Sometimes all we can see is our sins and our failures. But we also need to affirm what God is doing in us. You are not yet what you will be. But you are not what you used to be either. God has poured grace, faith, and love into your life.

<...

You may know someone who is bored with their Christian life. There isn’t any joy in it. They will agree that Christ came to save sinners. But if you were to ask, “Oh, which sins of yours has Jesus forgiven?” they would be stuck for an answer.

The third distinguishing mark of a gospel-centred church is gospel salvation. We are sinners, saved by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Grasping this will help us to grow in humility, gratitude, and joy.

Here we have one of th...

Christ calls us to live a life of love (Eph. 5:2). The Old Testament law spells out what that means. It means honouring your father and mother, not committing adultery, and telling the truth. We all need this instruction. We are not so wise that w...

The second distinctive of a gospel-centred church is gospel freedom. In other words, we are drawn by grace, not driven by law.

It’s clear that there were difficulties in the church at Ephesus. Some were confused about the role of t...

“Love that issues from…” Where does love come from? How does love grow? How can you become a loving person, and not a divisive one, at work, in your home, and in the church?

Love comes from a pure heart
The word pu...

The first distinguishing mark of a gospel-centred church is gospel faith. We want to be about God our Saviour and Jesus Christ our hope—rooted in His truth, growing in His love. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

But some pe...

Here, Paul tells us what his letter is about. It has been given by God to tell us what He is looking for in the church—what we are to pursue, how we are to behave, and what we are to be about.

People talk about what they are looking for in ...

Knowing that you will one day be raised and given a resurrection body, how should you live in your present body?

Recognise that you are wholly owned by Jesus Christ. Christ has the right to determine where you live and what you do. He bough...

The resurrection body will be imperishable and glorious. How else will it be different from our present bodies?

Your body will be powerful: “It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power” (1 Cor. 15:43).

Donald Macle...

The transformation of the body you have now into the body you will have will be instantaneous. What do we know about this new resurrection body? There will be continuity, but also changes.

Your body will be imperishable: “S...

The human body is lowly. The human body, at its strongest, is still fragile. Even if you are really fit, and you get hit by a car, you will be in trouble. C. S. Lewis said, “When you are learning to ride they give you unimpressive horses. Only whe...

All religions have some belief in life after death. But the resurrection of the body is unique to Christianity. Only Christians have a risen Saviour. At the heart of our faith is the great truth that the tomb was empty, that the corpse of Jesus wa...

God became a man in Christ Jesus. The body of Jesus was like ours. He grew in strength—from a baby, to a child, to a man—and He knew what it was like to be hungry, thirsty, and weary.

The first heresy, the first false teaching that the ear...

God made the body of Adam from the dust of the ground, and then He breathed the breath of life into this body. So, Adam was the union of a body and a soul. This is the reason that the Bible sometimes speaks about death as an “enemy,” because death...

In the light of what we have been learning about heaven, here are two things to reconsider:

First, if you are holding back from full commitment to Jesus: However hard it is for you to come to Christ in repentance, however h...

There will be no marriage in heaven (Matt. 22:30), but we will still be male and female, because that is how God created us and it was good. The gift of marriage was given to point to something greater that God has in store for all who love Him.</...

Precisely when God is telling us about the new heaven and new earth, He also tells us that He will separate all that is evil from His people and from His creation—the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcer...

If these things are passing away, then your eternity in the new heaven and new earth will not be spent doing any of the following three things.

1. You will not spend eternity grieving over your past sins and missed opportunities.</s...

Notice what will be gone, subtracted, taken away in heaven. All these things—death, mourning, and pain—are passing away. You will not find or experience them in the new heaven and new earth. Let’s consider them one at a time.

<stro...

Life in the new heaven and new earth will not be less than the life you have now. It will be more!

The word “new” can be used in two ways. The first is to say, “I’m moving to a new house.” You are in a different ...

Satan’s master strategy is to have people think that what lies ahead will be far less than what we have now. He wants you to believe that your life would be less if it were in God’s hands.

If you believe that the life you have now is bette...

Will we see our believing loved ones in heaven? Yes. But here’s the bigger question: Will Jesus see His believing loved ones in heaven? Yes!

When Jesus was preparing to go to the cross, He prayed this prayer: “Father, I desire that they als...

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and here are our sixth and seventh witnesses.

Witness #6 – Paul and the Thessalonians: “What is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his co...

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and here are our fourth and fifth witnesses.

Witness #4—Moses and Elijah: “Behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him [Jesus]...

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and here are our second and third witnesses.

Witness #2—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: “Many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abr...

The distinct identity of every person in this vast crowd is maintained. They are from every tribe, nation, and language. The distinct individuality of every one of God’s people is preserved. What makes us different no longer divides.

This s...

God will shelter—literally, spread His tent—over His people. Imagine a massive piece of canvas that will be shaped into a tent. He shakes it out so that it falls over all His people, in a way that none of them are outside. It is the most beautiful...

John sees a vast crowd—in the immediate presence of Jesus Christ—standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They are dressed in white robes that speak of complete purity. They have palm branches in their hands—a symbol of victory. These peopl...