Pastor Brian McCoy (our Discipleship and Missions Pastor), his son Josh McCoy and I are leave the US tomorrow morning and we’ll travel to two countries that are currently closed to missionary work. The workers in these countries have platforms which allow them to reside in the country for the purpose of sharing the good news…
Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges in their book Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Tim write that “pride and fear always separate us from God, from each other, and us from ourselves” (58). What does this look like? How does pride and fear separate us from God? Too ashamed about failure to…
In reading Tim Keller’s The Meaning of Marriage I came across two truths regarding how God relates to us that I wanted to pass along. First, God exemplifies radical truthfulness about who we are. The second is God exemplifies radical, unconditional commitment to us. These two truths should not only encourage us as we ponder…
In a context of strict Jewish monotheism, the following four activities were considered blasphemous for anyone other than God. Jesus expressed his authority to forgive sins, even sins not committed against him personally – a prerogative reserved for God alone (Mark 2:5-7). Jesus accepted worship from other human beings – a prerogative reserved for…
When we describe someone’s attributes, we usually make a distinction between a person and his attributes. For instance, you may say your mother is patient, but you wouldn’t say that your mother is patience. And you would say that your mother is more than a mere list of traits. In the same way, God is…
Paul Tripp reminds us in Sex and Money of an unshakable and hope-giving promise that God gives us His presence in the midst of difficulties. When God called Moses to confront Pharaoh, the most powerful ruler on earth, and Moses was afraid to go, God said, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12) When God called Joshua…
In Titus 2:11-12, Paul expressed both the negative and positive aspects of what grace accomplishes in the Christian life: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to [negatively] renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to [positively] live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” Those three…
One reason we don’t experience more holiness in our daily lives is that we don’t take some sin seriously. We’ve mentally categorized sins into that which is unacceptable and that which may be tolerated a bit. In commenting on some of the more minute Old Testament dietary laws God gave to the children of Israel,…
DeYoung in his book Taking God At His Word walks through several doctrines of Scripture that if rightly understood should foster confidence in a Christian concerning the Bible. One doctrine is the clarity of Scripture. Here’s several things that the clarity of Scripture means: Some portions of Scripture are clearer than others. Not every passage has a simple…
Dr. Bruce Ware, in his book Father, Son, & Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles and Relevance gives ten reasons to focus on the wonder of the Trinity that I found helpful and insightful. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most distinguishing doctrines of the Christian faith and therefore is deserving of our careful study, passionate…
Theology Along the Way 