These days we normally do not travel long distances by walking. Many people have never walked for hours at a time. I will never forget how tiring it was to hike for eight hours over the mountains in PNG to reach a remote village where a small group of Christians lived. Compared to travel in […]
Alan Redpath came up with the following acrostic. T: Is it true? H: Is it helpful? I: Is it inspiring? N: Is it necessary? K: Is it kind? If what we are about to say does not pass theses tests, we should keep our mouth shut. It works! Transition This morning, I want us to […]
Years ago when we lived in jungles of PNG, I was on a walk and suddenly spotted a snake in the path very close to me. The sudden start made my heart race. I wisely backed away and the snake slithered off. We have all been startled by an unexpected event. It may have been […]
As we near the time of year that we remember the birth of Christ, this year I want to take you on a chronological journey through the events leading up to and following the birth of Christ. For the next five weeks on Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings we will examine ten major events of […]
Bible heroes like Joshua, Gideon and David defeated overwhelming enemies because God was with them. In Romans 8:31 we read, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” We too can defeat overwhelming temptations if we follow God’s instructions and let Him take control. Transition […]
Your car needs certain provisions in order to run. It needs oil to lubricate the moving parts. It needs water to cool the moving parts. It needs petrol to run the motor. It needs a battery to start the motor. If any of these provisions are lacking, it will not run. Spiritually we also need […]
Many homes are a war zone. The battles fought behind closed doors (and sometimes in front of the children) are ignited by what James calls “Lusts”. These are selfish desires or pleasing self. Selfish lusts cause wars over unneeded purchases, extravagant spending, debts, undiscussed decisions, in-laws, putting children ahead of spouse, child discipline, meal complaints, […]
The “spoil” in this verse means to carry off as a captive slave. This was common practice when an army conquered a city. For example, the Jews in Jerusalem were spoiled (carried off as slaves) by the Babylonians when they conquered the city in 586 BC. In our text, Paul warns that false teachers want […]
Have you ever made a foolish choice, or said the wrong thing, or responded in an ungodly way? Yes, all have. Why do we do that? One reason is we lack God’s wisdom. About 3000 years ago Solomon wrote, “How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to […]
On my computer, I have installed Norton Antivirus. It is a program that protects my computer from invasions that can harm, destroy or steal my data. As Christians, we too need spiritual protection. The devil and his false teachers are actively working to deceive God’s people. Transition In this section, Paul gave the Colossian believers […]