The road to Damascus shows us God’s overt, stunning power to convert the heart at the beginning of the journey. The road to Emmaus shows us God’s covert, subtle power to realign the heart after disillusionment sets in further into the journey. So grateful Jesus walks both roads. - DA Kistner

Stories gain their meaning from their conclusions, and it is the same with our lives. - Dale Allison Jr.

Eschatology drives discipleship.

Israel's suffering or humiliation at the hands of enemies does not imply God has abrogated the covenant and the promises made to Israel...calamitous events are a sign of divine displeasure, but not of divine disfavor.  -Pamela Eisenbaum

 Our Fall 2021 Video

 

Mike Rizzo

 

You come out to save your people, to save your anointed. You crush the leader of the house of the wicked and strip him from foot to neck. Selah... You pierce his head with his own spears; his warriors storm out to scatter us, gloating as if ready to secretly devour the weak. (Habakkuk 3:14)

Advent marks the beginning of the church calendar and is a time of expectant hope, both as the season leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ birth (the Incarnation) as well as the anticipation of the return of Jesus as King (the Parousia.) 

The dual focus of the season is perfectly captured in the word “Maranatha” (מרנאתא). This Aramaic word is a combination of two smaller units of meaning. “Mar” means “lord” and a form of the verb “ata,” which means “to come.”There has been some question as to what the proper segmentation of the compound word is—should it be understood to mean “maran atha,” (“Our Lord has come”) or “marana tha” (“Lord, Come!”)?

The Advent season would perhaps answer that both potential Maranatha meanings are necessary for a robust gospel understanding. The assurance of the gospel of Christ crucified is inseparable from the hope of the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus came to first-century Israel as a humble man, God incarnate, and bore the sins of many. He will come again in his glorious, resurrected frame to judge the living and the dead, establish an everlasting reign of righteousness, and put an end to this evil age.

This future kingdom is the hope we wait for with patience. God, in demonstrating his faithfulness to promises past, graciously assures us of keeping promises yet unfulfilled. Every step in salvation—from the covenants of Israel, to the Cross, to the Messianic Kingdom—makes known the manifold wisdom of God to the powers of heaven and confirms the commitment of the Lord to his people.[Ephesians 3:8-10] In light of this unimaginably glorious mandate to bear witness before heaven to the manifold wisdom of God and in the tension of living between two arrivals of Messiah.

-Devon Phillips

Being a man-pleaser is incompatible with godly leadership. (Gal. 1.10)

Being divisive and contentious is incompatible with godly leadership. (Rom. 16.17)

The only way to lead in a godly manner is to make it our aim to fear and please the Lord. (2 Cor. 5.9; 8.21) -BA Purtle

"I find God fading out of my life to the degree that prayer fades out. The fading out of God-consciousness is the greatest tragedy and loss that this generation has sustained. Prayer will rediscover it." - E. Stanley Jones

"I refuse to settle into a powerless life and an impotent Christianity when I have the fire of a billion suns and beyond burning deep within." —David Sliker

My teaching on the birth story of John the Baptist. Audio 1. Audio 2. 

I am content to wait till the judgment day for the clearing up of my reputation; and after I am dead I desire no other epitaph than this, “Here lies G.W. What sort of man he was, the great day will discover.”

-George Whitefield

Biblical eschatology is too rich to be reduced to "optimistic" or "pessimistic" categories. Scripture is clear:

1. The Church will be persecuted until Christ returns. 2. The Gospel will advance gloriously in every nation. Don't merely be optimistic or pessimistic. Be Biblical. -BA Purtle

Every single one of the early church writers who discussed the end times believed that the church would face the antiChrist. There is absolutely not a single early church writer who believed in a pre-tribulation rapture.

-Joel Richardson

The Olivet Discourse reference to the Coming of the Son of Man being like "lightening" flashing "from the east to the west" is actually a poor translation. Jesus is speaking of the light of the morning sun. Lightening doesn't shoot in any particular direction. The sunrise does.

The Coming of God shining like the morning sun is actually a very clear and common theme found throughout the Old Testament.

“The LORD will come from Sinai, and dawn on them from Seir; He will shine forth from Mount Paran, and He will come from the midst of ten thousand holy ones..." (Deuteronomy 33:2)

"God will come from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His splendor will cover the heavens, the earth will be full of His praise. His radiance will be like the sunlight..." (Hab 3:3–4)

“Arise, shine; for your light has come. The glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth, deep darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you. His glory will appear upon you." (Isaiah 60:1–3)

Behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace. All the arrogant and evildoers will be chaff. The day coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD... But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings..." (Mal 4:1–2)

Ἀστραπή: “Lightning,” also “beam of light” (Lk. 11:36) “Ἀστραπή,” ed. Gerhard Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 505.

-Joel Richardson

 

The only hope for our age is a great, marvelous outpouring of the Spirit of God. There is no other answer, there is no other way. You can’t cure the human heart. There’s nothing we can inject into man which is going to make him saintly. -Leonard Ravenhill

 

“In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit.” - Isaiah 27:6

As a powerful return to the scriptures, the Reformation should have meant a rediscovery of the biblical message of the kingdom. In fact, this is not true...

- BT Viviano, The Kingdom of God in History

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

The apostle that denied being a follower of Jesus three times knows a thing or two about grace and mercy. -TJBSewob

 "The preaching of grace can only be protected by the preaching of repentance." —Bonhoeffer

If there was anything that characterized the life of the Apostle Paul it was fearlessness. He feared no men, he feared no devil. - Leonard Ravenhill

Jesus cannot simply be liked--you either must reject him utterly or crown Him King of your life. - Timothy Keller

God's power in Genesis 1 is in His ability to speak life-giving words that create light from darkness. The Serpent's power in Genesis 3 is in his ability to speak manipulative words that create chaos. The juxtaposition implies a question to the reader: who do you want to be like? -Travis M Snow

“The earliest Christology was already the highest Christology.” -Richard Bauckham

In the same way there is no individual salvation apart from the Messiah binding himself to a physical body with Jewish flesh, in the Age to Come there will be no restoration of the earth apart from the Messiah binding himself to the physical land promised to the Jewish patriarchs. -Travis M Snow

And in case you’ve forgotten, do you know what Jesus did for thirty years? Cut up bits of wood, got to the end of the day, brushed the sawdust off his legs and got the bits of wood out of his toes and went home. The Son of God did that for thirty years? - Leonard Ravenhill

In the Tanakh, Gentiles were enemies of Israel’s God and the covenant he made with them. The “unity” Paul fights for is a reversal of this enmity while still maintaining the unique roles of Jew and Gentile within Abraham’s family. Jews remain Jews, Gentiles remain Gentiles.

-Joshua Hawkins

 My teaching on Psalm 49. Notes. Audio1. Audio2

My chemistry teacher in high school often answered our questions with a single word: "February". When February came, we learned critical details that made sense of the questions we had asked.

I do the same thing to my students learning the Biblical storyline now. "Deuteronomy". -Joshua Hawkins

Some people say, “If you have a TV you’re a sinner,” or “if you don’t wear a tie you’re not sanctified”. When the Pharisees lost the anointing and the glory of God they put emphasis on external things, and some people’s idea of sanctification is always on external things. -Leonard Ravenhill

Christian denominationalism — a modern phenomenon — is often read back into the ‘unity in Christ’ passages found in the NT.

Yet, Paul doesn’t know a single Calvinist or Dispensationalist. The unity in view is Gentile disciples and Jewish disciples. -Bill Scofield

“God is going to enjoy his new universe, and we’ll enter into his joy. Since we’ll draw from the reservoir of God’s being, which never runs dry, we’ll never run out of passion and joy.” –Randy Alcorn

Francis Schaeffer: "Truth carries with it confrontation. Truth demands confrontation: loving confrontation, but confrontation nevertheless. If our reflex action is always accommodation regardless of the centrality of the truth involved, there is something wrong.”

I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets...I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.

- Paul

...for the whole biblical witness the kingdom is an eschatological gift of God, which is not directly constructable by men.

- BT Viviano, The Kingdom of God in History

“You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” Song of Solomon 4:7

Flawless. When will there be such a bride?

“Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25–27

-John Piper

Everything reproduces after its kind, including the gospel we preach.

If we preach a compromised, diluted "gospel," we get compromised, diluted "disciples." If we preach an uncompromised, undiluted gospel, we get uncompromised, undiluted disciples. - Dr. Micheal Brown

You and I are unavoidably and irreducibly hope-based creatures. We are controlled not how we live now, but what we think will happen later. Christian hope has to do with the ultimate future, not the immediate. -Timothy Keller

Apologetics should not only be about demonstrating the logic or rationality of a biblical idea. We also need to show people why the idea is beautiful and transformative, and how it can help them.

Many people are saved because they see the glory of the Messiah. Fewer are talked into it. - Travis M. Snow

Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. There, thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David. Psalm 122:3-5

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew 19:28

“Whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” James 5:20

Because the sinner comes back to the one who bore his sins (1 Peter 2:24–25). We cover by bringing to the one who covers. -John Piper

“The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:29–30

When he comes every humble shepherd will be a happy sheep. -John Piper

The resurrection means everything sad is going to eventually come untrue and it will somehow be greater for once being broken and lost. - Timothy Keller

Christian exegetical tradition has more often than not interpreted "your kingdom come" in terms of the presence of God's kingdom and sometimes of the liturgical experience itself.

Here it has, from an exegetical point of view, not been on target... - Dale Allison

 My teaching on Jesus and his city from Psalm 48. Notes. Audio1, Audio2

 As the Spirit of God is both the agent and the sustainer of creation, so also the Spirit of God is the inspirer of the word of God, which sets out the hope of restored creation. The scriptures progressively reveal a number of themes that function symbiotically within the divine testimony. Particularly, the language of life, salvation, blessing, and glory build together unto their consummation on the day of the Lord and in the age to come. -John P. Harrigan

 

The meaning of our text (Ez. 37) is, if words mean anything, 1st, that there shall be a political restoration of the Jews to their own land/nationality; and secondly, there is in the text a declaration, that there shall be a spiritual restoration of the tribes of Israel. -Spurgeon

"Cultivating a responsive heart of extravagant devotion to Jesus takes time and effort. It is something that we do deliberately, not something we cultivate on the run." —Mike Bickle

"Rather, we should think that obedience is going deeper in debt to God every moment, because it takes more grace to be obedient this afternoon than I had yesterday." -John Piper

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” John 3:14–15

The viper of sin has bitten us all. The venom is lethal. There is only one remedy. Christ. Look and live! -John Piper

Lose the covenants, lose the gospel. -Joshua Reese

God's history with Israel and the nations is the permanent and enduring medium of God's work as the Consummator of human creation, and therefore it is also the permanent and enduring context of the gospel about Jesus. - Soulen

Either people are a commodity to make money,

Or money is a commodity to reach people. God or Mammon.

-Gabe Cali

In Jesus we're given a Second Adam not a second chance. - Timothy Keller

"The future of all nations is bound up with the future of Israel, when our Lord Jesus Christ shall return for their conversion, and bring them into all the blessings of New Covenant truth." -David Baron, "The Hebrew Christian Testimony to Israel, p. 157

“To be spiritually alive is to live in repentance. Spiritually dead are those Christians who never weep over their sins or who have long ceased to do so. Dead - in God's eyes - are those Christians who can no longer rejoice over God's forgiveness." - Basilea Schlink

You’ll never manage to praise Jesus in the glorious manner He deserves (Nehemiah 9:5), but give it your best shot! - Bob Sorge

“And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.” Isaiah 13:19

Great reversals are coming. Stand patiently, humbly, confidently with Christ. -John Piper

Why are the saints in heaven in Revelation 7:9 holding palm branches in their hands?

Because they are ready to do Psalm 118:27.

I love this story. 

Our lives are dramatically shaped by our small decisions, perhaps much more than we realize. Some say that we are a sum total of the choices we make. That can either be a sobering thought or a very encouraging one. Every decision to obey Jesus could be likened to a drop of water. There certainly are moments when the water level increases more quickly, but the path to maturity is often through the slow and steady drip of small choices in the mundaneness of life.

-Josh Hawkins

What a difference it makes in life and ministry when you realize that you are called to be a servant, not a superstar, and your mission is to make His name great, not your own. - Dr. Michael Brown

“We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” Hebrews 3:14

Not: “will come to share.” But: “have come to share.” The reality of past conversion is confirmed by future perseverance. -John Piper

"By studying God’s emotions, our hearts are empowered by confidence in love." —Mike Bickle

The hardest thing I have to do is to take my reputation and nail it to the cross and see it die. - Leonard Ravenhill

My teaching on Psalm 47. Notes. Audio 1. Audio 2.

Jerusalem was commonly understood to be the “city of the great King” (Mt 5:35, cf. Ps 48:2). Hence believing Jews welcomed Jesus by faith into the city with palm branches (a sign of victory and nationalism), by saying “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord –the King of Israel” (John 12:13). And when the Pharisees demanded that Jesus rebuke his adulating followers, he declared, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:40). If Jesus was secretly trying to spiritualize or reinterpret the prophetic significance of Jerusalem, his response would be appallingly duplicitous.

-John P. Harrigan "The Gospel of Christ Crucified" p.167 

 

On the one occasion Jesus was asked about people singing too loudly, he replied that if the people didn’t then the rocks would cry out instead. - Andrew Wilson

Jesus said that in the last days, people "will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world". (Luke 21:34)

Yes, a climactic, cataclysmic Day is coming. But why? So God can prove to every nation that he has not forgotten the covenant he made with Israel. - Joshua Hawkins

Romans 8 begins away in the heights “there is no condemnation” (Rom. 8:1) and it ends with “there is no separation” (cf. Rom. 8:38-39) but it does not say “there is no tribulation.” In fact, it marks tribulation out for us, very very carefully. - Leonard Ravenhill

"From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes and will not be silent..." Psalm 50:2-3

When Jesus says “hearts will grow cold but the one who endures to the end will be saved” means when the birth pangs start until His coming, our hearts will have to stay warm.

From the beginning of your revelation timeline until He splits the sky... We Love.

-TJBSewob

We’re not here to be rich or famous or something, we’re here to give God pleasure! What pleasure did he get out of your life today? -Leonard Ravenhill

Jesus said, “by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned” Matt 12:37.

Meaning: On the day of judgment the things that came out of your mouth will bear witness to whether you had the faith that leads to life, or the unbelief that leads to hell. - Travis M Snow

Passover: The God who redeems.

Weeks: The God of the harvest. Trumpets: The God who calls us to Himself. Atonement: The God of holiness & perfection. Tabernacles: The God of joy in our midst. Sabbath: The God who reigns.

-Travis M Snow

We are so instinctively and profoundly self-centered that we don't think we are. - Timothy Keller

If I could pray one prayer, and God would answer it in an hour, I’d say, “God give America a thousand John G. Lake’s.” - Leonard Ravenhill

As the pressure increases and society becomes more unstable, men will become more irrational.

Our greatest need will be the rare jewels of wisdom and insight that flow from tender hearts that fear the Lord. Beloved, there is still time for us to acquire this resource. -David Sliker

We haven’t turned to the Lord with all our heart unless we’ve turned to Him with all our speech.

- Mike Bickle

The Bible As Mostly Not About Me - Joshua Hawkins - Enduring Witness Doc...

My teaching on the justice of God in a two age framework. audio1, audio2, notes. 

You can forget what you’ve learned, but you can never lose what you’ve become. - Conny Hubbard

“It’s generally acknowledged that Jesus’ death saves sinners and His life saves believers” -John Owens

It is normal to feel restless as a child, lonely as a teenager, and frustrated by lack of intimacy as an adult; after all, we live with insatiable desires of every kind, none of which will ever find complete fulfillment this side of eternity. (Rolheiser)

While I believe the Lord has tremendous compassion for those who genuinely struggle with their faith, I also believe that at the Day of Judgment, He will not hesitate to rightly cast every deconstructionist very far from His glorious presence. - Joel Richardson

Just like Isaiah says to “wail” and “all hands will go limp” and “every heart will melt”

Jesus says to “repent” for the “Kingdom of God is at hand” It’s a distinct Day in human history that is to come -TJB Sewob

“To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed:”

1 Peter 5

This age is difficult. Suffering until glory... - TJ Sewob

Your view about how the world will end affects how you live today. - Timothy Keller

“This day is holy to the Lord; do not mourn or weep. . . . Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:9–10

There is a holy weeping of repentance before the holiness of God. But if it does not lead to joy, we have not tasted holiness as we ought. - John Piper

There are more prayers in airplanes in a storm than in most churches in the country. Everybody becomes religious. - Leonard Ravenhill

"A hermetical Great Commandment: seek first God and his intent for the text, and secondly seek the intent of the human author, a person like yourself." - John Harrigan, The Gospel of Christ Crucified

"Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

"Master, we toiled...and caught nothing. BUT AT YOUR WORD, we will let down the nets." Here's to those in "the deep" who toil with seeming fruitlessness until one simple act of obedience "encircles a great number." -Gabe Cali

My teaching on Psalm 46. Notes Audio1 Audio2

Of all sights in the Church of Christ, I know none more painful to my own eyes than a Christian contented and satisfied with a little grace, a little repentance, a little faith, a little knowledge, a little charity, and a little holiness.

- Ryle, Holiness

Our desires tend to follow where we put in the most time.

I tell young people that I pastor that it's no wonder why their smartphone addicted, Netflix binge-watching generation has no appetite for the word of God or prayer. Shut some stuff off. Eternal life is in the balance. -Josh Hawkins

"Religion is what you do with your solitude." - William Temple. i.e. The things we daydream about most readily and instinctively when nothing else is occupying our thoughts reveal what we live for and serve.

-Timothy Keller

“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:11

“And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.” Isaiah 2:11 

Because the one who exalts the humble is exalted above the ones he exalts, and is the focus of their exaltation. - John Piper

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly...

Hebrews 12:22 1st century Jewish apocalypticism has opened my eyes to scripture and there is no turning back for me.

-TJ Sewob

 Those who:

- are insulted but do not insult - hear themselves reviled without answering - act through love and rejoice in suffering Of them Scripture says, "But they who love him are as the sun when he goes forth in his might." - (Babylonian Talmud), from Dale Allison's Sermon On The Mount

Jeremiah: "...this house shall become a desolation."

Jesus: "See, your house is left to you desolate." One spoke of the House of David, the other the House of God. But the One who comes to sit on the throne of the former will reestablish from the latter. -Gabe Cali

 My teaching on the Gospel from Isaiah 40. Audio. Audio 2. 

I love the parable of the wheat and the tares.

The bottom line is, Jesus is going to sort out everything and everyone in the end. Yes we have our work to do, our gifts to steward, our battles to fight etc. But we can relax on a lot of things and leave him to his task. -Travis Snow

“Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” 1 Timothy 4:16

A pastor’s vigilant self-watch is an act of compassionate shepherding. -John Piper

No form of ministry is more important than my marriage and family. -Timothy Keller

2021 Summer

REUNION ON PATMOS // 'Ballads of the Revelation'

There on the island, my Lord I did see I fell at His feet as though dead trembling in glory I’ve been yearning for years now yearning to be Near to my Friend again as in my memories Oh I’ve missed Him so; O, I’ve missed Him so More than words can say just how much I ache To see my friend again There on the island I beheld His face like sun His voice a torrent of waters His feet like burnished bronze In those hands once scarred, now holding seven stars And the keys to death and hell, our Conqueror’s reward In His eyes were flames, in His mouth a sword The One I knew as Savior, I beheld as Lord Oh I’ve missed Him so; O, I’ve missed Him so More than words can say just how much I ache To see my friend again I feel homesick, lovesick; this paradox in me It’s better when You’re here but You said it’s better if You leave Maybe this is what You meant back then Knowing what it would do in me My heart now haunted by memories of my Friend And those days in Galilee Oh I’ve missed Him so; O, I’ve missed Him so More than words can say just how much I ache To see my friend again

All genealogies end with Jesus; not a single genealogy appears after Matthew 1 or Luke 4. Why? The One Israel has been tracking since Genesis 3:15 has arrived. Implications for a generation obsessed with endlessly exploring who they are and where they come from? Forget it. Join yourself to the Promised One. 

COMPREHENDING THE STORY OF THE BIBLE - 46- FIRST CENTURY JEWISH FRAMEWORK

In this Bible Study, John Harrigan works through a theology of suffering before glory in the context of a Jewish framework. So good! 

If thanksgiving is a form of worship to God, then complaint is a form of worship to the enemy. - Richee Parks

God doesn't entrust his message to orators; he entrusts it to witnesses and stewards. - Bill Scofield

Paul had seen the risen Christ and much of his good news, his euangelion, concerned what to expect at Christ's glorious, imminent return.

- Paula Fredriksen

“The history of the Sermon on the Mount can largely be described in terms of an attempt to domesticate everything in it that is shocking, demanding, and uncompromising, and render it harmless.”

- Pinchas Lapide

These [general Jewish apocalyptic] hopes express the fundamental conviction that God is good, that he works in history, and that he is true to his promises.

- Paula Fredriksen

Jesus holds out the prospect of ultimate consolation. Now they mourn; but now is not always. God’s ultimate triumph, and with it the comforting of those who have grieved over evil, is sure.

- Leon Morris

Jesus promises the kingdom not to those who try to force God’s hand in their time, but to those who patiently and humbly wait for it, people of peace. - Craig Keener

It is a dangerous thing to emulate the polemical powers of the apostle Paul without imitating the prayer-life of the apostle Paul. - BA Purtle

Like drops of rain before the storm, so is the gift of the Spirit before the Day of the Lord. - John P Harrigan

Faith framed in “self-enhancement” terms has little pain tolerance…The minute costs are associated…the consumer Christian pivots to curate a bespoke spirituality that conveniently eliminates the “take up your cross” part of following Jesus. - Brett McCracken

“Someone said to Jesus, ‘Lord, will those who are saved be few?’ And he said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.’” Luke 13:23–24

Jesus pushed relentlessly from the theoretical to the personal. -John Piper

For the sinner, repentance means this: ‘God is right and I’m wrong; and he’s right if he sends me to hell. I was walking this way in darkness, and I step out of darkness into light; out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of his dear Son.’ - Leonard Ravenhill

Healing flows to us from the very place where Jesus was wounded (His stripes). In the same way, your place of wounding will become a source of healing for others. - Chris Reed

“A preacher is effective when he (1) expounds Scriptural truth accurately, (2) adapts his message to the needs and capacities of his audience, and (3) speaks out of a heart on fire with the Holy Spirit.” – Tim Keller

Life comes with a built in 100% chance of death. But those who believe they will rise again, like a seed that is buried in the ground, live very different today. - David Brymer

A bible verse christians love to quote proving Jesus is the messiah and God, is Micah 5:2. Micah 5 then goes on saying this messiah delivers Israel from The Assyrian. -TJBSewob

I told preachers yesterday, I said: "Dear brother, you get people to the altar, they go out and they’re smiling, they don’t know a thing! They just said 'Jesus I’m sorry.' Does that get rid of a million sins? Repent! Not only repent, but restitution!" I would have people stand at the altar and turn to the congregation and say, “Here I renounce the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. I put off the Old Man. I put on the New Man. I believe that even as I pray the blood is cleansing me and Christ is going to take up his abode in me.” - Leonard Ravenhill

People have said to me for fifty years, ‘Why do you stress prayer so much?’ Because Jesus did.

When Jesus was being baptized in Jordan he was PRAYING when the Spirit descended on him. At the end of his journey on the cross, Luke says “As he died he was PRAYING ‘Father, forgive them.’” He went to the mount of Transfiguration, and as he was PRAYING he was transfigured. Luke emphasizes every event in the life of Jesus with PRAYER. - Leonard Ravenhill

Five lies of identity from Henry Nouwen via Lee Strobel:

1) I am what I have 2) I am what I do 3) I am what other people say or think of me 4) I am nothing more than my worst moment 5) I am nothing less than my best moment.

My teaching on Psalm 45. Notes. Audio. Audio 2

I’ve travelled far. I’ve preached in many of the biggest churches in the world, and met some of the great preachers, but I never judge a man by his preaching. Let me pray with him and I’ll tell you what kind of a man he is. - Leonard Ravenhill

When you fear the Lord, He teaches you (Ps 25:12). He draws from His library of wisdom. - Bob Sorge

It takes courage to wait on God! Ps 27:14 - Bob Sorge

It is incredible and truly remarkable to reflect on the humility of God. Christ as our Servant. He came to earth to serve the 1st time (Mark 10:45). His second coming is TO SERVE (Luke 12:35-37) and to lead the earth as King of kings who is the SERVANT of Rulers (Isaiah 49:7). - Stuart Greaves

Theology 101: If the Lord said something in the Old Testament, the idea that it doesn’t count unless it’s also in the New Testament is absolutely bogus. - Joel Richardson

“Today God is bypassing men - not because they are too ignorant, but because they are too self-sufficient. Brethren, our abilities are our handicaps, and our talents our stumbling blocks!” Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries

“A woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!’ But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” Luke 11:27–28

Think what good news this is to a disconnected nobody. -John Piper

“Most (early) Jewish interpretations of the messianic age...parallel more closely that of the Christian..premillennial view.” (Blomberg, Chung, p. 42)

Christians didn’t invent premillennialism. It was the most prominent view in early streams of Judaism that even Jesus himself identified with. - Travis W Snow

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant...

As [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.

-TJSewob

 

We don’t often think in these terms, but holiness actually brings the most peace. When we’re tempted to sin we should ask ourselves: is it worth losing my peace over this? Because sin will always steal our internal and external peace, sooner or later... -Travis M Snow

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 2 Chronicles 20:12

How often have we said over the years: when we don’t know what to do, we know what to do — we look to you. - John Piper

Paul not only says, “I have all” he says, “I abound — I not only abound, I’m full.” (Phil. 4:18). Here’s a shirtless, homeless, money-less, wife-less, childless, position-less, possession-less man, SINGING IN GLORY! - Leonard Ravenhill

"God and the Jewish people have a broken marriage, and the world is suffering through the effects of a broken marriage." - Mark Klafter

You can disagree, but I’m convinced the sign of God’s blessing in the Old Testament was prosperity. The sign of God’s blessing in the New Testament is adversity. What’s your breaking point? - Leonard Ravenhill

“Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.” Luke 12:4

In other words: Fear not. You can only be killed. - John Piper

Why do many people pray for revival yet reject it when it comes? It is too disruptive, too demanding. The fire is too hot. The presence is too holy. - Dr. Micheal Brown

“A voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!’” Luke 9:35

God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, could have said 1000 things. But he said, “Listen to Jesus.” -John Piper

"As I read the birth stories about Jesus, I cannot help but conclude that though the world may be tilted toward the rich and powerful, God is tilted toward the underdog." -- Philip Yancey

If Jesus was really, bodily raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, then evil and injustice will be vanquished forever--- and death and suffering banished forever. Everything will be all right.

-Timothy Keller

We are merely stewards of whatever gifts God has given to us in order to help our neighbors…we must submit concern for our own well-being to the good of others. – John Calvin

Redemptive history has not been playing out ambiguously or aimlessly. God is acting in the bounds of his covenant with Israel.

In the same way, the end of the age will not play out ambiguously or aimlessly. God will continue to act within the bounds of his covenant with Israel.

-Josh Hawkins

“The [only] hill we die on is the beauty and supremacy of Jesus.” - Isaac Bennet

You know everyone is a servant until they get treated like one. -Stuart Greaves

The law says, “do this”, and it is never done. Grace says, “believe in this”, and everything is already done. (Luther, Heidelberg Disputation)

God puts boundaries and restrictions on your life in the hope that you’ll seek Him, Acts 17:26-27. -Bob Sorge

There were tens of thousands of Jews crucified by the Romans in the first century AD, but the world only knows the name of one of them today. That's because only one was the Son of God and only one rose from the dead. - Dr. Michael Brown

My teaching on the Centrality of Jesus at the End of the Age. Notes. Audio. Audio 2

The cross pacified God’s wrath, for those who believe. But it also unleashed God’s wrath against those who refuse to receive such an extravagant, selfless offer of grace. - Bob Sorge

 My teaching on Mary of Bethany and the preaching of the gospel. Notes. Audio. Audio 2.

 

Relationships are costly. Whatever it will cost you to be with God is nothing compared to what it cost Him to be with you. -Timothy Keller

"If one does not encounter Judaism when one is apparently encountering Jesus, has one truly encountered Jesus?" -Rabbi Mark Kinzer

Jesus was constantly restraining Himself. The only time He was completely unrestrained was in prayer. - Bob Sorge

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." (Eph 5:15-16)

A real day of judgment is coming. Therefore, it deeply matters how we live and spend our time today. This is easy to forget. Maranatha

-Joshua Hawkins

Christianity doesn't just give you consolation for the life you lost. It gives you hope for the life that is to come. - Timothy Keller

1st of Luther’s 95 Theses: “the entire life of believers…[is] one of repentance.” That sounds like we never make progress! But Luther meant repentance IS the way we make progress in the Christian life. The church always has things to repent for. -Timothy Keller

George Whitefield (1714-1770) said, "Congregations are lifeless because dead men preach to them." We could also say, "Congregations are carnal because compromised men preach to them."

-Dr. Michael Brown

God is going to raise up men. He’s going to raise up prophets. And we’re going to see the most wonderful things that the world has ever seen. We may go through a tribulation before it, but God is going to glorify His Name. God is going to triumph! -Leonard Ravenhill

“Christ loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify her…so that he might present the church to himself in splendor…that she might be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25–27

We have never suffered as Christ in the cleansing of his dirty church. -John Piper

The reason people can know the gospel and not change their lives is because they think forgiveness is cheap. - Timothy Keller

 My teaching on Psalm 40. Notes. Audio. Audio 2.

I’m absolutely certain God is going to do a new thing in the last days in which we’re living. I’m persuaded in my own mind that he’s going to bypass what we call organized religion and big denominations. They’ve had their chance. They’ve run for years. They’ve missed the bus. - Leonard Ravenhill

 “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!”

“[Jesus said] you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” —John 1: 49,51; Genesis 28:12

 “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” Psalm 130:3–4 The depth of iniquity in all prevents God-admiring fear of God. So God forgives that iniquity to get that fear. -John Piper

 Until we melt our swords into plowshares. Maranatha!

-Stephanie Quick