He redeemed us

“who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:14; NASB) A few years ago, my wife and I discovered a television show on The Learning Channel which quickly became a favorite — “Junkyard Wars.” […]

GBC Book of the month: The Hole in Our Holiness

The book of the month (available both in our bookstore and library) for our church is Kevin DeYoung’s new work, The Hole in Our Holiness. I was first attracted to this book after listening to the address DeYoung gave at Together for the Gospel this year, “Spirit-Powered, Gospel-Driven, Faith-Fueled Effort” (audio download here). I found […]

Keep a good conscience

From Dwight Wagner: The goal of a Christian is to have a clear conscience before God and man. If we don’t fill our mind with Scripture, we will have a defiled conscience. If we fill our mind with truth but don’t act upon it, we will have a weak conscience. If we simply refuse the […]

3 lessons from Brainerd’s death

From Jesse Johnson: David Brainerd died 265 years ago. Yesterday [Tuesday] was the anniversary of his home going. Brainerd’s life ended when he was only 29 years old. He was not exactly famous when he died; he was expelled from Yale for declaring that an empty chair had more evidence of grace than the seminary […]

Elder qualifications

This morning’s post is a re-post of an article from earlier this year, with some additional information from other posts included at the end of this post. 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 1 Timothy 3:1-7 give […]

A character test

Robert Wilson, in his book Character Above All seeks to answer one fundamental question: “What is the relationship between the President’s character and presidential leadership?” He asks the question because it is his observation that as a group, the American people “‘started out such good people. What happened to us?’…Our political process does reflect us, […]

Treat others…how?

Grace Slan lived and died in a secret world where time stood still. When police entered her two-room flat in London they thought they had stepped into another era, a museum exhibit or a film set. Outside, planes buzzed overhead and traffic jammed city streets. Inside, the 81-year-old woman lived in a dark, solitary world […]

The discipline of discipline

“…discipline yourselves for the purpose of godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7b). Discipline. The word pictures a gymnasium filled with exercise equipment designed to conform the body to fitness. Physical wellness is the result of regular, continual exercise. The same is true of the soul. Spiritual wellness is the result of regular, continual spiritual exercise. But since […]

What do you want the word of God to do in you?

When one thinks about Psalm 119, the theme of the Word of God obviously comes to mind. The Word of God is explained, its authority is exalted, and even God Himself is worshipped in the process of expounding the value of God’s Word. Yet in reading a portion of the psalm this morning, it was […]

Sunday Leftovers — the believer and good works

There are five succinct statements that identify the essential doctrinal issues that were bolstered by the Reformation: sola Scriptura — the Scripture alone is sufficient to produce salvation sola gratia — salvation is by grace alone sola fide — salvation is through faith alone sola Christus — salvation is by Christ alone soli deo gloria […]

Desiring God National Conference Audio and Video Now Available

The audio from the recent conference hosted by Desiring God, “Act the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification” is now available. Plenary sessions include messages by John Piper, Kevin DeYoung, Ed Welch, Jarvis Williams, and Russell Moore. Seminars included messages by David Mathis, Kevin DeYoung, R. W. Glenn, Fernando Ortega, Elyse […]

Trusting God, redux

After a man and a woman say, “I do,” they often spend the next days and weeks dreaming of what life might be like in 50 or more years. When a husband and wife get pregnant, they not only spend hours tossing names back and forth at each other, testing them to see if they […]

The church and truth

“but in case I am delayed, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15; NASB). Many years ago, my wife was able to go out of town […]

Changes at NANC

The National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC) has been served well for the past 15 years by the leadership of Randy Patten as its executive director. The past week, at its annual conference, NANC announced that its board …voted unanimously to elect Heath Lambert as executive director, the organization announced, Oct. 2. Lambert, who is […]

What is the church?

This post is part of a series of posts on the basics of systematic theology. Why do we need theology, and what are the essential truths to know about each doctrine? All the posts are archived under the category “Theology 101.” There are many perversions and corruptions of the church in contemporary culture. So […]