Rom 5 is the end of a great section of Romans that begins in chapter 3, which is all about our justification through faith in Christ’s payment for our sins on the cross. Of course, you cannot have chapters 3-5 without chapters 1-2. They are essential set-ups to the payoff verses about how we may…
Author: Joel Hayes
Pastor Joel grew up in grace churches. Fell away. Hit bottom. Came back to the Lord. Became Fellowship Bible Church's Librarian. Then Associate Pastor. (He's still trying to graduate from "The Bekemeyer Grace School of Hard Knox.") Began preaching. Stumbled into podcasting (The Grace Life Podcast on YouTube). Wrote a book ("Empowered by His Grace"). And he absolutely loves everyone. Seriously. He does.
Citizens of the Heavens
F.B. Meyer, who was a contemporary of Moody, a Baptist, once wrote, “The nearer the saint comes to the perfect life, the farther he feels from it. It is only when we have climbed the foothills that we realize how lofty the mountain summits are. But there is no need for discouragement. We have eternity…
Nephilim & The Sons of God
Gen 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, Gen 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. Gen 6:3 And the LORD…
Getting Dressed for the New Year
Col 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 3:14 And above all these things put on…
Jerusalem, Our Mother
Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. Isn’t this a fascinating verse? Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all! The Jerusalem that is above is our mother! How amazing is that? How often do we hear grace pastors celebrating the…
The Four Beasts
Hello, saints! Below are the notes for my Four Beasts message from last night. This is part of a series I’m doing on the End of the World in chronological order. Enjoy! -j First, Dan. 7:1-3 Dan 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his…
J.C. O’Hair’s Christmas Poem
The Christmas season is again at hand, With thoughts of Christ in every land; The Christmas message again we’ll hear, The songs of Christ Who brought good cheer; The Lord of glory, God’s gift of love, Who left His home in heaven above. We’ll sing and tell the Saviour’s birth, How He dwelt with men…
The Watchers are Cool
There is a ton of craziness said about the watchers in Christendom today. I would just point out that this story we’re about to read in Daniel 4 is the only reference to the watchers in the Bible. There’s a verse in Jeremiah 4 talking about “watchers come from a far country”who gave “out their…
Do Our Souls Get Dirty?
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost… Here are a couple of question. “How are we washed? And to what state are we renewed? Do our souls get dirty?” Let’s Look at…
A Spirit-Filled Thankfulness
Paul wrote in Eph 5:18, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” I knew one pastor who struggled to understand why the Lord put these two seemingly different commands together in one verse. How does one equate being drunk with wine to being filled with the Spirit?…
Self-Love?
Paul writes in 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves… A man is what his heart is set upon, and throughout the last days of grace, his heart shall be set upon himself. Men shall be lovers of their own selves. Men shall love self in greater numbers and to a higher…
The Unpardonable Sin
Now this moment in which the Lord talks about blasphemy against the Spirit is only found here in Matt. 12, Mark 3, and Luke 11. We’re only going to look at Matthew and Mark. Luke doesn’t say anything different than what we’re going to read in these other two accounts. Mat 12:22 Then was brought…
Fear the Reapers
In some secular fiction, one might come across a Grim Reaper character, which was death personified, usually depicted as black-robed skeleton wielding a sickle. He’s holding a sickle because a reaper is a harvester. He’s come to bring about the victim’s death and harvest that person’s soul, which plays into people’s fear of death. As…
The 3 Exceedings in Ephesians
In Eph. 1:19, we find the first of three times when Paul wrote “exceeding” in the book of Ephesians. He writes, “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.” Paul chose His resurrection (1:20) as an example of God’s demonstration of His…
The True Power of I Am
“The Power of I Am” is the title to the most famous sermon of the most infamous preacher in Texas – Joel Osteen. Millions of views. Oprah Winfrey shared his message on her YouTube channel and said his sermon changed the way she sees her life. The gist of his message was this. “If you…
Hold Fast!
2Ti 1:13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 2Ti 1:14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. First, Paul says to Hold fast the form of sound words. What…
Rapture Context
I once read an E.W. Bullinger book called 10 Sermons on the Second Advent, which he had preached in the 1800’s at Oxford. I wanted to know what a Bullinger sermon sounded like. And (surprise, surprise!), a Bullinger sermon was pure exegesis from beginning to end. I then fell in love with Bullinger’s fifth sermon…
That Pool at Bethesda
What are we to make of this angel that stirred up the pool of Bethesda, which healed the first one who jumped in? Joh 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Joh 5:2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is…
Angels Ascending and Descending
Why did the Lord tell Nathaniel “ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” and when did that happen? John 1:43-51 Joh 1:43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Joh 1:44 Now Philip…
Grace in Your Prayer Life
Consider 1 Tim. 2:1-2 in which Paul writes, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” Notice how these two verses…
SUPPLY OF GRACE 