any given moment, night or day, more people around the world are listening to John’s preaching through Grace To You radio and cassette tapes than the total number of all who sit in our combined morning and evening services on a typical Sunday. Multiple millions each week listen to the messages we are blessed to hear firsthand. God has literally sent John MacArthur’s preaching to the uttermost parts of the earth. Jesus Himself said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and in his own household. It’s one of the wretched tendencies of our sinfulness that we fail to appreciate those whom God raises up in our midst. John’s 25th anniversary is a reminder to us of the command of Hebrews 13:7, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the Word of God to you and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.”

The Doctrine of Salvation: Assurance

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 27 May 2011 13:47:29 PST

I want to begin our study of assurance tonight by reading you a letter I received from an individual, and then a poem that he wrote that may set in context the importance of our study...

Questions from the Heart

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:32:11 PST

Hi, John. My question I probably even know the answer. It’s been something I’ve been experiencing which is I’ve been in a lot of prayer lately about certain things. And when you go through the Scripture, and you read things, for example, like John 14:13, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” And, for example, John 15:7, “If abideth in Me and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you.”...

Bible Questions and Answers, Part 29

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:25:55 PST

Well, it’s your time, so whatever questions you might have in your heart or mind, just come up to the microphone that’s nearest to you and stand there and we’ll just kind of move along and see if we can’t look to God’s Word together. Great…boy, everybody’s in a hurry tonight...

Players in the Drama of the Cross, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:24:53 PST

Well, let’s turn back to the fourteenth chapter of the gospel of Mark, the fourteenth chapter of the gospel of Mark. With the beginning of this chapter, we enter into the events that lead up and include the crucifixion and the resurrection. This, as I said this morning, is the section in Mark’s gospel that we would call the Holy of Holies. This is where we go behind the veil, as it were, into the place where the blood is shed and sprinkled. This time symbolically, but genuinely to satisfy God and to provide redemption for all who would ever believe. This part of the life of our Lord, these final hours of His life, really are the Holy of Holies of Scripture. All of the Bible has led up to this point and all redemptive history, beginning in eternity past with God’s plan to slay His Son as a Lamb comes to its highpoint, its fruition here. So from chapter 14 on through chapter 15, into chapter 16 is going to occupy our attention and keep it focused on the death and resurrection of Christ, the long-awaited glorious atonement and sacrifice and ransom and redemption provided for sinners...

Players in the Drama of the Cross, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:24:10 PST

Well let’s open the Word of God to the fourteenth chapter of Mark. Now I want to tell you that today is going to be a very important day both this morning and tonight, as we go through the first sixteen verses of chapter 14, actually this morning we’ll go through the first two and tonight…tonight it will be 3 to 16. So don’t anybody sit in the window, as if there was a window in here...

Die Zeichen für Christi Kommen, Teil 2 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 24 May 2011 15:52:32 PST

Wir werden uns jetzt bei unserer Betrachtung von Gottes Wort mit Matthäus Kapitel 24 befassen. Matthäus 24 und 25 ist als „die Ölbergrede“ bekannt. Es ist eine Rede, oder eine Predigt, die unser Herr Jesus Christus auf dem Ölberg hielt. Das Thema dieser Rede ist die Wiederkunft Christi. Es ist also Jesu eigene Predigt, seine eigene Botschaft, über seine eigene Wiederkunft. Es ist eine wirklich herrliche Botschaft. Und wir warten gespannt darauf, die großartigen Wahrheiten in dieser Rede zu begreifen...

The Final Generation, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:08:01 PST

We are looking at Mark chapter 13 and verses 28 through 37. I know most of you have been with us, but for those who have not, this setting is a very important setting. This message given by our Lord is His own message on His Second Coming. This is our Lord’s description of the events that lead up to His return. The Scripture says Christ is coming back to judge the ungodly, 2 Thessalonians 1, He is coming back to judge the ungodly. Revelation 19 says the same thing, He is coming back in judgment, crushing devastating judgment on all the ungodly. They will be slain by sword that comes out of His mouth, that is His Word. He will literally speak their death and they will go forever into the Lake of Fire...

The Final Generation, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:06:58 PST

Let’s open the Word of God then to the thirteenth chapter of Mark’s gospel, Mark chapter 13. We are coming to verses 28 to 37 in our ongoing look at this amazing account of our Lord’s life, and we’re going to be looking at verses 28 to 37, both this morning and this evening. While it’s not a long passage, it’s loaded. And in order to cover all the ground, we’re going to do that this morning and tonight. And then next Sunday we will leave the subject of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and move right in to the things that lead up to the death and resurrection of Christ. Let me read this text for you...

Coming in the Clouds

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:05:24 PST

The Future Tribulation

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 20 May 2011 16:20:28 PST

It’s the thirteenth chapter then of the gospel of Mark. As we come to this section before us, we are with our Lord Jesus and the disciples sitting on the Mount of Olives. It is the end of the day on Wednesday of Passion Week. On Friday He will die on the cross. On Sunday He will rise. On Thursday He will prepare for the Passover and celebrate the Passover meal Thursday evening with His disciples. And that’s where the betrayal will occur, that night, and it will all come to fruition on Friday, He will be tried, He will be executed on the cross, as I said, to rise on Sunday...

2010 Ligonier National Conference (Session 08) - "Does the Doctrine of the Divine Decrees Eliminate Human Will?"

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:09:22 PST

2010 Ligonier National Conference (Session 06) - "Why Did Jesus Have to Die?"

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:09:12 PST

Is God a Monster?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:37:34 PST

Nearly fifty years ago, the British agnostic Bertrand Russell penned these words: “There is one very serious defect to my mind in Christ’s moral character, and that is that He believed in hell. I do not myself feel that any person who is really profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment” (Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian)...

The Profile of a Godly Mother

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 13 May 2011 10:11:35 PST

I once came across an interesting article on motherhood by a man named W. L. Caldwell written back in 1928. Here's what he said:

Well may we pause to pay honor to her who after Jesus Christ is God's best gift to men, mother. It was she who shared her life with us when as yet our members were unformed, into the valley of the shadow of death she walked that we might have the light of life. In her arms was the garner of our food and the soft couch for our repose. There we nestled in the hour of pain; there was the playground of our infant glee.

Those same arms later became our refuge and stronghold. It was she who taught our baby feet to go and lifted us up over the rough places. Her blessed hands plied the needle by day and by night to make our clothes. She put the book under our arm and started us off for school. But best of all, she taught our baby lips to lisp the name of Jesus and told us first the wondrous story of a Savior's love.

Какие доктрины относятся к фундаментальным? (Russian) What Doctrines are Fundamental?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 12 May 2011 14:57:17 PST

Прежде всего, самые строгие слова осуждения в Новом Завете обращены к лжеучителям, искажающим Евангелие. Поэтому именно Евангельскую весть следует признать основным моментом фундаментального учения. Какая весть должна определять содержание нашего благовестия? Обратимся к Священному Писанию и попробуем вывести некоторые библейские принципы, чтобы определить, какие элементы веры действительно важны для подлинного христианства...

Second Peter

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 12 May 2011 14:04:32 PST

The clear claim to authorship in 1:1 by the Apostle Peter gives the epistle its title. To distinguish it from Peter’s first epistle, it was given the Greek title “Petrou B,” or 2 Peter...

Second John

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 12 May 2011 13:52:28 PST

The epistle’s title is “2 John.” It is the second in a series of 3 epistles that bear the Apostle John’s name. Second and Third John present the closest approximation in the NT to the conventional letter form of the contemporary Greco-Roman world, since they were addressed from an individual to individuals. Second and Third John are the shortest epistles in the NT, each containing less than 300 Greek words. Each letter could fit on a single papyrus sheet (cf. 3 John 13)...

The Severity of Hell

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:55:07 PST

Charles Spurgeon once advised fellow-preachers, “Shun all views of future punishment that would make it appear less terrible.” Yet another timely word from Spurgeon—efforts to extinguish the flames of hell abound in our day, just as they did in his...

Is Hell Really Endless?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:37:53 PST

One view of hell that seems to be making a strong resurgence today among evangelicals is Annihilationism. There are slight variations, but it essentially teaches God will eventually snuff every unbeliever out of existence. Some Annihilationists make room for divine wrath, but they don’t allow it to extend beyond the lake of fire. In other words, they won’t allow God the full force of His judgment, which is eternal, conscious torment. For them, the lake of fire is what completely consumes and finally destroys sinners. Whether they see death as the end, or whether they see hell’s torments as limited in duration, the result is the same—a denial of the endlessness of hell...

For Those Who Rail Against Hell

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:51:47 PST

For the last two weeks, we’ve posted a series of articles from John MacArthur addressing the teachings of Rob Bell. It didn’t take long for one of the primary areas of contention to emerge from the comment thread—the nature of Hell.

Bell’s Inferno

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 10:31:40 PST

If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that religion is a means of gain (1 Timothy 6:3-5).

Rob Bell: “Evangelical and orthodox to the bone?” Hardly.

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:45:19 PST

Rob Bell claims to be "evangelical and orthodox to the bone." But how is that true when he has consistently promoted views that are antithetical to biblical Christianity and hostile to historic evangelical principles?

The Christian and Taxes

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:25:08 PST

We’ve been trying to get a bit of an understanding on the themes of the believer’s relationship to the government, for obvious reasons, because we’re living in a time when our own government is very volatile, governments in the world are even more volatile than our own situation. There are all kinds of voices shouting at us out there, all kinds of attitudes being propagated that people would like us to hold toward those who are in authority over us. This is a good time for us to do a reality check on what the Word of God expects of us, what God expects of us as citizens in our own nation. And so, we’ve been looking at this a couple of times, and then we took a few weeks break while I was gone, and now we’re back to Romans 13 again.

Rob Bell: a Brother to Embrace, or a Wolf to Avoid?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:35:35 PST

If Christopher Hitchens or Deepak Chopra penned a book that scoffed at the biblical teaching on hell, we would not be surprised. So why would anyone be shocked or confused when Rob Bell writes Love Wins? Has Bell shown any more commitment to gospel truth, or any more devotion to the principle of biblical authority than Hitchens or Chopra?

Every Easter the newspaper runs an article that casts doubt on the resurrection. Just how important is the resurrection to the Christian faith?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:04:03 PST

Government in Biblical Perspective

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:16:30 PST

If you will, open your Bible to Romans chapter 13...Romans chapter 13 is the most formidable New Testament chapter summing up the believer’s responsibility to the government. And I want to say at the very beginning that this is a universal chapter as to its application. Whatever kind of government, whatever era, whatever century, whatever circumstances, the general principles that we see here about our conduct apply. And this, of course, is the supernatural wonder of Scripture that two thousand years after it is written, it speaks specifically and applicably to the times in which we live...

Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It!

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:54:16 PST

As much as we’d like to abolish slavery in practice, and even from our memories, the Bible demands that we remember. Slavery has everything to do with our relationship to Christ. We are His slaves, and our slavery to Him is the guarantee of our eternal security.

The Grim Reality of the Last Days

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:54:11 PST

Religion and Its Victims

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:53:56 PST

How Firm Our Foundation

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:19:19 PST

Let me ask you a theological question: Are you born again which results in your believing in Christ, or does your faith in Christ result in your being born again? Maybe you think I’m just playing with words, but how you answer that question significantly affects what you believe about man’s sin, God’s salvation, and more important, your eternal security.

A Plan for Your Family: God's vs. the World's, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:43:26 PST

ast week we said that the foundation of all Christian family success, all Christian marriage blessing is set out in that text. It's not gimmicky, it's not trivial, it's not superficial, it's not manipulative. What it says is that before we can even talk about wives in verse 22, before we can talk about husbands in verse 25, before we can talk about children in chapter 6 verse 1 and parents in chapter 6 verse 2, we have to set up some foundations for all of those relationships, namely this, you must be Spirit filled, singing, saying thanks and submissive. And we focused on those four things last time. Where you have filling of the Spirit which means you're under the control of the Holy Spirit by obedience to the Word, where you have overflowing joy that comes out in songs, where you have constant thanks for everything and where you have mutual submission, you have the foundations of happiness, success and blessing in a marriage and in a family. All of that is built on that spiritual foundation, whether we're talking about husband and wife relationship, or children and parents.

Biblical Ignorance in High Places

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:49:34 PST

The Pathology of a Religious Hypocrite

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:49:21 PST

Nothing but Leaves

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:04:59 PST

Open your Bible to the eleventh chapter of Mark, the eleventh chapter of Mark. Before us is a monumental day in redemptive history, the history of the world, God’s history. It is a serious day and it is a profound day because it is on this day that our Lord Jesus pronounces a curse, essentially, on the temple in Jerusalem. That curse extended beyond the temple, to the leadership...religious leadership of Israel, therefore encompassing Israel’s religion and all who were part of it, who essentially made up the whole nation. It is, in effect, a curse on the nation, the Covenant chosen and blessed people of God are here cursed...

The Confrontation Over Authority

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:54:01 PST

Let’s turn to the Word of God together, Mark chapter 11...Mark chapter 11. As you can see, this is the end of the eleventh chapter but it is the beginning of a confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel, a confrontation that starts here on Wednesday and ends on Friday with His crucifixion...

Does God Do Miracles Today?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 21:30:09 PST

In our ongoing study of the Charismatic movement today, I wanna jump right in to a subject that I know I can't completely cover, but I want you to learn to think biblically about this because I'm very concerned about it. Today, we hear an awful lot of talk about miracles, somebody says, "I had a financial need and a miracle happened. The mailman came and in the mail was a check for just the amount of money I needed. It was a miracle." Or you hear someone say, "I went to the mall and there was a parking place right by the entrance. It was a miracle." Or a mother might sense something wrong in an adjoining room and investigate just in time to stop her little toddler from putting a paper clip into an electrical outlet, and say, "It's a miracle." Or maybe you were thinking and praying for somebody and just seemingly at the time you were doing that, the phone rang and it was the very person you were thinking about, and they were right there to be encouraged and you say, "That was a miracle." Well, we call those things miracles, but they're not miracles. A miracle is a supernatural event which has no human explanation. More than that, a miracle is a supernatural event which suspends natural law. In other words, natural law stops and is suspended while God acts, moves back out and then the natural course continues. When you find a place to park at the mall or when you catch your little toddler just at the right moment, or when you get a check for what you needed, or when a friend calls at precisely the right moment in time, those would be acts of providence, those would be acts whereby God is simply orchestrating natural events, not suspending the natural, but controlling the natural so that it does what He wants it to do...

I Can't Handle This!

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:43:26 PST

Maybe you’ve been reading the series “How to Slay Sin.” But while you know the Scripture lays out clear principles, all you can think is, It’s just too hard. Or maybe you’re not struggling with sin at all but rather a very painful circumstance—an illness, death, financial crisis, or conflict—that feels like it’s too much for you to handle. Whatever situation you’re in, God has a message for you.

Why Christians Submit to the Government

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:20:44 PST

Romans 13 is the text that we are looking at under this heading of the Christian and government. We’ll get to the tax part a little later. We’re starting in the first verse and working our way through this really important text. Romans chapter 13. The opening statement of verse 1 is what we considered last time. It took us the whole time to just kind of get that in place. Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. That is an unqualified statement. It doesn’t qualify who those governing authorities are and it doesn’t qualify what subjection might mean. Therefore we can conclude that we have an unqualified, unmitigated command to be subjected to the governing authorities, whatever they are...

In the first edition of Hard to Believe, John MacArthur said some things that sounded like works salvation. What does he really believe and teach on this issue?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:57:38 PST

A significant error was inadvertently introduced into the first edition of Hard to Believe, just before it went to press, which contradicted the message of the book by suggesting that salvation is the fruit of godly living. John MacArthur did not see the final manuscript revision before it went to press, and would never have approved such a statement...

Der Zweck von Prüfungen (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:46:01 PST

Zu Beginn unserer Betrachtung von Jakobus Kapitel 1 möchte ich euch heute Abend bitten, diesen wunderbaren Abschnitt der Schrift aufzuschlagen, der so viel Hoffnung für jene von uns birgt, die in Bedrängnis stecken...

Mark, Vol. 5

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:24:58 PST

Insight into a Pastor's Heart, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 07:39:00 PST

We are going to pick up where we left off on Tuesday and progress a little through this discussion of preaching. I started by saying if you are a pastor, you're a preacher above all else. That is what we are. That is what we do. We are men utterly devoted to displaying God's glory by the exposition of God's Word. And so I started by giving you at least one part in my little outline here, and that is perspective...

Bible Questions and Answers, Part 27

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 07:37:48 PST

We've had kind of an interesting two months and I just kind of wanted to take a minute or two to share with you something about what's been going on. As you know, in the month of January and the month of February, we've been on the radio playing a series on spiritual gifts. You remember that in January? Then in February we started a series on the truth about tongues. And I'm just telling you, it has been really interesting to see what has happened as a result of just putting out there on the air what we believe the Bible teaches about these things and sort of taking on the Charismatic Movement in a head-on way. They tend to dominate the media, as you know, in radio and television. If you turn on your Christian television station, you have no idea what you're liable to see. It could be anything. But mostly it is charismatic stuff. And they dominate the radio. In fact, I think, well...I'm sure that most of the radio programs, most of the radio stations at this point are charismatic or very tolerant of the charismatics...

What's wrong with the "what does this verse mean to me" approach to interpreting the Bible?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 09:26:29 PST

The Necessities for Effective Prayer

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:42:21 PST

We know we’re in the Passion Week of Christ. He has entered into the city of Jerusalem on Monday. On Tuesday He came in and attacked and assaulted the temple. And by the time we come to our text in verse 22, it is Wednesday...Wednesday. On the next day, Thursday will be the Passover meal, on Friday the crucifixion, on Sunday the resurrection. So these are the last days of our Lord’s life and ministry....

How to Slay Sin, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:37:28 PST

Imagine you’re facing an enemy on the battlefield who enjoyed a good night’s sleep, a hearty breakfast, and a personal escort to the most strategic position on the battlefield. And here’s the worst part—you provided all those things! Sound absurd?

Wer ist schuld an unserer Versuchung? (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 08:30:00 PST

Bitte schlagt eure Bibeln bei Jakobus Kapitel 1 auf. Wir werden uns mit den Versen 13 bis 18 befassen; Jakobus 1,13-18. Wenn wir das heute Abend nicht alles schaffen, werden wir uns wahrscheinlich nächsten Sonntagabend damit beschäftigen, zusammen mit unserem Lobpreisgottesdienst. Wir werden es dann irgendwie zu einem wunderbaren Abend kombinieren, sofern der Herr uns dazu veranlassen sollte, noch etwas weiterzumachen...

How to Slay Sin, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:29:40 PST

If you’ve been with us the last couple of posts, you know sin is your enemy. You understand it lurks deep within your members, warring against your soul, seeking to ambush you at your most vulnerable moment. You’ve experienced its power and treachery many times...

Schwierigkeiten überwinden - den Sieg erringen, Teil 3 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:42:17 PST

Lasst uns unsere Bibeln im ersten Kapitel von Jakobus aufschlagen und gemeinsam das Wort Gottes in den Versen 2 bis 12 betrachten. Während ihr euch gemeinsam auf das Studium von Gottes Wort vorbereitet, möchte ich euch kurz daran erinnern, dass es häufig im Leben vorkommt, ganz gewiss in meinem Leben und bestimmt auch in eurem Leben als Christen, dass man Menschen begegnet, die sich für Christen hielten. Ich denke, das ist ziemlich normal. Menschen, die glaubten, errettet zu sein und dachten, sie würden Gott kennen. Und dann trat irgendein großes Problem in ihr Leben und offenbarte die Tatsache, dass sie Gott überhaupt nicht kannten, als sie sich als unfähig herausstellten, diese schwere Prüfung zu bewältigen. Ihr Glaube wurde offenbart. Er stellte sich als toter Glaube, als nicht-lebendiger Glaube, als nicht-errettender Glaube heraus. Sie waren unfähig, sich an den Ressourcen festzuhalten, die in jenen Menschen stecken, die wirklich an Gott glauben, und sie gaben das auf, was vielleicht echter Glaube zu sein schien...

Know Thy Enemy

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:15:06 PST

Are you ready to kill? That's a stark question, and it demands qualification, but killing is a regular part of the Christian life. There's an aspect of being a Christian that's downright violent. You see, God commands us to hunt down and kill all remaining sin to terminate it with extreme prejudice.

The Final Miracle of Mercy

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 09:48:03 PST

In order to keep moving through the gospel of Mark, we are going to look at that tonight. We haven’t done this before but we will probably do this in the next six months as we go through 2011 because I have as a goal to finish the gospel of Mark in the summer, early summer, I hope, and that will be to finish the entire New Testament that we’ve been working on for over 40 years. So that will be...that will be a monumental day...

Our Relentless War Against Sin

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 21:46:26 PST

Have you ever wondered, “Why do I have to deal with sin at all? If God hates sin, if true Christians hate sin, and we’re all in agreement, then why must it remain?”

The Greatness of Being a Slave

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:17:33 PST

Be Killing Sin, or Else Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:34:32 PST

If someone were to ask you, “What’s the most dangerous spiritual responsibility to neglect?” You might think of Scripture reading, prayer, evangelism, listening to preaching, or attending corporate worship. And it’s not that you’d be wrong…God commands all believers to pursue those things. They’re non-negotiable...

A Word of Caution to Fire Starters

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:58:15 PST

If you hadn’t guessed it already, I work for Phil Johnson, the original Pyromaniac. I’m sure you have your own view, but in my opinion he’s not the Pyromaniac because he starts fires. No, he burns with a fire like Jeremiah (Jer. 20:9) and preaches God’s Word, which is like fire, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces (23:29).

Mark, Vol. 04

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:17:21 PST

If the purpose of the church is to evangelize, why do you emphasize teaching so much?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:46:44 PST

Culturally Contextualized or Historically Connected?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:30:45 PST

I heard this morning that some folks have been getting kind of fussy about one of John’s comments in the interview. The first criticism forwarded to me was from Ed Stetzer, one of the men who endorsed Darrin Patrick’s book. His initial tweet said, “JohnMacArthur criticizes @DarrinPatrick’s book…Read this book endorsed by Keller, Dever, me, etc!”...

Radical Individualism: A Good Trait for Young Pastors?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:51:38 PST

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s been a bit of a buzz regarding a comment John MacArthur made about a book by Darrin Patrick in last Sunday night’s interview, “Theology and Ministry: An Interview with John MacArthur.” Here’s what John had to say about it.

A Preview of Messianic Suffering

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:43:54 PST

Appropriately, I want you to open your Bible to the tenth chapter of Mark, familiar territory for us. By next Sunday night, we will have completed the tenth chapter because we’re going to finish it up next Sunday morning and evening. And the eleventh chapter begins with our Lord’s triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem in the final week of His life. So we’re coming in to the climactic portion of this wonderful gospel of Mark...

The False Coronation of the True King

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:43:24 PST

Open your Bible, if you will, to the eleventh chapter of the gospel of Mark...the eleventh chapter of the gospel of Mark. With this passage, we come to the final week of our Lord’s life and His public ministry. This is the week of the end. The end of this week is the cross and the resurrection. So, in a sense, we only have a week to go in the gospel of Mark. It will, however, take us about six months to preach our way through this week, which is a sad commentary on me. But that’s the way I love to plunge into the detail of the text of Scripture. This should be one of the richest, most enjoyable, most profound, wondrous experiences of our lives to go again through the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ...

The Heart of Christian Fasting
Part 4: Fasting Today

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:59:40 PST

We’ve looked so far at Christian fasting in the Old Testament, the Sermon on the Mount, and the New Testament. Let’s get practical by thinking through how we fast today as Christians, trying to be biblical about it...

I want to know God's Word better. Can you provide me with a plan to help me get there?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:36:27 PST

Here are five helpful steps to ensure you are effectively studying God's Word...

The Essentials of Discipleship

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:40:42 PST

I want you to open your Bible to 1 Corinthians 4, for those who are visiting with us, we are kind of looking at some of the key chapters of 1 Corinthians. I really hadn’t intended to look at this fourth chapter, but it was just laid on my heart which happens sometimes when I have an experience that stirs me up. There is a lot of discussion today about what we call flat-screen church where you go to a building, an event, and you see a preacher on a flat screen. This is called multi-sight church, you have one person speaking in one place and then you have flat-screen representation of him in other places, sometimes near and sometimes thousands of miles away...

The Blasphemy of the Rich Young Ruler

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:37:22 PST

Open your Bible now to the tenth chapter of the gospel of Mark...the gospel of Mark, Mark, who tells the story of Christ along with Matthew and Luke and John has written this great history that we have been enjoying now for well over a year. We find ourselves in chapter 10. I’ve entitled this particular event “The Tragedy of a Selfish Seeker,” The Tragedy of a Selfish Seeker...

Why Jesus Blessed the Little Children

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:36:42 PST

It was a few years ago now that I wrote a little book called Safe In The Arms Of God. This was a little book that explains what happens to babies that die. Again I felt it was very important because there was no such book in existence at the time, as there is no such book in existence as the slave book. Once in a while you come across something that needs to be addressed. But the little book, Safe in the Arms of God, really came out of a panel discussion that I had national conference where there were five or six pastors seated on the platform and there were several thousand people in the audience and they were asked to convey questions and we were supposed to answer the questions...

A Theology of Work

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:26:09 PST

I want to use as a text tonight in talking about the biblical view of work, 2 Thessalonians chapter 3....2 Thessalonians chapter 3. Now I will warn you, we’re not going to get there for a while. We’re going to be all over the place here for a few minutes. But I will eventually arrive at that text so you can kind of identify that as the main text for our message...

God’s Perspective on Spiritual Wealth

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:23:46 PST

I want you to open your Bible, if you will, to the tenth chapter of the gospel of Mark. While you’re doing that, I will remind you of a statement that I read earlier in the service from Luke chapter 1 verse 37, “For nothing will be impossible with God. For nothing will be impossible with God.” That great statement comes right out of heaven, the confidence that God can do all things that He determines to do...

Is all Scripture inspired by God?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 18:22:00 PST

The Heart of Christian Fasting
Part 2: Fasting in the Sermon on the Mount

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:28:45 PST

After seeing the many good comments following our first post on fasting, I’m happy to return to the topic again today. Your anecdotes show the importance of addressing this subject biblically. It provokes the protective side of my pastoral nature when I hear that others, including pastors, have used fasting to manipulate and intimidate you spiritually. So, let’s go straight to Jesus and see these things for what they are...

Принятие решений к славе Божьей (Russian)
Decision Making to the Glory of God

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:59:37 PST

Знаете ли вы, что 90% всех ваших решений, принимаемых с христианской позиции, вы имеете дело с такими вопросами, о которых Писание говорит на удивление мало? Вы не найдете в Библии достаточно подробных ответов на такие вопросы: «Какую носить одежду?», «Куда пойти?», или «Как провести свое свободное время?» В то же время по этим же вопросам в различных ветвях евангельского христианства существует множество правил и строгих запретов, многие из которых просто бесполезны, а некоторые даже вредны (не только в лагере фундаменталистов)...

The Heart of Christian Fasting
Part 2: Fasting in the Sermon on the Mount

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:33:19 PST

As a pastor, I’ve encountered a number of people who are confused about Christian fasting. Confusion that begins with a superficial understanding of Scripture is further confounded by popular Christian teachers who lean toward mysticism or legalism. So, let’s get Jesus’ word on fasting and shed some light on the subject...

Schwierigkeiten überwinden - den Sieg erringen, Teil 1 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:06:10 PST

Lasst uns unsere Bibeln im ersten Kapitel von Jakobus aufschlagen. Ich möchte euch Verse 2 bis 12 vorlesen … Jakobus Kapitel 1, Verse 2 bis 12...

Der wahre Geist der Weihnacht (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:03:36 PST

Wenn ihr wie ich seid, habt ihr die Kommentare und Einschätzungen der Welt über diese Jahreszeit schon häufig gehört. Und einer der Sätze, den wir häufig hören, lautet: „Geist der Weihnacht, wir brauchen den Geist der Weihnacht.“...

How can we determine what doctrines are essential and what are they?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 11:14:33 PST

To begin with, the strongest words of condemnation in all the New Testament are aimed at false teachers who corrupt the Gospel. Therefore the Gospel message itself must be acknowledged as a primary point of fundamental doctrine...

What Does It Mean to Be Filled with the Spirit (Kannada)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:32:17 PST

Examine Yourself (Kannada)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:31:31 PST

Discernment (Kannada)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:30:48 PST

Всевластие Бога (The Sovereignty of God)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 07:48:07 PST

Не существует доктрины более пренебрегаемой природным мышлением, чем доктрина об абсолютном Божьем всевластии. Человеческая гордость питает отвращение при мысли, что Бог во всем предписывает Свой порядок, все контролирует и абсолютно всем управляет. Плотское мышление пылает враждебностью по отношению к Богу и не выносит библейского учения о том, что все происходит не иначе, как по Его промыслу. Более всего для плоти ненавистно представление о том, что спасение – это исключительно Божье действие. Ведь, если Бог избрал кого-то ко спасению и Его выбор был сделан прежде основания мира, тогда верующие не могут приписать себе заслуги ни в одном из аспектов спасения...

Decision Making to the Glory of God

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:54:33 PST

As you gear up for the New Year, maybe you’re thinking through another set of (dreadful) resolutions—lose weight, get out of debt, clean the garage, start a blog, and on they go. How about an alternative? Change the way you approach decision making in 2011, and avoid making and breaking New Year resolutions altogether. Here are 7 practical principles to help govern your decision making in 2011. Happy New Year!

Why Shepherds? - Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 20:36:04 PST

We are so familiar with the Christmas story we’ve lost its shock factor. We see shepherd figurines in stores and front lawns, we sing about them, our children dress like them. We are confronted by the image of shepherds a hundred times each December. But do you reflect on why they are in the story?

Follow God’s Will
(and never mind the mystery)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:22:03 PST

Like the dripping of water over centuries, the persistent influence of charismatic theology over many decades seems to have whittled away and reshaped the evangelical commitment to the sufficiency of Scripture. Perhaps other forces are at work as well—secularism, consumerism, multi-culturalism—but modern evangelicals seem less willing to confine themselves to the 66 books of the canon...

The Truth About Divorce, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:40:18 PST

Let’s open our Bibles to the tenth chapter of Mark’s gospel, that is the very Mark called John Mark we read about in Acts chapter 12, who wrote this glorious gospel and learned perhaps most of the personal incidents that are recorded here from Peter, who influenced his life so greatly. We are looking at the tenth chapter, the opening twelve verses, which we began last week on the subject of divorce, as our Lord instructs His disciples...

The Mystery of Resurrection

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:34:02 PST

We come now to the final section of 1 Corinthians 15. We have been going through this great resurrection chapter. You’re a wonderful congregation to preach to, you love the truth, you embrace the truth with a full heart and you express so often, as many of you have to me, your joy over what we’ve learned in this chapter. It’s been so encouraging to me. Not everybody is interested in what happens after we die. Most people today, even in churches, seem to be a lot more interested in what goes on here...

Die Art von Anbetung, die Gott sich wünscht, Teil 5

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:08:41 PST

Unsere Herzen sind wieder einmal sehr ermutigt durch die Zeugnisse, die wir von denen hören, die ihren Glauben an den Herrn Jesus Christus bekennen. Ich wurde daran erinnert, als ich mir wieder einmal den Text von Lukas 15 anhörte, wo unser Herr selbst über die Freude Gottes im Himmel spricht, wenn ein einziger Sünder Buße tut. Der Himmel feiert diese herrliche Bekehrung, und das sollten auch wir tun. Es gibt für eine Gemeinde keine bessere Erfahrung, als die Früchte der Evangelisationsbemühungen hier im Leben der Gemeinde zu sehen. Was für eine große Freude. Das macht diese Sonntagabende so besonders, weil jedes Zeugnis so einzigartig ist....

Delight Yourself in the Lord
(and Do Whatever You Want!)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:21:48 PST

“Love God and do as you please.” That famous quote from St. Augustine has far outlived its author, but not everyone views it favorably. Some see his bluntness as irresponsible, possibly dangerous. But Augustine has solid ground to stand on. Thousands of years earlier, another theologian by the name of David said this, “Delight Yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). Both are true. Listen, as John MacArthur explains…

Die Art von Anbetung, die Gott sich wünscht, Teil 4 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:51:39 PST

Ich möchte all unseren jungen Leuten danken - nicht nur dafür, dass sie unseren Herrn Jesus Christus während des Jahres in all ihren Konzerten repräsentiert haben und in den letzten beiden Wochen auf ihren Reisen, sondern auch dafür, dass sie das Masters College repräsentiert haben. Wir haben keine besseren Repräsentanten, als ihr es wart. Ich habe euer Programm ein wenig verfolgt und weiß, dass ihr überall dort, wo ihr gewesen seid, Eindruck hinterlassen habt, nicht nur für das College, sondern auch für unseren Herrn. Ich danke euch dafür und wünsche euch einen wunderbaren Sommer. Ich weiß, dass die Eltern von vielen von euch jetzt hier sind, um euch abzuholen und mit nach Hause zu nehmen. Ich bin mir sicher, dass ihr eine fantastische Zeit haben werdet, wenn ihr euch an all die Erfahrungen erinnert, die ihr gesammelt habt durch die Art und Weise, wie der Herr euch benutzt hat. Ich danke euch aus vollem Herzen...

God Wants You to Give Thanks, Part 2

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 15:16:51 PST

Pray, read your Bible, go to church, share the gospel, obey your parents. Recognize that list? It’s the answer you’re likely to get when asking the question—What does God want me to do? That centers on your actions, which is good…but what about your attitudes? Does God care about those?

I've celebrated Christmas all my life, but still don't understand why Jesus came. Can you tell me?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:58:06 PST

Who was that child in the manger? God. We see that clearly now. But why would God become a man, be born in such a lowly manner, and let men treat Him the way they did? Why would Jesus, while existing "before all things" (Colossians 1:17) and holding "first place in everything" (v. 18), agree to come to earth as a baby, suffer the abuse He suffered, and die such a painful death? The apostle Paul is clear: "It was the Father's good pleasure ... through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross" (vv. 19-20)....

The Jesus You Can't Ignore (Portuguese)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:40:46 PST

Twelve Extraordinary Women (Portuguese)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:38:58 PST

The Book on Leadership (Portuguese)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:37:56 PST

Hard to Believe (Portuguese)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:36:39 PST

Six Ways Satan is Stealing Christmas (Marathi)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:27:08 PST

Is Your Salvation Secure (Marathi)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:26:05 PST

When Healing Doesn't Come (Marathi)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:25:01 PST

The Truth War (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:23:10 PST

The Jesus You Can't Ignore (Dutch)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:21:43 PST

The Master's Plan for the Church (Malayalam)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:16:19 PST

Answering Key Questions About the Family (Malayalam)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:14:16 PST

How to Overcome Financial Worry (Malayalam)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:38:25 PST

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:36:41 PST

Discernment: Spiritual Survival for a Church in Crisis (Malayalam)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:35:13 PST

Величайшая нужда вашего ребенка (Russian)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 15:32:31 PST

Порочные наклонности вашего ребенка объясняются библейским учением о первородном грехе. Согласно этому учению, дети рождаются в мир без всякого желания искать Бога и Его праведность. Они вступают в жизнь не в нравственно нейтральном состоянии. Напротив, они с рождения ищут удовлетворения греховных, эгоистичных потребностей. Писание учит абсолютной испорченности человека, что указывает на степень первородного греха. Несмотря на то, что греховность природы не всегда проявляется в поведении максимальным образом, испорченность человека, тем не менее, названа абсолютной, так как во всем его существе – в его характере, разуме, эмоциях или воле – нет ни одной составляющей, которая не была бы затронута грехом или имела бы иммунитет к греховным соблазнам.

The Resurrection Body

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:51:56 PST

1st Corinthians chapter 15 is the text for our Bible study tonight. And we are looking at the great chapter on resurrection. Bodily resurrection is Paul’s theme in this chapter and we come to a section beginning with verse 35. We have worked our way down through verse 34 and now the next section runs from verse 35 to 49. And I want to read it because I think it’s good to have it in your mind so you know what’s coming.

The Truth about Divorce, Part 1

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:49:43 PST

We are going to address the subject of divorce because it is the theme of our Lord’s teaching in Mark chapter 10...Mark chapter 10. We’re going to be looking at the twelve verses that launch this chapter and it’s going to be in two parts, one this morning and another one next Sunday. So I’m going to let you know that so that you’re not wondering why I haven’t gotten to all of the issues that relate to this theme. I’m unable to do that until next Sunday and we’ll finish up this text next Sunday morning. And then next Sunday evening, I’m going to add a special message on the issue of divorce from 1 Corinthians chapter 7. That will give you the full picture of what the Scripture teaches about divorce. We’ve also put a little notice in Grace Today about the book, The Divorce Dilemma, which is a handy guide to take you through the Scripture to help you understand these issues....

What is the real meaning of Christmas?

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 22:40:51 PST

The answer may just surprise you. For many, Christmas is the time to think of Jesus Christ as a baby in a manger. While the birth of Christ is a special and miraculous event, it isn't the primary focus. The central truth of the Christmas story is this: the Child of Christmas is God...

The Master's College Presidential Inauguration

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 23:29:18 PST

Let us pray. Our wonderful Lord, how grateful we are for that marvelous providence that brings us to this hour. And, oh, how we ask that Thou will be gloriously exalted in our midst. And that throughout this entire occasion, we will sense Thy Spirit. Be with us to bless us. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen...

Suffer or Compromise? The Great Collision

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:19:00 PST

When you strive to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, you will be persecuted, you will suffer. That’s a promise right out of God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:12). And while history validates that truth, it also captures another tragic reality—you can mitigate your suffering for Christ with little or no effort. Just compromise. Here’s John MacArthur to explain…

Die Antwort auf die größte Frage des Lebens, Teil 1 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:42:49 PST

Unser Text heute früh stammt aus Lukas Kapitel 10, Verse 25 bis 29. Wir haben hier bei Grace To You ein kurzes Motto: „Gottes Wahrheit Vers für Vers freisetzen“ und genau das tun wir hier, wenn wir jeden Sonntag das Wort Gottes aufschlagen. Und wir arbeiten dieses wunderbare Lukasevangelium durch, die Aufzeichnungen von Lukas über das Leben und den Dienst unseres Herrn Jesus Christus. Wir befinden uns jetzt in Kapitel 10 und einem Abschnitt, der in Vers 25 beginnt. Ich werde bis Vers 29 vorlesen. Ich werde heute früh nicht diesen ganzen Abschnitt abdecken können, aber ich werde versuchen, ihn vorzustellen und einen Anfang zu machen. Wir werden versuchen, ihn nächsten Sonntag abzuschließen. Und ich möchte den Text nicht übereilt durchgehen, dafür ist er einfach viel zu wichtig. Ihr werdet seine Bedeutung bereits beim Durchlesen bemerken. ...

Gottes Plan für jüngere Frauen, Teil 2 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:39:32 PST

Heute früh werden wir uns bei unserer Betrachtung des Buches von Titus wieder Kapitel 2 zuwenden, insbesondere den Versen 4 und 5. Hier gibt Paulus Titus Anweisungen für die jungen Frauen in der Gemeinde. Vergesst nicht, dass das ganze Kapitel uns Lehren über den Charakter einer gesunden Gemeinde vermittelt, das heißt eine Gemeinde, die ein gesundes Zeugnis vor der Welt ablegen und evangelistischen Einfluss haben wird. Damit eine Gemeinde solch einen Einfluss haben kann, müssen Gemeindemitglieder sich gottesfürchtig verhalten. Ihr erinnert euch sicherlich, dass er in Vers 5 sagt „Diese Anweisungen dienen dazu, dass das Wort Gottes nicht verlästert werde“ und in Vers 8 „damit der Gegner beschämt wird, weil er nichts Schlechtes über uns sagen kann“. Dann in Vers 10: „Damit wir der Lehre Gottes, unseres Retters, in jeder Hinsicht Ehre machen“. Denn wie wir in Vers 11 lesen: „Gottes Gnade ist erschienen, die heilbringend ist für alle Menschen.“...

Gottes Plan für jüngere Frauen, Teil 1 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:38:57 PST

Lasst uns jetzt unsere Bibeln bei Titus, Kapitel 2 öffnen. Bei unserem Studium des zweiten Kapitels von Titus haben wir uns hier für die Perspektive „Der Charakter einer gesunden Gemeinde“ entschieden. In diesem Kapitel gibt der Apostel Paulus der Gemeinde Anweisungen, wie sie sich verhalten soll. Er richtet seine Anweisungen an ältere Männer, ältere Frauen, jüngere Frauen und jüngere Männer. Er wählt jede Kategorie in der Gemeinde aus und gibt ihnen im Prinzip einige direkte und spezifische Anweisungen...

Die Waffenrüstung Gottes, Teil 6: Betet allezeit (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:32:10 PST

Nun, heute Abend werden wir uns mit Epheser 6 beschäftigen und unsere Betrachtung der Waffenrüstung Gottes, der Waffenrüstung des Christen, in diesem Kapitel abschließen. Der Zeitpunkt ist gut, weil die sehr betriebsame Ferienzeit ansteht und es in den kommenden Wochen eine große Herausforderung sein wird, damit zu konkurrieren und [nicht] zu kollidieren...

Die Handlungen eines versöhnlichen Menschen (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:30:45 PST

Heute früh kehren wir bei unserer Betrachtung von Gottes Wort zum Brief des Paulus an Philemon zurück, die Epistel an Philemon. Diese kurze Epistel besteht aus 25 kurzen Versen, einem Kapitel, und ist eine lebendige Lektion in Vergebung. Und das hier ist unsere dritte von vier Lektionen über diese kurze Epistel und heute früh werden wir wieder Paulus zu Füßen sitzen und lernen, wie man vergibt. Ihr erinnert euch sicherlich, dass die ersten drei Verse die Einleitung waren. Die Verse 4 bis 7 zeigten uns anschließend die Charakteristiken eines versöhnlichen Menschen. Und jetzt, in den Versen 8 bis 18, kommen wir zum Akt der Vergebung an sich. Wir werden uns mit dem Thema „Vergebung“ an sich befassen...

Die Geschichte zweier Söhne, Teil 3: Der legalistische Sohn (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:30:05 PST

Unser heutiger Text ist Lukas 15. Zurück zu der Geschichte, die Jesus erzählte - das Gleichnis, das in Vers 11 beginnt und bis zum Ende des Kapitels geht. Verse 11 bis 32, wahrscheinlich die bekannteste Geschichte von Jesus, das Gleichnis des verlorenen Sohnes. Jeder weiß ein wenig über diese Geschichte, aber es nicht wirklich die Geschichte des verlorenen Sohns, das ist nur ein Drittel davon. Es geht um einen verlorenen und verschwenderischen Sohn, einen liebevollen Vater und einen sehr pflichtbewussten Sohn. Ein jüngerer Sohn, der offen ein verdorbenes und sittenloses Leben führt und keinen Respekt für alle konventionelle Denkweisen und alle moralischen Standards hat, der tut, was er will, wann er will, wie er will, und der den Preis dafür zahlt. Es geht auch um einen älteren Sohn, der seinem Vater anscheinend sehr ergeben ist, zu Hause bleibt, alles tut, was er tun soll und es so tut, wie sein Vater es will. Er erfüllt die konventionellen Erwartungen der religiösen Gemeinschaft um ihn herum. Er schneidet wunderbar ab. Einer wäre beim klassischen Muster der schlechte Sohn, der andere der gute Sohn. Und in der Mitte ist die erstaunliche Person des liebenden Vaters, der tief greifende Auswirkungen auf das Leben der Beiden hat...

Die Antwort auf die größte Frage des Lebens, Teil 3 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:25:53 PST

Nun, heute früh haben wir wieder die Gelegenheit, zum wunderbaren Lukasevangelium zurückzukehren, das wir wegen seiner Offenbarung der Herrlichkeiten unseres Herrn Jesus Christus inzwischen zunehmend lieben. Wir befinden uns in Kapitel 10 und die heutige Botschaft ist der dritte Teil in einem Abschnitt, den wir „Die Suche nach dem ewigen Leben“ nennen. Lukas 10, Verse 25 bis 29. Wir kommen wieder voller Erwartung zu diesem Abschnitt. Es ist ein überaus kostbarer Text, der besonders hell leuchtet unter all den anderen Diamanten, die sich hier im Lukasevangelium finden. Lasst mich euch diesen Text ab Vers 25 vorlesen....

Die Geschichte zweier Söhne, Teil 1: Der zügellose Sohn (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:21:04 PST

Wir wenden uns nun in Gottes Wort Lukas Kapitel 15 zu. Unser Text heute früh ist Lukas Kapitel 15 und wir beginnen in Vers 11 mit diesem sehr bekannten Gleichnis unseres Herrn, wahrscheinlich sein bekanntestes und denkwürdigstes Gleichnis, das „Das Gleichnis vom verlorenen Sohn“ heißt. Charles Dickens und Ralph Waldo Emerson sagten, dies sei die großartigste Kurzgeschichte, die je geschrieben wurde, und beide Herren waren selbst nicht schlecht darin, Geschichten zu erzählen. Dies ist wahrscheinlich das aussagekräftigste und unerschöpflichste Gleichnis von Jesus, aber dennoch kann ein Kind seine grundlegende Wahrheit erfassen...

Die Waffenrüstung Gottes, Teil 5: Das Schwert des Geistes (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:19:57 PST

In Kapitel 6 des Epheserbriefs befassen wir uns mit der Waffenrüstung Gottes, der Waffenrüstung des Christen, die für uns vom Heiligen Geist durch die Feder des Apostels Paulus beschrieben wurde. Paulus hat in diesem Brief an die Epheser diverse sehr fundamentale und wichtige Anweisungen erteilt - Anweisungen zum christlichen Leben und zum würdigen Lebenswandel; dabei beginnt er in Kapitel 4 mit dem praktischen Abschnitt dieser großartigen Epistel; die ersten drei hingegen befassen sich mit der biblischen Lehre. Er hat verschiedene Dinge über Verhaltensweisen dargelegt und darüber, wie wir unser Leben führen sollen, wie wir im Geist wandeln und die Kraft des Heiligen Geistes in jeder Beziehung bekunden sollen...

Die Waffenrüstung Gottes, Teil 3 : Die Stiefel des Evangeliums des Friedens und der Schild des Glaubens

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:19:02 PST

Nun, heute Abend haben wir wieder die Gelegenheit, das Wort Gottes im sechsten Kapitel von Paulus' Brief an die Epheser aufzuschlagen, in einem Abschnitt, der uns als „die Waffenrüstung des Christen“ bekannt ist. Epheser Kapitel 6, von Vers 10 bis ganz runter zu Vers 18. ...

Die Waffenrüstung Gottes, Teil 4 : Der Helm des Heils (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:18:26 PST

Unser Text für den heutigen Abend ist Epheser 6. Wir beschäftigen uns mit der Waffenrüstung des Christen. Es gibt so viele christliche Schwerpunkte, die in meiner Lebenszeit aufgekommen und wieder verschwunden sind. Es ist gut, dass einige davon verblassen und fast verschwunden sind. Es ist wie der Ausläufer der Amish vor vielen Jahren. Das war ein sehr sonderbarer Kult, und sie glaubten, dass die Ehe … [Anm. d. Übers.: Auslassung im Original] war und das Zusammenleben ohne Trauschein sündhaft. Dieser Kult hielt nicht sehr lange. Sie starben alle und es gab niemand, der ihren Kult fortsetzte. Das war gut so....

Die Waffenrüstung Gottes, Teil 2 : Der Gürtel der Wahrheit und der Brustpanzer der Gerechtigkeit (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:17:38 PST

Lasst uns nun in unserer Serie über die Waffenrüstung des Gläubigen das Wort Gottes im sechsten Kapitel des Epheserbriefs aufschlagen. Ich möchte euch den Text vorlesen, damit ihr den Gedankengang präsent habt, den Paulus uns in dieser Angelegenheit vermittelt. Wir beginnen in Vers 10, Epheser 6,10. „Im übrigen, meine Brüder, seid stark in dem Herrn und in der Macht seiner Stärke. Zieht die ganze Waffenrüstung Gottes an, damit ihr standhalten könnt gegenüber den listigen Kunstgriffen des Teufels; denn unser Kampf richtet sich nicht gegen Fleisch und Blut, sondern gegen die Herrschaften, gegen die Gewalten, gegen die Weltherrscher der Finsternis dieser Weltzeit, gegen die geistlichen Mächte der Bosheit in den himmlischen Regionen. Deshalb ergreift die ganze Waffenrüstung Gottes, damit ihr am bösen Tag widerstehen und, nachdem ihr alles wohl ausgerichtet habt, euch behaupten könnt. So steht nun fest, eure Lenden umgürtet mit Wahrheit, und angetan mit dem Brustpanzer der Gerechtigkeit, und die Füße gestiefelt mit der Bereitschaft zum Zeugnis für das Evangelium des Friedens. Vor allem aber ergreift den Schild des Glaubens, mit dem ihr alle feurigen Pfeile des Bösen auslöschen könnt, und nehmt auch den Helm des Heils und das Schwert des Geistes, welches das Wort Gottes ist, indem ihr zu jeder Zeit betet mit allem Gebet und Flehen im Geist, und wacht zu diesem Zweck in aller Ausdauer und Fürbitte für alle Heiligen.“...

Die Waffenrüstung Gottes, Teil 1 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:16:53 PST

Es gibt so viele wunderbare Anleitungen, die uns in den Briefen des Neuen Testaments gegeben werden und die Lehren enthalten, welche sich auf unser christliches Leben und unseren christlichen Dienst beziehen, dass es gut tut, zu ihnen zurückzugehen und sich diese Dinge erneut in Erinnerung zu rufen...

Ein Appell, für Pastoren zu beten (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:15:44 PST

Ich habe mich kürzlich mit einem Freund unterhalten und er fragte mich: „Hast du meinen Brief gelesen?“ Wir sprachen gerade über eine bestimmte Angelegenheit und ich sagte: „Ja, das habe ich." Er antwortete: „Nun, dann weißt du, dass dieses, jenes und sonstiges wahr ist.“ Ich erwiderte: „Einen Moment mal. Ich kann mich nicht daran erinnern, das gelesen zu haben.“ Daraufhin antwortete er: „Nun, hast du das PS am Ende des Briefes gelesen?“ Und ich musste bekennen: „Nein, ich glaube nicht.” Ich hatte das PS übersprungen und er sagte: „Aber das war der wichtigste Teil.“..

Überzeugendes Zeugnis der Auferstehung (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:13:29 PST

Es ist so erfrischend, all unsere Gedanken, all unsere Lobgesänge, alle unsere Bibellese und jetzt unsere Betrachtung von Gottes Wort auf diese wunderbare Realität der Auferstehung des Herrn Jesus Christus zu konzentrieren, denn sie ist der Eckstein des christlichen Evangeliums. So wie das Herz Leben spendendes Blut durch den Körper pumpt, so ist die Auferstehung Jesu Christi das Herz, das Leben spendende Wahrheit durch die Seele pumpt. Es ist die Auferstehung, die den Eckstein der christlichen Wahrheit darstellt...

Ein Gebet zur Heiligung durch und durch, Teil 1 (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:12:46 PST

Wir kommen jetzt zu der wundervollen Zeit in unserem Gottesdienst, wo wir uns dem Wort des Herrn selbst zuwenden. Wir haben wiederum das Privileg, uns dem Brief von Paulus an die Thessalonicher zuzuwenden. 1. Thessalonicher, Kapitel 5. Heute früh werden wir uns mit den Versen 23 und 24 befassen. 1. Thessalonicher 5, 23-24....

Ein Aufruf zur sorgfältigen Prüfung, Teil 3: Was ist geistliches Urteilsvermögen? (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:12:04 PST

Wir haben heute das große Privileg, wieder gemeinsam 1 Thessalonicher, Kapitel 5 zu studie-ren. Wir sind kurz vor dem Ende dieser wunderbaren Epistel. Wir befinden uns in den Versen 21 und 22 einer besonderen, dreiteiligen Serie mit dem Titel „Ein Aufruf zur sorgfältigen Prü-fung." Lasst mich euch den Text in 1. Thessalonicher 5,21-22 vorlesen: „Prüft alles, das Gute behaltet! Haltet euch fern von dem Bösen in jeglicher Gestalt!“ Das ist ein Aufruf zur sorg-fältigen Prüfung. Es ist dieser Aufruf, der uns zu unserem Studium, zu unserer Analyse und, wie ich hoffe, zu unserer Ermahnung zur sorgfältigen Prüfung in den letzten Wochen veran-lasst hat. Heute früh werden wir diese kurze Serie abschließen...

Ein Aufruf zur sorgfältigen Prüfung, Teil 2: Warum gibt es solch großen Mangel an Urteilsvermögen? (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:11:11 PST

Ich hoffe, ihr freut euch jetzt mit mir darauf, die Wahrheit von Gottes Wort zu studieren. Bitte schlagt eure Bibeln im ersten Brief von Paulus an die Thessalonicher auf, Kapitel 5, und be trachtet mit mir die Verse 21 und 22. Wir haben vor zwei Wochen damit begonnen, die Wahrheit von 1 Thessalonicher 5,21-22 zu untersuchen. Wir werden heute früh damit fort fahren und dann noch einmal am nächsten Tag des Herrn...

Die bibelorientierte Gemeinde, Teil 3, Vom Umgang mit schwierigen Menschen (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:10:10 PST

Wir beschäftigen uns jetzt schon seit mehreren Monaten mit dem ersten Brief von Paulus an die Gemeinde in Thessalonich. Unser heutiger Text findet sich in 1 Thes salonicher 5, 14-15. Ich möchte euch bitten, diesen Text jetzt in eurer Bibel aufzu schlagen. Henry Ward Beecher sagte einmal: "Die Gemeinde ist keine Galerie zur Ausstellung bedeutender Christen, sondern eine Schule zur Ausbildung unvollkommener Chris ten."...

Ein Aufruf zur sorgfältigen Prüfung, Teil 1: Warum gibt es solch großen Mangel an Urteilsvermögen? (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:09:15 PST

Wir wenden uns in unserem Studium von Gottes Wort heute früh wieder 1 Thessalonicher, Kapitel 5 zu. Das Ende dieser wunderbaren Epistel steht kurz bevor und wir werden uns heute früh mit den Versen 21 und 22 befassen ... 1 Thessalonicher 5, Verse 21 und 22. Der Apostel Paulus schreibt: „Prüft alles, das Gute behaltet! Haltet euch fern von dem Bösen in jeglicher Gestalt!”...

Die bibelorientierte Gemeinde, Teil 8: Aufzucht einer gesunden Herde: Auf Gottes Wort reagieren (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:06:52 PST

Unser Text heute früh besteht aus einem einzigen, sehr kurzen Vers, nämlich Vers 20 in 1 Thessalonicher, Kapitel 5. Der Apostel Paulus sagt: „Die Weissagung verachtet nicht!" Wisst ihr, die Bibel ist in so vielerlei Hinsicht ein absolut erstaunliches Buch. Es gibt eine Reihe unterschiedlicher Blickwinkel, von denen aus wir den erstaunlichen Charakter der Schrift betrachten können. Ich möchte euch ein paar Beispiele für einige eher ungewöhnliche Blickwinkel geben...

Die bibelorientierte Gemeinde, Teil 6: Aufzucht einer gesunden Herde: Dankbarkeit in allem (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:06:14 PST

Unser Text heute früh ist 1 Thessalonicher 5,18. Paulus schreibt: „Seid in allem dankbar; denn das ist der Wille Gottes in Christus Jesus für euch.“ Paulus sagt einfach sehr direkt: „Seid in allem dankbar.“ Keine Ausnahme, keine Entschuldigungen, nichts liegt außerhalb jener Parameter, seid in allem dankbar. Der kurze Ausdruck en pante bedeutet im Griechischen „in Verbindung mit allem, was geschieht“ … seid dankbar in Verbindung mit allem im Leben, egal, was es sein möge - die einzige offensichtliche Ausnahme ist persönliche Sünde. Er sagt, egal, was euch im Leben widerfährt, seid dankbar. Unabhängig von euren Umständen, Mühen, den Launen des Schicksals, Versuchungen und Prüfungen - seid dankbar, sagt Dank. Unabhängig von unserer Situation sollen wir einen Grund dafür finden, Gott zu danken. Es geht hier nicht um irgendein nebulöses „Danke“, dass wir in ein Vakuum loslassen, sondern um unseren Dank direkt an Gott...

Die bibelorientierte Gemeinde, Teil 7: Aufzucht einer gesunden Herde: Dämpft den Heiligen Geist nicht (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:05:39 PST

Wir befinden uns wieder in Kapitel 5 des Briefes an die Thessalonicher, diesmal bei Vers 19. Wir befassen uns mit den kurzen, stakkatoähnlichen Geboten des Apostels Paulus, die dieser zum Abschluss dieses Buches erteilt. Schnell hintereinander vermittelt er den sehr jungen Christen in Thessalonich einige Grundsätze des christlichen Lebens in Gebotsform. Wenn es so scheint, als ob diese Gebote, die in Vers 16 beginnen und bis Vers 22 gehen, eher schlicht und einfach sind, sollten wir bedenken, dass sie zwar einerseits einfach, andererseits jedoch sehr tiefsinnig sind. Und wir müssen auch bedenken, dass es sich um eine Gemeinde aus recht neuen Gläubigen handelt. Die Gemeinde ist erst wenige Monate alt und auch die Gläubigen dort sind erst seit wenigen Monaten bekehrt. Deshalb benötigen sie eine Zusammenfassung der Grundsätze des christlichen Lebens und müssen an diese erinnert werden...

Die bibelorientierte Gemeinde, Teil 4: Freude unter allen Umständen: Christliche Freude (German)

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:04:59 PST

Wir haben heute das große Privileg, wieder gemeinsam 1 Thessalonicher, Kapitel 5 zu studieren. Ich möchte euch bitten, eure Bibeln bei diesem wunderbaren Kapitel aufzuschlagen. Heute früh möchte ich nur über einen einzigen Vers predigen - Vers 16, der aus nur drei Worten besteht. 1 Thessalonicher 5,16 besagt einfach: “Freut euch allezeit!” Ich möchte das als Ausgangspunkt nehmen, um über das Thema der christlichen Freude zu reden...

Die bibelorientierte Gemeinde, Teil 5: Beten ohne Unterlass

letters@gty.org (Grace to You) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:04:01 PST

Unser Text heute früh besteht aus einem einzigen Vers, Kapitel 5, Vers 17. Im 1 Thessalonicher 5,17 lesen wir: „Betet ohne Unterlaß!” Der Apostel Paulus fordert Christen in diesem einfachen und spezifischen Gebot auf, Beten im Prinzip zu einer Lebensweise zu machen. Ich habe immer gesagt, Beten ist wie Atmen, es ist normal, einfach natürlich, so leben wir einfach. Wir atmen die Atmosphäre und Gegenwart und Macht Gottes ein und aus. Und obwohl das wahr ist, ist es auch wahr, dass wir, die wir von Gott abhängig sind und mit ihm kommunizieren, sofern wir wahre Christen sind, nicht ohne Unterlass beten, obwohl wir das sollten. Ich denke, wir sind schuldig, geistlich den Atem anzuhalten. Auch wenn wir annehmen, dass der Druck eben dieses Umfeldes von Gottes Gegenwart uns zwingen würde zu beten, so wie der Luftdruck uns zwingt zu atmen, ist das nicht unbedingt der Fall. Und wir als Christen beschränken unsere Zufuhr, in diesem Fall nicht die Luft, sondern die Gegenwart Gottes, aufgrund unserer eigenen Sündhaftigkeit. Und so erteilt der Apostel Paulus die Anordnung, ohne Unterlass zu beten, jederzeit zu beten. Stetiges, beharrliches, unablässiges Gebet ist ein wesentlicher Bestandteil des christlichen Lebens und ergibt sich aus unserer Abhängigkeit von Gott...