Blog
Pastor Ray’s thoughts on issues in the church and contemporary culture.
The Beauty And Power Of The Cross Of Christ
What power there is in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ! In His cross there is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16,17). In His cross there is the power of God that enables us to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4, 7:6). How different the cross is in the...
Our Faith Is Practical
In the last chapter of Galatians we are once again introduced to the practical application of the doctrines taught earlier in the book. A great example of this usefulness is found in the book of Romans: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that...
How Is Your Hearing?
Jesus said to each church He addressed in Revelation chapters 2 and 3: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” I find it interesting that each church was not only spoken to individually, but Jesus exhorted them to take heed to what the...
The Life After The Flesh
There are only two paths in life that a person may be on. One is the path of life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the walk in the Spirit which benefits others and glorifies Jesus. The other is the walk after the flesh, which takes advantage of others,...
The Two Shall Become One
“And The LORD God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.’ Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And...
God’s Will
As we begin another year, we embark into uncharted and uncertain territory in the pursuit of the will of God. Face it, even though we belong to Jesus, we have no absolute certainty of what each new day will bring. Generally speaking, “there is nothing new under the...
Wait, Not Haste
I don’t know about you, but at times I’ve got a tendency to try to “force” the hand of God to act. I confess that there are those periods in my life when I’m not so thrilled about the Lord’s timing. Of course, when the dust of my emotion clears, and I read the...
The Corinthian Test
The Church of Corinth was among the most gifted recorded in Scripture. However, as charismatic as they were, they were equally carnal. What was one of the manifestations of their carnality? Division within the visible body. There were social and economic divisions...
Christ Or Christianity?
We live in the era where “forms of Godliness” have replaced a living faith in the risen Jesus. The level of morality inside the majority of professing Christendom barely exceeds that of the unsaved. Why? Christianity has replaced Christ. We have adopted creeds to...
Cheerful Giving
Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Of course we would all agree this is true intellectually, but have we discovered the truth of this scripture personally and experientially? Our example of giving is our gracious, loving heavenly Father. To...
The Day of The Lord
2 Peter 3:11-13 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the...
The Commandment To Love
Obedience to the word of God is proof of our love for Him. It’s with this kind of person that Jesus finds a “home.” The greatest witness the Body of Christ can present to a lost and dying world is love. The greatest element within the Body of Christ is love. Love is...
The Doctrine Of Creation
The Bible teaches that God created the visible, material universe “ex nihilo” or “out of nothing.”. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” All life and life forms as we see them today were created by Jehovah Elohim (Hebrew for “LORD God”). Recently,...
Jesus Builds His Church
The only individual who can claim exclusive ownership of the church is Jesus Christ. To build the church upon man is simply carnal. Yes, there are offices given to the church, but to be contentious over our preferences for the men of these offices is divisive. The...
Complete In Christ
One of the prominent messages of the Protestant Reformation was that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, apart from any works, ritual or merit on the part of sinners. As we read in the Bible: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great...
Who Chooses Who?
If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you have more than likely been drawn into the Calvinism vs. Arminianism conversation regarding the method or process of man's salvation. Both systems of interpretation contain 5 points that contain biblical support....
Working Out What God Is Working In
We have learned in our journey through Paul’s letter to the believers in Philippi that there was an undercurrent of selfishness which manifested itself in attitudes of vainglory and strife. To address that problem, Paul reminded them of the humility of Jesus Christ...
Not Ashamed
Our Scriptures for The Lord’s Supper this morning are from Romans 1:15-17, and they are the basis of the theme of “God-centered, gospel-based righteousness” that is developed in the rest of this epistle. Paul was in a constant state of readiness to share the gospel of...
Humility, The Key To Unity
In our study this morning we are made aware that self-centeredness was a problem that existed in the congregation in Philippi. (See also Philippians 4:2,3.) The Holy Spirit mentions words like strife and vainglory to describe the attitudes that existed within this...
The Body At Work
In completing our study in Colossians, we are once again going to see the value of every part of the body of Christ. Even though Paul was called and ordained by Christ Himself (Acts 9:1-16), and given spectacular revelations pertaining to the kingdom of God (2...
Praying, Walking In Wisdom, Proclaiming The Gospel
In this next section of Paul’s letter to the Colossian and Laodicean believers, we find the marching orders to continue to pray and proclaim the gospel. Praying, walking in wisdom, and proclaiming the truth about Jesus are vital parts of continuing to follow Jesus. We...
The Lord Almighty Reigns!
The Lord Almighty reigns is the declaration of heaven (Revelation 19:6)! Right now, right where you are, think about that for a moment. Our God, enthroned on high, reigns. Read the words of Scripture and breathe in the wonder of it all. When the prophet Isaiah...
The Sabbath And Israel And You
If there is one nation on earth that has “Preferred Nation” status, that nation is Israel. God’s word declares Israel to be His “special treasure”, and the LORD Himself told Moses to tell the Israelites that if they walked in obedience and kept His covenant, they...
A Woman After God’s Own Heart
What does a woman after God's own heart look like? I cannot fully answer that question in one short message. Nevertheless, there are very some very fundamental character qualities of biblical womanhood recorded in Scripture that will be found in every woman of every...
Husbands, Love Your Wives
Today we conclude our study on the God-ordained roles in a Christian marriage. As we now look at the role of the husband, we see that he is to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. When we digest the thought of how Christ did this, we are...
A Word about Attire
Proverbs 7:10,11 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn…) 1 Peter 3:3-4 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of...
Fight The Good Fight
Two spirits are shaping the lives of men today. One is the spirit of this world. The other is the Spirit of the Living God.
The Covenant Of Marriage
Over the next two days, we are going to be looking at the section of Ephesians that talks about the covenant of marriage. In it we will find God's order for the Christian home and His divine description of the role of the wife and husband within this sacred union....
Whatever Happened To Sunday?
The church has always had to contend with the anti-Christian values of its surrounding culture. This fallen world system is not designed to honor Jesus Christ, or make following Him easy. For centuries, the church has set aside the first day of the week, or Sunday,...
Just Say No
Esther 1:10-12 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, To bring Vashti the queen...
About Me
I am the Lead Pastor of Koinonia Fellowship, a husband, father and grandfather. I also serve on the worship team as one of the drummers.