It would be nice if we could turn to an exact chapter and verse reference that provides a nice, concise definition. There are several passages throughout Scripture that warn of both these teachers and their teaching. Many help us identify the traits that help us identify them. We will look at many of these later. But, there is no concise definition that says something like, “A false prophet is…” o...  Read More

Did you know that every New Testament author warns against false teachers and their teaching? In fact, every book in the New Testament other than Philemon has some reference, warning, or direct rebuke of false teachers and the lies they spew.The Bible ends with a warning against false teaching.Revelation 22:18–19 (ESV) — 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyon...  Read More

In keeping with the theme of adding things to our lives for Lent, I want to encourage you to consider adding or growing your commitment to prayer. But as I talk about prayer, I don’t simply mean stopping to ask God for something or saying a quick blessing before you eat. What I mean is praying as a focused and intentional time of worship that goes further than just making our requests known to God...  Read More

I’ve refrained from putting too much out that addresses much of the symbolism as it pertains to numbers or dates in Revelation. But, we’ve come across these time frames repeatedly and we will again this Sunday. So, I wanted to provide a bit more information about it since I’m not going to address it directly in any of these sermons.I’ve become convinced these all refer to the same period of time t...  Read More

There are plenty of reasons people fast from certain things. There are medical, dietary, and religious fasts (Ramadan is an annual Muslim fast seeking to earn favor). Why would or should Christians fast?Before I share why we should fast, let me address one misplaced motive. We should not fast to get something from God. Several Christians seem to add fasting to their regular disciplines to convince...  Read More

That is the title of the first chapter in John Piper's book, A Hunger for God. (Click here for a free ebook). It's also a question lots of Christians ask. Since Lent is most often associated with fasting, and most of us probably don't practice the spiritual discipline of fasting often, I thought it would be good for us to consider this question in this season. In short, the answer to the question ...  Read More

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. Maybe you have friends who are Roman Catholic or from other protestant but more liturgical denominations than ours who went today and were marked with an ashen cross on their forehead. We aren't going to practice Lent in the same way, but that doesn't mean this can't be a season of intentional and heightened seeking of the Lord and His will for us as His peo...  Read More

This Wednesday, February 14th, is not just Valentine’s Day. It’s also the first day of Lent. Much like the season of Advent, Lent is a season of preparation. While Advent is focused on Jesus coming to us, Lent prepares us to reflect on and celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection. Starting on Ash Wednesday, it lasts until Easter. It is 40 days long, not counting Sundays, since these are considered ...  Read More

As the old saying goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." This is as true with regular time in the Word as anything else. I can't read it for you, but every year, I do strive to provide several options you can use as a plan to read the Bible more this year than you did last. Getting through Leviticus or 1 and 2 Chronicle is already tough enough. So help yourself out, choose one of these pla...  Read More

Philippians 1:3–5 (ESV) — 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.One of my favorite dishes at Thanksgiving is broccoli rice casserole. It wasn’t a dish I remember being made while I was growing up, and I don’t know that it would be considered “tra...  Read More

How we approach the book of Revelation, or the interpretive lens we use, as we seek to understand the visions that John has relayed will radically, affect how we understand it. For example, when I first began to study it I was a Futurist not because I really understood what that meant, but because I thought that basically that meant the vast majority of the visions John relayed would happen at som...  Read More

There are lots of great resources to point you to in order to study beyond what we will cover in the sermon series. Below I am giving you a sampling of several that will provide basic overviews, but others that will assist you in digging deeper into the text. Don't try to digest all of them, I'm providing more than any one of us needs because each of you will be looking for different things. So, t...  Read More