Prosperity Gospel?

A few comments on Matthew 8:18-20 “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go”: After witnessing the miracles of Jesus, many folks thought  following Him might be more “glamorous” than it really was. I imagine that Jesus may have received many spontaneous offers like this. We, too, tend to buy in to the prosperity gospel … More Prosperity Gospel?

Lord of all

John Piper, in a sermon, “Exalting Jesus so the Spirit Falls”– gives many ways in which Peter exalted Jesus in Acts 10:24-48, our reading today.  Here is just one point: Peter lifts up Jesus as the Lord of all. Verse 36 (at the end): “You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good … More Lord of all

No barriers

John Piper helps us understand our Bible reading passage for today, Peter’s vision in Acts 10, in a sermon, “What God Has Cleansed Do Not Call Common”: Let me try to sum up the whole story for us. Cornelius is a Gentile, not a Jew. But he feared God as best he knew him and … More No barriers

Destroying the Dreamer

John Piper’s sermon, “The Sale of Joseph and the Son of God” concludes this way: The story of Joseph is the story of a righteous one who is sinned against and suffers so that tribe of Judah would be preserved and a Lion would come forth, and would prove to be a Lamb-like Lion, and … More Destroying the Dreamer

Jesus turns things around

John Piper in a sermon, “Jesus Still Turns Things Around” brings this encouragement from Acts 9, our reading for today: Luke drives this home by showing the persecutor becoming the persecuted. First, in verse 23 Luke tells us that the Jews in Damascus plotted to kill him. The hunter becomes the hunted. And he escapes … More Jesus turns things around

God-given Direction

John Piper in a sermon, “The Leading of the Lord in Personal Evangelism” from Acts 8:26-40, in our Bible reading plan today. …. the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch teaches us one of the ways God uses to evangelize the world. I say “one of the ways God uses” because it is clear … More God-given Direction