If the biblical evidence argues for a congregational polity, that is- the evidence in the NT shows the church as a whole, or the congregation making all the decisions in the church, then were does that leave the authority of the pastor? How can a pastor lead or shepherd the flock, if the flock is the…

Revelation 5:1-14 Stephen Caswell © 2004 Memorial To A Crushed Lamb On a little church in Germany stands a stone lamb which has an interesting history: When some workmen were building the roof, one workman fell to the ground. His companions hastened down expecting to see him killed. But he was unhurt.…

Introduction To under take this project required much more study than I anticipated. The language of scripture contained 200 different semantic contexts applicable to the subject. Exercising authority involves at least three major language domains, they are: 1. Help, care for; 2. Guide, discipline, follow;…

Romans continues its theme of reminding believers about our new life found in Christ. However, Paul adds another layer – The Holy Spirit. Our salvation is orchestrated by the Father, carried out by the son, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. This passage describes how the Holy Spirit walks side by side with us as we live out our new life in Christ. This should be a great comfort to the struggling Christian as we pursue a life that is continually transformed into the likeness of Christ.

23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. 3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a…

Sovereignty of God. At the tender age of six, not having long been in this country, we went down south. Dad was speaking at a Vic Hudson camp at Gunn’s Bush. After the camp, seeing we hadn’t seen much of New Zealand yet, we did a little bit of a tour around and stayed at Duntroon, right next the mighty…

Haggai 6. Intro: The prophet Haggai [P] delivered five messages from יְהוָה to the remnant of the Jews who had returned from exile in Babylonia. Their country was in ruins and their job was to rebuild, and in particular, to rebuild the temple of יְהוָה that had been torn down by the Babylonian invaders.…

A little boy and girl were singing their favorite Christmas carol in church the Sunday before Christmas. The boy concluded “Silent Night” with the words, “Sleep in heavenly beans.” “No,” his sister corrected, “not beans, peas.” I love this season with all the Christmas Carols and focus on the person…

We’re on a journey exploring First and Second Samuel, and we’ve been looking at the character of Samuel himself for a few weeks. We know that he was raised by a priest named Eli, in the temple at Shiloh. We learned about the Lord calling him and we compared the call that Samuel received on his life to…

When we sin we are rejecting God, authority, and ability to rule. For us to live for God we have to understand and trust his authority and ability to rule. The authority and power of God are best shown by the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ.

An introduction to Psalm 110, seeing Jesus.

International Conspiracy Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” A Gathering of Nations Why…

This teaching focuses on what it takes and what it is for one to be a Christian; to receive and believe in Jesus then to continually abide in Him.

Revelation 2:18-29 shows 5 ways that Jesus has authority over the church so you would endure to rule with Him in the end.

God is the Creator of everything.

Psalm 110 portrays the Messiah as the coming King whose rule is absolute with all His enemies in subjection to Him

Learning to Lead Ezekiel 34:1-5 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat…

Human beings were created for a purpose. Unfortunately, we quickly screwed it up and have continued to do a poor job ever since. But there is good news: when Jesus became a human, He fulfills what we failed and makes it possible for us to realize our full potential again - a truth that has important ramifications, especially for the future world to come. An expository sermon from Hebrews 2:5-9. Sermon begins at 8:15.

Jesus: Messiah & King Matthew 15:1-20

The biblical description of pastoral authroity in a NT church, and how that authority functions with congregational rule

Sovereignty 13. The year is drawing to a close, so I thought I ought to draw to a close this extended series that I have been doing on the sovereignty of God. [P] I actually think that I could continue it until the LORD returns. I stated right at the beginning that viewing sovereignty is like looking…

The road to oppression is paved with corruption... I have a friend who is going through a difficult time at her work. There are some higher ups who have plans for the facility where she works that would include her and the rest of her co-workers loosing their job. It would also mean the facility shitting…

The Church’s Responsibility to the Pastors

The WORD of the LORD is our guide for living God pleasing lives