Christ Lives in Me

Updated on Monday, June 13, 2011 at 1:30PM by Jeff Smith

Few remember the context – a rebuke of Peter for refusing to eat meals with Gentile brethren – but most revere the faithful words of the apostle Paul in the letter to the Galatians: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (2:20). On some level, that is the kind of discipleship and attitude we all would desire, but how many of us are actively pursuing it? How many of us are that ready to surrender our wills and our earthly ambitions to put him ahead of everything? His life was snuffed out in its fourth decade; will we extend it by giving him ours?

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Even A Cup of Cold Water

Perhaps we have become so accustomed to letting someone else take care of our obligations that we no longer see them as personal duties. If we are willing to let the church, the charity, or the government take care of what should be our burden, we will soon lose any share in the fruit that results from learning to sacrifice and share with others, especially in the dearest commodities we own – our time and our hearts. The trouble is that churches, charities and governments don’t appear in judgment; individuals do.

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Any Word of Encouragement

Updated on Monday, June 13, 2011 at 1:29PM by Jeff Smith

On one occasion, Paul and Barnabas visited a synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia and were asked if they wanted to speak to the assembly. Specifically, the ruler of the synagogue said, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it” (Acts 13:15). Paul responded with “the message of this salvation,” an announcement that the Messiah had come and that his hearers could obey the gospel and find forgiveness of their sins. Those are encouraging words for the one who has not yet come to Christ, but those who have are also looking for exhortation and the confidence that rains down from God upon his children. Do we have any word of encouragement today?

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When You Fast

Fasting is a complicated subject and one that is met both with a great deal of emotion on one side and almost complete apathy on the other. While it is clear that the early church practiced religious fasting, that custom is often swept aside as a holdover from its Jewish traditions. If the early church–both collectively and individually–practiced fasting, however, surely it is at least worth our consideration.

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Four Gospels

Historians tell us that many people wrote accounts of the life of Jesus Christ, but only four of them survived as part of what became the New Testament canon. These four biographies then are authoritative and harmonious in describing a bit of the life and much of the ministry of our Lord and savior. Each of them is distinctive, however, in that the writers selected different episodes to memorialize or emphasize. We do well to consider them all equally, allowing them to supplement each other and complete our faith.

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Word Studies

This is a series word studies from the message of God in the Bible. In each of these lessons, we will choose a significant word from the Bible, learn about its original and scriptural usages and apply the knowledge to our own discipleship. Word studies can sometimes become mere academic exercises, but our goal is to learn something eminently practical and useful.

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The Love Chapter Experiment

The thirteenth chapter of Paul’s first Corinthian letter is sometimes called “The Love Chapter” by Bible commentators. In it, the inspired writer attempts to convey his understanding of love as God would want it–especially as it concerns man’s love for the people around him. Love for God is considered elsewhere and love for self is generally a problem because of surplus rather than shortage, but here we learn that love must be translated into affectionate action toward others if religion itself is to be worth anything at all. Jesus taught as much in the parable of the Good Samaritan when asked, “Who is my neighbor” in response to his command to love such a person as oneself. In making love practical and broad, Jesus commanded, “You go, and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). Love must be impartial and selfless, able to endure when others are behaving in an unlovable fashion so that love can be stronger than hate.

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Worthy Is The Lamb

Our subject is one that proves to be mysterious and often confusing, even unapproachable to the average Christian. For this reason, it has been exploited by the devil through human speculators to the disillusionment of millions. Our goal in examining the book of Revelation is to accomplish a respectful study of God’s final scriptural message to mankind prior to the commencement of the end of time. We will not be able to answer every question, but we do seek to couch the entire text of this book is an unmistakable timeframe that will eliminate 99 percent of the wild speculation that surrounds it.

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Sermons from the Book of Job

The book of Job is an enthralling examination of the reasons behind the suffering of men and how a group of them try to figure out what caused one particular series of calamities in the life of Job. Through their curiosity and speculation, we begin to learn the right and wrong answers to some of our deepest questions. Hopefully, we also learn to trust God a little more and to loathe the devil a bit more as well. In this series of lessons, we want to study the text of Job with an eye toward understanding better the reason for human suffering, especially so that we might be better prepared when it hits.

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Revelation

Updated on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 7:35PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 7:33PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 8:08PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 7:52PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 7:50PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 7:49PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 8:18PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 8:22PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, March 11, 2012 at 8:13PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 9:03PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, March 25, 2012 at 7:45PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 7:12PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 8:02PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, May 6, 2012 at 8:39PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Monday, May 14, 2012 at 8:40AM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 7:45PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 7:50PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, June 3, 2012 at 7:51PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, June 10, 2012 at 7:48PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, June 17, 2012 at 7:46PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 9:25AM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 9:38AM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at 9:03AM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at 9:33AM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, August 5, 2012 at 7:55PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, August 12, 2012 at 7:49PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 7:56PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, August 26, 2012 at 7:50PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, September 2, 2012 at 8:44PM by Jeff Smith

Updated on Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 7:10PM by Jeff Smith

Our subject is one that proves to be mysterious and often confusing, even unapproachable to the average Christian. For this reason, it has been exploited by the devil through human speculators to the disillusionment of millions. Our goal in examining the book of Revelation is to accomplish a thorough and respectful study of God’s final scriptural message to mankind prior to the commencement of the end of time. We will not be able to answer every question, but we do seek to couch the entire text of this book is an unmistakable timeframe that will eliminate 99 percent of the wild speculation that surrounds it. Thirty lessons have been planned for this series.

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Dust To Dust

This series of lessons concerns the uncomfortable, but unavoidable subject of death. Every book in the Bible is about life and death in some way, whether it is spiritual, physical, or more likely, a combination of both. Unless the return of Christ interferes, everyone here from the youngest to the oldest is destined to live a while longer and then to die. Our existence does not end there, however; it is only beginning really. Eternity follows and eternity is based in the use of the life we now possess, making it vitally important that we understand the purpose of life and the force of death.

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Home Making

We live in a disposable world where fix-it shops are almost a thing of the past. We throw away what doesn’t work and buy something new without much thought of its worth. We eat off paper plates and trade in our cars every two years. Now, even marriages are disposable. In 2003, pop singer Britney Spears married and then annulled her vows to God over a long, drunken weekend. A peer, Jennifer Lopez, was famously divorced, married and engaged to three different men at the same time! The blended and re-blended family is quickly becoming the norm and the stigma once attached to divorce is clearly a thing of the past. Historians warn that the basic family unit is the keystone of a healthy society, but the Bible already made that clear. It is no wonder that our nation is suffering the ills of disposable babies, wasted youth and welfare dependent adulthood. As marriages are disposed, society follows. And instead of stemming the tide, most churches have simply accommodated it. The fact is that, “Marriage is a life sentence.” The plan of God was always meant to be mating for life, making a home that lasts until death do us part. If Christians would know a happiness that exceeds that of the lost, they would reacquaint themselves with this fact before experimenting with marriage, for it is not a paper plate that you can use and throw away.

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Everything A Season

One of Bible’s most enduring passages, even in the minds of those who have no other use for the book, is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Popularized in a hit song by The Byrds 30 years ago, this passage assures mankind that there is a season for every occurrence and a time for every purpose under heaven, that nothing is truly new or truly over. Today, we begin a 14 part series on the couplets in this great passage with a treatment of the first part of verse two: “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die;”

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The Subtle Side of Satan

Two versions of "The Subtle Side of Satan": The original and first sermon ever by Jeff Smith in 1988 and a twentieth anniversary edition.

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Sermons From The Psalms

Save for a few special pearls, the Hebrew psalms are a rather obscure treasure in the midst of the Old Testament. Solace, however, is found beyond the 23rd, direction to the penitent is heard outside the 51st, and exercises in perseverance can be discovered in outposts other than the 119th. This series ran from December 31, 1995 through June 22, 2008 and includes one sermon on every psalm, complete with textual exegesis and practical applications.

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