God has given us His Spirit of power and love and self-control.

Luke 4:1-30 Jesus was ‘tempted by the devil’(2). He was rejected by His enemies (28-29). When we look around us, we see nothing but temptations and rejection - What a negative way of looking at things! There is something more positive here - the presence of the Holy Spirit (1,14,18). Do not be afraid. There …

“Be filled with the Spirit” and “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly”

Scripture speaks with authority because it speaks as the God-breathed Word. The authority of the Word by which we are brought to faith must be seen in connection with the power of the Holy Spirit. The life of faith into which we are brought by the Word and the Spirit is both life in the …

The Holy Spirit And The Holy Scriptures

We begin with a simple and yet profoundly helpful illustration from James Philip."The black plastic disc (for those who are more familiar with compact disc, he's speaking about the vinyl record - you can replace 'black plastic disc' with 'compact disc'!) that is put on the gramophone turntable has a voice within it, and when we put it on …

Berkouwer on the Spirit and the Scriptures

Berkouwer emphasizes the present activity of the Spirit in pointing men to Christ through the words of the Bible - "Scripture is the Word of God because the Holy Spirit witnesses in it of Christ” (Holy Scripture, p. 162, emphasis mine); “the purpose of the God-breathed Scripture is … to witness of the salvation of …

The Spirit, the Scriptures and salvation

In his post, The perspicuity of Scripture, Ben Myers quotes from Berkouwer's "fine book", Holy Scripture (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1975), p. 275.He begins his post, "Reformation theologians spoke of the "clarity" or "perspicuity of Scripture ... According to Reformation theology, the message of salvation shines out clearly from Scripture through the power of the Holy …

A river that I could not cross …

“A mighty wave, a mighty wind is coming from heaven, to raise up our nation again” (Ulf Christiansson) – As I walked along the beach, feeling the wind and watching the waves, these words of faith came into my mind. God is calling us to move - from where we are right now to where …

What does God’s Word have to say to us? (some sermons)

Sermon on John 11:1-57 The story of the raising of Lazarus has a great deal to teach us. A good starting-point might be the name, "Lazarus." It means "God is my help" or "God helps." Isn't that a great starting-point? It reminds us that God is our Help. It reminds us that God helps us. …