Simply Gospel

May my steps be worship. May my thoughts be praise.

  • Partaking the Bread of Life

    In the gospel of John, Jesus makes several “I am” statements, and, in John 6:1-13, we read of Jesus miraculously feeding several thousand individuals five barley loves and two fish. The people respond to this miracle by concluding that Jesus is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy of 18:18, and they want to make him a political Continue reading

  • God’s Vineyard

    The Vineyard Song The first few verses of Isaiah 5 are referred to as the Vineyard Song. The song describes a vineyard planted on a fertile hill. It is tended to and cared for, but this vineyard produces thorns and wild grapes instead of the harvest that was expected. Jesus, in Mark 12, recalls this Continue reading

  • Jesus: Mediator, Advocate, and Redeemer

    Job’s Faith His Redeemer Lives In II Timothy 1:12, Paul expresses confidence in God and His promises, despite being imprisoned in Rome. In Hebrews 5, Jesus is portrayed as our priest in that He mediates for us and He atones for us. The term “redeemer” is used over twenty times in scripture, and all but Continue reading

  • Separation Between Us and God

    The Oscillations of Israel In a way, the book of Hebrews tells the entire Bible story throughout its text. In Hebrews 3 and 4, the author records the trials God’s people put Him through, and it is amazing to us how quickly these individuals were willing to turn away from God. Stephen notes this in Continue reading

  • Moses: A Template Of Christ

    Colossians 2:16-17 records Paul referring to the customs of the old law as shadows of Christ, and Hebrews 8:4-5 refers to the Levitical priesthood as a shadow of things to come. Likewise, Hebrews 10:1 calls the old law a shadow of good things to come. We’ve examined how the Sabbath days and years are shadows Continue reading

  • Be the Change You Look For

    Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus is not an individual many of you may be familiar with, but you are probably familiar with his assertion that “change is the only constant.” While there indeed may be “nothing new under the sun” in God’s eyes, we live in a culture that is ever-changing, that is always in Continue reading

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  • The Price of Spiritual Liberty

    From childhood, we know what July the Fourth is about – fireworks and cookouts. Under these festivities, though, we are commemorating the freedoms we have in this country as individuals as well as the price those freedoms carry. Sometimes this message may be lost, and we may fail to appreciate the price that had to Continue reading

  • Shamgar and an Imperfect Tool

    Numbers 32 records the children of Israel beginning to occupy Canaan, but the tribes of Reuben and Gad  have found contentment in the land east of the Jordan River. Moses, though, rebukes them for thinking about abandoning their brethren in t heir efforts to move forward. Likewise, a lack of participation in God’s work can Continue reading

  • Saul and the Witch

    A few weeks ago, we considered the life of Samson and the consequences sin inflicts upon his life, and we noted that sin deceives us, separates us from God, and costs us our souls. After this, we looked at Saul’s attitude toward sin when he denies the problem in his life, his rationalizations for his Continue reading

  • Faith and Risk

    In Children of Dune by Frank Herbert, a character merely known as The Preachers asks this question of the multitudes looking for some form of religious satisfaction: “Is your religion real when it costs you nothing and carries no risk?” In this question, he challenges his listeners to examine what they are investing in their Continue reading

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