Have we forgotten the seriousness of sin?
Sin which resulted in death, caused destroyed fellowship with God, and produced complete and depraved separation from Him?
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Christian Life
True Saving Faith
This was a topical sermon I preached at Lake Drive Baptist Church, Milwaukee, WI in the spring of 2011 on the issue of what true saving faith is. Although more could certainly be said about the nature of true saving faith, in this sermon I addressed three vital characteristics of faith that saves: drastic, visible, and persevering.
The Privilege of Persecution
Philippians 1:28-29 – And not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.
How do we view persecution? Many Christians probably have a tendency to view persecution as something unfortunate. But scripture presents being persecuted for the name of Christ as a privileged and honored, despite how unpleasant it may be. Continue reading
The World Doesn’t Need Us
The world doesn’t need us. The world needs Christ.
The world doesn’t need our denominations, political opinions, convictions, upbringing, applications, preferences, or lifestyles.
The world doesn’t need our tracts, music standards, choir numbers, dress codes, or favored Bible translations.
It doesn’t need our Christian T’s, WWJD’s, bumper stickers, or Jesus fish on the back of our families’ mini vans.
The world doesn’t need our problems, our disunity, our arguments, our judgments, our hypocrisy, our seclusion, our water-downed, easybelievism gospel, our unfriendliness, our lack of compassion, our formality, our legalism, our irrelevance, or our insignificance.
. . . And neither do we.
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“I’m a [Insert Label Here]”: Concerning the Use of Labels
Labels. What’s the use? What’s the point of using a label? Well, the typical reason is for convenience sake. Instead of having to explain what you are all about you simply say a word or two and describe yourself much faster. However, are labels effective? Do they really serve their purpose? I would like to convince you that they typically do not, and, in fact, often can be rather harmful. I would like to look at three different sample labels that will serve as spring boards into some points about the potential harmfulness of labels.
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Kirk E. Miller 