Where Do Elders Come From?
From the beginning of the church, there were designated leaders. And though given various names (e.g., elders, pastors, overseers) they served the same function. As God-given leaders of God’s flock...
View ArticleOur Glorious High Priest: 24 Audio Lessons on Hebrews
Over the course of 2018–19 I taught through the book of Hebrews at our church on Tuesday Nights. You can find the audio and notes below. My approach: With an interest in Christ’s priesthood as the...
View ArticleEverybody Deacon Now: The Call for All Christians to Serve in the Church
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of diakonia, for building up the body of Christ, — Ephesians 4:11–12 — For...
View ArticleWise Mercy Means Supporting Tabitha, Correcting Delilah, and Encouraging Mary...
Wise Mercy Means Supporting Tabitha, Correcting Delilah, and Encouraging Mary (1 Timothy 5:9–16) Why does Paul spend so much time on widows? In a letter with 113 verses, 16 of them (more than 10% of...
View ArticleFrom the Gospel to Good Works: A Church’s How-To Manual for Elders (1 Timothy...
From the Gospel to Good Works: A Church’s How-To Manual for Elders (1 Timothy 5:17–25) What are you supposed to do in church? What are elders supposed to do in church? And how do elders and members...
View ArticleThe Need for Expositional Preaching (pt. 3): Jesus was an Expositor
The Old Testament is the not the only place where we find expositional preaching. Jesus himself preached expositionally. In fact, he was more than an expositional preacher, according to John John 1:18...
View ArticleThe Need for Expositional Preaching (pt. 4): Apostolic Preaching is Expositional
From the pattern of Moses and the Old Testament priests to the teaching ministry of Jesus, biblical exposition has a long track record in redemptive history. In the New Testament, the citation and...
View ArticleThat You May Believe That Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God: 10 Things...
This Sunday we begin a new sermon series on the Gospel of John. As we prepare for that series here are ten things to keep in mind as we enter this incredible book. 1. John has a simple four-part...
View Article‘Mystery’—Its Definition, Use, and Significance in Daniel and the Rest of the...
. . . but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. — Daniel 2:28 — . . . the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is...
View ArticleSeeing the Son of Man: How Reading Daniel and Revelation Together Illumines Both
The number of connections between Daniel and Revelation are numerous and normally observed by readers of both books. A point that is more easily missed or misunderstood is “how” Daniel is used by John,...
View ArticleReading God’s Word and Seeing God’s World through the Lens of Two Biblical Ages
For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.Romans 13:11b Redemptive history has two overlapping ages. And unless you grasp how the new age brings the future into the present,...
View ArticleGetting into 1 Peter: A Brief Introduction to this Grace-Filled Book
This Sunday we begin a new sermon series in the book of 1 Peter. And I want share three reasons, even four, for why we are looking at this letter and why this book is so timely. These three reasons...
View ArticleGetting to Know God’s Foreknowledge: A Survey of the New Testament
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the...
View ArticleTrue Religion Consists in Holy Affections: Jonathan Edwards’ Reflections on 1...
True religion, in great part, consists in holy affections.— Jonathan Edwards — In his classic treatise on nature of the Christian experience, Jonathan Edwards begins Religious Affections with a brief...
View ArticleAvoiding Monsters in the Apocalypse: Three Requirements for Reading Revelation
“Though St. John the Evangelist saw may strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.” — G. K. Chesterton — Few books are more mysterious, more difficult,...
View ArticleReading for Scripture Saturation: Renewing the Via Emmaus Bible Reading Plan...
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my...
View ArticleReturning to Romans: An Epistle of Faith, Hope, and Love
In the Fall of 2019 our church began a Bible study in the book of Romans. It ran through the first seven chapters of Paul’s magnum opus, but in March 2020, when the world shut down, we pushed pause on...
View ArticleThe Via Emmaus Bible Reading Plan: February Resources for Exodus, Jeremiah,...
Track 1: Exodus Track 2: Jeremiah Track 3: Mark If you have other resources on these books, please feel free to share. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon you as you draw...
View ArticleSeeing the Literary Structure of John 2–4
The first step in understanding any book of the Bible is to see what is there and especially how the biblical author has arranged his material. In the case of the Gospels, for instance, it is important...
View ArticleElection and Evangelism: What God Has Joined Together Let Not Man Separate
On Sunday, our church considered one of many passages in John where the Beloved Disciple unites God’s sovereignty in salvation with the responsibility of man to repent and believe. With perfect,...
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