Gleanings From Grace

TEXT (1 Pet.5:1-11 Text V.8)
I. NOTICE THE DECLARATION CONCERNING THE ADVERSARY. (V.8a)”Be sober, be vigilant” here we are told to be Sober and Strong, this is not a new declaration.
There is The sober Leaders this concerns the Shepherd: 1Ti 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
The sober Look this concerns the Second coming of Jesus:1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 1Pe 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
The sober Laymen this concerns the Servants: Tit 2:2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. Tit 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
The sober Ladies this concerns the Sisters: Tit 2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
The sober Lifestyle this concerns the Saints. 1Pet.5:8 {Read More…}

HOW TO SERIES
#01 HOW TO READ YOUR BIBLE
TEXT: Psalm 119:15, 18, 33-34

You have heard it said that when all else fails, read the instruction manual. Today, I want to begin sharing with you an instruction manual for the Christian life. We preachers are notorious for telling you what you need to be doing in your Christian life, but I want to go a step further and not only tell you what you need to do, but also how to do it.
The first set of instructions I want to share with you is on how to read your Bible. We know that reading our Bible is very important to our Christian life. I think of what others has said about the Bible. {Read More…}

HOW TO DEAL WITH TEMPTATION

TEXT:Matthew 4:1-11
THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS
Temptation is probably the most familiar experience of the Christian. While some may be tempted more than others, all will be tempted.
I believe there is a great deal that we can learn from the temptations of Christ as found in Matthew 4 and Luke 4.
I am firmly convinced that there are some basic principles and similarities between the temptations of Jesus and our temptations. {Read More…}

Scripture Reading: John 18:28-40
Text: John 18:34
John 18:34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?

Introduction: Some people are parrots. They just repeat what they have heard. We need to have a first-hand knowledge of God and of the things of God. I realize that we walk by faith, not by sight. I realize that we are not going to hear God’s audible voice, nor are we going to see Him with our naked eye today. However, God DOES speak to hearts, and He DOES reveal Himself to individuals through His word and His Holy Spirit.
In court, knowledge that is not firsthand is usually called “hearsay.” It is not considered to be authoritative in a controversy. {Read More…}

TEXT: Isaiah 40:18,25

I once came across a description of God entitled, “God
is Like:”
. God is like Coke: He’s the real thing.
. God is like Pan Am: He makes the going great.
. God is like General Electric: He lights your path.
. God is like Bayer Aspirin: He works wonders.
. God is like Hallmark Cards: He cares enough to send the best.
. God is like Tide: He gets the stains out that others leave behind.
. God is like VO5 hairspray: He holds through all kinds
of weather. {Read More…}

Introduction: There is a plague in an old English Church that reads, “In the year 1653 when all things sacred throughout the land were demolished or profaned, Sir Robert Shirley built this church, whose singular praise is this, to have done the best of things in the worst of times.” {Read More…}

TEXT: Matthew 10:42

INTRODUCTION: The Rewards of Refreshing

And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. A line in “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” says “He prayeth best who loveth best, all things great and small…”  It is easy to love the great things, the big things.  Our culture celebrates power, money,  influence, and  beauty.    But that same culture ignores the small and seemingly insignificant things.  The good mother, the faithful employee, the day laborer, the plain looking, the simply dressed, the common person…these are just faces in the crowd, extras on the movie set, non-essentials in the quest for perfection. {Read More…}

TEXT: (Luke 23:46 KJV) And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

INTRODUCTION: Having said this, he breathed his last breath. We are not really prepared to live unless you we prepared to die. Much of what goes on in this world is part of a continuous battle against death, but death wins in the end. Death is an appointment, not an accident, and only God knows the day and the hour when our life will end that’s whv it’s wonderful to be a Christian and know Jesus as your Savior, because Christians don’t have to be afraid of death. Jesus’ seventh statement from the cross tells us about death and how he died. Four characteristics of his death should encourage us and remove any fear of death that may lurk in our hearts. {Read More…}

READINGS: Matt. 27:33-50; 2 Cor. 5:17-21
SUBJECT: The Word of Anguish
TEXT: “…My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46).

Introduction:  It is now midday. For three hours the body of Jesus has been exposed to the burning rays of the sun. The divine Sufferer has almost reached the point of exhaustion when a supernatural phenomenon takes place: darkness falls over the whole earth, and a cry is heard. ..”My God, My God, why has thou forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46). This cry of anguish expresses: {Read More…}

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 13:1-9
Text: Hebrews 13:9 Hebrews 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

Introduction: Make no mistake about it; Christians DO backslide. That is not to say that they lose their salvation. A believer has eternal life and will NEVER perish (John 10:28). However, it is possible for him to back away from Christian service, causing him to lose joy, peace, fellowship with God, and rewards in heaven, as well as provoking God’s chastisement. The main reason Christians backslide is that they never got “established,” to start with.
While it is true that most Christians who do not get established also never get grounded in doctrine and truth, it is ALSO true that many people backslide who know correct doctrine. Getting deeper into doctrines that are past the grasp of new believers does not establish the heart, according to our text. GRACE establishes the heart. I believe that the following definition matches the way “establish” is used in the context: IT MEANS
a. To place or settle in a secure position or condition; install: They established me in my own business.
b. To make firm or secure The grace of Christ is defined in scripture:
2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
Grace is a willingness to give up that which you have, that others may benefit. It is to spend and be spent for others. {Read More…}