Sunday Leftovers — Resources for Elders

For the last four weeks, we’ve been studying the role of elders in the church and the qualifications of elders. In addition to the commentaries I read weekly, here are some resources I’ve found helpful in my study: Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership: This is an excellent book; it is extensive and detailed in its analysis […]

Sunday Leftovers — the Bible and wine

One of the qualifications of an elder is that he is not to be “addicted to wine.” The intent of that phrase is that an elder should be fully in control of his alcoholic consumption and that he should not be controlled by alcohol (Eph. 5:18). But does that the elder, or any other believer, […]

Sunday Leftovers — elder qualifications

The New Testament provides a clear picture of the kinds of men who are to lead the church as elders. Both Titus (1:5-9) and Timothy (3:1-7) are given numerous qualifications for these men, as the following chart summarizes (download the PDF): There is close overlap in topics between the two lists, though not many repeated […]

Sunday Leftovers — How an Elder Leads

Elders are the gift of God to the church to lead the church to spiritual maturity (Eph. 4:11-13ff). But what do elders do to lead the church? The New Testament provides many functions for the elder. Here are some of the basics. He teaches. This is emphasized in Titus 1:9; 1 Tim. 3:2; 4:6, 11, […]

Sunday Leftovers — The Supremacy of Christ

Christ is supreme over all things. He always has been. When creation began, He was already in existence, co-eternal with God the Father. He was, in fact, the One who created all things. And one week after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He demonstrated that supremacy for all men to see with His resurrection. That […]

Sunday Leftovers — GBC Vision Statement

Several years ago, GBC formulated a concise statement to attempt to articulate its vision and direction in ministry. That statement provided the criteria for adding new ministries and evaluating existing ones. All that we did needed to conform to this vision statement: Grace Bible Church exists to shepherd God’s people by God’s grace for God’s […]

Sunday Leftovers — the God-Man, Christ Jesus

Louise Owen is a woman with a remarkable ability. She has what has been called hyperthymesia, or “highly superior autobiographical memory.” That is, she has an unusual ability to remember things that happened in her life. In fact, she can remember what has happened every day of her life since she was about 11 years […]

Sunday Leftovers: the Gospel and Evangelism

Few topics produce guilt in the mind of the believer like evangelism. We know we should be more attentive to evangelism, but too often we see it as a dutiful obligation and task instead of a joyous privilege and honor. Over the past three weeks, we have spent time considering principles relating to evangelism in […]

Sunday Leftovers: gospel basics

One of the reasons we are reticent to communicate the gospel to unbelievers is that we are uncertain of what we should say. What is the essence of the gospel? What is its most basic elements? Many years ago, I learned a half-dozen words and some Scriptures that align with each truth that comprise the […]

Sunday leftovers: communion and transubstantiation

One of the dominant views about the biblical ordinance of communion is what is called “transubstantiation.” The term comes from the Latin terms trans (meaning “change”) and substantiation (meaning “substance,” or “essence”). The view is that the bread and cup of communion substantially become the literal body and blood of Christ. The outward form is […]

Sunday Leftovers: Gracious and salty speech

Words matter. And the way words are spoken matters, too. This is true of all words, including words that are spoken to communicate the gospel. A believer cannot be content to merely speak the truth. He must speak the truth of the gospel with grace (Col. 4:6; cf. also Eph. 4:15 for the general principle). […]

Sunday Leftovers: Baptism at the time of Christ

Reading the gospel accounts of John the Baptist’s ministry of baptism and then considering the significant number of accounts of baptism in Acts has made some wonder about the Old Testament practice of baptism. Was it present in the Old Testament? And what was already known and believed by the public about baptism during the […]

Sunday Leftovers — Psalm 119:24

Charles Bridges’ comments on Psalm 119:24 (“Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors”) are a fitting summary to this morning’s sermon on the third stanza of that great Psalm — What could we want more in a time of difficulty than comfort and direction? David had both these blessings. As the fruit […]

Sunday Leftovers — Combating worldliness

Commenting on this morning’s sermon, someone said, “You have to live life with your head up.” That is, you have to live life always aware that there may be an incoming attack to entice you to move away from Christ. The philosophy of the world is always attempting to delude the believer so that he […]

Sunday Leftovers — you and your ministry

What we do in ministry, we do so that God is glorified, and not us (1 Pt. 4:11). Everything we do in service of Him, we do so that He is glorified. Now the term, “God is glorified” is used commonly but is often not carefully defined. By working for God’s glory, we mean two […]