Calvary Wolfeboro

Few tendencies undermine a life of faith in Christ like presumption. God's people have always struggled to avoid this pit. Because of the promises made to Israel and the special place that the church has in God's plan of redemption, it's easy to presume, to take for granted, to become complacent and even arrogant. This was the mistake Israel made with Jesus and it's the sin that still plagues God'...

For more than 1300 years Israel was right in the middle of God’s plans and purposes. Then, with an historically sudden shift, Israel was gone. No longer, it seemed, would there exist a nation or a people called Israel. Even before the destruction of Jerusalem in the first century and the Roman occupation of Judea, Paul wrote to the church in Rome about the obvious rejection of Jesus by Israel. How...

There’s nothing magical about the sinner’s prayer. Many a preacher has made that clear. The words of the sinner’s prayer are only as effective as the sincerity of the heart behind them. The words of the Gospel, on the other hand, are truths that have changed the world. They describe both the need and God’s provision for all humanity to be restored and forgiven. The importance of the message of the...

We are saved through faith not by works. This is one of the pillars of the reformation and clearly articulated in verse like Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this is a gift from God, not a result of works so that no-one may boast.” We can’t earn our righteousness before God. We can’t earn our forgiveness. Does this mean that we don’t have to do anything? A...

Have you ever had the sneaking suspicion that no matter what you do, a particular future is inevitable? It's called fatalism and It's the idea that our future is predetermined and locked in. While fatalism doesn't find it's source in the pages of the Bible, there is a certain inevitability to the plans and purposes of God. This means that the closer a person is to God's work, the more exacting God...

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome that he had, “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” in his heart because of Israel’s rejection of their Messiah. His heart was broken by the apostasy - the departure - of Israel from the center of God’s plan. We know from his other letters and church history that one of the first things Paul did when he came to a new city was to go to a Synagogue and prea...

The climax of the first eight chapters of the book of Romans is verses 31 through 39 of the eighth chapter. What began, in Romans chapter one, as an introduction to the gospel as the revelation of the righteousness of God available to all who believe, culminates here with one of the most powerful descriptions of God’s love in all the Bible. “Nothing,” writes Paul, “can separate us from the love of...

What if you knew that everything you did and everything others did to you and everything that happened to you would turn out for your best? That would be amazing wouldn’t it? Well, for the child of God who is living a life devoted to his or her father, this is exactly what is promised. Now, of course, there are some important details that must be understood and accepted. This promise isn’t uncondi...

What causes us to do the things we do? What makes us get up every morning? The answer is that something or someone is motivating us. Motivation is part of the human condition. We need motivation in order to start and continue the things we do. This is obvious in the work that “puts food on the table." Most people are motivated to work by the paycheck that they will receive for their work and the p...

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” Stephen Covey’s profound axiom about human nature describes the importance of our thought life. Put another way, intent precedes content. The content of one’s life is the result of the intent of their thoughts. What you think about matters. What you think about a lot matter...

We’ve all seen the scene in the cartoons and movies where a character is faced with a decision. In order to help the decision-maker out, two new characters appear. One of them an evil angel or devil and the other a good angel. While possibly sitting on the shoulder of their counselee, they seek to persuade the person to see things their way and make the decision based on their counsel. To a certai...

"You're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed you're gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody." The chorus of Bob Dylan's song "Gotta Serve Somebody" describes a profound truth in a subtle way. The truth is that as human beings our only true freedom is to choose who or what we will serve. Pure autonomy(being completel...

When a monarch butterfly emerges from its crysalis there is no evidence that it once was a caterpillar. Practically speaking, the caterpillar doesn’t exist anymore, it’s gone. Dead is the word that Paul uses to describe the old self that is replaced by the new self in Christ. Dead, in particular, is the “body of sin,” as he calls it. And because the old self is dead, it no longer is under the reig...

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. At least it should be. It’s the perfect combination of celebrating Messiah's birth, gathering with brothers and sisters, friends and family, enjoying unusual goodies, and giving and receiving extraordinary gifts. But so often all of what should be so amazing becomes a real bummer. The blessings of Christmas become the burdens of Christmas. This sam...

Peace. It's a powerful motivation. People will do almost anything to settle down the worry or anxiety that troubles their hearts. In Romans 5, Paul begins his description of the benefits we have in our justification by pointing to the peace we have with God. A peace, he goes on to write, that is rooted in the love and grace of God. These verses are a much needed guide in our anxiety-consumed churc...

Romans 3 verses 24 and 25 tell us something central to the gospel. In these verse Paul makes it abundantly clear that humanity is made right with God by the cross of Jesus Christ as a gift to be received by faith. Our part is pretty minimal. We simply receive the gift of God by faith. But how? What does it mean to receive something by faith. What does this faith look like? It's an important questi...

There's something about human nature that doesn't like the fact that salvation cannot be earned. One of the most obvious evidences for this fact is that men and women will often try to "get their lives together" before they "come to Christ." But if there is nothing anyone can do to merit salvation, then there is no need to "get your life together." That idea is tied to the heresy that we must some...

In 2006 the film, "An Inconvenient Truth," set out to warn the world of an impending catastrophe due to climate change. The premise of the title was that in order for humanity to reverse the trend of global warming we would have to take immediate and inconvenient measures. As devastating as climate change could be for life on earth, there is actually a much more inconvenient truth for humanity. Si...

Hypocrisy is one of the few sins that no-one is ever proud of. Even the most wicked people will claim to live consistently by some standard. Many will flaunt their sexual sins. Even more will applaud the thief who steals from the rich to give to the poor. The hypocrite is never the hero. But hypocrisy is a big problem with human nature. It's an even bigger problem in the church. Consider how we ca...

Conscience. It's the faculty of our humanity that tells us we were made in the image of God. The more we understand about God's nature, the more we recognize that in our own hearts there is an onboard navigation system. But how sufficient is the conscience? What is it able to tell us and where does it fall short? These are the questions that Paul focuses on as he continues to develop his introduct...

"If I could see the hole in Jesus' hand and touch the scar on His side, I would believe too." So goes one version of the common argument against belief. This argument can be persuasive. Even for those of us who do believe, the legitimacy of our faith in God can often be challenged by the question, "how much evidence is enough?" Thankfully, we don't have to wonder. God has given us the answer in Ro...

At every turn the Gospel that Christianity is built upon is being attacked. These attacks, whether from pseudo science, postmodernism, or some form of identity politics seek to shame Christians into silence. Silencing the message of the Gospel is one of the Enemies most effective strategies. The apostle Paul knew the social pressure we feel to be ashamed of the Good News. He understood that the me...

When Christians talk about faith they will often describe it in terms of depth and width. For example a Believer may say, “Early in my walk with the Lord my faith was a mile wide but only an inch deep.” That same Christian then goes on to describe how their faith grew deeper over the years. This is the purpose of the gospel. God intends the “good news” to produce faith that first saves us and then...

The church is plagued with complacency. Anywhere you find complacency, you will find sin. Where there’s sin, light of world grows dim. What is the cure? How can the local body of Christ regain the purity that Christ died to establish? The answer is authentic Christian community; it’s the kind that the writer of Hebrews points to in chapter 10:24-25. It’s not easy to create, but it’s the only way t...