Students contribute to the family of God as gifted brothers and sisters. Within the local body, seminary students may participate in a scaffolding of opportunities for leading, teaching, and serving in all sorts of capacities…local church participation coheres seminary coursework with the Great Commission.   For many pastors, time spent in formal seminary training is... Continue Reading

God calls us to be peacemakers, and when we strive to do what He calls us to do, He will reward our faithfulness and bless our efforts. Blessed are the peacemakers.   Sadly, in this fallen world in which we live, conflict is a normal part of everyday life. This is true not only among unbelievers... Continue Reading

Training and empowering leaders…requires more than just a good plan or a thoughtful process. It requires the wisdom of self-awareness, the power of grace, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.   Does your church have deacons? And if so, do you know who they are and what they do? If the answer to these... Continue Reading

All things work together for our eschatological glory and good—in part, due to the Spirit’s prayers. What God planned of our salvation from eternity past will certainly come to be. We will be perfectly conformed to the image of His Son and glorified with Him.   The Holy Spirit helps us on our way to... Continue Reading

Those godly believers we all admire and want to be like are the ones who have been through the fire. When the ungodly suffer they are shamed, but when God’s people suffer they love God even more and rejoice in their sufferings.   1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God... Continue Reading

You will never obtain anything in this world more valuable than what you lose by forfeiting your soul. Yet, like a madman who has escaped from the asylum, we scour the middle of the freeway looking for lost pennies. What are these compared with our very lives? What are a few gold coins compared to... Continue Reading

Each day and experience is designed by our Father to “work together for good” and accomplish His purpose to “conform us to the image of His Son.” But the most dramatic metamorphosis will come soon when we are transported out of this sin-wrecked place, either through death or Christ’s soon-coming. John states that “we do... Continue Reading

We are weak and unable. As much as we strive forward, we fall back. We try to be perfect right now, not realizing that in his goodness and wisdom God is patiently transforming us throughout this life—it is a process that takes time and dependence on God, with patience and the faith that unites us... Continue Reading

Just as a shipwreck victim longs to feel land beneath his feet, so we long to remember the solidity and security of former times. What we need to remember, therefore, is that even when the floods rise up—even when the rivers continue their relentless pounding—the throne of Yahweh remains fixed and immovable.    The LORD... Continue Reading

The doctrine of imputation is one of the most under-taught teachings in the church today, and every Christian needs to know it. God credits to us the righteousness of Christ, and this comes through faith alone, which is also God’s gift to us in Christ (Eph. 2:8-9). Additionally, our sin is credited to Christ, who,... Continue Reading