I known I’ve been complaining about Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John not giving us more of what Jesus actually said. They’ll tell us that Jesus went into a synagogue and taught, that people were astonished at his doctrine, that he delivered it with authority—but wouldn’t tell us what his doctrine was. Well, we’ve discovered that the reason for that su…

Titus was a younger man than Paul, and is called his own son after the common faith. Titus had assisted him since at least the Jerusalem Conference, so by the time Paul gets around to writing this letter to Titus, he is writing to an experience minister—a man who has been used to deal with difficult situations on several occasions. Now, having Titu…

Jesus was a man of few words, so we want to pay close attention to the words he did say. When he spoke, he was often enigmatic in what he said–sometimes it was hard to figure out exactly what he meant. As often as not, he would make his point with a question, or perhaps with a question followed by an action. For example, Jesus was a Sabbath-keeper,…

How was it possible that otherwise sane men would want to kill Jesus? Think about it. He was a quiet man. He was plainly a kind man. He was an engaging teacher and faithful to the scriptures. More important, he was doing miracles—he was healing people left and right, and such healings as no one had ever seen. And yet, immediately after some of thes…

Over the years, a common objection people raised to religion is that, well, it’s pie in the sky. Religion, they think, has some vague promises of benefits in the next life, but it doesn’t do much for a person in this life. That’s really a pity that those of us who call ourselves Christians have allowed people to think of us that way; for if a perso…

There seems to be a difference between a secret and a mystery. At the very least, the Bible seems to use the word mystery in more than once sense. For example, there might be something that can be known but has been deliberately kept secret. Then there can be something that, even though stated, is not understood. This is the only way I can understa…

I doubt if there are any words of Jesus more widely quoted and better known than his little statement in John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 KJV It is hard to grasp how a first-century Jew would have taken that. Listen to t…

Whatever image you have in your mind of Jesus Christ, it is surely wrong. None of his disciples told us anything at all about how Jesus looked—which is a curious oversight, in a way, because we really would like to know. It comes as a shock to some people when they learn that the picture of Jesus they bought and hung on the wall is a painting of so…

Nothing is more central to the Christian faith than baptism. Whether it be by immersion, sprinkling, or pouring, baptism is the initiation rite to the Christian church. If you haven’t been baptized somehow, someway, you haven’t met the entry level requirement. Baptism is a Christian thing—and yet baptism did not originate with Christianity. It had …

Did it ever occur to you to wonder why Jesus didn’t write his own book? Why do have Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as the four Gospels, but no Gospel According to Jesus? And have you ever noticed how little Jesus had to say? He was a man of few words for the most part, though he did sometimes wax eloquent for, say, five minutes. Let me show you some…

Let no man despise your youth; but be an example of the believers, in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given you through prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these thing…

Nancy Pearcey, in her book Total Truth, brought something into focus that I had thought about but hadn't quite got together. She observed that a common weakness of evangelism is that we start with redemption. It's true, especially among evangelicals. When there is an altar call at the end of a sermon, it can't help but control the entire sermon. Th…

I’ve never known of a womanizer who really liked women. Women are useful to him, things to satisfy his ego—but not people he respects or cares about (or, more importantly, cares for). There may have been no one more destined to win than Solomon. His wisdom was legendary. But in the end, it was his choice of women that turned him into a loser. King …

Only by pride comes contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. We all know that too much pride is a bad thing. And we all know that humility is a virtue. But what are you supposed to do about pride when you are really good at something? Having talented children is a source of great joy, but having talented children who display humility is rea…

It seems that every age and every generation has it defining characteristic. It also seems to me that we are currently living in the generation of the lie. Just look at politics. If we find a man (or woman) who will tell us what we want to hear, truthfulness aside, we’ll vote for them. But this program isn’t really about politics. It’s about making…

Is it possible to give things away and yet become richer? Is it possible to hold on to everything you have and wind up poor anyhow? This is the paradox of generosity—and it has a lot to do with relationships. No man is ever going to get rich without other people—working with you or for you. Selfishness alienates. But generosity attracts and, as a r…

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. 1 Timot…

What do you call those little wooden figures with movable arms and legs that are controlled by strings from above (like Pinocchio)? It’s a puppet, right? Actually, no, that’s a marionette. I learned that from reading an article which featured a prominent psychiatrist referring to people who described themselves as marionettes of helplessness. Sadly…

How many times have you gotten yourself into trouble by speaking up when you should have kept your mouth shut? If we’re talking about making life work, the mouth may be the biggest single problem we have to solve. Nine times out of ten, when we have caused a problem by something we have said, we try to convince ourselves and others that we didn’t r…

What father does not take pride in the accomplishments of his son? And what mother does not glow with pride when her daughter is honored for her talents? And what parent does not burn with shame when their children are shamed? I suppose we could say that Solomon was stating the obvious when he wrote that a wise son makes a glad father: but a foolis…

The Proverbs are essentially ideas that grow naturally out of the Law of God. Here we are dealing with one of the most misunderstood concepts in the Bible. If you’ll bear with me, I believe I can clear up a major muddle about the Law and the Bible. There are certain laws that we call the Laws of Nature. We live with them every day. And while we mig…

Of all the ways that a man can mess up his life, sex-related problems have to be some of the most likely. Even more so for a woman—in that the consequences for women seem more likely, dangerous, and permanent. Many parents make the common mistake of warning their children of the dangers instead of impressing upon their minds the morality of the sit…

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things are held together. Colossians 1:16–17 KJ2000 [Paul_Study_Questions_Link]…

Years ago, I used to enjoy going up on internet forums and discussing religion there. They had any number of them divided up by category. I tended to hang out on the Christian forums. What was fascinating to me, and something I did not really understand, was the degree of hostility expressed on Christian forums. It seemed a good thing that these pe…

There are a lot of ways to mess up your life. It’s frightening how easy it is to make one small mistake that carries consequences that last a lifetime. There’s no way to avoid every mistake, and accidents will happen from time to time. But we can often be saved from those moments of reckless behavior by having a little wisdom. The problem is that m…

Life is all about challenges, and character is all about meeting those challenges. But the unfortunate thing is that most of us don’t really get a lot of instruction about how to meet them. All too often, we instead indulge ourselves in attitudes and actions that have very unfortunate results. The problem is that we may not know it immediately. The…

How long would you like to live? It depends, doesn’t it, on whether that long life is free of hurt and pain and confusion, and instead filled with joy. How would you like to have a little more peace in your life? What if I could tell you of a way you could have both of these? Well, there is a way. It’s found in the Bible. It is a special revelation…

I suppose we would all agree that it’s a good thing to be wise. When you face hard decisions, it’s good to be able to decide which way is best. It would be good to have a power to discern what is true and right in all kinds of circumstances. But do you have any idea how men get to be wise? Maybe it’s in the genes. Maybe it’s just luck. But what if …

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and se…

If you call yourself a Christian, what can I assume that you believe? If you call yourself a Christian, what can I depend on you to do? One fellow recently wrote to me and commented that he didn’t think that Mormons were Christians. But you know what? It’s even money that somewhere there is someone who wouldn’t think he is a Christian either. Oddly…

Okay, you have your life together and everything is working like it’s supposed to. So tell me—why do you feel so uneasy? Why do you feel like something bad is about to happen? What’s the matter with us that we can’t relax and feel good about life when it is working? Why do we have this nagging fear that everything is going too well and something ba…

When people talk about the laws of success, they often overlook the little laws—the not-so-obvious principals that have so very much with how your life works (or doesn’t work). They are the small principles that have to do with the spirit of a man rather than his bank account, and are far more important than many of the objectives we pursue. If I c…

There’s one very special statement from Ecclesiastes 9 that deserves to be put up on a wall where you can read it every day. It reads: Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, where you go. Ecclesiastes 9:10 KJ2000 What Solomon is saying is that the only chan…

Are you satisfied with the way your life is working? Chances are you have a mixed answer to that question. Some things are working fine and some things you wish were better. Satisfaction is a very elusive quality. We also make an assumption that causes a great deal of dissatisfaction. We assume that satisfaction comes to us from outside of ourselve…

I beseech you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: Who in time past was to you unprofitable, but now profitable to you and to me: Whom I have sent again: you therefore receive him, that is, my own heart: Whom I would have retained with me, that in your stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel: But without …

Do you take your faith for granted? Or is it like a lot of married couples: We have been together for so long, we can complete sentences for each other. We can take one another for granted. And at some level that is a good thing. I can take it for granted that my wife will be faithful to me. I can take it for granted that she won't bust the budget.…

There’s a hazard built into life that you may not think about that often. When you do wrong, you usually get away with it. It surely seems that you do—especially when no one finds out. And when we do bad things and get away with them, we are emboldened. Now, we’re looking for wisdom here and trying to make our lives work. So let’s check with the ma…

What sort of decisions do you have coming up today? Do you know what you’re going to do about them? Have you made any preparations (like asking a friend for advice or reading a book on the subject) so that when the time comes you can make a sensible decision? Do you have a framework within which you make your decisions—lifetime goals and moral and …

Better is a poor and wise child, than an old and foolish king that will no longer be admonished. This is one of the saddest things about life—that men of power become foolish. King Solomon learned this the hard way and, in Ecclesiastes 4, penned the quote above. He learned that at the very height of success, foolishness is apt to set in. They begin…

So, how is your life working today? Do you have all your ducks in a row? Is everything humming right along and you’re on schedule? Or do you sometimes feel as if the world is just falling apart? Even King Solomon had these troubles. In Ecclesiastes 4, this great, wise man said this: So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done un…

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According a…

It never ceases to amaze me how far Man will go, what dangers he will face, in order to penetrate the unknown. To us, the Lewis and Clark expedition was just an early attempt to explore the northwest of our country. But when you really look at what those men did and the dangers they faced, you have to wonder what drives men to do this sort of thing…

There’s a terrible burden that lays upon man. The world around him can be working perfectly. Everything can be in the right place, there is no immediate tragedy stalking him, everything can be beautiful, and a man can still be absolutely miserable. This is the man who can stand on green grass in the middle of beautiful flowers and shrubbery and swe…

And as he thus spoke for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, you are beside yourself; much learning does make you mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and good sense. For the king knows of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden…

Do we truly understand how difficult the years ahead will be? Christians have often believed that we would escape the disasters striking the world simply because we were more righteous than others. Some thought we’d be taken to a place of safety, spared from the trials ahead. But the Bible tells us otherwise. Even the children of Israel faced plagu…

Di [email protected] (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound…

Di [email protected] (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

Di [email protected] (Sermon by Ronald L. Dart)

But if your brother is grieved with your food, you no longer walk in love. Destroy not him with your food, for whom Christ died. Let not then your good be evil spoken of: For the kingdom of God is not food and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he that in these things serves Christ is acceptable to God, and approve…