Tagged: Bible Study

“Like sheep they are herded into the nether world.” –Psalm 49:15 Years ago, preachers and people in general talked about hell frequently. Today, although the word “hell” is repeatedly mentioned by those using profanity, hell is denied by many people, even Christians, or it is greatly de-emphasized. How much “hell” should we give people, that is, how often should we seriously mention hell at church and other places? This question is difficult to answer. A possible rule of thumb is to mention hell as often as Jesus does in the Gospels. Jesus wasn’t always talking about hell. His favorite subjects...

“If anyone wishes to rank first, he must remain the last one of all.” –Mark 9:35 Rankings! Ratings! Polls! Surveys! Standings! Our culture thrives on these measures. We constantly argue about who is most important (Mk 9:34). We have political approval polls, opinion polls, talk shows, sports standings, Most Valuable Players, Nielsen ratings of TV shows, Fortune 500 companies, and even TV shows which rank who is worthy to “survive” another week at the expense of eliminating someone else. However, our modern culture is not the first to be obsessed about ranking. The apostles on several occasions fell into this...

“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them.” —John 20:22-23 Come, Holy Spirit! Happy Pentecost! Happy birthday to the Church! Alleluia! Before receiving the Holy Spirit, we must repent of sin (Acts 2:38). After receiving the Spirit, we are to proclaim to the nations repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Lk 24:47). After Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to the leaders of the Church, He commanded: “If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound” (Jn 20:22-23). In summary, before receiving the Spirit, we must begin...

“It was not you who chose Me, it was I Who chose you.” —John 15:16 “Make known to us which of these two You choose.” —Acts 1:24 Many of you have saved from abortion hundreds and thousands of babies in the womb. Thank God for your love, work, and prayers! Are you pro-choice? This seems like a crazy question to ask strong pro-lifers. However, many pro-lifers wrongly advocate “choice” in situations other than abortion. For example, the whole Christian life is more a matter of being chosen rather than choosing (see Jn 15:16). Jesus said: “I solemnly assure you, the...