Read Your Bible, Find Your Saviour.

"She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”" (1 Samuel 4:21). "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”" (1 Samuel 7:12) Ichabod - a word of warning: The glory had departed - We must take care that this doesn't happen to us! Ebeneezer - a word of encouragement: The Lord wants to bless us - We must pray that the blessing of the Lord will increase as we give ourselves to listening to Him, learning from him and walking with Him. Ichabod and Ebeneezer - the names tell a story. Which will be the story of your life? Will it be Ichabod - The glory has departed? or Will it be Ebeneezer - Thus far the Lord has helped us?

We have come here to praise the Lord. Why do we praise the Lord? "Lord my God, You are very great." God is great in power. His power can impress us, but it will not save us until we are touched by a special power - the power of His love. God is great in holiness. His holiness (Isaiah 6:3) shows us our sin (Isaiah 6:5). It's His love that brings us salvation (Isaiah 6:7). When we see the greatness of His love, we can truly say, "Praise the Lord."

Psalm 111:1-10 Hallelujah! Jesus Christ is risen today - a celebration for Easter, and every Lord’s Day. * At the start of the Psalm - “I will praise the Lord” (Psalm 111:1). * At the end of the Psalm - “His praise endures forever” (Psalm 111:10). In our worship, there is to be both “the fear of the Lord” (Psalm 111:10) and trust in the Lord - “the Lord is gracious and compassionate... He has sent redemption to His people” (Psalm 111:4,9). We give thanks to the Lord for His love, but we must never forget that “His Name is holy and awe-inspiring” (Psalm 111:9). * The character of God: He is holy, He is love. * The message of the Gospel: In love for us, the holy God has provided a way for our sins to be forgiven. These are the truths of God’s Word which are to shape our lives, making us more holy and more loving.

"The boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favour with the Lord and with people" (1 Samuel 2:26). " The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground" (1 Samuel 3:19). Samuel was only a boy - but the hand of the Lord was upon him. God was preparing Samuel for something special. He would grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. Then, when the time was right, he would bring the Word of the Lord to the people. As you read these words, think about your life. Does God have a special purpose for you? Is He preparing you for something special? Read the Word of the Lord. Learn from His Word. The time for sharing His Word will come. It will be a time of great blessing. You will be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Your love for Jesus will grow - and there will be opportunities to share the message of salvation. You will speak the Good News of God's love - and people will be brought to the Saviour.

In his contribution to Clark Pinnock (editor), Grace Unlimited (1975), G. R. Osborne states that Berkouwer, in Faith and Perseverance, pp. 9-10, “speaks of the time less ness of the doctrine of final perseverance, founded on ‘the richness and abidingness of salvation” (p. 188, emphasis mine). This single-sentence comment on Berkouwer’s view hardly gives a fair indication of the type of thinking found in Chapter 1 of Berkouwer’s Faith and Perseverance - “Time li ness and Relevance” (pp. 9-14, emphasis mine). Berkouwer insists that “the living preaching of the Scriptures, which offer no metaphysical and theoretical views about … ‘permanency’ as an independent theme in itself, does nothing to encourage ‘a continuity which is … opposed in any way to the living nature of faith” (p. 13). Berkouwer stresses that “The perseverance of the saints is not primarily a theoretical problem but a confession of faith” (p. 14) and that “The perseverance of the saints is unbreakably connected wi...

In this post, I will draw comparisons between Arminius and Berkouwer.  * Bangs points out that the historical situation in Holland was not a simple one - Calvinism coming in, Arminius nearly ruining it and the Synod of Dort restoring it: “The earliest Dutch Reformed leaders don’t seem to be Calvinists at all. They rise out of the soil, here and there, nurtured by the old Dutch biblical piety, not seized by dogmatic insights, but steadily pressing toward a purified life of faith according to Scripture” (p. 21). This emphasis is similar to Berkouwer’s insistence that election is not a special gnosis for the theological elite. Rather, it is a confession of faith, arising from the hearts of those who have come to know the grace of God ( Divine Election (DE), p. 216).    * Bangs observes that Arminius’ theological method is “practical and through faith”: “For the Theology which belongs to this world, is practical and through faith: Theoretical Theology belongs to the o...