What does Paul mean by the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Different streams of Christianity hotly debate this issue. 1 Corinthians 12: 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same …
Unity in diversity is one of the greatest keys in the body of Christ moving forward to build God’s Kingdom. On my first mission trip to Mexico, our church worked with Youth With A Mission to bring together people’s talents and abilities to build a home for needy families. Different people had gifts of food …
Is church about the team or the individual? We live in a country that prizes rugged individualism. Herbert Hoover coined this term and referred to individuals as self-reliant and independent from control. This originally referred to politics, but this thought has infiltrated the church.[1] The church at Corinth had multiple divisions, competition, and jealousy. Paul …
When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, he was pastoring from afar. Today, we would consider Paul to be a traveling church planter. He had lived in Corinth for eighteen months to establish the church there and then moved on to start other churches. A few years later, Paul received news that the church in Corinth had …
Giving your body to the Lord is what Paul calls us to do in Romans 12:1, but what does that mean? We have many choices in life, and our sinful nature wants us to use our bodies to follow our dreams and evil desires. Following our dreams or desires sounds romantic, but when we do, …
Psalm 13 gives us insight into how it is possible to worship while you wait. David was struggling and prayed an honest prayer. It felt like God had deserted him, and he wondered how long before God would come and help him. David needed God to renew him, and as he remembered the lovingkindness of …
The God who warns gave the wise men a dream, so they didn’t return to Herod in Jerusalem. God directs Jesus’ life to accomplish His divine plan for salvation. Jesus came to a hostile world that wanted to take His life from the beginning. God Warned the Wise Men Herod was so ruthless that he …
The story of the visit of the wise men shows how they were investing in worship. They gave their time and treasure to travel to worship the baby Jesus, the new king of the Jews. Their worship was not just lip service nor a casual, token hour of worship. The Pattern of Worship of the …
Herod claimed that he, like the wise men, wanted to worship the newborn king. But false worship doesn’t fool God. Matthew 2: 8 Then he (Herod) told them (the wise men), “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and …
Worship is from the heart. Psalm 86: 11 Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart so that I may honor you. 12 With all my heart, I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, 13 for your love for …