1 John 4:7-21 Thesis: God pursues a love relationship with mankind. God Is Love because of His Mercy. A. Exegesis: Mercy is not getting what we deserve, see propitiation, v. 10. B. Illustration One night in 1935, Fiorello La Guardia, mayor of New York City, showed up at a night court in the poorest ward…
Author: Alan Holden
Communism
Differing Perspectives While working among Cuban Americans in Miami, I frequently heard the following story: Shortly after the Communist revolution in Cuba, there were strong persuasive attempts at turning the people away from God. In grade schools, teachers would ask their students whether God could live up to His promises or not. Of course, the…
Communication
What’s in a Name? A newspaper ad read: “Lost—one dog. Brown hair with several bald spots. Right leg broken due to auto accident. Left hip hurt. Right eye missing. Left ear bitten off in a dog fight. Answers to the name Lucky.” Breaking Bad News A man was out of town on a trip and…
Commitment
Loyal to the End What I call a good patient is one who, having found a good physician, sticks to him till he dies. –Oliver Wendell Holmes Temporary Commitment means a willingness to be unhappy for awhile. No P.S. A college man walked into a photography studio with a framed picture of his girlfriend. He…
Cleverness
Go with the Flow A young couple who took their three-month-old baby to the movies was warned by the usher. He said, “If the baby cries, you’ll have to leave. We’ll give you your money back.” After watching the show for a half hour, the husband asked his wife: “How do you like the movie?”…
Image of God
What is the image of God? Is everyone created in the image of God? How does one conform to the image of God?
God Is Holy
Genesis 1:27 and Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:1-2; and 20:7-8 Introduction We are studying the attributes of God. Last time, we learned that God is spirit. This refutes the false teaching of the Mormons, who say that God was once a man. Numbers 23:19 says that “God is not a man that He should lie.” We learned…
Atonement of Christ
Romans 1:18 and 3:21-28 Thesis: The propitiation of Christ atones man’s sin and reconciles him to God. God Is Holy and He Hates Sin. A. The Tent of the Tabernacle separated Holy God from sinful man. B. The Veil of the Holy of Holies separated Holy God from sinful priest. God Is Just and He…
He or It? Person of Holy Spirit
John 16:7-15 Introduction The doctrine of the Trinity and the distinct personalities of the Trinity have been attacked by false teaching. Throughout the church’s history, and particularly today, the personality of the Holy Spirit has been denied. A. Sabellius (215 AD) taught that God revealed Himself in three different modes. B. Arius (325 AD) called…
Eternal Security
Introduction Those whom God accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the causes of Christ, and temporal…