Posts in God’s Word
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“Grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God.” John Piper
By Margaret Ashmore, MBC Women’s Conference Speaker
In counseling, I am often asked “How To…” questions. How do I quit overeating, how do I forgive the wrongs in my past, how can I stop being so afraid, how do I stop obsessing over people and circumstances—and of course the list is as long as the maladies we experience in a world stricken with sin. When Elisabeth Elliot, author, speaker and missionary, was asked such questions she responded, “Do you want answers or orders?” There aren’t…
By Nate Keeler, Campus Pastor @MBCArlington
The Pharisees, most of us know. They were the politically conservative, religious elite who opposed the Roman occupation of Israel and sought a return to strict observance of the Mosaic Law and their own regulations they heaped on top of the Law. They believed that religious observance and morality were the way of self-salvation. The Herodians we may be less familiar with. The Herodians, as the name implies, were a Jewish political party that favored the Roman control led by Herod. The Herodians were the politically progressive, moral relativists of the day. They wanted to bring the full Roman influence into the Jewish community of the day. They believed that self-discovery and the…
By Mike Kelsey, Campus Pastor @MBCSilverSpring
The Heart Is Always Trusting Something
In addition to our desires, we are also motivated by our beliefs. In fact, our beliefs usually dictate how we handle our desires. This is clearly seen in the account of the Fall in Genesis 3. Eve desired the nourishment, beauty and divine wisdom that would come from eating the fruit of the forbidden tree (Genesis 3:6). But she didn’t eat it until she believed the serpent’s proposal to be more reliable than God’s promises (Genesis 3:1-5).
The same dynamic is at work in our hearts. Our minds are filled with thoughts that have been accumulated from and influenced by different sources: media…
By Mike Kelsey, Campus Pastor @MBCSilverSpring
The Heart Is An Idol Factory
We were created to worship and therefore even when we are not actively engaged in “religious” activities, worship is still at work in our hearts. This is where the biblical teaching of idolatry becomes very important. For most of us, the word idolatry conjures up images of statues and shrines. And this is certainly an external form of idolatry. But Scripture also addresses internal idolatry, which happens when we make anything in life more important and necessary than God and His will. The elders of Israel were rebuked for setting up “idols in their hearts” (Ezek. 14:1-8), and the apostle Paul diagnoses coveting and…
By Rachel Thomas, Director of Discipleship for Women & Ministry Teams @MBCLoudoun
“A disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ who lives in biblical community
and is committed to becoming like Him by obeying Him, serving Him and sharing Him.”
– McLean Bible Church definition of a disciple
The next installment of our discipleship definition break-down is “who lives in biblical community….” I’ve heard of “biblical community” my whole life, as I grew up in the church. I would say that I even experienced it at times, but really didn’t understand the implications of TRUE biblical community until I went to college.
I attended a Bible college in Chicago where we literally lived communally. We girls lived on the same…
By Donna Stites, MBC Tysons Attendee
“Prayer is not a preparation for work, it is the work. Prayer is not preparation for the battle, it is the battle.”
– Oswald Chambers
The greatest blessing in my life is the fact that I have been saved from a life of sin and misery and adopted as a daughter of the King of the Universe! Talk about an awesome thought! Those of us who have been born again by the Spirit have the privilege of praying for those still lost in their sin. And there is no larger group of people living without the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ than Muslims who comprise almost a quarter of the world’s population.
I love…
By Nick Jones, MBC Bethesda Director of Discipleship & Worship Leader
This week in my Multiply study group we discussed Chapter 8, which speaks to the “kingship” of Christ, His Kingdom and what that means for us today.
As we discussed how the concept of Christ’s kingship practically manifests itself in our lives, another thought struck me. While we help others to see that they should make Christ the king and lord of their lives, what is the motivator behind this? In other words, what would motivate someone to want to make God a priority, let alone king over their lives? The answer would lie in the attributes of who God is.While we help others to see that they should make…