Photo by Omar Prestwich on UnsplashĀ Grouchiness about other pastorsā churches? Their size? Their coolness? The number of conversions they see? Their creativity in programming, marketing, and sermons?Ā Nope. Not me. Never. I promise.Ā Ā Iām always kingdom-minded and thankful for the work that God is doing in and through other churches. God tells us to…
bible / Discipleship / Forgiveness / Gospel / Soteriology
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, āBrothers, what shall we do?ā Peter replied, āRepent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy…
I need to do a much better job of regularly taking time to rest. That may or may not seem like that big of a deal to you but for me, itās a big deal. Rest is one of those words that has for many years taken on a negative connotation. At times, I have…
bible / Discipleship / Evangelism/Missions / faith / Gospel / Missions / Theology / Thinking
In his book, God is the Gospel, John Piper opened my eyes to the ultimate aim of the gospel. That is, the good news brings me to God, my “exceeding joy” (Ps 43:5). “Todayāas in every generationāit is stunning to watch the shift away from God as the all-satisfying gift of God’s love. It is…
Photo by Emily Morter on Unsplash Each and every time I attend an event that the North American Mission Board facilitates they submit several questions to participants for the purpose of personal engagement. Too often we hear great content but fail to reflect and intentionally think about how we can appropriate certain truths or principles into our lives.…
Photo by Julio Rionaldo on Unsplash I don’t hate my sin like I know Jesus calls me to. I compare and contrast. I downplay. I fail to see at times the far-reaching effects of sin. I fail to see that just as God has created us as communal beings, my sin is also communal and has a negative…
Open my eyes, that I may beholdĀ wondrous things out of your law Psalm 119:18 Before preaching a sermon, I normally climb into the pulpit and pray at the beginning. My pre-sermon pray is pretty consistent, asking God for help as we come to his Word. Specifically, I’d pray like this: “Father, give us eyes to…
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash If you were to make your own list what would be on it?
I want to interact with those around me, respond to sin (either mine or others), and generally live in such a way that I put the good news of Jesus on display. Of course, I’ll never do this perfectly but I should strive to make everything I can in my personal life point to the…
Thomas Case was a 16th/17th century Puritan. I recently ran across something he wrote that encourages the regular practice of morning devotions. It is not small advantage to the holy life to “begin the day with God.” The saints are want to leave their hearts with Him over night, that they may find them with…
I recently finished Tyler Staton’s book, “Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools.” There are some books that I trudge through by the sheer power of pride so that I can say, “I read that book.” Yes, I realize that’s not a good motivation! I’m growing in giving myself permission to simply put a book aside…
Octavius Winslow (1808ā1878) was an English non-conformist who was once a Baptist pastor who later turned to the Anglican communion. He has numerous writings available through Banner of Truth here. I recently ran across how Octavius defines prayer and wanted to share it here. “True prayer is the aspiration of a renewed soul towards God;…
Throughout the history of Christianity, followers of Jesus have consistently stated what they believe. This makes sense given that Christianity isn’t a vague religion with undefined doctrine. There are specific truth claims and particular doctrinal beliefs that mark Christianity off as distinct from other world religions. Where are these truth claims found? In the Bible,…
Lent is first mentioned in the fifth canon produced at the Council of Nicea (canons were practical directions in addition to the Creed). Nicea took place when the Christian church was unified ā before the East/West split of 1054, & before the Reformation in 1517. In this fifth canon, Lent is not explained, just mentioned,…
One of my favorite leadership expressions says that if you think you’re leading people but no one is following, you’re not leading – you’re just taking a walk. A surefire way to get people to stop following is to be demanding and correct them constantly without offering profuse encouragement. As Mark Chanski says in his…
Theology Along the Way 