Kingdom Faith and Love Ministry

05/08/2026

03/19/2026

True Christian faith produces humility, gentleness, unity, and giving. It is based in servanthood. But the false teachers, divorcing themselves from the truth, had unhealthy reasoning. False doctrines produce pride, contention, disharmony, and selfishness, which in turn produces greed. Such men think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

03/19/2026

he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, (1 Timothy 6:4, ESV, 6:4 Paul revealed the real character of the false teachers behind their veneer of prestige. These are not very flattering words for a group of teachers who apparently thought very highly of themselves! Conceited describes the trait of a person having an excessively favorable opinion of his own ability or importance. The false teachers showed all that and more, yet Paul confronted that conceit by explaining that they were actually ignorant. The utter falsehood of both the content and the conclusions of their teaching was worthy not of pride, but shame. They did not agree with the truth, but instead had an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words (1:4, 6) that promoted speculation and led to arguments about ideas that came not from Scripture, but from the minds of the false teachers. The controversial ideas and the disputes about words had a devastating effect in the church. With the believers embroiled in arguments over meaningless theories and false doctrine, relationships began to deteriorate. Jealousy is followed by fighting, meaning competition and/or violent and bitter conflict. Slander and evil suspicions surely follow. The seeds of false teaching in Ephesus were yielding a harvest of bitterness.

03/13/2026

3 Anyone who has a different teaching does not agree with the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that shows the true way to serve God. 4 This person is full of pride and understands nothing, but is sick with a love for arguing and fighting about words. This brings jealousy, fighting, speaking against others, evil mistrust, 5 and constant quarrels from those who have evil minds and have lost the truth. They think that serving God is a way to get rich. (1 Timothy 6:3–5, NCV, https://ref.ly/1Ti6.3-5;ncv)

02/20/2026

13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
In v. 7 the readers were exhorted to “remember” their leaders by following their example. Now they are exhorted to “obey” them. This is same word for “leader” which appeared in v. 7 so it is clear that the writer has returned to the subject of leaders within the church and that this is not an exhortation pertaining to civic leaders.
Participating in leadership ministry within the church is not easy. It is time consuming and emotionally demanding. Those who are to be led can make the job either a “joy” or a “burden.” To lead God’s church is to be entrusted with the care of the spiritual well-being of God’s flock. And God holds leaders responsible, not only for their own lives but for their watchful care over the church. James suggested to his readers that “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (3:1). Leading the church is an awesome responsibility and a demanding task. But it is also the greatest privilege in the universe.
For the church to be effectively led, however, efforts to provide leadership must be reciprocated by members who accept their responsibilities. They have responsibilities to God, to their leaders and to themselves. First, obedience and submission to God-chosen leadership has been commanded by God. To disregard this responsibility is to disregard the authority of God. Also, members also have the responsibility to make the job of leadership easier, not more difficult. No one can lead without followers. Finally, it is to their own advantage for members to work with leadership. They are seeking our spiritual well-being. The word translated “keep watch” (ἀγρυπνέω, agrypneō) literally means to “keep oneself awake.” God will hold them accountable if they fall asleep on the job and many a leader has lost sleep serving the best interests of his charge. It is God’s plan for our spiritual growth to provide leaders who can help us. If we frustrate their efforts, we are the ones who lose.

Girdwood, James, and Peter Verkruyse. 1997. Hebrews. The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press.

02/04/2026

With Kimberly V. Dennison – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉

01/27/2026

Pentecostals have been called “people of the Spirit,” but they are also characteristically “people of the Book.” From their beginning, Pentecostals have had a biblical focus and have been led by the Scriptures as well as by the Spirit. For Pentecostals divine truth may come in song, testimony, sermon, or through spiritual gifts, but all such means lead back to the Scriptures. Pentecostals see the Bible as more than a book of religious truths or a book that records God’s works among ancient people. The Bible is a witness to God, but it is also the voice of God speaking across the ages. An encounter with the Scriptures is an encounter with the living God.
Convinced the Scriptures are God’s Word, Pentecostals uphold the authority of the precious written Word and accept it as completely trustworthy for faith and conduct. This view of Scripture forms the basis for the Pentecostals’ doctrinal statements and for Pentecostals’ living in the Spirit. The Pentecostals’ view of Scripture is informed by their experience of God’s Spirit.

Arrington, French L. 1992. Christian Doctrine: A Pentecostal Perspective, Volume One. Christian Doctrine: A Pentecostal Perspective. Pathway Press.

01/24/2026

As an innocent man, when charged before an impartial judge, who decides according to his innocence, is said to be justified by the judge, as a man is said to be justified by God when, removed from the catalogue of sinners, he has God as the witness and assertor of his righteousness. In the same manner, a man will be said to be justified by works, if in his life there can be found a purity and holiness which merits an attestation of righteousness at the throne of God, or if by the perfection of his works he can answer and satisfy the divine justice. On the contrary, a man will be justified by faith when, excluded from the righteousness of works, he by faith lays hold of the righteousness of Christ, and clothed in it appears in the sight of God not as a sinner, but as righteous. Thus we simply interpret justification, as the acceptance with which God receives us into his favor as if we were righteous; and we say that this justification consists in the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ

Calvin, John. 1997. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.