In this post is an introductory sermon of John MacArthur’s series on Galatians. Sermon highlight points precede the 48-minute video for those who would rather read. The initial 20 minutes or so is devoted to the lives of Job and Luther, to show godly fear that moved these men to seek God, but that did not avail in reconciliation until God intervened. If you know little about the difference between the seeking of salvation/reconciliation with God via works or via faith, then you should benefit from hearing his words. Also, he describes some current false teachers, also highlighted in the points.
Category: NEW CHRISTIAN ORIENTATION
The Lies of the World — John MacArthur
In this post, John MacArthur identifies 8 lies upon which this culture is founded, then he clarifies them and provides the truth about each one per scripture. Highlight points are provided for those who don’t have 12 minutes to listen to his words.
Virtue Signaling 101 — Comedian John Crist
“What’s the point of doing good deeds if everyone on the internet doesn’t know about it.” Comedian John Crist teaches a class on virtue signaling in 2020, what hot button issue to focus on, and even how to grandstand without even using words! John Crist is a standup comedian. For more videos, bio and live tour dates….” [This example is right on, very funny, and less than 4 minutes long.] There is a second video included so that you can test the new skills you have learned; the narrator, Ben Shapiro, will provide some instruction, but you will see that he is right on. Without your new skills, you might not have….
PSALM 63:3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
The following commentary on Psalm 63:3, by The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, speaks of the rewards of seeking God fervently. The commentary on the entire Psalm is pasted in for those who might want to read it. As encouragement to do so, check out the one sentence with which MacArthur’s commentary described 63:3: better than life. God’s covenant love is more valuable to David than life itself (cf. Php_1:21; Act_20:24). Those verses: Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Acts 20:24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. The words from Expositor’s commentary are a wonderful read that fill out the understanding regarding those two verses.
Fearless in 2023 – Pastor Patrick Hines Sermon
Pastor Hines 39-minute sermon covers the following points: 1, Fear and all emotions are good, given by God; 2, When fear becomes sinful; 3, Resting in the comforting love of God; and 4, Love casts out fear. The concluding 10 minutes or so of his sermon was very moving and tied all his points together very meaningfully, it was about the Reverend David Brainerd. This sermon provides much encouragement to begin the fight anew in 2023! Sermon highlight bullet points have been written for you
God’s Purposes for taking His children through grief, loss, darkness…. Pastor Patrick Hines
The video in this post is a podcast of Pastor Patrick Hines wherein he addresses Christian suffering. He used the text of 1 Peter 1:3-9 and after a brief intro, talked about a Christian pastor who committed suicide, and near the end, he discussed a man who was tortured by Vladimir Lenin’s officers and imprisoned for more than a decade. The latter, grew immeasurably from his ordeal and was more used by God…. Much was said about each man and his response / reaction to afflictions sent by our Sovereign God. You can learn something from Pastor Hines teaching to deal with the afflictions God sends into your life. He discusses a couple of useful books in the podcast.
Proverbs 2:1-6 Charles Bridges Commentary
To me, the following scripture passage gives much direction and encouragement about how and why to study the word of God. As we get ready to enter into a new year, these words may be the encouragement you need to more consistently meet with God there. Charles Bridges’ commentary makes this passage very clear: Proverbs 2:1-6 [KJV]
The Apostates’ Doom – A. W. Pink / Studies in the Scriptures / Christian Audio Books
A W Pink considers Hebrews 10:26-31 in discussing the apostate’s doom. He discusses how preachers had watered down that [and all] scripture in his day [he died in 1952]. They promised believers that if they had accepted Christ [signed a card; uttered the sinner’s prayer…] that their eternal future was secure…. He discussed a three erroneous takes on this passage by Arminians, over-zealous Calvinists; he called out the dispensationalists for “trifling with God’s word.” He aimed to present a biblical take on the passage and seemed to do so. It is an important message for all Christians in this day of far greater heresy and apostasy than in the 1950s. I recommend reading the preceding post on the impact of Christian Liberalism on the church before this post. Video is 43 minutes with a long list of highlights beforehand
The Decline of Protestant Christianity in the early 20th century has impacted you today
This post is a crash-course in the decline of the Christian church since the late 19th century. The purpose herein is to help you assess the quality of your own faith as you come understand the unbiblical impact of Christian Liberalism. The first two videos surround a figure of the Presbyterian church in the early 20th century, J Gresham Machen. [Although Machen was a Presbyterian, his fight against the unbiblical movement of Christian liberalism is relevant to the whole of Christianity.] Two posts from this blog are linked because they provide necessary information about unbiblical evangelism and C H Spurgeon’s fight against liberalism, narrated by John MacArthur.