Grand Old Gospel Hour

The life of a believer should be a life filled with love and compassion. Jesus never compromised His holiness or His standards, but time after time we see Him speaking the truth in love, and showing mercy and compassion to other. We don't use the Bible as a hammer to beat people down, we use it as a hand to lift people up.

Have you ever heard "God's grace" described as "God's unmerited favor?" When we focus on our unreservedness, we place our focus in the wrong place. The central truth of grace is not that we don't deserve it, it's that because of God's love for us, He gives it to us even though we don't deserve it. That puts the emphasis on God character where it belongs, and today's teaching reminds us to be grateful for it.

As believers we are aware that the Gospel is Good News for unbelievers. But did you ever stop to think that the Gospel doesn't stop being good news once you become a follower of Christ? That's right, in the same way that the unsaved can be moved by the Gospel, we believers should be moved by the Gospel as well.

The promises in God's Word, the instructions for victorious living, and the mission to which we have been called should move us, excited us, and motivate us. Today's teaching will definitely add fuel to the fire.

In James chapter 2 we are told that "faith without works is dead", and that our faith can be seen in our works. Works can't save us, but our works are a visual and tangible indication of our faith in God. Today we are challenged that if God is at work in our lives people should not only hear about it, but they should also see it.

In today's passage Jesus says that He didn't come to bring peace, but a sword. That's a hard saying, but it's something that all true believers will have to come to grips with. Your stand for Christ will cause divisions, conflict tests of loyalty. But through it all we can rest in the truth that the One who saved us will also keep us.

Today we tackle the problem of fear in sharing our faith with others. Some reasons are: a natural shyness… past rejections… a lack of knowledge of Scripture… feeling inadequate and a failure to trust God for the outcome. All of these and any others can be overcome, and allow us to be effective personal witnesses for Christ.

It is frustrating to take on a task only to discover that your efforts haven't achieved the desired results. In today's passage the Psalmist writs about the futility of putting our hands to things that are done through human reliance rather than Divine providence.

Preparation time is never wasted time. Whatever it is that we set out to do, the time we spend preparing for it is time well spent. As Christians we have a high calling and a mission that is a matter of life and death. Ours is an awesome responsibility and God gives us what we need from start to finish.

We've all heard the term "Mission Impossible." It's about being sent to do something that seems undoable. As we read God's Word and discover our mission, the task often seems daunting. But God never gives us an assignment without giving us both the power to do it and the instructions on how to get it done.

Why do we serve? It's because God calls us to love our neighbor. Our faith was never meant to be locked within the walls of a church building. Jesus is our example, and in today's passage He reminds us of what should motivate our service to others.