In Proverbs 19:23 we read “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.” When you hear the word “fear,” what comes to your mind? Spiders? Snakes? Heights? Speaking in public? For me, I’m deathly afraid of snakes. Deathly. Afraid. Like, paralysis! And…
Colossians 3:5 says, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you.” But how, Nate? How do I moment by moment “put to death sin”? First, we need to define/describe what putting sin to death actually means. Putting sin to death means to weaken, starve, eradicate, eliminate, kill or destroy sinful desires, words, thoughts, or…
Rest is a discipline I still need to learn. My sabbatical reminded me that stepping away from ministry responsibilities is not the same as truly resting. I often know how to stay busy, productive, and engaged, but I am still learning how to receive rest as a gift from God rather than feeling the need to justify…
Every generation has its own questions. Some generations wrestle openly with the authority of Scripture. Others debate the nature of justice, sexuality, truth, or human identity. Ours is no different. And faithful Christians cannot afford to retreat into silence simply because the questions of the moment are controversial. The church does not choose the questions…
Daniel Darling serves as the Director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement and Assistant Professor of Faith and Culture at Texas Baptist College (the undergraduate school at Southwestern Seminary in Ft Worth, TX). Dan has also served on staff at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is the…
This year, I’ve had the privilege of taking over the Center for Worldview and Culture at Southwest Baptist University. The aim of the center is the same as that of the University. Our aim isn’t merely vocational training but the formation of the entire person. At SBU, we want to shape our students’ hearts and…
It wasn’t too long ago that a prominent pastor named Andy Stanley said Christians might need to “unhitch” from the Old Testament. That comment drew considerable criticism (see Albert Mohler here). Over the last few weeks at Southwest Baptist University, we’ve preached several sermons from the OT (Exodus 17, Genesis 6, 1 Sam 16, and…
This past Sunday, I had the chance to preach at a church in Georgetown, KY. My friend, Andy Waldroup, has pastored this church for a long time, and I was privileged to visit and open the Bible with his people. As he introduced me, he said all the customary things one says when introducing a…
Making sure people understand what the word gospel means is something to take seriously. I have two boys at home, and I regularly ask them to define the gospel. First, I ask them what the word gospel means. They’ll respond, “good news.” Then, I’ll follow that up with, “good news about what?” At that point,…
I had the privilege of studying under Jason DeRouchie for four years while at Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis. In addition, for a couple of years, I was blessed to serve as Jason’s teaching assistant, working through his various writings, editing some of his work, and helping with early iterations of his website. To…
