Be Strong in the Grace

Can you imagine what the leper of the end of Mark 1 must have felt when Jesus cleansed him of this horrible, deadly disease? I get pretty excited about getting over a cold, but this former leper's whole life had changed. What unmatchable joy! Yet, Jesus gave some unusual instruction, at least seemingly unusual to us, to tell no one of the experience. I don't know that I could contain such an exper...

This episode kicks off a new series that will connect with a challenge for the Calvary Baptist Church family and all of our friends who might like to join with us. We are challenged to read and study the Bible together following a specific plan. To finish the year, we are challenging ourselves to read the entire New Testament in 11 weeks. The plan follows a five-day-a-week schedule, as explained i...

This is the audio from the Wednesday Evening Service on June 04, 2025, at Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk, www.calvarybaptistnorfolk.org . Due to renovations in the auditorium, we will not be able to live stream some services. They instead will be posted here. In this episode, we will look at the power of God's Word in regards to the proper posture of our hearts to God's Word and, in turn, what...

This is the audio from the Wednesday Evening Service on May 28, 2025, at Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk, www.calvarybaptistnorfolk.org . Due to renovations in the auditorium, we will not be able to live stream some services. They instead will be posted here. In this episode, we will look at the power of God's Word to teach us of our wonderful God Who considers our affliction, Who consoles us wi...

This is the audio from the Wednesday Evening Service on May 21, 2025, at Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk, www.calvarybaptistnorfolk.org . Due to renovations in the auditorium, we will not be able to live stream some services. They instead will be posted here. In this episode, we will look at the power of God's Word in regards to seeking the Lord with your whole heart. We have what we need from t...

This is the audio from the Wednesday Evening Service on May 14, 2025, at Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk, www.calvarybaptistnorfolk.org. Due to renovations in the auditorium, we will not be able to live stream some services. They instead will be posted here. On Wednesday nights, we have been studying Psalm 119 together to learn of the power of God's Word, the Bible. Each service covers one of th...

As many as received him, to them gave he power! For those who believe on Jesus, trusting Him for salvation, God has given that person the power to be the son or daughter of God! What a great privilege to be accepted so lovingly into God’s family, and then to be given the opportunity to be a witness of the Light that is Jesus to a world in darkness. John the Baptist was sent from God to be a witnes...

Jesus is the glorious Word that was in the beginning. Colossians 1:17 says of Jesus that “he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” What a proclamation of the divinity of Jesus Christ! As we begin a new study out of the book of John, let’s not just try to gain facts about Jesus or the Bible, but let’s know Jesus more. Our goal as Christians should be that we are conformed into the i...

I am so thankful that I can have complete confidence in Jesus. If I ask anything according to His will not only will He hear me, but also He will provide. Do you have the kind of confidence in your God? Do you have the kind of confidence that says if I ask according to God’s desire then I already have what I’m asking for, that it is as good as done? You can! These things are written so you can kno...

The strength of a Christian lies in the full assurance of eternal life by salvation through Jesus Christ. This is the hope of our salvation, something that is not just a wish or desire but a full assurance in the finished work of Jesus Christ, and something eternally held in the strong hand of our Heavenly Father. Not everyone has this confidence and assurance, but whosoever will call upon the nam...

Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. We need some victory in our lives and in our churches, and we have that in Jesus Christ. Sometimes, we Christians get to looking a bit defeated, but we aren’t. We have the Holy Spirit within us bearing witness to the fact that by faith in Christ Jesus we are on the winning side. We can get down at times, especially when our focus gets on the wrong thi...

God’s commandments are not grievous when you understand how much He loves you and you learn to love Him more. People are willing to put up with many rules if they enjoy something. Professional sports are riddled with rules that fans love when applied to the opposing teams, yet they say Christianity is too rigid, though we basically have only two rules to worry about: Love God and Love your neighbo...

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear. Fear pervades our society. Some people use fear to try to bring you into their way of thinking. We have seen people make some terrible decisions and do some crazy things in the name of fear. Manmade religions historically have used fear to force people into their system of belief. The world over the ages have tried to bully the Christian...

Though no one has physically seen God with the eyes, we see the effects of God all around us. We, as Christians, see His hand at work, and we see His heart loving us. But the world does not see this as clearly as we do. It is upon us who are born-again Christians to testify of the Father by showing His love to others. They may not see God directly with their own eyes, but they sure better see God...

Do you know God? If you did, then you would love others in the way that He loves you. Love is of God: therefore, if you don’t know how to love as God loves then you don’t know Him. You really can’t define love without first knowing God, and you certainly can’t show true love without a personal relationship with Him. It’s like a person who thinks that a fast-food burger is the greatest food out the...

God is greater! There is nothing in this world or universe greater than God in any sense of thought. God is more powerful, more righteous, wiser, stronger—He is preeminent to all. There is nothing that surpasses God in greatness and goodness. Satan is strong, and the influence of the world is powerful, but we can overcome these “because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” ...

We have all been warned, don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Truly, the warning should go beyond this as 1 John 4 does when it reads, “believe not every spirit.” There is a belief system out there for anything that your heart desires to believe. There is a wide road that contains many lanes of various types of deception that are all leading to destruction. But there is only one way...

Have you ever found yourself under the weight of doubt, even as a born-again Christian? Have you ever found yourself in the gloom that comes from a lack of assurance? Sometimes, a person who is a child of God goes through a season when they don’t feel saved. But I’m thankful to read in the Bible that God is greater than our heart. If we would just give God our whole heart, He can turn it toward Hi...

Are you willing to put your life on the line for someone you love? Our very perception of the love of God toward us is the fact that Jesus laid His life down for us, and so we ought to lay our life down for the brethren. It’s difficult to know for sure what we would do until the situation actually arises, but here is a good test: are you willing to lay down this world’s goods for the need of someo...

No love compares to the love bestowed upon us by God our Father. It is a joy unspeakable and full of glory. God’s love, so greatly illustrated in the act of giving His only begotten Son Jesus Christ as the payment of the wages of our sin, has given us a position far beyond mere created-ones, servants, worshipers, and even friends. We have been given the positions, as born-again believers in Christ...

The thing about false teachers is that they have a certain sound and a certain alure that is attractive to the flesh and to our reasoning, and they carry a certain ability to draw people behind them. But they lead people to their own detriment and destruction because they are leading away from Christ. It is vital to us that we understand that in these days there are many antichrists who desire to...

Signs all around us clearly point to the Bible truth that we are in the last times. Just look at the crazy events and the spirit of the day as well as the many false teachers that rise up. Now is the time to act. We must make sure that we are ready and that we tell others how to be ready for eternity to come. Where will you be after this life? Where will others you know spend eternity? Now is the...

You either love God or you love the world, but you cannot love both. Matthew 6 tells us that “no man can serve two masters: for he will hate the one, and love the other” Did you notice that love and serving are brought together in that verse? You serve the master that you love. That verse concludes, “ye cannot serve God and mammon.” If you think you can love the things of this world AND truly love...

Do you know that you know God? Do you have the assurance that comes with walking in the light of Jesus? A true Christian will desire to keep God’s commandments. If you don’t have that desire, you ought to ask God to search your heart and reveal your true condition. Keeping God’s Word assures us that we are in Him. Study of 1 John 2:1-6

God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Unfortunately, we don’t always walk in that light. We are lying to ourselves if we think that we have no sin. But I am happy to report that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.