Why Church? Paul tells us in Philippians that he has learned to be content in all circumstances. Yet he still needed fellowship. When Paul was headed to Rome under guard he had been shipwrecked on Malta. While there, he conducted a major evangelistic work and then boarded a ship for Rome. It had been a long journey with many perils. Once they finally arrived, they still had a long journey ahead by land. When we get to the text we see some brothers in Christ came to meet him.

Jeremiah 49:13 NASB95 “For I have sworn by Myself,” declares the LORD, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a reproach, a ruin and a curse; and all its cities will become perpetual ruins.” Picture of Bozrah today: Mike Drop! You can trust God's word. Enough said. Love Bro. Scott

Mark 9:12 NASB95 And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? As Jesus and His disciples descended down the mountain of transfiguration Jesus began to explain to them again that He must die and raise again. Although He had explained this to them before they still struggled to understand. They questioned Him about the scriptures being taught about E

Is that your Final Answer? The phrase gained popularity on the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." After the person gave their answer the host Regis Philbin would ask. Is that your final answer? What is your final answer? People have always been intrigued with finality. Last words are often quoted from people who have passed away. When someone is to be executed they are given a chance to say their last words. Words are important yet most people struggle with speaking

Nahum 2:2 NASB95 For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob Like the splendor of Israel, Even though devastators have devastated them And destroyed their vine branches. Nahum prophesied of the destruction of Nineveh and his prophecy was fulfilled years later. However, all Scripture provides a picture that reveals Christ, and we can see it in this verse. It is amazing how God has someone describe the destruction of Nineveh and at the same time point to Jesus as Lord and

The fight between a love for Christ and selfish pride is real! I have a selfish desire to be with Christ. It is selfish because I love Him and want to be in His presence, for me. I desire to be in His presence for my comfort and joy. However, in my love for Him, I desire to please Him. So I live on in an attempt to live for Christ. Paul says in the first chapter of Philippians, verse 21, "for me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." I can say, "to die is gain", for me is an

David, attempted to comfort Hanun the king of the Ammonites when his father died. However, Hanun did not trust that David was doing this in righteousness. Hanun therefore turned against David and defiled his gift of comfort, by mocking David's men and embarrassing them. Our text reveals that this put them in a place they didn't want to be. 2 Samuel 10:6 NASB95 Now when the sons of Ammon saw that they had become odious to David, the sons of Ammon sent and hired the Arameans of

Do you have Jesus as Lord? Have you believed in the truth of the Gospel? Are you committed to the truth that Jesus is the perfect sinless Son of God wrapped in flesh, fasting from the glories of heaven, for the purpose of taking our place in death? Are you committed to the truth, that He was buried, and that He rose from the dead having defeated death? Are you committed to the truth that He now lives forevermore, and that He has ascended to the Father to make intercession for

James 5:7-8 NASB95 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Confusion, chaos, attacks, mockery, torture, and death, had filled that Friday. Three crosses on a hill and a guilty man going free. An innocent man carrying a cross to suffer the death of a sinner. A

We recently had a horrible accident not far from where I live. It involved a school bus. Two 13-year-old students lost their lives. Several other students were severely injured. I was told yesterday that there were a lot of discussions going back and forth about seatbelts on school buses. I don't want to get into this debate. What I do want to say, is that accidents will never stop happening. What I want to say, is that death is inevitable. What I want to say, is that just tw

Zechariah 2:10 NASB95 “Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD. When in the presence of the Lord, it appears that there is a great deal of singing going on. These are not songs of sadness, but of gladness. These are not songs of crying. They are not songs of hurt, suffering, leaving, or dying. For none of these things will happen in the presence of the dwelling place of the LORD. For the world to

Acts 20:21 NASB95 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul shares that he solemnly testified. This is to testify earnestly as under oath or with charge to do so under penalty. Paul felt like testimony was required of him. He is correct! It is not that he will lose salvation if he doesn't but instead, he will not be pleasing to the Lord. Because of this, he feels like it is a have-to situation. Paul knows God

Do you remember a time when you were involved in something foolish? You look back now and realize just how foolish you were to have been involved in it. If you cannot remember a time, then the chances are that you are involved in foolish behavior now. We are all guilty from time to time of letting our flesh have control as we are disobedient to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Then there are the times before you had the Holy Spirit where the majority of your decisions and ac

Do you desire to be with Jesus? Christians would answer yes. We are, and will be with Him. As the church, we are the bride of Christ and as I read our text today I wonder. Do we truly desire Jesus as the bride in our text desires her groom? Song of Songs 3:2 NASB95 ‘I must arise now and go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I must seek him whom my soul loves.’ I sought him but did not find him. In the next verses, we see that she doesn't give up until she finds

2 Kings 24:2 NASB95 The LORD sent against him bands of Chaldeans, bands of Arameans, bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. The LORD sent. You must not miss this statement. It shows that God is serious about His people following Him. People tend to think God doesn't care, watch, pay attention to, or respond to the daily life of His people.

Joshua 12:24 NASB95 the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings. Scripture lists 31 kings in the area that Israel would possess west of the Jordan. As these kings were concerned with their own and no one else's they all lost their own. Now I know that even if they were joined together they would not prevail against the Lord and His people. However, this shows us that an inward focus will bring about defeat. Jesus warns of this. Matthew 12:25-26 NASB95 And knowing the

This Is Your Life. Most younger people reading this will have no idea what that first sentence is. For you, I will explain. There was at one time a radio show turned into a TV show, where a guest would have their life story or stories of their life shared with the viewers. There would be pictures and letters written by the guest in earlier years of their life and then they would bring in people from their past who would share stories from earlier in their life. Some stories w

The differences between the early church and the church of today are many. The individual members of the church are to live for Christ and do so in a way that builds up His bride. You can do a lot of hateful things to me and I will take it. However, if you give my wife, my bride, a hard time, you should expect me to be there very quickly in her defense. The church is the family of Christ, after my bride, my next order of protection is my family. God blessed me with three chil

Malachi 1:5 NASB95 Your eyes will see this and you will say, “The LORD be magnified beyond the border of Israel!” People often look around and wonder, is the Lord doing anything today. Our text speaks of Edom. The descendants of Esau chose to live their lives away from God. They chose to worship false idols and call them God. However, they were destroyed. God will take all actions chosen by man whether good or evil, and He will glorify Himself so that others will see Him as

Hebrews 7:8 NASB95 In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. The writer of Hebrews is speaking of Melchizedek, for whom there is no record of his birth or death. Abraham gave to him a tenth (tithe) this was included in the Mosaic law, that this tithe be given to the Levites for the worship of God. The text says "one receives them of whom it is witnessed that he lives on." It is speaking of Melchizede