mark-8:34

Preached at North Street Chapel, Stamford, on January 5, 1862, by J. C. Philpot. "Come, My beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vines flourish, whether the tender grapes appear, and the pomegranates bud forth –... Read More

May 24, 1981 Proverbs 4:1-13 I believe all men have this in common: that they want to be happy. They do not all agree on what brings the greatest happiness, but they do all long to have it. And this longing is not bad. It is good. Evil consists in trying to find happiness in ways that displease and ... Read More

Those who know me best know that I am a Christian Hedonist. That means that I think my desire to be happy is a proper motive for everything I do. I do what I do because I think it will make me happier in the long run. In fact, I think that if I abandon this pursuit of joy, I will become incapable of... Read More

The greatest failure of the Church in many nations is the lack of preparing Christians for persecution. Persecution is certain. It is told to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Himself. In the Gospel of John it says: “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his Master.’ If... Read More

There is a great need in the body of Christ for consistent reading of the Holy Scriptures in their entirety, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. In this case we are encouraging a chronological reading of the Scriptures. Most of the confusion is created when certain teachers, groups, or... Read More

What about those old "friends" who stay around to tempt you or drag you down? All friendships made for selfish reasons before your conversion must go on the altar of sacrifice with all other things that belonged to your past life. All future friendships as well as those you keep from the past must b... Read More

God’s call to commitment costs something. It cost Jesus His life, and if we follow Him it will cost ours too. Jesus made it clear: "Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Mark 8:34). Yet for some reason we do not like to believe it. The rugged obed... Read More

Sit down with pencil and paper, and – verse by verse – let the Word of God search your heart. It will mean recognizing, admitting, even recording your sins as they’re revealed – yours, not your neighbor’s. It will mean Spirit-guided confession and restoration. It will mean obedience at any cost – in... Read More

Can do (2480) (ischuo from ischus = might) means to be strong in body or in resources. Ischuo can speak of physical power (Mk 2:17, 5:4, 9:12). It can speak of having the required personal resources to accomplish some objective as here in Php 4:13 or conversely with the negative speaks of that which... Read More

Labor (2873) (kopos from kopto = chop, hew, cut down, strike; figuratively to lament which apparently came from the idea of striking one's breast) (See also study of related verb kopiao) is strictly a smiting as a sign of sorrow, then sorrow itself. Kopos thus describes a state of discomfort or dist... Read More