Calvary Wolfeboro

“Be yourself.” Two words that capture a significant mood of our cultural moment. But for anyone who hasn't been born again, this is really bad advice. Original sin means that until we are given a new self at salvation we are selfish to the core. But what if we have been born again? Once a man or woman has received a new heart, they also receive a new self. This new man or woman is who Jesus died f...

Every week, in church buildings around the world, God's people gather for what we call "worship." In cars, living rooms, and showers millions of saints play what they call "worship" music. We are continually talking about worship in a way that can cause it to lose its real meaning. Worship is more than an event. It's more than a song. Which is why Matt Redman, in his song, "The Heart of Worship,"...

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...