"Watch your life and doctrine closely"
From the blog this week: Pruned by the Master Gardener Were the First Christians Socialists? “Despite the initial plausibility of a socialist reading of Acts, there are at least two realities that make the sharing in the early church different from socialism and especially communism.” How Do I Evangelize Someone Who Says That They Don’t…
The cold grasp of winter is losing its grip and being overpowered by the warm embrace of spring. My yard has transformed from brown to green, and the eery stillness has morphed into buzzing insects and the smell of freshly-cut grass. Evenings spent near the fireplace have become sunny outings in the garden planting veggies…
From the blog this week: The Covenant of Grace in the New Testament When Discouragement Rolls In “Discouragement rolls in like that sometimes. You can’t really account for it when life has been sweet and good and who can remember such a beautiful season? But you wake up one morning to the rumblings of a…
We continue our study of Great Doctrines of the Bible by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The previous post examined the covenant of grace and how it has been revealed in the Old Testament. Today, we’ll look at chapter 21 and see how the covenant of grace is revealed in the New Testament. MLJ emphasizes that while we…
From the blog this week: What Might Church Discipline Look Like? A Personal Testimony What Christians Should Know About the Equality Act “The bill represents the most invasive threat to religious liberty ever proposed in America. Given that it touches areas of education, public accommodation, employment, and federal funding, were it to pass, its sweeping…
In a previous post, we looked at the need for the church to engage in church discipline. The Biblical teaching is clear, yet because many churches have abandoned the process, many are unsure of what church discipline really looks like. I thought I would share a personal story that will, hopefully, provide a picture of…
From the blog this week: Weeping, Longing, and Resurrection. The Bombs on Easter Sunday: 5 Ways to Pray for Sri Lanka “A young man from our sports ministry lost one of his legs in the Colombo explosion. A neighbor couple of ours and their daughter died, and their young son is in the hospital. As…
If he hurried, there would still be time. Word had gotten to Jesus that Lazarus was ill, possibly near death, and Jesus could make it if he left right away. But, he didn’t. In fact, he waited two days (John 11). Why did Jesus wait? Shouldn’t he have hurried to get to the friends he…
From the blog this week: Loving Our Neighbor Through Church Discipline When Will the Rapture Happen? A helpful video that argues that the rapture will take place after the tribulation. How Can I Explain the Gospel? “For years, even decades, I was scared to share the gospel. I learned the Four Spiritual Laws, the ABCs…
Satan is crafty and sin is deceptive. The book of Proverbs teaches that “there is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way to death” (14:12, 16:25). Like putting makeup on a pig, sin disguises itself so we don’t see its true nature. It slowly lures us to its desired…