Stronger and weaker brothers, freedom and love, all issues addressed in our Bible-reading passage in 1 Corinthians today. Here’s some help: Bob Deffinbaugh, “The Great Divorce—Separating “Truth From Love” at Bible.org: I would like to suggest that we take a good, long look at these two categories of the “stronger” brother and the “weaker” brother. As … More Love and liberty
J.C. Ryle comments on “The Parable of the Seed Growing” in Mark 4:26-28 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the … More God alone can give success
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. —Psalm 81: 10 You may easily over expect the creature, but you cannot over expect God: “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it”; widen and dilate the desires and expectations of your souls, and God is able to fill every chink to the vastest … More God is able to fill every chink to the vastest capacity
Joshua 24:16-18 “Then the people answered, `Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods, for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight … More We will serve the LORD… Jesus
Paul steps on a few Corinthian toes. John Piper comments: [1 Corinthians 7] Verse 19 says literally, “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God (is everything).” That was about the most offensive thing Paul could say to a Jew: Circumcision is nothing. And if we understand its broad cultural … More Paul: unfashionable and offensive, but radically God-oriented
J. C. Ryle on Mark 4:1-20 These verses contain the parable of the sower. Of all the parables spoken by our Lord, none is probably so well-known as this. There is none which is so easily understood by all, from the gracious familiarity of the figures which it contains. There is none which is of … More Where’s the fruit?
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! —Psalm 80: 3, 7, 19 Restore us, O God. Turn us back to You. Change us. Change our character, if not our circumstances. We need YOU, O God. Let Your face shine… we want to see You. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine … More God’s Transforming Glance
Kim Riddlebarger, Senior Pastor at Christ Reformed Church, opened and closed his sermon on Joshua 23 with these comments: When Moses died, the people of Israel surely thought he could never be replaced. Years later when Joshua says farewell to his people, there can be no doubt that Joshua had shown himself to be a worthy successor to Moses. … More Warning from a Bible hero
We read about principles for marriage in 1 Corinthians 7: Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband … More How to ruin a pearl
Kim Riddlebarger asks, “What, then, should we take with us from this section of Mark?” [Chapter 3:20-35] The very fact that so many different and diverse people witnessed the miracles of Jesus with their own eyes and yet did not understand his mission or understand who he was, should remind all of us that unless God … More Needed: Faith to see
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 