You may have heard the term “means of grace” before and been a bit confused by it. You might think it refers to ways of receiving grace, but the only way to receive grace is through faith in Jesus Christ. The means of grace are the things (or means) that

There are hundreds of Christian denominations in the world not to mention different variety of non-denominational churches as well. Along with this diversity of churches comes a diversity of thoughts and ideas of who can be an officer within a church. What does the Bible say? Are there rules laid

What scripture comes to mind when thinking of the heart of a pastor? 1 Corinthians 9:16 might be one, “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” You

The Bible has much to say about marriage. Genesis 2:15-25 documents the creation of marriage. There are many laws about marriage in the Mosaic law. Jesus affirmed God’s design for marriage (Mark 10:5-9, 19). We – the church – are continually referred to as Jesus’ bride (Mark 2:19-22,

In the 16th chapter of Acts, the apostle Paul, along with Silas, Timothy, and Luke, travel to the city of Philippi to spread the Gospel message. Before this took place, Paul had in mind to travel to Bithynia, but he was prevented by the Holy Spirit and commanded to go

There are many people who respect Jesus as simply a wise teacher or compassionate man. The people who saw Jesus while He was here on earth thought very differently of Him. Many of the religious leaders hated Jesus and conspired to kill Him. Leaders typically do not plot to kill

Love is a complex word in the English language. Imagine a man whose wife has been out of town for a week going to the airport to pick her up. It would be perfectly acceptable for the husband to give his wife a long hug, kiss her and tell her,

Is the message of our salvation an indicative or an imperative statement? You may not be accustomed to thinking this way, but understanding the difference can help remove a burden when it comes to our relationship with God. An imperative statement is a command or request. Examples are “you need

A personal testimony can be a powerful thing. Hearing how God has changed a person can be a great encouragement for someone struggling in their faith. When God brings a new believer into fellowship with Him, He may also choose to bring the new Christian worldly blessings such as a

The word obligation has taken on a negative connotation within the younger generations. Obligations are seen as restrictive, striping one of desired freedoms and opportunities. Today, we are moving away from the idea of certain responsibilities being legitimate. In marriage, spouses no longer need to focus on the emotional stability

God is righteous and judges the sins of man. God is also a merciful God and often in the Bible God shows great mercy even as He punishes people for their sin. Tower of Babel In the episode of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9, we see the

In John 21, we see the resurrected Jesus appear to seven of His disciples. We see Him specifically reach out to Peter to assure him that he was still His disciple even though Peter denied Him three times. John makes three key observations about Jesus’ interaction with Peter that shows

In Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments were given to the children of Israel. They were meant to be followed as God's moral directive for the people who were to represent the one true God among the nations. This revelation set them apart. They were to be as "

What comes to mind when you think about a sermon? With different denominations, worship styles and agendas, sermons today sometimes can feel more like motivational speeches or platforms for social issues. Contrary to these styles of preaching, Belgic Confession article 29 says that one of the marks of a true

Children rarely do as they please. What they do is dependent on their parents and other parental figures in their lives. Teenagers have more ability to do as they please but are still limited by teachers and parents. Adults are limited by their bosses and family. The very rich and

Names are very important in the Bible. Children’s names often reflected a physical characteristic of the baby or a hope the parents had for the coming child (Genesis 25:25, 1 Samuel 1:20). Often the name became a fitting description of the child as they grew up. When

Traditions in and of themselves are not bad. Some are God-honoring and can be helpful for us on our walk. Based on Jesus’ teaching, traditions can be acceptable as part of our spiritual disciplines and in worship if they meet two broad qualifications: that they do not contradict Scripture and

Psalm 51 is one of King David’s penitential Psalms where he prayed to God as a result of sin. There are six of these in the Psalms (Psalm 6, 32, 38, 51, 130 and 148). We do not know the exact occasion for any of them except for Psalm

As Christians, we claim that Jesus is the Messiah, that He was sent by God the Father to save all those who believe in Him from their sin. Why do we believe that Jesus is the Messiah? The Bible testifies to the fact that many even in Jesus’ day claimed

Imagine a courtroom scene for a crime. The jury has just come back into the room with their verdict, and everyone is waiting to hear what they will say because a guilty verdict will carry a hard sentence for the defendant. The prosecutor and defense attorney both presented very strong

“The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.” – Psalm 33:16-17 The world can be a scary place. There are wars, racial unrest,