This hymn was written by Charles Wesley, the brother of the famous evangelist John Wesley. The Wesleys were mightily used of God in the revivals in England in the seventeen hundreds. But they were banned from the Anglican Church. For one thing, they disagreed with some of the doctrines of the church; for another, their methods were different from those of other preachers.
Charles is also the author of other hymns such as “Love Divine, All Love Excelling,” and another of my favorites, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain An Interest In My Savior’s Blood?” and “Jesus Lover …
If you’ve never experienced the power of thanksgiving, you need an attitude adjustment. When we read Paul’s directive to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Th 5:18), we might think that doing so is either impossible or irrelevant. We might even think we don’t have much for which to give thanks. Yet, this is exactly what Paul taught—we are to give thanks in all circumstances: the bad, the good, the promotions, and the demotions.
Thanksgiving is a game-changer. It honors God by affirming His sovereignty. When we give thanks, we affirm that He is in charge of everything and that …
Five pastors were ordered by the openly lesbian mayor of Houston, Annise Parker, to turn over their sermon notes, or at least the notes and emails they used when the opposed a so-called “Bathroom Ordinance” that would allow men to use women’s bathrooms. The mayor claimed that they were using their pulpits for political activity.
Obviously, this is an incredible overreach intended to intimidate pastors who refuse to bow to the homosexual agenda for America, which includes not just same-sex marriage but an attack against creation itself by destroying gender identity altogether. Certainly this …
Last weekend Rebecca and I were at The Cove, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Retreat and Ministry Center. I spoke to the doctors and nurses involved in World Medical Mission, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse under the leadership of Franklin Graham. We were impressed with the hundreds of volunteers who, at their own expense, serve in clinics all over the world in the most primitive conditions. We felt as if we were in the presence of heroes, and indeed we were.
One of those present at the meetings was Dr. Kent Brantley, who contracted Ebola at the Clinic in Liberia …
If you are a member of the Catholic Church you are welcome among us. About 20% of all of our members were raised in the Catholic Church. However, the canonization of two popes this past week does give me an opportunity to point out one of several major differences between us and Roman Catholicism.
The Bible clearly and repeatedly teaches that all believers in Christ are “saints” (1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1 etc). But in the early centuries when the idea arose that salvation was not a free gift given to those who believe the Gospel, but rather …
The solution to spiritual dryness may not be as complicated as we think. Let the coming year be one in which we learn to delight in the whole Word of God!
Most believers agree that regular time in the Word is vital to their spiritual health. However, in practice, many of us have discovered the time commitment does not present itself without effort. Rather, even before January is over, we find our daily tasks have absorbed all our thoughts and time, and we are fortunate if we even notice the effect on our spiritual life.
