kingdom
March 15, 2021
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8). To delight in the presence of God, you must first taste and see that He is good. Over and over again in the Bible, God draws near to the people He loves so much. He walks with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 3:8). He speaks to Moses from a burning bush (see Exodus 3). And, ultimately, He puts on flesh, becoming one of us (see John 1:14). Over and over again, God draws near to us and invites us to taste and see—to experience Him for ourselves. God calls each one of us to come to Him and develop a firsthand understanding of His love and kindness. No one else—no pastor, spouse, or parent—can do this for you. You must personally experience His presence and learn what it means to delight in Him. How do you […]
March 8, 2021
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Jesus came to open our spiritual eyes. When we walk by faith and not by sight, we’ll have the strength to weather any storm. Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. Recently, I had a conversation with my neighbor who is not doing well physically. I asked him, “How are you?” and he answered, “Well, I’m just trying to prolong my life—one day at a time.” I wanted to weep for him because I have already shared Christ with him, and he has not responded. He is just barely scraping by, living without real hope. I pray regularly that God opens his spiritual eyes. Each day, we must trust in realities that are unseen—looking not to our bank accounts or our health or our earthly relationships for assurance, but fixing our eyes on […]
January 3, 2021
“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith” (Hebrews 11:7). Sometimes God calls us to work that requires us to give up something we hold dear. Other times He asks us to step out of our comfort zones in order to share His Gospel with others, whether one-on-one with a neighbor or by speaking to a large group. It is natural to feel some resistance to the difficult and self-sacrificing tasks that God calls us to, but in the end, we must obey God. Read Genesis 6 and 7. Can you imagine the concerns and questions that Noah had when God told him to build the ark? Regardless of any misgivings Noah may have felt, Scripture clearly tells us that “Noah did all that the Lord commanded him” (Genesis […]
December 27, 2020
“Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. . . . the world was not worthy of them” (Hebrews 11:36, 38). Courage is one of the greatest manifestations of faith. Courageous faith is confident that God cannot and will not make a mistake. Courageous faith knows that God cannot be wrong. Courageous faith is confident that God can never be defeated. n Hebrews 11:30-40 we are told of several Biblical heroes who demonstrated great courage: . . . who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. (Hebrews 11:33-34) Sometimes courageous faith leads to dangerous situations. The people listed in this passage did not always conquer the enemy without any injuries: Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and […]
December 20, 2020
“[Moses] regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward” (Hebrews 11:26). God’s Word is filled with the stories of His saints suffering greatly for their faith. But far from discouraging believers today, these lives lived out in enduring faith emit a sweetness that draws us to the Lord Jesus each day. The author of Hebrews wrote: I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. . . . There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better […]
November 29, 2020
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21). Read 1 Corinthians 10:14-22. Corinth was a dark, entangling pagan culture. But God freed the Corinthian Christians, calling them to salvation through Christ Jesus. As God’s chosen people, the believers in Corinth were to witness to the Truth of the Gospel in their society. But instead of witnessing, they fought over leadership, doubted Paul’s apostleship, and treated the Lord’s Supper as an opportunity to boast. With such behavior, they were poor ambassadors for Christ, distracting others from the Gospel message. Some of the Corinthian believers were even dining at the temples of false gods—attending the temple festivals. Paul had already addressed the issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols, declaring it a matter of conscience (see 8:4-8), but in this chapter, Paul addresses a different scenario. Some Corinthian […]
November 22, 2020
“And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Read 1 Corinthians 10:11-13. The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years under Moses’ leadership. They had none of the distractions of our modern lives—no smart phones, no social media, no 24-hour news cycle. They were told to do one simple thing: follow God. As they walked, they followed God’s physical manifestation—cloud by day, fire by night. Yet, despite God’s physical presence and awesome provision, they still grumbled and set their hearts on evil things, falling into temptation (see v.6). They were discontent with the wisdom, provision, and very presence of Almighty God. Contentment is not something we’re born with; it’s something we learn. We must train ourselves to be satisfied, and we do this by simply counting our blessings. When we […]
November 15, 2020
“Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did” (1 Corinthians 10:6). Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-10. Sin comes in many shapes and sizes, but deep down, every sin sprouts from the same seed: pride. Beneath every moral failure is a desire for me, my, mine. No one is immune from this brokenness. Even people who have witnessed miraculous signs and experienced God’s intervention in their lives still succumb to the lure of pride. This is Paul’s warning to the Corinthians—and us. He points us back to the people of Israel, whom God rescued out of Egypt. Although they witnessed God’s power firsthand, they yielded to temptation over and over again. As a result, most of them died in the wilderness—never to step foot in the Promised Land. The surest way to fall into temptation and sin is to place our confidence in ourselves. That’s what the Israelites did. They even […]
November 9, 2020
New Sermons- James Merritt موسيقى لأذني – جزء 4 اهتفEpisode:4Duration:28:48 موسيقى لأذني – جزء 3 يا الله، بارك كلّ شخص منّاEpisode:3Duration:28:19 موسيقى لأذني – جزء ٢ Episode:2Duration:28:21 موسيقى لأذني – جزء ١ Episode:1Duration:28:41