“And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. For whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, …
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whosoever confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy” Proverbs 28:13. I like the “shalls” of the Bible, for they mean just what they say. Oh! That we might learn to take God at His word and know that when He says “shall” He means just that thing; nothing more and nothing less. A man says, “I shall do so and so,” but a hundred things may happen to prevent him carrying out his word, but not so with God, who says, “All power in heaven and in earth is given unto …
“So they strengthened their hands for this great work.”—Nehemiah 2:18
While I am taking this text, it is my thought to emphasize some of the practical truths that lie on the surface in the first five chapters of this wonderful book. Nehemiah was a man whose life was a perpetual testimony to the faithfulness of his God. He lived a long way from what we term “means of grace,” but as someone remarked years ago, when we are farthest from the “means” we may be nearest to the thing itself. It isn’t the means, but grace that is sufficient.
In our Apostles’ Creed we say “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; conceived by the Holy Ghost; born of the Virgin Mary…”
On what grounds do we believe this? First, we believe, because it is plainly and directly stated in the New Testament. It is there declared so positively that it cannot be explained away by any sort of ingenuity. The two Gospels which begin the life of Jesus at His birth both affirm it. It is quite universally agreed that the early part of the Gospel of Matthew is the story of …
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while …
What was the mental and spiritual effect of the Christmas message upon those who first heard it? With simple, unquestioning faith, the shepherds go to find the Babe in Bethlehem. There, “they made known concerning the saying which was told them about this Child. And all they that heard it wondered…But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God…”
Here are four reactions of the human mind and spirit to the wondrous message of Christmastide. Here are faith, wonder, meditation, praise. It is true that one or two of …
The Incredible Gift Of The Music Of Christmas: How Messiah Can Unite a Fragmented Church
To a divided church, we pray that the music of Christmas might bring some much-needed healing.
The other day a friend of mine said he believed the church—the evangelical church—did not know “where it was at,” to use his terminology. The reason? Many people have not returned to church since the pandemic. Some have become accustomed to staying at home and watching online; some are angry because their church shut down during the pandemic; others are angry because they think their church was negligent for …
Antonio F. Scorza was pastor of the Moody Italian Mission Church from 1922 into the 1940s. The Moody Italian Mission Church was started in 1909.
“As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.” “What persecutions I endured, but out of them all the Lord delivered me” (2 Corinthians 11:10; 2 Timothy 3:11b).
Next to my Saviour and Lord, Paul the apostle is my pattern of a Christian and a servant of God. Reading his inspired writings has been through these years an unfailing source of inspiration and …
My text is found in Romans 12:12, where the Word of God reads as follows: “Rejoicing in hope.”
Some dear folks say we have no commandments for the church. We have New Testament commandments, any number of them, even in Romans 12. This is one of them: “Rejoice in hope.” The Lord does not say, “Rejoice in faith; rejoice in peace; rejoice in love.” But He does say, “Rejoice in hope.” Hope is a thing that can thrill our hearts as nothing else can do. Hope is pointing us not to a good thing in the future, but to a …
“And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God.”—John 20:28
In His company of apostles, Jesus chose every type and phase of human character. There was the intense, impetuous Peter; the precise, austere James; the matter-of-fact Andrew; the earnest, loving John; the business man Matthew; the zealot Simon; and also the skeptic Thomas. Now I would not imply that Thomas represents the highest type of character, but I do hold that Thomas represents a very frequently found type. Wherever he is spoken of in the Scripture, it is always with some expression of pessimism or doubt. When …
