1 John 2:26-3:3 - Abide In Him

These are some of the most beautiful verses in all the Bible. They speak of the end game, the object for which God has saved us. We who fell in Adam are being made back into the image of Christ. We do not yet know what that will be like, but we look forward to the consummation of this great work of redemption when he appears for the second time. At the moment we will be like him. What a wonderful thing!

But before we get to that wonderful promise in the first two verses of chapter three, John has some ground to cover with his readers. There are the secessionists to deal with—the heretics. They are actively seeking to lead his readers astray. So John gives them reassurances, talking about an anointing. What does he mean by that? And how does he segue into the second coming of Christ?



All of this and more is covered in this bible study. I hope you will take the time to listen. Just click the link below. God bless you.


Click here: 1 John 2:26-3:3 - Abide In Him


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Mark 10:35-45 - The Greatest In The Kingdom

My sermon taken from Mark 10:35-45 was the 42nd sermon in this series. This is how I introduced it:

“When we read the gospel of Mark we understand that there is an interesting dynamic in play. Mark has a primary audience for whom he writes, but he also understands that what he is writing will have a permanence to it. We don’t know if he necessarily recognized that his book would become a permanent part of New Testament canon, though he might have had an idea that some such thing would eventually come about. But he almost certainly believed that what he was writing would be copied and passed around among other churches—that it would become authoritative—and probably even intended for that to happen.

So Mark writes primarily for his target audience—the Christians in Rome. He writes secondarily for the wider Church of his day. And he writes also for the sake of posterity. And here we are nearly 2000 years later looking at what he wrote and it is possible to see a few things that must have been going on in Mark’s day. One of those things was the difficulty of proclaiming a crucified Messiah. How does one make sense of that? In other words, how can Jesus be, at one and the same time, the Blessed One and cursed? Or how can he be both King of kings and crucified on a Roman cross?

‘Crucified Messiah’ was an oxymoron to most Jews and almost blasphemous to assert. That’s why Paul called it a stumblingblock to the Jews. But he also called it foolishness to the Greeks. Why? Because how could power come about through weakness? How could defeat end in victory? How can exaltation come through humiliation?

Proclaiming that your God was crucified by the Romans was a pretty difficult public relations problem to work through. No wonder it was difficult to see or accept at the time. And this would be why Mark has recorded Jesus three different times in three succeeding chapters telling his disciples that he was going to be rejected, arrested, and executed. Mark wants his readers to understand that this difficulty is not something that came out of left field taking everyone by surprise. This was a part of the plan all along.

And no doubt this was all very difficult for the disciples to grasp as well, as they were ascending to Jerusalem, which is why Jesus keeps reminding them of it. What is about to happen is going to be so psychologically difficult they are going to have to have his words to remember and fall back on.

None of these things are as difficult for us, because to us it is old hat. It is what we already know to have happened and we had no Messianic expectations going in. But that wasn’t true for the twelve, nor for the others who lived in Jesus’ day. These false expectations are an obstacle for Jesus to overcome. So fresh off his third crucifixion announcement in three chapters, Jesus is confronted with this . . .”

What happens next is that James and John come and request a favor of Jesus. That request prompts a discussion of the kingdom and who will be greatest in it. In the answer Jesus gives we will be made to understand the economy of the kingdom and we will be reminded both of who is the greatest in the kingdom and what it is that makes him so great.

Below you will find a link to the audio page which contains an MP3 recording of this sermon. I hope you will take the time to listen. God bless.

Click here: Mark 10:35-45 - The Greatest In The Kingdom


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1 John 2:18-25 - Antichrists

With verse 18 of chapter two we begin a new section in this epistle, though it is based upon the previous section and ties into it. In this new section we discover a couple of new themes. The first is the last hour. John states emphatically that it is the last hour already. The end times were inaugurated at the advent, the first advent, of Jesus.

The second theme is the concept of Antichrist. John has much to say about this theme, but he speaks of it in plural form—antichrists. He is going to define them and call them out.



The third theme is that of perseverance. Perseverance is the proof of possession. John has much to say about perseverance in the faith, something which includes both a perseverance in the Church as well as a perseverance in the apostolic teaching.

And the fourth theme is the anointing. What is the anointing and what does it guarantee for us as believers? All this and more is covered in these eight verses. I hope you will take the time to listen. At the link below you will find an MP3 recording of the bible study we had that covered this passage of scripture. Just click and stream or download for later listening. God bless.

Click here: 1 John 2:18-25 - Antichrists


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Mark 10:28-34 - The Cost of Discipleship 2

Christ has come and announced the inauguration of his kingdom. He has proclaimed the good news of that kingdom and is calling disciples to leave this world and enter into it. He makes demands—strong demands, even audacious demands. He demands that we value him over wealth, over family, over our own goals, even over life itself. Entering the kingdom come at a cost. “Take up your cross and follow me, “ Jesus says, those who would enter the kingdom must be willing to die.



Is it all worth it? What is the true cost of discipleship? In this sermon, which covers Mark chapter 10 verses 28-34 Jesus discusses that with his disciples. Peter says to Jesus, “Lord, we have left all and followed you.” What does Jesus say in response? What does it mean?

You will find the audio recording of this sermon linked below. I hope you will take the time to listen. Just click the link and a new window will open in your browser where you will find the sermon at a site called SoundCloud. There you can stream it right then or download it for later listening. God bless you.


Click here: Mark 10:28-34 - The Cost of Discipleship 2


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1 John 2:12-17 - Do Not Love the World

These are some tough verses, verses I’ve struggled with in the past, verses that often get abused and used as a pretext to support all manner of religious regulations and prohibitions. In spite of their ill use, they are a part of God’s word and had a genuine purpose in the mind of John when he wrote them. Our job is to find that intent and then apply that to ourselves. What was John saying to his original readers and what is God saying to you and to me. These are actually some wonderful verses of encouragement for beleaguered believers living in a dying world.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.—1 John 2:15-17

We are living in a dying world and John’s words here are encouragement, wisdom, and warning. But what exactly does he mean? How are they applied? I explain all this and more in this bible study we did on this passage a few weeks back. What does it mean to love the world and how do I avoid it? Click on the link below and give it a listen.





Click here: 1 John 2:12-17 - Do Not Love the World



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Mark 10:17-27 - What Must I Do To Inherit Eternal Life

This is a passage that troubled me when I was younger. It didn’t seem to fit what I had been told about being saved, nor did it seem to fit what I had been reading elsewhere in the Bible. Jesus gets asked a pretty standard question and gives, what to modern evangelicalism looks like a very non-standard answer.

In Acts 16 when the Philippian jailer falls on his knees before Paul and Silas and says, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The answer he is given is “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” But when this man comes up to Jesus in a very respectful way and says “Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus gives what looks to be the opposite answer. In fact, at first it looks as if Jesus is not going to answer him at all, but just give him the run-around instead. Then Jesus tells him to keep the law. When the man says he has, Jesus makes it even harder and tells him to sell everything he has, give it to the poor, and come follow him. It’s astounding. In thus doing, Jesus effectively runs off the most promising prospect for a disciple he has had to date. The man walks away sorrowfully for he had great possessions.

It’s a shocking story and the disciples seem just as shocked as I was when I first read it. “Who then can be saved,” they ask. And we’re left wondering the same thing.



Below you will find the sermon I preached from this passage. Just click the link and a new window will open up in your browser taking you to the page where you will find the audio recording for the sermon. Hopefully it will answer your questions about what at first glance seems to be a troubling passage. God bless.



Click here: Mark 10:17-27 - What Must I Do To Inherit Eternal Life?


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1 John 2:7-11 - The Not-So-New Commandment

John writes in his epistle of a commandment which is not new, but on the other hand is new. It is as old as law itself and yet at the same time it is new. That law is love.

In this bible study we dig into these five verses and find more than just a reminder that we are supposed to love each other. What we find is a biblical theology. What we find is an explanation of what is wrong with the world, along with the good news of what Christ has done to make it right again.



Here’s an excerpt:

“And just as today, the dominant characteristics of the world are sin, darkness, and hate, so one day soon this will be a world completely flooded by obedience, light, and love. And Jesus was the invasion of all three. This is why the world hated him and rejected him. And this is why he will conquer.”

We live in a world ruled by hatred and we have been called out of it by love, and that is why love is to manifest itself in all our relationships in this world now. We live in the light and we are to walk as children of light.

Below you will find the audio recording of the bible study we had on these verses. These studies are informal and presented in a small group setting. I hope you will take the time to listen and that it will be a blessing to you. Just click the link below.


Click here: 1 John 2:7-11 - The Not-So-New Commandment


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Mark 10:13-16 - Children and the Kingdom

This account naturally follows that of the preceding section because children belong naturally to marriage. Having elevated the sanctity of marriage among his disciples he now seeks to elevate their view of the importance of children. So this is an easy transition from one subject to the other.

In our culture children are almost revered. We often plan our entire lives around them. You see this especially among younger parents. Their whole lives, often, will revolve around activities for their kids. We also idealize childhood and look at those years as the most important years of our lives. Modern psychology has added to our propensity to do this, delving deeply into the memories of childhood and the events that shaped us to try to ascertain why it is we behave the way we do now.

We sometimes opine that we want kids to stay young longer and don't want them to grow up too fast. Crimes against children are the worst of crimes because we view children, almost, as innocent, or even virtuous, just because of their age. Some of this, no doubt, is due to the fact that the older we get the more cynical we become (as adults) and the more hardened toward the realities of a hard world, and we long for the days when we were not yet too calloused to see the wonder around us and to dream. Childhood—it’s idyllic. Children—to be enjoyed, and envied. Grandchildren—who doesn’t want grandchildren around? And babies—is there anything better than holding an infant?

But this is all modern stuff. This is a product of the influence that Jesus has had on our western thinking—because it was not like that in ancient times. In the pagan cultures of Jesus’ day children had almost no status at all. In Jewish culture it was a little better, but not much. In large part, the status children enjoy today in western culture is due to stories like this from the gospels. If you want to know what changed and how it changed then you can look to Jesus. It is due to him that we have such high views of children now. In those days they were nobodies. They were ‘the least of these.’

So someone is bringing children to Jesus. Why? What is going on? How do the disciples react to this? And what does Jesus have to say to them about their reaction? And is their some deeper lesson underlying all of this? There usually is.

I invite you to take the time to listen to the audio recording of this sermon preached at our church a week or so ago. Just click the link below and a new window will open in your browser where you will find this sermon. You can stream it or download it for later listening. I hope you do. God bless.


Click here: Mark 10:13-16 - Children and the Kingdom


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1 John 2:3-6 - Faith, Obedience, and Love

How do I know I am in the faith? How do I know if I am truly saved? In this chapter John is going to give some outward, visible, tangible things for us to look at (tests, if you will) which will help us to know that we are genuinely in Christ. They have to do with the fruit of God’s grace being manifested in our lives. When John does this, he is looking at Christ’s work of redemption from an eschatological perspective. In other words, what is the end game? What is the work which Christ came to do, what will it look like when it is finally accomplished, and how will the manifest itself in us at this time?

If redemption is God’s work alone, and it is, then how do we know we are a part of it? What are we to look for as reassurance that we truly belong to him? In these verses that we cover in this bible study John begins to answer that. And the first evidence he points us to is obedience.

Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 

By contrast, those who genuinely keep his commandments can be reassured that this is only due to a work of grace being done in them. Obedience is the fruit of genuine faith and an evidence of God’s grace at work. And just as genuine faith always produces obedience, the converse is true. There is no such thing as genuine obedience apart from faith.

But there is one other thing that is missing from this formula, and that is love. True love produces obedience. Where there is no obedience there is no love.

To listen to this bible study just click the link below.

Click here: 1 John 2:3-6 - Faith, Obedience, and Love


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Mark 10:1-12 - Jesus On Marriage And Divorce

This is the divorce sermon. I dreaded it for months and I probably did more preparation for this sermon than for any other sermon I have ever preached. I started months ahead of time ordering two books and reading them both before even attempting to preach this passage.

The first of those books was this one by Jay Adams: Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage In the Bible

The second was by David Instone-Brewer: Divorce and Remarriage In the Bible—The Social and Literary Context

Although the two authors will disagree slightly on the grounds for a divorce, I highly recommend both. For what it’s worth, Adams is a Presbyterian and Brewer is a Baptist.



This is a controversial topic and the Scripture is not always as clear as we would like it to be. I tried my best to do justice to the passage and to look at it in the light of all the other passages of Scripture that speak to this topic. I hope what I gave is a balanced approach that glorified Christ and the gospel, and elevated marriage in the way that Jesus intended. I hope also that I was able to hold a high standard and yet extend grace to all. You be the judge.

The sermon is about 35 minutes in length. As in all things, listen with discernment and be open to what the Scripture says. You can listen by clicking below. Soli Deo Gloria.


Click here: Mark 10:1-12 - Jesus On Marriage and Divorce


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1 John 2:2 - Propitiation Part 2

This is a continuation of our look at this verse and its impact on the reformed doctrine of the cross and what Christ accomplished there—in other words the meaning and extent of the atonement. At that time I proposed that there were five possible ways that this verse could be understood.

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.—1 John 2:2

This is what I proposed. Either:

(1) Jesus is the propitiation for every sin of every human being who ever lived, or

(2) Jesus is the propitiation for some of the sins of every human being who ever lived, or

(3) Jesus is the (potential) propitiation for every single sin of every human being who ever lived, or

(4) Jesus is the propitiation for every sin of not every single person who ever lived, or

(5) Jesus is the propitiation for every sin of his people and the cosmos.

What we do then is look at the verse in depth, considering each word and its usage in the over-all context of the New Testament and the history of redemption going back all the way to the proto-evangelion in Genesis 3. Then we try to answer the question I proposed in light of what we’ve learned.

Which of the five proposed meanings I land on I will let you discover on your own, but if you listen to the audio you will learn that and also why I did so. I hope you will take the time to do that. Jut click the link below. God bless you.



Click here: 1 John 2:2 - Propitiation Part 2


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Mark 9:42-50 - The Salt Life

As we come to the end of chapter 9 we are still inside Peter and Andrew’s house in Capernaum. Jesus is sitting with the disciples gathered round and he is teaching them. As the session winds down Jesus hasn’t some rather shocking things to say. He talks about hanging millstones around necks and drowning people in the sea. He talks about cutting off hands and feet and plucking out eyes. Most frightening of all he speaks about Hell in terms of fire that will not be quenched and worms that do not die. What does it all mean?

In this sermon I tackle these tough verses. I unpack them and open them up so that we modern readers can better understand what Jesus is saying and the importance of it. And what Jesus is teaching here is definitely important.

Remember where we are in Mark’s narrative. Jesus and the disciples are on their way to Jerusalem to die. Well, Jesus is going to die. The disciples have been told to be ready. They have been called to give up their lives for him already. And what he is telling them here is that eternity is at stake. Their souls are at stake. Is there anything that would hinder them from following him until the end? Then whatever it is they are better off without it. It’s time to take inventory. 

Here is an excerpt:

“This world is dying. It is passing away. It is marked by death and will end in death. But Christ has entered this world of death to die, and through that death to bring about a world of life, where death will reign no more, but life--eternal life. That world, that kingdom, that life, is entered through Christ. We enter life through dying to self and living to Christ. Our death is wrapped up in his death and our life in his resurrection. This is the message of Christ. This is the gospel!

And this is the message of Jesus’ words here. Don't let anything keep you from that life, that kingdom, that eternal life that is found in and founded upon Jesus Christ. This world is passing away. Don't get caught up in it. Don't let its cares keep you down, keep you back. Nothing in this life is worth holding onto.”

The sermon is about 35 minutes long and you will find it at the link below. I hope you will click and listen. God bless.

Click here: Mark 9:42-50 - The Salt Life


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1 John 2:1-2 Propitiation Part 1

The extent of the atonement is a controversial topic within the evangelical community, though not within the reformed tradition. What the reformed tradition focuses on is not so much the question of ‘for whom did Christ die,’ but rather ‘what did he do for them?’ This passage of Scripture touches on both and we make the case that the former question can only be answered properly once we obtain the answer to the latter.

What I did in this bible study is try to put into the context of the book (1 John) what John is saying in these two verses. It took two lessons to cover. In this first one we connect verse 1 to the arguments John is making at the end of chapter 1 and then we talk about such concepts as antinomianism and what John means when he says that we have an Advocate with the Father. Will we sin as Christians? Is that okay? What happens when we do? Has God made provision for this? Do we have someone to help us?



Then we begin to take a look at the word ‘propitiation,’ how it was used in the Greek language, how it was used elsewhere in the Bible, and how it is onnected to the Old Testament. We end by discussing the holy place and the day of atonement, otherwise known as Yom Kippur. How did that point to Christ and what does it have to teach us about what Christ did at the cross?

Two-thirds of the way through this study we ran into some technical difficulties with the audio so you may notice a change in background noise during a quotation from one of the Psalms. As a whole you should be fine, however, and I hope you will take the time to listen. Just click the link below.


Click here: 1 John 2:1-2 - Propitiation Part 1


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Mark 9:30-41 - Lessons Along the Way

From the introduction to this sermon:

"We're now on a journey with Jesus and the disciples. For the next couple of chapters they will be on their way to Jerusalem. In fact, this journey to Jerusalem occupies the entirety of the second section of Mark’s Gospel. If we were to view Mark as a play in three acts, as some have done, this would be Act 2. Act 3 will cover the final week in Jerusalem--and the last five chapters of the book.

The focus of Jesus’ ministry now is the disciples. He must prepare them for what’s ahead--not just his passion, but for their responsibilities after. They are the foundation of the Church, Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone. They must be ready to carry on his ministry after he is gone.

Much of what Jesus will be doing is a re-education process. They must unlearn as many things as they must learn. 

You and I are not much different from them. We, too, often find ourselves unlearning many things as our growth in grace goes forward. Remember, we are being unconformed to this world as we are being transformed into the image of Christ through the renewal of our minds.

And as we begin this journey with Jesus and the disciples we need to be reminded of the words of the Father from the Shekinah cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration to Peter, James, and John. Remember what he said? “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

So you and I are going to do the same thing this morning. We are going to listen to Christ as he reeducates us and prepares us for the kingdom in its fullness."

Below you will find the link to the audio recording of this entire sermon. I hope you will take the time to listen and allow God's word to work God's grace in you. Here is a wonderful gospel message and I pray it will be a blessing to you as you follow Jesus along the way.


Click here: Mark 9:30-41 - Lessons Along the Way


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1 John 1:8-10 - Faithful and Just

True Christian fellowship begins in fellowship with God, but includes fellowship with other believers within the Church. John expresses it this way: "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another." This walking in the light does not mean sinless perfection, for John goes on to say, "and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin." What it does mean is that our fellowship is tied to the gospel of what Jesus has done for us and it is recognizable as a life lived in repentance and faith--in community.

Church is for sinners. But it is for repentant sinners who by God’s grace are now believers. We welcome sinners. But we must never excuse, ignore, or dismiss anything the Bible names as sin. When it is encountered it must be declared as such and repented of. We must not fall prey to the temptation to ignore, dismiss, or redefine sin to fit our culture.

(8) If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

He is saying something more than “we are lying to ourselves,” though it includes that. He is saying that if we deny our sin we are not in Christ at all--or Christ is not in us, because Jesus is the personification of the truth.

1 John 1:8 destroys the idea of attaining sinless perfection in this life, for what John’s opponents are most likely asserting is not that they've never sinned, but that they've reached a place where they no longer do.

Now, do you see the paradox in the verse? If we claim perfect holiness Christ is obviously not in us and we do not know him. If we admit our sin, Christ is in us. And the Holy Spirit is in us. Because the truth is in us. In the face of holiness our sin becomes more clear and evident. The fact is we are sinful. The closer we are in fellowship with Father and Son and Holy Spirit the more obvious to us that becomes--the more we feel it.

What did John say in verse 6?

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Faith and repentance in community. These are what epitomize the life of the genuine believer. Not denial of sin but confession of it.

(9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

This is the alternative to denying our sin. To confess means more than just admitting that we have sinned. It means agreeing with God about our sin. It means laying it before him and seeking forgiveness.

And we will find forgiveness when we do so. That forgiveness is grounded in his eternal, unchanging character. He is faithful and just . . .

What does it mean, though, that he is faithful and just (righteous) to forgive our sins? You'll have to listen to the audio to get the rest. Just click the link below and a new window will open up in your browser where you can stream the audio recording or download it for later listening. It looks like not all of it recorded, but hopefully what's available will be a blessing to you.

Click here: 1 John 1:8-10 - Faithful and Just


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Mark 9:14-29 - Jesus Rebukes Unbelief

We come down from the mountain where we have seen the vision of Jesus in his glorified state and we are confronted with the evil, wreck, and ruin of a fallen world. Having seen rapture, Peter, James, and John are now confronted with present reality. There is a dispute with the scribes. There is a man with a demon-possessed son. There is failure. There is unbelief. And Jesus in this story confronts it all.

There are lessons to be learned here. The Father must be made to put his faith in Christ completely. The disciples must learn their need to depend upon Christ fully. You and I must be made to see our need for Jesus. This world must learn that Jesus is it's only hope.

And at the bottom of it all we get to the source of all human misery. We point it out, describe it, and demonstrate its nefarious effects. Then Jesus will rebuke it.



This sermon takes us from the bottom of the mountain and when it is done it leads us in the road to Jerusalem where Jesus is going to die. I hope you will click the link below and stream it or download it so that you can listen and be blessed by the clear exposition of God's word.


Click here: Mark 9:14-29 - Jesus Rebukes Unbelief


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1 John 1:5-7 - Walking In The Light

“Religion, as the Apostle John conceived it, consists of two things: true knowledge of God, and fellowship with God and with each other in that knowledge. To fellowship with God in His Son Jesus Christ, the writer has summoned his readers (vers. 3, 4). For such communion the facts of the Gospel have laid the foundation. To establish and perfect His communion with men is the end of all the disclosures which the Father has made of Himself to us “from the beginning”; to realize this communion is “eternal life.”--George G. Findlay

That was George Findlay's introductory paragraph to this passage and it is fitting. Jesus has come, in part at least, to restore fellowship between us and God. He has come to bring us back into the fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And John is calling us to 'walk in the light as he is in the light.' But what does that mean?



Christians do not walk in darkness. We walk in the light. And we have fellowship with one another in that light. But what does it all mean? What does this 'light' metaphor signify? What does it imply? All of these and more we discussed in this Bible study (our second in this letter) and I hope you will take a few minutes and listen. Just click the link below and may God bless you.


Click here: 1 John 1:5-7 - Walking In The Light


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Mark 9:2-13 - The Transfiguration

In Mark chapter nine is recorded one of the seminal events (for the disciples) in the life of Jesus--the Transfiguration. Matthew and Mark also record this event. Peter, for his part, refers to it in his second general Epistle. Clearly it was an event of great magnitude for these men.



But what really happened there? What was Jesus doing? Was he showing his disciples something important? And what does the placement of this event within the gospel of Mark have to say about its relevance? How does it fit into the narrative? And why Peter, James, and John? Why were they chosen as the three witnesses? Why were Moses and Elijah there?

What does transfiguration even mean? All of this and more I tackle in the sermon I preached from this text just a couple of weeks ago. I even look at how Mark's recording differs from the others. I've linked the sermon below and I hope you will take the time to listen. Be blessed.

Click here: Mark 9:2-13 - The Transfiguration


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1 John 1:1-4 - Fellowship In The Life Eternal

We begin our study of 1 John with an overview of the entire letter followed by a close look at the prologue which is found in the first four verses. This First Epistle of John is both a polemic and an encouragement. It is written against a group of false teachers and their false teaching about the nature of Jesus Christ and it is written for the encouragement of a group of believers who have remained faithful to the apostolic teaching in spite of it all.

In these first four verses John comes out on the offensive, attacking the false teaching by affirming the true teaching on the humanity of Christ in his incarnation. Although the controversy that provoked this letter is an old one, there is a lot of relevance for our day in what John writes and why. The letter has much to say to us about the nature of controversy and how and when it should be dealt with.



John also has much to teach about our fellowship with Jesus and with the Father and with each other and how that fellowship is related to our acceptance of the truth about Jesus Christ.

The audio recording for this Bible study is found at the link below. I hope you will take the time to click and listen and that your faith will be increased as your spiritual walk is strengthened by your growing in the knowledge of the Lord. God bless you.


Click here: 1 John 1:1-4 - Fellowship In The Life Eternal


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Mark 8:34-9:1 - The Cost of Discipleship

Last week we left Jesus and the disciples at Caesaria Philippi where Peter made his great confession followed by Jesus making a shocking announcement. Right after Peter says, "You are the Christ," Jesus announces he is going to be rejected, arrested, and executed, but that after three days he will rise again. The disciples are so shocked that Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him. When we left that scene Jesus had responded by rebuking Peter. That was verse 33.

We picked back up right there with Jesus, in verse 34, turning to the crowds and telling them that if anyone would come after him (in other words be his disciple) he must first deny himself, then take up his cross and follow Jesus. I'm going to Jerusalem to die. Who's going with me? In this passage we find some of the most sobering words Jesus ever spoke. While the disciples no doubt entertained dreams of future glory in the Messiah's kingdom, Jesus brings them the cold sober reality that the road to glory leads through a Roman cross. These words were shocking.

We are at the turning point in Mark's Gospel. Everything that happens from here through the end of chapter ten happens on the way to Jerusalem. Here Jesus will die and only those who are willing to die with him may be his disciples. This is a challenging and somewhat disturbing text. Who does Jesus think he is that he can make such demands? More important for us to consider is this. Is Jesus asking anything of his followers that he is not willing to do for them? Is he asking anything from them that has not promised to do for them?

Below you will find a link to the audio file from the sermon that I preached from this passage. I hope you will take the time to listen to the message and that the preached gospel will change you. Just click the link and a new window will open in your browser where you will find an MP3 recording of the sermon. You can stream it or download it for later listening. God bless.

Click here: Mark 8:34-9:1 - The Cost of Discipleship

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3 John - For the Sake of the Name

The third Epistle of John is the shortest book in all the Bible. It is also one of only two personal letters in the New Testament, the other being Paul's letter to Philemon. 3 John is most likely a letter of recommendation that the Elder, John, has placed in the hands of Demetrius to take to the recipient of the letter who is Gaius. One other person who comes up is Diotrephes, a man who is causing problems within the church.

3 John has the least theological content of any book in the New Testament. In fact, it is the only book in the New Testament not to mention Jesus by name. What the book does give us is insight into the workings of and the relationships between some of the early churches in Asia Minor. Both this letter and the one preceding it are not only valuable in this way, but each also hints at a problem that has come up in those churches, a problem which John will address in detail in the first Epistle of John.



So we are building toward 1 John and the heresy concerning the doctrine of Christ which has crept in to these churches. John will address it and other issues that this false teaching brings about. This Bible study covers the entirety of 3 John and is a little shorter than normal. Just click the link below to listen and may god bless you.



Click here: 3 John - For the Sake of the Name



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Mark 8:27-33 - Messiah

Here is how I introduced this sermon:

"We're at the half way point and a turning point in this Gospel of Mark. We've been with Jesus now for almost eight complete chapters, or, if you've been keeping track, 31 sermons so far. Today will be the 32nd. If they've averaged about 30 minutes apiece, and they have, then that will make about 16 hours of commentary on Mark so far, or about two hours per chapter.

Although this is the halfway point of the gospel, it is not the halfway point of Jesus’ ministry. In fact, we are very near the end of his ministry, though the disciples have no idea. In fact, the disciples still have no idea about a lot of things, though they do have some ideas they're going to have to get rid of. And in this passage today Jesus is going to try to open their eyes as he did those of the blind man last week. How successful he is remains to be seen.

Lest we be too hard on the disciples let's not forget that we've had an advantage on them. We've had Mark hand-picking and showing us things about Jesus and explaining to us, somewhat, what they mean as he goes along. For instance, right there in the first verse he told us what he had set out to do by writing this book. He said . . .

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.--Mark 1:1

That's his premise. That's what he's set out to prove. And we've known this all along. We've known that behind every story and the way it was told was this underlying premise, this thing that he has set out to show us.

But the disciples aren't reading the book, they're living it. They don't get to hear the voice of the narrator. They're just witnessing events. They weren't there at the baptism like we were. They didn't hear the voice from heaven or see the Spirit descending like a dove. They didn't witness the temptation in the wilderness. Like we have.

Now the focus of Jesus’ ministry will change. No longer is his primary interest in preaching the gospel to the crowds. He will still do this from time to time, but now his focus will be on his disciples, for he knows that his time is short. His ministry is coming to a close and his disciples must be ready. 

So he has taken them far away from their normal scenery, away from the crowds, away from Galilee--deep into Herod Philip’s territory--deep into Gentile territory. In fact, at this moment, they are as far away from Jerusalem as Jesus ever traveled during his ministry--more than a hundred miles away. So let's look at the text."

To listen to the sermon just click the link below. Doing so will open another window in your browser where you will be able to stream the audio immediately or download it for later listening. I want to encourage you to take the time and listen. God bless.


Click here: Mark 8:27-33 - Messiah


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2 John - Truth, Love, and Christ

We began our verse by verse study of the Epistles of John with the second epistle rather than the first. For one thing we do not know what order they were written in chronologically anyway. The order
 they are placed in the New Testament has to do with length, not chronology. For another, if we look at 1 John first, what we find in 2 and 3 John seem a little superfluous since they just touch on themes which are expanded in the larger epistle. So what I decided to do was to treat 2 and 3 John as appetizers and 1 John will be the main course.

So in this Bible study we covered 2 John in its entirety--all 13 verses. Among the themes we uncovered were truth, love, and the importance of having a truthful understanding of and embracing of Jesus Christ. The situation is this: false teaching has infiltrated the churches of Asia Minor and the nature of this teaching amounts to a denial of the Incarnation of Jesus, or as John puts it:

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.--2 John 7

What we confess about Christ is vital. When John says these "have gone out into the world" he is saying they have left the faith. They have apostatized. And John says this has eternal consequences. While sound theology does not save us, the nature of true faith is that it embraces sound theology when it hears it. While not all truth is vital and we most certainly will not have a perfect knowledge of many things on this side of eternity, it becomes clear that some truth is vital and when we reject it we have rejected the faith and separated ourselves from Christ.




John will expand on these ideas in the larger epistle, but in the meantime you can listen to our bible study on this one by clicking the link below. I hope you will do so. God bless you.



Click here: 2 John - Truth, Love, and Christ



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Mark 8:22-26 - Jesus Heals A Blind Man

It's a simple story set forth in just five verses. It seems pretty typical, at least on the surface, of what we would read anywhere in the gospels. Just another miracle story, another day in the life of Jesus. Except it isn't.

What we have here in these five verses is unique to Mark. Not only that but it parallels another unique Markan miracle account which we covered just a few weeks ago. Both miracles are prominent among the signs given in Isaiah 35, signs that would portend the Messianic age. And not only is the miracle significant for that, but also for what it pictures for us about what Messiah came to do. He came to open the eyes of the blind both literally and figuratively, physically and spiritually. We see both of these aspects in this story.

And Mark has placed this miracle perfectly within his narrative. It shows us what is going on with the disciples and it challenges us, the readers. Do you see yet?

Below you will find a link to the audio recording for the sermon I preached on this passage on Sunday, August 6. Just click the link and a new page will open in your browser where you can stream the sermon now or download it for later listening. I hope you will take the time to listen, for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. God bless you.



Click here: Mark 8:22-26 - Jesus Heals A Blind Man



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Introduction to the Epistles of John

On Wednesday August 2, 2017 we started a brand new verse by verse study this time through the Epistles of John. We began this study as we do with any study of a biblical book by asking a few questions, questions like . . .

What type of literature is this?
What is an epistle?
Who write these three epistles?
When were they written?
By whom were they written?
What was the occasion of the writing?

We gave some of the cultural and historical background behind these letters in order to help us understand what is going on behind the text. Then we drew some conclusions about all this and began looking at the Second Epistle of John noting that it is impossible to know for certain in what order they were actually written.

To listen to this introductory lesson just click the link below. When you do another window will open in your browser where you will find the audio recording for this lesson. Listen and be blessed!



Click here: Introduction to the Epistles of John



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Mark 8:11-21 - The Tragedy of Unbelief

This is how I introduced the sermon I preached from this passage:

We are approaching the midpoint, and a major turning point, in Mark’s Gospel. The end of chapter eight is not just the middle of the book, it is a major event. Everything up until now has been building toward it and everything that happens afterward is  explained by it.

If you view the Gospel of Mark as a play in three acts, we are about to end Act 1 and begin Act 2.   Act 1 introduced Jesus and took us through his Galilean ministry. It was characterized by miracle stories, exorcisms, growing opposition, and the theme of insiders and outsiders. Although crowds have been large, committed followers and genuine faith have been rare, and exceptional.

Through all this Mark has been showing us who Jesus is in many ways. Every miracle, every story, has been chosen specifically and told carefully to demonstrate for us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. But people aren't getting it. What's going to happen at the end of this chapter is that Jesus is going to ask the disciples point blank if they get it yet, and they will--sort of. Right now, however, they still don't. 

In fact, we are in the midst of a repetition. Almost everything that happened from the middle of chapter 6 through the end of chapter 7 is being repeated here in chapter 8 so that it will sink in--both for the disciples and for us.

There was a miraculous feeding (of the five thousand) followed by an episode on a boat, an argument with the Pharisees, a discussion about bread (with the Syrophoenician woman) and the healing of a deaf man corresponding to Isaiah 35. 

Now here in chapter 8 we have a miraculous feeding (this time of four thousand) followed by a journey on a boat, an argument with some Pharisees, a discussion about bread, and then next week the healing of a blind man which again corresponds with Isaiah 35. While Jesus is clearly trying to get something across to his disciples, Mark is clearly trying to get something across to us.

There has been another growing theme over the last few chapters--that of unbelief. The Pharisees have rejected him. The crowds are spoken to in parables because of their unbelief. Jesus’ family is on the outside. He is sent away from the Decapolis. He is rejected in his hometown of Nazareth. The execution of John the Baptist, told in the early part of chapter six, served as a foreshadowing. Even the disciples don't seem to get it, and Jesus desperately needs them to, for his ministry is coming to a close.

Act 1 of this three act play will conclude at the end of chapter 8 where Jesus and his disciples are as far away from Jerusalem as Jesus ever gets during his ministry. From that point on he will be journeying toward Jerusalem. His arrival there at the end of chapter 10 will mark the end of Act 2 and the final act begins at chapter 11 with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Below you will find a link to the audio recording of the sermon I preached from this passage. I hope you will take the time to listen to it and be blessed through the word of God. Just click the link below.



Click here: Mark 8:11-21 - The Tragedy of Unbelief


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Galatians 6:13-18 - Final Words

We come now to the end of the epistle and Paul is taking his final shots at the Judaizers. Let’s look at some of the things he has had to say about them throughout the letter.

In chapter 1 he damns them to hell (1:8-9).
In chapter 2 he condemns them as false brothers (2:4-5).
He points out that their teaching nullifies the gospel (2:21).
In chapter 4 he points out that they are dishonest and their motives are nefarious (4:17).
In chapter 5 he says that they are severed from Christ (5:4).
Later in that chapter he wishes they would emasculate themselves (5:12).

Now he is going to take a couple more shots at them. Then, he will point us toward the only thing worth boasting about in this world.

The cross was so offensive (and is still offensive to this day) that the Judaizers had devised a neat way to obtain righteousness and salvation without it--by keeping the Law. But if we could get to heaven through the Law then why did Christ die? Even in our day nothing offends the sensibilities of “good” religious people more than penal substitutionary atonement. Yet without it there would be no salvation. And if the cross is our salvation, then how could we ever deny it? That is what these Judaizers have done, and they have done so, says Paul, to avoid persecution.

Paul has embraced the cross and so should we, for it is our only boast, our only hope. Below you will find the link to the audio from the last of our verse by verse studies in Galatians. I hope you will take the time to listen to it. God bless you.

Click here: Galatians 6:13-18 - Final Words



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Mark 8:1-10 - The Feeding of the Four Thousand

The following was my introduction to the sermon I preached on this passage:

Didn't we just do this? Haven't we been here before? Deja vu is French for ‘already seen’ and is used to describe the feeling one gets sometimes that he/she has experienced a particular situation before. Yankee manager Yogi Berra, after witnessing Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris repeatedly hitting back-to-back home runs in the early 1960s, famously quipped, “It’s deja vu all over again.”

And that's the feeling we get when we read this story in Mark’s Gospel. In fact, that very feeling has led to a lot of conjecture over the years about the veracity, or historicity of the story itself. It is so similar to the story of the feeding of the five thousand that one wonders if it might not be just a repeated telling of that same event told in a slightly different way.

The feeding of the five thousand, if you'll recall, is the only miracle story recounted in all four gospels. This feeding of the four thousand is recorded only by Matthew and Mark. Luke and John, for whatever reasons, did not include it.

In modern times the idea has been posed that perhaps these two stories are just different recordings, different tellings, of the same event--traditions that came down from divergent sources perhaps, and thus were recorded as different events--even if they weren't actually different events. And I suppose that idea might be plausible if Mark were writing hundreds of years after Jesus and if his sources weren't as reliable, or at least as verifiable, as he would have liked.

But Mark wasn't writing hundreds of years after the fact--more like 35 years after the fact. And Mark did not have to rely wholly upon tradition as his source. He wrote either directly or indirectly from the mouth of Peter who was an eyewitness. If the recounting of this miracle seems uncannily familiar to us, it would have seemed the same for Mark. And if they were two different recountings of the same event surely a little investigation would have revealed the truth to him. So whatever else you may conclude, Mark surely believed them to be two distinct events and he wrote within a few decades of the life of Jesus.

And not only does Mark record them as two distinct events, later (as we shall see) he has Jesus reminding the disciples of both events and referring to them as two separate miracles.

And while much about the stories is the same, there is also much that is different. As we shall see, each story serves a unique purpose within the greater story that Mark is telling us about Jesus.

Now if we accept that there is a supernatural God (and we obviously do), and we accept that Jesus was God in the flesh (which we also do), then it isn't hard to imagine that if he chose to do so, he could multiply bread and fish in order to feed a multitude once if he wanted to, or twice, or as many times as he chose--whatever served his purposes.

So we are left asking ourselves, what purpose would it serve for Jesus to do this miracle twice? And there is an answer to that as we shall see.

As for those things in the text which cause us to have deja vu all over again, we shall offer an explanation for them as we go. So let’s go ahead and get started.

The audio for this sermon you will find at the link below. The preaching of the word of God is always a blessing to God's people, so click the link and be blessed.

Click here: Mark 8:1-10 - The Feeding of the Four Thousand

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