From your Pastors

"Judah was hardly the China of the ancient world; it was tiny in comparison to Egypt to its south and Assyria to its north-east. But together with its sister kingdom Israel it occupied a strategic place astride the land routes linking Africa with Central Asia and the Far East. It lay at the centre of the known world and made the astounding claim that its God, the LORD, was...

As the first sermon in the Foretold: Christmas According to Isaiah series, we explored the darkness that had come upon Judea after King Uzziah's death. Then, God's people followed their new king, Ahaz, and trusted in their own wisdom for salvation by plotting with Assyria instead of trusting in God. In the midst of this, Isaiah prophesies about what God will do for his peo...

"Paul mentions the subject of thanksgiving more often, line for line than any other author, pagan or Christian." Dictionary of Paul and His Letters; A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship "Thankfulness is a soil in which pride does not easily grow." Michael Ramsey "Though I cannot know what your afflictions are, yet I know what your mercies are, and I know the...

Psalm 133 is meant to "charm us into imitation" as it opens with the extraordinary effect of the God-given gift of unity. David's use of the word 'good' to describe brotherly accord takes us back to the refrain used during the creation account in Genesis, and 'pleasant' is the felt effect of this unity in the souls of the Lord's chosen people. C.J. used this psalm to remin...

"Behold." It is a wonder seldom seen, therefore behold it! It may be seen, for it is characteristic of real saints, therefore fail not to inspect it! It is well worthy of admiration; pause and gaze upon it! It will charm you into imitation, therefore note it well! God looks on with approval, therefore consider it with attention." Charles Spurgeon "Few human joys run deepe...

In this passage, Jesus sees the crowds of hopeless sinners in Israel, and their lost state evokes deep compassion in him. He responds by instructing his disciples to pray for the lost sheeps' rescue through the sending of laborers into the harvest. Michael encouraged us to look into the world and see the crowds of desperate sinners as Christ sees them. He challenged us to ...

Glad service honors God! John Piper wrote, "Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead." By the grace of God, our church is filled with cheerful servants who serve in our church full of love for God. Psalm 100:2 should fan into flame the gift that God has already given to our church in the form of glad-hearted giving. Serving the Lord with gladness is a biblical dist...

In 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, Paul invites the Corinthian church to experience the thrill of God's grace by participating in the act of generous giving. Prior to this passage, Paul addresses the Corinthian church's reluctance to give by drawing their attention to the grace of God in Jesus Christ, who "though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that [they] by his po...

"Paul never wants us to do something without theological reason and Paul never wants us to hold a theology without practical application." C.K. Barrett "With what zest he broke the tough-fibered prairie sod, which had never been broken since the beginning of timeAnd with what reverence he held up the beautiful seed which he was to sow on his own ground. The plump kernels ...

"Genuine love will show up in the checkbook." David Garland "As often happens in his letters, some of Paul's most profound Christological moments appear in places one might least expect them." Gordon Fee "The pre-incarnate Christ occupied a position of the highest imaginable eminenceHe was in the words of Frank Houghton's hymn 'rich beyond all splendor (2 Cor. 8:9). He p...