by Chuck Smith - 4 years ago
What are the defining characteristics of the Calvary Chapel Movement? In this series, members of the Calvary Chapel Association Leadership Council define some of Calvary Chapel’s historic Core Convictions on key topics such as ministry, church leadership, theology and more. Grace has been defined as God’s unmerited favor. In contrasting grace, mercy and justice: I see that justice is get...
by Chuck Smith - 5 years ago
Word of wisdom- A word of wisdom comes when critical issues arise and important decisions must be made. It is a wise word that is so right it brings divided factions together. 1Kings 3:25-27 And the king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other." Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, "...
by Chuck Smith - 5 years ago
One day Paul and his ministry buddy, Silas, got thrown into a filthy prison for freeing a slave girl from demon possession. The local magistrates ordered them beaten and placed in stocks in the inner dungeon, a place full of rats, disease, and all kinds of filth. Nobody had washed off their dried blood, and now it was caked on their raw backs. In fact, no one did anything to help them. They simply left them in thi...
by Chuck Smith - 5 years ago
God wants you to love your friends, but He also expects you to love the difficult people in your life. And we all have them! The apostle Paul certainly did. While he could count on the Philippians to support and encourage him, he anticipated that the Corinthians would give him plenty of opposition and discouragement. They were his problem church. As Jeremiah earned the title “the weeping prophet,” ...
by Chuck Smith - 5 years ago
Have you ever heard a sermon on the devastation caused by “generational sin”? Preachers base their frightening comments on texts like Exodus 20:5: “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.” Some people hear such a verse and say, “God’s not fair! Why should children suffer for their parents’ sin?...