Today is the first day of our church’s Bible reading plan. Today we’re reading Mark 1. Here is one observation from my time in reading Mark 1: I’m struck by the openness people felt to approach Jesus; this is in stark contrast to the religious leaders. In Mark 1:41 a leper came to Him asking…
I have prayed many things for my children (all girls!) over the years. I have prayed for their salvation, that God would shine the light of the gospel in their hearts. I have prayed for their future husbands, that he would be a man that loves Jesus and loves her like Jesus loves His bride. I have…
Photo by Jeremy Perkins on Unsplash This past Sunday I made the statement that the underlying reason for our sinful behavior, thoughts, affections, and words stems from unbelief. For sure this unbelief manifests itself in a lot of ways but I humbly believe it is an overflow of not believing the truth and promises of God’s Word and…
Righteous anger… Reacts against actual sin as biblically defined (not in accordance to my opinions or preferences). Focuses on God and his concerns (not me and my concerns). Coexists with other godly qualities and expresses itself in godly ways (self-control, gentleness, love, etc.).
Do you get angry about the right things? Do you express your anger in the right way? How long does your anger last? How controlled is your anger? What motivates your anger? Is your anger “primed and ready” to respond to another person’s habitual sins? What is the effect of your anger These questions were…
Here’s some insight Paul Tripp gives on understanding the biblical function of our hearts. He shares that the order of the questions must not be changed. You can change the verbiage but its important to walk through these question in the order given. What was going on? This question is designed to simply get a sense…
What Nicodemus needs, and what you and I need, is not religion but life. The point of referring to new birth is that birth brings a new life into the world. In one sense, of course, Nicodemus is alive. He is breathing, thinking, feeling, acting. He is a human created in God’s image. But evidently,…
This post was originally posted at Desiring God on August 20, 2014. The original post can be found here. Every summer the same thing happens to my inbox. I open it to find a steady stream of emails from concerned parents, youth pastors, and older siblings, asking me to check in on so and so…
Originally posted on September 3, 2014 by Mark Altrogge at The Blazing Center. When the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us he changes our hearts and minds. He gives us the mind of Christ (Php 2:5). And we are to cooperate with him by actively transforming our minds and thinking by the word of God. “Do not be…
Part 2: Pastor as Counselor. In Part 1 of the Pastor as Counselor, we discussed various responses that sometimes are heard from pastors concerning counseling, as well as a couple passages that speak to the role and responsibility biblical leaders have in coming alongside the church to help them walk with Jesus. In this post I’ll…
Theology Along the Way 