While illustrating the diversity of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 the apostle repeatedly stresses their one source in God. He also stresses their one purpose, to reveal the Holy Spirit’s work and power for the common good of the church. These unifying realities lead the apostle’s thought to a general discussion of the oneness of the redeemed community. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-19 he explains and illustrates the nature and importance of the unity of the church itself. The diversity of the church is a God-ordained means of bringing the fellowship to oneness, but unless each diverse member recognizes and accepts their part in the whole body, diversity will divide rather than unite, destroy rather than build up, and bring discord rather than harmony. As we serve the Lord we do so through the power and enablement of the Holy Spirit who divides to everyone as He determines. To fail or refuse to use our gifts within the church is rebellious disobedience, and to be frustrated that you don’t have the gifts you want is jealousy. Yet Paul says that while some gifts are more visual than others, there is no gifts that are unimportant. As a matter of fact … READ MORE

During my first ministry, we purchased a house that was by a 90 acre woods. I was always concerned that my sons, would go out into the woods and get lost. So I set out to help give them principles to determine how to get home. I would take them out and we would turn right and left as we walked, and stop and talk. We wondered aimlessly as we would go deeper and deeper into the woods. Finally, I would tell them that they were responsible to get me back to the house. I was always aware of how to get there, but it was important for them to be able to use the principles that they had learned to find their way home. Getting lost is a scary proposition, What a wonderful passage Luke 19:10 is “For he Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” It is critical that we understand the principles to help us be “found” because we are all lost. God does not wait for us to be “found” He sent His Son to make sure that we are found. From the very beginning, God did not wait … READ MORE

Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” This leads to the question, “Do I sin because I am a sinner, or am I sinner because I sin?” This is like the old question, “which came first the chicken or the egg?” If you believe the account of Genesis 1-2 the answer is obvious …. “The Chicken!” God created all the animals first, then came offspring. The problem is that God created man as sinless, and then man chose to sin! It would seem that, we are sinners because we sin, except for the clear teaching of the Word of God. David says in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” and in 1 Corinthians 15:22 we are told “In Adam all die.” The answer Biblically is we sin because we are sinners. Why is it important to understand this point? This answers the question of why death and destruction effects all humans, because we are conceived as a sinner, and therefore, are subject to the consequences and battle with sin from the beginning of our lives. We are born separated from … READ MORE