Dustin Benge

How to listen to Sunday’s sermon: 1. Pray for your pastor 2. Pray for a receptive heart 3. Pray for an alert mind 4. Keep your Bible open 5. Stay focused by taking notes 6. Turn your phone off 7. Ignore the time 8. Genuinely respond 9. Discuss sermon later [@DustinBenge]

“Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it.” John Adams 🇺🇸

Five psalms for five moments: Psalm 23: You feel completely alone. Psalm 46: Everything is falling apart. Psalm 73: You're struggling with envy. Psalm 103: You've forgotten how loved you are. Psalm 139: You wonder if God really knows you.

Sometimes God feels close. Sometimes God feels distant. God's presence isn't based on feelings. He hasn't moved!

Four things the gospel says to a weary soul: 1. You are not too far gone. 2. You are not carrying this alone. 3. You are not loved because you are strong. 4. You are not finished, because Christ is not finished with you.

You will never be more loved by the Father than you already are in Christ.

@IAmGiGiIs I have my papaws as well. A true treasure.

@DustinBenge I cherish my papaws old bible. His notes give me insight into his studies.

What we lose when the Bible is only on a screen: 1. You remember where the verse lives on the page and aids memorization. 2. The page shows you much more at once. You see the context, not just a few verses at once. 3. The page keeps your notes. Years from now they will still be there, in your own hand. 4. The page cannot distract you with a notification. It only asks to be read. 5. The page is something your children watch you open and they know it’s the Bible. The screen gives much. The page gives more.

The same God who spoke galaxies into existence knows your name, hears your prayers, and will not lose a single one of His sheep.

Christ’s active and passive obedience is mine. God looks upon me as if I had not sinned; nay, as if I had perfectly obeyed his law. Thomas Watson

Five mothers in Scripture worth emulating: Hannah She wept before the Lord in bitterness of soul and prayed for a son. When God gave her Samuel, she gave him right back. “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition” (1 Sam. 1:27). A mother’s first and greatest work is prayer. Eunice and Lois The mother and grandmother whose sincere faith lived in Timothy long before he ever pastored a church (2 Tim. 1:5). From childhood he had known the sacred writings (2 Tim. 3:15). Two ordinary women, two generations of faithfulness, one pastor who shaped the early church. Mary She did not understand everything she witnessed but “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Faithful mothers are often quiet mothers, watching, treasuring, trusting God with what they cannot yet see. The Proverbs 31 woman Her children rise up and call her blessed (Prov. 31:28). She is not famous. She is not flashy. She fears the Lord, and that is enough. Every faithful mother today walks in the footsteps of these women, and though not famous on earth, heaven will not forget her name.

A small church faithful to the Word is greater than a packed auditorium that has lost it.

The Father planned it, The prophets foretold it, The disciples doubted it, The soldiers denied it, The empty tomb proved it, The angels proclaimed it, JESUS IS RISEN!

No other price but Christ’s perfect blood could have paid our eternal sin debt.

On the cross, Jesus did not accomplish partial salvation. He finished redemption!

5 reasons Christ had to die: 1. Sin demands a penalty (Rom. 6:23) 2. We could not save ourselves (Isa. 64:6) 3. The law required a perfect sacrifice (Heb. 10:4) 4. God is both just and the justifier (Rom. 3:26) 5. Love required it. (John 3:16; Rom. 8:32)

Why should we always trust God? 1. His Word is absolutely true (Jn 17:17). 2. His plans are set (Eph 2:10). 3. His faithfulness is forever (Ex 34:6). 4. His justice is perfect (Job 37:23). 5. His love is unfailing (1 Jn 4:16).

Time is short. Eternity is long. It is only reasonable that this short life be lived in the light of eternity. Charles H. Spurgeon

Days like today, we remember: earthly powers rise and fall. Christ reigns.

@hewitzone1 I'm not sure about that. I would direct you to Iain Murray's excellent biography of Pink, published by Banner of Truth.

@DustinBenge Hi Dustin. Do you know if it’s true that pink didn’t attend church for seven years before his death? If so do you know why?

Nothing is too great and nothing is too small to commit into the hands of the Lord. A. W. Pink