The Time That God Designed Him For

Select the title to watch this short clip or access the complete message by John MacArthur via the link listed in the YouTube or Rumble video. Watch this clip on Rumble

America Under Judgement

Select the title to watch this short clip or access the complete message by John MacArthur via the link listed in the YouTube or Rumble video. Watch this clip on Rumble

Is America Under The Judgement of God?

Watch the complete message: "The Kingdom of Light Amidst the Kingdom of Darkness" by John MacArthur via the link listed in the YouTube or Rumble video. Watch this clip on Rumble

For Whom Did Christ Die?

After watching this short clip, watch the complete message: "The Atonement: Real or Potential?" by John MacArthur to find out the answer via the link listed in the YouTube or Rumble video. Watch this clip on Rumble

Rekindling the Gratitude

by John MacArthur

The Thanksgiving season is a wonderful time to heighten your sensitivity to the blessings bestowed by God.

Thanksgiving grabs your attention, shakes the cobwebs loose, and reminds you of all God's most precious gifts. That's one reason Thanksgiving has always held such a special place in my heart. It rekindles in me the kind of God-centered gratitude that our Lord demands and deserves—the kind that should readily be on our lips year round.

To help stimulate that kind of deeper gratitude, my family has adopted a Thanksgiving tradition we've found extremely helpful. Each year after our Thanksgiving meal we gather in our living room and simply recite the blessings of God that have touched our lives. One by one we circle the room, each one of us expressing our gratitude to God for His many physical and spiritual blessings.

Allow me to share with you just five blessings that deeply touch me every year and prompt me to thank God. Perhaps it'll catch and you'll be able to rekindle your gratitude!

You're Saved and You Know It

No work of God's is more beyond my comprehension yet closer to my heart and more worthy of gratitude than salvation. Before coming to know Christ, each of us lived in a self-imposed prison. Guilty, condemned, spiritually blind, and with no means to pay our debt, our destiny was one of eternal separation from God.

But Christ not only rescued us from the power and penalty of our sins, He also lifted us to a place of blessing. He delivered us from punishment and brought glory. He took away the threat of hell and gave us the hope of heaven. He dismissed us from divine wrath and brought us a divine benediction. One hymn writer put that unfathomable transaction like this:

In wonder lost, with trembling joy, We take the pardon of our God; Pardon for crimes of deepest dye, A pardon bought with Jesus' blood, Who is a pard'ning God like Thee? Or who has grace so rich and free?

We sing of salvation. We talk of salvation. Salvation is the essence of Christianity. Thanking God for saving us should be the unceasing occupation of our lips—only a stone-cold heart could offer anything less.

The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth

Watch a half hour of news and tell me if the word chaos doesn't come to mind. The world is gripped by it. Conflict abounds as religious, philosophical, and political systems collide. Moral, social, and economic problems proliferate but solutions are scarce. The political process is drifting rudderless on a sea of confusion. Life is all questions and no answers. There is no concrete guideline or standard by which to judge good and bad, right and wrong. The suppression of truth exacts a tremendous price.

But thanks to God, you and I have an eternal, objective, incontestable, irrevocable standard we can depend on for all matters of life. From the truth of Scripture we can understand the ebb and flow of life better than all the educators, philosophers, politicians, and social pundits combined. God's Word offers us a window on the real issues people battle. We know how to be good employees, to love our spouses, to raise our families, to truly love our neighbors. Meaning in life is not a question, it's a fact. I thank God for revealing His truth to us and for allowing me the privilege of studying and teaching it.

Life's Storms

Perhaps the most difficult time to be thankful is when we're in the midst of a setback, a challenge, or a trial. When the storm comes, giving thanks is rarely our first reaction. Being thankful for adversity is never easy, but it is always right. From experience I know the difficult times are the ones in which God seems to be most at work in our lives, strengthening our weak spots, comforting our hurts, and drawing us to greater dependence. A well-known businessman offered this perspective: "Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees." Let's not neglect to thank God for the strong winds He allows to blow our direction.

Faithful Churches

I'm sad to say there are some congregations today that seem to be wrestling with who they are and what their mission is—a spiritual identity crisis of sorts. Relentlessly assaulted by doctrinal fads, scandals, divisions, internal and external criticism, and worldly thinking, they've buckled under the pressure. The chain reaction that creates is heartbreaking. Doctrine is compromised, effectiveness is forfeited, biblical ministry is abandoned, and God's blessing is withdrawn. That grieves me, and I know it grieves you as well.

However, we can thank the Lord for the many churches that have stayed the course in spite of pressure, and the many others that struggle but have not given up the fight. Large or small, the congregations that remain faithful to God's Word are the ones that are alive, vital, flourishing, reaching their communities with great effectiveness, and advancing the kingdom of God. They've resisted the fads, remained true to God's calling, and are now seeing His blessing. I'm grateful to Him for those churches, and for the encouragement they are to me and to the Body of Christ.

The People Who Make a Difference

Someone once made this wise observation: "Friends in your life are like pillars on your porch. Sometimes they hold you up, and sometimes they lean on you. Sometimes it's just enough to know they’re standing by."

That's certainly been true in my life. I thank God daily for the many people who add so much color and warmth to my life. My best friend and wife, Patricia. Loving children and grandchildren. All who labor with me for the sake of the gospel. Each one enriches me greatly and is a very personal gift directly from the hand of God. I'm grateful for the friends—seen and unseen—whom I’ve been able to lean on, and who, to some small degree, have been able to lean on me.

Let me encourage you not to allow this Thanksgiving to come and go without taking inventory. Biblical gratitude isn't something that should pass from our minds with the passing of a season. It's an attitude, a God-focused response to circumstances that should pervade each moment of each day of each year.

May you, your family, and friends enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving season . . . all year!

Is This The End Of The World?

Select the title to watch this short clip or watch the complete message by John MacArthur via the link listed in the YouTube video.

Social Justice

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Salvation: A Sovereign Work of God

Providence

Watch or listen to the complete interview with John MacArthur via the link listed in the YouTube video.

Fighting For The Truth

Watch or listen to the complete message by John MacArthur via the link listed in the YouTube video.

For Whom Did Christ Die?

Watch, listen or download the complete message by John MacArthur via the link listed in the YouTube video.

Sanctification or Contamination?

Watch, listen or download the complete General Session 1 message by John MacArthur given at the 2018 Shepherds' Conference here.

How Does Jesus Disciple a Disciple?

Watch, listen or download the complete message: Do You Love Me? by John MacArthur given at the 2017 Shepherds' Conference here.

A Church With No Believers?

Watch, listen or download the full message: "Christ’s Call to Reformation" given at the 2016 Together For The Gospel Conference by John MacArthur here.

What Is It To Be Regenerated?

Watch or listen to the full message by John MacArthur speaking at the 2016 Shepherds’ Conference, General Session 10 here.

What Sabotages Biblical Truth?

Watch, listen or download the full message for General Session 1 given at the 2015 Shepherds' Conference by John MacArthur here.

The Christmas Intruder

by John MacArthur

In 2011 Christmas fell on a Sunday, and several churches canceled their church services because they didn’t want to interrupt Christmas. What a bizarre idea—not wanting to impose the worship of Jesus Christ on the day we celebrate His birth!

It is, however, an even greater paradox that another figure has been allowed to intrude on many Christmas celebrations every year. He is everywhere at this time of the year, and far more prevalent than any representation of Jesus Christ.

There is even a “hymn” dedicated to this intruder—one that explains his “theology.” And we all know the lyrics, as do our children:

You better watch out You better not cry You better not pout I’m telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town

Yes, Santa Claus is nothing more than a popular fairy tale. And yet he dominates the scene every year at Christmas.

What is remarkable about Santa is that his supposed power is eerily similar to God’s. He’s a transcendent being, not limited by the physical laws of this world. He can fly around the entire planet in a single night, stopping at every house along the way. And he’s surrounded by other heavenly beings that likewise aren’t subject to the constraints placed on the rest of creation. Santa is also omnipresent—he sees you when you’re sleeping. He’s omniscient—he knows when you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake.

The mythological Santa operates in a paradigm of benevolent promises and benign threats. If you’re good, you’ll get gifts. If you’re bad, you won’t. But, really, aren’t we left with the sense that everyone is rewarded with a gift, and any naughtiness is forgiven with a wink of Santa’s eye?

So not only does Santa fail to tell the truth, he’s not consistent within his own system of works righteousness. He makes threats but doesn’t follow through on them. Theologically, Santa Claus is a universalist. Ultimately everyone receives his favor.

Put simply, Santa is a fictional heavenly being of questionable character—he doesn’t tell the truth, makes empty threats, demands good works, rewards the disobedient, and only shows up once a year. Those traits fall far short of the true God who only speaks truth, keeps all His promises, judges those who reject Him, gives salvation by grace through faith and not by works, and is always present.

One of the saddest ironies about Christmas is that many think of Christ, not Santa Claus, as an unwelcome intruder. Not only does Santa’s long and dark shadow obscure the true message of Christmas, even the familiar nativity scene freezes time and locks in many minds the image of Christ as a helpless newborn, and nothing more.

But the babe in the manger grew up—He is no longer an “infant, tender and mild.” He is Jesus the Messiah, God incarnate, the revelation of God’s glory and His very image (Hebrews 1:3). The birth of Christ was the greatest condescension the world has ever known (Philippians 2:5–8), and His thirty-three years of human existence fulfilled all of God’s demands for sinless perfection on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus took on a body of human flesh so that He might bear in that body the punishment that sinners like us rightly deserved (1 Peter 2:24).

Unlike Santa’s, the Lord’s favor does not depend on our righteousness (Ephesians 2:1-9). Through His life and death, Christ made possible the greatest of gifts—eternal life (Romans 6:23)—given by His grace alone. And the good news of God’s gift is the sum of the Christmas message.

I’m not advocating for Santa’s complete expulsion, but let’s be sure to keep him where he belongs: with the other fictional characters of childhood whimsy. Don’t surrender to him any territory or focus that rightly belongs to Christ. And this year, as you prepare for your own Christmas celebration, let the words of another hymn reverberate in your heart:

O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

The Juvenilization of the Church

This is a must watch for anyone not attending church! Watch the full message: "Fellowship" by John MacArthur given at the Shepherds' Conference 2014 here.

What is "the sinner's prayer?" Is it biblical?

Hell Will be Far Worse For Reached People

Watch the full message: Mass Defection by John MacArthur given at T4G 2014 here.