Posts by Kempiz Hernandez

Our Self-Sufficient Yet Relational God Mind-boggling thought, isn't it? That the Triune God of the universe, the Creator and Lord, the Sovereign Ruler over all, actually "wants" a relationship with each of us! Oh, how we must be careful, that in our desire to not misrepresent God in any way, painting a picture of Him as a warm and fuzzy God (which He's not!), we not forge...

Committed to the Truth in Love A few Sundays ago, Pastor Brock preached on "A Love Expressing Church," which reminded me of the tension that every Bible teaching church experiences. "Should we be a church committed to the truth, or committed to love?" This "tension" only exists in us as fallen people. For God has designed His church to be committed to "both" the truth AN...

Loving and Sacrificial Service One of the most amazing, mind-boggling accounts in the life of our Lord Jesus is found in John 13. It's the shocking account of our Lord, the "Teacher" and "Lord" (John 13:13), girding Himself about and washing the feet of His disciples. The narrator, the Apostle John, tells us both the motivation for Jesus' act and the lesson that the disci...

The Quest for Christlikeness These were the humble words of John the Baptist (John 3:30), whose public ministry lasted less than one year, and ended shortly after Jesus appeared on the scene to begin His own public ministry. And yet, Jesus said later about John the Baptist, "I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least i...

Practicing Compassion toward the "least of these" I have had the privilege of traveling to 16 countries over the years, primarily in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Very quickly your eyes are opened to the realities that people face daily outside of America. I taught on many subjects, one of those being "mercy" ministries. I recall many times very genuinely talking to...

HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! InEphesians 1:15-23, Paul prays that his brethren would have a greater understanding of three things: "what is the hope of God's calling" (v. 18), "what are the riches of the glory of God's inheritance in the saints" (v. 18), and "what is the surpassing greatness of God's power toward us who believe" (v. 19). The latter petition, then, b...

Read: Matthew 26:47-27:61; Mark 14:43-15:47; Luke 22:47-23:56; John 18:2-19:42 BETRAYAL AND ARREST Motivated by sheer hatred, the religious leaders arrest the Lord Jesus sometime after midnight, early Friday morning. All of this is spearheaded by one of Jesus' very own disciples, Judas Iscariot, who, showing his true colors, betrays Jesus with a traitor's kiss. Jesus ...

Read: Matthew 26:17-46; Mark 14:12-42; Luke 22:7-46; John 13:1-17:26 With the religious leaders intent on finding opportunity to put Him to death, Jesus, knowing that He had come to die in the place of sinners, instructs His disciples to make preparations for the traditional and symbolic Passover meal. While in the Upper Room, the Lord reveals to them His impending death...

Read: Matthew 26:3-5; Mark 14:1-2; Luke 21:37-38 In comparison to the previous 3 days of Passion Week, Wednesday passes by very quickly, but not without the growing hostility of the religious leaders. Prompted by the events of the previous days surrounding Jesus' words and actions, the Jewish Sanhedrin deliberately plans on putting Jesus to death. However, they fear the p...

Read: Matthew 21:20-25; Mark 11:20-13:37; Luke 20:1-21:36 Teaching, teaching, and more precious teaching marks Tuesday of Passion Week. First, having cursed the fig tree on the previous day (Monday), Jesus uses the opportunity of the now withered tree to speak to His disciples about the importance of having faith. This is very strategic and deliberate, for 3 days later Hi...

Read Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19 What we often refer to as "Palm" Sunday marks the beginning of our Lord's final week before His death (Friday) and resurrection (the following Sunday, 7 days later). After approximately 3 and a half years of public ministry, the King arrives to Jerusalem, in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice greatly, ...

Read: Matthew 21:12-19; Mark 11:12-18; Luke 19:45-48 On the previous day (Palm Sunday), Jesus had made an initial visit to the Temple, being disgusted with God's house being misused. This observation set the stage for His infamous, but necessary, cleansing of the Temple on Monday of Passion Week. Having shaken the whole city of Jerusalem with His very public, but "anti-cl...

Exposing Worldliness "I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I don't go out with girls that do!" There are many people who define "worldliness" along these categorical lines. Or, they might define worldliness by alluding to their refrain from watching certain movies, hanging around with certain people, or even using social media. Each person has his/her "bents" or leanings a...

Temptation's Source "The devil made him do it!" I still remember hearing those words from a Christian when speaking of another "professing" believer who had completely walked away from Christ to live for the world. According to this other believer, this poor person was a victim of a cruel enemy whom he could not overcome (and God couldn't either!). For some people, the e...

Cultivating a Heart of Contentment The other day while out shopping I witnessed yet another little toddler literally smacking his mom because she had the audacity (sarcastic) to tell him "no" to his request for another toy. While cute and humorous to some, this is a microcosm of a deep-seated problem in our society that we must beware of, especially during the "holi...

ALL GLORY TO THE ONE TRUE GOD During the month of October, our special focus has been on contemplating the Solas of the Reformation. These were wonderful themes that with the passing of time were memorialized as theological points of emphases during the Protestant Reformation. If you imagine a building, you might think of Sola Scriptura as the foundation of that buildi...

ALL I HAVE IS CHRIST We all have favorite hymns and songs that have touched our hearts in a very unique way, and perhaps remind us of particular trying seasons of life. Personally, while I have favorite historic hymns, there are also some contemporary songs that were hugely instrumental, and that particularly spoke to me during a season of life. One of those songs is th...

Saving Faith in Christ Faith or belief has become such an ambiguous term in our day and age, hasn't it? It reminds me of my days as a baseball player back in high school. "All you have to do is believe in yourselves!" said my high school baseball coach back in 1993. We were in the semi-final game of the CIF playoffs, one victory away from playing in Anaheim stadium for ...

Grace Greater Than Our Sin Julia Harriette Johnston (1849-1919) was the daughter of a pastor, and faithful to the Lord, serving in her church in various capacities for more than 40 years. She authored several books, and made some important contributions within her denomination in the area of missions. But perhaps her greatest accomplishment was penning hundreds of hymns. ...

The Bible is God's Word I will never forget August 15, 2007. An earthquake of 8.0 magnitude hit Peru's central coast. More than 500 people were killed, and many thousands were left without a home. A few of us arrived in Pisco a few days after the earthquake, in order to help in any way we could. You could smell death everywhere you walked, as many bodies were yet to b...

The Protestant Reformation For Christians, every day of the week, every moment of each day is an opportunity to celebrate our great salvation, and all that we have in Christ Jesus. But there are also particular times of the year when we must pause and reflect upon our Christian heritage in a special way. October of each year is such a time. It's during October when ...

The Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace I recall once doing a leadership conference in the Dominican Republic for both Dominican pastors and Haitian pastors. The first part of the conference was, to say the least, quite eye-opening, as most of these leaders from two different countries sat opposite one another, clearly with deeply settled resentment and disdain tow...

The Fruit-Bearing Work of the Spirit Things will never be ideal on this earth. We understand that because we are sinners, imperfect and inadequate, we will always fall short of God's perfect standard. At the very moment of our salvation, we came to realize that our sin was great, but that Christ is a greater Savior. This recognition of our utter unworthiness and inabili...

Complete in Him Not too long ago someone asked me, "Kempiz, you are nearing three years of serving in your current role. What has been the greatest thing God has taught you?" Aside from my immediate thought, "Three years is nothing..." the answer was an easy one, but admittedly, not profound, "I am weak, but Jesus is strong." This is the greatest lesson God has taught me ...

Appropriating the Truth CH Spurgeon once said, "The same sun which melts wax hardens clay. And the same Gospel which melts some persons to repentance hardens others in their sins." This quote reminds me that the Word of God is going to have an impact in my life, whether I fully realize it or not. If I reject it, my heart will grow hardened, cold, indifferent, and callous ...

Jesus is the Reason for the Season Recently, while on a walk, I paused to observe people tossing coins, as they closed their eyes (perhaps praying?), into a water fountain located in a nearby shopping area. In particular, one elderly woman, heavily disabled, caught my attention. As she shed a few tears, prayed a prayer, and then tossed a coin into the water fountain, it...

Brothers and Sisters in Christ I remember growing up and often hearing the statement, "blood is thicker than water." Usually, the statement was said in the context of remembering that one's biological or physical family was more important, and more enduring, than people in the church. When I became a Christian, all of a sudden the statement made all of the sense in the wo...

Life-On-Life Discipleship Some time ago I read the horrifying news of a mother who, for whatever tragic reason, decided to dump her newborn baby in a local trash dump. Why did she do it? Perhaps she was scared, in despair, or just plain hateful. When we hear of news like this, we are literally shocked beyond belief! I mean, what kind of mother would do such a thing?! Sure...

Glory to God Alone What is man's most fundamental problem? Depending on whom you ask, the answers you might get to this question will vary. Some would say "unfulfilled desires," "unfulfilled goals or dreams." Others would say, "a lack of self-esteem," or perhaps "a sense of feeling under-appreciated or admired." In our materialistic culture, some might say, "the pursuit...

Faith in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ Not too long ago, I was speaking to a professing believer, who with much enthusiasm was telling me about his life's goals. "You know, sometimes people want to rain on your parade, but to me, all you have to do is believe, and everything will fall into place." I thought to myself, "Believe in what? In whom?" The statement struck...

Saved by Grace Alone When he was a Roman Catholic "monk," Martin Luther would have said that grace alone was the "gasoline" that propels the car of salvation. However, the "Reformer" Martin Luther would have affirmed that Grace Alone was the "entire" car itself. In other words, all of salvation, from beginning to end, was by Grace Alone. For Luther, the issue of salvation...

Running the Race of Life Together The writer of Hebrews exhorts his readers, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you ...

Christ Alone is Sufficient for Salvation and Sanctification In C. S. Lewis' fictional masterpiece, The Screwtape Letters, Screwtape, an experienced demon, mentors his nephew, Wormwood (also a demon, but "in training") on the art of breaking down Christians. In essence, the devil's strategy is not to replace or remove Christ completely, but to promote a "Christ AND" ...

The Sufficiency and Authority of Scripture If you think about the Reformation "Solas" like a building, then the Foundation of the building was the great principle or truth of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone). What did this mean? That Scripture Alone was the Ultimate and Final Authority in all matters of faith and practice, personally and for the church. It did not mean th...

Knowing and Worshipping Christ Over the years, building Lego projects has been a fun and treasured time with my kids. Once, I helped one of my boys build his new Star Wars Lego spaceship. This was the biggest Lego building project of his (then) young seven-year-old life. So as much as I wanted the spaceship to be brought to completion within a 12-hour day, I wanted him to...

Serving Out of Gratitude Rather Than Obligation Some time ago, during the holiday season, I came across a Ralph's employee who, upon charging me for my items, said, "Looks like you are prepping for a big breakfast!" "Yes," I replied, "It's a family tradition." I looked at her name badge, and observed that she had been with Ralph's for 40 years. "Wow, Connie, you have be...

Teaching Truth and Refuting Error There has been a subtle shift in the last 20 years or so in various evangelical circles. It is not that "professing" Christians say that doctrine does not matter "at all," but that we should not just be defined by "what we are against." Instead, we should be defined more by "what we stand for." On the one hand, I would agree that we shoul...

Freedom to Love the Lord and Love Others One of the "privileges" that we enjoy in our great country is "freedom." Freedom of speech, freedom to worship publicly, freedom to have a certain sense of autonomy, and to pursue happiness as individuals along with our families. Each of us as Americans enjoy this freedom and ought to have a profound sense of gratitude for what God...

We love because He first loved us No, I am not talking about your "romantic" life (though some of us who are married, especially us men, would profit from considering this as well!). I am talking first and foremost, about your love for the Lord, for this is where it all begins, doesn't it? Writing to the church at Ephesus, the Lord Jesus utters this terrible indictment, ...

Bringing the Hope of the Gospel to the Lost I still remember one of my long-time mentors some 23 years ago, in the middle of criticizing our church at the time, stopping me dead in my tracks and softly saying to me as he pointed to the streets of East L.A., "see those people walking around out there? Aimless and without hope in life? That's why we are here. To rea...

Devoted and Committed to God's Word It is no surprise that the world that we live in is getting worse. Every day, all you have to do is turn on the television to be reminded of not only the "explicit" corruption in our society, but also the "postmodern" ("truth is relative" and "truth is whatever it means to me") mood of the age. Godlessness is more and more rampant, and,...

Leadership Training and Discipleship within the Local Church I still remember the eagerness and zeal in my heart as a new convert to be trained. And yet God, in His sovereign plan, kept me back from pursuing my passion of attending seminary. Where would the training come from for a young man who desired to be effective in the church, and possibly enter full-time, vocation...

Living and Proclaiming the Gospel We have all been entrusted with certain things in life. I still remember being given my first Dodger hat. It was 1984, and the Dodgers were in the middle of slug fest with the San Diego Padres. A long-time friend of my father yelled at me from across the living room, and said to me, "See this hat? It is my favorite hat. I have owned this ...

The faithfulness of God is a great source of comfort to every Christian, even when difficult times come....

TITUS: The Gospel on Display How is the church stabilized and established in the grace of God? How do we live in such a way that "displays" that Christ is greater and more beautiful than anything on this earth? How do Christians make the "Gospel visible" to a hopeless and dying world, infatuated with sin and the passing pleasures of sin? These are important questions. In...

Jesus' Moment of Darkness No single event in the history of mankind has had a more profound or lasting impact upon people than the death of Jesus of Nazareth. Not only was Jesus' death an excruciating and painful event for our Savior, but of infinitely greater significance was the separation that He experienced from His Father. For the first time, the eternal Son of God e...

Pursuing a Life of Holiness by God's Grace Have Christians been called to "let go and let God" or "lift oneself up by his/her own moral bootstraps?" The answer is neither. Christians are saved by the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ "alone." We do not add to or take away from anything the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished on our behalf. We can rest assured and secu...

The Mission for All Believers Most Christians are painfully aware of their responsibility to "witness" about Jesus to unbelievers. We live, often times, with guilt-ridden consciences, knowing that we fall far short of fulfilling our mission on this earth. With much humility, Pastor Mark Dever (founder of 9Marks Ministries) reminds believers that this problem is not just c...

Three Comforting Truths about Jesus' Ascension With all of the focus in our country on Christmas (rightly so), we often lose sight of Christ's magnificent resurrection. But we must also not lose sight of the great event of Christ's glorious ascension, which transpired 40 days after Jesus' resurrection. This wonderful event is outlined for us in Acts 1. After having appear...

Beholding The Majesty of Christ Do you long to "see" Jesus in a fresh way? I am not talking about a sort of "mystical" seeing, but to understand and know Him in a deeper way, so that you are driven to worship and obedient holiness? Then this is the book for you. Pastor John Piper writes a book for every believer, young or older, with the purpose of exposing the Christian ...

The Letter to the Colossians These past two years have provided the wonderful opportunity to look at one of my favorite books of the Bible, the letter of Colossians. From the very get-go, and consistent with the letter itself, my purpose was twofold: 1) for our church to "heighten" our view of Christ in light of His Supremacy above all things, and 2) for our church to rec...

Pray Without Ceasing 2 Timothy 2:1-4 says, "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and t...

The Power of God on Display In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul prays that his brethren would have a greater understanding of three things: "what is the hope of God's calling" (v. 18), "what are the riches of the glory of God's inheritance in the saints" (v. 18), and "what is the surpassing greatness of God's power toward us who believe" (v. 19). The latter petition, then, becomes...

The Betrayal, Arrest, and Crucifixion of The King of the Jews The Betrayal and Arrest With growing hostility spearheaded by the religious leaders, the inevitable happens sometime after midnight, early Friday morning. Guided by Judas Iscariot and with a traitor's kiss, authorities arrest our Lord. Jesus is first taken for an "informal" hearing with the Jewish leaders, An...

The Passover Meal With the religious leaders intent on finding opportunity to put Jesus to death, and Jesus knowing that this death for sinners is why He came, the Lord instructs His disciples to make preparations for the Passover meal. While in the Upper room, the Lord reveals to them His impending death, speaks to them about His betrayal, and institutes the Lord's Supp...

Jesus Ministers in the Temple Amidst Growing Hostility In comparison to the last three days, Wednesday passes by very quickly, but not without growing hostility from the religious leaders. The events surrounding Jesus, particularly in and around the temple, only cause greater hatred and evil intent on the part of the religious leaders. The Jewish leaders, lead by the Jewi...

Jesus Speaking in Parables Having cursed a fig tree the day before, Jesus uses the opportunity of the withered tree to speak to His disciples about the importance of having faith. The day, however, is focused on controversies with the religious leaders. Due to the monumental event of the triumphal entry, the religious leaders are intent on trapping Jesus in an effort to ...

Cleansing of the Temple On Palm Sunday, Jesus had made an initial visit to the Temple, being disgusted with God's house being misused. This set the stage for His infamous but necessary cleansing of the Temple on Monday. Having shaken the whole city of Jerusalem with his "anti-climactic" but very public entrance the previous day, Monday has no shortage of drama. On his wa...

The beginning of Passion Week Palm Sunday marks the beginning of our Lord's final week before His death and resurrection. After three and a half years of public ministry, and in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, the King arrives, and crowds surround Him. Some have followed Him from Galilee, and some meet Him outside the gates of Jerusalem. King Jesus, however, is not the kin...

Solus Christus and the Protestant Reformation This year, Calvary again had the privilege of hosting the TMAI Symposium, under the theme "Christ Alone: The Uniqueness of the Gospel and Its Impact on World Missions." This great truth, Solus Christus, was THE great cry of the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago, along with Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone). As I listened to...

Partnering Together for the Advancement of the Gospel In 1 Corinthians 9:23, in the context of speaking about Christian liberty, the Apostle Paul writes, "I do all things for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it." In this beautiful statement, there is both a personal and collective application. On the "personal" side, we see that Paul's hi...

The profoundness and simplicity of the Word of God One of the beautiful things about the Word of God is its "profoundness" on the one hand, and its "simplicity" on the other. That is, we behold truths of a substantial nature, and yet God teaches us that those truths are beautifully applicable to "real life" issues, be they personal, familial, vocational, or ecclesiologica...

In the Christian life, there are always two unhealthy extremes that we must guard against. On the one hand, we must guard against legalism. Legalism is the belief that in some way, shape or form, our performance either saves us, or keeps us "in the right" with God. The religious leaders of Jesus' day were condemned by our Lord for a self-righteous, superficial "righteousn...