Author Archive
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Find our new link we some great projects underway and in the works at newtestamentproject.com
Updated in January
We will be updating in January as we undergo the task of tackling a great short book, What is a healthy church?” by Mark Dever.
Hi folks, To those who are dedicated to growing closer to God by setting time aside everyday to dedicate to the reading of scripture. I humbly admit to you that there are days where this is neglected even now.But the benefits I notice in my own life as I stay the course are just amazing. My prayer it that through continued dedication and your efforts in checking in with this blog a couple times a month will bless all involved. It is a primary part of the accountability we all need. If you can just drop a line and let us know your struggles, benefits, growth, questions, etc. Your input will help make this be what we would like to see it become but we cannot do it with out you. If you have tips or suggestions that would help us we welcome them. With that said we are jumping in such a great part of the book of Matthew. I hope you have been blessed by our last 7 chapters and meet this cross over of verses with excitement and sadness for leaving the last 7. Post comments and questions about these verses if you come across any. If you do make a post understand it make take a day to post. Also if you are looking for places to evangelize this year keep a close look at the Mt Morris blogs to the right. They will have updates, pictures and events that we will be heading out to. We hope to go to some Nascar events, fairs, parades, etc this year so make sure to check that out.
Now for a word from John Macarthur to Pastors but I think this will serve us all well…..
The Greek word translated “nourished up” is a present passive participle, implying that being nourished with the Word of God is a continual process of feeding. That involves reading Scripture, meditating on it, dialoguing over it, and studying it until you’ve mastered its contents.
It is essential that we be continually nourished by “the words of faith.” That phrase refers to the body of Christian truth in Scripture. We are to master Scripture. We’ll never do it, but that’s our pursuit. We are to be expert in that area; not just good communicators who can tickle people’s ears and make them think they heard something enjoyable (2 Tim. 4:3). We need to accurately interpret and defend the Word of God. Not only are we to be nourished directly by “the words of faith” but also by “good doctrine” (Gk., kale didaskalia). “Good doctrine” encompasses the teaching of biblical truth and the application of its principles. Spiritual growth is based upon our interaction with biblical truth.
1. 1 Peter 2:2–We grow spiritually as we study the Bible.
2. 2 Timothy 2:15–Paul said, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” We are called–above and beyond all other elements in the ministry–to be expert students of the Word of God.
3. Ephesians 6:17–We are to bear “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” and be able to use it in any way at any time.
4. Colossians 3:16–We are to have the Word of Christ dwelling in us richly and deeply.
5. 2 Timothy 3:16-17–Since the Word of God “is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works,” then we must know it.
To be able to think and speak biblically a pastor has to spend a large proportion of his time interacting with the text of Scripture. It is an inexhaustible treasure that demands a lifetime to just begin to understand its full riches. There is no virtue in being ignorant. Unfortunately we are a generation of people who do not like to sit and think; we prefer to be entertained. In spite of that we are to be committed to studying, understanding, and articulating the Word of God.
Spurgeon on reading your Bible
Need I suggest the question as to whether you do read your Bibles or not? I am afraid that this is a magazine-reading age, a newspaper-reading age, a periodical-reading age, but not so much a Bible-reading age as it ought to be. In the old Puritanic times men used to have a scant supply of other literature, but they found a library enough in the one book, the Bible. And how they did read the Bible! How little of Scripture there is in modern sermons compared with the sermons of those masters of theology, the Puritanic divines! Almost every sentence of theirs seems to cast sidelights upon a text of Scripture; not only the one they are preaching about, but many others as well are set in a new light as the discourse proceeds. They introduce blended lights from other passages, which are parallel or semi-parallel thereunto, and thus they educate their readers to compare spiritual things with spiritual. I would to God that we ministers kept more closely to the grand old book. We should be instructive preachers if we did so, even if we were ignorant of “modern thought,” and were not “abreast of the times.” I warrant you we should be leagues ahead of our times if we kept closely to the word of God. As for you, my brothers and sisters, who have not to preach, the best food for you is the word of God itself. Sermons and books are well enough, but streams that run for a long distance above ground gradually gather for themselves somewhat of the soil through which they flow, and they lose the cool freshness with which they started from the spring head. Truth is sweetest where it breaks from the smitten Rock, for at its first gush it has lost none of its heavenliness and vitality. It is always best to drink at the well and not from the tank. You shall find that reading the word of God for yourselves, reading it rather than notes upon it, is the surest way of growing in grace. Drink of the unadulterated milk of the word of God, and not of the skim milk, or the milk and water of man’s word.
-Charles Spurgeon
Focus on the Word – Stay the course
Hi folks, I pray your study is blessed during this time. Look for some updates to come this weekend with audio links and some more resources. Remember this blog is not the center of this project but the Word is. This is the place to go for help on verses or to interject about the text. Please write or leave a comment on how you have been blessed by this study. I do hope you have been……..
Quick question
12:32
What is Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
January’s Top Three.
Looking at our first seven chapters over the past month I would have to say my favorite top three sermons were the following….
Pastor Eldon Busnitez-Matthew 3:1-6
Pastor John Macarthur-Matthew 4:1-11
Pastor Mark Kielar-Matthew 7:28-29
I will be posting new audio for our current chapters this week and look forward to any particular message that helped you draw out the meaning of the text or just blessed you in regards to those first 7 chapters.
In Christ,
WOW what a great month
What can I say, to all who have posted, emailed, commented, and inquired about some of these verses….Thank you. This is a group effort. We work together. For those who have not posted but are keeping up with some of those on here…We are praying for you too. I cant begin to say how blessed this has been on my personal prayer time, evangelism, being a husband, father and friend. God’s word fills our hearts and soul with truth and the the result is that we are filled with the words of life. Some things that I look forward to and hope to change in the next month would be writing my chapter summaries in the beginning of the month and read each 3′ X 5′ card when I go into a chapter to help me memorize that chapter summary. This will help me know where to go when faced with a question or looking for a verse. This month I did it at the end of the month. I want to post some pics tonight of my verse’s in my photo album. I look forward to some great questions and digging deeper in to God’s word with you all. If you have fallen off the bus I urge you to jump back on. If you have not yet been commited to reading all the verses with us everyday then make it up today and commit.
Keep it up and lets stay the course.
In Christ
Is remarriage permitted?
Here is a conversation I have been kicking around here at work. I am trying to see where others fall on this subject.
Matthew 5:31-32
Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a women who is divorces commits adultery.
Now here is the debate, and I take this on with a humble attitude just looking to find the truth in scripture.
Now as we look at the Old Testament we know that divorce was allowed due to the hardness of peoples heart. But remarriage was not something promoted by God or the Law. The purpose for this is that marriage was so sacred that when you got into a marriage you were under the understanding that if this ends you are to either be reconciled with your husband or stay single to be fully commited to the Lord. This would ensure people only got divorced under desperate situations. Because they knew that this was it. So they would work hard on making it work through the most difficult situations. Now we see in this verse the infactical statment that has no prequalifiers in the context but explanations to the divorce….
32b
whoever marries a woman who is divorced commites adultry.
Now the grammer would seem to imply that the statment is just that. You marry a women divorced you commit adultry. Now the question…
Is remarraige permited or not? Now if you have been remarried I dont think you should get divorced to fix the last marriage because that would be breaking two covenatnts. But is it ok to say that was not Gods best and he never inteded on a person to get remarried?
Side one, Piper says remarriage is not God’s will. Click here.
Side two, Macarthur says it is permitted. Click here.
Reading with the Deductive method of interpertation not the inductive.
Sorry, folks I have been out of the picture for the past week or so. Our family has been sick but here I am and I hope we can jump into it and I pray your personal study time is blessed..
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”
Question: Does this verse imply that “the salt” (Christians) can become non salt (Non Christians) and/or just “carnal”? If not, how do you explain the text?
Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you
Is Gods forgiviness in this verse earned? Is forgivness based on simply forgiving others?
Matthew 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Is the path to heaven given to sinners by the grace of God or do they “find” it, as the verse states?
“When You”….
Yes it is 1 a.m. here and I am posting. We had a little girl who had some homework she forgot about that took my wife nearly 3 hours to work on and they still did not finish. Our little lady has been making the honor roll for the past two years (beside the last two marking periods from last school year, which is when we moved out here). But she has one C keeping her from making it this semester so we are plugging along to bring that grade up. Pray for Victoria…..and for my wife.
Anyway, I was looking at something that caught my eye today and I just wanted to post some things that peaked my interest in our text tonight.
Chapter 5 has a repetitious saying while applying the law…”You have heard it said…but I say…..”
You have head it said, But I say…hmmm
Now we can get into the fact that Christ takes the law here and applies directly to every human heart when so many self righteous Jews thought they were keeping the external law but the law was never external. But as we go into chapter 6 These words continue to catch my eye…
“When you….give to the needy” (6:2)
“When you….give to the needy” (6:3)
“When you….pray dont be like the hyprocites” (6:5)
“When you…..pray go into your room” (6:6)
“When you…..pray do not heap up empty phases” (6:7)
“When you fast….do not look gloomy” (6:16)
Then we go into the Do Not’s but I will save that for later.
God Bless,
Different theological backgrounds means different views on scripture. We can differ on secondary issues and still have fellowship. So keep theological debates centered on the text in our reading plan (unless needed to cross reference of course) so as not to veer off to far & be a one issue blog. But Truth is important to dialog about, so communicate effectively.
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