Draw Me Close: Podcast - A Ministry of Whitestone Christian Fellowship, with Pastor Bob Lawrenz

Today's Audio Message: Ezekiel 39:1-29 - "I Am Against Thee, O Gog" Summary Notes : In last week's study of the Gog and Magog invasion that the Bible predicts an end-time alliance between Russia, Iran and Turkey (along with other countries) that will come against Israel in the last days leading up to the return of Jesus. As they cover the land like a storm it will look like a sure-thing win for th...

Today we will look at chapter 38 of Ezekiel, one of the most well-studied chapters amongst Bible prophecy students. Chapter 38-39 provide the climax to a great supernatural war that is coming, one that threatens the very existence of Israel as a nation. The Gog and Magog war will occur somewhere between Israel becoming a nation again and the return of Jesus. And, as we shall see, the players...

Like Matthew 24 , Luke chapter 21 carries a sobering message about the signs of future events before Jesus second coming. His somber words speak of a time of trouble that is coming, the like of which has never been seen before in all human history. It will be a time of incredible distress and great peril to human life. A time of staggering atrocities, bloodshed and horror such as mankind has...

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Bride hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Rev. 19:7-8). In the NT Jesus is portrayed as the Bridegroom in Matt.9:15, 22:1-13, 25:1-10, John 3:29, 2 Cor. 11:2 and Ephesians 5:23-32...

The tribulation is a future seven-year period of time in which humanity's decadence and depravity will reach its fullness, with God judging accordingly. God will finish His discipline of Israel and finalize His judgment of the unbelieving world. The church, made up of all who have trusted in the person and work of the Lord Jesus to save them from being punished for sin, will not be present during...

Around the globe, people are watching the news and the things happening in this world with great apprehension about what will happen next. Many of today's headlines are prophetic in nature and are going unnoticed by those who are not saved. Our Lord Jesus Christ warned us of these perilous times, but He also gave us the promise of Hope! 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us the following "For God hath not given...

As we bring Ephesians 6 to its conclusion, Paul is ending his letter to the Ephesian church.  What he wanted them to know, as he wants us to know, that we have all the resources, all the power, and all the principles to live the faithful Christian life. However, having everything we need does not mean it will be easy.  We are in a spiritual battle, and there is an adversary who is there...

In previous weeks we learned that Paul had been teaching the Ephesians about the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:18, 3:19), the importance of being filled with the Spirit, and the life that flows from it. Paul outlined the standards of the Spirit filled life for believers individually, for fellowship within the Christian community, and for the more intimate family relationships wi...

What is God’s standard for marriage and the family? We have been fed all sorts of illusions about reality from the entertainment industry, so much so, that people try and make fantasy a reality. The perfect body, the perfect romance, the perfect lifestyle, the perfect relationship, husband, wife…but is there such a thing? Fantasy will always fall short of our expectations. Marriage is the capstone...

Today as we look closer at Ephesians 4:31-32,  Paul is exhorting the Ephesian believers not to sin, but to manifest the godly behaviors—namely, showing kindness, being tenderhearted, and exhibiting forgiveness. The main danger in not “putting on the new man” ( Ephesians 4:24 ) is that as we sin against and stray from God, we “grieve the Holy Spirit of God” ( Ephesians 4:30 ), whose role it is...

What is the Christian Walk? Walk means lifestyle or manner of living. Life as a Christian means that we walk differently than the world. We walk worthy of our calling and position in Christ, fully pleasing Him. We walk in humility, unity of the Spirit, and love. We walk circumspectly in wisdom and truth. Circumspectly literally means to walk accurately, walk carefully, and walk with exactness. Whe...

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the action by which God takes up permanent residence in the body of a believer in Jesus Christ. Jesus revealed to His disciples the new role the Holy Spirit. He is the Comforter. He is the Spirit of Truth. He would testify of Jesus. He will teach us and guide us into all truth. The role the Holy Spirit plays in our lives is in John 14:17, “He dwelleth with you,...

Christian unity comes with Christian maturity, and it is always something that we strive to attain. Paul instructs us to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). Helping us toward that unity are the gifts of the Spirit. God has given each Christian different gifts, and their exercise in the edification of the church leads to more and more unity...

What God planned from the time before time existed—his eternal purpose—has come into fruition through Jesus Christ—his cross, resurrection, and ascension. God’s eternal purpose centers on Christ and His church. If we want our lives to count for eternity, we’ve got to get God’s vision and purpose for the church and live accordingly. For 3 chapters Paul has spoken truth about the church and her role...

In chapter 2, Paul talked about the Gentile Christians in Ephesus. They had been “dead in transgressions and sins,” (2:1), but God in his mercy “made (them) alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (2:5-6). The salvation accorded these Gentiles, then, was “the gift of God, not of works”...

The Gentile nations were once without hope for a Savior to save them. There was no basis for the Gentiles to look for the Messiah, they knew not of him. Christ belonged to Israel, and therefore the Gentiles were excluded as the privileged recipients of the promise. They were strangers to the covenants of promise. The Gentiles had no hope, they did not share in the hope of salvation, nor the possib...

Ephesians 2 starts with a reminder of God’s great love for us, that even when we were dead, Christ made us alive in Him. We have been raised and seated with Christ in heaven and all of this comes by His Grace that we receive through faith. Without God’s action in this world, there would be no hope for the future. Life, as cannot be understood unless one views it in light of God. As believers in Ch...

In the first part of Ephesians 1, Paul tells the believer who they are in Christ, you are chosen, adopted, redeemed and sealed. He goes on to share the many spiritual blessings that are found in our Lord. As we finish this chapter, Paul describes to us what God wants us to have and what God wants us to know. God wants us to know him, not just to know about him. As we walk with God, He reveals the...

The book of Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus. Ephesus was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Turkey. Ephesians is one of 13 epistles, or letters, that he wrote to various churches or followers of Christ.  Whereas some of the Pauline epistles were written to address issues that had arisen in certain churches, Paul’s letter to the Ephes...

MATTHEW AND LUKE: DIFFERENT GOSPELS, WRITTEN TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE, WRITTEN AT DIFFERENT TIMES - Atheists and skeptics can throw around the words “contradict” and “contradictory” with regard to the Gospels, but is it?   Only two of the gospels, Matthew and Luke, give an account of the happenings surrounding Jesus’ birth.  Matthew's gospel is written to the Jews, and provides information ab...

The entire physical universe was created for God’s glory. When we rebelled, the universe fell under the weight of our sin. Yet God did not give up on us. God is not some hapless inventor whose creation failed. He has a masterful plan. In fact, from before the creation of the world, before the beginning of time, God had a plan to redeem the world through the atoning work of his Son, Jesus. All who...

Tonight, we welcome you to our Christmas Eve service, along with a short reading of the Gospel’s record of the Birth of our Savior, Jesus, followed with Communion Service. God’s eternal plan for world redemption was a perfectly synchronized program of events that centered on the Savior’s birth in Bethlehem. When you examine the details you are overwhelmed with the fact that it was not an...

The momentous intervention of God into human affairs (especially after such a long period of prophetic silence) should cause awe, amazement, and rejoicing. The events surrounding the birth of John the Baptist and the coming of the Messiah (who will bring Redemption and Salvation and Everlasting Life) are anything but ordinary and typical. But what we easily forget is that God’s intervention in our...

One of the foundational truths of our faith is that God is Creator of all that is. God is also Sovereign which means He is the ultimate source of power, wisdom and authority over all of His creation. As our Sovereign Creator, He exercises His rule in our lives. God has a purpose and a plan for our lives. We’ve all heard this saying many times prior to our salvation, and throughout our Christian wa...