Jesus concluded His famous Sermon on the Mount by saying, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt. 7.24). What a marvelous illustration indicating the need to not only hear the teachings of Jesus, but to do them! Here we see the significance of proper spiritual foundations. Architects certainly understand the importance of building on proper foundations. Perhaps one of the greatest examples is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. One side of the tower was built on ground that could not support its […]

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil. 2.5). “You need an attitude adjustment!” Who needs the attitude adjustment? Is it the person spoken to or the person doing the speaking? Often, we overlook our own attitude because of other people’s attitudes. Do we fail to see that we are as bad off as the person we are criticizing! I can’t see my attitude when I am criticizing someone else, can I?  By example, raging parents are teaching their children to become raging parents. Exceptions? Of course! But even the Bible uses the expression “Like mother, like daughter” (Ezek. 16.44).  Adam Clark writes,   […]

Supplying confidence to faithful Christians, the apostle John wrote: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5.13). I am afraid, however, that some Christians lack confidence and seem to view eternal life in heaven as something nearly impossible to attain. I find this unfortunate. One of my all-time favorite songs is “The Impossible Dream” from the Man of La Mancha. That song summed up Don Quixote’s life. He strove to attain the impossible and never reached it. The song portrays […]

BIBLE CLASSES: ARE THEY WORTH IT? The wise man, Solomon, wrote, “Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; but much increase comes by the strength of an ox” (Prov. 14.4). That may seem a strange statement, but it contains great wisdom when you think about it. With cattle, you must clean old hay from the manger and spoiled feed from the trough, or else the cattle might get very sick. It is one of those chores that is not enjoyable, but absolutely necessary. Now one way to avoid this unpleasant task is to have no cattle, because then you’ll […]

“When the head of a major fast food chain underscores his support for traditional marriage, lefty heads explode. Dan Cathy, son of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, told the Baptist Press July 16, that the conservative restaurant chain is, in fact, still conservative. “In response to a question pertaining to the franchise’s support of the traditional family, Cathy replied ‘guilty as charged.’ The president and chief operating officer continued, ‘We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first […]

Brent T. Willey, evangelist Introduction: We have heard good loving people that are trying to avert confrontation say something like, “It really doesn’t make any difference what you believe as long as you are sincere in what you do.” This kind of statement, whether realized or not, belittles God. It says that God’s word, and therefore God, can be misunderstood, set aside, altered, or even disregarded with impunity. The truth of God’s word is the most important message that we can discuss and share with a lost and dying world. Therefore, we must “contend earnestly for the faith which was […]

EVIL & THE ABSENCE OF GOD By Brent T. Willey Central Coast Preachers’ Meeting September 13, 2011 Introduction: For years, those who have criticized the Bible and have denied the very existence of God have fueled their skepticism by focusing on the subject of “evil” – bad things that occur in life, which also includes pain, suffering and other “negative” things experienced in life. Unfortunately, many Christians have stuttered and stumbled in their attempt to answer the loaded questions of atheists, agnostics and other types of unbelievers. First, we must admit that we do not have all the answers and […]

Brent T. Willey, evangelist January 11, 2011 Introduction: In many respects I was catapulted into this study. Never did I imagine that I would ever be involved in this kind of an examination of one of the most fundamental and important aspects of our worship as the body of believers: the Lord’s Supper. It had come to my attention that in a congregation, where in my earlier years I had served as the evangelist, a few members were “re-thinking” their understanding of the Lord’s Supper and had decided to incorporate an “agapé feast” along with the “normal” observance of the […]

The Changeless Kingdom…Our Divine Citizenship By Brent T. Willey Introduction Truth is eternal. The Psalmist wrote: “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalm 119.160). This suggests some very awesome facts, especially concerning the matter of prophecy and the promises that God made in the Old Testament. The second chapter of Daniel is comprised of a dream and an interpretation of that dream that is couched in prophetic language with some extremely significant promises. Since this is to be the subject we are to discuss, we would do well to briefly […]