Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast

1 John 2:15 warns us not to love the world or the things in the world, and John goes on to explain why loving the world is not advisable. Why not? Doesn't God love the world that He has created? Of course, He does! Otherwise, He would not have sent His Son Jesus to redeem it!  God loves the world in a self-sacrificing way. When we as humans love the world, we tend to love it in a self-serving...

What is love? Is it a feeling? Is it affection? Is is what you feel, what you do, or who you are? The answer is YES! Love is all of these things. Minister Aaron Hill continues his series on the book of 1 John and it's comparison with the gospel of John by focusing on John's and Jesus' emphasis on the importance of love.

People try many ways to reach a state of sinlessness, of righteousness. They may try filling their lives with good works or practicing extreme self-discipline or seeking to remove themselves from anything that causes them to sin. None of these will work, for sinlessness is not something that can be achieved. It can only be received in Christ.  In his second lesson on the book of 1 John, minister A...

Minister Aaron Hill shows listeners similarities between 1 John and the gospel of John in the first of a series of sermons on the book of 1 John. Throughout the letter, John focuses on light and love, placing strong emphasis on Jesus' incarnation. In short, John explains John.  People in our world today say they find connection with God in a variety of ways, but John makes it clear that Jesus...

Love is one of the most taught topics from the Bible. Love can be an action or a feeling. It can be personified. It is not exclusive to a particular profession. As minister Aaron Hill closes out his series on the gospel of John, he reflects on the conversation Jesus has with Peter as recorded in John 21. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him, recalling the three times that Peter has recentl...

In 1 Corinthians 9:19, Paul says, "Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible." Visiting minister Robert Peek reminds listeners that the church's mission is to reach out to the lost. We must live in such a way as to change the world. The apostle Paul knew that. He knew the Jews, and he knew the Romans. He chose to do eve...

Minister Aaron Hill continues his series on the gospel of John in the final chapter of the book, chapter 21. Seven disciples have gone out fishing during the night, possibly in order to have fish to sell in the market the next day. They have no luck, catching nothing. At daybreak, Jesus, standing on the shore, calls to them and tells them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. They do, a...

At first, Jesus' disciples didn't believe that He had risen. They wanted physical evidence. Jesus gave them that, even offering Thomas the chance to touch His wounds. Yet when Jesus appeared to them with Thomas present, they were meeting behind locked doors. They were still afraid. Soon, however, they were preaching boldly in the face of persecution and, in some cases, death.  Minister A...

Toward the end of John 20, the disciples are struggling with unbelief. They can't quite believe the women who have told them Jesus has risen. Jesus appears to them and gives them peace, purpose, and the power to achieve that purpose. Minister Aaron Hill continues his series on the gospel of John as he discusses Jesus' conversation with the disciples in John 20:19-23.

Go! Imagine that God asked us to go somewhere. Not just down the street, not just to another neighborhood, not even just to another town. Imagine He tells us to go, but He doesn’t tell us where. We’ll have to trust Him with that. He asks us to go to a country He will show us, leaving all that we know behind. Could we do that? We would want a specific route or destination, wouldn’t we? Would we tru...

Throughout history people have tried to debunk Jesus' resurrection. It was staged, they say. His body was stolen by His disciples, they surmise. He was never dead, they propose. Yet the behavior of Jesus' disciples destroys these arguments. They run away. They hide. They grieve. They give up. As Minister Aaron Hill continues in John 20, we see Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb. She has...

Even though Jesus had told his disciples to expect it, they were not prepared for His resurrection. When He died on the cross, they thought it was over. Their hope was gone. Just as they would do for anyone else who died, they prepared Jesus for burial. They rushed to get through before  the Sabbath began that Friday evening. They went to their homes no doubt in despair. The disciples didn't...

As we approach the end of the gospel of John, minister Aaron Hill focuses today's sermon on Jesus' crucifixion. Although the story of the crucifixion is a morbid one, we must realize that it was an event that was planned and foretold in multiple prophecies, and these were all written at least five hundred years before Jesus was on Earth. Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, the place of the...

Minister Aaron Hill, in his ongoing series on the gospel of John, points out that in John 19, Pilate tries over and over to get the Jews to abandon their pursuit of Jesus' death. Pilate doesn't believe that Jesus is guilty or deserving of death, but he is more concerned about protecting himself than in seeing that justice is served.  He says he finds no guilt in Jesus. He offers the Jews...

Continuing his series on the gospel of John, minister Aaron Hill discusses Jesus' appearance before Pilate. Even though this is the week of Passover, the Jewish leaders have been up all night determining what to do with Jesus. Passover is a celebration of the Jews' deliverance from Egypt; they were to rest, yet instead, they work through the night toward their condemnation of Jesus. We s...

In 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10, Paul writes, "Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more." Guest speaker Danny Parrish from Southern Christian Home uses these verses a...

John 18 recounts Jesus' arrest. He has been in the garden praying, and Judas shows up with those who will arrest Jesus. Minister Aaron Hill points out that during the first twenty-seven verses of this chapter, Jesus affirms who He is, not by saying, "I'm Jesus," but by declaring "I AM."  While Jesus affirms His identity, Peter denies, or abandons, Jesus three times. T...

In this section of Jesus' prayer in John 17, minister Aaron Hill points out the Jesus prays both for his disciples and for those who would come to know Him through those disciples. He talks about His desire for us to be one. He prays for unity. Note that He wants unity, not necessarily uniformity. Too often, we make that mistake. We are one because of the Lord's work, not because of what...

Minister Aaron Hill continues through Jesus' prayer in John 17. In this section, Jesus prays for His disciples. He knows they will have trouble once He goes back to the Father, but He prays that they may have joy, and He prays for their sanctification, their setting apart for holiness, saying, "Sanctify them in the truth, Your Word is truth" (vs. 17).  God's Word is both the me...

Minister Aaron Hill continues this week focusing on Jesus' prayer in John 17, a prayer he calls "The Most Important Prayer." In this prayer, Jesus emphasizes the He and the Father are One. They are One in message, One in mission, and One in love.   It will not be by our knowledge or our efforts that unity will be established. Only God can do that.  In the second part of verse 11, Je...

As minister Aaron Hill continues his series on the gospel of John, he points out that Jesus' prayer in John 17 is one of the greatest prayers ever prayed. This is the first of a series of three sermons on this prayer. Today Hill focuses on the first five verses of the chapter as Jesus prays for Himself. Typically, when we pray, we bow, but that is not what Jesus does. He lifts His eyes and lo...

“You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” In this world, we are assured of trouble, but in Jesus, we can have peace, because He has overcome the world. Minister Aaron Hill continues his series on the Gospel of John beginning in John 16:26. Jesus often used figures of speech to speak to His disciples, but Jesus tells them that an hour is coming when He will...

Minister Aaron Hill continues his series on the gospel of John in John 16: 16-24. Jesus tells His disciples that Him going away for a little while is a good thing. They don't understand what He means, yet in John 16:20, Jesus tells them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy." Do w...

As minister Aaron Hill continues his series on the gospel of John in the sixteenth chapter, we find the disciples still reclining at the table with Jesus, and Jesus is telling them that His leaving will be of advantage to them. We can imagine their confusion. How can His leaving be a good thing for them? Jesus goes on to explain how the Spirit that God will send will guide them into all truth. Tho...

As minister Aaron Hill continues his series on the gospel of John with John 15, talk about love leads to a conversation about hate. Jesus tells His disciples that the world hates. The world hates His disciples because Jesus chose them out of the world. Because the world is in darkness, it hates those who live in the light of Jesus. The world hates Jesus' followers because they hate Jesus, Sat...