When people think of revival, they often think of meetings with a preacher like Billy Graham standing on a stage with his Bible held high as he holds an altar call and where people stream toward the stage as the crowd sings "Just As I Am". But that's not what Biblical revivals look like. Biblical revivals starts with doctrine - a greater knowledge …

True joy is found in abiding in Christ and living all of our lives for Him.Cole Shinall

Leviticus 18:24-30. After dealing with sexual perversion, God now explains that the nations of the Canaanites were going to be cast out for violating these morals laws. Because they had more revelation, if God judged Canaan and Egypt for such behavior, He is warning them, that He will destroy them as well. Multiple times, God uses the term the land…

Most people who hold to a Calvinistic view of salvation probably think they have rejected works-based righteousness. But when sin is revealed in a leader, why do so many turn to that man's works to assure themselves that he is truly saved? This was the response of many when Steve Lawson was removed from office. And in the last sermon he preached be…

After defining who are eligible spouses in term of degrees of consanguinity and affinity, God now talks about other perversions. These perversions are thing that have become increasingly embraced in our culture. Not just in the sense of being found acceptable, but actively and jealously promoted by political leaders. We have not yet started embraci…

What is Covenant Theology and how does Jesus fulfill all the covenants to give us the Covenant of Grace?Cole Shinall

In the past weeks, several hurricanes have struck the United States, killing hundreds and displacing millions. Many professing Christians are offended if you say that God sent these hurricanes as judgment, but we'd like to argue that this is because we tend to think very shallowly about the judgment of God. And while disaster striking an area does …

Leviticus 18-1-16. After the laws about the Day of Atonement and the shedding of and eating blood, God then instructed Moses on laws regarding unlawful uncovering of nakedness. In reading this, people want to shift this to purely sexual matters, but God chooses His language with precision. The issue at hand is when people are uncovering nakedness f…

Through His death, Jesus gives believers peace with God and victory from the Devil with all his accusations.Cole Shinall

The law of God confronts us with our sin. And while sinners hate this condemnation, they also want others to obey God's law because it makes their life easier. Because of this, they are very quick to notice sin in others, specifically, the sin that the law has convicted them of. This is often referred to as projection. Scripture refers to it this w…

How do we grow in sanctification by the Holy Spirit's strength and power?Cole Shinall

Where do you get the strength and power to live a godly life? Most Christian think the answer for living a godly life is to try harder and do better looking to our own strength and power. But the power for a holy life is not in white knuckling our own holiness. The power for a holy life is love; a love for Christ that flows out of the new affection…

Having right doctrine is important, but it's not enough. That why orthopraxy (having correct practices) matters.People like to debate theology. Many people believe that Christians should make an effort to persuade other Christians to their understanding of scripture - and the bible is clear, while pointless debates are foolish, persuading others to…

After describing what they were to do with the scapegoat, God finally revealed when they were to do these things, on the tenth day of the seventh month. He will later tell them the first of the month will be the feast of trumpets and the fifteenth will start the Feast of Booths. While the other two are feasts, this day was a day appointed for the I…

What does it mean that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever?Cole Shinall

There are well-meaning Christians who teach that no one should ever be allowed to remarry after divorce. The main problem with that interpretation is that God divorced and remarried. Spiritually, God is only ever married to the invisible church, but that is not true in an earthly sense. According to Scripture, God divorced Israel and He was divorce…

After the High Priest goes into the Holy of Holies, consecrates the mercy seat and the altar of burnt offering, he then brings the live goat that he will make the scapegoat. He lays hand on the goat and confesses the sins of the children of Israel, so that the goat can bear the sins out into the wilderness. It bears the sins away to an uninhabited …

What is the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Believer? The Holy Spirit dwells in us to wash us clean from all sin, sanctify us in power to live a holy and godly life, and seal us eternally for redemption by His almighty power.Cole Shinall

Do you understand the many ways that Christianity has made the world a better place?Some people think of eschatology as this far-off thing dealing only with future events that are primarily spiritual in nature. But scripture does not teach that this is true. Christ came to establish his kingdom and to destroy the works of the devil. After his life,…

After declaring what sacrifices needed to be made, God now relates to Moses who is to instruct Aaron how those offerings are to be made. First, Aaron must sacrifice a bull as a sin offering for himself and his family. The writer of Hebrews makes it clear that this is a testimony of the ineffectiveness of the offerings because if they could take awa…

Who is the Holy Spirit and what is His work and Ministry in the life of the Believer?Cole Shinall

If you pay attention to the news at all, you'll hear a lot of worried cries about how we need to work to "save democracy". But if you know much about American history, you'll know that the US isn't a democracy and has never been one. In fact, if you've really studied history you'll know that pure democracies tend to be short-lived institutions. And…

Going back to Leviticus after considering faith in Hebrews 11, the laws for the Day of Atonement is given. The Day of Atonement was the picture from Hebrews 10 how the High Priest once a year would kill a bull for himself and his household, so he could enter for a short period into the Holy of Holies and not die. We also get the introduction of the…

Today, we look at what the scripture has to say about the glory of work.Chad Lee

Before Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, he promised to send his Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us. But how does the Holy Spirit accomplish his ministry? How can we know if we are being led by the Holy Spirit? In this episode we want to walk through what scripture teaches about the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. While theHoly Spirit is God…

Hebrews 11:35-40. After considering the people who were involved in subduing kingdoms, the writer moves on to those who were not as well know. We should expect that there were many men and women who were saved, but did not have great success that changed the history of Israel. They still were important examples of faith, like the women whose sons w…

How do you develop a more powerful and effective prayer life that results in greater intimacy with God and prayers that are actually answered?Cole Shinall

Charles Finney was both an avid proponent of revivalism and a relentless enemy of Reformed doctrine in the early American Church. Finney himself was a product of revivalism, professing faith in his late 20s at an emotional revival service. Finney quickly dedicated himself to the ministry, and began studying for his ordination as a Presbyterian mini…

For our seventh sermon on these verses, we will consider both how the prophets that succeeded Samuel did things like conquered kingdoms and worked righteousness, but we will consider them with an emphasis on how we are to do these things. What the prophets did of old through words is what we are to do now through words. These examples of faith and …

In dark and uncertain days Christians can have hope by looking to Christ and the promises of His victorious Kingdom.Cole Shinall

If you watched the Republican National Convention this year, you may have noticed that there was a lot of emphasis on religion. Hopefully, you also noticed that none of it was pleasing to God. One of the dangers of living in a formerly Christian culture that is rapidly decaying is that you can begin to think there are no more lines to be crossed, t…

With Samuel, we come to the first example in the list of people who subdued kingdoms that was not first known as a warrior. We really only hear of Samuel lifting a sword after the battle was already complete to fulfill the commandment of God when he "hacked Agag in pieces," but he does subdue a kingdom. He subdues it by crying out to God and callin…

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and the only way to the Father is through faith in Him.Cole Shinall

The Bible has a lot to say about food, and from the beginning, we can see how food was related to sin, to sacrifices, and to the worship of God. There were also the food laws of Israel, which are frequently misunderstood. But through all of this, the Bible never teaches that a person's health is tied to the food they eat. And this matters a great d…

As the writer of Hebrews has been working through the judges, we have seen how through their faith that they subdued kingdoms, but it was David who brought peace from the River Euphrates to the River of Egypt, all of the promised land of God. While in reading 1 and 2 Samuel we can see many failures of David, we also see many victories that he has a…

What comfort does faith give when we have troubled hearts in troubled times? Where can we go? Where can we turn in times of stress and anxiety?Cole Shinall

If you watched the Republican National Convention this year, you may have noticed that there was a lot of emphasis on religion. Hopefully, you also noticed that none of it was pleasing to God. One of the dangers of living in a formerly Christian culture that is rapidly decaying is that you can begin to think there are no more lines to be crossed, t…

Jephthah, the son of a harlot, gets forced out of his father's house by his legitimate brothers. He provides for himself and those who gathered to him through raiding, so when the part of Israel that is east of the Jordan is threatened Israel goes to him to lead them. Not a great testimony of faith at that point, but when the Ammonites tell them to…

What does it mean to love one another just as Christ has loved us?Cole Shinall

In Hebrews 11, the Bible states plainly that faith requires understanding that the visible world is controlled by the invisible:Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things whi…

Hebrews 11:32-34 with a focus on Samson. Samson is a complicated Old Testament man of faith. We know that he believed. He understood from his parents that he was to be a Nazirite. We don't know that he obeyed the other restrictiions, but he at least did not cut his hair. He had a level of faith, but he also went into harlots. He also killed people …

In the betrayal of Christ, we see the glory of Christ's person and work. How Christ is the Long-Promised Messiah, One True God, and Victorious Triumphant King who alone can save us from all our sins.Cole Shinall

Suicide has historically been a crime. This is true for many reasons, but one prevalent one is that it is difficult. If not impossible, to argue from the natural world that men own themselves. Everything about the world testifies to man's dependence, his inability to create himself, provide for himself, or to exist without dependence upon others. W…

Hebrews 11:32-34 with a focus on Barak. As Gideon, Barak also had faith that conquered a kingdom. Mostly when people talk about the passage with Deborah and Barak, people want to use it to argue for Deborah being the leader, but she was not. Barak insisted that she go along and he did correctly treat her as a prophetess, but he was the one that the…

Cole Shinall

Most people don't know the history of dispensationalism. While many are familiar with the name John Nelson Darby and many more are familiar with C. I. Scofield (or at least with the Scofield Bible), very few know much about their lives, their actions,and their involvement with the creation of the doctrine. But it is a story worth knowing. And while…

Hebrews 11:32-34 with a focus on Gideon. The writer of Hebrews now goes through six other people that are an example of faith, but that he doesn't want to take the time to consider each. We are going to consider each one individually as we continue to study the testimony of faith of the elders. Gideon through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteou…

The washing of the disciples feet reveals the glory of Christ's person and work in laying down His life to cleanse us from all sin.Cole Shinall

Most churches in America have at least some form of church membership. But here's the question we want to ask and it's a little bit loaded: Do you take church membership as seriously as you should? The obvious, easy answer is, "No", but it's worth actually thinking about. How well do you understand why church membership exists? What is its purpose?…

As Prophet Christ was sent by God with a sure and true word of salvation for all who believe in Him and to worship Christ as Prophet we must believe in Him and hold fast to all His word.Cole Shinall