“So as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” (I Peter 4:2)
What drives your life? What factors are involved in determining the decisions you make? In this verse the Bible indicates two differing possible sets of motives for our decision-making: Continue reading
(Preached at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, Morganton, NC 12-18-16)
A few years ago, I preached a sermon on Mary, the mother of Jesus, and I had several people tell me afterwards that it was the first time that they had ever heard a message on Mary in a Southern Baptist church. Unfortunately, because some religions have over-emphasized Mary’s role, many Bible-believing churches have sometimes taken the pendulum too far and have undervalued it. But if that is true for Mary, it may be even more so for Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. There is not a lot about Joseph contained in scripture. Most of what is found in the Bible is right here in Matthew 1:18-25. But what we discover here is that Joseph was a man whom you & I would do well to imitate in many ways. And that just makes sense. The man whom God would choose to bring up His Son here on earth, in His formative years, would be vital to His plan. And even though there is not a lot of information contained here, what we do find is that Joseph serves as a great example to us in several areas: Continue reading
(Preached at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, December 11, 2016)
In his famous play, “Romeo & Juliet”, William Shakespeare wrote: “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” And there is some truth in that. But it is also true that when we give someone a name, there is often some significance in it. Some of you know our little grand daughter Lottie; she is named after Lottie Moon, the Southern Baptist missionary who went to China in the 1800’s, and who gave her life to reach the people there. We Southern Baptists have named our offering that is the biggest source of support for our foreign missionaries, after her. Names often convey something important. In our culture we don’t always place the significance on names the way they did in Bible times, but names were extremely important in scripture. They didn’t just give you a name because it sounded good to them, or because there was a “top 10 harp player” by that name; they gave you a name because it had a certain meaning for God’s purpose for your life.
And no other name has a more important meaning than the name of Jesus, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas time. In Matthew 1:21 the Bible tells us that the angel told Joseph, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” The name that they gave Him was very important. The name we call “Jesus” is actually the Hebrew “Yeshua” or “Yehoshua” — what we might call “Joshua” — and it literally means, “Yahweh is salvation” or “Yahweh saves.” So when they called His name “Jesus” they were saying, this is the One who is bringing us God’s salvation. Thus the meaning: “You shall call His name ‘Jesus’, for He will save His people from their sins.”
But understanding that, what does it really MEAN when it says that He “will save His people from their sins.” What has our sin done to us, and what does it mean that Jesus will save us from our sins? Continue reading
Our family is anxiously awaiting the birth of our fourth grand daughter, who is due in Wake Forest at any minute. If you have ever participated in a birth, or held a newborn baby, you know that EVERY birth — even what people thoughtlessly might call a “natural” birth, is far from “natural” — it is miraculous. That a man and a woman could come together and produce a child, who would grow inside its mother, and be born as a living, breathing, thinking, person, is an amazing and miraculous thing. We shouldn’t take such things for granted. It is a miracle from God.
But there is ONE birth that is even more miraculous than any other: the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ which we celebrate during this Christmas season. Last week we looked briefly at the genealogy of Matthew 1:1-17, and we saw that among other things, it demonstrated that Jesus was not a “myth”; that He really lived as a real man, who had flesh and blood ancestors. But now, beginning in :18, we see another side of His nature: that as God, He had the most miraculous birth in all history. Let’s look together at what these verses teach us about His most miraculous birth, and most importantly, the REASON for it! Continue reading
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (I Peter 2:9)
As Christians we have received a high calling and great privileges. As the first part of the verse notes, we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation”, etc. But for what purpose have we received such privileges? Continue reading
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified yourselves for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart …”. (I Peter 1:22)
Sometimes scripture points out weak areas in our lives on which we need to work, but here God commands His people to improve on a strength! He commends them through Peter for purifying their lives and sincerely loving their brothers in Christ. This phrase “sincere love of the brethren” is literally “unhypocritical philadelphia” — brotherly love. This sentence is in the past tense — in other words, they were doing this already.
But although they evidenced a healthy brotherly love for each other, he doesn’t want them to “sit on their laurels.” Continue reading
“Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 1:13)
Here Peter encourages Christians in the midst of difficulty to adhere to a trio of attitudes. These are also very fitting for believers who aspire to live for the Lord in trying times today: Continue reading
“and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, (:9) obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.” (I Peter 1:8)
What kind of faith does this verse say will end up saving your soul? The kind of faith that: Continue reading
Someone told me not long ago that they have a relative who is really into researching their family genealogy, but this person does not share that interest. They said, you know I hate to admit it, but whenever my relative starts going into all this detail on the genealogy, my eyes just kind of glaze over, and it is hard to stay awake!
I have a suspicion that many of us might feel that way about the genealogies of the Bible, like the one found here in Matthew 1. How many would admit that when they read their Bibles, they just kinda skip or skim over the genealogies?! And yet II Timothy 3:16 tells us that “ALL scripture is inspired by God”! This scripture is here for a reason, and there are some very important things that we learn from the genealogy of Jesus here in Matthew 1. We are going to be studying some of the passages about Jesus’ birth and early life as we move into December and Christmas season, but we should not skip the genealogy of Matthew 1:1-17 and some of the lessons it holds for us: Continue reading
“It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look.” (I Peter 1:12)
A key phrase here is “they were not serving themselves, but you.” This verse is speaking about the Old Testament prophets who were given divine insight into “the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow” (:11) many years in advance. We can read such passages as Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, which were written up to 1000 years before the crucifixion of Christ, but which portray the details of His death with amazing accuracy. The Bible tells us in I Peter 1:11 that the men through whom these prophecies came, sought to know to whom these prophecies were referring. Our present verse (:12) is the answer they received — and it also has implications for some of the things which happen in our own lives which we do not understand. Continue reading
I'm a retired Southern Baptist pastor of almost 40 years. My wife Cheryl & I moved to Norman, OK in March of 2025. I share a weekly overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, as well as texts of my sermons and other articles.
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