Filtering for Repentance
We are readily fixated on figures, and often filter our view of the influence of a minister, a ministry, or even of Jesus Christ himself, based on numbers.
To question or probe such figures can give the impression of a sour hyper-Calvinism, or a temperamental tendency towards pessimism, but analysis is surely necessary if we are to speak clearly and authoritatively to the Church and the world. Among all of the figures, and all of fostering of hope among Christians that the tide... Continue Reading
Where Have all the Godly Men Gone?
The greatest need of the church is godly men who shepherd the flock of God with holiness and grace.
In the main, the modern church has most everything it needs—save revival. We have more conferences than ever, but fewer conversions. We have more books and blogs than ever, but fewer baptisms. We have more products and paraphernalia than ever, but little power. Indeed, we have a surplus of resources, but a deficit of revival.... Continue Reading
A Certain Sound through Preaching
If we are ministering solely therapeutically and not theologically and prophetically, then this hour will pass without a seizure of the opportunities that it presented to make Christ known.
The early preaching of Lloyd-Jones to the numerically and psychologically decimated congregation of Westminster Chapel is an example of what it means to make a certain sound in our ministry at an hour of great national need. From a pastoral perspective Lloyd-Jones understood that the hearts of people needed solace and comfort, and so he... Continue Reading
The Nature and Purpose of Corporate Worship: Corporate, Not Individual
If there is individual expression in corporate worship, it must be such that has corporate benefit.
When the revelation of God is clearly proclaimed to God’s people in words they can understand, that builds up the church, which emphasizes the importance of recognizing the corporate nature of public worship. This is not to say that individual expression is always inappropriate—as Paul says in verse 5, if there is an interpreter, then... Continue Reading
The Safest Place for the Weakest People
Instead of assuming the weak should not factor into our plans, we are asking how they might factor first in our plans.
If Paul expected the strong-conscienced Roman Christians to set aside meat out of love for their weak-conscienced brothers and sisters, surely we can ask our strong-bodied members to adopt a few temporary habits out of love for their weak-bodied brothers and sisters (Romans 14:1-15:7). The fact of the matter is, Grace Fellowship Church won’t truly... Continue Reading
Anglican Group Wins Property Fight Against Ft. Worth’s Episcopal Diocese
The Texas Supreme Court awarded a Fort Worth group affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America the right to $100 million in church property.
For more than 20 years, former Episcopal Church congregations have been leaving the denomination. The departures have been the result of a drift in the Episcopal Church that began in the 1960 and accelerated in recent decades with the ordination of openly gay clergy and, in 2003, the elevation of an openly gay bishop. Most... Continue Reading
5 Common Ways Church Members Go Astray
Elders profoundly embody the gospel when they search out wandering members. Keeping watch and tracking down strays is a Jesus-shaped activity.
The Good Shepherd came into this world to seek and save the lost. The Lamb of God came to die for unrepentant, sinning sheep like us. The Great Physician came to bind up limping sheep, sick and broken by sin. The Prince of Peace waded into our war-torn world, ripped apart by rivalries and divisions... Continue Reading
United Methodists Would’ve Met This Week to Consider a Split. What Are They Doing Instead?
Meanwhile, the Wesleyan Covenant Association continues to prepare for the launch of a traditionalist denomination and develop a draft Book of Doctrines and Discipline.
Delegates to the General Conference were expected to take up a proposal to split the denomination, called “A Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation.” The proposal, negotiated by 16 United Methodist bishops and advocacy group leaders from across theological divides, would commit $25 million to create a new conservative “traditionalist” Methodist denomination. Were 2020 going... Continue Reading
Why Expository Preaching Is Jesus Centered
When substitutes are made upon the preaching of holy Scripture in attempt to become relevant, cool, and attractive to the culture—the church becomes less than authentic.
Expository preaching is a verse-by-verse approach whereby the preacher sequentially works through books of the Bible in a systematic manner. While there are various forms of expository preaching that would include topical exposition where the preacher preaches a series of sermons from various texts in an expository manner—the normal approach is to preach verse-by-verse through... Continue Reading
Justification and Preaching
Comfort is what the doctrine of justification does when preached from the pulpits of our churches; and how we need comfort and reassurance in these perilous times.
The Biblical words for “preaching” have the sense of announcing, or heralding – an official proclamation of ambassadors on behalf of a foreign dignitary, or the salutary news of victory from the battlefront. As much as the forgiveness of sins is shorthand for justification, so justification is shorthand for salvation. And Christian preaching, as it... Continue Reading
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