This Sunday at 6:00 PM, we will continue our study of Paul’s incredible letter to the Christians in Rome. In this sermon, we will examine Romans 8:14-27 under the heading, “The Victorious Christian Life.”

As you prayerfully prepare for this very in-depth study of Romans on the believer’s “Everlasting Sonship,” meditate on this precious verse from John 1:12-13: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

One of the people God used to encourage my call to the ministry was a dynamic Christian teenager named Donny Doud. After being diagnosed with Leukemia, Donny withdrew from his family and friends for a season of private prayer and worship. When he returned, he told his church, “The Lord hasn’t told me how long I will live, but I’ve told Him I will speak for Him and sing for Him every day until He calls me home.”

Donny took his guitar and drove his yellow VW bus to schools, churches, prisons, nursing homes, coffee houses, and other places that invited him to come and share his testimony. Near the end of his life, the surrounding churches’ youth organized a series of revival meetings. The final meeting was held in the 1st Baptist Church of Toccoa, and Donny was the final speaker. His text was Exodus 4:2, where God said to Moses:

“What is that in your hand?” And Moses said, “A staff.” Then God said, “Throw it on the ground.” So, Moses threw it on the ground, turning it into a serpent, and Moses fled. But God said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so Moses reached out with his hand and caught it, and it turned into a staff in his hand, and God said, “Now they will believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

Donny said, “Tonight, I have finished my race! I’ve fought a good fight, I’ve kept the faith, and I’ve kept my promise to share the gospel with someone every day until the Lord calls me home.

Tonight, the last thing I can do is to lay my life down for the Lord.” Donnie died the next day, August 16, 1972.

During those very trying months, as his physical energy gradually diminished, Donny began writing choruses for his ministry. One was how the JOY OF THE LORD had given him strength for each day. (I’m trying to find that chorus to introduce our new sermon series on Philippians: The Epistle of Joy.) Donny knew, as Paul knew, as did the Philippians know, that true joy comes only through humble faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ and in serving others. In other words, TRUE JOY is only available to those who will receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

The Title of this first sermon is: “The Epistle of Joy: To the Glory and Praise of God.”

One of the hardest concepts of the Christian faith to understand is the difference between JUSTIFICATION and SANCTIFICATION.

Justification – the judicial act of God whereby He declares a sinner as innocent as if he had never sinned. Romans 8:33
Sanctification – the work of the Holy Spirit within the believer, conforming them to that which God the Father has declared them to be. Romans 8:29

Both require the work of the Holy Spirit – first to bring us to see our sins, our need for a Savior, and Jesus Christ as the Savior we need, and second, to convict, confront, and cleanse us of all our sins, and to shape us into that vessel of honor which He can use in witnessing to others.

In tonight’s Bible study, we will look at this subject under the heading of: “The Just Shall Live by Faith.” Tonight’s sermon is entitled: “The Victorious Christian Life.”

Please forward this email to those you think might benefit from this study!

This Sunday at 6:00 PM, we will continue our study of Paul’s incredible letter to the Christians in Rome. In this sermon, we will examine Romans 8:1-5 under the heading, “The Victorious Christian Life.”

Meditate on this wonderful truth as found in Romans 8:1-5:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh; God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

Remember those final marching orders Jesus gave His disciples? “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” “Amen.”

It is without question that Jesus’ method of evangelism was personal discipleship. Yes, He preached to the masses, taught those who came to Him for questions, personally discipled the 12, and poured His life into Peter, James, and John. However, even though Peter took the lead in building Christ’s Church, Jesus reproduced His heart of love in the Apostle John.

Years ago, someone told me the discipleship process was too slow. I quickly responded to him; the difference is in whether you are growing squash or an oak tree. D. James Kennedy is quoted as saying: “If you were an outstandingly gifted evangelist with an international reputation, and if, under God, you could win 1,000 persons for Christ every night of every year, how long would it take you to win the whole world for Christ? Answer, ignoring the population explosion, over 10,000 years. But if you are a true disciple of Christ, and if you are able under God to win just one person to Christ each year, and if you could then train that person to win one other person for Christ each year, how long would it take to win the whole world for Christ? Answer: just 32 years!”

According to current understanding, the gospel’s spread is still happening globally, reaching new people groups and continuing to bear fruit in various regions. However, persecution and cultural barriers still exist in certain areas, i.e., while the gospel is spreading, it’s not necessarily reaching every corner of the world at the same pace or with the same level of accessibility, or with the same emphasis on long-term discipleship.

Beloved, the end will come when the gospel has reached all nations, even to the ends of the earth, and has performed its work. Not before. The Lord is longsuffering, not willing that any of His elect should perish, but that all are saved. Only then, when the last elect is prepared for glory, will the end come

In our final sermon in the series, “The Church Triumphant,” we will look at the subject of “The Spread of the Gospel”

This Sunday at 6:00 PM, we will continue our study of Paul’s incredible letter to the Christians in Rome. In this sermon, we will examine Romans 7:14-25 under the heading “Confessions of a Struggling Soul”- Paul’s personal testimony of his struggle with sin.

Think about the glorious truth of this passage: Romans 7:15-20: “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”

Thanks for spreading the gospel by sharing these sermon study guides with your family and friends. Your participation is invaluable, and we are so very thankful for your help in this ministry to spread the gospel to the whole world.

The second group is called Kingdom Now or Dominionists, who believe it is the Church’s responsibility to rid the world of evil in order to usher in the return of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. They believe God lost control over the world to Satan when Adam and Eve sinned and that God is now raising up “Joel’s Army” to claim dominion over the earth for the Lord.

While I will be delighted to see the end of the Biden era, which I believe has been the most ungodly, anti-Christian, and anti-Jewish administration in my lifetime, I don’t believe it is in our best interest to establish another totalitarian regime, even if it is supposedly based on biblical principles. The New Apostolic Reformation blends charismatic practices with a strong emphasis on politics and cultural transformation.

If these movements are allowed to “take over” the evangelical churches, Christians will have abandoned its fundamental mission to get the whole gospel to the whole world.

In our fourth sermon in the series, “The Church Triumphant,” we will look at the subject of “The Gospel of the Kingdom”

Thank you for forwarding these sermon study guides to those you think might be interested. We are encouraged by the response we’ve received from viewers worldwide

This Sunday at 6:00 PM, we will continue our study of Paul’s incredible letter to the Christians in Rome. In this sermon, we will examine Romans 7:7-13 under the heading “Oh, How I Love Thy Law.”

Think about the glorious truth of this passage: Romans 7:7, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

Thanks for spreading the gospel by sharing these sermon study guides with your family and friends. Your participation is invaluable, and we are so very thankful for your help in this ministry to spread the gospel to the whole world.

There is no evidence that the Bible has been systematically revised, edited, or tampered with. The sheer volume of original biblical manuscripts makes recognizing any attempt to distort God’s Word simple. Therefore, no central doctrine of the Bible is doubted because of the few inconsequential differences among the manuscripts.

However, since Satan asked Even, “Has God said?”, the Bible has always been under attack, it is under attack today, and it will be under attack until the Living Word returns to the earth. The latest effort is to “deconstruct” the Bible – tearing down the framework that supports the truth of the Scriptures and reframing it to accommodate the culturally acceptable sins of our day. Beware of the many new Bibles being printed today that contain these culturally-relevant commentaries.

Just remember, all those who have attempted to change, adapt, alter, modify, as well as those who have tried to dispute, disavow, or disrespect the Bible, are dead, and the Word of God is very much alive. According to our next sermon in this series, such will be the case with those today who add to or take away from God’s Word.

We can be confident that the Bible we have today is the same Bible that was originally written. The Bible is God’s Word, and we can trust it (2 Timothy 3:16; Matthew 5:18).

In our third sermon in the series, “The Church Triumphant,” we will look at the subject of “God’s Forever Word!”

Thank you for forwarding these sermon study guides to those you think might be interested. We are encouraged by the response we’ve received from viewers worldwide.

This Sunday at 6:00 PM, we will return to our study of Paul’s incredible letter to the Christians in Rome. In this sermon, we will examine Romans 7:1-25 under the heading “Freedom from the Law.”

Think about the glorious truth of this passage: Romans 7:6 – “But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”

Thanks for spreading the gospel by sharing these sermon study guides with your family and friends. Your participation is invaluable, and we are so very thankful for your help in this ministry to spread the gospel to the whole world.