It’s vital to remember that we not only experienced his forgiving grace at the moment of our conversion, but continually experience his grace as a lovingly patient process of restoration. God has forgiven you again and again, he has restored you to himself again and again, and he will continue to do so again and... Continue Reading

We must not approach the worship of God for what it can do for us. This kind of idolatrous mistake is responsible for many churches losing their way with worship. The aforementioned benefits of paying attention to what we sing are simply byproducts of genuine worship—the benefits to the human spirit of encountering and rightly... Continue Reading

To love as God loves, we must long to see our enemies saved from the wrath to come. This is the most radical aspect of the book of Jonah…the sovereign mercy of God. May God give us the grace to love the Ninevites in our life as God loved us.   The most shocking element... Continue Reading

We must all grow in true Christian teaching lest we be “carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14). But we should use Scripture, and especially the preached Word, not as ammunition for disagreement but as a means of grace to strengthen our faith in Christ. Instead of looking for the preacher’s shortcomings (see Luke... Continue Reading

You cannot worship both God and false gods.  Joshua is clear that choosing to serve false gods means you have determined that it is evil to serve God (Joshua 24:15).  Serving no god is not an option, so there really is no such thing as an atheist.  Everyone worships, whether the true God, idols, the... Continue Reading

Parenthood is widely seen as a consumerist activity. Children are viewed in the same way as pets or plants. They are objects to be acquired rather than persons whose intrinsic dignity must be respected. For many parents, children exist to serve their happiness, whether to be a parent’s “bestie” or to fulfill their parent’s hopes... Continue Reading

When your children are young, they look to you for guidance and approval. They absorb your words, forming their understanding of themselves and the world around them. Words of affirmation, encouragement, and correction, when delivered with love, can help set them on a path of righteousness.   As fathers, the role we play in our... Continue Reading

The government does not own us. In this Harris is right. But we don’t own ourselves. Christians who believe the faith “once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3) know that “You are not your own.” We were bought with a price—the very blood of Jesus. We must not do whatever we want but... Continue Reading

All sin originates from the heart, the moral center of every person. Everybody is guilty of sinning against God, but the doctrine of original corruption goes deeper. In addition to the inevitability of human sinning, Scripture also witnesses to the fact that we enter this world as sinners, each of us possessing a morally corrupt condition that precedes... Continue Reading

God, who is sovereign over history, who is self-existent and eternal, who has all power, has a message for us. God himself is pulling back the veil and revealing to us what’s really happening in the world. He wants us to see the world from his perspective. This is what God wants to do. That’s why... Continue Reading

Church is no longer somewhere to go and serve, it is now God’s people gathered together to receive Christ and the benefits of His work of redemption through the means He has established. I now believe when we gather for corporate worship, something happens that doesn’t happen at any other time or in any other... Continue Reading

Justice demanded that David’s sin be punished, and it was punished in the sacrificial crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Jesus bore David’s sin and condemnation so that David could be forgiven. The wickedness of all who confess their sins and believe in Jesus Christ is forgiven. “His blood makes the foulest clean.”   The author of... Continue Reading

In this series, we will follow the flow of prayer through the book of Nehemiah and look to apply what we learn to our own work for the sake of the kingdom of God. While in Acts corporate prayer is featured, it is the personal prayer of leadership that we find in Nehemiah. Yet in either case, the object... Continue Reading

The Bible urges us to exercise control over our minds and bodies. We should be deliberate and intentional, and maintain control rather than being controlled and led astray by our passions and desires. What do you and I need to do to get control over that which we currently don’t control?   “The fruit of the Spirit... Continue Reading

Great theologians never set out to be the next big name. They set out to make God’s name big. Pursue the true first thing—God’s glory—and you might, but most likely won’t, find some kind of glory in the eyes of men. Pursue self-glory first and you’re guaranteed to miss God’s glory and find your own turned... Continue Reading

One of the consequences of taking your baby’s life through the abortion pill is that it might make you lose yours. Therefore if you are abortion-minded, for your baby’s sake—for your own sake, please do not take the abortion pill or pursue any form of abortion. Amber Thurman’s mother says her last words were: “Promise me you’ll... Continue Reading

Judge according to the Word of God, yes, but never indulge in self-righteous, hypocritical, hypercritical, prejudiced, merciless judgmentalism. That is never the way of Christ, and it should not be the way of Christians either.   Matthew 7:1 is one of the most needed and one of the most abused statements in the Bible. It... Continue Reading

By engaging in God-centered preaching and pastoral ministry, we will redirect people’s natural inclination to focus on self and lead them to turn their eyes upward to contemplate and worship a holy, loving, and righteous God.    Pastoral ministry is exceedingly demanding and requires us to tackle a large number of tasks, such as preaching,... Continue Reading

Christians should grieve over the death of a fellow brother or sister in Christ. It is good and right to feel the weight of sorrow when our beloved fellow Christians are taken home. It is not a grief without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13), but it is a grief, even a “sorrow upon sorrow.”   If we are citizens of heaven, awaiting a... Continue Reading

As the one who created this world and the people who live within it, God is the one who gets to determine what is a sin and what is not. It doesn’t really matter what you or I believe about it, but it matters an awful lot what God believes about it.   I’m so... Continue Reading

There is nothing stopping the majority of pastors from teaching basic systematics and biblical theology in their churches. Most could have a reasonable stab at historical theology and ecclesiology too. Assuming they’re able to teach the Bible at all, I’d imagine hermeneutics are going to be there too.    One of the great things about... Continue Reading

“Disqualified” means is that…conduct, traits, or sins come to light in the elder’s life that are not in keeping with the qualifications, and the elders realize that the person is no longer qualified…When that happens, the person is no longer a pastor or elder.   I’m always ultimately thankful when the Lord uncovers things that... Continue Reading

We should note that Paul, writing with apostolic authority, repeatedly instructs churches to imitate him (Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:6). He specifically charges church leaders to follow his pattern of life, both his faithful teaching and his sacrificial suffering (Acts 20:17–35; 2 Timothy 1:8–2:3).   In the world of evangelical missions, it’s common to appeal... Continue Reading

The emphasis on personal enjoyment of and communion with Christ goes all the way back to the founding of Puritanism itself. William Perkins, the “father of Puritanism” and author of the first Puritan preaching manual, The Art of Prophesying (prophecy being the old Puritan word for preaching), used the analogy of the preachers as bakers,... Continue Reading

“Allah” and “Yahweh” refer to fundamentally different conceptions of God. Allah is one God who exists as one person. Yahweh, however, is one God who exists as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Furthermore, Allah is a transcendent being and is impossible to know in a personal way. Yahweh, by contrast, is not only... Continue Reading

There must be some psychological explanation but yawning is contagious. It is the same with grumbling and discontentment. It happens in a marriage, in families and certainly in congregations. Sadly a little grumbling goes a long way. Seeing grumbling for what it is helps us. My grumbling is not just against others or circumstances but... Continue Reading

Despite the numerous different meanings of the word tradition, critics of sola Scriptura sometimes employ any positive instance of this term as though it were speaking of tradition in the sense defined at the council of Trent. But it is specifically that conception of tradition that sola Scriptura opposes— namely, that Scripture and tradition are to be received with equal reverence as... Continue Reading

To preach God’s counsel in these ways requires boldness. Paul was humble, but he was also bold: “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable” (Acts 20:20; see also Acts 20:26–27). The temptation can be to shrink back to maintain popularity, but that was not Paul’s way. Rather he unfolded God’s... Continue Reading

All people—regardless of gender, ethnicity, culture, or time—are part of the “culture of humanity.” We all share similar physiological, biological, and emotional characteristics such that when music expresses emotion on that level, its meaning is universal. Christians must not fall into the trap of ignoring or even denying universal meaning in music because there are... Continue Reading

We will not come to God, if we believe his motive is to deprive us, wound us, or restrict our pleasure. Have you ever known someone who lost a parent through death or divorce and is bitter with God? We must be convinced that God wants what is best for us, or we won’t pursue... Continue Reading