Responding To God’s Love

Christ died for us. Let us live for Him. Here, we focus attention on two verses which emphasize the importance of being saved by the Lord and going on to live for Him: ‘when I see the blood, I will pass over you… you must eat unleavened bread’ (Exodus 12:13, 20). In verse 13, we …

Learning From God’s Word: Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 1:1-3:29This is the continuing story of God's mighty working on behalf of His chosen people. He is leading them on to the land He had promised to them. Entering this land will not be easy. There will be plenty of opposition. The enemy will be defeated. The Lord will triumph over all who stand …

Biblical and Theological Links

Biblical and Theological Websites Belgic Confession Bible Centre Bible Commentaries Bible Gateway BiblePro Blue Letter Bible (Commentaries) Christian Blog Crosswire Bible Society Daily Devotions Evangelical Christian Library Gospel and Culture Heidelberg Catechism International Theological Dialogues IVP New Testament Commentaries James Philip: Daily Bible Readings John Zizioulas Northwestern Community Church Pentecostal - Reformed Dialogue Preachology Sermons: …

Learning From God’s Word: Ruth

Ruth 1:1-22 Following the triple tragedy of the deaths of Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion (Ruth 1:3-5) and the departure of Orpah (Ruth 1:14), there was a new beginning for Naomi and Ruth. This new beginning came to them when "they came to Bethlehem" (Ruth 1:19). The town of Bethlehem marked a new beginning for them. …

Help us, Lord, to hide Your Word in our hearts – and not sin against You.

Proverbs 30:1-33 In Proverbs 30:5, we learn about Your Word. Your Word is ‘true’. Your Word is ‘pure’. Your Word is full of blessing for those who ‘put their trust in You’. When, Lord, we trust in You, we learn that ‘Your Word is truth’. Your Word is full of blessing for those who ‘live according to Your …

William Still – Sermons Online…

GenesisLeviticusJoshua1 Samuel2 SamuelPsalm (1-24)DanielIsaiahHoseaZechariahLukeJohnActs (35-Part MP3 Series)1 CorinthiansColossiansHebrews I found these links at two websites – “Feeding on Christ” and “Reformation Today”.__________________________ I found this article at The Gospel Coalition blog. On the plane ride to the New Life Bible Conference, I began reading William Still’s The Work of the Pastor.  I’ve had the book for a …

The Authority of God’s Word

" ... the authority of God's Word is not an arbitrary, external authority ... (But) a wooing and conquering authority ... Scripture's authority does not demand blind obedience ... rather a subjection that spells redemption ... a subjection to Christ whereby he is never out of view ... in which acceptance occurs with joy and …

We will never be wise unless we build our lives on Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 1:1-7 Scripture speaks of different kinds of ‘wisdom’. In Proverbs, wisdom is closely associated with godliness. In Ecclesiastes, wisdom - viewed as mere human intelligence - is described as ‘meaningless, a chasing after the wind’  (1:12-18). This contrast is continued in the New Testament, where Paul describes Christ as our ‘Wisdom’, contrasting this Wisdom …

I know that my Redeemer lives…

Job 19:1-21:34; Matthew 21:1-17; Psalm 18:1-6 Among Job’s many words of anguish, there are these tremendous words – “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes …

The promises of God

Ezekiel 16:1-63; Hebrews 9:1-15; Proverbs 27:5-14 The promises of God are given in Ezekiel 16 – “I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you … So I will establish My covenant with you, and you will know that I …

My One Year Bible

Day 1 Genesis 1:1-2:17; Matthew 1:1-25; Psalm 1:1-6 Genesis speaks of the beginning. Matthew speaks of a new beginning. The God who created us is the God who has provided for our salvation. If we are to enjoy God's salvation, we must learn to follow the wisdom of Psalm 1:1-2 - "Blessed is the one …

Link to Rev James Philip’s notes on Jeremiah

Jeremiah

Speaking to today’s world …

How are we to speak to today’s world? Before we can speak to today’s world, we must listen to God’s Word. Speaking for God begins with listening to him. A word that is spoken by us for the Lord must, first, be a word that is spoken to us by the Lord.

In our own homes – Let us listen to the Word of the Lord… and receive the strength of the Lord.

https://youtu.be/bcAfxUj1D_0 ‘The heavens were opened and I saw visions of God… The Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel’ (Ezekiel 1:1-2). Lord, You open our eyes to ‘see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). You, Lord speak to us. Help us to listen to You: ‘Speak, Lord, for …

The Kingdom of God: Matthew’s Gospel

From the beginning of his ministry, "Jesus went about ... preaching the gospel of the kingdom" (Matthew 4:23). The message of Jesus could be summed up in this way: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). Jesus' message was good news. This is what the word, 'gospel' means - good news. …

Grounded In The Scriptures

How do we come to faith in Christ? How do we grow in Christ? How do we receive the Holy Spirit? How does the Holy Spirit work through us to bring other people to Christ? Do these blessings come to us from out of the blue? No. They come to us from the Word of …

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

"We ought to bring all matters to the Lord, not only urgent ones, and discover His heart and mind on them" (Rev William Still - on Numbers 16:41-50).

We start out well – and then something goes wrong

Praying Through God’s Word: 2 Samuel 2 Samuel 1:1-27 So often, Lord, we start out well – and, then, something goes wrong. Our heads go down. We lose our way. We fall away from You. Where does this spirit of defeat, this spirit of giving up, come from? – It comes from Satan. He sweeps …

Show us, Lord, that we’re not forgotten. We’re remembered.

Psalm 10:1-18 Lord, when it feels like You’ve forgotten us, help us to see the truth as it really is. We have forgotten You. We’ve taken our eyes off You – and now everything’s out of focus. There’s a blurring of our vision. Lord, take us to the Cross of Jesus. Show us that we’re …

Charles Cameron’s Sermons

Charles Cameron's Sermons & Illustrations.

The reviving power of God’s Word

“Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, …

More Than Words …

"Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction" (1 Thessalonians 1:5).We need more than words. We need the power of the Holy Spirit.

Holy men of God spoke, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

"For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And …

Lord, without Your help, we are nothing and we can do nothing.

Lord, without Your help, we are nothing and we can do nothing. We need You, Lord. We can never be what You call us to be if we don’t come to You and receive strength from You. We come to You in our weakness. It is the weakness of our sin. We come to receive …

Journey through the New Testament: Luke

Luke 1-4 God was about to do ‘a new thing’ (Isaiah 43:19). How are we to respond to God’s ‘new thing’? - ‘let it be to me according to Your Word’ (1:38). The birth of John the Baptist (1:57-66) - This was great. The birth of our Saviour - This would be even greater. God …

Link to Rev James Philip’s notes on Isaiah

Isaiah

God doesn’t abandon us when we’re suffering…

Job 15:1-18:21; Matthew 20:20-34; Psalm 17:13-15 God doesn’t abandon us when we’re suffering. When Jesus asked His disciples, ”Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” (Matthew 20:22), He was teaching them that there would be suffering. There’s a great difference between the way in which worldly people and godly people react to suffering. ”Men of …

Daily Devotional Readings: Year Three – January

1st January: Psalm 77:1-20 Sometimes, we have more questions than answers (7-9). The questions keep flooding into our minds. We wonder where the answers are going to come from. What are we to do when this happens? We must remember what the Lord has done for us (11-12). Look back over the 'years' - and …

God’s Greatness, Power And Mercy: Our Thanksgiving, Praise And Joy

"Listen to my cry for help, O Lord" (Psalm 61:1). God is the God of power and mercy: "Power belongs to God. Mercy belongs to You, O Lord" (Psalm 62:11-12), "I look to You in the holy place to see Your power and Your glory. My lips will praise You because Your mercy is better …

Finding Christ in the Old Testament

At the heart of the Old Testament, there's a remarkable prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, our Saviour. It's found in Isaiah 53. When we read these words of Isaiah, it almost seems to us that these words were written after the death and resurrection of Christ. The remarkable thing about Isaiah's words is this: they were …

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me…

In Jeremiah 18:5-6, we read about the potter and the clay – “The Lord spoke his word to me. The Lord asked, 6 “Nation of Israel, can’t I do with you as this potter does with clay? Nation of Israel, you are like the clay in the potter’s hands.” When we read these words, let’s pray, “Spirit of the …

The Lord is our Helper.

“O Lord, I cry to You for help!” (Joel 1:19).We look to some people for help – and they’re no help to us, God is never like that. He is our Helper. He’s always there for us. We call upon Him – and He helps us. He’s “the help of the helpless” (from the hymn, …

With God, we shall gain the victory.

Isaiah 44:24-46:13; Galatians 4:21-5:6; Psalm 108:6-13 “I am the Lord, and there is no other” – This truth is repeated several times over in this part of Isaiah (Isaiah 48:5-6,14,18,21-22; Isaiah 46:9). The contrast, in Isaiah, is between God and the gods. The contrast, in Galatians, is between Christ’s salvation and other ways of salvation (Galatians …

Meditating on God’s Word: Old Testament

GENESIS * Begin with God. The first verse of the Bible gives us the best starting-place for our life: "In the beginning, God" (Genesis 1:1). Let us "seek first God's Kingdom and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). "In the beginning, God" - This is what gives our life its true meaning, purpose and direction. * Build on God's Word. …

What a great thing it is to be saved by the Lord…

Genesis 19:1-29 In Genesis 3, we read of humanity's fall into sin. Here, we see the awfulness of human sin and the awesomeness of divine judgment. We must take God with the utmost seriousness. If we refuse to take Him seriously, He will continue to take us seriously - in His judgment! Sin leads to …

From Genesis to Revelation in a year

Notes for a one-year journey through the Bible http://fromgenesistorevelationinayear.blogspot.com

The Scriptures and the Saviour

"Jesus' disciples saw him do many miraculous signs beside the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ , the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life" (John 20:30-31). There is such a close connection between the Scriptures …

Teaching – grounded in the Scriptures; preaching centred on the Saviour

“As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number …

What Christ has done for us… what he is doing in us…

It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me… God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:20; 6:14) – Here, Paul …

The great message of the gospel – for the people of our generation

“We preach Christ crucified… I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified… For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 1:23; …

Learning about God’s love and His salvation – There is nothing more wonderful than this.

“Show Your marvelous lovingkindness …  O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” (Psalm 17:7; Psalm 19:14).  The lessons that we discover in the Word of God are lessons that are given to us by revelation. God shows us His “marvellous lovingkindness.” He shows us His salvation. Learning about God’s love and His salvation – There is nothing …

More than conquerors…

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For …

God’s love for us… Christ’s death for us…

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) – What a wonderful message Paul shared with people wherever he went. It’s the message of God’s love. We see this love in the death of Christ. He “loved us and gave himself for us” (Galatians …

Not ashamed of the gospel…

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16) – Paul had experienced the power of God’s love in his own life. He was determined to spend the rest of his life, calling upon others to open their hearts to the love of God …

They came in even larger numbers… Witnessing to them from morning till evening…

“They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. 24 Some were convinced by what …

More than a personal testimony…

“God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to …

More than an earthquake…

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew …

More than a journey to Damascus…

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be …

With God, we shall gain the victory.

Isaiah 44:24-46:13; Galatians 4:21-5:6; Psalm 108:6-13 “I am the Lord, and there is no other” - This truth is repeated several times over in this part of Israel (Isaiah 48:5-6,14,18,21-22; Isaiah 46:9). The contrast, in Isaiah, is between God and the gods. The contrast, in Galatians, is between Christ’s salvation and other ways of salvation …

Link to Rev James Philip’s notes on Joel

Joel

The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord

"You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High" (Luke 1:31-32) - What a special person Jesus is! He's the Son of God - and he's our Saviour! "And there were shepherds living out in …

God’s eternal blessings come from His eternal love.

“Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and  I will dwell in the House of the Lord for ever” (Psalm 23:6). For us, God’s salvation begins while we are here on earth. They continue for “all the days of our life.” His  blessings do not come to an end when we …

Sing to the Lord a new song! The Lord is great!

“Sing to the Lord a new song!” (Psalm 96:1).Singing a new song to the Lord – What does this mean?  Does it mean that we should stop singing songs that were written a long time ago? Does it mean that we should only songs that have just been written? Singing a new song to the Lord – …

Sing to the Lord a new song …

"Sing to the Lord a new song,     for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm    have worked salvation for him." (Psalm 98:1) A new song - this is a song that wasn't in our hearts before we met the Lord, before we were saved by Him. It's the Lord who has …

When it seems like there are no answers to our questions…

Job 3-7   In Job 3, we see Job in a state of deep depression. At this stage, there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. He is in desperate need of the Lord’s sustaining strength. Where will the Lord’s help come from? When will his time of suffering come to …

When we face difficult circumstances…

Job 8;1-10:22; Matthew 19:16-30; Proverbs 3:11-20 When we face difficult circumstances, as Job did and as the Lord’s disciples did (Matthew 19:29), we must never forget that the Lord’s purpose is good and His long-term goal is our good –  “eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). What is to be our attitude to suffering? – “My son, …

Believing and Witnessing

To be a believer is to be a witness. Paul puts it like this: "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).

Praise The Lord – And Give Thanks To Him.

The Psalmist calls upon all of us to offer our praise and thanksgiving to God - "Shout happily to God, all the earth! Make music to praise the glory of His Name. Make His praise glorious" (Psalm 66:1-2). "Let everyone give thanks to You. Let the nations be glad and sing joyfully ... Let the people …

Link to Rev James Philip’s notes on Daniel

Daniel

We don’t have the right to expect everything to be going great all the time.

Job 11:1-14:22; Matthew 2):1-9; Psalm 17:6-12 Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) teaches us that all that we have, apart from our sin, is received from God as a gift of His grace. We must remember this when, like Job, we are going through hard times. We don’t have the right to …