by Pastor Ray Viola | Feb 9, 2024 | Contemporary Christianity
What is holiness? The word itself speaks of being set apart for exclusive use. We can also say that anyone or anything that is holy is sacred. When Moses was getting his “call” from God into the ministry there in the desert, he was told to remove his sandals because...
by Pastor Ray Viola | Feb 2, 2024 | Contemporary Christianity
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. While there is great and inspiring value to looking back...
by Pastor Ray Viola | Feb 1, 2024 | Contemporary Christianity
Psalm 100:4,5 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Note, beloved, that the Psalmist is preparing...
by Pastor Ray Viola | Jan 27, 2024 | Contemporary Christianity
No, I’m not ascetic! I’m thankful for the many ways that Jesus, my Creator, has blessed me. He has saved my soul and given me many pleasures, both spiritually and materially. I’m truly grateful for His good gifts. However, we often reverse our order of pleasures,...
by Pastor Ray Viola | Jan 26, 2024 | Contemporary Christianity
In the Scriptures Egypt symbolizes the world system and, to the born again believer in Jesus Christ, it is a type of the old life. It pictures a place of bondage and affliction, a place where life is ruled by a cruel taskmaster. Our heavenly Father, however, has a...
by Pastor Ray Viola | Jan 23, 2024 | Contemporary Christianity, Contemporary Issues
In our efforts to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, let us never allow our intellect to interfere with the “sword of the Spirit,” the living Word of God. There can be an intellectual approach taken in evangelism that makes “the cross of Christ…of no effect.”...