Posts tagged 'audio'

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Two Builders, Matthew …

    Within the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told His disciples a parable designed to drive home the importance of doing what He taught.

    (Video and audio included.) ...

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Sower and the …

    In the first part of the parable of the sower and the seed, Jesus told the parable itself to the crowds who had come to hear Him teach. ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Sower and the …

    The parable of the sower is one of four parables told in all three Synoptic Gospels.1 It can be found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Wheat and the …

    The parable of the wheat and the weeds, which only appears in the Gospel of Matthew, shares some similarities with the parable of the seed growing1 in Mark chapter 4 in terms of vocabulary used and ideas expressed, but it is also significantly different. ...(Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Formula of Five: Self-discipline

    “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”1 

    Today we’re going to talk about an often elusive quality: self-discipline. ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Formula of Five: Study Tips

    “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.”1

    Two years ago I enrolled in a theology course, which has been a great help to me when preparing the various series that I’ve ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Treasure and the …

    The Gospel of Matthew contains two short kingdom parables, “The Treasure in the Field” and “The Pearl of Great Price,” which are absent from the other Gospels. These are twin parables which teach about the value ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Formula of Five: Time Management

    “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”1

    As has been said, time is one thing that you can never get back again. ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Seeds and the …

    Some time after being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus began to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.1 The phrase “kingdom of heaven” is interchangeable with ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Father and the …

    This third parable in Luke chapter 15 is a continuation of Jesus’response to the scribes and Pharisees’ criticism of His keeping company with sinners. He began by telling the twin parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: In Conclusion

    We’ve come to the end of the series on the Spiritual Disciplines, having covered 15 disciplines which are generally listed by authors who write on the topic.1 My purpose in writing this series ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Lost and Found, …

    In Luke, chapter 15, Jesus beautifully expresses the heart of God in regard to salvation and restoration. He defends His association with sinners and challenges the attitudes of those .. (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The King and the …

    The Gospels of Matthew and Luke both tell the story of a wealthy man who was preparing for an extended absence, and who gave his servants sums of money to manage on ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Celebration

    The last of the disciplines covered in this series is that of celebration. It’s a fitting one to end on, as it’s a result of practicing other Spiritual Disciplines. The purpose of engaging in the disciplines ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Service

    Upon entering the world, Jesus made Himself nothing and took on the form of a servant.1 As Christians we, like Him, are called to serve our Christian brothers and sisters as well as others. ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Unjust Steward, Luke …

    This is the third of three parables which speak about the use of finances and possessions. The first was the rich fool. The second, the rich man and Lazarus. This parable, ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Journaling

    Do you regularly stop and reflect on your relationship with God? Are there times when you evaluate how you are progressing in your spiritual life, its vitality and robustness, and how you are growing ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Learning

    Learning is something that we do throughout our lives and it enhances our lives in various ways. We learn through studying, as well as experience. Schooling in our younger years teaches us the basics ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Rich Man and …

    The story of the rich man and Lazarus is another of the stories Jesus told regarding the proper attitude toward wealth and its use. The parable of the rich fool (which I spoke about earlier) and the parable ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Confession

    A familiar Scottish proverb tells us that “Confession is good for the soul,” and so it is. When we are looking to deepen our connection with the Lord, to live a God-centered life, confessing our sins ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Formula of Five: Spiritual Growth

    He set himself to seek God ... and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

    If you want to be physically fit, you have to eat right, exercise, and put some ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Formula of Five: Money Management

    "May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

    A pastor once said, “Living right financially is not complicated; it may ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Formula of Five: Health and Fitness

    Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

    (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Fellowship

    When we think about fellowship, most of us Christians think of getting together with other Christians for a time of prayer, worship, singing, reading the Bible and/or listening to a sermon, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Rich Fool, Luke …

    The parable of the rich fool is one of three parables which we’ll cover in consecutive segments of The Stories Jesus Told, all of which touch on wealth and personal possessions. ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Evangelism

    During the days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, He gave instructions to His disciples. Luke tells us that He appeared to them during a 40-day period and spoke to them about ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Worship (Part 2)

    God Is Worthy!

    In this second article about the Spiritual Discipline of worship, I’ve included some biblical concepts which may be helpful to you in ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Worship (Part 1)

    When speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus said:

    The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Solitude and Silence

    As Christians, our desire is to walk closer to the Lord, to live our lives in harmony with His attributes and will, and to be a blessing to others. The Spiritual Disciplines aid us in this overall endeavor. The disciplines ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Fasting

    The Spiritual Discipline of fasting is a tough one for a lot of people. Like many of us, I had fasted a few times, but it was many years, even decades, ago. I haven’t been so keen on fasting, but after studying about ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Compassionate Employer, Matthew …

    This parable, like others Jesus told, starts with the words “For the kingdom of heaven is like…” This phrase tells the listener that Jesus ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Stewardship/The Wise Use of Time

    Time is one of the most valuable resources God has entrusted to our care; it can’t be replaced, replenished, or relived. Each of us has a finite amount of time in ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Stewardship/Giving and Tithing

    Understanding the principle of ownership—that God owns everything, and that we are caretakers of what He has entrusted us with—should encourage us to ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Stewardship/Simplicity

    The Spiritual Discipline of Stewardship is about properly using things that God has entrusted to our care, including our possessions, finances, and time. In order to understand and practice ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Prayer

    The Spiritual Discipline of prayer is a key component in our relationship with God, as it is our main means of communication with Him. It is in prayer that we are able to converse with our Creator. ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Unjust Judge, Luke …

    The parable of the unjust judge, often called the story of the importunate woman, is a parable about prayer. It’s sometimes referred to as the “twin” of the parable of the friend at midnight, ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Bible Intake

    Christians who desire a flourishing relationship with God and who are interested in spiritual growth recognize that spending time taking in and absorbing God’s Word is of utmost importance. It is within the pages of the Bible that we learn ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Spiritual Disciplines: Introduction

    Trying to live according to the teachings of Jesus and to be more like Him is a personal goal for me, as I know it is for many of us. We want to follow His example of being loving and compassionate, generous, forgiving, kind, prayerful, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Christmas Shalom

    One of the portions of the story of the Nativity which I find most beautiful, exciting, and meaningful is when the angel appeared to the shepherds and announced Jesus’ birth, followed by a multitude of ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Christmas Echoes

    For many of us, an important feature of Christmas is remembering the story of Jesus’ birth, whether through reenactments and Christmas plays of the first Christmas, readings of the Christmas story from the Bible, ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • TFI’s Core Values: Living “as unto Him”

    For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

    By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • TFI’s Core Values: Diversity and Innovation

    Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.

    Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • TFI’s Core Values: Spiritual Solutions

    It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

    Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • TFI’s Core Values: A Sense of Community

    This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ...

    (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • TFI’s Core Values: The Power of One

    For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in ...

    (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • TFI’s Core Values: Love for Humankind

    You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ...

    (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • TFI’s Core Values: Discipleship

    And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

    By this all people will know that ...

    (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • TFI’s Core Values: Pursuing God’s Spirit

    His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

    Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light ...

    (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • TFI’s Core Values: Passion for God

    I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.

    As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the ...

    (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Friend at Midnight …

    The Gospels provide us with some foundational teachings about prayer through both the examples of Jesus praying and what He taught about prayer. In the third Gospel, ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Holy Spirit

    The Gifts of the Spirit, Part 2

    This article is a continuation of the brief explanations of the various gifts of the Spirit which began in Part 1.

    Distinguishing Between Spirits

    Distinguishing between ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Holy Spirit

    The Gifts of the Spirit, Part 1

    Throughout the Gospels we read about Jesus’ life and ministry being empowered by the Holy Spirit. It was after His baptism in the Jordan River by John, when the heavens opened and the Spirit ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Two Debtors, Luke …

    The parable of the two debtors, or as it’s sometimes referred to, the parable of the Pharisee and the sinful woman, is told in Luke 7:36–50. This is a beautiful story of love, mercy, and thanksgiving. ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Holy Spirit

    The Holy Spirit Working in Our Lives

    The Holy Spirit, manifested in the first disciples on the day of Pentecost and given to believers ever since, is a fulfillment of the prophecy from the book of Joel, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Pharisee and the …

    The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is only recounted in the book of Luke, chapter 18, verses 9–14. Among other things, this parable touches on the basic ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Holy Spirit

    The Holy Spirit and History

    In the previous article, we read various accounts from the book of Acts describing how the Holy Spirit came upon believers. In some instances, the Spirit was given at the same time that the person first believed. ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Facing Disappointment

    In each of our lives there have been times when we’ve felt that bitter sting of disappointment. When it occurs, it’s so hard to bear. The Bible says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” Hope deferred, or disappointment, is ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Holy Spirit

    The Holy Spirit and the Primitive Church

    In the first two articles in this series, we looked at how the Holy Spirit came upon certain individuals for specific purposes within the Old Testament ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: The Good Samaritan, Luke …

    Many of us are familiar with the parable of the good Samaritan. However, because we live in cultures very different from that of ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Stories Jesus Told: Introduction

    Jesus was an incredible teacher. His words, backed up by His actions, changed countless lives during His ministry on earth and have continued to do so for two millennia. ... (Video and audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Holy Spirit

    The Holy Spirit and the Messiah

    In the previous article, we saw how the Spirit of the Lord was manifested in the Old Testament. God’s Spirit moved in the lives of specific individuals, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Holy Spirit

    The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

    As discussed in an earlier article, the Holy Spirit is one of the Persons of the Trinity, and this Person is equally God along with the Father and the Son, Jesus. ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Let's Spread the News!

    God’s Word declares that this world, and our lives within it, are not all that there is; that this life is only a portion of our existence, and that our spirits continue to live after the death of our bodies. It also teaches that ...

    (Audio Included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Salvation

    Predestination?

    In the previous article, I wrote about the different views within Protestantism regarding the assurance of salvation or the possibility of losing one’s salvation. There is another notable ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Salvation

    Eternal Salvation

    While all Christians believe that Jesus died for our sins and we are saved through the sacrifice of His death on the cross, there are some differences in belief among different denominations as to whether ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Humble and the Foreign

    One especially beautiful part of the presentation of Jesus’ birth is in Luke’s Gospel, where he tells of the shepherds hearing the announcement of Jesus’ birth. There is evidence within Jewish writings that ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Manger and the Inn

    There are some aspects of the story of Jesus’ birth that have entered traditional thinking but that don’t sync up with what is stated in the Gospel accounts. These include Mary and Joseph being turned away from ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Mary and Joseph

    In the previous podcast we looked at the four Old Testament women mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy in the book of Matthew who had some anomalies in their relationships. Mary, Jesus’ mother, the fifth woman in the Lord’s ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Five Women of Christmas

    The Christmas season is here, and Maria and I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. We pray that your Christmas will be very special and that you will be able to make other people’s Christmas very special as well. ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Salvation

    Results—Justification, Adoption, and Regeneration

    In the previous articles about salvation, we have looked at four concepts that illustrate how God’s plan of redemption works—how it reconciles us with God ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Salvation

    Substitutionary Sacrifice and Reconciliation

    In the last article we covered propitiation and redemption (ransom), two of the four scriptural concepts that help us to understand how Jesus’ death saves ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Salvation

    Propitiation and Redemption

    In the previous article we saw that God’s plan for the redemption of humans was set in place before the creation of humanity, and that it was rooted in His love, mercy, and grace, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Salvation

    God’s Plan

    The core teaching of the New Testament can be found in one of the most beautiful verses of Scripture:

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Sin

    Are There Degrees of Sin?

    We have seen that through both “original sin” as well as the actual sins we commit, our “legal” standing with God is affected. Every sin we commit is an offense against His holiness; no matter how minor ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Sin

    Effects of Sin

    As human beings with sinful natures who universally sin, we all suffer the effects of sin. Sin affects our “legal” standing with God, in that we stand “guilty” before Him. It also affects our relationship with Him, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Sin

    Humanity’s Sinful Nature

    We’ve discussed earlier that Scripture teaches that all humans sin and that sin is universal. The Bible speaks of humans being sinful from birth, which would indicate that humans are born ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Sin

    The Origin of Sin in the World

    The previous article on the topic of sin affirmed that sin first entered creation in the angelic or spiritual world, when the fallen angels sinned. The Bible explains the entrance of sin into the physical world ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Sin

    What Is Sin?

    This set of articles is going to address the topic of sin. It will cover the definitions of sin, the origins of sin and its effects on humanity and the world, and will touch on God’s plan for redemption from sin. ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Humanity

    Why Humans?

    In these articles about humanity, we have seen that God created unique beings on this earth—beings that were made in His image and likeness. We’ve seen that human beings have many ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Humanity

    Material and Immaterial

    The Bible teaches that human beings consist of a material element and an immaterial element that together form the unity of a human being. The material element (the body) and the immaterial element ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Humanity

    Made in the Image and Likeness of God (Part 2)

    The previous article described the change that came about when sin entered humanity, the degradation of the image and likeness of God in humanity. Nevertheless, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Humanity

    Made in the Image and Likeness of God (Part 1)

    God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” … So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him. As the verses quoted above state, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Humanity

    The Creation of Man as Male and Female

    In the account of creation in Genesis chapter 1, human beings were the last things created. The universe and everything in it—the sun, moon, stars, planets, oceans, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    Conclusion

    When looking at God’s nature and character, we can see that God has many attributes, and these attributes are who He is. It’s not as if God is partly righteous ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God’s Omnipotence

    God, who created all things out of nothing, known as creation ex nihilo, is all-powerful. The traditional word for God’s infinite power is omnipotence, which comes from ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God’s Omnipresence

    When God created the universe and the world within it, He created matter, energy, time, and space. The world we live in is a three-dimensional material world, and we are limited ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God’s Omniscience (Part 2)

    In the previous article, God’s omniscience—including His self-knowledge; His knowledge of everything past, present, and future; and His hypothetical or middle knowledge ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God’s Omniscience (Part 1)

    Because God is the infinite and supreme Being, His knowledge is unlimited. He knows absolutely everything. The common theological terminology ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God’s Immutability

    The immutability of God—or His unchangeableness or constancy, as some theologians call it—is part of His divine nature. It means that God doesn’t change in His Being, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God’s Eternality

    God’s eternality is another aspect of His essential nature. God is eternal; He existed before the creation of the universe, and thus before time was created. ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God’s Self-Existence—His Aseity

    The first verse of the Bible, along with others, teaches that before the creation of the heavens and the earth, God existed. ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God’s Love

    In earlier articles I’ve written about different attributes of God, including holiness, righteousness, justice, wrath, mercy, patience, and grace. Now we move on ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God’s Wrath

    We have seen in earlier articles in this series that God’s nature and character includes His perfect holiness, righteousness, and justice. God’s wrath, or anger, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Happy Valentine’s Day!

    When I think about Valentine’s Day, a day that’s best known as a time when people give special love gifts to each other, I think most of all of God’s great, sacrificial gift to us in the form of His son, Jesus. Then I think of how all the love that ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • Love. Live. Preach. Teach.—Conclusion

    In speaking about the four elements of being a disciple—Love Him, Live Him, Preach Him, Teach Him—my focus has been on the principles of being an active Christian, a disciple of Christ. ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Love. Live. Preach. Teach.—Teach Him

    We’ve covered the first three elements of discipleship: Love Him, Live Him, and Preach Him. Now we’ll discuss the last element: Teach Him. Teaching Him has to do with the continuance ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Love. Live. Preach. Teach.—Preach Him

    We have finished covering the second element of discipleship, Live Him, and nine principles connected to it: Abiding in Jesus, Love, Unity, Humility, Non-Anxiety, Forgiveness, Fellowship, ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Follow God at Christmas

    Hi, everyone,

    Peter and I want to wish you a very happy Christmas. As you’re so well aware, Christmas can be one of the most fruitful times of the year for ministering to others, because people ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • Love. Live. Preach. Teach.—Live Him, Part 5

    The last of the principles I’ll present under Live Him—the Prayer Principle—is one that interconnects with virtually all the other Live Him principles, and is central to our Christian lives. ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Love. Live. Preach. Teach.—Live Him, Part 4

    The last three sections of the series covered seven of nine principles that are connected to Live Him—the Abiding, Love, Unity, Humility, Non-Anxiety, Forgiveness, and Fellowship ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    Patience, Mercy, and Grace (Part 2)

    God’s mercy can be understood as God’s love and goodness toward those in misery and distress, those in need—even if they don’t deserve it. ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    Patience, Mercy, and Grace (Part 1)

    Besides being holy, righteous, and just, God is also by nature and character patient, merciful, and gracious. In the Old Testament ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Love. Live. Preach. Teach.—Live Him, Part 3

    In this article we continue looking at some of the principles which are connected to Live Him.

    The Forgiveness Principle The Forgiveness Principle is of great importance ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Love. Live. Preach. Teach.—Live Him, Part 2

    We are continuing our discussion of the Live Him element of being a disciple. We’ve covered three principles already—the Abiding Principle, the Love Principle, and the Unity Principle ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Love. Live. Preach. Teach.—Live Him, Part 1

    In the last article we covered the first element of being a disciple: Love Him. In this one we move on to the second element: Live Him. Part of the definition of a disciple is ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Love. Live. Preach. Teach.—Love Him

    In the first article of this series I explained that I’m approaching discipleship through four basic elements to being a disciple—Love Him, Live Him, Preach Him, Teach Him—and I ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Love. Live. Preach. Teach.—Introduction

    This series of articles grew out of talks that I gave throughout 2011. Throughout the articles I will be quoting a number of Bible verses.[1] These are the words that ... (Audio included.)

     

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God’s Righteousness and Justice

    An attribute of God which is closely connected to His holiness is His righteousness—which means uprightness, goodness, virtue, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God’s Holiness

    God possesses a different mode of being than all other beings. Only He is uncreated and infinite; everything else is created and finite, so He is different from ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    God Is Spirit

    In John chapter 4, when Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, He told her: God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    The Living and Personal God

    In this series of articles, we are looking at a number of aspects of God’s nature, being, and character. We’ll start with looking at how God is alive and God is personal, ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Nature and …

    Overview

    In the “Trinity” section of this series, we explored the three Persons of the triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We reviewed the nature of the Trinity ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Building Our Personal Eternity

    Someone mentioned to me recently that since they’ve devoted a lot of their life to focusing on spiritual things in their many years in missionary work for the Lord ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Love in the Parking Lot

    You know, parking lots at midnight can be very romantic. I bet a lot of you know that from experience. But in this instance I’m not talking about what we used to do when we were teens in our cars in the parking lot. I’m talking about ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • The Heart of It All: The Incarnation (Part …

    In the previous article we looked at how the church fathers in the first seven centuries worked through the doctrine of the Incarnation. We saw various teachings which attempted to explain the “mechanics” of how ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Incarnation (Part …

    The quest to theologically define the person of Jesus and His human and divine natures mainly occurred in two time periods: firstly, in the fourth and fifth centuries, and then secondly in the nineteenth and twentieth. ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Out of Your Safety Zone

    We all have our safety zone, that range of circumstances that we’re comfortable with or the people that we’ve learned to interact with easily and without much conscious effort. The borders of that zone ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • The Heart of It All: The Incarnation (Part …

    In the articles titled “The God-Man” and “The Trinity” we explored the biblical truth of Jesus’ deity—that He is truly God. In “The Incarnation” articles we will delve into the biblical explanation of Jesus’ humanity ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Different Gifts

    If you’re someone who looks around and sees others who are brighter than you, more eloquent, more skilled, more energetic, or who just seem “more” or “better” in a variety of ways, you’re not alone. ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • Be Like Jesus

    Every so often I like to think and pray about the application of Jesus’ teachings in my life, as I feel it’s a wise thing to do. Recently I was meditating on how to more effectively apply my faith in my daily life. ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Trinity (Part …

    As we’ve seen in part 1 and part 2 of the doctrine of the Trinity, it is not a simple doctrine to understand; some parts of it are incomprehensible to our natural reasoning, and as such, it is a mystery. ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Trinity (Part …

    In part 1 of The Heart of It All: The Trinity, we saw that God is a tri-personal Being, consisting of three distinct persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—that each is fully God and that each ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The Trinity (Part …

    In the first two articles of The Heart of It All series we saw that the New Testament reveals the deity of Jesus, that Jesus is God. In reading the verses quoted in those sections, it’s clear that besides Jesus ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The God-Man (Part …

    In the first part of The God-Man, we covered some of the things that Jesus said and did that affirmed His deity. His disciples, those who lived and worked with Him for the years of His public ministry ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: The God-Man (Part …

    The heart of our faith as Christians rests on the answer to one simple but extremely crucial question: Who is Jesus? In order to understand our faith, to understand the story of Jesus and what His life was about ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Heart of It All: Introduction

    Something that I find particularly wonderful about Jesus is that His life-transforming gift of salvation is freely given to anyone who simply asks for it with a sincere and believing heart. One’s level of understanding ...

    (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Wealthy and Responsible

    A sad part of my day is when I listen to the news. Almost everything is about people in the world who are faced with some very terrible situations. Not only non-Christians, but many Christians ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • Forgiveness and Salvation

    In two previous posts on the topic of forgiveness I wrote about 1) forgiving others and 2) avoiding the need to be forgiven, by doing unto others what you would have them do unto you. In this post I’ll address how principles ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • The Other Side of the Equation

    In my previous article, I wrote about the importance of forgiveness—bringing out the point that if someone sins against you, you must forgive them if you want to be forgiven by God. ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • No Bankruptcy

    When I think about those whom I look up to and see as my role models, they’re all people—known or unknown—who have chosen lives of sacrifice and service so that others would come to know the Lord ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • A Scary Thought

    When I was doing some research for a writing project, I came across something that jolted me. It was a familiar Bible verse which I’ve read, heard, and even quoted hundreds of times, but when meditating on ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • A Personal Evaluation

    Someone was wondering how the Lord looked at them—how He saw them when He looked at their life, what His evaluation was. They didn’t feel so great about themselves or their accomplishments. ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • The Thorn Factor

    I don’t think that God intended any marriage to be perfect. I think of it as the “thorn” factor that He allows into the equation—that element that we shrink from, but that He knows we need. You may ask ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • Waiting for the Happy Ending

    Choices. Life is full of choices. Every day there are choices, large and small. Every day that passes gives you a greater legacy of past choices, past decisions. Some turned out to be good, some turned out ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • Reflecting on the Past

    When we look back over our past and we see the highlights and victories, the joy and happiness, we also see the missed opportunities and the losses, the heartbreaks and the tears. We often feel some regrets and wish ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • Merry Christmas 2010!

    Happy, happy Christmas, dear Family! This is the special day, the special Baby, the special Man, the special event, the special love that binds us together with each other—and indeed with all Christians worldwide ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • Are You Santa Claus?

    It’s Christmastime—such a wonderful time of the year! I love it when it comes around every year, because as Christmas approaches, people tend to appreciate others more. They’re more aware of the importance ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Faith in the Real World

    People have often told me I have a lot of faith. But how does that play out in the real world? What tangible benefits does faith provide me with? I like this quote that says, “Faith will beget in us three things: vision, venture, victory.” ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • 6 More Faith Tips

    Several weeks ago I shared with you “Three Items In My Treasure Chest.” Last week I added six additional things, and today I have six more. These items are like precious jewels in my treasure chest: ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • More from My Faith Treasure Chest

    I recently wrote in “Three Items in My Treasure Chest” about three things that help me to stay focused on faith and that help me to find encouragement in tough times. They were: ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • Three Items in My Treasure Chest

    Someone said to me the other day, “What people need most in times of difficulty and turmoil is faith—faith to know that everything is going to be all right.” I certainly agree. But if what we need most ... (Audio included.)

    by Maria Fontaine

  • The Payoff of Perseverance

    Over the years I have seen some very dear friends of mine be marvelously blessed by the Lord. Some of these same loved ones and co-workers have gone through what seemed to be a series of incredibly trying times. ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • Self-preservation

    I recently saw a TV show set in Great Britain during the early part of World War II. The Nazis had defeated France, and the British expected imminent invasion. For some, the uncertainty, the fear of the future ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam

  • How Much Does God Care?

    Recently, within the span of a week, I heard three different people say three different but connected things which got me thinking about God’s interaction and participation in my life. Person one said that he didn’t know if God ... (Audio included.)

    by Peter Amsterdam