“When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely he was the Son of God!’ ” (Matthew 27:54) When you stop and think about it, there is a wonderful salvation story here because that Roman Centurion was the first man to believe that Jesus died on the Cross to save him. I am sure he felt the shame that many of us felt when our eyes were first opened to the sin […]

“What does ‘he ascended’ mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?” (Ephesians 4:9) Dr. Luke tells us that Jesus died around 3:00 on a Friday afternoon, just a few hours before the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath. Funerals were prohibited on the Sabbath, so Jesus’ supporters didn’t have the luxury of time with which to plan a service. They had to hustle just to bury him before sunset. In fact, the Bible notes that they didn’t even have time to secure a tomb in […]

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17) You know what? We don’t talk about Heaven enough. Preachers rarely preach a sermon just on Heaven, and I don’t remember when I last heard a Sunday School lesson devoted to it. In fact, about the only time you can count on hearing about Heaven is at a funeral, the reason for which is obvious. It’s to comfort those who loved the saint that he or she is in a better place. If we believe that, […]

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) We all know what the Bible teaches: “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Yet, we often don’t equate chronic everyday sin as something that will eventually lead to spiritual death. The truth is sin can often be a silent killer, one that doesn’t show the damage it can do until it’s in its late stages. I recently realized in a very personal way just what sin […]