Joel Osten Explains Why He Doesn't Preach About Hell and Carrie Kintz Analyzes

 

It was an Easter Sunday profile that sparked the controversy. Featured on
CBS Sunday Morning, Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, TX, told reporter Tracy Smith why he won't preach about hell.
"[People] already feel guilty enough. They're not doing what they should, raising their kids—we can all find reasons. So I want them to come to Lakewood or our meetings and be lifted up, to say, 'You know what? I may not be perfect, but I'm moving forward. I'm doing better.' And I think that motivates you to do better."
It's not particularly surprising that

Develop Yourself

(Proverbs 18:16 NKJV) "A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men."

In order to fulfill your purpose in life, God has put certain gifts, qualities and talents within you. These gifts are actually the very tools that God expects you to utilize to fulfill your purpose. It is not by accident that you are gifted in certain areas of life. God ordained those gifts for your purpose before the foundation of the world.
You need to realize that God expects you to be responsible where the development of your gifts are concerned. After you have discovered your purpose, you need to learn how to develop the gifts that accompany it. Your gifts are always in seed form. It is your duty to

Be Filled with the Spirit by John Piper

 

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.
The apostle Paul commands in Ephesians 5:18 that we be filled with the Spirit. Therefore, I want to try to answer two questions today. What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? And, how can we be filled with the Spirit? I think it might help you follow me if I tell you at the outset where I am going. So I'll start with my conclusions and then give the biblical support. I think being filled with the Spirit means, basically, having great joy in God. And since the Bible teaches that "the joy of the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10), it also means there will be power in this joy for overcoming besetting sins and for boldness in witness.
But, basically, it means radiant joy, because the

Let Us Walk by the Spirit by John Piper

This is the second in a series of messages on the Holy Spirit. Last week we dealt with the cause of the new birth. I argued from John 3:5–8 that human nature, with which all of us are born, will not enter into the kingdom of God unless it is changed. This change is called being born again. And what this means is that the Spirit of God creates something new; he takes out of us the heart of stone that rebels against God, and he puts into us a new heart which trusts God and follows his ways. Or to put it another way, the Holy Spirit establishes himself as the new ruling principle of our life. "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." In other words, that which is begotten by the Spirit has the nature of the Spirit, is permeated by the character of the Spirit, is animated by the Spirit. This change is owing wholly to the Spirit's work of free grace, prior to any saving faith on our part. The new birth is not caused

That Which Is Born of the Spirit Is Spirit: The Role of the Holy Spirit in Conversion by John Piper

 

Unless God gives me a clear indication to go another way I will be preaching during these last four Sundays of winter on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I feel a great yearning in my own heart to know more of the Spirit's power for holiness and power for witness. I feel a tremendous need to learn to rely more fully on his guidance as the Spirit of wisdom and truth. The life-giving, renewing Wind of spring is blowing through this church, and my great desire is to unfurl the sail of my heart and watch it fill up with the Holy Wind of God and be drawn in his direction, at his speed, in his power.

The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. (James 4:8)

We will see the paradox in that statement today, because we can't even begin to draw near to God without the Spirit's help. Which means that in our very effort to

4 Steps to Finding God's Will for Your Life by David Jeremiah

For many of us, finding God's will for our lives may seem illusive. In fact, people frequently ask me, How can I find God's will for my life? My response may shock you. Finding God's will is much easier than we make it. Here are four steps to help identify God's will and purpose for your life.
1. Understand Your Calling as a Christian
The reality is, God has revealed most of His will to us in His Word already.
All Christians are "called to be saints" (Romans 1:7). In fact, the word "church" in the original Greek refers to those "called out"—in a spiritual sense, called out of the world to God. So every Christian has a divine purpose: "to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called" (Ephesians 4:1). We have a purpose as servants of Christ to carry out the instructions He left with His apostles—to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples in all the nations of the world (Matthew 28:19-20).
Are we living according to